MEALS ON A BUDGET: COUNSELING LESSONS DISGUISED

Paul and I have continued our counseling through everyday activities like playing tennis, where I get really frustrated when I lose over a certain amount of points; and driving to far places, requiring reading maps and following directions or actually driving which is very difficult in Massachusetts for me. We've also learned that working on a budget has become an exciting adventure, even though it doesn't always make us feel good!

Paul and I have made two trips to the grocery store so far in Methuen, Mass. But, before we just set out and spend all the money we don't have, we work a budget and make a list for all the things we need. Then we usually cross out quite a bit to make our budget! My smoothies haven't made the list yet. Going grocery shopping, I think, is really fun because we make a great team. We have the same mindset -- cheap. We rarely go for name brand foods, except for important ones like coffee and wheat thins! I use my phone as a calculator and push the cart and Paul carries the pen and list. Sometimes we split up, but mostly we stick together to hunt down our food :)

Our first real meal we made together here was Spagett...

This weekend was Barb's birthday, so we thought it would be nice to make a cake too! See here she just turned 50! Paul did the decorating. We homemade the frosting: buttercream and chocolate. Yum, yum.

NEWS: Paul's first day of work went well!