As opposed to living on Ramen noodles and generic pop while trying frantically to turn out a piece of writing that will at least pay next month’s rent. (You laugh, but there were moments a couple months ago when I seriously wondered if I’d be happier living that way. Then I remembered health insurance and I changed my mind ) It’s so I can buy stuff. Stuff that I’ve always, always wanted to have, but for space/expense/miscellaneous reasons I was never in a position to purchase. And I’ve found both of these items for less than $100 bucks combined, so I didn’t even have to turn off that pinchpenny switch in my brain.

Item 1: A sewing machine! Just to get things clear: the time I spend on TV shopping channels is almost entirely limited to the three second stare of bewilderment at whatever odd piece of jewelry/clothing/makeup currently for sale as I pass by with the remote control. But for the past year, I have regretted not purchasing this small sewing machine that was on sale on HSN or someplace – but I was still hunting for a job and an apartment at the time, and had spent what little money I could spare on graduation and wedding/trip to Alaska expenses, so it just seemed a little too frivolous. So when I saw one up for sale Saturday, I went for it. I’m not a big sewer and I don’t plan to become one, but it will certainly make my life easier the next time I make throw pillows or turn a tablecloth into a curtain since I’ve currently been doing all that by hand. Maybe I’ll finally get that slipcover for my butterfly chair done.

Item 2: A ballet barre! Those of you who know me well can guess how long I’ve wanted one of these. But even if we’d had the money when I was a child, there was never room in our tiny house, even for the little 4 ft. PVC pipe item I bought. Although, if I’d known you could get one for thirty bucks I’d have begged harder. It’s not going to be super sturdy, since I couldn’t afford one of the cool aluminum barres, and I didn’t want to be responsible for moving a steel one (not to mention I’d probably drop it on my toes at least once), but it will give me a little more stability at the proper height – and maybe a bit more incentive to actually do my exercises. I’m getting a bit thicker around the middle than I’m comfortable with. You laugh, but the khaki pants I bought in March felt too tight yesterday. That is not good.

I guess if exercise doesn’t help, I can use the sewing machine to make all my pants bigger.