Civil Disobedience at it's finest, OR Two things of which I'm very protective - my kid and my money

Stencil & Notecards

So Jack and I took a walk down to Barracks (shopping center just down the road from our house) this morning and went to Michael's (arts and crafts store). I had a coupon and wanted to get a dragonfly stencil for some throw pillows I've been wanting to make. Why dragonflies, you ask? I have no idea! I just think they're one of those el coolio bugs. Seriously, I have no idea . . Anyway, I picked up a few other little things, including some notecards that were supposed to be 50% off. Well, when the cash register popped out with a grand total of $3.71, I knew that something was amiss! The cards had not rung up on the sale price, and I was being asked to pay 50 cents more than I should. AHHH! Normally, me being the frugal, obsessive-compulsive person that I am, I would have asked the cashier to re-ring it up and give me the correct price. However, I just didn't feel like I could do it, since there were 2-3 people behind me in line, and the cashier had already done the following, which made me feel bad and slow already: My coupon that I had used on the stencil was one that I printed off online on my home printer, so it was on a full sheet of paper. The cashier felt the need to very primly and neatly (she clearly passed Kindergarten and Cutting 101, even if she never made it to the course on Efficiency and Customer Service) cut out the coupon. That's right -- as we all stood there in line she whipped out the scissors and cut out the coupon, slowly and perfectly. Did she need to do this to scan it? Nope. Yikes. Anyway, long story short, I walked out knowing I'd paid 50 cents more than I had to. No big deal, right? In truth, it shouldn't be. Yet since we try to be so frugal, it really did irk me. Plus the fact that I wouldn't have bought the notecards had I thought I was going to pay a whole dollar for them! Such a ridiculous price, right?!! Well, as I was leaving the store, I found my vengeance. A little piece of plastic from the stencil I bought had fallen into the tray on the stroller. Instead of waiting for a garbage can, I picked it up and rather ceremoniously dropped it on the floor. Please don't hate me because I'm such a rebel. [Odds are that little piece will end up being something I needed for the stencil . . ]

The other thing I wanted to mention is how I hate walking by people who are smoking. This happens a lot down at Barracks, as employees are on their breaks and sit outside the stores smoking. I have no patience for this, especially since Jack in his stroller is at just the right height to breath in the second-hand smoke. So, to combat this, and to give these people a piece of my mind, right before I walk by someone who's smoking I close all of the cover/sun shade things on Jack's stroller. Then, soon after we pass the offending tar-laden air, I open them again. Does this really do anything to protect him? Maybe a little, but I can't be sure. Does it make me feel like a good mommy? You bet. Either that or a mommy who thinks smoking is disgusting, who probably offends smokers who are really desperately trying to quit but have been hooked on smoking since they were teens, thanks to, and causing, all kinds of social woes. Well, either way, I think it's a practice I'm bound to keep up. I try not to do it with too much pride or anger in my heart, but there's a part of me that feels good when I do it, like I'm standing up for something I believe in. Again, somewhat ridiculous, but what can I say?

Well, I had to share these things because I found myself laughing . . at myself, and I thought you all might find my antics similarly amusing :).