Day 10:

Today, my 16 year-old mutinied.  Nicole has always been my obedient child; my high achiever, my loyal supporter.  If I ever need help hiding a body, she'd be my girl.  However, some of my self-declared challenges try her rather exceptional patience; like the time I boycotted cars because I was mad that gas prices were  high and we biked everywhere all summer, or the time I made us ride the bus everywhere a different summer, or like the time our oven broke and I decided we would live without one for a year, or when our dishwasher broke and we washed dishes by hand because it was good for us.  Or... like that time I decided we would live off food storage for a month... One thing I am hoping our children learn from me is that just because society says you need something in order to be able to function doesn't mean you actually do.  I want them to know how to retrench, even when they have plenty of money.  None of this has ever been about money; we could have paid for the gas, replaced the dishwasher and oven, and driven around both summers; it has always been about challenging ourselves and our expectations and seeing what we're made of.

Today, as a protest, Nicole cooked her own meals, including her lunch of french toast made from my homemade bread, and my 1/2 & 1/2 milk mixture...*cough* both from food storage--shhhhhh.  She also made dinner for the family; a corn chowder from our current baking supplies and frozen corn.  When I asked her to take a picture so I could add it to my blog, she jokingly washed her hands of food storage, my blog, and me in general.  🤣🤣🤣  So, I snuck my own picture, which didn't look nearly as appetizing as it did when it was warm.  It smells amazing though, and I'm sad that my dairy/gluten-free self doesn't get to put it in my belly.