When @smallsteps saw what my wife was wearing, she went and picked her own outfit. Of late, she has been quite particular about what she wears and makes sure everything matches in color or compliments the colors, it starts young. The other day when we were driving to daycare I was telling her how mixing paint colors will create a new color - blue and yellow make green, red and yellow make orange etc - and she now randomly asks what colors make what and tries to "trick me" with difficult colors.
Luckily, she doesn't know if what I say is correct or not.
So anyway, my wife and daughter dressed as zebras for a day out in the town for "shopping" (we bought a toilet) and lunch in the city, as the weather was so fantastic and we hadn't been out on a terrace yet. Short summers and long winters don't give a lot of opportunities to spend time together like this - so we take them when we can - as my wife likes to point out.
It was pretty disappointing.
The time together was great, but the actual experience that we paid far too much for, was highly underwhelming. Maybe I am just getting old or perhaps it is because the drinking ended after only one cider, but the experience of eating at this place was just kind of boring. And I don't think it was just me, as when I observed the other tables, no one really seemed to be enjoying themselves.
After my brother spent most of yesterday telling me he was going to get fishn'chips, I grabbed a serving and my wife with dietary restrictions, a Caesar salad. It wasn't busy and these took 45 minutes to arrive, and in the heat, this means that we should have ordered another drink, which we didn't - part of the plan? Anyway - I consider 53€ for the lunch ridiculous. Especially with the blah atmosphere. This was a nice enough place and people talk about it as if it is worth going to.
We had more fun together eating ice cream together.
While we don't do this often, we consider it something "special" even though there are plenty of people who do this all summer. I said to my wife how funny it is that while we umm and aah over which tap for the bathroom based on the price, which is something that we will have for the next couple decades, it is pretty much the same cost as 5 lunches.
Cost and value are two quite different things.
It seems strange that the value of something that is going to be used by us all daily for decades seems expensive, while the cost of a mediocre (the fries were soggy and the batter overcooked) meal is just accepted. It is definitely a case of focusing on the moment rather than the future and disconnecting whether our current behavior is leading to where we want to be.
My wife said the "have to enjoy life sometimes" line and I asked, what she thought our renovation would be like if we could get back just half of what we have spent on eating out for the last decade? Small amounts and costs on consumables potentially add up costing the value of very large investments. While likely for many of us, it always feels we don't have the money to spend or invest on these larger things, we are simultaneously bleeding value from a thousand throwaway paper cuts.
Yet, we feel like we are somehow missing out on living life if we do not do things like go out for lunch on a terrace, like we are wasting the summer. And in the winter, it will be something else, as well as the spring and the autumn.
The more I think about these things, the more I feel the programming of life that directs me toward a consumptive action and these days, the frequency has gone up, more paper cuts, more often to the point we no longer even feel the slice. Perhaps it is because of our inability to afford the larger items that we feel that we need to treat ourselves more often and so often, it is less a treat and more of the default.
The "I'm on a diet" statement that indicates someone is eating healthier when in actual fact it should be "I'm off my diet" - as the average food eaten is the diet. These small mental gymnastics we do to reframe our actions, have an affect on our behavior and therefore the outcomes of our lives.
I have often enough thought about these things before, but actually changing my own behavior to improve my own outcomes is difficult - it always seems an uphill struggle when I see a dress I would like my wife to wear, or a chocolate bar at the checkout I would like to eat. It constantly feels like I have to resist the temptation, which is a crazy wiring system as it should be that we are hardwired for the best chance of our survival, to make life better for ourselves.
i think that party of this is that our physiological wiring hasn't evolved at the same rate as our psychological creations and innovations. We might literally be, too smart for our own good, as we engineer the environment in ways that impact negatively on our lives, from the economic incentives that encourage the destruction of our natural environment, to the social practices that encourage profit at any cost and debt as a default. These things are obviously intimately linked also.
Will our wiring ever catch up before we create our own destruction?
Speaking of rewiring, if you were paying attention to the last three images, you just witnessed a miracle. @smallsteps dropped the last bit of her quickly melting ice cream thing, and didn't cry. I have always been amazed at how she deals with these kinds of events as well as when she falls over. Yesterday she scraped her ankle quite hard on a concrete step and while in obvious pain, bit her lip and said, "that is going to leave a big mark" - which it did.
While the day was actually really good in many ways including the fun we have just jumping around the streets and after getting home, taking my daughter for a ride on her bike and to the park - the "experience" we actually paid for was lame AF.
The night doesn't look like a lot of fun either as my wife is away for a team night with colleagues and @smallsteps got a fever this evening and is likely going to require some care throughout the night again. I think this is part of the reason that the scrapes and bruises don't phase her too much - she has faced plenty worse and has learned to handle it all with a stiff upper lip.
Tomorrow is another warm day - I hope we can "waste it" at home.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Oh goodness how freaking cute are they in their matching outfits!
Ahh you have one of those XD my daughter learned how to dress herself at 2 shortly after I refused to do a third outfit change for the day and told her if she wanted to change she had to do it herself.
Of course the downside to this was getting her to put the discarded outfit away, and despite my best efforts that particular problem persists to this day (11 years later).
I'm glad small didn't cry when dropping ice cream or scraping her knee but not sure why this was a cause for surprise, is this the first time she hasn't cried when this has happened or have I just got weird children?
Yeh the eating out thing, we pretty much just get takeaway or go to Sizzler (because we love the salad and dessert bar and that's pretty much all we get). We're not really the type that enjoys that kind of experience though.
Poor small, hope the fever wasn't too bad, is she okay now?
Yes - we did the same and now we have a mountain of barely used clothes every day :D
No, it isn't a surprise, but I see kids out in the streets crying over the smallest little issues - and she just doesn't seem to cry. She does get upset at times though.
The parmesan bread! :D It has been far too long.
She has woken up okay today and far happier than her parents.
Do you have Sizzler in Finland? Might be time to go ;D
Glad she's okay today, hope you catch up to her in the happiness department XD
Eats ice cream the same as you used to...Drops the last bit. Lol.
The last bit is always the best bit
Yes, although as she gets older she'll probably do it on purpose, put on a pout and get a second one out of you. Sucker.
Those two look like a couple of humbug lollies in their black and white.
Another thing I haven't had in a long time!
Luckily for now, she knows she can only have special ice creams - so she better take care of them
She's a cutie. Nice photos. Needs to hang with uncle though, learn some bad habits that mum and dad need to deal with later...While uncle get's away with it.
What else are the uncles for? Huh?
Getting hugs, handing out money and having more fun than parents because we don't need to deal with all the tantrums.
My wife loved this post, we both laughed so hard at the zebra toilet shopping, we peed our pants... Almost.
Great stuff right here Taraz.!!
:) Glad you enjoyed it!
While growing up my family, we have 4 children, we didn’t go out to eat very often, couldn’t afford it frankly.
But when we did, it was a big to do for the kids, they learned early that good things come to those that wait, they all know now that those were special times together and appreciate why mom cooked for them everyday.
Yep, that is what it was like for me as a kid (5 in our family) and we lived out in the country, so there was no real fast food or restaurants. There was 6 100+ year old pubs in the main street though.
Living in the country was better in many ways.
Wow, you have got a beautiful daughter.
She's going older, she is getting to handle situations better.
I hope she wakes up feeling better tomorrow.
She has weirdly always been this way, she even thanks nurses after they take blood or poke and prod her :D
Me too
She is a strong girl, I must confess.
Anything concerning needles, I run 😂😂😂😂. I hate seeing anything blood, not to talk of mine 😂.
She takes after uncle G-dog.
Sorry this is bothering me and I need to share for a peace of mind. I disagree with sharing childrens' photos along with any information about them. Is she aware that this is being shared with strangers?
I'm guessing you're aware of privacy issues (& facial recognition software) since you're wearing glasses in your user photo. Kids info isn't so problematic if the photos are more obscure (great that you're using alias). My sister for example would be traumatized if she now found out a whole bunch of her childhood pics with information online. Every kid is different, but it's something to consider.
Out of curiosity, do you use any messaging applications to send images? Do you also walk down the street past those thousands of unmanned cameras that view every movement we make and appear in every store?
The thing with it is that we are recorded and analyzed already, we just think that because we are protected on the surface "no one knows". The way data used is absolutely scary, but the scariest thing is that the "privacy" we think we have is actually an illusion - yet we treat it as the reality.
Haha, I send couple of selfies a year, just a couple of video calls, and there are still very few cameras here (we have the granny cameras like from memes xD).
And I agree, we are already being analyzed too much, but a lot of the stuff isn't available to acquaintances. The big problem is also you can reverse image search people too easy now, and find out too much information.
That information can be found out easily enough anyway. it isn't very hard for someone with a little bit of gumption.
To clarify the traumatized part- some kids are bullies unfortunately, it can just takes 1 to cause issues for a long time after.
Sorry about your daughters fever. Hope she manages to get some sleep early and recovers in the morning.
As for this, your wife is right and you definitely need to chill...😂. I think the cost of certain kinds of 'luxuries' should never be counted, especially when they are with/for family. Certain things are just too important to miss out on
It is why I said half ;D
Over the space of a decade, that would make our current renovation likely close to zero cost or, we could have invested it in something that generates value over that 10 years and we might be up much higher. Who knows! :D
The dining out thing I can see as a bit of a disappointment especially if it has been awhile, and the food and service sucked. The food might have been sort-of okay if you had gone out there more often you might have been able to write it off as the cook had a bad day. It shouldn't happen but it does, people sometimes have a hard time separating work from life, and are not professional enough to not carry issues back and forth.
Also, after a couple of nice social BBQ's you had, that could have been part of it also. Good food at home or neighbors and good conversation, you just don't get that with restaurant staff to often.
Looks like she was fast enough not to let it fall on her nice dress, quick reflexes on her part. Some times just an ice cream or a bag of popcorn is enough to really top a day off.
This is Finland.. service??
This is true, but we did have lunch the other day somewhere (a "regular" place, much more reasonably priced and way better food) and the service was friendly and chatty - much nicer atmosphere.
She didn't move her shoes in time though :D
Simple is normally better.
By the way, restaurants in Helsinki are clearly better value for money than in any other locality in the country. High population density does it. Much stiffer competition than elsewhere.
Actually, I was talking about this with @momone as I mentioned the wuality of food in Australia and she said "maybe you are just remembering it as golden" and I said no, competition makes sure that quality and value are expected - if a restaurant (or a tradesperson) don't deliver, they die very fast. There are exceptions of course.
Cute kid indeed. Future fashionista for sure.
It scares me :D
It will get costly, you better expect for a nice bull run dude lol
Or practice my sewing - I can design dresses easy ;D
lol Just have to take into account alternative and opportunity costs :)
A day out shopping to buy a toilet :D
Lovely photos mate, wishing for more sunshine days for you (you'll need a sink too?)
Yep - we live on the wild side of the road.
We were meant to get a sink too, but ran out of time :D
Too busy choosing the perfect throne?
I do see some ice-creams being had, hoping this is why :)
My wife's work drinking session....
The throne is pretty cool though - not one pf those fancy electric ones though :D
Ahh, well that's a bit more fun, for her :)
Hopefully the little one will rest ok, or good enough for you to also.
I've never sat on of those fancy electric ones - anyone know if they actually work?!
I was too scared to try in Tokyo :)
The last photo is great!
Tell me about it.
I totally see where you're coming from.
It is a weird conundrum as even though I know I should know better, I fail often.
I like that photo too - she is growing up rapidly at the moment....
I think people create the quality of the moments, not the place. So I think that as we get older we start to see that we can create them with fewer costs ourselves rather than pay for someone in hopes it will be good. Family is all about quality time 😊