Menu Plan Sunday

Usually I get the menu plan created much earlier in the week & then schedule the post, but this week, no so much! I really struggled with sleeping last night & had all of the (unnecessary) anxious thoughts worrying about the teens, life & pretty much everything in between. 

Today is going to be a rough day!

• Friday - M & I shared the leftover Thanksgiving steak, and had some sides + butternut squash soup from the freezer
• Saturday - we ate at a party & had delicious Persian food. 
• Sunday - chicken noodle soup + bread (not feeling great, so this sounds like just the ticket)
• Monday - cheesy chicken broccoli & rice (using up the now frozen rotisserie chicken)
• Tuesday - leftover soup + bread
• Wednesday - leftover chicken broccoli & rice
• Thursday - chicken tacos
• Friday - leftovers or TBD

I'm supposed to go to a workout class today, and I'm so exhausted. Not sure if that will happen. Here's what else is on the list:

• Get organized for the work week. This includes reviewing my calendar & resolving any conflicts (I usually do this on Thursdays or Fridays, so I'm a bit behind).
• Plan my workouts for the week.
• Meal prep lunches. I think I'll roast some zucchini, onions, potatoes & chicken sausages
• Reply to a bunch of messages
• Figure out time for our family photos (first time having them taken since the boys were maybe 5? It's been *awhile* ;-))
• Figure out whether we need to cancel skiing
• Probably more, but too tired to think of everything!

What about you? What's on your to do list today? Any good menu ideas?

What to do with a rotisserie chicken & other Saturday things

 I must use a chicken I picked up earlier this week, with grand plans & haven't done anything with yet. I'd love to make chicken noodle soup with some of it, so that might happen.

We have to be up early tomorrow to take Nick to the airport for his flight, so perhaps an easy prepped dish for tomorrow as well. Who knows, but I welcome ideas!

M & I did a 9 mile hike yesterday, and we are slowly building up our miles for our New Zealand hiking trip. Then we came home, made piles of all the things we need to bring, and tried the multiple backpacks we had ordered. Our goal was to keep the lightest/smallest backpack we could reasonably bring on a four night hiking trip. We did pretty well, managing to keep to the 36L backpacks, when the hiking company recommended 40L. The size difference felt pretty significant between the two, so we opted to pack lightly & stick with the 36Ls. We then returned 3 of the other packs we had ordered. I will return the rest to REI, who was closed yesterday for "Opt Outside" day. We fulfilled that goal for sure.

I will say that M & I have had so much fun with this trip. The prep, the training, the discussions of what to bring, it has already brought so much fun into our lives. We will absolutely be doing more active trips in the future, and are looking at a really fun option for Camino de Santiago or Iceland in the future. 

The teens both worked yesterday, and once again I heard a lot of giggling after I was in bed. (Nick has one friend who is such a giggler. I always know when she's over. ;-)) I woke up to a bit of aftermath from whatever they got up to last night - our pantry is looking almost bare again!

M & I had the last of the leftover steak, I had many Thanksgiving leftovers & he had soup to round out the last piece of shared steak. It was delicious. Mashed potatoes + stuffing + cranberry sauce is one of my top favorites. 

As for today:

• I needed a strength training class, but couldn't get off the wait list for the only one that worked for my schedule. I will likely do an easy walk instead today, maybe with some yoga at home.
• We are all going to a party at one of Nick's friend's parents houses. Their daughter also goes to Boulder, so Nick spends a lot of time with her. Her parents are both Persian, so M will get a lot of chances to practice his Farsi.
• I am hoping to roast some veggies & chicken sausage for lunches next week.
• Figure out a dinner menu & a plan for the rotisserie chicken
• Make sure all of Nick's clothes are washed & packed for tomorrow

I'm sure there's more, but that's all that I can think of for now.

What about you? What's on your list for today? 

Frugal Friday

 It's been a fun week, having everyone home, although they are working a lot!

Saving on things we buy

• Used an expiring $20 pizza reward when Nick was home. I don't know who exactly ate the pizza, but when I woke up in the morning, the leftovers were gone & there were plates in the sink. Glad he's continuing his ways of having friends over. (I told him it was fine before I went to sleep.) ;-) 
• Used a $150 dining credit & tried a new restaurant for a date night with M. We LOVED the place & will definitely be back. We ate at the bar, as they had a menu more to our taste & while even the bar was fancy, it was more chill than the restaurant, which we preferred. Very old school, classy vibe & we had a great time. My credit card offers rewards for certain things, and if you don't use it, it expires. The card has a fee, so we try to maximize all of the credits to get the full value out of the card. We always use the travel credits without planning, but have to remember the other credits a bit more diligently. 
• Used a $10 off of a $50 purchase to pick up some things we needed for holiday baking (I made cardamom bread which has a few unique ingredients I don't stock on hand) as well as picked up dinner ingredients, 4 bottles of a wine I prefer that was 30% off, and I bought Nick a Chipotle gift card for Christmas (his request). The Chipotle gift card generated a $10 grocery store reward. I also uploaded my receipts to Fetch & iBotta, and earned $2.55 through iBotta. I picked up the free corn bread, which we won't use, but I'll add to a Little Free Pantry. 

Earning money

• I received an offer to consult on a course, but my current employer was very hesitant about it. At my previous employer, this would have been met with a lot of excitement for me, and would have been viewed as a big positive, so I was quite surprised. Oh well, won't be spending the time on that project, I suppose. 
• Both boys are picking up a lot of shifts, and working a lot. Nick is particularly pleased.

Avoiding spending

• Nothing really jumps to mind this week. 

Eating what we have

• Made Nick a quick dinner when he got back from work - Mac & cheese (it's been waiting for him in the pantry!), bread, cucumbers & hummus & meatballs. It was an eclectic meal, but saved him from eating out & used up things on hand.
• Used up two containers of taco meats to make tacos, as well as the last of a bag of shredded cheese. 
• I also made chicken patty sandwiches for the boys, which used up some buns we had in the freezer. 

For others

• Helped out a neighbor

What about you? Any wins to share? 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Hope everyone in the US has a wonderful & safe Thanksgiving.

We got up this morning & did a Turkey Trot together. I was pretty pleased with my time, especially since I started in the back with the walkers & the teens.

The teens were moderately difficult to get out of bed this morning. They both worked last night, and then came home & all I know is that there was a lot of laughter & giggling last night while we were in bed. I woke up this morning & our entire pantry was spread out on the dining room table. It also appears that a double batch of chicken nuggets was prepared. Just a regular teen gathering. ;-) They are all having fun & working hard, which is all that really matters. 

We still don't have a dryer, and as Nick says, the laundry situation here is worse than in college. 😂 I have a huge amount of laundry currently in the sunshine. We line dry a lot of our clothes (indoor), but both teens have heavy cargo pants, hoodies, etc that do not easily dry, plus work clothes that they are going through very quickly & come out of the wash very wrinkled. It's been a lot of fun so far. M was hoping he'd be able to repair the dryer, but the first part was wrong, they were out of the other part, and now we are missing yet another part. Good times, good times.

Very much looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner & chatting with my favorite people this evening!

Hope all of you are having a lovely day with people you care about.

Fitness Monday

 Overall I feel good about my progress last week, but need to stay on top of the splurges, as we head into holiday season! M & I starting to do some hiking in advance of New Zealand, so expect to see more hiking whenever the weather looks good.

Weight: 155.8, up .3 lbs, after a bigger dinner on Friday & Saturday. 

Calories: 1519/day

Steps: 14,051, thanks to a couple of big hiking days

Workouts:

• 30 minutes elliptical + 2 mile walk
• 2 workout classes
• 2 days of 1.5 mile walks
• 7.5 mile hike
• 8.5 mile hike

Goals for the week:

• Limit Thanksgiving splurges to just Thanksgiving
• Stick to my cleanish eating habits the rest of the week (minus Thanksgiving)
• Get in consistent & challenging workouts

That's it from my side. How are you doing with your health & fitness goals?

Menu Plan Sunday

 

• Friday - I got Nick on an earlier flight (standby), as he got to the airport with friends who had earlier flights (shared Uber). I wasn't planning on him being home, so swapped dinner to his favorite pizza delivery. 
• Saturday - grilled fish + roasted acorn squash unexpected date night out!
• Sunday - Philly cheese steaks
• Monday - tacos (one of Nick's favorites)
• Tuesday - spaghetti + meatballs 
• Wednesday - leftover tacos
• Thursday - we are having *our* traditions, of steak, mashed potatoes, stuffing, acorn squash & pomegranate martinis. M will have pumpkin pie, the boys & I will likely have ice cream. I will probably have one of the Trader Joes peppermint mini cones, which are delicious. 
• Friday - leftover spaghetti & meatballs, or Nick's choice before he has to head back to school 

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

Saturday things

 First up, my frugal fail for today is that I cancelled a workout class last night, because M & I checked the weather & it was going to be perfect for hiking. However, I must have had a finger slip, because I somehow registered myself for another class, without meaning to. Drat! I, of course, didn't show up & got charged $14. So irritating. 

I was able to move Nick to a standby flight that left much earlier yesterday, and he shared a ride with some girls in an Uber to the airport. He was thrilled & got in almost 5 hours earlier than planned. This was a win all around, as M could pick him up after work, we got to have dinner with him & spend time with him, and he didn't have to hang out at the airport all day. Winning all around.

We hadn't planned on him joining us for dinner, so I used my expiring pizza rewards, and then wisely added in a second pizza, as there was a discussion of some of his friends showing up later that evening. I woke up this morning & we have just a few slices of one pizza left, vs the two larges we started with. I love that a few of the friends got a chance to hang out last night. M & I were long asleep, or we would have enjoyed the chance to see everyone.

M & I did get up & enjoy a gorgeous 7 mile hike this morning, and talked about our New Zealand plans, Thanksgiving, work, etc. It was so lovely. It turns out both boys are scheduled to work tonight, so we may use our $150 credit card offer (expires before the end of the year) at a place nearby. It's a very fancy restaurant, and we're not interested in a fancy meal, but they also have a bar with a much more casual menu, so we would try that. We'll see how the day progresses.

I think the teens (Sam is about to advance beyond that category!) are planning to go to the climbing gym, so Nick can sign up for a two week trial membership. He will then add in a monthly option when he's back for Christmas break. This is the best choice vs paying for day passes, as far as we can tell.

Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!

Frugal Friday

A few wins this week, as we head towards the end of year! 

Saving on things we buy

• Stopped by CVS to pick up some vitamins & travel face wash (for the NZ trip) & used a $1 off a purchase, my $10 rewards, and then a 10% off a full price item coupon. All together I saved $13 or so. 
• I used a $250 credit card reward (good for only certain shops) to buy Sam Airpods for Christmas (his request), for $21 out of pocket. 

Earning money

• Cashed out $42 on Rakuten
• Received a settlement for $.61 - with the cost of stamps, I'd rather they had skipped me & given someone else an actual $1. ;-) 
• Sold sunglasses on eBay & made $17
• I made $114 using a credit card reward. 

Avoiding spending

• I received Southwest A list status matching with my credit card, which saves me about $60 on an upcoming flight, as I won't need to pay for early boarding. To be fair, paying for early boarding is never a "must do", but I really like to know I have room on board for my bag, and potentially even sit next to M. ;-) 

Eating what we have

• Eating leftovers, roasting veggies, trying to stave off food waste.
• Made a big yogurt bowl for Sam while he was studying, and included lots of blueberries, pomegranate seeds & granola. He was very pleased, and it kept him from having less healthy & nourishing snacks, as he tends to do a grab & go. 
• Eating lots of fruit & veggies, which tends to be way less expensive than packaged snacks. That said, I did buy some snacks ahead of Nick's arrival. 

For others

• Helped my parents with some financial stuff.

What about you? Any wins to share?

2025 Goals Check In

 Well, 2025 has been a ride for sure! Always good to check in on how things are going, with just a few weeks left in the year.

Financial:

• Continue to pay for both boys college expenses - Yes!
• Get a new job - Yes!
• Earn $3000 in side hustle - $8792!
• Stay on top of food waste by doing monthly pantry or freezer challenges - generally good, more always to do here
• Once I get a new job, figure out a revised savings target. This one is a bit on hold for specifics until I have that information.  - We decided to max out 401ks, HSA & to put money in the boys 529s, up to the corporate match. 

Family:

• Both boys successfully in college - this looks different than I expected when I set the goal, but yes. 
• Optimize points, perks & miles for travel. Track value over the year.  - yes, and this year in particular was an insane amount of money. Will share more in full year wrap up. 
• Plan & have two fantastic trips to Europe. Spain in March, Italy in October. - ha, no. Due to work changes, we pushed everything out & we are doing New Zealand in February. For our anniversary, we stayed close. I am going to Greece in June with my friends, so 2026 will be the year of two international trips. 
• Figure out/plan for remodel - didn't even tackle this. It's on pause, as we are both again super busy with work. 
• Enjoy Nick's senior year - yes, we got so much fabulous time with Nick & his friends. It was wonderful. 

Fitness:

• Lose 10 lbs - I'm up about a pound from the end of last year, but five pounds from my low of last year. 
• Strength train 100 days - currently at 156!
• No S diet 150 days - 78
• Average 12,000 steps/day - 12,095
• Meditate 100 times - I really stopped this about 1/4 way through the year, but did get in 38 meditations
• Try a new workout - I tried both tread & strength class formats, and liked those. I also ran a 10k, although not new to me, it's not a standard workout. 

Personal:

• Language lessons 100 times - I stopped after we decided not to go to Spain, but did 31 language lessons
• Declutter 500 items from the house - 350/500 so far
• Take a college class - I actually taught a class, but didn't take any!
• Get together with friends - so many amazing moments with friends in 2025 - Las Vegas concert trip, local hikes, lunches, dinners with a new friend group, a wine tasting, and a 10k, plus more than I'm forgetting. 
• Get better at pickleball - nope!
• Try something new & uncomfortable - Pulling together a disparate group of friends, being the initiator of a new group of friends, teaching a class, getting a new job... YES!
• Say yes to more adventures  - Yes! See above. Lots of adventures in 2025, but a few highlights would be planning NZ with M, and the girls trip to Las Vegas + concert. 

That's where I stand with goals. 

What am I going to do between now & December 31st? 

• Unless I pick up some pickleball, probably going to leave that one. ;-) 
• May do a few more Spanish lessons & meditation
• Continue focusing on weight loss + step goals + No S days
• Declutter more
• Work on savings goals for 2026

What about you? How are you doing with your 2025 goals? Any last minute things you are still working on?

Working on my 2026 goals

 I feel like I have so much I want to accomplish in 2026, maybe because it's a milestone birthday, or as the boys get older, they require less of our time (definitely not less money ;-)), and I have more time to set goals for my own self development. Regardless, there's a lot on the list this year. I may cut back as it gets closer to January. 

For now, here's what I'm thinking.

Financial:

• Continue to pay for both boys college expenses
• Earn $2000 in side hustle
• Stay on top of food waste by doing monthly pantry or freezer challenges
• Make an anonymous and meaningful donation to someone in my community who needs it
• Optimize points, perks & miles for travel. Track value over the year. 

Family:

• Continue to help the boys navigate college
• Monthly dates with M
• Travel:
• Plan & have two fantastic international trips - New Zealand & Greece
• Plan a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park
• Go on four local hiking trips
• Plan a trip to Hawaii with M, the boys & my parents

Fitness:

• Lose 10 lbs
• Strength train 125 days
• No S diet 125 days
• Average 12,000 steps/day
• Try a new workout

Personal:

• Practice Spanish 100 times
• Declutter 500 items from the house
• Take a college class or art class
• Get together with friends
• Try something new & uncomfortable
• Say yes to more adventures
• Get to know our neighbors better
• Host at least 4 events at our house
• Master a complex cooking technique, or at least one difficult recipe
• Offer to have 2 networking chats with new grads

What about you? Have you thought about 2026 goals? If so, what's on your list that you hope to accomplish? 

Fitness Monday

 It was a very good health & fitness week. A few of the changes that I attribute to having the biggest impact are: 

• No snacking
• Tracking my food before the day starts, to have a good plan before I get distracted
• Focusing on filling up on lots & lots of veggies, so I'm not as hungry & not as interested in snacks
• Measuring alcohol, because apparently I had a very heavy pour before this
• I suppose the "what you eat" mattering almost as much as how many calories you are eating. Which I've always known, but after cleaning up my eating to be eliminate all of those little unhelpful calorie intakes, I started to see some actual progress.

Weight - 155.5 (down 4.5 lbs from my high a couple of weeks ago). Goal is ~140. Down 1.9 lbs since last week. 

Calories - 1415/day. This includes one meal out (lunch) with our neighbors this weekend, and three days (Friday-Sunday) where I had wine. I want to be able to have some special occasions, and enjoy a glass of wine on the weekends while we make dinner. To make that fit into my calories goals, the rest of the meal choices have to be very on point.

Steps - 13,432 - I worked hard to make sure I got in my steps this week, even with the weather not being terribly cooperative a few of the days.

Workouts:

• 4 workout classes
• 1 5 mile hike
• 1 3 mile walk
• 1 2 mile walk + 30 minutes of elliptical

Goals for the week - my biggest goal is just to keep going. My appetite has definitely shrunk a bit, and getting through those first few weeks of uncomfortable hunger means that I don't necessarily want to go through that again. I'm fine with some splurges, but if I plan them out & make tradeoffs, I'm hoping I can stick to my bigger goals. 

What about you? How did you do with your health & fitness goals last week? 

Menu Plan Sunday

 Another busy week whizzing by, and having a meal plan always helps me feel more prepared. Here's what we will be eating this week. 

• Friday - crazy, crazy day, so M & I enjoyed a glass of wine while we made our "go to, easy, no other food is available, we don't want to prep a proper meal" dinner of chicken wings & gyozas. Luckily, I'd consumed a lot of vegetables earlier that day & throughout the week. ;-) 
• Saturday - butternut squash soup, sourdough bread & roasted carrots
• Sunday - one pot chicken and rice
• Monday - leftover soup 
• Tuesday - easy sesame chicken and rice
• Wednesday - leftover one pot chicken
• Thursday - leftover sesame chicken
• Friday - we get to pick up Nick from the airport (hurrah!), so something fast

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

Saturday things

 I slept in this morning (although, woke up to messages from my boss, which was a very fun start to my day), and the extra sleep was so fabulous! I'm not a napper, so sleeping in (until close to 7), felt glorious.

Nick took some gorgeous pictures of the Aurora Borealis earlier in the week, from outside his dorm:

I want to start working on some of my goals for 2026, as well as lock in a bit more on our budget & plans around that, which sounds like a good thing to do this weekend.

Here's what's on the agenda for today:

• Morning hike, hopefully before it rains
• Meeting our neighbors for lunch. Getting to know our neighbors was on my bucket list, and I met another neighbor for a walk earlier this week. These particular neighbors also have a son who is a freshman at Boulder, so I'm sure we will have a lot to talk about!
• Menu planning - almost done with this
• Keep an eye on work (yay)
• Go to the outdoor store to find hiking boots & a backpack for M. I got him one for our anniversary, but he wants to try on some other options & see which he prefers. We both have a list of other things we need for a 5 day New Zealand hiking trip. I want him to have lots of time to break in his boots & experiment with gear.
• Meal prep (may shift to tomorrow)
• Make butternut squash soup & roasted carrots

That's it from my side. What are you up to today? 

Frugal Friday

It's been a busy week, but I didn't have to drive to/from the office, which made all the difference in my schedule. I also had a weekend at home to meal prep and get things done, which was also wonderful. 

Saving on things we buy

• Received $1.34 back on our Lyft ride from the airport on Sunday (LV trip). Sam took us to the airport, but had to work on Sunday. I also stacked the cash back offer with a $10 credit, to save a bit more. Altogether, our out of pocket spending was ~$20 including tip, which wasn't too bad. We did price out parking, but it was more than one way of a ride share. 
• I won three free nights in Las Vegas + a $1500 credit (can be used for food, spa, etc) & it needed to be used by the end of January. I didn't want to waste such a big value, as it's at our favorite hotel, but also didn't want to pay for a flight for a "bonus" trip, and schedules are tight in that timing. Instead, Michael & I were already invited to a NYE event, so I was able to tack those days on & my parents will join us. We also purchased their flights, and it's their Christmas gift. They were super thrilled & have been wanting to go to Las Vegas for a few years now, but decided to instead spend their travel money visiting the grand kids. At 75 & 73, it always feels great to help treat them, because you never know how long they will be able to travel (and, enjoy travel) for. 

Earning money

• Sold a book & a hat on eBay & made $13.

Avoiding spending

• Picked 5 pomegranate from our tree. Now, last year we had 40+, but this year we had...squirrels. I'm frustrated (they also ate everything in our vegetable garden), but we will enjoy the 5 pomegranate. 
• I also picked green onions that we've planted & replanted continuously, and didn't need to buy any for a recipe. 

Eating what we have

• Made an orzo dish that didn't turn out that great, but did use up some freezer/pantry ingredients (orzo, rotisserie chicken, chicken broth). I'll need to spice it up when serving leftovers. 
• Roasted an enormous amount of veggies + the last of the chicken sausages, and used that as the base for my lunches this week. 
• Also made a Dijon chicken dish, and used up chicken broth from the freezer. Several of our dinners were big enough to eat 2x, and still have leftovers for the freezer, which is always nice. 

For others

• Can't think of anything this week, but this is a good reminder to look for opportunities next week. 

What about you? Any wins to share?

Thursday Happenings

It's a pretty quiet day at work (and can I just say HURRAH) after a very busy Monday-Wednesday. It's nice to have a few minutes of down time. 

M & I have been eating leftovers, I've been eating the delicious roasted veggies & we enjoyed the front half of the week's glorious weather. It's now pouring buckets, which I know we need, but is still a bit gloomy.

A photo of the giant bowl of roasted veggies (plus chicken sausage on top). It was huge, but the angle makes it hard to tell, so water bottle for comparison. 

I discovered one of my credit cards was fraudulently used, so I spent some time tracking that down, reporting the card as stolen, marking the transaction as fraud, combing through other transactions & then checking my credit report. Luckily, everything else looks okay. Fingers crossed. 

I'm heading to an afternoon workout class, and otherwise, just trying to chip away at some to dos on the list, including taking a long work training. A quiet meeting day is the perfect time to catch up on trainings and the like.

What are you up to today?

Better late than never - October Goals Recap

 I'm again late on this, but it really helps me to complete my goals at the end of each month, & see how I did. While not perfect, October was a pretty good month on all fronts except... fitness. Menopause is kicking my b*tt, and I'm not enjoying it. I've oddly gained weight in my upper midsection, and it's making all of my clothes not fit. I know I need to make pretty significant adjustments to my nutrition/calorie intake, but luckily my fitness routine is good & I'm focused on strength training as well, which is super important as we age.

Anyway, here's how I did this month. 

Financial:

• Sort out 529 contribution + match -  done
• Figure out fitness reimbursement - $480 submitted, done
• Meal plan & use up 3 freezer/pantry items - used up chicken & dumplings, + 3 containers of chicken broth, & bonus points for cleaning & organizing the pantry
• Start planning for 2026 budget - planning has begun

Family:

• Get Nick's Thanksgiving flights sorted - done
• One date night with M - lunch + couples massage for our 20th anniversary!
• Start planning post Christmas trip - have sent initial plans + reservations
• Have an amazing 20th anniversary with M - yes! 

Fitness:

• Lose 2 lbs - gained 1 lb
• Get back to regular fitness check ins - started at the beginning of the month & fell off by the end
• 15 & 15 (stretch & No S days) - 14 & 7
• Run a 10k - yes, & felt great
• Average 12,500 steps/day - 11,881

Personal:

• Successfully complete huge work project - yes, went really well & got great feedback
• Get together with friends x2 - lots of hikes, walks + trip to Las Vegas
• Finish planning concert trip - yes, and it was amazing
• Have an awesome long weekend with my sister + BFF + Brunch with my parents - yes, fabulous
• Say yes to adventure & trying new things - nothing really came up
• Continue to work on work/life balance - took a day off & thoroughly enjoyed it
• Declutter 50 items - 89/50
• Work on travel planning & budget - yes, lots of great progress on both of the trips (NZ & Greece) 

What about you? How did you do with your October goals? Any wins to share?

Fitness Monday

 

Weight: I dropped 2.6 lbs, although the last time I weighed in was more like several weeks ago, so this isn't a month on month drop. For clarity, I'm just going to share my actual weight, to make it easier to understand. It's hard to follow along otherwise. So, I'm currently at 157.4, and my ideal weight is around 140, as I have a pretty muscular build. 

Calories: average daily calories of 1,582. Monday-Thursday was a little more difficult, as I was eating three meals a day out of the house, due to work events. Friday-Sunday were really great eating days, with well planned calories & great overall nutrition. 

Steps: I'm keeping a close eye on my steps, as I need to not drop from the 12k/day to hit my yearly goal. I had some lower days early in the week (all of that office time + the commute on both sides really slowed me down), but I did do some walking 1:1s, went to the gym before a dinner event (x2) & went on a long hike this weekend (after my regular workout). All that to say that I finished the week with 13,289/day steps. 

Workouts: same story as above, with some challenges getting in my workout earlier in the week due to the commute & in office days + evening events.

• 2 elliptical workouts
• 1 - 7 mile hike
• 3 workout classes 

Goals for the week: my goals for the week are to keep up the progress. The only anomaly to my schedule is that we are going out with friends on either Friday or Saturday, which always risks spiking the calories. I will plan out my calories in advance & choose a healthy-ish option for dinner. I've found that tracking my calories & planning my meals in advance is incredibly helpful to staying on track. There's no mental debate if I can eat something. It's either factored into the calories for the day, or not. I sometimes swap a piece of fruit for another, but any swaps I make need to balance out to the same calories.

Overall, it was a pretty good week, considering my crazy schedule Monday-Thursday. What about you? How are you doing on your health & fitness goals? 

Menu Plan Sunday

 Trying to get into a bit of a rhythm again, and meal planning definitely helps with that.

Here's what we're eating this week.

• Friday - Chicken & orzo (chicken broth + rotisserie chicken from the freezer)
• Saturday - creamy Dijon chicken
• Sunday - Korean beef rice bowls
• Monday - leftover chicken skillet
• Tuesday - grilled chicken & rice
• Wednesday -  leftover Dijon chicken
• Thursday - leftover beef bowls
• Friday - leftover grilled chicken & rice

Lots of chicken again this week! I need to stock up on some fish, so we can rotate that through.

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

November Goals

 I'm very late to the party, but as with many things in life, better late than never. My core focus this month is fitness. The rest of my goals are a bit on autopilot at the moment, but that's an area I really need to focus on, as I wrestle with my menopause body changes.

Financial:

• Offer to help with financial planning for sister + BFF (they've expressed interest before)
• Earn $200 of side hustle
• Finalize 2026 budget

Family:

• One date night with M
• Have a fabulous Thanksgiving + break with the family
• Start on Christmas gifts. We buy for a very limited number of people, so this is usually pretty straightforward.
• Decide on NYE plans. 

Fitness:

• Lose 2 lbs
• Get back to regular fitness check ins
• 15 & 15 - strength training & No S days
• Meal prep for lunches
• Average 12,500 steps/day

Personal:

• Get together with friends x2
• Say yes to adventure & trying new things
• Declutter 50 items
• Work on travel planning & budgets
• Work on bucket list planning

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

Frugal Friday

 This won't be my usual list, as I have had a crazy week & no time to write a proper post. 

A few frugal things I've been up to:

• Jumped through some hoops to register status on my credit card, to get Southwest A list, which will be nice & save some money on future travel.
• Ate dinners from the freezer (mostly M + Sam, some me), because I didn't meal prep or have time to really cook. For example, last night was half of a frozen cauliflower pizza + some shrimp scampi (freezer) + salad. 
• Ate the free lunch at work, Monday-Thursday. Also had free dinner at work Monday, Tuesday & Thursday, although would have definitely preferred being at home.
• Went to a company merchandise sale, where everything was $1 (limit 10) & all of the proceeds went to the Make a Wish Foundation. Bought 8 items. Sam can look through anything he wants, and found a hoodie that I think will work for my nephew. Will donate anything that's unclaimed. 
• Sam picked up a few extra work shifts. I tried to leave easy dinner leftovers for him to reheat.
• The majority of our trip last weekend was comped - we paid for tips & M arranged for a surprise spa service, which we also paid for. 
• Drove to the office extra early one day to participate in a volunteer event, which was loading cars with food supply donations at a non-profit. We ran out of a lot of things, and folks can only come through this particular food pantry once a month, so I felt terrible that they weren't going to be getting any meat, canned goods or dairy. We did have a lot of fresh produce, bread, etc, but I know that won't last long when trying to feed a family. 

I really, really need a weekend at home to get my life back in order & prep for the week ahead. Looking forward to meal planning & shopping, and getting organized. 

What about you? Any wins to share?

All of the tired things

First off, we had an absolutely incredible time in Las Vegas. M planned everything, and I have such amazing friends, all of whom gelled fabulously. I feel so lucky that I have such amazing women in my life. The trip was pretty much perfect from top to bottom, especially impressive was the 8 different flights out of four different airports, none of which were delayed at all! We had wonderful dinners, laughed A LOT, loved the concert, and just had total shenanigans by the pool, at the casino & getting ready for dinners. I'm incredibly lucky.

After I planned this trip, my work decided that our mandatory "in office" week would be this week, complete with 14 hour days (work + evening social events). I knew that the timing would be abysmal, as Las Vegas isn't exactly a place known for getting a lot of sleep. I'm absolutely exhausted. Laundry is everywhere, the house is a wreck, I haven't seen anyone since Sunday... 

I will be VERY excited when Friday rolls around, and I can get back to my regularly scheduled life. As with everything, work stacks up while we are spending time in training sessions & getting to know each other. It's all very valuable, especially as a new person, but it's time intensive on top of other work, so I'm falling behind there.

That's all. Life is good. This weekend made me feel incredibly spoiled to have such an amazing network of people I can laugh with, and who are there for me through all of life's many adventures.