money.

that's what's on my mind today. budgets. debt. bills. goals. retirement. houses. babies. money. yeah, that's about it, i'm afraid. but we're focused, and motivated, and goal-oriented.

and i figured out that in one month, if we were sticking to our budget we would spend the same amount on four nights of eating out as we would on two whole weeks' worth of groceries. but we're *not* sticking to our budget. in the average month, i'd say we spend two to three times what we have 'budgeted' for dining out. killer, huh?

so if that's not motivating - i don't know what is. motivating me to cook more. to make sure the kitchen gets cleaned up after dinner so that cooking the next day won't feel like a chore. to slow down and enjoy our meals together.

it's also motivating me to quit fooling around and cancel that stupid gym membership. (i know - you're thinking - how could i possibly when i'm trying to lose weight? another day, another blog entry i'm afraid.) and to find other ways that we can creatively save and make money. and above all, to seek the Lord's guidance. sometimes, that's the hardest thing of all because in our own human selfishness, we don't want to admit that what we want so badly (ahem, new shoes, new clothes, new scrapbook goodies) may not be the best use of our resources.

so that's my tuesday. not much to say about the weekend - got to do a portfolio-building shoot with my best girlfriend on saturday, but i'm being super lazy about proofing. i'll post a few if/when i get around to finishing them. took a really hard fall during a game in kids' church - i tend to forget that those at 5'7" fall further than those at 3'8". thought i'd fractured something - so relieved that i did not; but i'm paying for it still, two days later. monday was so unbelievably relaxing that i - for the first time in a long time - felt bored. crazy.

back to the normal now.