Too Busy to Blog Much These Days

I've been remiss in posting lately.  We have been pretty busy here, with a new school year underway, three children enrolled in Religious Ed classes (we have two receiving sacraments this year), and the weather has been so lovely; too lovely to just hang out inside in front of a computer screen.  We've been hiking and to the park and we've recently taken up fishing.

Wingnut Jr. and I ran in our first group fun run on Saturday.  It was a bit of a let down.  The website was not clear regarding the distance, and I just assumed it would be a 5K.  The little guy and I trained for a 5K.  We were more than ready for a 5K.  It turns out the fun run was a measly little 1.5 miler.  Bummer.  Wingnut Jr. did enjoy the color dust that ended up coating us throughout the little jog.  I enjoyed spending some one on one time with my little man, even if it was less time than I had anticipated.

Our spending fast has been going fairly well, with just a couple little hiccups here and there.  I mentioned we took up fishing and fishing requires a license in this state, and so we broke our fast to purchase three fishing licenses.  We also broke our fast to purchase a state park pass for the year.  We decided that in the long run, once yearly expenses are worth it, especially when the activities that accompany these particular expenses get us all outdoors and spending quality time together as a family. Wingnut and I have been quite thrilled with our very low credit card bills this month.  We possess two credit cards which we pay off completely each month and these are what we use for our day to day spending.  We have saved a considerable amount of money this month by not using our credit cards for anything except groceries and gas.  It's amazing how much frivolous spending we engage in!

October is shaping up to be a bit of an expensive month after our fast.  We will need to purchase winter clothing for our four kiddos still at home--including new snow boots for all four.  We need to winterize our garden and will be hauling in some compost and hay before a hard frost hits us.  Towards the end of October, Wingnut will be hitting the ski swaps for our two youngest skiers (he and Skoshi picked up skis and boots at the end of last ski season for great prices). Finally, Skoshi A and I will both need new running shoes.  The great thing is we have the extra cash from not being frivolous this month to pay for those things we will need in October.

This fast has been wonderful for me, as I've really begun to better examine needs versus wants.  It has also taught me patience and perseverance.   Not everything needs to be purchased immediately and very often things that I can wait to purchase, really don't need to be purchased at all.  That, my dear friends, is detachment, and it feels pretty good.