I need a plan…

So much to do… never enough time.  I’m about 3/4 done with Christmas shopping.  Haven’t put up a tree yet.  I’d like to do that WITH the Handy-Hubby if possible.  I ordered one gift for him, but need to finish with something else.  I need to mail some money for our nephew’s gift and buy two more presents for nieces.  There are gifts that need mailed to persons afar.  Each year I say the postage cost is enough to make you just send a gift-card or money next time, but it’s so much more fun to send presents in a big box and really… it’s probably worth it to do so.  I just regret that it’s rarely ever on time from us.  

 

I need to find the ads for this week and plan our weekly meals and grocery needs.  I admit I have not done any grocery runs for a couple of weeks.  I have not been making wholesome meals as much the last couple of weeks.  We’ve had a few dinners out with friends or family and other than that we’ve been fending for ourselves, mostly left-overs and quick easy grabs like soup.  We MUST get back to reality before we fall off the wagon and start eating out too much.  Got to keep the budget in check, especially this time of year! 

 

Speaking of budget, we’ll need to revisit that soon too.  Keith’s new job title comes with a new expectation for his paycheck.  We’ll soon be into a new year as well so managing that budget will be at the forefront anyway.  It’s good to start fresh and to be deliberate about discussing the budget at least once or twice a year (at minimum).  We should probably do that more often.  He asks me often “is this in the budget?”  I’m thinking, why doesn’t he know what the budget is?  Communication is the key.  Time to get creative.  I was thinking of getting a white-board and mapping out the budget either via week or month on it and then crossing off when we have emptied that expenditure allowance.  I haven’t fully developed this concept yet.  I’m just looking for something visible that we can share and that will be easy to see.  Hmmmm… 

 

There is housework to be done here, which I’ve really neglected lately.  There is a blanket to make for my sweet niece who will be collecting them for someone less fortunate to keep warm.  There are gifts to wrap and pack and mail.  I finally have tape again.  I had run out last weekend.  Not because I’ve gone overboard with gifts.  Not because I’ve wasted it.  Just because I’ve been using the same tape for so long that I cannot even remember when we bought it.  Laundry needs washed, dried, and folded…

 

Wait a sec… Haven’t seen my hubby much lately.  Wrapping it up here as time with him is more important than this…