Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Pasta Salad and a Shopping Trip

It's hot. If you are like me then you're looking for some quick and satisfying summer meals. I have a recipe to share with you today for one such meal.



Pasta Salad

2- 16 oz. boxes of Tri-colored rotini
broccoli florets
2 cans black olives, sliced
8 0z. pepperoni, pieces halved
16 oz. bottle Wish Bone Robusto Italian salad dressing
1/2 jar of Salad Supreme seasoning

Cook pasta as directed on package. Rinse under cold water & drain well. Toss all together. Chill and enjoy. This salad is delicious if you add cucumber, tomatoes, cheese, etc. Fix it to your liking. A WORD OF CAUTION: The reason I omitted all of these extras is that the ingredients that I listed keep well for several days. The extras do not. They become slimy, therefore I prefer to add them individually at the time of serving.

Have I mentioned that we live in a very rural area? Tonight we are travelling three hours away and spending the night in a hotel. Verne covers alot of area for his job, and we are going to tag along for a day. Well, sort of. He'll work tomorrow, with one of his associates, and we will shop. OOHHH. You might be thinking. This will be a different kind of shopping.

Mac started playing guitar four years ago. He bought his own guitar back then. It's a Washburn and was $200. It's been a good guitar for him. He's been working since January, and has done nothing but saved. He has been wanting a Gibson Les Paul for forever. This is the Cadillac of guitars. He finally has enough money. Gibson Les Paul's are not only expensive, but are hard to locate when you live in a rural area. So, we will travel to buy a guitar. Maybe.

You see, all this working and saving has Mac realizing that money doesn't grow on trees. I'm so glad that we didn't pitch in for this, but that he has earned the money himself. Over the last few weeks, he has been on cloud nine. The excitement has been building. Until yesterday. All of a sudden, he's not sure that he wants to part with that much money. This morning, he was ready to go again. No doubts.

Then I took him to the bank before I took him to work. He withdrew $2200 from his savings account, and transferred it to my checking account. (I told him that it was not wise to travel with that much cash, no matter how cool he thought it would be to hand over all of those hundred dollar bills!) He looked positively GREEN! Poor guy. Then he got quiet. The rest of the way to work he was asking himself, "Do I really NEED this guitar? It won't make me play any better. Why am I buying this?"

I'm proud of him. I'm glad that he isn't spending impetuously. I'm glad that he is tormented at the thought of making a mistake. I'm proud of the fact that he has set away money to tithe before making his big purchase. Without us nagging.

Although I haven't told him so, I hope that he does buy it. Why? Because he has longed for this, worked for it, and saved for it. Because guitar playing is a passion of his. Because he may never be able to afford his dream guitar again. He'll have this guitar forever. It won't depreciate like a car. Because God wants for us to be happy, and I don't believe that it is wrong.

I'm taking my camera. I'm looking forward to snapping some pictures while at the store. If he decides not to buy a guitar when we get there, that's okay too. It's his money and his decision to make, and we don't want to encourage or discourage him. He's growing up. Stay tuned...

16 comments:

Autumn said...

Man, that pasta salad is so awesome. I could eat it every day!
And I am looking forward to going guitar shopping. MAc will end up buying it, he is just nervous. That is a lot of money! And I felt sick after spending "only" $50 on jeans.

Sheri said...

Tracy, what a great story about your son Mac and his guitar. As a young mother I learned a lot by your statements, prayers, and excitement for your son. It sounds like he is a very wise young man!

I'm excited to see the pics and I hope you have a wonderful family trip too.

Mrs. Anna T said...

You know, Tracy, Mac sounds so much more responsible than the average 16-year-old!..

Rachel said...

Yum!!! I'll have to try that recipe. So far, every recipe I have tried from your posts have been winners here.
On a side note, I am not trying to sway Mac one way or the other (thus my post to you and not him), but I definitely think a better guitar will make him a better player if he continues to practice. It will be easier to play - he will relax more - it will have a much better tone quality - he will become more sensitive to quality and over time more skilled at producing it, etc. I will pray that he makes a decision with which he will be happy!

Anonymous said...

That pasta salad recipe looks so yummy. Have to add that to my 'must make' list. Perfect for hot days.

The princess has a Takamine 6 string and 12 string. Beautiful sound but she has her eye on one that's quite a bit more expensive.

Mac is a wise young man - you must be so proud of his willingness to save and wait.

Cherish the Home said...

Wow, that pasta salad sounds YUMMY!!

Jodi said...

Tracy, we love pasta salad, but I've always gone a different direction with the ingredients. These are all stir-ins that the family loves [except I'll have to pick out the olives on my serving ;o)]!

When my husband traveled all the time, we used to get to go along sometimes. :o)

I hope your son buys his guitar, too. You are right, a Gibson will only increase in value. I liked your philosophy on children & money. Our children buy many of their own *extras*; they understand the value of a dollar - something so few young people grasp today! Lots of *good stuff* in this post! :o)

Unknown said...

That is so exciting. Not the pasta salad, although I love pasta salad and believe it or not mine looks and acts exactly like yours.

The exciting thing is Mac ... growing up ... learning a BIG lesson that many adults have yet to learn. Good for him. Good for you. A little second guessing on a major purchase is always a good thing.

Have fun shopping :)

Susan said...

This is wonderful and exciting. I'll be anxious to hear what he does. I'm sure if he buys it you'll post a picture of him and the guitar :o)
Susan

Karen said...

I just left a comment on Ruth's site about pasta salads, and this one looks delicious also. I am a big fan of any kind of pasta. LOL!
Thanks for the recipe!
How wonderful that Mac was able to save that much money. I know he'll make a good decision when the time comes. He sounds like he's got a sensible head on his shoulders.
How fun that you can go along on the trip! We do that too. I just went with Gordon up to Boone on Monday. It was so nice to break the routine a bit.

Momma Roar said...

Your such a great mom - those signs of responsibility and integrity in your young man already!

The pasta salad looks yummy!

Samantha said...

Your son sounds really grown-up, and good with his money. Impulse buying can be dangerous, so it's always good to take some time to think big purchases through. I've made waay too many mistakes with this in the past!

I've been looking for a good pasta salad recipe. I usually bring pasta salad when I go to barbeques and such, and I sometimes get burnt out on the same ol' style. I'll have to try this recipe out for our bible study get-together tomorrow night. Thanks for sharing!

Kelli said...

Mmmm..I love pasta salad and this looks delicious!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Kelli

Trella said...

The pasta salad sounds awesome.

Sounds like you have a wonderful son. I hope he does get the guitar.

Hugs,
Trella

Ruth said...

I really, really like your thoughts on your son buying his guitar. You have great insight!!

Lori said...

Mmnn! Your pasta salad looks delicious. I love salads.