Hello, hello.  I’m writing to you with a mixed-up heart.  Our holiday trip is coming to an end, and normal life is just a few days away.  I’m not ready to end the festivities.  I’m not ready for the good-byes to come.  I’m really not ready to unpack and find places for our new belongings.  But…I’m excited to continue setting up our new house, establishing new routines, and working toward new goals.  I’m ready to get serious again about our food budget.  January is going to be fantastic!

Here’s the plan:

I will make my menu and shopping list on the long drive home.  I will be ready to shop on Tuesday, and I’ll be shopping on Mondays from then on.  I will be adding more meatless meals to our menus.  Specifically, I’m going to make some large meat-free dishes that will serve as my lunches through the week.  My breakfasts and lunches are often boring and not nutritionally-dense.  I want to do better, so I’ve been investigating hearty recipes (mostly soups) made of lots of veggies and beans.  I’m going to try to make Crockpot meals on Sundays.  We try to make Sunday a restful day, and I want to be able to provide a good meal without a lot of prep time.

I’m still working with a goal of $400 with a potential budget of $600.  I learned a lot in the first months of this challenge, and I’m ready to get back to the numbers in January.

The Week 13 Participating Blogs: