At this rate, we might as well just stick with this marriage business.

"Carey, I vow to love you like crazy for the next four years and beyond." "Jer, ditto."

Memorial Day will always mean "Anniversary" for Carey and me. Last year was an Anniversarial Super Gonzo Extravaganza and this year wasn't quite so bombastic, but it wasn't too shabby either. We treated ourselves to:

- Gifts: A peridot pendant necklace for her that looked much, much bigger online. For me, Carey surprised me with something I've been talking about for the last four years: a gas grill. I'm in Grilling Heaven. Not only that, but this ridiculous spouse of mine rounded up all new furniture, flooring and decor for our balcony, turning it into a paradisiacal oasis. Huzzah, wife, and very very nice work. I may post pics, I may.

- Dinner: Bono's on Friday, which I guess is becoming sort of a tradition, and Paru's Indian Vegetarian Restaurant in Hollywood on Saturday. Anniversaries and birthdays and whatnot are terrific times to do something a little upscale or quirky and these places fit the bill. It always depresses me a bit when I hear couples talking about how they went to The Olive Garden or something for their Anniversary. "It's kind of become our Special Place, so we just always go there!" Really? Olive Garden?

- Theater: Mama Mia! at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, right in front of the Walk of Fame. Okay, I'll admit it: I'm not so hot at navigating Hollywood, so I got us a bit lost and we were ten minutes late to the show, which made me want to put a brick through someone's brain pan. We didn't miss much, though, and it was a fairly decent little show. At the very least, it made me want to visit the theater more frequently. I used to love the stage. It's a shame how little I have to do with it these days.

So that's four years done and under our belts. Carey and I were married roughly 4-1/2 years into our relationship, so we're fast approaching the point where we'll have spent the better part of our time together as marrieds, which seems peculiar to think about. I've always felt as if we were two people who dated forever before just recently making it legal, but no more.

Anyhow, for the record, she's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. Love ya, Care.
...


So I was in the living room, watching the most recent DVD in our collection (Impulse!) the other day, when the wife calls from the next room, "hey, Jer, I paid all the bills online."

"Oh, thanks babe."

"Credit cards too."

"Ah. Whoa. Wait, you mean all of our credit cards are totally paid off? We're done?"

"Yeah, we had enough in the account to do it, so that's it."

It's finished. We're out of credit card debt. It's been a constant spectre of doom in our home for years and it's finally over. For those who don't know or remember, we were forced to dig into credit cards a couple of years back when Gilbert, the older cat, took violently ill and had to undergo a series of surgeries that cost us into the thousands. The credit card situation worsened when we moved to Long Beach from Columbus later that year and had to charge a lot of our moving and initial living expenses. Months turned into years, paying interest and minimums and maybe a little extra now and then whenever possible.

But, now, I guess that's it. We're free and clear. Oh, we've still got plenty of debt in the form of house payments, car payments and school loans... but no more cards.

And what a feeling.
...


Big project of the weekend: the Great Bedroom Purge.

The rule: if we haven't worn it in a year, it's time to say goodbye. Five trash bags of clothing (most of it Carey's, admittedly) that we just didn't need any more... gathered it up, separated it out, and thuh-rew it out the door. Four of the five bags were dutifully delivered to Goodwill, but the last bag wasn't even fit for hobos.
...


Uh. What else?

While I love receiving gift certificates and gift cards, I'm notoriously bad about actually going out and using them. Case in point, my dear mother was good enough to present me with a whopping $50 to spend at Old Navy for Christmas '02. That's about a year and a half ago and, though I hate to say it, I finally found my way to Old Navy over the weekend for some new threads.

But, oy, did I ever come home with a haul! Five shirts, four pairs of pants, not to mention sandals and a shirt for Carey. Over $200 in merchandise, all told, so it was nice to have that gift card.

From there it was on to Target to buy yet more apparel with a gift card from my sister. Spend! Spend!

And then onto Barnes & Noble to complete the gift-card-using extravaganza, taking full advantage of a present from Dad & Pat. More more more, pussycat! Reowr!

So, while the Great Bedroom Purge was indeed mighty, I managed to recupe a great deal of my losses. I'm a new-outfit-wearin' fool.

Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Erin! Thanks, Dad! Thanks Capitalism!

posted by Jeremy Bear 10:36 AM

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