I had a teensy-weensy panic attack last night. I thought I would sit down and start planning next week's menu... so, I was looking in the fridge, pantry, and cabinet and started to realize I still had two weeks to go on my food challenge... and I began to panic. I had an overwhelming urge to just trash the entire challenge and go out for pizza on Friday night!

Hint: To save money on the family food budget someone has to do a lot of planning, food preparation, and cooking.

The Hamlins are not a fast food family and we don't eat out a lot. But, not eating out at all for 30 days can start to get to a mama. It's not just the cooking either. My hands are noticeably drier from all of the dish washing and kitchen cleaning I have been doing the past two weeks. (I guess I should wear my yellow, rubber gloves... ya think?) I have to have a perfectly clean kitchen if I am going to be spending a lot of time in it. I'm thinking about food a lot more than I want to be.

I am also tired of being a "waste Nazi" ... I remind the kids at least a few times a day... "We don't waste food." I'm also weary of looking at the few dollars I have left in my wallet and wondering... is it going to be enough?

ARGGHHH!

I WILL endure. I WILL MAKE IT through the challenge. I am being challenged. Saving money is a challenge. Denying myself is a challenge. I'm quickly tiring of being challenged. (I wish I was a cartoonist. The last six sentences would be accompanied with 1. a happy face with a big smile and hands on hips 2. an "I think I can" face 3,4,&5. a face that shows my emerging self-realization and 5. a face of total frustration.)


Maybe it's just my ADD kicking in...