Falling off the savings bandwagon

So my secret savings fund burned a hole in my pocket all summer. I finally succumbed to temptation and bought two items that at the start of the summer I swore I did not need. Here's the update:

Kindle - I purchased it about a month ago. Like it. On the verge of loving it. I'm using it to consume the George R.R. Martin novels. It has now brought our household clearly above the national average (four) of wireless internet devices, to wit:

• iPad
• iPod
• old desktop
• new desktop
• Kindle
• laptop (on loan from school)

The biggest cost to acquiring the Kindle has been the television. I've found myself now reaching for it rather than the remote. I often traipse around with it and the iPod. Kids go to bed, then I check the iPod to see if Phillies game is worth watching. Then I lose myself in Martin's cruel world.

Keurig Coffee Maker - I just acquired this Saturday night, so the jury is still out. What a statement of wasteful American capitalism! What a thrill to make a cup of coffee in, like, 20 seconds!!!! The most painful thing is to use it in the morning and just see it sit for the rest of day, knowing another cup of coffee can be had in less time than it takes to check my e-mail accounts, but knowing that my wallet and blood pressure don't need more than three cups a day.

I've held down the fort on buying an overpriced Macbook (at least I have some willpower). I need to heed Sherry's advice to "just enjoy" this purchase for a little while.

Okay, so I slipped a little bit . . .

On this fourth week anniversary of my last post I apologize for falling so terribly far off the blogging wagon. So, what got me off track since July 17?

Getting lost in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Fire and Ice (or, as it is more popularly known, Game of Thrones)

Camp week in which I tagged up with some friendly moms to watch the others' boys one day each for one week.

A job interview.

A rejection from the job interview (circumstances so murky I feel like that scribble George Schultz used to draw in a thought bubble over Charlie Brown was floating over me).

A week in Maine with friends and family that was far more relaxing than I thought any vacation with kids south of age 6 could possibly ever be.

A dreadful three-day-long training on student assistance - a worthwhile program but grueling.

I don't know where to begin but to say I'll post tomorrow. Promise.