Menu Plan Sunday

I'm going to try a different timing with my menu plan, and post it on Sundays (despite the lack of symmetry with "Monday" and "Menu" ;-), and have Monday be a fitness recap. I'll give it a whirl & see how it goes.

• Friday: orange chicken & fried rice
• Saturday: spaghetti & meatballs + garlic bread
• Sunday: one pot chicken & rice
• Monday: leftover spaghetti & meatballs
• Tuesday: tacos
• Wednesday: leftover chicken & rice
• Thursday: Thanksgiving! We have steak, scalloped potatoes, sauteed green beans with parmesan & toasted almonds & ice cream & pie. Oh, and the adults often have pomegranate martinis as part of happy hour, where the teens eat goat cheese crostini with pomegranate seeds on top. 
• Friday: chicken shawarma

What about you? What's on your menu for the week? Any fun new recipes to recommend? 

Saturday Happenings

I spent the majority of the morning working through job applications (always a treat) & getting chores done on the computer. I also finished my shopping for M (we just do a few small items) & rounded out my list of what I still need to buy. That felt nice to mark off of my to do list.

As for the rest of the day, I have a few fun things on the agenda (yoga, old coworker meet up) & then regular chores:

• Make one pot chicken & rice dish for dinner
• Call Sam (getting him to answer will be the real adventure)
• Help Nick with some college application tasks
• Review essays from student I'm mentoring
• Daily chores (language lesson, journal & meditation)
• Pay physics tutor
• Go for a walk with former coworker
• Vacuum
• Sort out flights for girls trip to Sedona in the spring

What about you? What are you up to today? A mix of chores & fun, I hope!

And, for visual interest, photo of the start of one of our hikes last weekend. Zion in the fall was incredible!

Frugal Friday

 Saving on things we buy

• Sam asked if he could join ski club in college, and wanted a season's pass for Christmas. I was able to get the college discount ($60 off) pretty easily. I also review my credit card offers regularly, and found a 20% cash back reward for the pass, which will save another $211! That is a huge savings. I've never seen the season pass credit card offer, and typically skip over the "entertainment" category of rewards, but this reminds me to explore all options. 
• I chased down our orthodontia claim with our dental insurance, and finally got a hold of someone who could help. We received a reimbursement check of $2300. 
• Noticed that the local airport was running a holiday parking sale (if you pre-book), so I was able to book advanced parking for our trip to Portland over Christmas. I saved $12 by booking early. 
• I was very close to clicking "buy" on Southwest flights for my parents to visit in April (when we are going to Spain - they will be looking after Nick - the last trip where we will need to fly anyone in for "child" care purposes!), but decided to check Alaska. Alaska hasn't been competitive vs Southwest in at least 18 months, but today they were $400 cheaper! I also assumed I'd used the wallet credit I had in my spreadsheet, but nope, I also had a $300 travel credit, which saved almost half of the cost of the flights. My parents prefer Alaska vs Southwest, so they will be thrilled. 

Earning money

• I found $81 in my Paypal account (a combination of Rakuten cash back + a survey payment), and transferred that over to my bank account. 
• I had a small gambling budget for my night in Las Vegas, and won money, which is always a really fun treat! 

Avoiding spending

• Saved around $1800 on spring club soccer fees, as Nick is playing school tennis instead. Last year he needed to do both to keep his soccer skills high enough to make the high school team, but this year is his last year of club soccer & we've just completed the fall season! We've had 2 kids in club soccer for 11 years, and then one bonus year with just Nick. It's been a lot of soccer!!!
• Chatted with the family about ways to reduce holiday spending, now that 5 of 6 "kids" are adults. We are moving into an exchange vs gifts for all, which will cut off two folks from everyone's shopping list. 

Eating what we have

• Defrosted the remaining beef & broccoli for an easy dinner this week. I tend to not use much broccoli in the first prep of the dish, knowing we will have leftovers. I then warm the beef, and add fresh broccoli & allow that to just barely steam, and then serve. It keeps the broccoli fresh, and makes the leftovers very tasty. 
• Made (an extra hungry) Nick popcorn as a pre-dinner snack. All of that school soccer is increasing his appetite.
• Made Nick various lunches from items around the house, when he was home between high school & college class. I used up the last of our bread & cheese to make him a few grilled cheese sandwiches this week.
• We had the leftover white bean & chicken sausage skillet leftovers for a dinner, and then I had the rest for lunch, along with a piece of toast and a banana. 

For others

• Hiking friend from last weekend & I previously worked for the same company. She received a very senior promotion offer from them, so I helped her negotiate the offer & come up with a list of questions, prep for the offer call. As I'd previously worked at the company as well, she appreciated having someone she could discuss it with who knew the compensation. 
• Had a call with one of the students I'm mentoring, and reviewed her college essays. 

What about you? Any wins to share? 

Mid week menu plan

 It's definitely been a fly by the seat of my pants menu plan this week. But, checking the freezer & going through what's available in the fridge always helps.

My friend & I did takeout on Friday night, and then a dinner out on Saturday & Sunday, so no meal planning was involved.

On Monday, I came back & had no plans, so Nick picked up takeout Greek food for the two of us, while M ate leftovers (his preference). 

I got it together yesterday, and defrosted the beef & broccoli dish, cutting up fresh broccoli to steam at the end of the warming of the beef, which made the recipe much fresher tasting. No one likes mushy broccoli.

• Wednesday - as for today, I've defrosted the white beans & sausage dish that we both really liked from last week.
• Thursday - there is taco meat in the freezer, so I'll be pulling that out & Nick will have tacos, and we will have taco salads
• Friday - I also discovered orange chicken in the freezer, so that will be the plan

I will plan a proper meal plan for next week, including Thanksgiving! What's on your Thanksgiving menu?

Zion, St. George and Las Vegas

 As I mentioned in a previous post, a friend and I met up for a very impromptu trip. We hadn't seen each other in 10 years, and it was so fabulous to catch up! It felt like no time had passed & it was so wonderful to spend time together.

We also had an absolute blast, and so many laughs that I spent chunks of the trip crying with laughter. I've missed her so much. 

We met up in Las Vegas, spent a night there, and then headed to St. George, where she has a vacation condo. We hiked one day at Snow Canyon, and another day at Zion. Zion in the fall was breathtaking. (Photos below). We also got lottery permits for Angels Landing, so we did part of that hike. I stopped where the chains drop off & there's a sheer vertical on both sides. I'm not afraid of heights, but that was a definite no for me. There are no photos anywhere near Angels Landing, because I had both of my hands very tightly wrapped around the chains! :-) 

Here's how much the trip cost:

• Flights to/from Las Vegas  = $100 seat selection fees + $485 on a gift card (pricey, as they were very last minute)
• Rental car - my friend covered this
• Hotel in Las Vegas - I used comps to cover the hotel & parking fees
• Two lunches & one dinner in Las Vegas for both of us - largely covered by comps, minus tips & drinks for the road trip to St. George = $124.76
• Two dinners in Utah =  $97.85 (I treated for one, and paid for myself for the other)
• I bought groceries & supplies for breakfast/lunches while hiking = $104.84
• Airport snacks = $12.39
• Lyfts to/from the airport (M ended up not being able to drive me) + while in Las Vegas = $151.40 (could have saved a bit by parking at the airport, but trip was very last minute!)
• Angels Landing permits - $12
• Park entrance fees = covered by my friend's park passes 
• Souvenirs at Zion (for me + Nick)  = $103.97
• Lodging in St. George = stayed at my friend's vacation condo

Total spent for 5 day trip = $1192. It worked out so well, as my friend had the condo & already had a rental car, and I was able to use the comps in Las Vegas. Overall, it was an incredible trip and one we will definitely be repeating!

Are you afraid of heights? Here's a quick overview of Angels Landing, if you're not a hiker. 

Frugal Friday

 It's definitely not going to be a frugal week here, because I'm joining a friend on a very last minute (planned this week) hiking trip. We will be staying in her condo, but the trip involves a flight & sharing the cost of a rental car, so definitely still some expenses. 

Saving on things we buy

• Uploaded a couple of digital offers at the grocery store and saved a couple of bucks. Also added the receipt to iBotta & saved another $2.50.
• Reached out to Sam's roommate's mom (she's booking his holiday travel) to coordinate their flight times. This means they can share an Uber to the airport, which will save ~$50. 

Earning money

• Transferred $22.38 from iBotta to my savings account. Not a lot, but I'd rather cash it out, as some of these programs devalue points & earnings over time. 
• Signed up for a user study and earned $75/day on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday (three hours/day). 

Avoiding spending

• The only time M could take me to the airport was several hours before my flight, so I agreed to get to the airport *very* bright & early to avoid the cost of an Uber. 

Eating what we have

• M bought oat milk at Costco, and it wasn't the regular kind. I tried it, not knowing there was a big difference, & I'm really not a fan. It's Costco, so these are two large containers. I've been using 1/2 of my preferred brand, and 1/2 of the watery Costco version, to avoid waste. I'll be happy to see the end of that second container!
• The pomegranates are absolutely fantastic right now, and they have been a delicious dessert in the evenings. 
• I went out to a goodbye brunch for a friend that's moving, and brought home leftovers. Those served as my lunch the following day. 
• I fed myself, Nick & M after the user study on Tuesday, and then Nick let me know he was having five people over for a physics study group. So, I got busy finding other things they could all eat. They finished the ramen from the pantry, and ate a bunch of chicken tenders I keep in the freezer for just such occasions. 
• We've been buying the big containers of spinach from Costco, and it's always my goal to use it up before it gets slimy. I've been looking for recipes that use it up, and so far, so good. We've only had to toss a small amount. 
• I finally used up the cranberries from the freezer to make M cranberry muffins. Bonus that I used up some expired orange juice & yogurt that needed to go as well. 

For others

• Continued volunteering for the college students I'm mentoring. 

What about you? Any wins to share? 

Last minute trip planning

First up, I wanted to share another recipe that we liked. I made the chicken sausage white bean skillet last night, and it was so easy & simple. Highly recommend. We followed the recipe exactly, although we did top ours with fresh basil (lots in the garden) & will likely increase the spinach next time around. It was a great fall/winter dish. 

One of my favorite things about not working over the past few months has been last minute travel. It was my goal to "say yes" to lots of opportunities (when feasible) & just enjoy catching up with lots of people. I'll do a recap at the end of the year, but I'd definitely say I've achieved this. 

On Saturday, I texted an old friend to check in, and we set up a time to talk on the phone. I hadn't spoken to her in six months, & it was so fabulous to catch up. She mentioned that she was doing a last minute trip to her vacation house in St. George (near Zion National Park) & asked if I wanted to join. We haven't seen each other in 10ish years. Yes, please!

I'm flying into Santa Ana tomorrow, she's picking me up (she's there for work), & we're driving to Las Vegas. We will have dinner & stay the night in Las Vegas, and then carry on to St. George. We plan to hike & catch up. I'm excited my hiking boots are going to get another opportunity for use! We'll do the reverse on Monday, driving back to Las Vegas & flying home. 

I found a free night at the Aria in my email, so we will stay there & have dinner. 

I'm so excited to catch up with a friend I haven't seen in forever, and hiking is always one of my top ways to spend time together. 

When was the last time you said yes to last minute plans (travel or otherwise)? I confess to being a huge planner, and not being particularly spontaneous, so this is a work in progress for me. 

Menu Plan Monday

 Another Monday has made its way back around, and it's menu planning time. 

• Friday - salmon + gyozos (discovered we had three bags in the freezer)
• Saturday - leftover garlic noodles with beef & broccoli (this recipe was great, btw)
• Sunday - Swedish meatballs (carryover from last week) 
• Monday - chicken sausage & white bean skillet
  
• Tuesday - tacos (meat from the freezer)
• Wednesday - leftover Swedish meatballs
• Thursday - leftover chicken sausage & white bean skillet
• Friday - TBD. Maybe pizza

What about you? What's on the menu for the week at your house?

Fitness recap for the week

Like everything else in life, I find it helpful to track & recap, looking for ways I can improve. My goal for November is to lose 2 lbs, & continue to build & grow my fitness, while trying to improve my flexibility. I'm always also looking to maintain balance, get plenty of sleep and manage my overall stress (important for lupus).

Here's what happened this week.

Workouts:

• Sunday -  60 minute workout class + 4 mile walk with a friend who was in town
• Monday - yoga 
• Tuesday - 60 minute workout class
• Wednesday - 7.5 mile hike 
• Thursday - 60 minute workout class + 1 hour of pickleball
• Friday - 60 minute workout class
• Saturday - 4 mile walk

Average daily steps for the week = 13,952

Average calories for the week = 1522

Weight = no change

How I feel about the week: Tuesday wasn't a great eating day. I mostly skipped dinner & had Halloween candy & wine. Surprisingly, until that point, I'd eaten almost no Halloween candy (a vast improvement over prior years), but things went off the rails a bit on Tuesday. I pulled things together & avoided candy for the rest of the week. On Monday (yoga day), my steps were crazy low, but that sort of averaged out with the long hike on Wednesday. Overall, I feel pretty good about the week, all things considered.

Goals for this week:

• Drop the average daily calories down slightly (I have a VERY low resting metabolic rate), under 1500
• Avoid sugar entirely
• Maintain everything else

What about you? How are you doing with your health & fitness? Anything you want to work on? 

Saturday things

I'm so happy that my sister & her partner are visiting Sam today, on Family Weekend. We thought about going, but it's so close to Thanksgiving. 

I'm going for a walk this morning, making muffins & helping Nick with some college tasks. That's my to do list for the day.

Here are a few things that are making me happy right now:

• We are having stunning fall weather. It's going to be 70 today, and the leaves & the sunshine are *chef's kiss*. It's gorgeous & makes it really fun to be outside.
• I have amazing friends, and I've been making new friends through my workout class. I'm trying to expand my circle a bit.
• M & I are in such a good place. We always get along well, but there's something really special about having someone who deeply knows you & supports you through ups & downs. 
• DS17 made me laugh so hard yesterday. He's making posters for his cheerleading friends for their senior nights. The slogans he came up with (tied to the names) were hysterical, and he invested a lot of time in drawing pictures. He's a riot. I love how he supports his friends.
• M & I are playing a lot of rummy, and have bets going. We have to track them, because so much betting is occurring that neither of us can remember who is ahead & who "owes" who. 
• I joined a book club & am going to start reading a new book today. 

Anything you want to share that's making you happy today?

Frugal Friday

 It's Friday again! Here's a roundup of a few wins for the week. 

Saving on things we buy

• I needed a variety of pantry staples that I was out of, so decided it was a good time to hit up Safeway & use a $25 gift card I earned via Fetch. I also took the time to download two $1 off coupons in their app. I bought: stone ground mustard, Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce, whipping cream, a bag of potatoes, & a bunch of celery. I spent $4.74. This was still a lot for what I got, but those pantry staples can be quite expensive, so it was a good time to use the gift card. I rarely shop at Safeway, unless they have a particularly good loss leader. I also uploaded my receipt to Fetch, saving a bit more, as they have a Safeway receipt offer.  
• With Sam at an out of state college, we've had a lot of flight expenses. Southwest is almost always quite a bit cheaper than Alaska. Costco was selling Southwest gift cards for $429.99 for a $500 gift card. I bought the limit of 5. I used my Costco credit card, which saved $43. All told, I paid $2149.95 for $2500 worth of gift cards, then minus the additional $43. 

Earning money

• Sold a pair of work pants I bought & didn't wear before I stopped working. Made $20 on eBay. One more item out of the house!
• A huge one - finally sold our extra car! This *almost* covers the cost of our property taxes, so that's a big win. 

Avoiding spending

• Charged our car for free at M's office. This is something we do weekly, but I often forget about the savings.

Eating what we have

• We've been using up peppers (purchased for fajitas during my parents visit) in salads
• Eating lots of pomegranates from our tree. They are delicious!
• Ate leftover french dip sandwich for lunch (this was from our Halloween dinner out)
• Rescued a potato soup fail by pureeing it, adding more cream & sour cream & thinning it out a bit with milk. While not exactly what I'd envisioned (my fault, I added too many other veggies), it's definitely passable. 

For others

• Very minor, but picked up some leftover trash on the pickle ball court, after we wrapped up our game. Someone else had left it behind, but it's nice to keep the courts clean for everyone. 
• I picked up glass beer bottles left behind on the soccer field. This is especially dangerous, as the bottles break, glass gets into the turf, and it can really injure the kids. 
• Continued to do calls & volunteer for my high school students. 

How about you? Any wins to share?

One week into November

 I'm trying to really focus on my goals this month, after a not so successful October. We're one week into November, and here's how things are going. 

Financial:

• Achieve savings goal. If we sell a car, that will get added on top of the savings goal.
• Mini freezer clean out:
• Eat 1/2 of the pizza in the freezer
• Use up the cranberries
• Sell the white car - yay! Sold!! 
• Sell fitness watch

Family:

• Help Nick with final college application & scholarship essay
• Sort out plans for winter break
• Finalize all travel plans for Sam -- all flights are booked. Need to sort out a shuttle. 
• One fun activity with the boys, while Sam is in town for Thanksgiving
• 2 dates with M - we played pickleball over the weekend. 

Fitness:

• 15 strength workouts - I've done a total of 4 so far. 
• Follow the No S diet 15 days & track calories daily - I've tracked my calories daily, and had two No S days. 
• Schedule MRI
• Lose 2 lbs

Personal:

• Complete daily tasks 20 times (meditate, language lesson, journal) - I've had 6 so far. 
• Get together with friends - yes, hiked, met a friend for coffee, met another friend for a walk, and pickleball with another friend today. 
• Declutter 25 items - 11/25
• Network 2x
• Continue exploring jobs. - oh yes. 
• Spend time on volunteer role - yes. 
• Come up with more structure in my daily routine

As for today, here's what's on the plan:

1. Workout class
2. Pickleball with a new friend
3. Vacuum
4. Trim some bushes in the yard
5. Work on job applications
6. Make cranberry muffins
7. Work on the menu for next week
8. Plan for the weekend
9. Daily activities (language lesson, meditate, journal)
10. Look into guitar lessons & a class at the local college
11. Call to set up MRI

What about you? How are you doing with your November goals? 

Wednesday Happenings

First of all, what is happening with recruiters? I've had three calls scheduled (this is over several months) where recruiters just don't show up. No reschedule, no cancellation email, no apology. It's so unprofessional. I get that things come up, but as someone who has interviewed hundreds of people over the course of my career, I've never bailed without notice or an email. So bizarre. Anyway, suffice it to say my interview yesterday didn't happen. I had one hilarious situation where an exec was reaching out to my LinkedIn, really wanting me to apply for a role. 1) I'd already replied. 2) the recruiter blew me off not once, but twice for a call. When I let him know about #2, he was mortified. I let him know, because clearly the recruiter was disappointing plenty of potential candidates out there.

Anyway, on to other things. 

I'm hiking with a friend this morning. We live near a nature preserve (one of my absolutely favorite parts of our location) & I have a great trail we take often. But, I found another loop of it (actually, Nick showed me a few weeks ago) that extends it a bit & ends with a gorgeous view. Maybe we will try that out.

I also didn't finish my volunteer work yesterday, so that's on the agenda for today.

And, job searching. I feel blessed that I've never had to job search like this before. I got my first job via an internship in college, and had a full time offer before I graduated. Then, when we moved to California, the company that hired M asked to interview me as well & I got an offer without trying. I swapped jobs within the first company I worked for, but that process was very easy & low risk. I do not enjoy the current job search process. I've made it to three final interviews where the company decided not to fill the role (very common right now, as companies are posting 3-4 jobs for every head count, and then seeing which they fill first & then cancelling the other roles). I'm also trying to make a bit of a pivot, industry wise, which is much harder than applying for the most logical next job from a resume perspective. Anyway, it's a lot of time & emotional energy. I have a lot of compassion for folks who are frantically job searching & are desperate to replace their income, because it's so rough out there. 

As always, plenty of yard work awaits me. And, maybe some muffin baking. Today feels like a day to make cranberry muffins (M's favorites), or, work through the glut of bananas. We're going to have to stop buying them. Nick eats maybe one a week. Definitely not enough to keep buying bunches. Maybe I'll buy the occasional solo banana at Trader Joes moving forward. 

What are you up to today? Inspire me with all of your fun or creative pursuits!

Distraction Tuesday

I'm trying to make sure I have plenty of healthy things to do today, so I don't doom scroll the news all day/evening. 

Here's what's on my list:

1. Sort out car title/transfer (we sold our extra car! Hurrah!)
2. Morning work out class
3. Daily chores (meditate, language lesson, journal)
4. Work in the yard for an hour
5. Get in 12k steps
6. Work on job applications
7. Puzzle or read
8. Come up with 10 things to sell or donate
9. Fill out coach's reports & complete all monthly tasks for volunteering role

What about you? What are your plans for today? Also, in the US, props to all of you who are poll workers, helping to ensure everyone can safely cast their vote!

Menu Plan Monday

 It's time to get back on the wagon with menu planning. October was a busy month with traveling, and having lots of house guests. We need to get back on track!

Here's what's on the menu for the week:

• Friday - ravioli (me) + leftover fajita chicken (M)
• Saturday - creamy dijon chicken
• Sunday - slow cooker potato soup
• Monday - leftover dijon chicken
• Tuesday - Swedish meatballs
• Wednesday - garlic noodles with beef & broccoli
• Thursday - leftover meatballs
• Friday - leftover garlic noodles

What about you? Do you have any new recipes on your list? The Swedish meatballs are new for us. I'm also looking forward to freezing the potato soup leftovers, so I can have easy lunches! I love soup for lunch in fall & winter. 

Sunday Happenings

Yesterday was a good day. I try & take at least one day a week to have a much easier workout (or, none at all, if we're traveling or the like.) I went for a morning walk, & then M & I played a quick game of pickle ball. It was very fun & the weather was perfect for both. It was super chilly for my walk, but the leaves were gorgeous. It warmed up enough for pickle ball that I played in a tank top & pants. 

I hustled home, and ate lunch & then headed off to watch Nick's soccer game. They pulled out a win, despite quite a few injuries and a few questionable calls. Nick gave me a ride home from the game, and we chatted about the fact that his club soccer season is ending in just a few weeks. Nick has been playing club soccer for 11 years, so this will be quite a milestone! I can't believe it. School soccer tryouts start tomorrow. You can't play games for both teams at the same time due to youth athletic regulations, so they are quickly winding down club soccer, so school sports can begin. 

I made a new to us recipe last night, and it was delicious. Highly recommend this creamy dijon chicken recipe. I chose it because it uses heavy cream, which I needed for a slow cooker baked potato soup recipe I'm trying tonight. And, we always have spinach to use up! 

As for today, here's my plan:

• Go to a workout class
• Make slow cooker soup
• Laundry
• Apply for two jobs
• Meet a friend for a hike
• Pay Nick's physics tutor
• Work with Nick on last college application
• Buy thank you gifts for the teachers who wrote Nick's college letters of recommendation
• Drop off Halloween candy at BN contact who is collecting it for a shelter
• Find 5 items to donate
• Talk to the boys about our plans for New Year's/winter break

What about you? What are you up to today?

October Goals Recap

 October was not a great month for goals, and it was not a great month for my health. I had a lupus flare, was diagnosed with another autoimmune disease, and the lupus (they think) is triggering a lot of anemia. All of that to say, I didn't have much energy in October.  I did have a fantastic vacation with M, and I'm on medicine for the lupus again, so fingers crossed I'm feeling more like myself in November.

Financial:

• Save $2500 this month. - We were reimbursed for a car we bought for my special needs aunt (I'm not counting that in our savings, as it just repays our account & we knew we'd be getting the money back - it just impacted our cash flow). We managed to save $1684 this month, falling short of our goal, as we paid for Nick's orthodontia work. 
• Freezer goal: - I accomplished neither of these goals
• Eat 1/2 of the leftover pizza 
• Use up the cranberries 
• Get car sold - nope. M has shown it a few times, but it's not sold yet. 
• Update CD that is renewing - yes! Moved it to a different term that was paying far better.
• Sell Sam's old bike & my old fitness watch - sold the old bike. However, I did manage to finally sell my old jewelry (a goal from wayyyyy back this year), & a few other higher value items & made $2630 in October, which is a big win. 

Family:

• Help Nick with college applications & essays, & achieve all school deadlines - Yes, & he's heard back from a few schools already. We have just one application & one scholarship form due in the next four weeks.
• Adjust menu plan for 3 diners - eh, I did okay on this. October wasn't a great cooking month, but we did manage to avoid tossing food, and are being better about food planning, purchasing & cooking. 
• Have a great trip to Costa Rica - yes, it was fabulous!

Fitness:

• Continue PT for hip - I haven't been consistent about this, but as long as I'm keeping an eye on my running pace, speed & frequency, my hip pain has been pretty manageable. 
• 15 strength workouts - I got in 14/15 workouts, so close! 
• Follow the No S diet 15 days & track calories daily - I lost track. I'm guessing I had about 10 days of No S, and I tracked calories about 75% of the time
• Successfully run the 10k with my sister & friend - yes, and I PR'd vs the same race last year. I'm very pleased, given how I was feeling leading up to the race.
• See the doctor about lack of energy & overall health - I had three doctor's appointments, plus a CT scan, and two rounds of lab work in order to figure out what's going on, as well as additional appointments next month. It was no shortage of effort to manage my health in October. 
• Lose 2 lbs - I maintained my weight, which I'm fine with, given all of the above. 

Personal:

• Complete daily tasks 20 times (meditate, language lesson, journal) - I didn't track this, and wasn't particularly consistent this month. I'd estimate I managed around 10 times.
• Get together with friends - yes, saw friends for hikes, coffee, & working out, not to mention my girls trip to Portland for the 10k.
• Declutter 25 items - 24/25 items 
• Network 2x - yes, I met an old friend for a hike, and one for lunch. 
• Continue exploring jobs. Apply for two jobs in a "pivot" field. - Yes, I probably applied to about 10. 
• Spend time on volunteering role - yes, I've continued to mentor the three students I'm helping with the college process. 
• Play pickleball 3x. - nope! Didn't happen this month. I thought we might play in Costa Rica, but it was a bit too hot & humid for us. 

What about you? How did you do with your October goals? Let us know so we can cheer you on!

Frugal Friday

 It's been a busy week, as we've had guests (my parents, then my uncle, and finally just my mom, after my dad & uncle left). Here are a few wins we cobbled together. 

Savings on things we buy

• Submitted receipts to Fetch & iBotta, and saved $1.60 on a grocery store purchase

Earning money

• Filled out a health care survey for a $10 Door Dash gift card. (I will combine with my credit card Door Dash offers.) 
• Sold a watch on eBay

Avoiding spending

• Considered taking my mom out to lunch one day, but we'd already had quite a few meals out over the past few weeks, so I picked up sandwich fixings, and we sat outside in the sun & enjoyed our lunch together. 

Eating what we have

• Had leftover fajitas for dinner one night
• Planned meals for our visitors (chicken & rice, burgers, etc) to keep costs under control
• My mom & I had salads with chicken for lunch one day, and leftover soup another day

For others

• Had a call with the one of the students I'm mentoring. 

What about you? Any wins to share? 

November goals

 I'll be back with an October goal recap soon. For now, here are my November goals! 

Financial:

• Achieve savings goal. If we sell a car, that will get added on top of the savings goal.
• Mini freezer clean out:
• Eat 1/2 of the pizza in the freezer
• Use up the cranberries
• Sell the white car
• Sell fitness watch

Family:

• Help Nick with final college application & scholarship essay
• Sort out plans for winter break
• Finalize all travel plans for Sam
• One fun activity with the boys, while Sam is in town for Thanksgiving
• 2 dates with M

Fitness:

• 15 strength workouts
• Follow the No S diet 15 days & track calories daily
• Schedule MRI
• Lose 2 lbs

Personal:

• Complete daily tasks 20 times (meditate, language lesson, journal)
• Get together with friends
• Declutter 25 items
• Network 2x
• Continue exploring jobs. 
• Spend time on volunteer role
• Come up with more structure in my daily routine

What about you? What are you hoping to accomplish in November? 

Costa Rica Trip Cost

 I like to add up the cost of trips, and track them for myself. I also share here, in case it's of interest. 

Photo of the beach at our hotel, for visual interest. 

Expenses for the trip:

• Two business class tickets from San Francisco to Costa Rica - covered using credits from previously cancelled Turkey trip & travel credits. One of the reasons we planned this trip was to use these credits before they expired. 
• Six nights at an all inclusive hotel - free with Hyatt points
• Tips during the trip - $200
• Cash left for my parents to spend on food, etc - $500
• Cost of my parents flights from Portland to San Jose - $60 (the rest was covered with miles)
• Hotel charges (this was a massage for me, and two nicer bottles of wine) - $374
• Airport purchases: local treats for the boys + rum for my dad & a drink for myself - $22.50
• Excursion for two to the rain forest, waterfalls & hot springs - $290
• Cost for parking at the SFO airport during our trip (priced out, and cheaper than Uber) - $126
• Transportation to & from the airport in Costa Rica to our hotel - $134

Total spent = $1706.50. My original estimate was $1260. Transportation was a bit more than expected, and we hadn't factored in tipping, which was a miss. The massage & wine were also unplanned (but enjoyed!)

How do you track your travel planning expenses? 

I'm back

Costa Rica was absolutely fabulous. We had such a great time together, and really enjoyed all of the adventures. 

Photo of a sunset hike we took near our hotel.

We got back late on Friday, and my parents & uncle were staying with us for a few nights. My dad & uncle drove a car to Washington, so left yesterday, with a stop to see Sam at college. My mom will stay with us until Wednesday, as she was looking for a bit of a break from some care giving at home. She's been enjoying the time, hanging out with me, M & Nick. 

In terms of a menu plan, we've been flying by the seat of our pants. M grilled chicken & made rice on Saturday, and then grilled absolutely delicious burgers yesterday. I think we will defrost chicken fajitas to have for dinner tonight, and then have leftover burgers tomorrow. 

Hope you are all doing well!

Frugal Friday

 It's been a relatively quiet week around here, but a few wins to share.

Saving on things we buy

• Ordered a few things Sam needs for college. Debated having it sent to us, and having my dad take it to him (they are visiting), but remembered that anything delivered in Oregon is tax free, so went that route. 

Earning money

• Nothing much happening here. I completed a survey for $50. 

Avoiding spending

• Ate at the lounge on Friday for free, vs buying food at the airport. 
• Used Southwest credits for our flights home for Christmas. I had a combination of gift cards (purchased at a discount at Costco) & a flight credit we had for Nick for something I can't recall at the moment. 

Eating what we have

• I planned two dinners at my sister's house (at her request, she's been really busy), and made sure they had coordinating sides. (Mexican chicken skillet one night, nachos the next). 
• Had Sunday brunch leftovers for brunch on Monday, ahead of our flights.
• Made dinner ahead of a few appointments & picking up my parents, so we didn't have to do takeout. 

For others

• Fed all of the random teens who showed up at my house this week for impromptu study sessions. ;-) 

What about you? Any frugal wins to share at your house?

Menu Plan Tuesday

 I flew back from Portland yesterday, so I'm a little late to the party. Here's what's on the menu at our house.

• Friday - I ate at the airport lounge, and then had a glass of wine when I got to my sister's house
• Saturday - my sister's partner made us Mexican chicken rice skillet, which was delicious.
• Sunday - we celebrated our 10k run with nachos, which I try to only have on special occasions, because they are a true indulgence. These were delicious, with carne asada on top. Yum!
• Monday - I got home from the airport & scrambled a bit to figure out dinner. M grilled salmon & I made a spinach salad to go with it.
• Tuesday - tonight will be grilled chicken over salads
• Wednesday - likely pasta & meatballs, if Nick is going to be home. It's his favorite.
• Thursday - I'm making chicken fajitas, after we pick up my parents at the airport
• Friday - tacos, so we can use up the rest of the chicken fajita fixings

What about you? What's on your menu this week? 

Frugal Friday

Sometimes it feels like my frugal "wins" are drops in the bucket compared to expenses, but I keep on keeping on. Because, what's the point of spending more than you have to, and all of the savings adds up. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway. ;-)  

Saving on things we buy

• Saved $134 by paying upfront for Nick's orthodontia
• Saved $6 on a cash back offer I'd forgotten about (on our credit card) for the pizza we ordered for Nick's VP debate watching party last week. 
• Uploaded grocery receipts to Fetch
• Used CVS rewards to pick up Nick's preferred brand of deodorant, and used an iBotta/CVS offer to save another couple of bucks. 

Earning money

• Sold Sam's old bike, & made $300
• Sold a pair of sunglasses & made ~$90

Avoiding spending

• Arranged for a friend to drive Nick to a far away soccer game (Nick drives him to all of the practices), so we both share on gas costs

Eating what we have

• Picked out first few pomegranates and have had those for a snack in the evening (largely Nick)
• Continued eating basil, peppers & tomatoes from the garden, but the heat has killed everything else. 
• Brought home leftovers from date night, and had that for two lunches (veggie risotto, which was so delicious)
• Made Nick & his friend snacks while they were studying at our house, saving them the cost of eating out or grabbing snacks
• I'm working on eating a huge container of spinach, so I've been trying to incorporate it into all of my meals. Had the last of the veggie risotto over a bed of spinach. I just heated it in the microwave, which helped the spinach soften a bit. It was delicious & just the right amount of spinach to risotto ratio to be healthy while not overwhelming tasting like warm spinach. ;-) 

For others

• This is a busy time for seniors applying to colleges, so I've been spending quite a bit of time helping my volunteer students with their tasks, answering questions & generally providing guidance. 
• Stayed after a soccer game to collect the goals, flags & shade/bench to put away in the shed with another parent. There is no assigned roster of people to help, so unfortunately, one parent does most of the heavy lifting on this. I was able to help & streamline it all, which was great since it was unbearably hot. 

What about you? Any wins to share?

Thursday Happenings

I've had lots of medical appointments over the past few weeks, so that's been keeping me busier than usual. I'm having a lupus flare, and trying to figure out the best way to manage that. It's no fun, I do not recommend. 

That said, I have a bunch of fun things lined up for the upcoming few weeks, including my trip to Portland tomorrow (running, or more likely walking + a little running a 10k with my sister & BFF). I'll also get a chance to see my parents for brunch. My parents are flying here in a week, and then we're heading to Costa Rica. The weather looks pretty terrible for our trip, and we've gone back & forth between going & just enjoying what we can between rain storms, or going somewhere else. I think we've decided to just make the best of Costa Rica. 

The final college application has opened up (this is the complicated international one, that has to be hand mailed in), so Nick & I need to get started on that, as it will take the longest. That will be it! Otherwise, he has scholarship essays to work on, and a few other small tasks, but nothing quite like the bigger application process, which he will have finished. We will both be thrilled once we're done. ;-)

As for today:

• Attend workout class
• Stop by Trader Joes on my way home
• Laundry
• PT exercises
• Check in for tomorrow's flight
• Pack
• Daily chores (language, meditate, journal)
• Work in the yard (I'm especially loving this, as the weather has cooled way off)
• Clean the shower. We have very hard water, so this is my most dreaded chore of all.
• Call with Nick's orthodontist. I don't really understand what it's for, but it's required ahead of kicking off treatment.
• Work on job search stuff for ~1 hour

That's it on my side. Hope all of you in Florida are staying safe & escaped the storm(s) with minimal damage. Thinking of you all. 

Menu Plan Monday

I'll be eating more red meat in the upcoming month or so, as I try get my iron level higher. So, if you see a lot less chicken on the menu, that's why!

• Friday - grilled chicken salads
• Saturday - spaghetti & meatballs + garlic bread
• Sunday - grilled burgers
• Monday - leftover spaghetti & meatballs
• Tuesday - tacos
• Wednesday - leftover burgers
• Thursday - leftover tacos
• Friday - I'm out of town, so the boys are on their own

What about you? What's on your menu this week?

Sunday things

Yesterday was a good day, as I finally got Sam's old bike sold! Woohoo. I find that the bike buyers on FB marketplace are sooooo in to haggling. My approach to all items I list are to price very low & not negotiate. Most people don't bother when you've underpriced, but on bikes... there are still hagglers. ;-) Anyway, got the bike sold yesterday, and I'm feeling happy about that.

I also went to yoga, which was nice & very peaceful. I really like the class. I'm so not flexible, but I suppose maybe that will come with lots of time & practice. Or, maybe I'll forever be not so good at it, but it's still good for my body. Who knows?

M & I went to dinner & tried out a new Greek restaurant in our town. We had a great time, and it was such a lovely location. We chatted about career pivots (me) & bucket list items (both of us). I brought home about 2/3 of my dinner (vegetarian risotto), as we shared a feta/pepper dip appetizer & I had a few bites of M's dinner as well. 

I'm so excited for pomegranate season! We picked our first pomegranate on Friday, and have maybe 15-20 on the tree. We had probably 3-4x that earlier, but the squirrels knocked off the majority of the blossoms. 

I'm off to head to Nick's soccer game. There are maybe 3 left in the season that I will be able to attend, and this will be his last season of club soccer (after 10+ years), so I want to make sure I attend as many matches as possible. 

Finally, hoping it cools down, as I'm so, so ready for a break in the heat. Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday!

Saturday Grocery Shopping

 It's been a while since I've reported what we purchased at the grocery store (I had an entire year there where I tracked every single item grocery purchased & categorized it). That was a useful exercise, but I don't do that these days. I do still track all of our expenses, but just under the bucket of "groceries".  A typical week for us looks like:

• One trip to Costco
• 1-2 trips to Trader Joes (primarily for cucumber for Nick)
• sometimes a trip to the grocery store, if we are out of anything, or need recipe ingredients. 

Our monthly average grocery spend has been right around $800/month. Given we fed two teens for most of this year (and, additional teens most nights of the summer), I'm feeling pretty good about our budget, even though we are over goal of $550/month. I have no idea what I was thinking when I set that budget. Obviously, I wasn't thinking too hard. ;-) 

M went to Costco today, and here's what we bought & the cost:

• Organic bananas - $2.49 (Nick & I both eat these)
• Sparkling water - $10.99+$1.75 redemption deposit (we all have 1 or so a day)
• 2 lbs of organic broccoli - $5.99 (M's salads)
• Organic balsamic - $12.99 (M's salads)
• Olive oil - $29.99 (M's salads, plus regular cooking)
• Organic pears - $8.99 (fruit for me + Nick)
• Sliced cheddar - $10.69 (for cheeseburgers this weekend, and snacking after that)
• Cauliflower - $6.99 (M's salads)
• Organic spinach - $4.59 (for me, as I'm trying to eat a lot more iron)

Total spent = $95.46

How are you doing with your grocery budget for the year? 

Frugal Friday

 Nick needs braces, so once again, it was not a particularly frugal week on the major expenses front, and we are trying to keep the rest of our spending in check. 

Saving on things we buy

• I was really craving a turkey sandwich on sourdough, and was tempted to go out. Instead, I went to the store & picked up ingredients to make the sandwich. The local grocery isn't cheap & nothing was on sale, but it was still less than a sandwich out, and I can make plenty of sandwiches out of the ingredients. 
• Used $40 of rewards for pizza delivery for the debate party we hosted on Tuesday. 

Earning money

• Sold an old tablet on eBay, as well as an alarm clock, and a shirt I bought that I didn't notice was a final sale. 
• Made $2100 selling some old jewelry. Gold is super valuable these days. 

Avoiding spending

• We ate leftover cold pizza at home (and apples) on the day the power was out, vs going out to dinner. 

Eating what we have

• Continuing to eat the lettuce, tomatoes, peppers & herbs from our gardens. And, our pomegranates are almost ripe!
• Used some very old carrots in a crockpot chicken dumplings recipe.
• M finished off the last of a bag of panko shrimp for dinner last Friday, and I ate more of the buffalo chicken style meatballs that no one else seems to like. We served with Trader Joes cauliflower gnocchi. I thought that was very *okay*. It's hard to replicate a regular gnocchi. 
• Made Nick a grilled cheese (using the above bread & cheese) on a night he was just home briefly between events. 
• Made banana bread for the debate party, out of overly ripe bananas. 

For others

• Continuing to mentor my students who are applying to college. 

What about you? Any wins to share? 

Thursday Things

 Oof, last night was not a good night of sleep. It was 100 here yesterday, which is, btw, insane in its own right, and our power went off around 6 pm. I'd just caved & decided to start using the AC, so we could sleep, as I didn't sleep well the night before due to the heat. 

No power means no fans, and we have a large ceiling fan that we run probably 9 months out of the year to keep our bedroom cool. Ooooh, it was so hot in the house. I slept with a wet towel on my chest. The power finally came back on around 2 am, but when I went to turn off all of the lights, a smoke alarm started going off. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, so I tried to sleep with two pillows over my head. M dealt with it this morning, bless him. 

Today is going to be a very sleepy day! 

On the positive front, I got to hold my friend's baby yesterday at lunch. She is adorable, five months old, and very squishy & smiley. Baby snuggles! On the way back from lunch, I dropped off my old jewelry at a shop that buys gold. This is very old jewelry that I haven't ever worn or don't want in general. It's been on my to do list to get rid of it forever, and it's finally gone. I also got way more money for it than expected, which is a lovely bonus! That money will help to offset Nick's orthodontia care. ;-) 

Nick & I finished the two Cal State applications that opened on 10/1. WOOP! We have just one to go, and it's for a college that hasn't opened their applications yet. We are in really good shape, and can now work on scholarship applications, etc. 

On to today:

• Workout class
• Finally got a doctor's appointment to establish care with a new primary doctor. I've been waiting for months.
• Package & mail an eBay sale
• Drop off a check for the orthodontist. There is a 2% discount by paying in full
• Work on job profile for consulting role
• Laundry
• Clean the fridge
• Daily chores (language lesson, journal, meditate)

What are you up to? Hope the weather is cool & lovely, wherever you all are!

September Goals Recap

September was a great month, with a hiking trip to Moab, dropping Sam off at college & that experience all going really well. There is still time for him to get homesick, of course, but for now, he seems to be doing fantastic, so we are thrilled about that.

Here's how I did with the rest of my goals for September.

Financial:

• Achieve September savings goal - We were about $800 short of our savings goal, although if I add in the October interest, we achieved our goals. Not sure where to count the interest we earn on our CDs/accounts at the beginning of each month. It doesn't really matter, but I want to be sure I'm tracking consistently month on month. For now, I'll count it was a win, and start including those at the end of each month.
• Confirm that M's BA miles were extended - done
• Freezer challenge: get rid of a minimum of six items - crushed this! Used up:
• Chicken Alfredo, chicken fajitas, chicken marsala, honey chicken
• Edamame
• Two chunks of French bread
• A breakfast sandwich
• 6 bananas
• White bean soup
• 2 burger patties
• Panko shrimp
• Get car sold - no, but M got it listed a couple of days ago & has shown it to a few people already
• Update CDs that are renewing - yes, done
• List 5 items on eBay - I listed at least 10, & I made $330 in September

Family:

• Help Nick with college essays/applications & achieve all school deadlines - yes! We got all schools that were open for applications completed in September! We are crushing it.
• Get Sam successfully moved into college & transitioned - yes, and he's doing great
• Adjust menu plan for 3 vs 4 diners - eh, we've been kind of winging it so far. And, is further complicated by Nick's practice schedule. We'll need to experiment a bit. 

Fitness:

• Continue PT - I really didn't do well with my PT this month. As my hip has felt better, and I do many similar exercises at my workout class. I need to remember to focus on the few that I don't get in at my class. 
• 15 strength workouts - I got in 13, with traveling
• Follow the No S diet 15 days & track calories daily - I tracked calories daily, and followed the No S diet 9 times
• Have a successful hiking trip to Moab - done, and it was fabulous!

Personal:

• Complete daily tasks 20 times (meditate, language lesson, journal) - yes, 22 times
• Get together with friends - tons of meet ups this month, plus hiking trip
• Declutter 25 items - got rid of 49 items
• Continue exploring jobs - had a few interviews, applied for additional jobs
• Spend time on volunteer role - I'm mentoring 3 students, and continue to really enjoy it
• Play pickleball 3x - we tried once and the courts were taken, and the rest of the time our schedule didn't work out, it was too hot, or we just plain forgot

What about you? How did you do on your goals for the month? 

October Goals

 I will post my September goal progress soon, but wanted to get my October goals posted. I like the motivation of a new month, even if the months are going by way too quickly!

Financial:

• Achieve new savings goal (~$2500). 
• Get car sold
• Update CD that is renewing
• I don't need a big freezer challenge this month, as I did such a good job last month eating down a lot of what was in there. Instead, I can keep my list pretty targeted.
• Eat 1/2 of the pizza in the freezer
• Use up the cranberries in muffins

Family:

• Help Nick with college essays/applications & achieve all deadlines
• Still working on adjusting menu plan for 3 vs 4 diners
• Have a great trip to Costa Rica

Fitness:

• Work on back & hip exercises
• 15 strength workouts
• Follow the No S diet 15 days & track calories
• Successfully run the 10k with my sister & friend
• See the doctor about lack of energy, overall health
• Lose 2 lbs

Personal:

• Complete daily tasks 20 times (meditate, language lesson, journal)
• Get together with friends
• Network a bit (2x)
• Declutter 25 items
• Continue exploring jobs. Apply for two jobs in a "pivot" field (e.g. not something I've done before)
• Spend time on volunteer role
• Play pickleball 3x

What about you? Do you have any goals for the month? Let us know so we can cheer you on!

Menu Plan Monday

 Still adjusting to feeding three people vs four, but we did a great job last week of eating all of our prepped freezer food. The freezer is looking good & ready for me to stock it with some soup for my lunches. 

Here's what's on our menu this week

• Friday - pizza (cauliflower crust + regular)
• Saturday - tacos
• Sunday - grilled chicken + rice
• Monday- leftover tacos
• Tuesday - leftover grilled chicken + rice
• Wednesday - chicken yakisoba (one of the last prepped freezer meals)
• Thursday - carnitas (the other last prepped freezer meals)
• Friday - leftovers

What about you? Are you adjusting your menu as the weather changes? I'm the only one who eats soup, so I make it & freeze it for lunches, as I can't get my other dinner diners to join me. ;-) 

Sunday Happenings

The weekend is whizzing by. I went to a really relaxing yoga class yesterday (I need more yoga in my life, as I'm really not very flexible) & got some chores done around the house. I also made this crockpot chicken & dumplings recipe, which is always a winner. I'm the only soup eater in the house, so I had it for dinner last night, saved some for lunches this week, & then froze the rest. It will make an easy & delicious lunch on busy days.

Sam & I texted a bit more yesterday, and he's thrilled with his roommate, enjoying the food & feels like his classes will be good this year. Says he loves his calculus professor. 

Nick & I made more progress providing his academic record to one of the schools he's applying to. It's a super *fun* process where you enter every grade for every semester manually. He also has to enter middle school grades, as he took geometry & two years of Spanish in middle school, both of which are "required" high school classes for some colleges. Luckily, I requested a transcript of his middle school grades way back when Sam & I were applying last year, knowing that I would need the same for Nick. We also provided transcripts to another college, activated his accounts at a few other colleges (you use this to track your application, and each college has their own system). We have a spreadsheet keeping track of login details for each school. There's a lot of info to manage!

Nick worked at a soccer tournament yesterday to earn some extra money. He and Sam are such different creatures. Sam has spent none of the money he earned last summer, because he's still using money he earned two years ago. Nick, on the other hand, is a more prolific spender. ;-) This is a good time in his life to practice and experiment, to feel what it's like when you run out, and to understand how to better prioritize spending. 

As for today, here's what I'm up to:

• Workout class
• Laundry
• Vacuum
• Bathrooms
• Kitchen
• Pay Nick's physics tutor
• Meet a friend for a walk
• Package & mail an eBay sale
• Make my to do list for the week ahead & review the calendar
• List a bike on FB

What about you? What are you up to today?

Frugal Friday

Nick & I finished four more college applications (and, paid the application fees for four more colleges) , so trying hard to keep the rest of the spending under control. We are making great progress clearing out the freezer, so that's always a win. 

Saving on things we buy

• I go through our credit card reward offers (e.g. earn 10% back at CVS by opting into the offer & saving it on your card) & select any that we might use. There's no harm in savings them, as they are free & just expire if you don't use them before the deadline. I occasionally save money on offers I've forgotten about, and it's always a pleasant surprise. I earned a few bucks back on gas by doing this. I tend to save all of the gas offers, as you never know. We typically get our gas at Costco, but in Moab & traveling back & forth to Corvallis, we stopped at other places & one of them qualified for a small cash back offer. 
• I used a few grocery store coupons to save a bit (free avocado, free bananas, and $1.50 of of my total). I also uploaded my receipt to Fetch & iBotta, saving another $3 between the two. I rarely see produce coupons, so was happy to find a few to save money on things we would already be buying. 

Earning money

• Listed a few things on FB Marketplace, as I clean out Sam's room. 
• Moved Sam's desk into Nick's room, and sold Nick's desk. When the boys move into college apartments, we will definitely buy local items vs trying to move things from here. Made $90. 
• Sold three card games, for another $25. 
• Earned $460 in dividends, and moved those over to cover some expenses. We reinvest all dividends in our primary investment accounts, but we are trying hard not to draw down our savings right now, during this very expensive life phase, so opted to pull this out. This is not from our primary investment account, but a stock account that we are trying to sell off (to diversify our investments), & are just waiting on timing given tax implications. 
• Earned $107 on my blog (the only amount I've earned in 13 or so years, so my hourly rate is fantastic. ;-)) I've been experimenting with the ads & changed them to hopefully be less irritating. Fingers crossed. 

Avoiding spending

• Really limited grocery shopping this week, as we were out of town here & there, we no longer have DS18 eating at home, as well as we aren't also feeding his GF for most meals. That makes a big difference on how much food we need! I need to adjust our shopping & menu plans. DH loves to shop at Costco, but there are things we just no longer need that quantity of, and it will be an adjustment for the two of us to align on what we should buy there vs at the store in smaller quantities. ;-) 

Eating what we have

• I've done a good job of eating up leftovers for various meals
• Finished off the fantastic mango a friend left at our house while she was dropping off meals for Nick when we were gone. I'm usually kind of meh on mangoes, but this was incredible. 
• Had a few delicious salads, with garden lettuce & tomatoes. 
• Made Nick a smoothie using up strawberries a friend gave me, as well as some orange juice that is about to expire. It was a good post soccer game snack. 
• Made muffins out of overly ripe bananas out on the counter, plus six bananas from the freezer. I left out one container of muffins for M this week, and the rest went into the freezer. No bananas currently in the freezer, which I always like to see. We've made a real dent in the freezer the last few weeks, which is always nice. 
• I try to have salad with leftover protein for lunches, but had a day when I didn't have any leftovers. I dug into the freezer & found some buffalo chicken meatballs that no one seemed to like, and heated up a few of those to go on the salad. It was an unexpected combination, but was pretty good. 
• Defrosted two chunks of French bread (we cut up Costco bread, wrap it & freeze it, as we can't use it all before it goes bad) to make cheesy bread for Nick. 
• Found a container of white bean rosemary soup in the freezer, and had that for lunch with some cheese and an apple. It wasn't my favorite recipe, but that was the last of it. 

For others

• Passed on a few job options to a friend who is looking for work. 
• Did another volunteer call with a student I'm mentoring. 

What about you? Any wins to share?

Thursday Things

 I went for a long hike with a friend yesterday, and we took a wrong turn, so it ended up being much more challenging than we expected. Glad I brought plenty of water. ;-) I also met up with another friend for a walk, but we kept it nice & slow after my long hike. I ended up with over 27k steps for the day, so plenty of activity happening! 

I've also picked a lot of tomatoes! I'm trying to pick only what we can eat over a couple of days, to keep them fresher longer on the vine. 

Here's what I'm up to today:

• Workout class
• Go to the bank to deal with CD rollover
• Work in the garden
• Call an insurance broker
• Call the orthodontist for Nick
• List a few things on eBay
• Do back strengthening exercises
• Have a call with the student I'm mentoring
• Go to the store to pick up a few items

What about you? What are you up to today? For those gardeners out there, are you still harvesting? 

Tuesday Happenings

I had one good interview yesterday, and one interview where the recruiter never showed. This is the second time with this recruiter where he posts his calendar, asks me to select a spot, I choose one, and he....never joins the call. Last time claimed he messed up the time zones (he's in India). Fair enough, forgiven the first time. He apologized last time & pushed me hard to reschedule. I never even heard back from him after yesterday's snafu. Well, that tells me everything I need to know about the company. Also, as a recruiter, you have one job. If I were the hiring manager for this role, I would be so frustrated to know how my recruiter was handling (or, not handling) things. Anyway, oh well. 

I briefly spoke to Sam, after his academic orientation. He asked me to put additional dining dollars on his meal plan. ;-) I'm so happy that guy is having fun, meeting people & getting ready for classes tomorrow. Nick also starts his dual enrollment class at the local community college today, and he's looking forward to that. 

Otherwise, here's what I'm up to:

• Follow up on networking emails/texts
• Sort out eBay fail. I posted shoes (shoes from England) that were DH's, but used the wrong sizing. The buyer & I sorted it out, but not until I'd paid $20 for postage. Sigh. Totally my fault, and honestly, I'd put off listing these shoes because I knew they would be a hassle. I need DH to help me with a few things today, and maybe I will at least cover the postage & a bit more. Now I'm invested in getting these things sold. ;-) 
• Work out class
• Pick up ant bait at the hardware store. This is an ongoing problem at our house.
• Figure out what chargers work for two old tablets. I'm hoping to sell them on Amazon, but need to know if they even power up. Otherwise, I'll put them in the e-waste, but hope to avoid that if they can be used. 
• Set up an Ortho appointment for Nick

That's it from my side. What about you? What are you hoping to accomplish today? 

Menu Plan Monday

 I need to start getting adjusted to feeding three people vs four, which will be a bit of a process I think. Sam & I were the most aligned eaters, whereas M can't eat most carbs (food allergy) & Nick eats almost entirely carbs & doesn't love things mixed together. ;-) I'm mostly kidding, as Nick eats plenty of fruit & veggies, but is pickier about his protein options. Making a menu plan will be quite an adventure! My previous approach was to choose things that Sam & I would like, that could also be adapted for the other diners. Now it seems silly to optimize for just me, so who knows! I suppose some experimentation is in order.

• Friday - chicken marsala (from the freezer)
• Saturday - salad with grilled chicken
• Sunday - barbecued burgers (freezer)
• Monday - tacos (prepped meat from the freezer)
• Tuesday - spaghetti & meatballs + garlic bread
• Wednesday - leftover tacos
• Thursday - leftover spaghetti & meatballs
• Friday - pizza (cauliflower crust for M)

What's on your menu for the week?

Sunday Happenings

It's been a pretty mellow weekend so far. Nick had a game yesterday (they got trounced), I made muffins, worked out, & continued organizing & cleaning out Sam's room. I sold a desk & some card games (from his room, they went into the "get rid of pile" before he left).

I received pictures from Sam's roommate's mom, as they stayed an extra day & took Sam & all of the suite mates out to dinner. Looked like everyone had a fabulous time, and it made me so relieved to see him happy & having fun with new friends. They were also playing corn hole & some other game out in the grassy area by their dorm. The weather in Corvallis this week is perfect, which is just what they needed.

Sam is reasonably introverted, and we talked a lot about needing to really put himself out there those first few weeks/months in order to meet friends & have fun, and really enjoy the college experience. So far, it looks like he's doing it! He's gone bouldering at the gym, attended the Friday night foam party (sponsored by the school), & yesterday attended his first college game. I don't think Sam even attended a high school game, so I was pretty shocked! He said they had a fantastic time!

Bonus that Oregon State beat Purdue yesterday, at the first game. :-) So, so glad he's having fun.

As for today:

• Working out
• Cleaning the house
• Rustling up dinner
• Prepping for two interviews tomorrow
• Spending 2-3 hours with Nick on college applications
• Working on a networking plan for next week
• Doing a bit more gardening work, if I can get out before it gets too warm.

What about you? What are you up to today?

Frugal Friday

 

Saving on things we buy

• Used a few sale coupons for items at the grocery store, and picked up the Friday Freebie protein bar, which Nick finished off before we got home from the store. Earned $5.30 from Fetch & another $1 from iBotta.
• Picked up road trip snacks for M & Sam, as well as OTC medicine at CVS. Used rewards, and uploaded my receipts to iBotta & Fetch. Additionally, used my monthly CVS credit. 

Earning money

• Had enough Fetch points to cash in for a $25 Amazon gift card.
• Sold a tank top & pair of shoes on eBay.

Avoiding spending

• At Sam's request, he really wanted his Thanksgiving flight booked before he left for college (so he can see his girlfriend), so I got that booked. I was able to use up a flight credit from some cancelled flight of yore, as well as a gift card to cover the very expensive cost. 
• Received two free snack boxes on the flights. Brought home the snacks from the second box, as neither of us were hungry. 
• We didn't need a couple of items that we bought for Sam's college move in, so I brought them home in case we need them for Nick. 

Eating what we have

• I've been making lunches for the teens, to use up on hand items & ensure nothing goes to waste.
• We've also had plenty of lettuce, herbs & peppers from the garden, as well as a big resurgence of tomatoes. We have *a lot* of tomatoes!
• Brought home leftovers for our Sunday night dinner out (Sam's choice for our last family Sunday dinner for a while). Ate those for lunch one day. 
• Stretched leftover egg roll in a bowl by adding another package of coleslaw mix on the second go round. I also prefer to make it this way, as the cabbage is much better when not reheated a second time. 
• Found a breakfast sandwich in the freezer (Sam's favorites), after he'd left for college, so had that for breakfast one morning.
• Ate leftovers for lunch, and had some eclectic meals. :-) Cleaned the fridge so I could see exactly what was available.
• Pulled chicken marsala out of the freezer, and had that for 2 dinners. 

For others

• Helped two other parents get supplies for their students to college. We were driving & had extra room in our car, so our posted on our family alias & had plenty of folks who wanted to take us up on my offer, as they were flying. It was nice to be able to help out & save them an extra checked bag or the postage required to mail. 

What about you? Any wins to share?