Me & Gift Cards

I have a love hate relationship with gift cards.

OK, so it’s really mostly a “love” relationship. I love the free stuff that they offer me. I love it when there is something in particular that I want but don’t feel I NEED enough to purchase and I get a gift card that will allow me to get that very thing. I love being able to shop without spending any of my own money. LOVE it.

What I HATE is when I can’t decide what in the heck to spend my gift card on!

I am notoriously a poor at decision making. I don’t mean that I make poor decisions (though I do that)…I mean that I am bad at it. I hate it. 9 times out of 10, I’d MUCH rather have someone else make the decision for me. This applies to everything from “where to go on date night” to “what color should we paint the office” to “what kind of clothes should I wear” (do they sell gift cards for personal stylists? Cuz I’d totally use one).

What sometimes ends up happening with me and gift cards is that I “hoard” them. I LOVE getting them, but then I’m so afraid of spending them on the wrong thing that I often end up not spending them at all, as if I’m “waiting” for the perfect opportunity to use them.

So when I got a $25 iTunes for Christmas, I was really excited to get some new music. REALLY excited. In fact, iTunes gift cards were on my Christmas wish list.

Now it’s April 23, and I still haven’t spent it. I’m so scared I’ll spend it on the wrong thing!

The debate seems endless. Should I buy a whole album, or a compilation of songs I like by various artists? Or a combination of both? If I buy an album, whose should I buy? Ingrid Michaelson? The “Once” soundtrack? Brandi Carlile? Or should I go with something that will be a little more spiritually edifying?

I don’t know. I just don’t know.

What makes things extra complex is that it usually takes me several listens to figure out if I like an album, but the little 10 second iTunes sample of each song just doesn’t cut it. So the chance of me “wasting” my card on music I’ll end up hating seems too high.

And so here my gift  card sits. I will spend it soon. With baby S as my witness, I WILL spend it soon!

What would you spend a $25 iTunes gift card on?

Need Your Input: What to Feed My 1-Year Old

Now that baby boy is one, we are trying to expand his menu a bit, past the Gerber’s stage 3 foods he has been eating almost exclusively, but I’m finding myself at a loss for what to feed him (especially for lunch) so I thought I’d throw the question out to all of you more experienced mommies: what kinds of things did you feed your 1 year old for lunch?

I want him to eat a healthy, fairly well-balanced diet…no nuts…trying to stay away from eggs right now…but beyond that I’m not sure what to give him! I feel so clueless. So far my only ideas are Annie’s macaroni & cheese, Annie’s spagghetio’s, cut up “quesadilla’s” (tortillas w/ cheese & maybe mashed up black beans), cut up string cheese/crackers/cut up lunch meat, cooked/cut up carrots, baked potatoes, pastas….and I’m out of ideas. 

The finger foods he already eats regularly are grapes (cut into eighths), Gerber’s puffs, cheerios, Gerber’s wheels and little crunchers (similar to Veggie Booty), bananas…and that’s about it.

So I’d love to hear from you. What did you do? Thanks!