Thus far... (Day 14)

Halfway there, and it happens to fall on Valentine's Day. No offense to any of you lovers out there that go "ga-ga" over Valentine's Day, but I am not a fan. I am a cynical Valentine's gal. Don't get me wrong: I love to celebrate holidays, and particularly ones that involve the love of my life. But I like to make them more personal. I love to celebrate his birthday, and our anniversary, and if I need another reason to celebrate, then our half-anniversary. :) But the generic "love" holiday just isn't for me. That being said, I am making my husband his favorite cookies as a little surprise tonight. But since I don't like Valentine's Day, I am just calling them a "Halfway There Present."

I thought it would be a good time to review how we are doing with our "rules." So far, we are doing well in the money department. We have $7.50 left in the Emergency Fund, and a little over $22.50 left in the Grocery Fund. As for our other rules: Outside is getting visits from me much more frequently. Also, I'm not planning things around spending money (i.e. coffee, lunch, dinner, etc) and that has been a nice change. It has slowed the pace of life a bit, and I have gotten out to see my friends and neighbors more, which has been so much fun! As I mentioned yesterday, Justin and I noticed that we are eating more meals together, and I have noticed just a general shift in focus for us. We talk more about world events and things we're reading, than ways to spend money. We are still watching some TV almost every night, but we have had a lot more to chat about during dinner and dinner clean-up, so it feels different. We haven't been driving a lot on the weekends, so I think our fuel bill will be in good shape this month, too. We HAVE had a couple treats out, sponsored by my lovely sister, who knows that sometimes you just HAVE to have some Mocha Joe's, even in an austerity month!

Now comes the hard part. The refrigerator, shelves, and freezer are starting to grow some space in them. We've made it through the first part of the month, where we had milk and veggies left over from January to start us on our way. We've eaten through much of the butter I had stored in the freezer for Christmas baking that I never got done. As the budget and the supplies dwindle, I will be baking less, but still making some delicious meals from the menu options I put together earlier this month. I think I'm a new believer in menu-making, but just modified for me.

Tonight we were the lucky recipients of an unexpected Monday Night Burrito Night with Hannah, Julia, and little Grayson, our wonderful neighbors. This is the second week in a row that we've been able to have this delicious meal with them, and we are big fans. It's a great way to start the week. Happy Valentine's Day (even if it is from a cynic). :)