Out to Lunch

Because I enjoy cooking, and because I'm fairly frugal, I hardly ever go out to eat. This week, though, I'm pretty sure I haven't cooked a single meal and have gone out every day. Not only is this an expensive habit, but I think it's a lot easy to overeat and to not make the healthiest choices. Tonight was a special occasion, a friend's birthday dinner, and I had a healthy meal. I brought half of it home, and I still feel like I ate too much. We went to a Japanese steak house and it was great fun to sit at the hibachi grill and watch the show. There were six in our party and we took up most of the table, but halfway through our meal a family of four sat at the end of the table. Every one of them had his/her cell phone out; I thought this was rude and odd -- the phones weren't just out, but in use with games, texting or email -- and distracting. It was easy enough to turn away. Our group was probably distracting them from their cell phone activities. We were pretty boisterous.

Last night I felt like getting a steak. I had been running my youngest son all around town to find a car for the past two days and the middle one was coming to pick him up, so we all went to Longhorn. The day before that, it was Friday's. Monday it was Mexican. Of course, I paid each time (with the exception of tonight, when we each paid our own way, and part of the birthday girl's meal). My sons wouldn't have chosen to go out unless I invited them, so I never thought about not paying. In the past four days, I have spent more than I would normally spend on two weeks' (or more) worth of groceries. I'm a tightwad about certain things, and usually if I have food in the house I won't pay to eat somewhere else.

Today we found a car for my son. Tomorrow he will go back to Orlando. I will get back to cooking for myself and eating at home. It's been a busy and fun week, but I'm ready to rein in the spending and eat more sensibly. My wallet -- and my waistline -- will both thank me.