While I'm at it...

 A huge project that we are currently involved in, is renovating our kitchen! I started it one day when I was highly emotional. The forest animal paper just had to come down!!! That was the start of a great and very educational journey!
 We have been at it for a little over two months now and it is finally functional again. It was a COMPLETE gut and we even had to update the wiring. We're getting close to having it done but it is still a challenge to live with. For instance, I don't have countertops. Imagine the difficulties that might come with that!
 As I am always looking for ways to save money and to bring my little family closer together, I decided that since I finally have a functioning kitchen again, I need to use it! We sit down to dinner together every evening now and eat a home cooked meal, prepared by yours truly. Then my loving, and very appreciative husband, does the dishes! Can you say 'Woohoo?'
 It has been so fun looking for exciting new recipes and ingredients as I have been teaching myself to cook. I already knew the basics, but nothing fancy and rarely ventured out of my comfort zone. As far as sitting down together... well, that was not a common occurence in this house. I really feel like it makes a difference somehow...
 I have also committed to making lunch for my husband to take to work everyday. Since he leaves before 5am each morning, I had used the excuse that it was just too early and so I haven't done that for him in a very long time. The poor guy has eaten a lot of ramen in the past couple years.
 These days, as we are cleaning up dinner, I go ahead and put his lunch together and pile it on the top shelf of the fridge. All he has to do is throw the contents and an ice pack into his lunch box and be on his way!
 He's getting much healthier fare this way and it will save us money in several ways, including less wasted food and not having to buy expensive ready to eat freezer meals and such. It makes me feel good to know that his coworkers have noticed and are envious. :)
 About wasting food... Men are funny. Especially when they are tired or in a hurry. There could be a whole casserole dish of yummy food sitting in the fridge, but rather than portion some out into a tupperware, they'll grab the super processed freezer meal instead. What happens to all that yummy casserole food? It ends up running down the garbage disposal when the stench gets to be too much or we need that particular dish again.
 This was another of my excuses for not making dinner too often before. It just seemed to all go to waste. Now that I take the five minutes to get it portioned into lunch dishes (and make smaller portions to begin with), we aren't wasting hardly anything anymore!
 Finally, one other benefit of making our supper daily; I can see what leftover bits and pieces we have sitting in the fridge and incorporate them into fun new meals to make sure that the leftover half a can of tomato soup doesn't end up down the drain. It is an adventure and a challenge. And I am always up for a fun challenge!
 Today's lesson: Try cooking dinner at home! Start with just a couple days a week and see what you can do. Wouldn't it be great to save money and waste less?!?!  ;)