Summer felt both very long and very busy…and it’s officially over in the morning. We zoomed home from Illinois for Karissa to start her new teaching job and do some mandatory trainings. She tested positive for covid after the 1st day so had to join the rest of the week virtually, per local guidelines on isolation. This put a lot of stress on getting her physical room ready for kids and our kids and I helped her get everything done in time for open house. What a busy ending to a busy summer!
The kids got a lot of free time the last week or so to watch tv and play video games – but we did manage to spend time as a family – eating lunch at Publix, a thrift store shopping day, 1st visit to Costco, and more.
Speaking of Costco – we’re seeing if it’s worth the $60 membership fee. After our first visit, it seems like it COULD be. We didn’t notice anything being more expensive at Costco vs. other stores – but the bulk sizes means a surprisingly large bill at checkout. Going forward, we’ll try to buy only the “best” deals at Costco and purchase other things at stores closer to home. Specifically, potatoes, tomatoes, and onions are 50-75% cheaper at Costco! That savings alone justifies the membership cost – if we can avoid the associated overspending of being surrounded by temptation.
Costco also has a $120 “Executive” membership option that pays you 2% rewards on spending. To justify that extra $60, you’d have to spend an additional $3,000 per year there. That’s quite a bit, so we’ll stick to the basic membership for now.
After a summer of gluttony and fast food, we’re trying to reset and get back to eating healthier meals. This means trying to mostly eat things in their natural form – salads, rice with beans & veggies, homemade sandwiches. It’s far too easy to get stuck eating frozen, convenient, and lab-produced foods with long ingredient lists full of 10-letter words.
Cheers to a successful school year for all!
You did it again!! Great read and the pictures are beautiful captures. Hopw day 1 of school was a blast!!!!