Fiscal Fast is Over

Day 5 of our first Fiscal Fast was hot and sunny... Ok, ok, so it went just fine without any accidents. We didn't go to any stores, didn't spend any money, didn't even think about spending money. The refrigerator was getting emptier and we ran out of fresh fruits (I know, I know - not quite the Donner Party story, but YOU WEREN'T THERE!). I took Mark to the lake to feed the ducks and then to the pool in the morning. Then in the afternoon, after Chris came home from work, he took Mark to our neighbor's pool, which is actually better than the Lake Johnson pool because it has a real spring board, hehe.

Day 6 was a Saturday. As usual, I was going to sleep in while Chris was supposed to entertain Mark for a couple of hours, until 8-9am. Through my sleep I heard them leaving the house... Did they go to a playground? Did they go to a park? Or maybe they went to a post-office to mail a letter? No, no, no! They went to a coffee house (guess who's idea that was). And so our Fiscal Fast was interrupted. But just like any successful dieter would know, it's important not to regard these occasional slip ups as an all-or-nothing deal. That's where the cheat-day concept comes in. And so we cheated just a little bit - Chris had his morning coffee and later that afternoon we bought a big $3-dollar snow-cone at a Moore Square concert. In our defence, it was VERY hot out there and we did split the snow-cone between the 3 of us (yes, Mark loves snow-cones).

Day 7 was supposed to be the last day of our Fiscal Fast. Well, turns out, while asleep, we made a joint decision to cancel Day 7 altogether and stick to a 6-day week. We decided to properly celebrate the end of the challenge by going to the Gypsy's Shiny Diner in Cary for some breakfast. And since our fridge was practically empty, right after breakfast we went to the Farmers Market and then to the Whole Foods. But that was it as far as day's spendings. In the afternoon we went on a stroll along one of the greenways. And in the evening we went to yet another free concert, this one at the Fletcher Park. And really, we could've done a lot worse and went to a mall or to a Target store instead.

So all in all, even though we didn't last the entire week, we didn't do too bad either. We didn't perish nor did we go through hardship. We didn't stay at home getting bored. As a matter of fact, we found one of the nicest parks in Raleigh (Fletcher Park) and re-visited possibly the best playground in the Triangle area (Kids Together) and we went to more concerts (3) this week than many people go in a year. We haven't been to any store, except for Whole Foods and a couple of book stores. And best of all, we only drove 134 miles - half-tank of gas.