Sunday, April 01, 2007

Green goes with blue, right?

I'm one of those people that doesn't usually spend a lot of money on herself. Okay, I do take myself on vacation every year for my birthday, but I plan that very carefully as to not spend more than necessary on flights and hotels (so I can shop a lot and eat really well while I'm there, of course!)

Anyway, I just found out that for the first time in, oh, let's say FOREVER!, I'm going to be receiving a tax refund! And not just from the feds, but from good ole Illinois, too!

I've been paying every year for so long. Now I'm in a quandary. What do I do with the money?

I'm like a kid in a candy store. There are too many choices! Like a room full of mirrors, I don't know where to look!

Blow it on clothes? That's a possibility, but not likely because I've trained myself to be a good shopper and that's a hard habit to break. And the first time I scuff up a pair of Manolo Blahniks, I'll just throw myself headlong into traffic.

Cubs tickets? Well, I think we all know that a good chunk of this money will go to Cubs tickets anyway, so that's not much of an extravagance.

Travel? Well, I've been extremely fortunate that I've had the means (and the vacation allotment) to see more of the world than most people.

Oh, did I mention that my other stroke of good luck came a few months ago when I won two round-trip American Airlines tickets to anywhere in the continental US, Mexico or Canada. Yay me, right? Well, I originally planned to use them for Spring Training, but no go, no seats available. It seems these seats are drawn from the same pool as AA frequent flier seats, so VERY limited availability.

So, the vouchers have been sitting on my kitchen counter, just whispering to me periodically, "c'mon! let's blow this joint and go somewhere fun!" But where? And with whom?

So, I've got two airline tickets and some cash to spend. Hmmn...

Hang on, I'll be right back.

The Cubs play the Los Angeles Dodgers in May, according to the schedule that fell out of the March Vineline. In fact, they finish the series and come home just in time for Memorial Day, so I could fly in Friday night, see Saturday's and Sunday's games and fly home on the holiday...and maybe go to the game at Wrigley that day.

This could be considered stalking, couldn't it?

Well, it's just an idea. (And I'd better come up with another idea before I get carried away and start researching Dodgers tickets and hotel locations.)

What would you do if you suddenly came into a bit of cash that you didn't expect? Not lottery winnings money, but let's say approximately an extra month's salary?