Thank you (bows) thank you (bows). No really, hold your applause.
It's probably a dumb thing to be proud of for a lot of people, but not me. I am a caffeine/sugar addict. So I'm baby-stepping my way out of those. I will work on processed sugar next, but for the here and now, I am SUPER proud of my progress.
Part of the reason I've been successful this time is due to a pantry challenge via Instagram. You know how I love my garden? And canning? And being self-reliant? Well, those loves have given my larder quite the haul. I have hundreds of jars of food that will be wasted without use. And I very much dislike food waste. And if we don't eat it, it will be a waste of my time as well, so I committed to doing a pantry challenge.
Our goal is to spend as little of our grocery budget as possible. We will still go to the store once a week for milk and dairy products and will keep the spending to $20 or less. Our aim is to use all the odds and ends from the freezer and the larder. If we run out of something, we will have to figure out a work-around. We are on day 7 of the challenge, and it's been pretty fun. And since I'm not going to the store, it's been pretty easy to stop the soda habit.
I also love that this challenge has put me back in homemaker mode. (Which is a mode I love and was struggling with.) I'm embarrassed to admit that wintertime always makes me a bit lazy. Without the need to get up and tend the garden, and preserve food, and all that, I find myself doing less and less. And by doing, I mean, cooking, cleaning, parenting, and everything else. This challenge has recharged me. At any rate, I'm hoping to stretch this challenge until at least Valentine's Day, or even until the first part of March. And yes, we do have that much food storage.
Meanwhile, in Pandemic News, the kids are going back to in-person learning in about a week. Daniel is the only person that still attends school in person. Daniel is also the only person not failing spectacularly. Thaddeus, Blayne, and Taylor are failing almost all their classes. Can we all say Summer School? Well... maybe not Taylor, but that would only be because she's in 8th grade, and her credits don't quite matter as much as the other kids. And I get it! I've done online school in the past and it is hard to stay motivated and on top of things; probably because I'm too easily distracted.
Also, I don't know if you're into American politics, but boy howdy. Yesterday. Yesterday will go down in infamy. I watched the news, horrified by the images being broadcast. I was thinking of my friends back East and their families, and hoping that they were able to stay safe during the rioting at the US Capitol. It was also frustrating to watch. Where was the tear gas? Where were the police in riot gear? Where was the National Guard? It is a stark contrast to the protests of this past summer. I just have no words, only sadness, frustration, and anger.
Well. That's about all I have to say for now. The Christmas holiday passed by pretty quietly. It was the first time in a number of years that we had no visitors, and I gotta tell you... it was nice. The kids slept in, and we just hung around, eating treats and enjoying each other.
