The State Fair

         
            It's the middle of August, and that means it's state fair time.  It's the one time of year that I feel like I can eat anything fried and not feel guilty, because it only happens once a year! 
            Fairs are soooo overpriced, but it's tradition....what's August without the state fair.  Matt and I usually set a $20 budget on what we will spend at the fair.  Last year, we did great with our money.  For starters, we got free tickets and free vouchers for BBQ pork sandwiches at a local blood drive, which made admission and dinner FREE at the fair!  We also brought water bottles in a bag that I carried instead of buying overpriced drinks.  That left us with money to buy the traditional fair favorites like a turkey leg, corn on the cob, a funnel cake and whatever the new fried invention of the year was....last year it was fried Pepsi....which was surprisingly good. 
            This year we didn't do as good.  The only free tickets we could find were for weekdays.  That didn't work with our schedule, so we ended up paying for admission.  Then as soon as we got to the fair,  I was dying of thirst, so we paid $5 for a lemon shake up.  No water bottles this year.  I didn't bring a purse due to my neck injury from Thursday.  When it came time eat, Matt decided that he just wanted a plate of loaded ribbon fries, which was $6.50 a plate.  Note to self: read the small print at the window of food vendors.  After we ordered, we realized that each topping of his loaded fries were $1 each, bringing the grand total to $11.50.....yikes.....those fries were so not worth it!  That left us with $3.50, so we skipped the new fried invention.  I would have passed on the fried Kool-Aid anyway.  However, I also had to pass on the traditional funnel cake, because it would have put us over budget.  I ended up getting a pineapple whip icecream cone for three bucks.  Now, we could have just gone to the ATM machine to get more cash, but when we set a budget we try to keep it.  With admission, we spent close to $35....is the fair really worth more than that? 
        Yep, this was not our best year at the fair.  It didn't help that my neck was hurting.  I skipped meds today, so I would be awake enough to go to the fair when Matt got home from work.  Skipping meds was probably not my smartest move, because I was hurtin' by the end of the night.  My poor husband ended up with a sore, sweaty, hungry, less than cheerful wife by the time we left.  I Still had a good time with the hubs, even if I was a little cranky.   I'm sure next year will be better.  But for now, its time to take my medicine and go to bed.  Good night all!

Indiana State Fair 2011