1. Do you ever get to where you feel like you are behind on everything? That is where I am right now.
2. On Saturday, Justin and I were able to go use his gift card to BLT Steak that his company gave him for his 5 year anniversary with them (thanks Nel - for watching the girls again!). It was amazing! Great ambiance, wonderful service, and the food was amazing! My personal favorites were the two things that were complimentary - ha! First they bring out Gruyere PopOvers with creamy, flavorful butter and sea salt. DELICIOUS! I could have eaten a dozen, easy. And after dinner, we were too full for dessert - which was sad - but then they brought out two little chocolate petit-fours that were amazing! Best one-bite dessert ever, and the perfect way to end a filling meal! If you have a chunk of change to spend on a date night, I highly recommend BLT! Because of their prices, I seriously doubt we will ever eat there a second time, but a girl can dream anyway!
3. I am back into serious coupon-ing, and am reminded how much I don't enjoy it. But, it will help with the budget, so I am forcing myself to stay positive about it!
4. There is an amazing opportunity for me to interact with some of my online photography mentors in person next month. I am praying that this will all work out, since if it does it will be free. A crucial word in our vocabulary these days! ;)
5. In case you are wondering about all the budget talk, it has overtaken many of our thoughts and conversations around here as of late. Justin's company reduced everyone's salaries by 20%, so we are scrambling trying to figure out how this will work for us.
6. The hardest part of a tight budget for me right now, is constantly explaining to the two older kids why we aren't doing something. They are used to doing whatever we all feel like doing, whether that is eating out, picking up drinks and snacks while shopping at Target, or going to a museum or movie on an off day. Reminding them why isn't a fun conversation, and their reaction hasn't been the best so far. UGH!
7. The second hardest part of me is the healthy food issue. I have a strong desire to only feed our family real food. No chemicals, dyes, artificial anything - which is in more things than you realize. And sadly, food corporations have made it expensive to eat healthy in this country. Absurd.
8. Jogging was doing something nasty to my knees, which I still can't figure out, so I bought Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred on Amazon instant. My first day was yesterday, and it was hard. But nothing could have prepared me for how sore I would feel this morning!!! That's how you know it is working, I guess!
9. Could someone give me a free vacation? A real one? That would be fabulous!
10. I love having this blog, as a place to put everything out there! If you got this far, thanks for reading! I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!!!
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3 comments:
Some of the libraries have culture passes that you can check out. I've personally never done them, but they are for different zoos and museums around town and you get them for a week and they get you in for free. I don't know how many people it's good for or all the details about how they work, but it could be something to look into...
Maybe to help you stay motivated with your couponing (and help the girls), when you save money using them, you can put the savings - or even half of the savings - into a jar and use THAT money to treat yourselves every once in awhile... IF that's workable with your budget cut. It might help the girls out with understanding sacrifices and saving...
AND... one of my FAVORITE cheap outings with the kids is to go to a mexican food restaurant and order a cheese crisp. I usually let the kids get a root beer, too, but I know you are not a huge soda fan... Just something to keep in mind if you get too restless. You could probably do that for $10 or less...
Or you could take advantage of "kids eat free" deals... Share yours with Jaelyn and Paige will eat free (if the timing works out that it's just you three)...
Or make the drive to Cabella's...they have the aquarium in there and all those stuffed animals - my kids love it. And if you can stay away from the snack bar, it won't cost you anything but the gas...
Keep track of city events - Glendale has them all the time. But those are usually free and they will get you out of the house.
When I lost my job, David had $0 coming in and it was probably 2 months before I started getting my unemployment because I'd filled something out wrong in my paperwork. I cashed out my 401K to get us by... And even when my unemployment started coming it, it was still another couple of months before we found out David got approved for disability.
It super sucks, Claire, but hang in there!!!! Have faith! Justin still has a job... You guys still have a roof over your head and food in your stomachs and each other. I know it's very easy to get focused on what's "lost" and adjust to a decrease in simple "luxuries", but you'll get through this and you WILL adjust and it will get easier and better...I've been living it for the last year and some change...hang in there!
I love your 10 on Tuesday posts and I read every single line... love you and am proud of you for pulling up your boot straps and making life work - you are a wonderful wife and mommy with very amazing and creative kids! Last night I had fun with the girls making bookmarks out of paint chip samples, a cheap roll of ribbon that I had, and a big bag of stickers that we've collected over the years... I tried using a butterfly punch for awhile but our hands got sore, so stickers and stamps were good... fun craft that kept them happily entertained for a good hour at least - and yes, it was a pinterest idea...
Oh, and this is Tamara, not "Taylor Brynn" but like I e-mailed you, I've messed things up with my blog and hers and don't know how to fix it... would love your help if you have some!!!
So sorry to hear about the pay cut. That just isn't right! I think you are awesome for finding ways to cut expenses in other areas so that you can still stay home with those sweet girls of yours. 'Cause even if you aren't going to museums and movies or picking up snacks as Target, you're still with them and loving them better than anyone else ever could.
I count my blessings each day that I get to wake up and NOT go to work. It's hard sometimes but completely worth it.
We love you Beelers!
Good luck on that workout video...it sounds awful! :) Which is probably what makes it great.
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