I'll post about this a bit later in my Journal, but the cliff notes are awesome enough to share here. I just got back from a 'vacation'. Not Mustachian in the least, and it caused a ridiculous amount of stress. I didn't want to go, but I did, and I paid for it. While we were out for two weeks, there were 3 days that I found enjoyable (although I could have had a lot more fun, for a lot less money). Shitty, right? Well, the highlight of this trip was a car ride (don't even get me started on the driving...) where the SO and I started chatting, and it turns out that we each thought it was the other's idea, and neither of us really wanted to go. While our communication skills are pretty good already, we were able to identify some weak spots. It was an expensive lesson, but I think it was worth it.
To summarize:
I spent a ridiculous amount of money on a dumb birthday vacation, and while there were some fun days, the best thing that came out of this was the understanding that the SO and I have additional depths of communication, that we didn't even know we needed. Our relationship will be stronger, so the spending was well worth it.