It's ALMOST February!

Confession time! I've broken my No Spenduary rule and I do believe I'm going to break it again tomorrow morning--I'll get back to that in a sec. It's gone REALLY, REALLY well for the vast majority of the month.

Aside from the purchase of appliances (yay, adulthood!) and our backsplash (finally!) which are (A) investments and (B) planned BEFORE No Spenduary started, the FIRST purchase I made was last weekend when we picked up a couple things for the girls at DSG Warehouse Store and Carter's---the shoes I found for Alyssa, a whopping $8, are so darn worth it. We also treated the girls to takeout on their Half Birthdays; it seemed like they could use an extra shot of happiness, and we were glad to oblige. Chipotle for Ab and Hello Bistro for Lyss...happy kiddos, happy parents. They were extra grateful, knowing that we weren't supposed to spend.

Today, I treated myself to a quick (literally, I was speed walking through the store, most likely looking like a total dork!) whirl through Old Navy where I scored a Valentine's Day dress for Alyssa ($7) a pair of shorts for Abby ($1), jeggings for Ab ($15) and leggings for both girls, $3 a pair!

Okay, yes--I broke my self-imposed rule HOWEVER....as is the case with Whole 30, this was as much a mental exercise as it was anything else. This was about discipline and mindfulness, making thoughtful decisions instead of shopping out of habit or reflex. The results speak for themselves--looking at my bank account and the inactivity in there makes me smile.

As for W30, there've been no cheats*---even on my birthday yesterday. I mean, being THIS close to the end of the month, and being SUPER stubborn, I really wanted to see it through. The results we're seeing are pretty great motivators, too! How am I planning to break the rules again tomorrow morning? Ordering breakfast. Oooh, getting crazy, right? When I mentioned that this was as much mental as anything, I realized something---these sacrifices are about resetting habits, but they aren't the only barometer of mood/happiness. Yes, we both feel better...for the most part. Yesterday, for my Birthday, some of my dearest friends surprised me with a quick visit. I knew I missed my people, but I didn't know just how much until they were in my kitchen, my stomach and cheeks hurt from laughing and my heart was overflowing with joy and gratitude. We've been so focused on taking care of our physical well-being, between W30ing, working out and steering clear of COVID, we sorta lost track of how we're feeling mentally. I felt immeasurably better yesterday getting a sliver of time with my friends**. So tomorrow morning, Mark and I are going to order takeout breakfast from a new local joint. We're going to support their business, we're going to eat some yummy food (W30 approved!) and we're going to make an adventure out of running to pick it up. And we'll focus on the time we're spending, not the dime. And we won't feel one ounce of guilt over breaking the rules with this one!

There may be only three more days in the month, but the habits (and results!) will carry over into February and beyond. When you've got goals, ya know....put in the effort to get the results. I'll share a "final" recap next week. Until then---take good care of YOU!

xo, Amy

*I define cheats as breaking the rules in a big way. A glass of wine, eating dessert, having a handful (uhhh, bowl!) of Cheez Its...that kind of thing. NOT the "forbidden" Lara bar or the scant amount of real flour used in a recipe. You say justification, I say reasonable expectation. **Masked, socially-distanced, proper!