Day 154 and I am so sick of hearing this!

Is anyone else tired of hearing all those comparisons, like a gallon of Starbucks coffee would be $53 a gallon, or a gallon of (individual) bottles of water would be $16, etc.? Really, who cares? We're not using those to fill our tank and I am not at all interested in the comparisons. However, there is one valid point to it. If you're having trouble with the high gas prices, it is time to cut back on those kinds of extras to pay for that gas. Examine the ways in your budget that you can cut back in order to compensate for the gas. Can you make more meals from scratch? Can you cut back on eating out? What about those extras you buy at the grocery store, like pop? Those could go, they are not necessities (although sometimes getting that Diet Dr. Pepper sure FEELS like a necessity! LOL).

Some of the ideas shared with me by a friend for spending a little time on myself (thanks Christina!) include: take a leisurely walk with my husband, read a book instead of watching TV, get a pedicure, and long hot soaks in the tub. One that I've already been doing is meditation. I got the idea from the Finding Your Smile Again book. In it, Jeff lists three ways to meditate. He also has an article about it on his website. If you go to his website (Explorations Early Learning linked at the bottom of the blog page) and click on the tab labeled "resources" on the left, then "articles", then "provider articles", you'll get to a page that has a bunch of articles on it. About halfway down the list, there is one called "Give Meditation a Try: Three Techniques". I highly recommend checking it out. Meanwhile, I'll keep looking for and trying to think of more ideas.