A Decision

I have been wanting an iPhone for a while.  I’m not due for an upgrade on my phone until August (don’t even get me started on how much I hate that the phone company can tell me when I can get a good deal on a phone).  My problem is my recent vow that every single extra penny is going to go toward my current goal of getting to Las Vegas to see (and hopefully meet) Donny and Marie.  I will admit that an iPhone would take a serious chunk of money away from my tin can that is collecting my savings for Vegas.  However, the point of chasing my wild and crazy dreams is not to deprive myself of other things. 

Wow, I just realized how materialistic I just sounded.  Let me explain.  Most of the things I want out of life have more to do with the experiences that come from them.  On the flip side, I am such a gadget geek.  I’m considering it a good sign that I’m not overpowered by the need for an ipad (isn’t that an unfortunate name).  Sometimes my attention span is short, and my current need for an iPhone is distracting me from other new gadgets that might steal my affection. 

All that being said, if push comes to shove, I’ll choose Donny and Marie over the iPhone if I discover that I can’t afford to lose that chunk of money from my “live everyday to it’s fullest” fund.  I mean, where’s the iPhone going to go?  It will be there.  The trip to Vegas to see Donny and Marie is probably a once in a lifetime experience.  It’s one that I’m not willing to give up. Ultimately, things come and go, but memories are worth more than any gadget ever will be.  Hmmmmm, did I just accidentally make a decision about the iPhone.  Interesting.

Heartbreak

I’m sure it’s not too hard to see how excited I am at the possibility of going to see Donny and Marie perform in Las Vegas.  I’m so excited that I’m certain that it’s about to spill out my ears.  However, I know that the show that I’m so excited to see should probably be the last thing that family is thinking about right now.

Marie lost her son just a few weeks ago, and I was amazed at how quickly she was able to return to work.  People started debating immediately if it was too soon for her to return, or why she returned so quickly.  I think the only person who can decide what is right for her, is her.  She did what she needed to do at the time.

I just read that they have decided to cancel the rest of their shows for this week.  Again, she’s doing what she needs to do for her own good and the good of her family.  She is grieving.  Everyone should be able to handle their grief in their own time…..in their own way.  Who is anyone else to judge what is right or wrong. 

I would love nothing more than to see that show come next spring.  However, if the best thing for the family is for the show not to go on, then so be it.  They are entertainers…..people, not machines.  My heart breaks for them.  I can’t begin to imagine how difficult it must be to go through all of this in the spotlight.  My thoughts and prayers are with Marie, her children and the rest of the family.  God Bless.

Piles of Pennies

In my quest to be able to go see (and meet) Donny and Marie in Las Vegas by next spring, I’m putting away every little bit of money I can.  So far, every bit I’ve been able to has been in the form of change……actually, mostly pennies.
I came home from work today and said to myself, “self, where might you find a bit of spare change to put in your tin?”  Well, I was standing in my living room, and the answer was staring me in the face.  I took all the cushions off the couch, and found NOTHING!!!  I think my couch is the only couch in America with no change in the cushions.  I mean, isn’t there some law of nature that says change should be in the couch cushions?  Instead of being discouraged, I moved to the chair near the door.  I mean, people come in the door, they sit in the chair, maybe their pockets spilled.  Nope, our guests apparently have very good pockets.  So, I checked the chair I always sit in, and there was, drum roll please……A QUARTER!!!!  It probably came out of my pocket, but who’s counting.
Oh, that’s right, I’m counting.  I didn’t stop there folks, I checked my coat pockets.  It’s getting into the spring season, so I figured I’d probably stuck change in my pockets through the winter season.  Well, I managed $.26.  When I went upstairs to put it all in my tin, I found that there was a wallet that I wasn’t using anymore that had a pocket full of change.  So, my grand total for today was $.94. 
Then, I hit the jackpot.  My dad donated to my cause and gave me a jar full of pennies (and screws, hooks, and gum wrappers).  It was a heavy jar which made me yell, “yeah, baby, Vegas here I come!”  So, that jar had $14.75 in it.  I’m doing incredibly well in my quest.  At the end of day two of collecting, I’ve got over $20…..barely.  I know, I know, I’m still a long way away from having enough for my trip.  It’s a good thing I’m stubborn. 
Who knows what windfalls tomorrow may bring.  Maybe I’ll hit the lottery…..er, then again, probably not since I didn’t buy a ticket.  I don’t have any rich relatives that have set up trust funds that I’ll have access to on March 17, 2010 (at least I’m nearly 100% certain I don’t).  However, tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day.  Isn’t that supposed to be a lucky day? 
Well, I know I’m a long way from being able to take my trip, but maybe you are headed to Vegas soon.  May I suggest going to the Flamingo hotel and taking in Donny and Marie's show.  It’s fantastic……so what if I haven’t seen it yet……trust my instincts.

A Starting Point

The first time I remember seeing Marie Osmond was in a short lived show called, “Maybe This Time”.  I think I was about twelve at the time, and I was watching this show because it had the girl who played Chrissy on “Growing Pains” and Rose from “The Golden Girls.  There was also this other woman in the show….Marie Osmond, but since I wasn’t around to see the original Donny and Marie variety show, I didn’t really know who she was.  I’d heard of the Osmonds, and Donny and Marie, but hearing the names in passing wasn’t enough to help me make a connection to “Maybe This Time”.  There were only a handful of episodes, but I really liked it…..(if it were on DVD now, I’d so buy it because I admit, I don’t remember much about it except that Marie played “Chrissy’s” mom and Betty White was the grandma).

Anyway, suffice it to say, I thought that Marie Osmond was pretty great….and I still hadn’t really heard her sing anything.  Fast forward a few years to when Donny and Marie had their talk show.  I tuned in because I remembered Marie from the sitcom, and was charmed by the banter that the two of them exchanged.  As a HUGE Disney fan, Donny won major points with me when I found out that he sang “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” for “Mulan”.  The point is, I was hooked on this family, and have been ever since.

As technology boomed, it became easier to find out more about them, and I loved that they were a huge family.  I’m the oldest of three girls in my family, and sometimes, I just wanted an older sibling.  I’ve always been drawn to people I would have imagined my older siblings would be like.  They were child stars who managed to navigate into adulthood without throwing their morals out the window.  I admired that, especially when some of the role models I had to pick from were a little, um, off center, sometimes.

Over the years, even though I became starstruck by other celebrities, I’d always make sure that I’d catch Donny and Marie if they were on television.  In recent years, they’ve been on TV a lot with Dancing with the Stars, and the Osmonds’ 50th Anniversary in show business.  Now they’ve got this show in Las Vegas, and that’s where I want to end up.  Meeting them is one of the biggest dreams I’ve got.  I figure if I’m going to manage to save up to go see them perform, I might as well go big, and save up enough for the VIP ticket that will let me meet them.  Go big or go home, right? 

So, I made this:

For this purpose:

Right now the can contains $5.38 (in pennies).  Considering the ticket that I want is almost $300, I’ve got a little ways to go….and that’s even before you consider that I’m going to have to fly there and stay somewhere once I get there.  However, I won’t have to go alone.  I’ve convinced my mom to go with me.  I hope to be able to make the trip by next spring.  I’m going to be saving as much as I can to make sure I can make this happen.  I don’t care if people think I’m childish or silly.  I think dreams are worth having….and if I’m going to chase mine, I might as well conquer the biggest one first.