Okay, I’m giving in and starting one of these. I see it on a lot of blogs and it seems fun. Plus, I have a bunch of random things I want to mention tonight and it is still Thursday for another 20 minutes, so…I’ll go with it.

Surprise money – Today I found out that I was able to keep a rather large check from my school, and I did my taxes with the help of a girl I know from school and BAM — I got almost exactly the same amount as that check for my tax return too! So excited. I’ve never gotten anything back from taxes; always had to pay, usually around $100. But not this time. To celebrate, tomorrow I’m doing some much needed clothes shopping.

Closet purging – Because of the sudden windfall and knowing that I can splurge just a little now, tonight I finally bit the bullet and purged my closet. I put aside a decent pile to donate/sell, and decided what pieces I want to replace. A lot of what I own is stuff from high school or my first year of college — so, it still fits and “works”, but it feels really stale. I’m in a new phase of my life now, I need new clothes! It’s hard to part with a lot of the things even though I know I could be dressing so much better…ah, the curse of being overly sentimental about everything. I’ll get there someday.

My crock pot – I made two crock pot soups this week, each one a full 5qt load. I’ve got soup coming out the ears! Our freezer is fully stocked for forever now. One was a bean, rice, and veg stew, and the other (my favorite) is the most magical vegetarian chili I have ever laid eyes/nose/tastebuds on. I really can’t even describe how good it is. I’ll post the recipe for it as soon as I can take photos in the daylight. I also realized that I said I’d post the recipe for the stew a few days ago and never did — same issue, no time to take photos during the day. I’m trying! (The soup in the photo above is actually corn chowder from Jason’s mom, not one of the ones I made.)

Meal planning – This is something I need to get better at, but I’m trying as hard as I can. I have enjoyed planning meals ahead this week, and putting in a little extra effort to make a huge batch of something so that I can eat leftovers throughout the week. I’m excited for Jason to get here tomorrow too because cooking for two really is more fun than cooking for one. Tomorrow we’re having chili leftovers and I’m making roast red potatoes to go with it, and Saturday will probably be stew with roast cauliflower on the side. Mmmmm I love winter food.

Family – This weekend my cousin is coming out to my dad’s house to scan old family photos! I’m excited to see what she brings — she said she has some from as far back as the 1940s, when my grandma and her siblings (my great aunts and uncles) were young adults. Should be fun!