It's a beautiful sunny day - just not very warm. Last night the temp was down in the 30s outside (60 inside this morning - heat is off, so piled on blankets!) We had 80 here a couple days ago! Ahh, Minnesota. At least, there was no snow like some in the west had. I wanted to hang the laundry outside, but with temps so low and hardly a breeze - wimped out and used the dryer instead.

Grocery-shopped yesterday for the next two weeks. I've been shopping every two weeks since January, and it's working great in keeping that portion of the budget down. I've been consistantly spending $200-230 for two weeks of groceries. This covers three meals a day for six people (bring lunches to school and work), some pet items (we get the majority of food and supplies at Petco once a month) and most of our paper, cleaning, and health/beauty needs. Previously, I spent $150-170 a week. So quite the savings! I've learned two things: 1) Shopping is not a favorite pasttime for me anyway, so I get to do it half as much. 2) The less time I spend in the store, the less I spend (I know, this one is very profound!)

Most importantly, the grocery savings have allowed us to fund a small emergency fund, have helped us to keep current with the medical bills of late, as well as, have let us up what we are paying monthly toward the cc debt (with no charges for almost a year, and consistent 'more than minimum' and some 'way more' payments, we are seeing progress!) It does feel good to be in charge of the finances, instead of the other way around. You all are good influences here!

I'm jealous of all the talk of gardening lately. Here in MN, after May 15 is when it's usually safe to plant anything not frost tolerant (and often there is still a lot of covering things up at night.) So I've raked, cleared the perrenial beds off, and planted our frost tolerant pansies in the wondow boxes of the girls' playhouse. Our trees have gotten so tall over the years, that I'm getting less and less full sun, and lugging vegies around the yard catching the rays of the sun is a less than fun activity. I was just reading in our community ed brochure that garden plots will go for $10 behind the school I work at, not even a block away. The $10 covers the tilling and fencing (very necessary - the school backs up to woods with deer, raccoons, rabbits and more.) Sounds like a good deal for a sunny patch and fresh vegies.

Another spring time thing to do at our house - clean the garage! I ended up piling in my mom's stuff from her move from assisted living to the nursing home. Decisions will have to be made. Then there is the yard and patio furniture to freshen up with paint. So far, only one chair needs a full paint job. This stuff is ancient - some were my parents' things, some even my grandparents'. I can only imagine how many times they've been painted over the years. But nothing beats how well they were made - steel and wrought iron - heavy but indistructible! And I still have paint leftover from last year that's still good.

Enjoy your day. Take care!