(no subject)

Very interesting goddess knitting meeting tonight. much to think about and ponder.

But scirocco went out and bought me Song of Susannah tonight, and well, that's just calling to me. I'll see y'all in three days when I finish it.

Bleah.

Was previously in a very good mood. Now, not so much. Stupid boss, making me cranky on a Friday night. So tired of him not listening when I tell him anything, asking me about it over and over and over again. If he'd ever actually focus on anything, we might make some progress.

Other than that, mostly good. Got a bunch done around the house today, so happy about that. Week two of the budget is reasonable, but it's early in the month. Enforced family-in-law banding time has snuck up on me, and we have to go to New York next Friday! Ack.

Have a menu planned out for the next few days (part of trying to be more organized). Tomorrow is either "oven fried" or tomato-baked catfish, Sunday is tonight's leftover pork with Chinese noodles in sesame oil, Monday is rice noodles with sesame-ginger flank steak, Tueday is zucchini and pea risotto. If I'm going to buy these cooking magazines, I should at least eat like I do, right?

I was contemplating at the grocery store the concept of budgeting and how much money I spend at the store compared to someone on a real budget. (By which I mean a tight one. Heh). There are some folks in one of the communities I'm in that post about having to feed their family of four on less than I spent on PRODUCE tonight. Seriously, just my fruits and vegetables bill was aproximately $35 dollars. That'll go down in a few months when the farmer's market opens, and more when my vegetable garden starts bearing. But still. I can't even conceive of coming out of the grocery store having spent less than $50. My weekly budget is $150 for the three of us (and to some extent, Imagy. So maybe 3 1/2). It's nice to be so lucky and so spoiled. And I can see places where I have room for improvement that will help trim little bits off the budget.

I'm trying to be better about things like paying attention to what's the closest to going over in the fridge, and making a concerted effort to eat that first - no freezer meals at the beginning of the week when there's fresh lunch meat, no frozen vegetables when there's still fresh to be used up, using the pre-shredded cheese before breaking open the hunk of parmesan, that sort of thing. The next goal is to start menu planning in a manner best limits my shopping trip - like not having the recipe that calls for a half cup of chopped cilantro (which requires buying a whole bunch) without a menu plan that has other recipes that use cilantro.

I also want to slowly and consistently build op my pantry of frequently consumed foodstuffs so that i have more on hand for the nights I haven't planned, since those tend to crop up, and often throw me for a loop the way things are now. I'm also debating re-opening my BJs membership and trying the concept of a once-a-month super stock up. I think I want to save my grocery receipts for a month or so and see how their prices really stack up to careful sale shopping at Stop and Shop.

I'm trying not to bite off more than I can chew with this, since my tendency is to do really well at something, and then crash and burn completely when I hit a bump in the road. I need to take the same approach to this as to the dieting, which boils down to: recognizing the need to show some control, accepting that there will be times I will fall down on the job, accepting the consequences of doing so, getting right back on top of things. A day of failure means a setback, not an excuse for giving up entirely.

ANd yeah, the first week back on the diet is going well too. =)

(no subject)

I was also thinking today about how having kids is (at least for me) the strongest motivator I can think of for actually living the life you believe in, as opposed to just paying it lip service. Because the things you pay lip service too often are the things you want your kids to absorb from you as well, and they won't if you don't live it.

Thought process sparked by Widget telling me excitedly how she helped Daddy vote!, remembering going with him to vote in the primary a few months back.

You want your kids to turn into adults that vote? Take them with you when you go instead of lecturing them about how important it is.

You want your kid to understand the value of a home-cooked meal (nutritional, financial, emotional or all three)? Cook for them at home, including them whenever you can, and don't use "treating" them as an excuse to go out for junk food. (This is one of my worst habits. I'll be bored, and in the interests of something to do, will suggest a meal out to Widget. Trips to hamburger king are fun, after all.) Coming home for lunch instead of eating it on the run, or packing a lunch to take along, or carving out the time in the schedule to make sure we leave time for meals at home. Trying not to teach her to think that a sandwich at home is "boring" and going out somewhere is always better.

And god, the tv? When Widget gets upset at night and doesn't want to go to sleep, one of the questions she almost always asks me is whether the tv is on, in this sad little voice. What does she learn if we tell her she can't want a lot of tv, but the first thing to happen when she goes to bed is that the tv goes on?

The list is nearly endless, and it constantly amazes me to see how many ways I need to improve myself to raise the kind of child that I want to raise. It's just staggering.