Spending Freeze

Perhaps like some of you, we overspent a little this Christmas, and decided to put ourselves on a spending freeze for the final two weeks of our fiscal month. For us, spending freeze=staying out of all stores, restaurants, and buying nothing that wasn't absolutely essential, so we didn't stop buying milk or gas.

We are now two days away from being able to spend money again, and, although, at the beginning of this, I was so sick of stores because of all the shopping done at Christmas, I'm at the point where I could use a good trip to Target. I think having a shopping fast was good for me in several different ways. I have never been so resourceful in my meal making as I have these past two weeks. We don't eat out a lot, but we definitely do a trip to Costco or Taco Bell for lunch or dinner here and there, and I am missing the convenience of that. I love to cook, but 16 days in a row with no help can make you dream of a gut-buster Costco food court hot dog merely for the fact that someone else cooked it and we can throw away the mess when we're done.

In other news, I am more than a little obsessed with this caramel corn/moose munch recipe. I made at least 4 batches to give away to neighbors at Christmas, but since then it has been made about 4 more times just to eat. I have made it with and without chocolate and can shamelessly sit and eat almost the whole batch all myself. The difference with this and other caramel corns that I have made is the honey. It adds a whole new layer of flavor that is unique and addicting.