Enjoying the Weekend Without Spending

We started Friday by packing our snacks and then headed to Butterfly World with our annual pass.  The boys wore themselves out running around the park and had both fallen asleep by the time we reached the car.  In the afternoon, I took out the water table (later turned into a mud table) and allowed the boys to play on the patio while I began dinner.  We had a pork loin in the freezer, and I remembered finding Hoisin sauce while doing our pantry inventory.  With a quick google search, I found Recipe 1 and Recipe 2.  I didn't quite have all the ingredients needed so I found myself somewhere in the middle of the two: marinating the pork in 1.5 inch chunks for 30 minutes in a mixture of 1/2 yellow onion, several garlic cloves minced, 2 tbsp honey, and 4 tbsp Hoisin sauce.  I cooked the pork in about 2 tbsp sesame oil, allowing it to brown before covering the pan and letting it simmer on medium heat till cooked through tenderly.  We ate it alongside Jasmine rice and Jolly Green Giant Steamers green beans with almonds.  Everyone loved the meal, and we finished the bread pudding for dessert.  Hubby and I enjoyed some Netflix (account generously shared by my eldest sister) after putting the kids in bed (we cancelled our cable years ago).

Summing Up Saturday:

• Took down indoor Christmas decorations
• Made JELLO with help from the boys
• Went to a friend's birthday party - we had hoped to walk there but rain stopped us; I bought the gift in advance of the fiscal fast
• I lightly fried a can of Garbanzos and added them to the pork leftovers, cooked up some more rice, and packed it all up (along with our green, star-shaped JELLO jigglers) to take to the park - the rain had cleared up so we walked
• Hubby and I enjoyed some Internet TV and microwave popcorn

SUNDAY, SUNDAY...

We almost spent money today!  We did not plan accordingly for the fiscal fast in the area of DIAPERS!  We both thought we had more diapers in the garage... oops!  We did not.  Fortunately, our laziness in returning a gift to Target paid off today: we exchanged the gift for a box of diapers.  I realize in the technical sense, we used a gift card; however, this was a much better option than shelling out cash, and since we exchanged a gift, we never spent our own money in order to get these diapers.  It's all good!  Did I mention we walked to Target?  We did!  We played in the afternoon and had dinner at my parents with my brother also: a wonderful way to complete a splendid, spending-free Sunday.

Notes for Saving and Eliminating Waste:

1. It may seem obvious, but if your destination is nearby, WALK!  Or bike, scoot, skip... You can save gas AND love your heart (I've adopted this phrase from my creative brother).
2. If you haven't already done so, think seriously about canceling your cable (more on this later).
3. Eat your leftovers.  You can even reincorporate them into your next meal.