Stimulate this!

Matt told me yesterday that he's started to deliver some of those federal rebate checks, and according to the schedule we won't get ours until the end of June. Thanks Georgie! Or, should I say China?

Anyway, we had planned on putting it in our savings account, as a big screw you to the federal government. We still will do that, but realize now that it's already been spent...on our car.

The dreaded check engine light went on. The power steering went out. The rack and pinion broke and broke something in the steering column and all the steering fluid drained out. The tire alignment was messed up probably due to all those wonderful potholes that the car had been hitting and led to this problem.

The bill was $998.

We got it fixed.

Then the check engine light came on again. The car died at the stoplight. I told Matt on the phone, "Don't pay them a GODDAMN thing, GODDAMMIT!" The Tires Plus guys were nice about it and hooked it up to the computer but didn't know what the problem was so we had to bring it in to the Volkswagen dealer.

The speed sensor was broken. Speed sensor? What the heck is that? The mechanic told me, "Uh Yah, when the sensor malfunctions and the computer isn't reading it, it shuts the engine off."

IT SHUTS THE ENGINE OFF WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING! Isn't that wonderful?

"So is it fixed now?"
"Umm, Yah."
"Because, you know, I don't really want to lose power when I'm driving...AND DIE."
The guy chuckles, "Oh yah, of course not."
He goes on. "We noticed the catalytic converter was all worn out too, so we changed that. It's still under warranty, so that's free."
"Anything else?"
"Everything else looked fine."

The bill was $456.62.

We decided to celebrate by going to SuperTarget to buy groceries.

Because I can't go to Target without buying things I don't need, Matt finds me in the pet aisle, looking at treats and toys for my two cats, Junebug and Bee. I buy them this thing called cat grass. You plant the seeds in dirt and water it, and in a week grass grows and they eat it. I've bought it before and they loved it. I'm also holding an emergency first aid kit that I found in the car aisle. Because I'm slightly Obsessive Compulsive with a Morbid Imagination, I have the habit of thinking about a million scenarios in which I may need this kit and really, everyone should have one in their car. YOU NEVER KNOW.

Matt says, "What the hell is that?"
"Emergency first aid kit for the car."
"We don't need that crap."

He has the gall to say this as he is holding five boxes of Totino's frozen pizza, two brownie mixes, and a box of Vandekamps frozen fish sticks. Because THAT is necessary for survival.

I stare and give him my best "are you shittin' me?" look.

He giggles and dumps his stuff in the cart.

Here's how other people are spending their rebates.