It's been a few days, and they've been busy days!

Two days ago, my brother, his wife, his daughter and his SIL came to Chicago on a spontaneous day trip. I joined them downtown and spent the day. They were in a holiday mood and insisted on paying for everything. I finally managed to pay their parking fee - $32 - which is all that the whole outing cost me. We went to the planetarium and saw two shows (and had lunch as well), then went to Water Tower Place. All the others shopped, but I wasn't interested in buying anything. I was happy to look around. We had supper at M Burger. MMmmm! We also did a LOT of walking around, so I'm sure I burned off that burger, fries and shake!

Yesterday I hosted the New Year's Day brunch. It was a big success, in that everyone seemed to have a really good time and spent most of the day here. I had a few cooking mishaps. The bacon-wrapped dates and the egg casserole were both overdone. I watched and watched those two dishes (cooking together in the oven) and it seemed like they would never get done -- and then they were overdone! Still edible, but a bit of a disappointment.

The pineapple upside down cake, however, was glorious, both in taste and appearance!

It was a rough morning getting ready, because I blew a circuit three times. The dishwasher and the vacuum cleaner were the culprits, and I wasn't even running them at the same time! Oh well, I was very relieved that the dishwasher wasn't broken, which is what I thought at first!

My ex brought me a gift. We did not attend the same gift-opening this year, so I didn't get him a gift, and was surprised that he brought one. However, I do have some things in my gift stash that I can wrap and run over there if I decide to do so.

He gave me a Barnes & Noble gift card -- the funny part is that there is no indication how much it will buy! I know I can look it up; it just made me chuckle because I'm always careful to provide that kind of information when I give a card.

I cooked off my bargain turkey on New Year's Eve and had the kids over for dinner. Now I have lots of leftovers, and the carcass is simmering on the stove for broth. I have hardly any leftovers from the brunch, however. I hope everyone got enough to eat!

Later today I will do my December recap and my 2014 recap. I know already that December was a pretty wild month for spending.

I'm not setting any rigid resolutions, but I do plan to increase my net worth by $10K this year. However, if I get laid off in March, or if I have to retire before December, that won't be an achievable goal. So we'll see. It may be an interesting year.

I have one more month for the Discover challenge. My tentative plans for this month's spending are: mattress, coffeemaker, pots & pans, sheets/comforter. All are needed updates. I also may invest in some tall boots. The mattress is the only thing I'll get for sure.

I'm glad I've done this Discover challenge to make myself buy things I need for the long haul, but I'll be happy to go back to a frugal life in February!