Square One

I have a need.

A need that I really need in the neediest way of needing.
We're talking the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs here.
A need that very few in my life understand.

Exhibit A:
Last night, as we lay in bed before we fell asleep, Scott and I started talking. He told me about how he was going to do better at studying his scriptures this week (we are both really bad at this lately). I said I would join him and asked if he wanted me to make a scripture reading chart so we can keep track of how well we do.

Scott, incredulous: "Would you actually use that?"
Me, in all seriousness: "Yes, and there can be a reward if we read so many days in a row."
Scott: "What kind of a reward?"
Me: "A new Molly doll."

He kind of, but not really, laughed in my face.

Fact: I am nearly 26 years old.
Fact: I want a new American Girl Molly doll.
Fact: I am not ashamed.
Fact: Molly is being retired (aka KILLED) but nobody knows exactly when.
Therefore: I need to get a new Molly doll ASAP.

What followed that conversation was a conversation about how:
- you already have a Molly doll
- yes but for our daughters sake I need a new one for her to play with when she gets older
-so?
-you just don't understand-you need to talk to my mother about how this is a necessity
-do I really need to have that conversation with your mother?
-yes right now (looks around for the phone and sees that it is 10:17pm and that conversation will have to wait for tomorrow).

And what follows this conversation is a realization that I have two Bachelor's degrees and no way to make some extra money right now. Yes, I could get a job, but that is not in our "family plan" at the moment (unfortunately, the career path I have chosen is not exactly made of money--at least not until our children do famous things and make lots of $$ and decide that they are so grateful to us that they want to share half their fortune with us). I briefly suggested starting a photography business, and Scott and I both laughed about that (see last week's post). Then I considered the other options: Pampered Chef, Mary Kay (my worst nightmare), Avon, Scentsy.

"I could do Scentsy. But I'd have to have $99 to start the business, and that puts me back at square one," I say aloud to a very tired and slightly amused Scott.

So I revert back to the EFY trick of figuring out how you really aren't getting paid crap for the job you do (considering all the hours you work in a week as an EFY counselor, plus the little costs of nametags and treats for your peeps each week, it amounted to getting paid about $2 an hour).

Note: I don't actually have any problems with not bringing in any money. In every case but this one, Scott and I are very united on the "finance" front. I do not want to be a working-outside-the-home mother right now. I just really want a Molly doll, and I don't feel like it is fair exactly to buy it for myself with family money. If I could earn the money on my own, that would be different.

Me: "What if I hired out as somebody else's stay at home mom for $2 an hour? At 12 hours a day, I could make enough in two weeks to earn a Molly doll."

My husband, the accountant: "Actually, you'd earn enough in one week."

Me, feeling silly that I can't do math: "Yes, but if I worked for two weeks, then I could buy the Best Friends collection and get Molly AND her best friend Emily and then Kevin and I would both have a doll to play with when she gets old enough."

Note: I am such a considerate mother.

I don't remember how our conversation ended, other than one or the other of us finally just fell asleep, and it was probably me, because I tend to fall asleep in the middle of conversations at night, especially when they are not going anywhere.

But I woke up this morning feeling very silly that none of my talents can really earn me any extra money quick.

So I have a few ideas:

A. My mom needs to call Scott and explain to him how his life will be enriched if he buys me a new Molly doll.

B. I can take our two or three spare change jars to the coinstar at Winco and invest the amount and hope it gives me a high turnaround very quickly.

C. One of my readers could "sponsor" a trip for a Molly doll to make the journey from the factory in Wisconsin to my apartment in Midvale. Any rich relatives out there? Bueller? Bueller?

D. It is my birthday soon...

I hope you are all just as amused as my husband is about this little "quirk" of mine.

Seriously, though, I need a new Molly doll.

she makes me happy.

 Any suggestions on how to accomplish this would be welcome.