January was a month of things.
Big Things. Like buying our first house and all of the stuff that comes with it, like moving, DIYing, and unpacking.
Small Things. Like the pleasure of having a dishwasher (I’m seriously in love) and not having to have three blankets on the bed to stay warm because your new place is well-insulated and you control the heat.
Too Many Things. Like having to pack and move a monumental amount of crap. Living without it for the past few weeks has actually been refreshing. I think it’s made us even more aware of things we can cut back on and be happy with.
Odd Things. Like the sounds our new refrigerator makes. They’re not bad sounds, but just different.
Busy Things. Like getting back in the classroom and having 160,702,370,558 things to accomplish around the big move (along with life in general). Oh yes, and work was insane for most of this past month.
Happy Things. Like my now cheery yellow kitchen (it’s a joy to cook in) and FINALLY having our first couch, thanks to the generosity of Brent’s mama and papa bear.
So, if I’ve been out of reach, stressed, or shorter than usual, I’m sorry. It’s been crazy.
As for my new year’s points, I’m doing better than anticipated. Since moving into our first home, Brent and I have been more conscious than ever of money. This is a good thing because it’s encouraging us to save aggressively and one of the side effects of that is cooking a lot at home.
The weeks before moving were full of takeout, simply because most of our kitchen was packed or we were too tired/lazy/busy/overwhelmed to try to cook anything. By the end of it, all I wanted was a homecooked meal.
This week and last, we’ve gotten busy in our new kitchen, whipping up family meals for the visiting parents, as well as ourselves. I’ve cooked every day since moving here pretty much and it’s WONDERFUL. It’s working wonders toward my point of “Eating real food, in moderation.”
I’ve found my portions are more in check and I’m thinking strategically about what to buy. Although, we did just have a monster grocery bill but that had more to do with restocking our kitchen after moving. I’ll be interested to see how things go once we get on a regular schedule with cooking and such.
Moving has also gotten me focused on my “move more” point. I did a lot of painting, moving, shelving, cleaning, and whatnot over the past few weeks and I have to say that it feels really good. When things calm down, I want to head back to the gym and keep this momentum going. Also, having a house has had me more focused on general housework/upkeep tasks so that’s keeping me busy too.
February is going to be a good month – I just know it. Getting back to a normal pace will be lovely, and to top it off, I turn 26 this year, so I’m anxious to start my 26 random acts of kindness to celebrate. Last year, I did 25 and I loved every minute of it, so I want to make it a habit each year.
I’ll be sure to document them again!
Whew! I feel like I just ranted a lot. What have you been up to?
You certainly started out the year with a lot of changes, good changes!
We’re totally on board with cooking at home as much as possible because 1) it’s cheaper, 2) it’s healthier, and 3) it’s usually tastier. We’re on a strict grocery budget, and I think we actually eat better because of it. I’m amazed that the cheapest kitchen appliance we have, our $10 crock pot, is probably the tool I use most. Buying value packs of chicken breasts and cooking them in the crock on Sundays to use all week long have been tremendously helpful. Glad to hear you guys have entered home ownership! It’s exciting and terrifying all at once!