one of the things dh did while we were driving was talk–as much as children present in the van allowed   We talked about the work we have left to do on the house.  Tomorrow, in fact, dh is going to get the 2X4’s, drywall and wood sheets we need to finish the bathroom walls and we will be starting tiling this week.  I know it might seem crazy to jump right into work on the house when we just got back from a trip but we needed that break to be able to get back and finish up everything left to be done. We’re also going to focus next week on painting the living/dining room and we are making plans to do the rest of everything we have to do.  We sort of hit a rough patch of doing nothing before we left–burned out completely.  But we feel recharged about all this work now

We also talked about the small amount of disposable income we’re going to be having each month starting next month.  For the first time in our marriage we have a little extra after all the bills are paid and we want to make sure we budget it wisely.  We’ll have small categories for car maintenance, clothing, etc., and we’re even going to have an amount for making sure we get haircuts regularly and once a month I’m going to try and get a mani-pedi!  Shock–but Joanne spoiled me   I’ve never done the pedi before but I used to do a lot to keep myself maintenanced and groomed and I’ve really let it all go in the reality of not having money for it.  I mean, I get my hair done about twice a year right now, and do my own nails, and try with what energy and time I have to keep myself up–I’m not a slouch But this year is about rediscovering myself and I think this is an important part of it.  I’m excited to see how our budget works.