The price for four tickets to Hawaii

Nonstop, from San Jose airport to Maui. . . $107. Life is good!

We've been thinking of going to Maui again with the kids, right around Thanksgiving this year. We went at that time a two years ago, and it was amazing! We finally had enough frequent flier tickets to make it happen (seriously, M traveled *all the time* for his old job). We were 3,000 miles short, so we spent $87 buying the extra miles, and then there was a $5 security fee for each ticket. Grand total = $107.

For inquiring minds, it took 280,000 frequent flier miles, and they were going to expire soon, as M doesn't travel as much, and our local airport doesn't have many Alaska Airlines flight (our Seattle hub).

I'm now trying to figure out how to make the rest of the trip cost $6000 or so, which should be interesting. We're staying for nine nights! I'm so excited!

Anyway, getting the flights booked put me in a very good Monday mood. ;-) My night time calls also got canceled this evening, as it's a holiday in Tokyo. I'm momentarily blocking the fact that I have to get my passport renewed so I can start traveling for work. :-(

In other fun Monday news, I ran three miles, with Nick pacing me on the scooter. It was 78, & I was panting when we were done, but i did it!!


What was one positive thing about your Monday?

Another Saturday, another soccer game

Sam has soccer all.the.time. ;-) 

Luckily, the game is at our local elementary school, so just walking distance from our house.

Also on the agenda today:

1. A trip to Costco for grocery shopping
2. A couple of miles around the track (during soccer warm ups, naturally) :)
3. Yoga
4. Make banana muffins
5. The produce stand for some mini cucumbers & strawberries
6. Rite Aid for Motrin. Nick has had a terrible headache for a few days now - poor guy.

And, I think we're going to grill burgers tonight - it's supposed to be 75 today. Mayyyybe, we'll get crazy & make some margaritas tonight. We're a wild crew!

What about you? What are you up to this Saturday? How is the weather in your area? Fingers crossed that the game isn't quite the 0-11 blowout of last weekend. ;-) 

April goal check

The month is half way over, so I thought it would be good to do a quick check on where I'm at. Mostly because I need to refresh my own memory on what I said I'd get done this month. ;-)

All right, so here's my  list of goals, & where I'm at:

1. Lose 3 lbs. - I've lost one pound. Considering we had our little adult getaway this month, I'm pretty pleased about this. On track.
2. Track my calories every day using MyFitnessPal - Yes! This is just habit & I really enjoy taking a closer look at my calorie intake, & how it trends, & how that impacts my weight.
3. No dessert at work! For the entire month! - This has been incredibly difficult for me, but yes! I'm shocked by how many extra calories I have each day to spend on healthier food. :-) 
4. Complete 1,000 minutes of cardio. - I'm at 520, so on track. 
5. Complete 8 strength workouts. - Yes! 4 workouts so far.
6. Complete 8 stretching workouts. I'm good at getting in one workout a week (on Sundays). I need to also do one evening per week. - Fail. :-( Zero. Nick has started soccer on Sundays, which has completely interfered with my schedule. I need to find a new yoga routine.
7. Register for a half marathon, or a 15K. Start training. - Yes! I've signed up for a run in July, and have started increasing my mileage (both walking & running).
8. Better manage my work schedule - take more breaks, work out regularly, and block out time on the calendar. - Baby steps, but yes!
9. Have one date night with M (should be easy - we're doing a long weekend together). - Done! We went to Las Vegas & had an amazing time together. Although, it was too short!
10. Do one social activity. - I had lunch with a friend yesterday, and have been trying to plan an activity for some other ladies that live on my street. It will likely get scheduled for May, but I'm trying to branch out!
11. Find a running club. - Nope. I need to investigate new options, as I've emailed my neighborhood alias & didn't hear back. Not sure what my next step will be.
12. Finalize tax payment plan. - Done, & mailed. :-( 
13. Stick to our budget. - Definitely not. We bought season passes to Great America (with a work discount, almost the same price as a regular ticket), & had to enroll the boys in camps for the summer. .. Camp was almost $4K for all of the weeks. Our childcare costs will be next to nothing in the summer, but in the meantime. . . 
14. Continue exploring next career options. - I haven't spent a ton of time on this, but I think about it often in small doses. It's especially an area that I think about when I'm on walks after work. I think, long-term, I'd like to work part-time. It's not realistic in my current role, but maybe that's something I can work towards. 
15. Make a list/plan for my trip to the beach over Memorial Day of what I want to accomplish/get rid of. It's a fun girls trip, but I plan to take full advantage of being there to go through our stuff. Minimize the pain when we actually sell. ;-) - No, haven't started. 

Not exactly perfect, but I feel pretty good about my progress so far. And, just for fun, here's a picture of my boys - they are on spring break this week, so they went to Santa Cruz with a camp. Other than the fact that my oldest forgot his shoes on the beach (and, they were brand new!), it was a great experience. It was 82 degrees on the beach yesterday!

And, what about you? What were you hoping to accomplish in April? There's still time to refocus your energy & get some things marked off of your goals!

Sunday Night Chit Chat

What a fun & fast-paced weekend it's been. I managed to get in 20 miles of walking & running this week (my goal!). I'm *thinking* about doing another half marathon in July (albeit at a much slower pace from my previous time), and if I keep up the miles at this level, it's within reach.

We had a soccer game yesterday (Sam's team got absolutely decimated) & the tops of my feet got sunburned! That was painful in my running shoes today. Nick had soccer this morning, & both boys attended a birthday party this afternoon, while I ran the track at the park where the party was held. I also made hummus, & pesto from all of the gorgeous basil growing in the yard. It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend, & I didn't work at all. Wish all of my days were like this. ;-)

• Reading: I just finished a book this afternoon (reading out on the patio with a glass of wine - absolute HEAVEN). 

• Listening to: The boys are listening to an episode of Top Gear. They are obsessed with cars. ;-) 

• Watching: Same as above. Top Gear!

• Cooking/baking: I make pasta with pesto (fresh from the garden), and we had a huge veggie tray with homemade hummus for an appetizer.

• Happy I accomplished this past week: I finished our summer camp registrations (oh my, the cost, and oh my the time needed to coordinate!!!) I also got our taxes all mailed off. *Shivers*

• Looking forward to: My friend is visiting from Seattle with her daughter, and we're having lunch on Wednesday. We're also going to Great America with the kids on Saturday, which should be fun. 

• Thankful for: Having enough money to pay our taxes, despite owing a boatload of money. And, that we had such a fabulous weekend together. The boys are growing up so quickly, & the journey is getting very enjoyable. :-) 

What about you? How was your weekend? What are you looking forward to in the week ahead?

A little weekend getaway

M & I took a mini vacation on Thursday evening, while my parents flew in to watch the boys. It was one of my goals of 2014 to have at least one solo weekend, and it was so fabulous. :-) I absolutely adore my boys, but having a little adult time was the best!

My parents managed all of the normal kid activities (the school walkathon, two soccer games, and two soccer practices), while we played blackjack by the pool, sipping mojitos. ;-) I got a great massage, and we had leisurely meals together. It was way too short (we had to fly back on Saturday evening, as my parents Sunday evening flight got moved up by 5 hours!).

And, we were fully back to reality on Sunday morning. Nick had soccer at 8:00 am, I took my parents to the airport, Sam had a soccer game (scored his second goal of the weekend!), Nick had a birthday party, and finally, Sam had a pool party with a friend. Other than doing the laundry & picking up groceries, it was all I could do to survive the day. ;-)

We came home with a little bit of money, which is always a great way to end a trip to Las Vegas. :-) The time away really reminded me how much fun we have together, and how important it is to reconnect. It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day of parenting, but we also need to make time for our marriage. Since our last getaway, we've - moved, both switched jobs, and there's been a tremendous amount of stress and change. I'm hoping to schedule more regular date nights, since weekends away aren't possible without a lot of advanced planning.

Back to reality! Here's our menu plan:

Monday - tacos
Tuesday - grilled burgers & homemade buns
Wednesday - Leftover tacos
Thursday - Chicken & pasta
Friday - risotto. Not sure on the flavor yet. Maybe asparagus & chicken?
Saturday - homemade pizza
Sunday - Still have to figure this one out, but if Costco has salmon, we will likely grill that with corn or asparagus

It's supposed to be warm all week, so we're looking forward to the nice weather. What's on your menu this week? How do you make time for your spouse? Regular date nights, or weekend getaways?