Calories: 1549

Just got back from the gym, where I did my treadmill and abs. Joining this gym is one of the best decisions I've ever made -- it makes exercise so easy, and I feel so much better. And it gets me out of the house every day, which improves my outlook for the whole day!

I bought $10 worth of gas yesterday in anticipation of my trip tomorrow to the western suburbs. Then I'll top off the tank when I get there, where the gas is so much cheaper. The breakfast I'm attending starts at 7:30, which means I'll need to be on the road by 6:30 at the latest! Yikes, I used to do this every day, but now it seems daunting.

I'm going to try not to spend any more money before pay day on Wednesday, other than for dinner with my friend E. on Tuesday night. Even after pay day I think I will try to hold off on groceries. I'm going to Indiana to visit BFF Wednesday through Friday, so it would make more sense to get groceries when I come back.

That said, the food situation is getting a little challenging. Not that I'll starve, but I'm having to be a little creative. For instance, yesterday, tired of eating spaghetti, I turned the remaining spaghetti sauce into chili. It wasn't bad, though I would never enter it in a chili contest!

I'm out of fresh vegetables/fruits and bread (but I do have frozen vegetables and end pieces of bread in the freezer).

I thawed a whole pack of burgers yesterday. Didn't really want to, but they were all stuck together, so I couldn't thaw one at a time, like I was planning. (They came this way from the store, with no wax paper or anything between the burgers -- I know better than to freeze burgers in one big stack). I cooked four of them, ate one in a bun, and froze the other three. Today I'll do the same, so I'll have six cooked burgers in the freezer. They'll be easy for lunches, though not as tasty as fresh-cooked burgers.

My trip to visit lakeside lighthouses with SIL has been canceled. Her schedule got too crowded. I'm just as glad -- not that I wouldn't have enjoyed it, but it would have been another September expense that I didn't need. I have two birthdays in September, a conference/workshop to attend, a dentist and doctor appointment, and I'm due for an oil change and a haircut. I'm sure there are other things that I'm just not thinking of!