rationalizing

After a couple days of really freezing runs/walks, Zac and I have come to a point where we are trying to rationalize buying a treadmill (not necessarily this one). We did sort of have a treadmill. Our neighbor set it out on the curb with a free sign a year or so ago - it looked so old and decrepit I knocked on the door to double-check that it actually worked. She said yes. They brought it over to our house in a wagon. And it has mostly worked. We had to jimmy-rig the lever that controlled the speed (with industrial clamps to keep it in place). It started smoking and slipping when Zac ran on it, but mostly did ok with me walking. Until last week when it started smoking and stinking after about 10 min. And I think it has died. Sad.

So, here are our arguments.

1. I could exercise early mornings or late at night without worrying about going out alone in the dark.

2. I could watch TV, talk to Zac, help with homework, have "quality-time" chats, read and exercise all at once (well, 2 of those things at once - not all of them).

3. Summer and Winter. Enough said.

4. If we got a higher quality, heavy duty one, then Zac can also use it for his race training.

5. Calculating speed, calories burned, heartrate and that kind of stuff would be easier. And kind of nifty to have at your fingertips.

6. Some of them have a built-in fan. Awesome. (not to mention the ones with ipod speakers)

7. The price divided over the lifetime of the treadmill would be cheaper than a gym membership.

8. The benefits of a healthier, slimmer me (which would be inevitable with the convenience of a treadmill - hahaha) is Priceless, wouldn't you agree??

You see, we are really good at rationalizing.

I also have this problem a lot during the holidays. I don't necessarily get greedy. I just start dreaming a lot. Making mental Wish Lists that go from a little wild to simple and mundane (I always have - as a teenager my Christmas lists included things ranging from a dolphin aquarium (hehe), to rubber cement). And I don't think it's bad to dream . . . and plan . . . and wish . . . and want - to a certain extent. But I admit I have some guilt issues with wanting things. I want to want less.

Anyhow - back to the treadmill. Anybody have opinions they'd like to share? Good brands to recommend? Any helpful thoughts to convince or dissuade us one way or another? Any big purchases that really stretch your budget but you rationalize anyway??

I don't know if we will end up getting one or not. It's just been a topic of discussion today (Zac ran for 3 hrs and came home a human popsicle - and I went out walking without my thermals which were in the washing machine, and it was COLD) so I just thought I'd blog about it (4 more days of NaBloPoMo - phew!). ;)

(PS - we know we could find a relatively cheap one used from Craigslist or something - but we really would need a good one to withstand Zac's heavy mileage . . . so that makes it trickier. Anyway - just a thought).

PPS - we did not do Black Friday shopping (except Zac ran over to Walmart at about 7 to grab some breakfast treats (as a reward for the kids) and look to see what deals were left). Did you??