Resolutions... Do you make them?

So here it is a new year - 2011.  2010 was a pretty good year for me, it had its ups and its downs but life can't be perfect all the time right?  And I must say the down times were a learning experience and as hard as they were it made me realize that people and things are not always what they seem to be.  So goodbye to those people and things + 2010 and hello to 2011!

Now, I have been reading on FB where people are talking about their resolutions for the new year.  Do you have New Years Resolutions?  I have made them in the past but again just one of those things from past experiences.. I NEVER stick to them.  So therefore the past few years I haven't made any.  However I was intrigued by what a fellow fb friend posted... they were wondering if they could go 1 year without eating out.  Well there is NO possible way I could do this... you all know how much I LOVE Popeye's and many other places.  However thinking back to 2010 I have realized that I have gotten pretty lazy on cooking.  Maybe it has something to do with getting up early everyday, getting the kids off to school (well ok Matt usually takes care of that but it sounds good), getting Ryder and Gaines every morning and taking care of them all day, then Ashley gets home at 3 and Brendan at 4 and it is snack and homework time.  Then the boys leave between 4 and 5 on a typical day and you know what... I am TIRED!  Yes, I know I will get some lip from those of you that actually go to a place of business for work but trust me just because I don't leave the house doesn't mean I don't work.  So, when it comes time to cook I am just too tired sometimes!  Who's with me moms?  Let's say we eat out during the week on average 2-3 times, this is just Monday through Friday.  We will typically spend $25-$35 for the 4 of us.. and YES that is nothing fancy I am talking Popeye's, Subway, Zaxby's, Wendy's, Chic-Fil-A Pizza Hut not Outback, Chili's or Applebee's.  So that is anywhere from between $50 to $100 minimum per week (2-3 days) just for a quick I don't feel like cooking meal!  That doesn't include the $50-$75 we will spend going out one night on the weekend to eat (not factoring in movie money or any other forms of entertainment).  Wow, that is a lot of money!  We can feed our family of 4 easily for 7 days on less than that if I cook.

So this is OUR, yes Matt and I both, resolution this year... we are going to do our BEST to ONLY eat out one night on the weekend.  The way we figure it, if we don't eat out during the week then we won't feel so guilty about having a nice dinner out on the weekends.  Which translates to I won't feel so guilty about asking Matt to take us somewhere like Outback on Saturday night when the bill for 4 is usually around $75!  But wait... when will I ever get to eat Popeye's???  I can't possibly "waste" my one night out a week on POPEYE'S!  Well we did agree that if we ever have something going on during the week that would cause us to need a quick meal this would be the only exception to the rule.  So Amanda Roberts... please make sure we have our monthly HOA board meetings EVERY month.. because this would qualify as needing a quick meal night, thank you in advance!  :-)

Here is the HARDEST part... I also agreed (God why did I do this?) to only get Sonic cokes during happy hour!  WHAT???  Ok, I can do this!  Today Matt and I dropped the kids off at the skating rink and we had 2 hours to "kill".  We decided to go across the street to Wal-mart and get our grocery shopping done for the week.  Well in the check out line I told Matt I REALLY wanted a coke.  He actually looked at his watch and said we have 10 minutes to get there before happy hour is over!  10 MINUTES????  I looked at that checker and gave her this can you PLEASE HURRY YOUR *** UP look because I only have 10 MINUTES to get to Sonic if I want a coke!  Thank GOD Sonic is directly across the street and we made it!  $2.14 for TWO route 44 cokes!  Can not beat that and we saved $2.14 today!  ;-)

Happy New Years everyone, I hope you can stick with your resolutions this year... I am sure going to try!