Expensive Tastes

I'm a snob. I concede. I always have been. Let me explain:

My parents have always wanted the best for me, but in my younger days I really took that to heart. When we would go out to restaurants I instinctively would pick out the most expensive dish... not because it was the most expensive, mind you, but because I invariably thought it looked the best (and you would have to wonder why it was the most expensive if it wasn't the best, right?). To further illustrate my point, one of my Dad's favorite things to remind me and others of is how, from the age of about 3, when asked if I would like some water I would reply "Only if it's Perrier", or when asked if I wanted some grapes, "Only if they're seedless". Yup, I'm a snob alright. Even now, I can't abide by cheap knock-offs, and, even when shopping for shoes or clothes for my children, I seem to be irresistibly drawn to the most expensive items I can see.

I'm not sure if this is something that comes as a result of me being a snob or if it is something innate that contributes to me being a snob, but I also have a tendency to be incredibly dismissive to people I don't know. I don't mean to, it just happens. People usually think I don't like them, when really I am just socially inadequate.

But I digress. It seems I have passed expensive tastes on to my daughter. Today, while I was tending to Oliver, I noticed that it was unusually quiet on the Lena front. We found Lena rifling through my handbag, and chewing on something that was deep in her mouth. Chewing, I might add, with a very guilty look on her face, which is never a good sign. I was about to reprimand her for getting into my gum again, when I realized I hadn't put any in there. I was trying to figure out what other food she could have possibly found, and how long it had been in there, and if it was now stuck on other things like my sunglasses, when Lena opened her mouth to talk and out popped a little bit of green. Literally. The little punk was chewing on my cash!! She evidently had decided to bypass the seedless grapes and caviar and just eat the money straight - far more efficient.

Luckily we got to it (and took pictures) before she swallowed it. Just as well really - I know we are starving students and everything, but I didn't really want to have to resort to checking my kids diapers for our grocery money!