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Would you open a department/specialty store credit card just to save money on a purchase? How much would it have to save you - $10, $50, $100, $500+?

I am annoyed by the sales clerks at Target / Macy’s / wherever that continually ask me to open a credit card, and try to entice me by saying, “It will save you $20 off your purchase today!”

Guess what? $20 isn’t enough for me. It’s gotta be at least $100. And even then… I’m not so sure.

My sister worked at Sears for awhile and was required to open a certain amount of new credit cards a month. Any insight into this?

Aside from your family, friends or pets, what would be the most difficult thing for you to give up in your life?

Reading. I love having something to read, something to keep me entertained. When I lived in Italy, I was constantly in search of printed items in English… just because I missed having something fresh to read everyday. I get bored on the train, or airplane, just sitting there, feeling like I have nothing to do.

What is your relationship like with your family? Do you live in the same town? How often do you see them/communicate with them?

Hi, my name is Kim and I am being nosy. But I’m curious, so what the hell.

I’ve always gotten along with my family - except for maybe two years in high school. Of course, those were my depressed/rebellious years, so it’s my own fault. I can’t imagine what it was like to be my parents then.

My family lives in Iowa. I think if I averaged out all the times I see them a year, it would be 6-8 times a year. But I talk to my mom at least a few times a week, and send a few emails back and forth to other people. I miss my sister a lot.

Steven’s family lives in Kansas City and we really only see them 3 or 4 times a year. We talk to them maybe once a month. Good thing my brother-in-law started a blog or I would have no idea what the hell was going on in his life.

So, I am wondering… is it common to be this disconnected from your family? It doesn’t bother me too much, but I am wondering what other people’s routines are.

If you won a flight into outer space (currently valued at $20 million) would you go?

This question came to me as I saw news on a new company planning to offer spaceflights.

I would LOVE to see the earth from space, I would love to travel faster than the speed of sound, and I would love to experience weightlessness… but I think I would be too scared to go into space. I would be afraid that something would go wrong and I wouldn’t make it back home.

If, like the newspaper or milk, you could have anything of your choice delivered to your doorstep each morning, what particular item would you want it to be?

I would like a fashionable new outfit delivered to my door each morning, so I wouldn’t have to waste time looking around in my closet, just to end up feeling like I wear the same thing everyday. But does that mean I would have to go to the door in my bathrobe?

Do you love or loathe having house guests?

Steven and I really love having house guests. We like cleaning the house and stocking the pantry, in anticipation of our guests arrival. We like making special meals, or taking our guests to our favorite restaurants. We like to show (off) the work we have done on our town home… especially Steven’s schmancy pants A/V system. We like to stay up late, play fun games, and entertain.

Of course, I ask because my family is coming to visit, and from what I’ve heard from other people, not everyone gets as excited about that as I do.

I am also wondering…

Do you have any good house guests stories?

Now, this isn’t a good story, per se, but it is definitely… interesting. A few years ago I was on a school trip in NYC. Our departure flight was canceled and we ended up on a flight that put us in the O’Hare airport overnight before our connecting flight home.

Of course, I looked at that as an opportunity to see Steven. And it just happened to be on Valentine’s Day! Since I am so nice, I asked three of my friends if they wanted to come stay at our house in the guest bedroom or on the couch so they did not have to sleep in the airport/front the money for a hotel.

Steven was really nice and picked us up in the middle of the night. We all woke up early the next day to catch our flight home. Trying to be nice, I asked my friends if they wanted some breakfast - maybe milk and cereal? I told them I wasn’t feeling awake enough to have any, but they all said yes.

So, we are standing around in the kitchen, them eating their cereal, and me and Steven chatting, when one my friends makes a funny face, places her bowl on the counter, and runs into our powder room and forces herself to throw up into the sink.

Yeah, that alarmed us, especially the other two.

She comes out and we ask what was wrong. “Oh nothing,” she brushes it off. “There were just some live bugs in my cereal.”

Everyone dumped their cereal in the sink. Steven and I were mortified. How did this happen?! She had a different cereal than everyone else! Did she confuse the pieces of cereal for bugs since it was so early in the morning? Or did she actually feel something moving around in her mouth?

Well, it hasn’t happened since. And luckily, I was still friends with everyone after that. That girl was even one of my bridesmaids.

One of Steven’s coworkers asked him this at work yesterday:

If you had to choose somebody to read the entire phone book to you, who would you choose and why?

I would choose Sean Connery, because I love his accent.

If you could attend one of the following events next year, which would you choose and why? Your choices are: Oscars, Grammys, SAG Awards, Golden Globes, Bloggies, Super Bowl, Indy 500, Daytona 500, the World Series (all 7 games), or your choice.

I know this is a weird question, but I’ve noticed that there have been awards shows/major sports finales televised practically every Sunday since the middle of January. And I’m always reading about contests to win tickets to these things, so it made me think… which would you choose if you could pick to go to just one?!

I would pick the Oscars because it is the only industry I can pretend to remotely know what the hell is going in. And I haven’t even seen Juno. Or anything nominated for an Oscar this year for that matter. Oh well. I can still say I want to go just to see all the pretty gowns and movie stars, right?

Which new movies are you looking forward to seeing in 2008?

We rarely go to the movie theater. Nothing seems to spark our interest. We saw two movies last summer - Knocked Up and Transformers, and then we didn’t see another until last weekend. And what did we choose to see then? Some Oscar nominated picture? No, Cloverfield.

Anyway, that got me thinking about how I am really excited about some movies coming out this year! I think I may actually be spending some time in the theater! I would like to see (in order of release date):

• Jumper February 14 (because it looks so cool)
• The Other Boleyn Girl February 29 (you knew this one)
• 21 March 28 (The preview for this movie about college kids counting cards to win blackjack in Vegas looked cool…)
• Iron Man May 2 (This is based on some comic book I am not familiar with… but the preview made it look hella cool!)
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull May 22
• Sex and the City: The Movie May 30 (I know, it’s smut… but I love it! And Steven actually said he would see it with me!)
• The Dark Knight July 18 (Who doesn’t want to see this?!)
• Quantum of Solace November 7 (the new James Bond movie!)
• Star Trek December 25 (Put that on the list to make Steven happy)

I feel like I am missing some! Don’t be surprised if this list expands throughout the day… especially as you tell me yours!

Do you do your own income tax return, or does someone else do it for you? What is your general feeling for income tax return time?

Are you disturbed that I am asking you these questions on the first day of February? Seems a bit early, doesn’t it?! Well, my answer will explain why I am asking so soon…

Last year was the first time I paid someone else do my taxes for me. I (or my dad, when I lived in Rome) have done my own taxes since I was 14, but last year I had W-2s from two states and all those pesky student loan and tuition documents to try to figure out… so I sent my taxes to H&R Block with Steven’s. We’ll be sending them to H&R Block again this year, and probably for the rest of our lives. Ha ha. It’s so much easier.

We look forward to having our taxes done, because we usually both get a hefty return. It’s like this huge surprise bonus that we forget about every year until the middle of January… then we anxiously await to receive our W-2s and send them out. We save the money, pay off debt or buy expensive toys (the truth). We are dropping off our tax info today, so it’s on my mind.

But when I told my dad this, he pointed out that the government has my money all year long, and that if I was a responsible adult, I could have it in my own savings account earning interest on it. Something he admitted to not being able to do himself, but I think he had hope for me.

I see the point, and it makes me curious as to what other people’s strategies are. Right now, I’d rather overpay than have to pay in. Maybe someday, when I have actually savings, I will take a closer look at what is withdrawn from my check. But I am playing it safe for now, because I don’t want to be stuck paying in.