Sundays Are Best Spent With Family

ago

I can’t believe it’s January and there is no snow.. for the second year in a row.

Typically we are freezing and shoveling ourselves out, but instead we are heading into a week of 40 and 50 degree temperatures!

The best part is being able to open up the doors and windows and airing out the house!I bought this lavender plant for the house two weeks ago instead of using oils. I can proudly say that after two weeks it is still alive. The only problem is that it isn’t very fragrant- but it is so beautiful!

Finally, I’ve started a new project! I’m ambitiously making a blanket which means it should be finished in about three years at the rate I make things!

Cozy January Sunday Night and a Frugally Planned Trip

I love Sundays in the winter when it’s freezing outside and the wind in unforgiving, yet I can hibernate inside with the people I love. Last night I made a pot sauce with meatballs and sausage using the new pot my grandma bought me. We ate and snuggled up to watch the Packers win! My youngest baked brownies and we had sundaes with the fire going in the fireplace.

As great as the night was, it actually wasn’t the original plan for the weekend because one of the kids wasn’t feeling well.

Last week when I was filling in calendar I realized that nearly all of us had the day free on Martin Luther King Day. We have a vacation jar started in which money from bottle returns, leftover change and any cash I have leftover from my gas budget goes in the jar.

I decided to try to surprise the kids something fun to do as a family and came up with the idea to go away overnight! I chose to go to Niagara Falls because it’s close by and they have never been there before. didn’t give them any clues other than to pack an overnight bag and a bathing suit and I planned on keeping them in suspense until we got there.

Of course we didn’t make it this weekend, but the silver lining is that we can continue to save for something for next time. Maybe it will be for a longer stay.

I am on a very tight budget right now and going away overnight is a very special treat. It’s not always fun to not be able to go shopping and buy whatever you want when you want it, or not to not go out to eat whenever you feel like it. But the weird thing is that the boundaries that are placed are a very freeing feeling.

This may seem contradicting, but in reality it’s not.  It’s like eating healthy, If you give yourself permission to eat one dessert a day and eat balanced the rest of the day, then the dessert becomes a reward for eating well.

Same with your budget. If you pay all of your bills and keep yourself out of debt and give yourself a small spending allowance, then it becomes a treat!

We made the best of the weekend regardless… and as I have some great ideas for the next one that we plan!