The Right to Spend

I started my day yesterday with a "challenging" question:

To buy or not to buy a Costco membership card.

The answer was yes, to buy a Costco membership. I'm feeling very privileged to be able to buy a year's supply of paper towels and shampoo in one transaction. I'm having some trouble with my decision now though. I really don't like shopping. No wait... let me rephrase that. I really don't like to spend money (but I love window-shopping). Yes, gentlemen. You read correctly. There are some women out there who do not like to shop and spend money. We are a rare breed. 

I don't mind spending money on good food (especially when people come over) but I have trouble spending money on everything else. When I was younger and was in my I-must-stock-up-and-store-everything-under-my-bed phase, (If you read my blog, you know what I'm talking about; if you don't read my blog, you should go read Under The Bed posted in October. You should also read everything else and follow my blog regularly and sign up to receive e-mail updates.) SO when I was in that phase, I would hardly buy clothes for myself. I would spend my money on kitchen utensils. I remember a few years ago, I was getting ready for a job interview and my sisters weren't home to give me their Yay or Nay on my outfits so the lucky fashion guru of the day was my father. As I wore somewhat outdated outfit after outfit, my father just said "Tania. If you spent more money on clothes instead of spatulas and casseroles to put under your bed, you wouldn't have this problem now!" I would like to note that my wardrobe has improved since then.

Sometimes, when I spend money (or when I am about to spend money), I can't help but think of the number of hours I have to work to earn x or y amount or wonder how many wedding favors or flowers I could afford with that amount of cash. You may be thinking "Oh. How financially responsible and logical". NO! I am telling you, sometimes this "logic" is the curse of me.

When I see something I like, I am anything but logical. It can take me a very long time to decide if I want to buy it or not. Sometimes I'll go home, think about it, look at a picture online, then "thinking" turns to "obsessing", etc. Other times, I buy whatever it is I want and bring it home only to be convinced that I do not need it so I return it back to the store. I also sometimes call one of my sisters or Mr. A and ask "A or B" when I have secretly assigned A to Yes and B to No (or vice versa). Finally, other times I go through waves of being able to shop like a normal person though.

I am not exactly proud of myself for being this indecisive on little purchases but then again, Mr. A and I are a young couple getting ready to pay for a wedding. I think my non-spending habits are  a definite advantage for us (although it drives me crazy sometimes).

So now, here I am, a day after buying the membership and telling myself how ironic it is that I just spent money to have the right to spend more money.

It's ok though... I'll get my money's worth. If anything, I'll just eat all the free samples at Costco to break even!  And I'll make room at home to store industrial sized packages of everything.

Do I make myself look really bad with this blog? You all must think I'm crazy! I'm not crazy. I just have a sense of humor and am not scared to laugh at myself. I embrace all my weirdness, all my flaws and all my strange habits (and you should embrace all of yours as well). Plus, I'm really not as indecisive or obsessive as you all may think/as I may be portraying myself to be.

I remember going to Costco often as a kid. It felt like an excursion (the type of excursion that you hoped would get cancelled). Walking around a giant warehouse and waiting in line for what felt like hours is not always fun for a child. It would all be worth it though in the end because we would be treated to a hot dog or pizza at the food court.

 

Here is THE best and the only pizza dough recipe you'll ever need.

Wolfgang Puck's Pizza Dough

Ingredients

- 1 package dry active yeast
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 cup warm water (separated 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup)
- 2 1/2 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
- toppings of your choice

Directions

1. Stir yeast, honey and 1/4 cup of warm water. Stir and let it dissolve for 10 minutes.

2. Add salt, olive oil, 3/4 warm water and 1 cup of flour. Stir it up. It will become a batter. Stir in another cup and a half (so 2 1/2 cups total) of flour and stir.

3. Once it becomes difficult to stir, turn out the dough onto a board adding the remaining 1/2 cup of flour to knead.

4. Put a little bit of olive oil in a bowl, coat the dough ball and cover it with a damp towel. Let it rest in a warm place for 30-45 minutes, until doubled in size. I like to turn my oven on for a few minutes then turn it off and let the dough rest there.

5. Turn out the dough onto a cutting board, flatten it a little bit with your fingertips and divide into 2-4 equal balls. (depending on how many pizzas you want. 4 balls = 4 individual pizzas)

 

6. Place these dough balls on a floured surface, cover with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

 

7. Finally, flatten dough with your fingers until you it is about 1/2 inch thick. Apparently you're not suppose to roll out pizza dough. Transfer dough on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with a little bit of flour or corn meal.

 

8. Preheat oven to 450F.

 

9. Add whatever topping you want and bake at 450F for 5 minutes at the bottom shelf and 10 minutes on the top shelf.

 

 

Crispy & Delicious Pizza Dough