Thoughts abound

We had an interesting day. I was once again reminded that I have issues with control. R has grand plans on the garden he wants to have for me, and I, well, I do't see myself needing quite so much, let alone being quite ready for all that he wants to do. Basically, he wants to take 1/2 our grassy area in our bakyard, rota-till it, and grow everything we possibly can, corn, tomatoes, squash, peppers. You name it, he wants to grow it. I have seeds for almost everything, and those I don't have, I'm sure I can find them. I'm not keen on tearing up that much of the yard-then again, I have 3 boys, and whether I like it or not, I'm sure they'd tear it up over the summer. I decided to just let him do his thing, he's eager about us becoming more self sufficient when it comes to produce, so I'll give it a shot, can't hurt to try. This week I'm going to look for some books on canning at the library, I think that'll be my focus this summer. I figure I'll have things to can, so I might as well start early and learn what items to look out for (and what coupons I should get for supplies). R's mom has offered to show me how to make jam-not only would that be great quality time together, but that'd just add to our savings on our grocery bill.

That brings me to my next thought. I've been debating with R on whether we should spring for season passes to a local attraction this year. For our family it would cost $125. I'm keen on the idea, as we're planning on staying close to home this summer. R is taking summer school, and I'm predicting gas to shoot back up sky high. No one's talking about it, but it is something I'm thinking about. I want to know that we have stuff to do close to home, in case we don't go to see my sister or go up north to see R's mom, or even to the coast to see R's dad. R's left it up to me, and I'm definitely on the fence. Doing this would definitely keep us busy on those days where I don't know what we should do. With our parking pass, I"d never have to worry about coming up with the $3 park fee. We'd also be able to take advantage of the water attraction there-which is free-but having access to the rides-even better! Either way, I know we'll keep it frugal this summer, lots of picnics, easy meals at home, especially on those hot summer nights. So this is something on my mind, there's nothing that says I have to decide right now, I'll wait another month and see what comes up.

Tomorrow R is working instead of Tuesday, since Tuesday is a state holiday (Cesar Chavez Day), so he has that day off. I'm thinking about heading to a large local park, scooters and bikes in tow, so w can get sme good exercise in. If the weather is anything like today, it'll be perfect-it was nice and cool! I loved the weather today, it was calm and peaceful. The boys played a ton outside, and even E got in on the action. Turns out his brothers car toy is just his size, and he was happy to hang out in it for most the day. We ate at home all day, much easier than I thought, since the boys wanted to be outside more than in, and we have food in the house. We were tempted to hit a couple of restaurants for dinner, but as R put it to me this evening, we have a fridge full of food, no point in going out now. Also, there's a few shops that are available for mystery shopping next month, so we passed on going there today. I did get paid for those shops last month, so I feel comfortable taking them from the same companies again. R's excited about both of them-I think because it means we all eat for under $30, and the whole thing is reimbursed to us. I told him to enjoy it while it lasts, seems like a lot more businesses are struggling now, and I'm reluctant to believe anything is improving anytime soon.

I'm headed offline for the night. The boys are asleep and I'm going to curl up withmy tivo'd shows, some chocolate, and some red wine. Today was full of accomplishments and that's reason to celebrate!