I have issues. Really, I do. Not that I didn't know I had issues before now, but once in a while something happens that makes me take a good look at myself and go, "Wow, I'm crazier than I thought."
I might have mentioned that we are having a little budget crisis in our household right now. Nothing major, but even a small bump in the road in the financial department is enough to send me to the kitchen for a giant spoonful of hot fudge followed by a wine chaser--bottle size, please. I get a little more stressed out than is probably necessary. When the end of the month arrived last month with $4.17 in my account and a transfer from savings required for my husband's account, I panicked and demanded we both take a good, hard look at the budget.
No big surprises there, really. We've been eating out too much. Back-to-school season is freaking expensive, and getting more so every minute. (FREE public education? Bahhh! I'll save that for another time.) We have an extra house payment with one of our rental houses sitting empty. Nothing we didn't know and nothing we can't solve given a little time and focused effort.
Nonetheless, to calm my racing pulse, I've called a self-imposed temporary hiatus to any unnecessary spending and a once a week limit to eating out. Sounds simple enough. To anyone not quite as crazy as I am, I suppose. It actually sounded totally fine to me too. Until about the fifth day of no shopping and no eating out.
Now, let's be clear. I am not a shopaholic. I am a committed bargain shopper. I rarely buy anything that I don't have a coupon for or that isn't on sale or that we don't need. We can debate needs and wants later, but with three children, three houses, and a business, there are lots of things we need. I try very hard to never pay full price for all of those things so when I am out and discover a great deal on something, I buy it. This happens quite frequently. At least a couple of times a week. It might be mouse traps that we will inevitably need that are in the clearance bin for mere pennies, an unadvertised sale at the Goodwill on housewares so I can get the cloth napkins I've been eyeing at half-price (carbon footprint, you know), or just the right size container I find at a garage sale for the kids' gazillion stuffed animals.
I've been walking past all of that this week, and it's starting to make me twitch.
I went to Target last night just to get milk. This was completely unnecessary since I drove by two groceries and four convenience stores to get to Target, but I really was just dying to touch all the stuff. Stuff I am not letting myself buy right now. Even though a bunch of it was on clearance. Even though we need it or will soon. Do alcoholics go to bars just to have a Diet Coke? Oh boy, do I have issues.
Another thing I think you probably already know: I like to cook. I really do. And I'm not bad at it. So, what's the deal with restaurants? By Day #8 of no eating in restaurants (it ended up we had one whole week of no eating out planned, and then the second week where we planned a night out at the end, so in whole it was like two weeks with no restaurant), I was having daydreams of french fries. I made oven baked fries at home one night in an attempt to curb the craving. No relief. The next night I pulled a pound of ground beef out of the freezer and made patty melts in an attempt to quench the craving. No relief.
Ends up a friend was feeling the need to get out of the house with her four-year-old one day and invited me out to lunch on Day #10. Who could say no to a friend in need? I'm a giver, you know. Even though I was prepared to give up my first born for a plate of bacon-cheese fries, we went to a place that has a fancy BBQ chicken salad I love. I ended up getting that. And water. No Diet Coke, which I usually only allow myself at restaurants. And I still felt a little better. The twitching subsided for a while.
I think I am a bit (maybe a lot) addicted to restaurant food. I used to believe that I enjoyed restaurants so much because someone else was taking care of everything. I don't have to plan it, prepare it, cook it, get up in the middle of it to refill anyone's milk, clean it up or find the right size plastic container and matching lid to store the leftovers in. All of that is really nice.
Yet, I am starting to think that there is a kind of addiction that goes along with the overly-salted, overly-fatty, overly-sugary food served in restaurants. Not that I haven't heard this idea before. Thanks to Jamie Oliver, Michael Polan, and Food Inc., I know way more about the things that go on in processed and restaurant-prepared food than I would like to know. It ain't pretty. Even knowing that, I didn't really think that I was addicted. Just that I enjoyed the experience of going out to eat. I know I don't NEED french fries or Cincinnati chili with a mountain of cheese on top or cheddar garlic biscuits drenched in butter. Even more importantly, I can make all of that at home if I really do want it. So what is causing this ridiculously overwhelming desire to run out and get it? Clearly, I have serious issues.
In a lot of ways I feel like I do a good job making sure my family eats healthy, but we've got miles to go still. In a lot of ways, I know we do a good job managing our money, but we could do a much better job if we were more intentional about it. Despite the budget crunch that prompted these changes, I'm pretty happy to be working on my "issues." Self-improvement is good for the soul. Sometimes a little crisis is just the push I need to move in the right direction.
I might have mentioned that we are having a little budget crisis in our household right now. Nothing major, but even a small bump in the road in the financial department is enough to send me to the kitchen for a giant spoonful of hot fudge followed by a wine chaser--bottle size, please. I get a little more stressed out than is probably necessary. When the end of the month arrived last month with $4.17 in my account and a transfer from savings required for my husband's account, I panicked and demanded we both take a good, hard look at the budget.
No big surprises there, really. We've been eating out too much. Back-to-school season is freaking expensive, and getting more so every minute. (FREE public education? Bahhh! I'll save that for another time.) We have an extra house payment with one of our rental houses sitting empty. Nothing we didn't know and nothing we can't solve given a little time and focused effort.
Nonetheless, to calm my racing pulse, I've called a self-imposed temporary hiatus to any unnecessary spending and a once a week limit to eating out. Sounds simple enough. To anyone not quite as crazy as I am, I suppose. It actually sounded totally fine to me too. Until about the fifth day of no shopping and no eating out.
Now, let's be clear. I am not a shopaholic. I am a committed bargain shopper. I rarely buy anything that I don't have a coupon for or that isn't on sale or that we don't need. We can debate needs and wants later, but with three children, three houses, and a business, there are lots of things we need. I try very hard to never pay full price for all of those things so when I am out and discover a great deal on something, I buy it. This happens quite frequently. At least a couple of times a week. It might be mouse traps that we will inevitably need that are in the clearance bin for mere pennies, an unadvertised sale at the Goodwill on housewares so I can get the cloth napkins I've been eyeing at half-price (carbon footprint, you know), or just the right size container I find at a garage sale for the kids' gazillion stuffed animals.
I've been walking past all of that this week, and it's starting to make me twitch.
I went to Target last night just to get milk. This was completely unnecessary since I drove by two groceries and four convenience stores to get to Target, but I really was just dying to touch all the stuff. Stuff I am not letting myself buy right now. Even though a bunch of it was on clearance. Even though we need it or will soon. Do alcoholics go to bars just to have a Diet Coke? Oh boy, do I have issues.
Another thing I think you probably already know: I like to cook. I really do. And I'm not bad at it. So, what's the deal with restaurants? By Day #8 of no eating in restaurants (it ended up we had one whole week of no eating out planned, and then the second week where we planned a night out at the end, so in whole it was like two weeks with no restaurant), I was having daydreams of french fries. I made oven baked fries at home one night in an attempt to curb the craving. No relief. The next night I pulled a pound of ground beef out of the freezer and made patty melts in an attempt to quench the craving. No relief.
Ends up a friend was feeling the need to get out of the house with her four-year-old one day and invited me out to lunch on Day #10. Who could say no to a friend in need? I'm a giver, you know. Even though I was prepared to give up my first born for a plate of bacon-cheese fries, we went to a place that has a fancy BBQ chicken salad I love. I ended up getting that. And water. No Diet Coke, which I usually only allow myself at restaurants. And I still felt a little better. The twitching subsided for a while.
I think I am a bit (maybe a lot) addicted to restaurant food. I used to believe that I enjoyed restaurants so much because someone else was taking care of everything. I don't have to plan it, prepare it, cook it, get up in the middle of it to refill anyone's milk, clean it up or find the right size plastic container and matching lid to store the leftovers in. All of that is really nice.
Yet, I am starting to think that there is a kind of addiction that goes along with the overly-salted, overly-fatty, overly-sugary food served in restaurants. Not that I haven't heard this idea before. Thanks to Jamie Oliver, Michael Polan, and Food Inc., I know way more about the things that go on in processed and restaurant-prepared food than I would like to know. It ain't pretty. Even knowing that, I didn't really think that I was addicted. Just that I enjoyed the experience of going out to eat. I know I don't NEED french fries or Cincinnati chili with a mountain of cheese on top or cheddar garlic biscuits drenched in butter. Even more importantly, I can make all of that at home if I really do want it. So what is causing this ridiculously overwhelming desire to run out and get it? Clearly, I have serious issues.
In a lot of ways I feel like I do a good job making sure my family eats healthy, but we've got miles to go still. In a lot of ways, I know we do a good job managing our money, but we could do a much better job if we were more intentional about it. Despite the budget crunch that prompted these changes, I'm pretty happy to be working on my "issues." Self-improvement is good for the soul. Sometimes a little crisis is just the push I need to move in the right direction.
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