Menu Plan Monday

 As I mentioned in my previous post, the teens watching the debate cleared us out of food! I suppose it's a good thing that we are entering a new week with no leftovers. ;-) 

• Friday - I made an eclectic dinner based on what the three diners wanted. Pasta & meatballs for myself & Nick. M had no meatballs but did eat spring rolls. Everyone had salad and/or fruit.
• Saturday - Egg roll in a bowl
• Sunday - out to dinner at Sam's favorite restaurant, for a goodbye dinner
• Monday - apricot chicken (freezer)
• Tuesday - out of town for college drop off. Will eat out. 
• Wednesday - home super late from college drop off. Will eat at the airport.
• Thursday -  leftover egg roll in a bowl
• Friday - leftover apricot chicken

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

Cost of Moab trip

 I always like to recap how much a trip costs, for myself & for anyone who is curious. It's a helpful exercise for me as well, when I look back on our annual travel expenses. 

Here were my expenses for Moab:

• Travel to/from airport - got a ride from Sam on the way to the airport, and from M on the way home. No out of pocket spending. 
• Flights - covered by miles, minus $11.20 in fees
• Rental car - I covered the return flight home for my friend using my miles, and she covered the rental car using her travel points. No out of pocket spending.
• Gas for the rental car - $67.52. I covered gas & a few other expenses, while my friend covered things like the park pass, etc. We flew into Salt Lake City, and Moab is quite a drive, hence the gas costs. We also drove around for various hikes.
• Lunch at the airport when we landed - $16.86
• Lunch for both of us at the airport before our flight home - $40.46
• A tshirt for Nick, who normally doesn't request souvenirs, but is obsessed with Moab - $27.91
• Various groceries = $70.42. This included a zippered cooler bag that came home with me, two bags of frozen peas (which served as our makeshift cooler for the car), extra water, a few nibbles for the room, etc. 
• Three nights lodging, plus 3 dinners, 2 lunches, & a breakfast. Also included a free yoga class - $1000 (my half)

Total spent for the trip = $1234

This doesn't include a few things I bought for this trip, but will use on other hiking trips. I didn't track these as carefully, so some estimates

• A 3L bladder to hold water - $30 or so
• Hiking boots/socks - $140
• Electrolyte water tablets - $20 (have 3/4 or so still left)
• Hiking pants - $60

I already had plenty of workout outfits that were fine. I bought hiking pants, but didn't end up wearing them, because it was really, really warm while we were there.

Altogether, it was a totally reasonable trip & I think we did well on the cost. The hotel offered packed lunches that we purchased for both hiking days. (included: a sandwich, chips, piece of fruit, cookie & a drink for $18). The dinners were fantastic, and while the lodge was a bit more expensive than an off property restaurant, we loved the convenience of eating at the lodge after a long day of hiking. 

Do you track your travel expenses? 

Saturday Things

First up, for visual interest, here's a photo of the ranch we stayed at in Moab. It was SO peaceful. They had horses, and the little lodges were along the Colorado River. You could hear the sounds of the river in the evening. I loved the location. The second photo is the view at dinner from the lodge restaurant. An absolutely stunning location all around. 

It's been getting real around here, with helping Sam pack for college & Nick's college applications (first acceptance came in!) I've known for a long time that Nick will be leaving for college a year after Sam, but... it definitely feels more "real" at the moment. 

I've taken a couple of days off of working out, thanks to some blisters from my hiking socks, but I definitely need a workout today. Here's what else is on my agenda:

• Menu plan for the week
• Shopping list
• Grocery store
• Mail an eBay sale
• Help Sam with packing
• Laundry
• Clean the house (it's a wreck!)
• Book Costa Rica tour

What about you? What are you up to today?

Frugal Friday and Moab is beautiful

First of all, Moab (Arches & Canyonlands National Parks) are two of the most stunning places I've ever been. The trip was fabulous, my hip was totally fine, I did some challenging hikes & had an incredible time with my friend. I'm now back, totally in the swing of family life again (soccer, AP test registration, college stuff for Nick, college move in prep for Sam, laundry, groceries, etc). It's so nice to be home, but this trip inspired me to visit more national parks when we are empty nesters. A few photos, although it's very hard to capture the scale. 

Once again, so, so many expenses over the last few weeks (AP exams for spring, Moab trip, etc). 

Saving on things we buy

• We are doing a few requested dinners for Sam, ahead of him moving out in just a few days! We took advantage of an offer at PF Changs (one of his favorites), along with a gift card & spent $40 for a 3 course meal for four. We had LOTS of leftovers, which was perfect, as that filled in for a bunch of lunches with Sam & his girlfriend. We ordered: 1/2 soup & 1/2 salad, lettuce wraps, 2 order beef & broccoli & 2 orders of orange chicken. It was a lot of food! 

Earning money

• I've been pretty diligent about listing things on eBay, and sold a pair of shoes. 

Avoiding spending

• Nick's weekend game in Fresno got cancelled due to the excessive heat, so we saved the cost of a meal out. I think the other club is actually pushing for a forfeit (which, is a little crazy, because the heat + humidity makes it a cancel according to US Soccer), which would save us a future trip to Fresno. 
• I brought protein bars & hydration tablets from home for the hiking trip. 

Eating what we have

• We've been trying to really use things up, particularly to clear up some freezer space. I made fajitas from prepped meat in the freezer one night. 
• I made Nick a lunch out of an assortment of fridge items: pears, leftover meatballs & some Mac & cheese lingering in the fridge. 
• Nick invited his classmates over for a debate viewing party (they needed to watch it for his AP Government class) & they cleared out every scrap of food in our house: leftover PF Changs, leftover Persian food from another get together, pizza M ordered, all of our fruit & veggies, snacks from the pantry, etc. We had 20+ teens in our house! I came home to a very empty fridge last night. 

For others

• We planned to bring a cheesecake to a family get together, and didn't end up using it. It was a really nice bakery cheesecake, and the presentation was lovely. None of us are huge cheesecake lovers, so I posted it on Buy Nothing & a woman was celebrating a milestone birthday for her dad, who happened to adore cheesecake. Win, win. 
• Matched with another person to mentor on the college front, and provided informal mentoring to two other people. 

How about you? Any wins to share? 

Menu Plan Monday

I'm out of town for most of the week, but here's the rough plan.

• Friday - chicken fajitas (from the freezer)
• Saturday - spaghetti & meatballs + garlic bread
• Sunday - grilled burgers & watermelon
• Monday - out of town. Likely leftover spaghetti & meatballs for the others
• Tuesday - out of town. Likely leftover burgers for the others
• Wednesday - out of town. Likely pizza for the others
• Thursday - driving
• Friday - TBD

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

Saturday Happenings

Nick & I made more progress on his college applications, & I was able to organize the list of remaining work into buckets of essays. It's been very helpful to see what's ahead & where he needs to focus. Our goal is to have the remaining applications done by 10/15 (deadline is 11/1), leaving the three that don't open up until October 1st to do after that. He starts a college class towards the end of September, and school soccer begins in November, so he really needs to get as much done as possible early in the cycle. He's super swamped with course work this semester as well, so the business will continue!

We treated Sam to PF Changs last night (one of his favorites). It was *somewhat* reasonable, as I used a $15 offer, plus a gift card, and we did the "back to school bundle", which came with one appetizer, soup/salad & one entree per person for $20. We picked up, to minimize the rest of the cost. It yielded a big dinner for last night, and eat least 2-3 lunches for Sam & his girlfriend (she's been eating most meals with us this summer). 

Sam & I also went to the bank yesterday, and I got added to his new savings account, so I can set up automatic transfers for college. We are beginning a new process where he is managing more of his expenses, within a budget. Hopefully that will help him with the adult process of managing his money. He's saved up quite a bit from his summer jobs over the last three years.

As for today, M's cousins invited us over to swim & have dinner. We haven't seen them in about a year, so it will be great to catch up. Nick had a soccer game in Fresno, which was cancelled due to excessive heat & humidity. No one is sad to miss it, as Fresno is very far from our house for a soccer game.

Here's what else we are up to!

• I'm going to a workout class this morning
• List a couple of things on eBay
• Work with Nick on college essays (what a treat all around ;)
• Finish up some volunteer work
• Wrap up the packing for my hiking trip next week
• Laundry
• Dust

What about you? What are you up to today? 

Frugal Friday

 We spent a lot on the college application process this week, so we need to buckle down on other expenses, particularly given my hiking trip next week. A few wins scattered here & there.

Saving on things we buy

• Picked up a bunch of things I needed at CVS, and earned $15 in CVS rewards for a future purchase. I also earned $7.10 via iBotta & $.75 via Fetch.
• Similarly, picked up sparkling water at the grocery store, and used a $.50 off coupon, and earned another $2 via iBotta & $2 via Fetch.

Earning money

• Listed a few new things on eBay, which I often find has the bonus effect of boosting views to older listings.
• Did a consulting call & earned $150 for an hour.
• I attempted to give away a pair of Nick's soccer cleats (used only for reffing, so in good shape) on Buy Nothing. No takers. Then I attempted to donate them to our soccer club cleat exchange. Forgot them in the back of my car. Since I didn't want them hanging around my house & they were in too good of condition to drop off at the shoe recycling place, I listed them on eBay. Sold them in a few hours & made $25. Who knew? 

Avoiding spending

• Paused Sam's gym membership, while he's away at college
• Treated Sam to Subway sandwiches (another favorite) with a gift card, and a $6.99 foot long offer. 

Eating what we have

• I'm trying to make sure Sam's favorite things get eaten before he leaves (like the chicken taquitos that are his go to lunch), and also staying on top of what we're buying. Our grocery bill has been insane lately!
• We've continued to eat lots of garden lettuce & herbs, as well as peppers, but only have two ripe tomatoes left. I will definitely mourn the end of tomato season. 
• M bought steak for Labor Day, and we had that for dinner with sauteed green beans (from a neighbor's garden). We saved the other half of the steak & grilled those on Wednesday night. We didn't know that Sam was bringing his GF for dinner, so M & I split one mini steak & I filled up on beans. Probably healthier. ;-) 
• I had the other half of my Subway sandwich as lunch the following day. 

For others

• The great clean out of Sam's room continues, and I've given away a ton on Buy Nothing
• Had another call with a student I'm mentoring on the college application process.

What about you? Any wins to share?

Thursday Things

 It's been a busy week so far, with lots happening on the college front. Nick & I have been making a ton of progress, and we are feeling good about where we are on the application side.

Yesterday, we:

• Finalized all of his school requirements that are due in mid-September (document for teachers writing letters of recommendation, parent questionnaire, and a large school report containing major & deadlines for every college)
• Requested SAT & AP scores to be sent to each college he's applying to. (That cost close to $500, btw. The process isn't cheap!)
• Went through & edited his list of activities for the Common App. He has SO many activities, because that guy is crazy busy: two school sports x4 years with various awards to list, club sports x2, volunteer service & board of directors for a local organization, school activities... There was a lot to cover, and the very limited word count made this a challenge.
• Researched major selection at most of his colleges. Need to finish the rest today. He wants to be a mechanical engineer, which is a very competitive major at most colleges. As such, he might need to have two potential majors listed for each college, and there are a lot of restrictions to research, with each school having a very different approach. 
• We submitted the applications to two colleges which don't require essays! Woohoo! Two are submitted. It felt nice to make a tiny big of progress on that front. These are the easiest schools to apply to, and going through the process helps you learn a lot about what you need to do for the other schools, so this was a very helpful exercise.

For the rest of today:

• Workout class
• Meet & greet with a recruiter for a job
• Work on a couple of other job applications
• Clean the house
• Figure out dinner. We were supposed to be having leftovers, but we've had a lot of guests this week, and I don't think there are enough leftovers to go around!
• Laundry
• Pack for hiking trip
• Additional college application work
• Daily chores

What about you? What are you up to this week?

September Goals

 September is a big month for us! We are moving Sam to college (oh my, this is going to be an emotional month) & I'm heading out on a hiking trip to Moab with a friend next week. I suppose that will be a good distraction ahead of the college drop off? Nick also has a ton of school related college tasks to complete, and is generally incredibly busy with: his dual enrollment college class starting, as well as club soccer & taking 3 AP classes. Phew. It's going to be a wild ride this month!

Here are my goals in September.

Financial:

• Achieve savings goal. I'm removing the stock component, because it's highly variable, we don't control it & it is not a reflection of whether we are actually saving anything. This is making it much easier to track if we are saving money, or our savings accounts are just increasing due to stock gains. My goal is to save $2k more in September.
• Confirm that M's BA miles were extended.
• Freezer challenge: use a minimum of six items
• Get car sold 
• Update CDs that are renewing
• List 5 items on eBay

Family:

• Get Sam successfully moved in to college & transitioned
• Update Sam's room (we are getting rid of some furniture, & potentially getting a bigger bed for the room)
• Help Nick with college essays/applications & achieve all school deadlines

Fitness:

• Continue PT
• 15 strength workouts
• Follow the No S diet 15 days & track calories daily
• Have a successful hiking trip to Moab

Personal:

• Complete daily tasks 20 times (meditate, language lesson, journal)
• Get together with friends
• Declutter 25 items
• Focus on one career path I'm interested in, and go much deeper
• Spend time on volunteer role
• Play pickleball 3x 

What about you? Do you have any goals for September? Fill us in!

August Goals Recap

 August was an action packed month, and we squeezed a lot in! Here's how I did with my goals. 

Financial:

• Achieved savings goal. - We stayed even for the month, and maintained our savings. Hoping for better results in September. 
• Confirm that M's BA miles were extended - I need to confirm. We forgot to do this
• Sort out United credit plan - done! We're going to Spain!
• Freezer challenge: get rid of a minimum of six items. - done. Gave away a huge package of popsicles Nick got from work, used up freezer bananas & fruit, and used up quite a few frozen meals. 

Family:

• Have a successful back to school (last one for K-12!) for Nick - yes, it's gone smoothly
• Help Nick with college essays/applications - we've made good progress, but the deadlines really ramp in September
• Help Sam with college readiness, deciding what to bring for college & declutter his room - we made a lot of good progress on the decluttering front
• Plan one fun family activity, as a reward for Nick winning the Presidential Volunteer award - yes, we squeezed in a fabulous camping trip to Big Sur, so he could try out his new camping gear

Fitness:

• Finish Hood to Coast relay - nope, couldn't do it this year
• Start PT for hip & back issues - yes, done & have been moderately consistent & noticing an improvement in my hip. Back remains basically the same. 
• Stretch 12 times - yes
• 12 strength workouts - yes
• Follow the No S diet 15 days & track calories daily - I actually did half of this (track calories daily), but only 8 days of the No S diet. My daily calories were, on average, 1492. This is pretty eye opening for me, and I've been focusing on tracking  more, so I can have a better sense of how to maintain my weight as I enter menopause. 

Personal:

• Meditate 20 times - I only meditated 9 times
• Get together with friends - coffee & hikes with friends
• Practice Farsi/Spanish 20 times - 21 times
• Declutter 25 items - crushed this goal in August, thanks to decluttering Sam's room
• Continue exploring jobs - yes, lots of time spent on this
• Spend time on volunteer role - yes, I'm now mentoring two students

What about you? How did you do with your August goals? 

Menu Plan Monday

 Here's what's on our menu this week:

• Friday - out, camping
• Saturday - leftovers (grilled chicken or tacos)
• Sunday - M is making kebabs & rice
• Monday - Grilled steak & caprese salad
• Tuesday - leftover kebabs & rice
• Wednesday - chicken yakisoba (freezer)
• Thursday - chicken shawarma (freezer)
• Friday - pizza

What about you? What's on your menu this week? Any recipes to share? Always looking for new options!

Camping was a success

 I can't believe we've never been camping with the boys before, but it's true! We had such a fabulous time & Big Sur was absolutely stunning. It was the perfect wrap up for summer, and a last hurrah before Sam leaves for college. M & I will definitely head back for a longer trip, with more hiking. 

We camped under the redwoods, had a fabulous dinner, lots of laughs, car karaoke, and a gorgeous (and super challenging) hike. I feel so lucky that the boys get along so well. Sam is so easy going, and Nick always has big dreams (the hardest hikes, making Sam carry the tent around everywhere to "train" for backpacking, etc) & they are just so much fun together. 

I can't believe today is September! I'll be back with an update on my August goals, as well as setting goals for September.