Just realized that I never posted this entry - this is actually last weekend, Aug 22 - 24.
My long weekend started out on Friday after work with an exciting evening of doing laundry ($5.25) and taking a long walk (free) in between cycles. Then I spent Saturday at home with no plans (NSD) since I needed some quiet time after a busy week at work. I both relaxed and puttered around the house getting things done - washed dishes, cleaned old food from the fridge, took trash ($2.50) and recycling to my local drop off, played the piano, vacuumed the house and snuggled with my cat. My good friend D came over on Sunday and we hung out and chatted on my porch all day. We eventually went into town to get her some takeout for an early dinner (she has low blood sugar and has to eat at certain times). She bought a frozen flatbread pizza to cook at my house. I am eating lightly, so planned on having a small dinner after she left, but ended up eating the leftover pizza, which was delish, easy and free!
On Monday, I took a road trip with my friend A to an art museum. It was a good day! The weather was clear and warm, the ride was uneventful, and the exhibits and grounds of the museum were fantastic. I love museums, especially art museums. I paid for gas ($17) and individual admission was $20 (high, but was worth it).
The one snafu was that I made the mistake of not discussing food/meals with A ahead of time. I had planned to bring snacks for lunch in order to continue my current light and frugal eating plan. I mentioned this in a morning text to A and she responded that part of the fun for her would be eating together at the museum cafe. I actually expected this, so wasn't surprised. She added that she was planning to treat me since I was driving. I agreed although I would rather have brought my own food because when faced with a menu of tempting food choices, all of my resolve to "eat lightly" flies out the window. It turned out that the museum cafe we chose had a very limited menu, so we ordered two sandwich meals to share (1 turkey/cheese and 1 ham/cheese) and each came with a bag of chips and a cookie. Honestly, the food was marginal, not all that tasty even though they used interesting local ingredients. I make a much better sandwich! We ended up eating outside on the lawn under a big tree and I could have easily eaten my own snacks while my friend ate her bought lunch, but we didn't realize the set up until it was time to eat. Plus, between the sandwich and the chips, I was quite full and a bit uncomfortable. I saved the cookie until later, but would never have eaten it otherwise!
If I had gone with my original plan, I would have brought my own healthy, light and cheap food and we could have split the $17 gas. A ended up paying much more for those two lunches then she would have for gas, but she's not as frugal as I am! She also treated us to soft serve on the way home. I would have not stopped and eaten it on my own. I need to learn to refuse free food...this is definitely a weakness.
A reminder to myself to discuss plans like this ahead of time and to stick more to what I want when possible, without being super rigid. Eating out is not all that interesting to me and is not how I want to spend much of my limited income. Now, if we had understood that there was another cafe in a remote location of the museum that we visited later, the meal would have been much better and it wouldn't have been a problem.
I'm happy to say that I was able to jump right back into mostly light and frugal eating habits since then. I'm exercising a lot (taking advantage of the warm weather before the snow flies!) and losing some weight. I have access to most of my wardrobe again. I was down to 3 pairs of pants that fit - one was a very old pair of hiking pants and the other two were pretty snug. Whew, I'm glad to have more choices again.
I continue to tinker with YNAB and I really like it! I got paid on Friday, August 21, so I entered both of my August paychecks (I get paid every two weeks) as income for September. I've been entering my September budget - how I'm going to spend the money that I earned during August (one of the goals of the YNAB program is to live off of last's months income. They also refer to "giving every dollar a job". Gotta love the lingo.). I will get paid again this Friday, September 4, so will enter that as October income.
Productive, relaxing and fun three-day weekend
August 31st, 2015 at 05:16 pm
September 1st, 2015 at 12:06 am 1441065986
September 1st, 2015 at 12:30 am 1441067438
September 1st, 2015 at 03:04 am 1441076659
Trip with A sounds terrific. Perhaps in future, just take your choice of foods and snacks with flexibility to 'go with the flow.' Worst scenario would be to return home with mini cooler of food to be used on return. If you've chosen to make sandwiches, stuffed pita or tortilla wraps, cut to share if that seems most appropriate. Would you consider making energy bars or squares? They travel well. I've been making 'breakfast' muffins or 'cookies' and taking my own 'trail mix' in snack zip bags on trips as I always seem to get hungry at inappropriate or inconvenient times.
September 2nd, 2015 at 02:39 am 1441161576
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