I intended to see if I could feed my family with just $80 for a week. I gave myself some leeway (okay, lots of leeway) meaning I was using what we had in the fridge, already. Seriously, $80 is about 30% of what I’d normally spend, so it was a major change. I made a list of meal ideas; oatmeal, grilled cheese, re-furbished leftovers (twice!) and lots of chicken. It looked like we could do it, on paper.
Nope.
We made it about four full days; then on day five, in a moment of weakness, I caved.
First, my girlfriend and I went shopping, and I needed to go straight to the office afterward to do a bit of writing. That meant I’d be gone until about 5:30, and she wanted to go to lunch. I said yes.
Who’s going to say no to this face?
Kirstyn w/ Karis during our tea party at the Grand Floridian
I mean the blonde one. The tiny one had stayed home this time. But seriously, this girl is loads of fun. And if I must eat a Strawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad from Panera to hear her latest stories, so be it.
Then, last night, my kids said “Can we get pizza?” and I was too overemotional (and lazy, plus a side of wimpy) to say no, so I said yes.
Still, our grocery spending for this week will wind up being half of what’s typical. And my takeaway is that I can definitely save more than I’m already saving on food. I already shop 75% buy one-get one free type deals. I think I can plan better and say no more often (I did veto fast food two times during the week, y’all–plus we waited until after 1:30 to have lunch yesterday due to that “rule,” driving the 45 minutes home to eat leftovers rather than stopping for McDonald’s, so I should get a few points for that. Come on, help a girl out.)
So … answer to the question: Can we survive 125? No, we cannot. Or maybe we could have, if it was really $125, and I could use whatever was already in the cabinets. Ahem.
Counting Gifts
I pulled out my 1,000 gifts app this morning and took a look over what’s already in there. This is an amazing tool! If you’re trying to count your own thousand blessings, I highly recommend it–it’s free, I think? And if you haven’t read the book, what are you waiting for? You can buy it on Amazon through this little picture– my affiliate link (trying to add to my grocery budget, apparently.)
Here are a few from my list–the second thousand, #1-33.
piles of leaves
horsey friends * freshly baked bread *snuggle buddy *friends at the park *presents under the tree *things to plant *last year, burned away *more than I asked for *presents bought early *general chaos on Christmas morning *a new year, “with no mistakes in it yet” *anticipation *nightgowned angels *peppermint marshmallow happiness *candlelight *this year’s word: JOY
beautiful night sky *good morning 2012 *sweet handwriting practice; be still my heart
*neighborhood friends of the horse variety *sun low in the sky *beauty at the beach *my castle *surprise *my Bible stack *revelation at Beauty and the Beast *second home plus family for son away from home *glorious play at during a surprise beach day
spring walks down the road *buddies *gnarly trees
Count with us? 
God is good … all the time.
Next up, media week–and I’m looking forward to it!
