New Year: So Far So Good

Today is the last day before heading back to work. The extent to which I do not want to go back to work is rather stunning and has me thinking.

I made a few resolutions for 2010 and a few of them all blend together: creating a serious household budget, spending less money on food and using some of the old Hungarian/WWII era skills I soaked up in my Elyria childhood. Today was a good day for all of the above, in that I made:

* Banana Bread
* Shrimp Salad
* Vanilla Scented Granola
* Ham and Bean Soup (currently simmering as I type)

All of the above was done to use up left overs--the only things we had to buy were sliced almonds, onions and a carrot. Not bad, not bad at all.

I also wanted to mix up Donny's agenda a little bit today. I knew we werent going outside so I downloaded some coloring book pages. I bought the coloring book PDF on Etsy for $3 and now I can print out as many as I want so I won't feel too bad as the kid learns his way around a marker.I was rather proud of myself for coming up with the Tape The Pages to the Mirror Tabletop idea. Worked like a charm.
This one is Donovan's. Not bad for a little guy.
This one is mine. Markers are not my usual milieu, in case you were wondering.

Donny also got a cool puzzle from my Cousins Meg and Larry. Its all sorts of different bugs with metal rivets in the middle. It comes with a little puzzlepiece net with a magnet hanging off a string.
Hours of fun.

It was really great having so much time off to be with the boy. He's good company. I'm definitely going to have some Donny withdrawal tomorrow.