Home Alone

Well, we're back! It was a wonderful trip on many levels. Of particular relevance is the fact that we were able to keep the costs way down! Due to circumstances with my husband's work, his company paid for our trip in terms of gas, and mileage! To top it off, I was able to get away for a few days with him, and stay at the hotel with him (totally legit) at no cost. We went out to dinner with 1/2 the cost being reimbursed by the company. Sure it felt weird to ask for separate cheques after almost 9 years of marriage, but hey, we weren't complaining! We were staying at a hotel about a 20 min drive from where my husband's parents live. He does not stay with them for the work trips as during rush hour the commute can take up to an hour each way! But we did pop back in to see the kids one evening as I am not used to spending much time away from them. All in all, it was awesome. I got to have the kids close by, but spend some time alone with my hubby, I ate meals that did not contain chicken nuggets (real or soy) or any form of cheesy pasta, my hubby still had to work, but he got to spend time with us. During the day, I was left to myself, there was a cluster of big box stores about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. I would get up and have breakfast with my husband (free continental!) and then after he left for work, I would get ready for the day and walk to the stores. Then I would bum around in the "cluster" for a couple of hours. I was so very disappointed at the "car culture" in that city. Just walking from one store to another was exhausting after a couple of hours! Around noon I would find something for lunch and head back to the hotel to be completely and utterly useless and loved it. I am happy to say that after 2 full mornings of shopping, I kept the total spent to under $50. And pretty much all of that was cool little gifts for the kids, like a mini volcano that uses baking soda and vinegar... and a thing called a piddle pad (really!) that goes in the carseat "just in case" as our daughter has just finished potty training... just a week or so ago, rather than embarrass her with a diaper for the car, we were all reassured with that waterproof pad! So I am proud to say I did very well!

Now though, my husband has returned to work again, and will be away for about a week or so, we're not sure. I am working on a little project in our home, and set a budget of $100 for myself... and I'm 99% sure I'll come in right under that. It should make a huge difference in our house, but I am not telling what it is just yet as he may read this and I want it to be a surprise for him. It's how I like to cope when he goes away. I pick a project and race to get it done before he gets home. Last time it was a simple rearrangement of the living room, and then the next week was a huge deep spring cleaning... This time it's... whoops ... you'll have to wait to find out ;)