Frugal Friday

 This is a recap for a few weeks.

Travel savings: - adding these on weeks I have something to report, which is not every week. Paid $44 for $2200 of Christmas flights (flying to Portland to visit the family). I used American miles for three of the tickets, and those miles were earned exclusively through work travel. I didn't have quite enough for the fourth flight, so I booked that one using Sam's Alaska miles. He's the one most likely to have a disruption in his travel schedule due to work, so this worked out well to be on a separate reservation. It was a huge value to use miles, given the cost of flights right now. It felt especially good to save so much from work travel, because those miles feel especially hard earned. 

Saving on things we buy

• Uploaded all receipts to Fetch & iBotta. iBotta pretty consistently has a $.10 off any receipt, so I try to get those loaded & save myself "a ton" of money that way. ;-) Big bucks!
• I made a change to  our auto insurance, and saved $184, which I immediately transferred to our savings account. I'm trying to be more diligent about moving any saved/earned funds over right away, so it's more visible the progress we are (or, are  not) making. 
• I received a $140 evoucher to use on British Airways for a future flight, for the entertainment system not working for 10 hours. Not sure that's a tradeoff I would take, but here we are. I don't fly British Airways (with the exception of work, when I'm not paying), but it looks like I can book a partner flight & use the voucher as well through their site, which I will do in the future. They are partnered with American Airlines & Alaska Airlines, so I will go that route. 

Earning money

• Sold one of M's old watches for $130 on eBay. 

Avoiding spending

• It's been a week, and was craving a sandwich, so I conned Sam into picking one up for me while I worked by also ordering one for him. I used a BOGO offer, and we got two foot long Subway sandwiches for $11 + tip. I had a gift card, so it was no money out of pocket. 

Eating what we have

• Came home from my work trip & couldn't find anything to eat, so I made popcorn as a meal before I went to the store. 
• Defrosted soup 2x for lunches. Those are on my "use it up" list, so nice to have them out of the freezer.
• Also defrosted two bags of rotisserie chicken + chicken broth & made a chicken/rice dish. This also used up yogurt (in place of sour cream) in the recipe, which was another bonus. 

For others

• Can't really think of anything. 

What about you? How was your week? Any wins to share?

Post jet lag, changes & other miscellany

 I'm slowly recovering from jet lag. It gets harder every year! Yesterday afternoon was the worst it's been, so I rescheduled a later APAC meeting, and did mindless tasks around the house. I'd already worked more than a full day, and will hopefully have more energy for a later meeting on Wednesday. Fingers crossed.

I made the chicken rice skillet, using rotisserie chicken & chicken broth, so more things out of the freezer. I left a plate for Sam, who had to work last night. Everyone liked it, although apparently the salsa I bought at Trader Joe's was "not spicy enough". Fair, I also thought it was a little bland. Lesson for next time. ;-) 

I didn't work out yesterday, but did get in good workouts on Saturday & Sunday, & have a plan for today, so I'm continuing to get back into a routine.

Work plans:

One of my goals for April was to align on next steps for work. When I left my previous job after a layoff, I wasn't sure if I was "done" with a big career/corporate role. I'm coming up on one year in this role, and I think I can definitively say that I'm done with big career jobs. I've been working in corporate America for coming up on 30 years (next year marks 30), and I just don't have the energy I used to have. Factor in the politics, the early mornings, and the travel, and I consider myself in the home stretch.

What does this mean for work? My current goal (barring some sort of major shift in responsibilities/leadership/work/etc) is to give notice in July & offer a few months to help train a new hire, transition projects, etc. I'd like to be done by end of September. What will actually happen when I give notice is up to the company, of course, although given I have zero plans to go to a competitor, I'm reasonably sure they will keep me on for a bit to make the transition smooth. 

Finances:

Why July? I have to pay back my sign on bonus if I quit any time before July, so that's off the table. I also received a pro rated (based on hire date) annual bonus in early July, so both of those financial milestones will be achieved. We will then shift to M's health care plan.

I have a few other financial milestones I can stay for (a small secondary sign on bonus, a stock vest in December, etc), but so far, those don't feel like enough incentive. I'm on the cusp of needing more medical intervention with lupus, and I'd like to avoid that for as long as possible. 

What comes next?:

I'd love to have the flexibility to travel a lot, and be available to my family more. I am also reasonably confident that I will do paid work again, but just not a "career" job in my current industry. I'm in no rush to do so, and don't need the money, although it will pad the travel fund nicely to have something like that lined up when I'm ready.

I have a huge bucket list of places to go and things I'd like to do, so stay tuned for those updates. 

Focusing on my family & my health will be my top two priorities. We've worked really hard to get to this point, so looking forward to taking the time to regroup a bit & reset. We feel really lucky this is an option. M would like to work for another three years or so, barring any other changes at his work. He doesn't "love" it, but likes the company & the challenge of the work.

More to come, as I firm up plans!

Fitness Monday

 I'll just make this a quick summary, as I'm recapping a few weeks.

The scale says my weight is up a few pounds, but I did pretty well on my trip (the best I've ever done by a long shot) & I tend to retain a lot of water after traveling. So, I'll give it a few days & report back a more accurate number next week.

I worked out 1x in London, but also walked 2+ miles a day to get to/from the office, and tried to take the stairs a lot.

I bought much healthier dinners (picked up a salad & chicken skewer from a market one night, and a chicken/brown rice bowl another) & tried to keep things healthy. The big downside was that my schedule was absolutely insane & packed, and the only lunches I even had time for were grabbing a sandwich at the cafe & eating that while walking to another meeting. So, much less than ideal. It was a week where everyone assigned to an office was required to be in person, so the food lines, elevator lines, everything were stacked up. And, there were many required events to attend, hence the crammed schedules. 

I will say that my biggest observation is how much I crave sugar & caffeine when I'm jet lagged. I rarely, rarely crave sugar when on my normal routine (minus a couple of days of hormonal cravings), but when I was tired... the difference was huge. My body is clearly looking for an easy energy source, and I try to avoid any caffeine after my first latte in the morning. 

Goals for the week:

• Hard(er) & consistent workouts
• Lots of fruit, veggies & protein
• Strength training
• Getting in my steps

What about you? How are you doing with your health & fitness goals? 

Menu Plan Sunday

 It's not going to be my best work, but I will make sure everyone is fed this week!

• Friday - I made popcorn when I got home & saw that the fridge was largely empty. I would have treated myself to delivery for dinner, but I fell asleep before that could happen. So, a frugal win? ;-) 
• Saturday - grilled chicken (freezer) over salad
• Sunday - high protein deconstructed beef enchiladas (freezer)
• Monday - One pan chicken fajita rice
• Tuesday - leftover grilled chicken on ravioli
• Wednesday - leftover chicken fajita rice
• Thursday - grilled chicken + edamame
• Friday - TBD, but something easy!

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

Saturday Happenings

 The opposite side of last week's Saturday Happenings, as I'm back from my trip. It was a reasonably good trip from a logistics perspective (all flights on time, hurrah!), which is always nice. The entertainment unit was busted on the way to London, and given I don't sleep on flights, that was a LONG flight to not have any movies or TV to watch. 

The hotel was ... interesting. I'm used to small hotel rooms, from traveling in Europe & Asia, but this was truly tiny. It had a twin bed! There was nowhere really for my suitcase to be, except wedged between the bed & the wall. ;) There were some very interesting design decisions. Oh well, I definitely appreciate being back home now.

I landed in the afternoon, Ubered home, & then unpacked & started a load of laundry. I realized there was basically nothing in the fridge, so I made myself some popcorn while I did that, and then went to the grocery store where I picked up a few things.

I was in bed by 7 pm (my goal for myself) & slept until 6 am. That's how tired I was!

For today, I have more than enough to keep me busy:

• Workout class, hopefully with a friend joining
• Grocery store for a proper stock up
• Make a meal plan for the week
• Prep some sort of healthy food! 
• Virtual call with my sister + BFF, where we need to catch up on our Greece planning! It's coming up really quickly, suddenly
• Complete expense report
• Catch up on home budgeting tasks
• Start cleaning the house. It's pretty gross. Probably split into today & tomorrow
• Laundry

The bed in my hotel room, for visual interest... And, that's the full room size. ;-) 

What are you up to today? 

Saturday Happenings

 My goal is to maximize as much of my day/partial weekend as possible, before I fly to London this evening. For all of those people who think work travel is fun.... nope. Definitely nope! I suppose if you had unlimited PTO & didn't mind traveling alone, or had a spouse who could join you for the personal travel at the end, you could just consider it a way to earn free airfare for yourself somewhere you'd like to go. The answer to all of the above is no for me, and I'm always just trying to get back home to my regular life. Where you inevitably are jet lagged for the following weekend as well.

As for today, the most important thing I like to do before a long travel day is work out. While not possible if I have a really early flight, it's definitely doable today, because I have an evening flight. I'm planning to meet a friend for a workout class, which is a double win, since we will get to catch up as well. It always makes me feel better before 10+ hours of sitting to at least know that I worked out ahead of time. 

I considered doing a virtual happy hour call with my sister + BFF at the lounge (in one of the private phone booths, of course), but I'm flying British Airways vs United, and am unfamiliar with their lounge set up. That would have at least been a fun way to squeeze in our monthly happy hour while I hang out at the lounge. 

Other things I'll get up to today:

• Clean the fridge. M is more than capable of making meals, but he has "fridge blindness" or whatever and I like the fridge to be ready to go & wiped down, any old leftovers tossed, etc.
• Finish last minute packing. I have a "day of travel" checklist I use to gather up all remaining items.
• Go through my work calendar & make a list for each day, schedule in workouts, etc. 
• Catch up on laundry.
• Clean the kitchen

Doing all of that will make me feel moderately better about leaving, knowing the house is in semi-order. I drew the line at flying back next Saturday, because that really does ruin the following weekend as well. Instead, I fly back Friday morning UK time, and will arrive mid-day on Friday, assuming everything goes well. Fingers crossed for easy travels. 

What are you up to today? 

Frugal Friday

I feel like I have a lot to report this week, but who knows. Maybe I was just better at tracking, since I was looking for distractions this week. In case you are wondering, I use blogging (amongst other things for distraction during times of stress). And, now is most certainly one of those times for me. 

Saving on things we buy

• Picked up Easter items for Sam (I sent my mom with cash to make a basket for Nick, since she was  with him in person) & a few dinner items at the store & redeemed a $20 off reward. 
• I bought a small bottle of scotch for M, and the cashier let me know that a very similar kind was actually BOGO free, so I went that route. I know he likes both, so that was a definite win. 
• Checked iBotta & found that there was a $.50 offer on some cheese I bought at the store that was already on sale. Also had a $.10 any grocery receipt offer, and a $.25 offer from Trader Joe's. Definitely churning out the big bucks here. ;-) 
• Similarly, some of the Easter items I picked up for Sam (above) generated a 500 point Fetch offer. I don't buy brand name items very often, so this was a surprise win. 
• Adjusted our car insurance, which will save about $150 now, but $600 or so for the year when our policy renews. 
• I changed my flight to Boulder at the end of the month for Nick's move out. As a bonus, the flight was $48 less (I received a credit) & the rental car was 1/2 the price! I saved $140 off of the rental car, by adjusting my flight time by about 8 hours. that was a great deal that I wasn't expecting. Yay for making the trip cheaper. 

Earning money

• Sold two items on eBay (a wallet & a pullover athleisure shirt) & made $148 between the two. It was nice to wake up & see the back to back sales. 
• Listed a few new items on eBay, & immediately sold my fitness ring for $125. I have moved to using my watch for sleep tracking, to reduce the number of devices. I really liked the ring, but to get any value out of it, you had to have a monthly subscription, and I'm trying to be much more diligent about subscription based products. 
• Also sold another $10 item on eBay (sports bra) & a sweater ($12)

Avoiding spending

• I have status on United, & get free upgraded seats. However, when I book reservations separately for M & the kids (sometimes necessary to use up credits in their name), I can't have them sit next to me without paying exorbitant fees. You can, however, call in & they link the reservations & then will adjust the seats to upgraded ones for free. By doing so, for 15 minutes of time, I was able to get upgraded seats for M for the way to/from Denver, our summer trip to/from Portland for M & Sam. All together, this saved around $300. We wouldn't have paid this out of pocket (and, certainly not for the boys!), but I like to think of it as taking advantage of perks that we get. 
• Picked up some pantry items on Buy Nothing. I rarely take advantage of posts from others, but happened to see this one as I was posting my own giveaways. I picked up: three sparkling waters, 3 boxes of Mac & cheese, a few protein bars & a bag of granola. I'm sure Sam will be thrilled to have all of it. 

Eating what we have

• I've been out of breakfast options (need to do some more meal prepping), so I've been having an apple with peanut butter, which is filling & reasonably healthy. It's all about use it up mode.
• We also made potstickers from the freezer, which used up part of one bag & the end of another bag. It was nice to make a little bit of progress in the freezer.
• I also specifically planned a recipe (cauliflower rice enchilada skillet) that would use up two other targets for my freezer clean out: cauliflower rice & rotisserie chicken. 
• I threw together a late lunch of cheese, apples & nuts, when I didn't have other options. 

For others:

• Dog sat for a friend, who couldn't find coverage for 36 hour over spring break/Easter. Happy to help her out. 
• Answered a request on Buy Nothing for a cooler with wheels for a mom who is selling things at a local farmer's market & needs cool storage for her items. 
• Gave away a bunch of clothing on BN as well
• Updated my special needs aunt's car insurance, when she switched cars. 

What about you? Any wins to share?

Best value per wear items in my closet

 (Note, no referral links - these are just my own recommendations)

When I think of what I wear the most, and what I get the most value per wear out of in my closet, the hands down winner to those questions are easily...workout wear! Not only are those items designed to last, I work out A LOT. 

It's always interesting to see what holds up, and for me, it's across a variety of price points. Every one of these items has a ridiculously low per wear cost at this point, which is interesting to see, despite the semi-varied initial cost. 

Workout clothes:

• Swiftwick workout socks. I ordered a second round recently, but my first batch lasted close to 10 years, and that's wearing multiple times/week. 
• Amazon workout tanks. I own six of these, so three packs. They fit well, aren't too big, too roomy, too tight, too drapey. They are there for hard work! I'd say mine are 6+ years old & are still going strong. I wash them, & then line dry them, although in a pinch (traveling, etc), I put them in the dryer. 
• Zella workout capri length pants. I purchased the first couple of pair at a Nordstrom anniversary sale pre moving to the bay area, so definitely pre-2013. I have bought up all the remaining pair on my size on eBay, and they are no longer available. I wear these pants multiple times a week for 13+ years, definitely gotten my money's worth. They are all going to fail at the same time, and the struggle to find a replacement is going to be difficult. I've tried a lot, and finding a pair of workout pants that stays put while running & fits comfortably is a struggle! I ripped the bottom of one pair hiking & I was incredibly sad. RIP, fair pants. 
• Champion sports bras. These are the older school kind, purchased from Amazon a million years ago. They don't make them in the way I like anymore, and I've attempted & failed to find replacements. The search continues. Similar to the rest of the above, these get worn multiple times a week.
• Brooks running shoes. I prefer the Ghost. I try to look for sales, and I order multiple pair at the same time, and rotate them. They are not cheap, so look for an offer, if you need running shoes. When the support goes, I keep them for "errand" shoes, and get another 6 months or so out of them.
• Uniqlo full zip workout jacket - I bought this at the Haneda airport Uniqlo, and as far as I can tell, it's only available in Japan. It has UV protection & is very thin. I wear it several times/week. 
• Athleta In Motion Seamless tank - I have this in three colors. I like the higher neckline over the Amazon tanks, so typically wear this for hiking, walks, etc. I also wear them almost every day around the house in the spring or summer. They don't look like workout tanks when paired with a sweater/cardigan, for work calls. They fit well & have been washed 50+ times. 
• Lululemon Align Leggings - all Lulu is basically overpriced, but M bought me a pair five or so years ago, or whenever they first came out. they are the most comfortable leggings I've ever worn, and are more go to, around the house pants. I will also wear them on walks or hiking, but not for a run, as the band slips. I also don't prefer them for a workout class. These are what I wear every day for remote work. As with all of my workout gear, I wash on delicate & line dry. 

Regular clothes:

• Banana Republic Outlet dress pants - worn on maybe 15 work trips. Can be dressed up or down, packs well.
• Tahari cropped jeans - I bought these at Ross for maybe $10 when I was in Spokane for a wedding 4 years ago. The have the frayed edges. I've worn them 100+ times, I'd say. A search turned up nothing similar, so no link.
• Reef flip flops - I wear these a lot out of the house, around the pool, etc.
• Sam Edelman natural leather slide sandals - bought these for Dubai spring break with my in laws, so it's been awhile. I wear them maybe 20 times/year. 
• Gap tshirts - I like the basic kind
• Loft Harbor tank tops - I own these in at least 4 colors. I like that I can pair them with a cardigan, or on their own. They cover bra straps, are a thick enough fabric that you can't see through them, and they are not tight. 
• Rothy's slip on sneaker - I love that you can throw the entire shoe (or just the insole) in the wash. Have worn 100s of times, all over. 
• A black semi sheer cardigan from Banana Republic that is at least 10 years old, I bought on clearance and I'm hoping to be buried in. ;) It's the perfect weight, goes with dresses, tank tops, and keeps you warm but can also be worn in hotter temps. 

Okay, that was a fun little stroll through my closet. Tell us about the lowest cost per wear items in your closet!

Future travel savings

I've been working to maximize the fun & travel options, while keeping our budget in check. We had a big trip to New Zealand (50th birthday + 20th anniversary) & I'm also going to Greece with friends (extended 50th birthday, as 2 of 3 are celebrating 50th birthdays this year). Because of that, it's really important to keep an eye on the rest of our spending. 

I've been surprised by how expensive it is to get Nick to & from school, as well as how many trips there are for parents. Move in, move out & family weekend. We could skip and/or send him to manage on his own, but at least for this year, we like being there & helping out where we can, buying supplies, helping him move his stuff (difficult without the ability to rent a car), etc. 

I've been closely tracking our travel budget for 2026 & came up with estimates for what we still need to spend. I then challenged myself to be as creative as possible with credits, miles, etc. Here's what I've come up with so far. I'll do a post on travel hacking on the hotel portion of Greece separately:

• For Nick's move out weekend, I used credits for myself & for M to get to & from Boulder. For the first night, I used a Hyatt free night awards, as I need to work remotely & don't want to disturb my friend. After that, we will stay two nights at my friend's house, so no hotel cost. We do need to still pay for the rental car, which I booked through Costco. We are helping a few kids move out, as two of Nick's friends our from the UK, and their parents cannot easily assist. I've rented a mini van & am prepped to take multiple kids & gear, so I'm all set!
• We are doing a summer family trip to the Oregon coast, and I was able to use another flight credit to offset some of M's travel cost, and covered my flight + Sam's flights with additional United credits. I paid out of pocket for Nick's flight. All of the United credits are now gone!
• In October, we are going back to Boulder for family weekend. I used United miles for those flights, as they were almost $1k each! Michael & I are each doing a career coaching panel at the school, so we will both be attending. I also booked the nearby Hyatt using free night awards. There is a much more "fun" hotel that is the closest to the school, but a free night vs the outlandish cost (more than $1k) for a hotel makes this an easy decision. 
• For Nick's Thanksgiving flight home, I used his United travel credit. 
• When Nick flies home for winter break, I used United miles, as traveling near the holidays is incredibly expensive. 
• Additionally, while I haven't booked yet, I'm planning to use American miles earned while traveling for work to book Alaska flights (they are partners) for our Christmas flights. That will save around $2k, as we are very limited on when we can travel those dates. I'm waiting for a flight I'm taking in a week or so for work, which should tip me into having enough American miles to book these flights. 

I do still have a few flights to book for the rest of the year:

• Nick's move back trip in August. We may allow him to bring his car, which would mean we all road trip to Boulder, and then M & I would fly home. This is still very much TBD, which is why no travel is currently booked. 
• Anniversary trip to Las Vegas/Utah in September - my plan for this is to use Southwest credits to offset some of the cost, but it's expensive as always, as we will be flying back from Las Vegas on a Sunday afternoon - peak travel time. 

This is about $4k in savings, across the Hyatt free nights + the United miles, not counting the Alaska/American plans for Christmas, as those aren't booked yet. By optimizing our hotel points + miles, it really helps us use our travel budget for the fun stuff. It feels especially victorious to use airline miles for hard earned work trips on personal travel. Slightly offsets the pain of the jet lag. ;-) 

What about you? Any travel perks or points usage to share? 

Fitness Monday

It was not the best fitness week I've ever had, for a variety of reasons, but posting for accountability all the same. I had my hip dry needled at Stanford on Tuesday, and took a few days off from strenuous exercise after that. It was not the most comfortable thing I've ever had done, shall we say. 

I also got a pressure point massage on my back and shoulders on Saturday, as part of my continued mission to improve my overall health & well being & reduce pain. 

Weight: 156.4 (down .6 lbs from my last post)

Calories: 1,562

Steps: 8,162 - I think my lowest ever! I usually do a big hike & offset some of the lower "work" days, but our plans to hike yesterday were foiled by a different schedule & a need to drop off the dog at a different time. Then I was just lazy & didn't do a big hike, as it was already warm. #excuses

Workouts:

• Yoga
• 2 very hard workout classes
• A 3 mile walk
• Several dog walks
• Several days without any formal exercise

Goals for the week:

• Drop the calories back into the losing weight range (typically around 1350 or so)
• Get back into the swing with steps & working out

What about you? How are you doing with your health & fitness goals? 

Menu Plan Sunday

Oh my, another week gone by! A flying by the pants sort of week, since I didn't get a chance to meal prep over the weekend. I'll try to do better this week!

• Friday - wings & edamame
• Saturday - Philly cheese steak (freezer)
• Sunday - a non-traditional Easter request from Sam of grilled burgers & potato salad
• Monday - grilled chicken salad
• Tuesday - cauliflower rice chicken enchilada skillet (uses up cauliflower rice & rotisserie chicken from the freezer) (we actually made this earlier in the week & I can report that it was delicious!)
• Wednesday - grilled burgers & potato salad
• Thursday - leftover cauliflower rice skillet
• Friday - TBD. If I have time, I might meal prep something for Sam & M, as I leave for London on Saturday. If not, I'm sure M will just eat salmon every day, because that's his favorite easy meal. ;-) 

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

Saturday Happenings

 It was another long week, but Friday was a bank holiday in the UK (as is Monday), so I was actually able to catch up a bit on my work while the majority of the team was on holiday. That was excellent.

We are dog sitting for a friend until tomorrow, so that will be the majority of our activity - watching out for & taking care of our temporary guest. ;-) Fingers crossed that she adjusts well to the new location.

Other things I'm up to today:

• Yoga class
• Pick up gift card for Sam's Easter basket
• Pick up the dog
• M will then be in charge of walking the dog while I'm gone
• Go to my sports massage
• List some stuff on Buy Nothing
• And, eBay
• Clean the house
• Plant green onions (saved from the ones we already ate in the garden - they constantly replenish, as long as you don't eat the white bottoms completely)
• Plant lettuce & kale seeds
• Make dinner

I also have a few work tasks to complete. 

And, for visual interest...My office desk faces our pool area, and an orange tree & is quite lovely. The squirrels regularly run across the fence to get to the oranges, and perform all kinds of acrobatics, given the oranges are much bigger than they are. I had quite a surprise on Tuesday, when this creature came to visit & find some oranges. I thought they were nocturnal!

Hope you have a fabulous Saturday!

Frugal Friday - times 2

Combining two weeks, as I was out of town last Friday. 

Saving on things we buy

• Earned $20 cash back from a TurboTax credit card offer, and $1.98 in a gas cash back. Costco gas is always cheaper than other stations, but sometimes Nick fills up on his way somewhere else, so I always download the gas offers. 
• Uploaded our Costco receipt to Fetch & iBotta, and caught a $.10 off any grocery purchases from iBotta. 
• Received an email that $6 of Rakuten credit cleared from a purchase way back in December. 
• Submitted my last claim for my health & wellness reimbursement. I had $108 left for reimbursement, and had a sports massage to work on my QL for $110. An almost perfect match!
• Had to mail something to Nick that arrived after he left, so used Pirate Ship to save a bit off of standard USPS rates. 

Earning money

• I put money aside in a savings account to pay taxes. Now that we know how much we need (and have paid), I have moved the rest of the funds into a CD that is paying 3.5%. Not amazing, but we need quite a bit of cash for future college spending (among other things, where we don't want to add to our investment accounts). This should generate about $110/month of interest, which will be helpful. 
• I charged an expensive work course on my credit card, and will be getting reimbursed in a few weeks. The purchase will generate about $30 in credit card rewards. Nothing incredible, but it all adds up. 

Avoiding spending

• Washed all of the bathroom rugs, and took advantage of the sunshine by drying them all outdoors. That saves quite a bit of drying time/cost, given how heavy they are. 
• My bay area friend & I hit up a lounge at the Las Vegas airport, where I had a sparkling water, filled up my water bottle & we both took advantage of a pretty good kale salad, to add a bit more nutrition to our packed lunch (sandwich & protein bar). 

Eating what we have

• Sent Nick to the airport with a bagel & a banana. he wasn't hungry in the morning for breakfast before his flight (and, let's be honest, didn't get up early enough for that anyway), but this way he could have food on the flight & avoid buying anything at the airport. 
• Made the Costco pad Thai for a quick dinner on Saturday. M eats more protein than that, so I added a leftover grilled burger patty on the side with his. 
• For dinner on Sunday, M made rice & I pulled grilled chicken out of the freezer to go with it. This worked well with our dinner plans, as the rest of the rice was used to round out a chicken satay dish, also from the freezer. Sometimes it's about adding enough to round out a couple of leftovers, and Persian rice is both delicious & great at bulking up a meal. 
• I inventoried both freezers, so I have a better idea of what we need to use up.
• As part of my goal of working down our freezer & targeting one item a week, I pulled out shredded zucchini from the garden last year & made a shredded zucchini casserole. This recipe also used up: more cottage cheese (almost gone!), the rest of a bag of cheddar cheese, the end of a container of sour cream (not called for, but added it in to avoid waste) & I topped it with green onions from the garden. We are always looking for ways to use more green onions! 
• M made barbecued chicken & rice for dinner on Sunday, and I made a salad. I added a green onion from the garden. 
• I packed food & snacks from the condo (from the groceries we purchased and/or I brought from home) for airport/travel food on Sunday. 
• Used United miles & Hyatt hotel credits for family weekend at Boulder in October. Both flights & hotels were outrageous, so we opted to use miles & credits. 

For others

• Offered to help two college students out with calls to discuss careers, how to find a job, skill sets they need, etc. 
• Found a lost wallet at the condo we were staying at, and returned it to the owner

What about you? Any wins to share?