People aren't getting the concept of the cheap and easy weekend. Nor are they sharing the love. When I try to explain the concept, there's just a lot of head bobbing, followed by a subject change.

The cheap and easy weekends aren't that complicated, really. An idea for what to do is formulated the weekend before, usually on a Sunday morning when we're lolling about on the upstairs couch. The work week is spent e-mailing suggestions back and forth. Plans are shorn up by Friday night.

I think it's the constraints of the cheap-and-easy throw people. "How can you have any sort of fun on $50 in Albuquerque?"

It's all a matter of planning. Those fifty bucks finance any meals out, cover charges we may incur, movie tickets, admission prices and -- most horrifying to some -- booze. We made the decision to keep the booze seprate from our grocery tab to keep costs down, and to get us out of the house and somewhere interesting when we want a beer.

(Coffee on the other hand? Even though Satellite's kind of out of the way and not at all included on any sort of grocery bill, it's still covered.)

Anyway. Once the money's out, we're done. If there's cash left over, it goes in the next weekend's pot, but it's usually less than $10.

So I scour the Venue each week, looking for free activities (corn maze!) and stuff playing at the dollar theater. We e-mail weekend structure ideas back and forth. Meals are planned because we're both big into cooking for entertainment. When we do eat out, we become very particular about where we're going. Not that we've ever been fans of casual chain dining, but now I have even less inclination to eat at TGIChilibees. Please see the sushitastrophe from two weeks ago. Why eat bland pre-packaged food when there's incredible spicy tuna to be had?

Exactly.

Fifty bucks isn't a whole heck of a lot, but suddenly, I'm living for the weekends more than I have in a long, long time.