How NOT To Save Money (But It Sure Was Fun!)

I have been meaning to write this post for almost a YEAR now, but hey, better late than never, right? :)

We met up with a friend for lunch at Oggi's last year shortly before we got married, and as a gift, he said the meal would be on him. Well, none of us could find anything on the actual menu that sounded good, but we agreed that all of the appetizers sounded amazing.

So our friend said, "Let's just order all of them".

Lots of people might say something like that, but Kaz is the kind of crazy, wacky, friend that will actually follow through with statements like those. And so we ordered appetizers for lunch. LOTS of them (not ALL of them, because there were some seafood ones that we didn't like, but with the exception of about five, we got them all).

The waitress really thought we were joking when we placed our order (she also came back later to take our picture). We were the envy of all the other tables around us (the ones that people could sit at, at least! The food wouldn't all fit on our table at once, so we ended up taking over a nearby table, also).

In short, it was AWESOME! There was such a sense of reckless abandon and freedom at our table, and in the end, I think that's what Kaz's gift to us was (I doubt that was his intent, because while Kaz's whimsicality is always fun and entertaining, he's not so much for being serious or deep). The food was great (and he had leftovers to last him and his roommate for days upon days!) but more than that, it was the gift of being told that it was okay to really just let go, enjoy ourselves, and have fun without worrying so much.

It really made me realize that, after all the financial issues we'd been having over the past few years, going out to eat for me had become all about the food itself and the cost-benefit analysis of each bite. I still liked not having to prepare the food, and I always like going on dates with J, but the meal part caused me so much stress simply because it involved money. I don't think I used to be like that, and I don't want to be like that anymore either, but it is a hard habit to break.

Our lunch that afternoon ended up having very little to do with the food (and since Kaz was the ring-leader of the ordering, I didn't feel too guilty about the cost) and so much to do with enjoying ourselves and the afternoon. My dad has perfected that skill to an art form - he sees nothing wrong with ordering two entrees for himself, or two desserts (or both for that matter!) and anyone who's ever gone to dinner with him knows what a wonderfully fun evening that attitude leads to. (For the record, he always takes home leftovers. I don't want the world thinking my dad is hugely obese or something!)

So, while I certainly can't afford to have such extravagant lunches on a regular basis, I think it is important to have those days sometimes where you say, "Heck with it all, let's do something for ourselves!" because life should be about balance. And I'm still not very good at striking that balance, but I am sincerely trying, because what good is a life spent living in fear and worry?

So thank you, Kaz, for showing me that sometimes a lot of money spent on something frivolous is a good way to remind ourselves of what we want from life!

This is Kaz, showing his approval of our spread (notice I can't fit it all into the frame at once!)

** There are more photos of the event, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get text and photos formatted (together) into this darned program. So if you really want more pictures, let me know and I'll put together a gallery or something (because I aim to please!) **