Living the Good Life

Our family has had to make some adjustments this month.  All our Rexburg bills came in at once (this has been a headache since August), along with a LARGE deposit we had pay and some other one time expenses (Christmas gift)....all in October.  We know that we just had to make it through October, but having survived the 1st week (well almost) feels so great.  It's allowed us to become a bit more creative.  My oldest wants to be Bobofet (sp?) for Halloween so has decided to paper mache his own helmet.

Some of that food we've had in our cupboards for 3 moves. 

It was time to either use it or toss it, which has allowed my cramped kitchen to feel a bit larger.  It's forced me to take inventory of what we have and quit buying what we don't need.  For instance, I've discovered that frozen fruit taste amazing and solves my sugar cravings. 

Occassionally, when that salty craving comes, I slice me up some extra sharp cheddar and am in heaven.  We've also started doing home lunches.  It saves so much money and I like knowing what my kids are eating (I can see what's leftover by what's in their boxes when they get home).  Another thing, the kids aren't asking for stuff quite as much and for things that they do want, they are coming up with their own plans on how to make that money (selling homemade cookies, ebaying toys/clothes they don't want anymore).  I've also started looking at what craft supplies I have on hand and have come up with some pretty fun Christmas ideas.

 I can't even express what a cleansing feeling it is to stop producing so much waste.   We eat better, we're more aware of what we have, and we are having fun doing it.  Course, I still look forward to next month when I can look back and see that all those bills are paid and we're even ahead on Christmas, but until then, I will think of this time as a creative adventure.