I've been plagued lately by the feeling that I haven't written a blog in a long while. Nothing really terribly bad happened, it's just that I've just been forcing myself to actually accomplish stuff and I've had a dearth of interesting blog fodder. (Which will explain this one, I'm just throwing that out there in advance...)
For instance, right now I should be cleaning out the refrigerator of left overs and making notes of anything I might need to replace on the upcoming grocery trip.
I'm compromising by writing a bit and then forcing myself to scout around in the depth of the appliance in search of sad and wilting meals, and then wash out the scuzzy container. Ugh.
Lynn is politely reminding me that we are over due for our mid day walk and right she is.
Bolstered by January's promise of new beginnings, I started in on some new domestic systems. Firstly, I have adopted a weekly meal planner, in the hopes that this would save us money and time at the commissary.
Two weeks lately, I remain unconvinced. The initial grocery trip came with a staggering price tag; the accumulated cost of seven meals is a shocking one. Reacting to this, I stubbornly made the supplies stretch for two weeks instead of one, with only one additional shopping trip that was still pretty pricey.
I don't know how this compares to what we used to do, however. But all that will change because I have made a Budget with a capital B. Yes, it has a spread sheet for monthly adjustable expenses and I have nailed down all the fixed monthly expenses. The amount we spend on gasoline alone is mind blowing. Also food.
I have a love/hate relationship with spending money on food. I love provisioning the house. I have a pantry fully stocked, three of every item, and can produce Drunken Stew, Chili or Cheesy Corn Chowder at any moment. I keep it restocked with accountant-like attention to detail. For example, we make pizza at home, so I have three cans of pizza sauce, cans of black olives, jars of sweet red peppers, along with crust, olive oil and mozerella cheese all on hand for pizza night.
On the other hand, I hate spending money on food because we literally...well you know...piss it away. It's just gone and there's nothing to show for it except perhaps some extra inches on the waste. I save wherever I can; I shop at the commissary, I buy the store brands, I buy frozen and canned fruits and vegetables because of the flexibility in storage time and the cost savings. We rarely ever eat out.
Still, we spend a shocking amount on food and I'm hoping my new, laser focus on the budget will help improve that. In addition to organizing meals and money, I'm also on tract with taking care of myself. I now wake at eight am each morning feeling rested and ready to go and I take the girls out for one hour every day.
This is great, because I am back at the exact same weight that I was this time last year; 133.4 lbs. This is 3.4lbs more than I'm comfortable with, especially since I have lost all that sleek, toned look I had from the intense strength training I had been doing last summer. Still, if I could do it last year, I certainly can do it this year.
I just have to remember it took several months of increased physical activity before I saw any change in weight and not get discouraged this time around.
Just now, while washing out scuzzy containers, I dropped a Pyrex bowl onto my thick ceramic cereal bowl and chipped it. I felt this sudden wash of sadness-my oatmeal bowl! How fond I have become of it, how much a part of my life!-now ruined.
Only to remember that it wasn't my bowl at all, to start with. It was Keith's ex wife's bowl. I never picked out "our own" dishes, merely used what was there. Does this make me admirably pragmatic or sadly lacking in self esteem, do you think?
Last night we had the young couple over again, the same couple that had Christmas eve dinner with us. It was very comforble, actually. I seem to have succeeded in making the young wife feel at ease about me and we had a very lively and fun conversation about the classic "civie" comments we have endured, about military life, deployments, etc.
I felt like they really enjoyed being around us and that we were being...a good example, or encouragement, or something. Something bolstering and yet not boring.
Keith has been attached to his official platoon today and will be shadowing the platoon sergeant for a few months before taking over his duties. He has snapped back into official work mode.
"No more vacation," he mumbled sadly into my neck, when he came home for a quick lunch and a change into PTs.
"Hallelujah, hallelujah, ha-lle-e-lu-jah!" say the angelic chorus in my head, while I made the appropriate wifely and comforting comments publicly.
I sound so bad! Gleefully sending my husband away, so heartless. But I just want him away for the work day, I definitely want him back in time for dinner. Speaking of which, what in the heck will I make for dinner? I am tired of my tried and true pantry meals... Oh well, I'll think of something.
