On the other side of the leaf

With the purchase of a new car came the turning over of a new leaf.  The bulk of our money went to eating out because we didn't have the time or energy to cook at home.  So I am proud to say that we are changing that.  We aren't completely there yet, but we are making leaps and bounds.  I am by no means comfortable in the kitchen, but I am trying.  All this to say that I am now eating at home for most of my meals (in fact, I think Jon and I mostly eat out now to socialize...I don't really remember the last time we ate out alone) and I feel better about that.  I feel like it is healthier and I physically feel better most of the time now.  Okay, well, I've been sick with a cold/flu/black plague this past week, but even then I could tell that my body felt more clear eating the stuff we made other than eating out.  I plan to dive deeper into this cooking thing and even into healthier cooking options.  Maybe the "plan a menu for each week" thing needs to happen.  It's overwhelming for me to go into the kitchen and try to pull a meal out of thin air based upon what we have.  *Seriously thinks about this plan a week thing...*  Yes, I do believe this needs to happen.  However, I won't have to cook every night because we will have leftovers.  Yes, this is my plan developing even as I type!  *back burner*  Okay...all that to say that here was my morning:

Jon requested that I make sure he is awake at 6:30am, so this is when I woke up.  I let the dogs out (it was me...now let the song die...), fed them, blah blah.  I didn't really need to be at work until 10am, and I can get there in like 10 minutes, so I really didn't need to be up until about 9am at the earliest.  This left time for me to pay bills.  I paid the gas bill, a student loan bill, our first car payment, and I even paid our phone bill even though we haven't even received it in the mail yet!  Then, I wrote Pikepass an e-mail about how to pay for the couple of times that Jon went through and the Pikepass didn't pick up (he has a paper tag right now AND the Pikepass is not secured to the window yet), complete with picture of his tag!  Then, I wondered if you would be able to renew your tag online and found that you could (I haven't received the little card in the mail yet, so I'm starting to get nervous).  I was almost done when I realized that they were adding an "online fee."  I am supposed to pay you for me doing most of the work?  No.  I will come bother you in person.  Besides, we have to do that whole title thing for Jon's car and I'm pretty sure you can't do that online, so I will have to go in there anyway.  So, I backed out on paying that online.  Then, I went and cooked myself breakfast after Jon left (he didn't want breakfast), got ready, pulled the trash can in from outside, and made it to work by 10am!  Granted, I only cooked an egg and put waffles in the toaster, but it's more than I used to do!   So, that was my morning.  I felt pretty accomplished after it.