Minimal Fitness Monday

 Let's just say that workouts have been hard to achieve lately, as well as few & far between. I did work out on the Saturday I flew to Tokyo, and then got in two elliptical workouts at the hotel gym before I realized I had an infection & felt unwell. 

Today was my first mini workout since I got home. I did a 30 minute slow workout on the elliptical, with shoes but no socks, to reduce friction with a shoe. I've been dying to get in some sort of a workout, so this was a little mini something.

Otherwise, I've been focused on sleeping & eating well, and have done a decent job with both. I'll be back with an actual proper fitness update next week, so fingers crossed I can get in a few more workouts, some walking, & strength training - which I'm really missing.

Hope you are all doing well with your health & fitness goals! 

Menu Plan Sunday

I have jury duty this week, although I'm already off for Monday. I'll call in each evening to find out if I need to report the following morning. It makes planning a bit challenging, thus an easy to prep & heat menu plan for the week ahead. 

• Friday - leftover Chipotle bowl (me) + shrimp (DH)
• Saturday - rotisserie chicken + grain salad
• Sunday - grilled hot dogs
• Monday - leftover rotisserie chicken + grain salad
• Tuesday - leftover hot dogs
• Wednesday -Southwest chicken skillet
• Thursday - other leftovers, or TBD
• Friday -  leftover Southwest chicken skillet

What's on your menu plan for the week? 

No Frugal Friday this week

I got home yesterday & went straight to urgent care. My left foot got infected & I have cellulitis, which isn't a huge deal, but requires antibiotics. I spent most of yesterday hanging out at urgent care, the pharmacy (a whole fiasco ensued there) & then resting with my foot elevated. 0/10, do not recommend any of this with jet lag & overall being exhausted. 

I chatted with the family yesterday & then headed to bed at 6 pm. I slept for 11.5 hours last night, so I was apparently very tuckered out. ;-) Will be back with more updates, but if you have any wins to share, please comment! I will live vicariously through all of you.

Mission accomplished, & other Tokyo things

I was able to secure a bra! One of the commenters suggested it, but Uniqlo was also recommended by a local, so I made my way there on Monday. Sam also sent a few requests, and I found some things for him. And yes, the sizing is... not even remotely close. Local helped me figure out how to translate & figure out something that would work. It's actually quite a nice bra, so maybe it will become a staple! 

I wore my very regular flats to walk to the stores, and because it was so hot & humid, my feet swelled up ... A LOT. As a result, I have two huge blisters, and it's very uncomfortable to wear any shoe. I need to find more band-aids today, but it's a busy day & I'm not super jazzed to get outside in the heat & humidity with my work clothes, makeup & presentation look to try & track down some band-aids. I am also absolutely wrecked tired. 

Practice presentation was a challenge, as the setup wasn't working & the tech support folks only spoke Japanese. We used a lot of translation apps to try & help us communicate. But, all of the practice worked, because first round of the presentations went well yesterday. Second & final round is today.

On deck for today:

• No workout, because my feet are toast with the blisters
• Morning meetings x2
• A few work projects
• Presentation
• Meeting with the skip boss
• Source band-aids
• Pack & check in for flight

Also, breakfast this morning. Fruit is again delicious. 

Tokyo time

Trip recap to far...

I slept for about an hour on the flight, but the JAL business class was better than I remembered. I didn't eat much on the flight, and by the time I was hungry, they were done with meal service. My mistake. Immigration was an absolute fiasco. Taxi line outside was hot & sweaty & also surprisingly long. I'm shocked by how many tourists there are in July - July is not a month I'd recommend to visit Japan, with the heat, rain & humidity. 

Got to the hotel & was put on a high floor (yay!), which definitely helps with sleeping, as you can hear street noise (ambulances, in particular) if you are on the lower floors. Ordered room service, unpacked & took a bath. Went to bed at 7 pm. Woke up at 3:30 am, because #jetlag.

Went to the gym, then stopped by the club lounge to get breakfast. Club access is available with my Hyatt Globalist benefits, and is super valuable. It saves me from having to do a bunch of expense reports (and, saves the company money, I suppose). The fruit was delicious. 

On the less great side, I wear a sports bra (with additional clothes over it!) when I travel on international flights, to make it more comfortable for potential naps. I've now come to realize that I forgot my bra. Folks, I have all dressy business wear & they definitely need a bra. I'm also in a place where I don't wear, shall we say, a standard Japanese bra size. Oh good lord. How is this going to go?! I need to move some meetings & find a shop that will work. Sweet mercy, wish me luck!

Saturday Happenings

 I slept well (hurrah) & got up & had a bit of time to enjoy my coffee & then get in a workout. I've just finished packing & checking over my "last minute packing" list, and am heading to the airport in 30 minutes or so. 

When I arrive in Tokyo, it will be about 3 pm local time. This is actually pretty ideal from an arrival standpoint, as I will attempt to follow my standard plan: check in, work out, unpack, eat a light dinner & head to bed. My goal will be to stay awake until 8 pm, but that will be heavily dependent upon how/if I sleep at all on a flight. I'm flying Japan Airlines, and their business class (at least on the route I'm taking) is quite a bit smaller than United, for example. They also still have the business class where someone has to climb over you to access the aisle, if you are asleep. I believe this is also the kind with an ottoman vs full lie flat, but it's been awhile since I've flown on JAL, so I can't recall all of the details. It will definitely be an improvement over the ~9ish years I had to take economy at my former job! I was able to book business only if it fit within a certain budget, so it was much more rare. I often upgraded myself, using points or personal cash.

Enough procrastinating - time to get this show on the road.

Hope everyone has a great week ahead! 

Frugal Friday

I have no idea why I didn't put the pieces together earlier, but I went on a new injection lupus medicine last week, and it's known to cause exhaustion, headaches, etc for the first 2-3 weeks. That explains why I've felt so exhausted this week. Fingers crossed things level out. 

On to our frugal Friday recap. DH & I took Nick & 9 of his friends to Lake Tahoe for the 4th of July, so some wins related to that. 

Saving on things we buy

• I originally used United credits for our trip to the Oregon coast in a few weeks. Because Nick can't come until Friday after work, Alaska had a better schedule than United. I cancelled one way for the United trip (kept the return) & sorted his outbound flight with miles (details below). That meant I received a United credit back. Nick is not driving his car to Colorado, so he & I are flying to Denver/Boulder, renting a car, moving him in & then I'll fly home alone. For the outbound flights, we both had United credits that I used to offset the flights, saving $331. 

Earning money

• Both boys are back at work, with Nick filling in for a water sport camp (he normally leads a mountain biking group), & Sam back at the restaurant & donut shop. 

Avoiding spending

• Nick can't join for the Oregon coast portion of our family trip (work), but is joining for the weekend gathering at my parents house. I used his Alaska Air miles to book a one way flight to Seattle. He's meeting up with friends on Friday night, and then they are driving him to my parents house (north of Portland). Crazily, the business class seats were less miles than economy, so he will be flying business class & I'm sure will feel quite spoiled. ;-) 
• For our Lake Tahoe trip, we optimized a bit, as we had quite a few teens joining us. Ended up with three free rooms, which saved a huge amount, given 4th of July weekend is peak season in Lake Tahoe. (We used hotel comps. I will do a post about where the comps come from at some point, & how we track & manage them). 
• I also used a $10 coffee offer from the hotel app, and M used a $100 yearly dining offer from his rewards app for our Friday dinner. 

Eating what we have

• Continue to make Nick lunch to take for work. I don't do it every day, but try to help out when I can, as it also has the extra benefit of me getting items I'm looking to use out of the fridge. 
• I made myself lunch out of yogurt, granola & berries, plus cheese & crackers. It used up what we had & sounded good & light, so it worked. 
• We've been eating fridge & freezer leftovers. I've used up the last of a Costco package of tortillas, which was enormous. 

For others

• Did some additional work to manage the finances for my special needs aunt. 

What about you? Any wins to share? 

So tired

 Not sure if this is my body just catching up from jet lag, or starting to catch a bug, but I am definitely struggling with my energy this week. Just in time for an international work trip :-(. Fingers crossed I have more energy tomorrow.

Otherwise, I'm plodding along on work goals, getting ready for my trip, and of course trying to fill in with some home goals as well. We have about five weeks until I take Nick back to Boulder, so I also need to start a list of what we need to bring, buy there, etc, as he's in a furnished apartment vs a dorm this year. He's not much of a chef (although he did do a lot of our cooking during COVID!), but has some skills & could make himself food when needed. 

Hope everyone is doing well & having a great week!

July goals

 It's time for more goals! I'm late, but still tracking for July. Here's what's on the list for the month ahead. 

Financial:

• Stay on top of food waste by using up 3 pantry or freezer items
• Continue to track net new savings for 2026
• Give notice at work & set an exit date
• Make $100 in side hustle
• Find one expense to optimize
• Finalize post work budget & plan (health insurance through M's plan is the biggest to do)

Family:

• Continue to help the boys navigate college & life
• Finalize Nick's move back plans
• Monthly date with M
• Reschedule family dinner
• Continue planning for our big trip next year, M's 60th

Fitness:

• Lose 3 lbs
• 10 strength workouts
• Track nutrition
• Average 13,000 steps/day

Personal:

• Do well at Japan external event
• Declutter 50 items
• Get together with friends
• Try something new
• Say yes to adventures
• Get to know our neighbors
• Try a new recipe

What about you? Any goals for July? My big one is definitely giving notice!!!

Menu Plan Sunday

 It's another wild week, and I leave for Tokyo on Saturday & then come back to jury duty! :-) 

• Friday - dinner in Lake Tahoe
• Saturday - 4th of July party in Lake Tahoe
• Sunday - ground beef tacos
• Monday - once again, one pan Mexican chicken and rice is on the menu, as it wasn't made last week
• Tuesday - leftover tacos
• Wednesday - leftover one pan Mexican chicken & rice
• Thursday - any remaining leftovers
• Friday - TBD

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

June Goals Recap

June was quite a month. I finished my Stanford class, had a week in LA for work (this undersells how much prep work went into this event), and 10ish days in Greece. As you can imagine, a lot fell by the wayside between all of that. 

Anyway, not recapping goals even on rough months isn't particularly helpful, so I'll stay the course & share how I did. 

Financial:

• Stay on top of food waste by using up 3 pantry & freezer items. - Freezer is looking lean, and we've done a good job of using up: meatballs, lots of buns, leftover chicken, etc. 
• Continue to track net new savings for 2026 - yes, and we are finally back in the green after taxes, thanks to my annual bonus. 
• Make $100 in side hustle - nope, I made a paltry $20, thanks to a settlement + one eBay sale. I had my sales turned off for the majority of the month. 
• Find one expense to optimize - nope, did nothing on this one
• Create post work budget & plan (health insurance through M's plan is biggest to do) - I did track down the info, but haven't finished the budget. 

Family:

• Continue to help the boys navigate college & life - this is an ongoing one, but it continues
• Sort out Nick's move back plans - still on the fence about some logistics that Nick & M are working out. 
• Monthly date with M - I think so? Pretty sure our date night landed in June? 
• Host family for dinner - this didn't happen & needs to be rescheduled
• Make progress on Iceland planning (next year, M's 60th) - eh, we are still in exploration mode & may swap to Italy. I love travel planning & the good news is that we are still in research mode on this stuff. 
• Have a fabulous trip to Greece - yes, done! It was fabulous. 

Fitness:

• Lose 3 lbs - I lost 1 lb, and came in at 149.5. 
• 10 strength workouts - 6/10
• Track nutrition - about 1/2 the days of the month, not when I was in Greece. My average (including Greece estimates) was 1,354/day.
• Average 12,000 steps/day - Definitely not. I was at 9,298 for the month. Two full travel days (long flights, no steps) & then a work trip where I was trapped in a hotel for another week didn't help. Plus, minimal official workouts or hikes. 

Personal:

• Do well at external event - went very well. 
• Declutter 50 items from the house - made no effort on this, but managed 3 items out of the house by sheer luck. 
• Get together with friends- girls trip + a hike with friends + one workout with a friend. 
• Try something new - Greece!
• Say yes to adventures - the ferry situation, lots of adventures, caldera hike, etc. 
• Get to know our neighbors - no progress
• Try a new recipe - tried a new recipe with rice & meatballs that was quick & easy. 

Let's hope for a better July! How did you do with your June goals? 

Frugal Friday

 This is a recap from a pre-Greece week + the past week. 

Saving on things we buy

• Uploaded two Costco receipts to Fetch & iBotta, as the latter had a $.05 on any grocery receipt cash back. 

Earning money

• I'd fully maxed out my 401k by my last paycheck, so it was bigger than normal, which was a nice treat. 
• Both boys are continuing to work a lot, trying to earn some cash ahead of school going back. 
• Received $250 deposit back from Nick's dorm room, which is a testament to how much time & effort I spent helping him + his roommate clean & pack back in May. 
• Also received my annual bonus + a retroactive raise from April. 

Avoiding spending

• Oh my, we spent plenty, that's for sure. Greece was not a cheap trip (see trip recap for details!)

Eating what we have

• A few weeks ago I'd been home for just a day (LA work trip) & hadn't reconciled myself to grocery shopping yet, so we had a (mostly) freezer dinner. All of our dinners are served with salad, but the shrimp & fried rice were both from Trader Joes & stashed in the freezer.
• Used up a small ziplock of strawberries, and the very end of frozen berries to make a smoothie for Nick. I added an incredibly ripe banana, some yogurt, protein powder & a splash of oat milk. He's been working outside in the 90 degree weather, mountain biking, so he appreciated the cool treat when he got home.
• I also made Nick a quick dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches, made on leftover hamburger buns & sliced cheese I found lingering in the fridge. He was between a gym workout & a pickleball match, so he appreciated the quick & scrappy meal. 
• Made the boys various breakfast items before work. 
• Nick's friend is staying with us for a few days, and oh my goodness that guy can eat. He's 6'4" and a college athlete, and eats more than double my guys combined. I've spent a lot of time in the kitchen, making sure there are easy meals prepped for them, as they are out & about. We have no leftovers in the fridge this week, that is for sure! :-) 
• Nick & friend weren't supposed to be home for dinner, but came back early from the beach, so I whipped up a large spaghetti & meatball dinner, using fridge & freezer staples. Added in a loaf of bread, and they were good to go.
• I also prepped a large lunch for everyone (6 chicken patty sandwiches on ciabatta buns - both from the freezer), chips leftover from a previous teen party, a big bowl of fruit + veggies. All was eaten minus one chicken patty sandwich, which served as Nick's lunch the following day for his job. 
• I went to make lunch on Wednesday, and noticed it was slim pickings for protein to go on my salad (see above with all of my hungry diners), so I opted for the freezer/pantry salad. Salad base + olives & garbanzo beans (pantry) + edamame (freezer). Delicious & easy. Edamame & garbanzo beans both have a good amount of protein. 

For others

• Provided some career guidance to an acquaintance who was laid off, referred them to roles, and made some introductions that I hope will be helpful. 

What about you? Any wins to share? 

Greece, a very non-frugal trip

I'm trying to create more trip recap reports, and it's important to me to show the splurge ones as much as the frugal ones. The frugal trips enable me to spend more flexibly on the splurge trips. We went to Santorini, Naxos & Paros.

Some things to note:

• The trip was a shared 50th birthday celebration for myself + my BFF, with my sister
• I paid for my sister's travel expenses, so my cost is for two people
• We originally had a fantastic deal on flights, using British Airways miles, but they changed the flights & they no longer worked for our group, which was frustrating. We then had to buy revised flights & they cost quite a bit more than they did when we originally priced them. The original flight cost was around $1800 total, so seeing the end number really hurt. 
• This trip had A LOT of logistics. M & I have agreed that Greece, while incredible, is challenging to get to from our location & we don't love a trip where we have to move around a lot. Hence how this made it to the girls trip list. 
• My BFF had a very limited set of dates available, so we had minimal flex on timing to save on cost. She's a school principal & can't adjust vacation days. We ended up needing to adjust our flights & shave a day off the last stop (Paros), as my sister found out that her SIL was getting married the day after we returned. 
• If you've ever traveled with 3-4 people in Europe (and, many places in Asia), you know that finding a room that can comfortably fit that many people is a challenge. There is either an option for a suite, or two rooms, and this is expensive regardless. 
• We were shocked by how expensive transit was, and should have done more research. We booked a hotel on the quieter part of Santorini, and they offered a shuttle service, but it didn't run during the majority of the day. Uber was more expensive than the hotel transit (they arrange for a driver to come & get you). We would still not decide to rental a car, as none of us would have been remotely comfortable driving, but the transit was the biggest area I hadn't budgeted enough for. 

Hotels - $1094.73 (remaining costs covered through Chase rewards)

• We split this up by having me book & pay for two of the hotels (Santorini & Paros), & my BFF paid for the other hotel. 
• $637.09 - food & transit booked with Santorini hotel. I didn't bring home a receipt to break out the transactions that were a few meals eaten at the hotel vs lots of transit around the island.
• $457.64 - food & transit booked with Paros hotel. Same as above, I didn't bring home a receipt to break out the transactions that were a few meals eaten at the hotel vs lots of transit around the island.

Transit - $270.96

• We had two ferry rides, to get between the islands. For two, the ferry costs were $260.72
• We also rode the ferry from Paros to Antiparos, which was a whopping $10.24 (three round trip tickets)
• See above, as the majority of this is captured under Lodging

Food - $190.75

• While we mostly ate at lounges for our airport transit days, I bought drinks for the flight from Munich to SFO (from a vending machines) to carry on the flight ($6.27) & coffee for all of us at the Frankfurt airport, ahead of our flight to Athens ($23.78)
• Dinner in Naxos- $134.44
• Gelato in Paros, x2 - $14.3+11.96
• The majority of the rest of my food was covered by my sister when we ate out, and we had few meals at the hotels (covered under Lodging, as I didn't get the receipt to split out transit costs & food). 

Activities - $243.60

• We booked a cooking class - cost for two was $243.60 
• We also did a distillery/winery tour at a Citron family owned business, which was super interesting. My sister paid for my ticket. 

Flights - $10,613.44

• I flew my sister to/from Portland, so we could be on the same flights from SFO & reduce logistics. I normally do a really good job optimizing, but we had fixed timing & airport/airline requirements that complicated things. This flight was insanely priced at $665.23. 
• We also paid for flights to/from Athens to islands, & my cost was for two of those tickets. - $623.55
• Moving on to the big ticket items - two round trip flights from SFO to Athens. The flight class varied a bit - we were in Premium Plus from SFO to Frankfurt, regular economy (I think?) from Frankfurt to Athens, business from Athens to Munich and business from Munich to SFO.  - $9324.66

Travel insurance - $96

• At my previous employer, health insurance was international, which means I didn't need to buy a policy when I traveled. My current company policy only provides coverage for international work travel. I did not need travel coverage for delayed flights & the like, as that's covered by my travel credit card. I used Allianz insurance - $96

Other - $630.97

• Gifts from M + the boys, two pair of hand made sandals, some stunning pottery from a local vendor in Paros & a necklace for my mom 

Total spent = $12,917.65 for two people (or $6,458 & change per person). All in all, no regrets on the spending except for the flights, which as noted above, was originally supposed to be largely covered by British Airways miles. Hopefully we will get a chance to use them soon.