Summer fun with the NOT so Littles…On a Budget…

It is a summer fact that we head to the movies for family movie day on Tuesdays once the younger little is done with school. Interestingly, the boy chose Tuesday as the day to have me take off the rest of my workday after 12pm, and it is the same day AMC gives discount movie tickets before 5pm.

This is a great outing when you are on a budget because, for all three of us, two adults and one child, the most I have paid so far for our tickets was $21.50. I have also spent as little as $15.00 on the three tickets. The not-so-budget-friendly part of the adventure lies in the cost of the food at AMC. Still, with my stubs membership, it does help a little.

I found this summer, if I plan ahead, then we can do little adventures like this. We are also going to the fair this weekend. I only paid $10.00 for parking as the tickets were free. Yes, costs will be incurred at the fair, but I plan to go in with a budget and stick to it. I have got good at bringing snacks and water with us. Fair food can make me sick, so I prepare for numerous reasons.

Would I like to have taken my kids on a grand adventure away from home? Yes, but right now, with a mom in school full time and working part-time, they understand that we need to stay local. Will it always be this way? No, and I’m grateful that my two understand and know I’m doing the best that I can for them both.

Any other parents on a budget? What are some things you do to make summer vacation enjoyable by all?

Until next time…

Scheduling My Self-Care Routine…

On this 42nd day of my journey into blogging, I still need to schedule the daily things I do to make me feel good about myself. I even include my daily medications because taking my daily medications can be missed. I get too sucked in to “what needs to be done right now” and forget about what keeps me sane.

Since I get distracted easily, I’ve made my weekly schedule something I check off to keep myself accountable for taking care of myself. Part of this daily schedule is blogging. It seems to be something I often miss since I have not blogged for the past 12 days. What is that? The amount I’ve blogged over the past 42 days is more than I have in the past couple of years. That’s progress, not perfection, and a great example of growth.

My blog is part of my self-care. It is something that brought joy to me. My previous blog was about helping women living with PCOS to see that they can battle PCOS with grace, just as I do. I hope to get back to that. To get to be a forum where I can post things to help others and still live a fun life and share that part of me too. Finally, to continue to be honest that it’s not always easy. I’m harder on myself than anyone could be, and I hope that I can change my perspective on myself over time, doing these daily things to make me feel good.

Daily To Do Check-Off List:

  • Daily Alanon Readings & Some Writing
  • Daily Gratitude Email (7+ years strong with the same 5 women)
  • Start & End Daily Fast (If fasting)
  • Exercise
  • Clean
  • Blog
  • Meds
  • Alanon Meetings x2 per week

When in Nature

I believe being close to nature is as being close to a God or Higher Power one can have. When I’m closer to nature, I feel this connection even more.

The full moon is Friday, July 23rd, and at 7:37 pm PST, it will be its brightest.

We can get grounded and centered by placing two feet into the earth and just being. I believe that the moonlight can be healing. I believe I’m most at peace in nature.

There is something about being deep within nature that quiets the noise in my head. The noise tells me I’m not good enough or need to do more to be a whole person.

When any of us have a way of being at peace, we need to embrace it…Often.

During this full moon, I will focus on meditating on where my passions lay. I will embrace gratitude and work toward feeling more at peace within myself. I will be good to me and remember my worth.

Until next time…

Grounding