A triathlon filled weekend

The boys completed their first triathlon this weekend. Sadly, I'm also exhausted. Getting prepped, getting up early, running around the course to find everyone, helping in the transition area? Exhausting! :-) They had a blast & are already wondering when they can do another one.

They suffered through the swimming (they both take a couple of swim lessons each summer, but that's pretty much the extent of their swimming experience), but crushed the running & biking legs. It was so much fun to walk, and awesome to see all of the little athletes. Super proud, especially of Nick, who was nervous for the swim. This is totally outside of his comfort zone, but as soon as Sam said he wanted to do the event, Nick insisted that he sign up as well. Adorable, and a great way to close out summer. School starts tomorrow! :-)

And, now for the menu for the week:

• Sunday - M is grilling burgers + salad & wine. I only drink on the weekends, but enjoy a couple of glasses of wine before we eat dinner
• Monday - Oven baked risotto, this time with sausage, peppers, & fresh mozzarella. Risotto is one of my favorite ways to use up what's in the fridge
• Tuesday - leftover homemade chicken pizza. With pesto, chicken & peppers. So much pesto to use up. My basil plant has taken over two planters - it's enormous!
• Wednesday - leftover burgers
• Thursday - tacos (meat from the freezer) + homemade guacamole
• Friday - Not sure yet, but thinking grilled shrimp & pasta

That's pretty much it for us. It's been 100 both days of the weekend, so my workouts have been very limited (yoga yesterday, with the fan blowing on my face) & I'm counting the minimum of three miles I ran back & forth in the heat this morning.

Hope you are all having a fabulous & relaxing Sunday. What's your favorite "use it up" dinner? Mine are the risotto & homemade pizza. This risotto recipe is my favorite. I follow the recipe exactly through the baking steps, but the toppings I mix in (after you pull out of the oven) are totally dependent upon what's in the fridge. I've done chicken sausage, butternut squash, chicken, vegetarian with fresh garden tomatoes, mozzarella & basil  . . . there are lots of options!

August goals - week 1 check in & menu plan

I'm trying to improve my discipline by checking in more frequently on my goals. Otherwise, out of sight, out of mind. :-)

Goals for August:

1. Complete 1000 minutes of cardio, 15 strength workouts, & 5 stretching workouts. I have my relay coming up, & just joined a running club, so this should be doable - Okay, so I finished 340 minutes of cardio, 2 strength workouts & 0 stretching workouts. I'm on track for cardio, but not for strength or stretching. 
2. Commit to my running club. I've never run in a group before, & I'm a little nervous/anxious that I might embarrass myself. - it starts on Tuesday!
3. Complete my relay, have fun, & relax & enjoy the experience more this year, rather than stressing about the details. - Yes, looking very forward to it!
4. Figure out what to get M for our anniversary. I'm thinking of experiences in Hawaii, rather than a gift, so I need to get things planned. - I've made a little progress, but am not done with the planning. 
5. Stay on track with our budget. - so far, so good!
6. Put more thought into our plans for our Seattle house (selling, keeping), plus our long term plan here (renting, buying, etc) - we haven't done much planning, & I need to reach out to our accountant.
7. Menu plan. For reals. For the entire month. - yes! On track & doing great!
8. Plan a fun activity for Labor Day weekend. - haven't thought about this yet!
9. Figure out work & personal travel through the end of 2015. - Yes, my work travel is sorted. All that's left is booking & figuring out the holidays.
10. Start planning our 2016 budget, including tweaks to our categories, budget amounts, etc. - Not started. 
11. Call to see if we can reduce our car insurance. - yes! And saved $836!!!! 
12. FIND A NANNY!! School starts in 2 1/2 weeks, & I'm starting to panic. - Yes, actually! She starts tomorrow. :-) 
13. Seriously get more balanced in the work/life balance equation. It's pretty bad right now. Some goals I'm thinking of related to that: - generally working on it, but it's a long slow process!
1. One night (or less) a week with evening calls. It's super hard to come home, make dinner, squeeze in family time, dreading the knowledge that I have to put in another couple of hours starting at 8:30 pm. 
2. Amp up my recruiting efforts. I'm already spending 15 hours/week on this, but i have 3 people manager roles to fill, and once I fill them, my life will be MUCH easier, my evening/morning calls will be reduced, & I can travel less.
3. Minimize travel to only urgent/super important tasks.
4. Work out 5 days/week. This requires getting up earlier, making time for my afternoon runs, etc. I must prioritize my health!

Here's my menu plan for this week:

• Saturday (yesterday) - beef kebabs, rice & yogurt sauce
• Sunday (today) - grilled salmon, rice, & peach/fresh mozzarella salad
• Monday - leftover salmon & rice
• Tuesday - leftover kebabs
• Wednesday - Spaghetti & meatballs
• Thursday - Leftovers (if any), or chicken, edamame & rice
• Friday - Shrimp pesto pasta
• Saturday - homemade chicken pesto pizza
• Sunday - chicken risotto

How was your Sunday? I did an 8 mile pace walk today & I'm SO SORE! 3 miles was straight uphill & my backside is not used to that kind of punishment. ;-) 

A huge money saving win + random weekend updates

I'm admittedly not very on top of our insurance - we have (mostly) great rates & I renegotiated everything when we moved. Earlier in the week I noticed that our auto policy had increased. I called, and the company was increasing our weekly driving mileage, despite the fact that nothing had changed. In fact, M & I drive *very* little - our commute is pretty small. We also have a third vehicle that gets driven 1x/month that had way too much mileage on the policy.

I spent about 30 minutes gathering the odometer readings, mapping each commute, filling out a form, emailing it to the company. I just checked this morning & that effort paid off - a change of $836. WOW! I don't even want to think if I could have adjusted it earlier in the year, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Yeah for staying on top of our expenses!!

I also have to train for my relay & work on my distances & pace times. Here's what's on the agenda for today:

1. Make a menu plan
2. Laundry
3. 5 mile pace walk
4. Lift weights
5. Yoga
6. Sign our new lease
7. Email new nanny all of the details
8. Plan schedule for the week
9. Costco
10. Produce stand
11. Library
12. Plan my workouts for the week
13. Clean up the boys books - they've finished a bunch of new series & we need to go through their bookshelf & decide what to keep/donate
14. Reconcile our budget
15. Read my book!

That's pretty much it! What about you? How have you saved money this week? What's on your agenda for today? 

A whirlwind of international travel

I *finally* got all of my work travel sorted out (yet to book, but dates are now confirmed) through the end of the year. Somehow, between myself & the husband, we have the following coming up:

• I'm heading to Portland for our annual 200 mile family relay in late August
• M, a trip to Dubai to see his family (it's been 10+ years since he's been able to see his sister, niece, nephew, etc) in September
• Right after M is back, I'm heading to London (work) for 10 days. Way too long of a trip for me.
• Then I'm back for two days & head to Hawaii with M for our 10th anniversary. Super fun, but wish it wasn't wedged in between everything.
• Back from Hawaii, heading to Taipei, India, & then China. Long, long work trip.
• Home for a few weeks, heading to Sao Paulo (work, of course) for a week

And, that's it for the rest of the year, minus visiting the family for Christmas. By that point, I may say no to traveling for any reason whatsoever. I'm flying to Tokyo right after the first of the year.

Heaven help me. I know none of you know me in person, and may look at international travel as an amazing gift. Which, it most definitely can be. But, not when it's a whirlwind of airports, hotels & meetings with no sightseeing. It's exhausting. I also can't sleep on planes, and don't enjoy anything about work travel. 

But, looking on the bright side, I've been absolutely dreading get the dates & trips locked down. Now that the time has come & everything is confirmed, I can deal with it & move on. There has to be a bright spot, after all. :-) I'm an eternal optimist.

And, it's FRIDAY! TGIF. Plan to have a glass of wine while I make dinner, spend some time snuggling some little boys (and M, of course), and read a book.

In fun news, we finally managed to grow melons in our container garden! I'm not a huge cantaloupe fan, & didn't even know we planted any, but the boys are thrilled. We are trying the watermelon tonight!

Getting things done Sunday

I have a long list of things to get done today, but I'm feeling productive! Here's what's on the list:

1. 4-5 mile pace walk (training for my relay in a few weeks)
2. Yoga
3. Clean fridge (scrub all shelves/drawers)
4. Interview with a nanny
5. Return a few things I bought for my trip & didn't use
6. Finish slides for work & share for feedback
7. Produce stand
8. Prep taco meat for freezer
9. Work on plans for 10 year anniversary trip
10. Make banana muffins
11. Make zucchini muffins
12. Make pizza dough/homemade pizza for dinner
13. Call parents (weekly call) 

And, here's our menu for the week (we also have salad with all of our dinners):

• Sunday - homemade pizza
• Monday - chicken parmesan risotto (leftovers)
• Tuesday - working late, so M will heat up leftover pizza
• Wednesday - spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce (freezer) & meatballs
• Thursday - tacos 
• Friday - pesto (freezer) shrimp pasta
• Saturday - chicken marsala casserole
• Sunday - probably homemade pizza

How about you? What's on your menu for the week? Anything you're hoping to accomplish today?

August Goals - I need to push myself!

I haven't been tracking my goals as closely as I did last year, & I can definitely tell the difference. I'm less focused, less aware of my own progress, and generally making less progress. But, August is the month where I change all of that! ;-)

Anyway, I'll give it a try. Here goes!

Goals for August:

1. Complete 1000 minutes of cardio, 15 strength workouts, & 5 stretching workouts. I have my relay coming up, & just joined a running club, so this should be doable.
2. Commit to my running club. I've never run in a group before, & I'm a little nervous/anxious that I might embarrass myself.
3. Complete my relay, have fun, & relax & enjoy the experience more this year, rather than stressing about the details.
4. Figure out what to get M for our anniversary. I'm thinking of experiences in Hawaii, rather than a gift, so I need to get thing planned.
5. Stay on track with our budget.
6. Put more thought into our plans for our Seattle house (selling, keeping), plus our long term plan here (renting, buying, etc)
7. Menu plan. For reals. For the entire month.
8. Plan a fun activity for Labor Day weekend.
9. Figure out work & personal travel through the end of 2015.
10. Start planning our 2016 budget, including tweaks to our categories, budget amounts, etc.
11. Call to see if we can reduce our car insurance.
12. FIND A NANNY!! School starts in 2 1/2 weeks, & I'm starting to panic. 
13. Seriously get more balanced in the work/life balance equation. It's pretty bad right now. Some goals I'm thinking of related to that:
1. One night (or less) a week with evening calls. It's super hard to come home, make dinner, squeeze in family time, dreading the knowledge that I have to put in another couple of hours starting at 8:30 pm. 
2. Amp up my recruiting efforts. I'm already spending 15 hours/week on this, but i have 3 people manager roles to fill, and once I fill them, my life will be MUCH easier, my evening/morning calls will be reduced, & I can travel less.
3. Minimize travel to only urgent/super important tasks.
4. Work out 5 days/week. This requires getting up earlier, making time for my afternoon runs, etc. I must prioritize my health!

And, there you have it! I'm also going to check in on my goals once per week, to try & stay on top of my progress. What about you? What are you hoping to accomplish in August? 

July budget wrap

We came under budget in July by $440. Given our budget & all of the moving parts plus vacations this month, I'm impressed. ;-) Actually, I shouldn't give myself too much credit, because vacations come from our yearly budget, not the monthly one. But, I digress. Here's how July played out.

Categories where we were under our monthly budget:

• Childcare. I paid for camp well in advance (winter/spring), we were under by $1200.
• I also cleaned the house twice, for a savings of $120 (vs having the cleaning lady come). This is a much more palatable options when the boys are out of town. ;-)
• We were $30 under in entertainment, spent $0 on toiletries for a savings of $10

Categories where we were over our monthly budget:

• Dining out. The kids were out of town a bit here & there, so M & I took full advantage & had date nights. Fun, but expensive. Over by $157
• Gas. Rather than flying to LA to pick the kids up from Disneyland (they were with my parents), M opted to drive. Our gas budget was $101 over as a result, but we saved vs the cost of flying
• Groceries. Over by $132, as a result of hosting a party on the 4th of July. Worth it. :-) 
• Liquor. Over by $107. See above. We also left a bunch of wine at our vacation house, which we will definitely drink.

Our income was up this month as well, with a $70 stock dividend I found lingering in a non-interest bearing account with my broker, $960 in stock overage from tax withholdings from my company's equity grant (yeah, I don't particularly understand why it's so large either ;-)), and my penny slot jackpot. The "jackpot" went to pay for my trip, I covered the cost of my sister & BFF as well, and tucked the rest away for our anniversary trip to Hawaii.

That's pretty much it. I need to evaluate our yearly spending as well, as the year is almost 60% over!!!! How did your July go? Are you on track, or under/over budget?

That time I won the jackpot, and wrapping up July

The summer is a whirlwind of vacations, kiddo summer camps, work, & desperately searching for a nanny.

I realize the month isn't quite over, but here's where it netted out.

1. Fully fund our travel budget for the rest of the year. - Will be funding the rest on Friday (pay day), so considering this a win! Also have a fully funded emergency fund again. Woohoo!
2. Clean & restock the freezer, using all of our fresh tomatoes! Tomato sauce & salsa, coming up. - I've used all of the tomatoes, but didn't clean the freezer. I did inventory them both, so now I need to scrub both freezers & continue to keep the inventory up to date. 
3. Stick to the budget, including on my girls trip to Las Vegas. Can't wait. :-) - why, yes, I did. I won a $3037 jackpot in Las Vegas (on the penny slots, while playing for 10 minutes waiting for my friends to get ready for lunch). It paid for the trip, and then some. I covered the costs for my sister & BFF as well, and took home some additional money. Win/win/win! 
4. Lose 2 lbs. - No. I stayed the same, & still have 13 lbs to lose. 
5. Get in a minimum of 800 minutes of cardio, 15 strength workouts, & 5 stretching workouts. - I'm going to finish right on track for cardio & strength, but accomplished nothing for stretching. And, I can feel it! Must get back into a yoga/pilates routine. 
6. Keep my daily calories to 1500. - Ack! No. Not helped by my insane work schedule (read: snacking) & two vacations. My daily calories were 1673.
7. Buy all school supplies - Mostly done. Have a few things to track down.
8. Lower my pace time by 90 seconds (per mile) in my training for my big relay in August. - I'm down 60 seconds. The other 30 seconds remain elusive. ;-) 
9. Find another race to train for. - Yes! I'm going to do a half in October.
10. Sort out my family schedule, & work travel schedule through the end of the year - Eh, I did what I could & locked the days for my London trip. The other work trips haven't been confirmed due to the organizer. Despite my repeated requests. Giving myself a pass. 

Nothing too crazy, but it was a pretty decent month, considering how much was going on. A fun picture of the big jackpot moment. :-) I was thrilled.

Now I'm off to calculate our July budget numbers, and start planning my goals for August!

Menu Plan Monday

The weekend went by in a flash, as usual. It's back to life! :-) Here's what we'll be eating this week.

• Monday - Penne with garden tomatoes, zucchini, & chicken sausage
• Tuesday - Taco Tuesday! :-) With homemade salsa
• Wednesday - Leftover chicken & rice
• Thursday - I'm out of town. M will be making the boys pasta with meatballs
• Friday - I'm out of town. M will be making the boys chicken & rice
• Saturday - I'm out of town. The boys will be having leftovers.
• Sunday - I'm coming home late, so hopefully M can make beef kebabs, grilled tomatoes, yogurt sauce, & rice for us to eat a bit later.

What's on your menu for the week? I'm having a hard time using up all of our produce! Anyone else getting creative with their bounty? :-)

Getting things done Sunday

I haven't been home on a weekend for way too long (over a month), so I have a lot I'd like to do today. Here goes!

1. Yoga - I'm tight everywhere, & could really use it
2. Some sort of cardio workout - either a bike ride with the kids, or a long walk/run
3. Pack for my trip next week
4. Pick & use all of the tomatoes - I think I'll make a fresh tomato sauce
5. Ditto the lemons - just juice them for use in salads
6. Have the boys clean their rooms. This will take several hours each. The good news? I've already found over 100 things to donate! :-)
7. Go through my closet
8. Plan for the week ahead - menu, work schedule, workout schedule, any kid transportation issues, & review with M

That's it! What's on your list for today? And, because I'm always curious about weekend dinners, what are you making for dinner? We're having grilled chicken, rice & salad.

Goals for July

Yes, the month is almost half over, but better late than never!

Here are my goals for July:

1. Fully fund our travel budget for the rest of the year.
2. Clean & restock the freezer, using all of our fresh tomatoes! Tomato sauce & salsa, coming up.
3. Stick to the budget, including on my girls trip to Las Vegas. Can't wait. :-)
4. Lose 2 lbs.
5. Get in a minimum of 800 minutes of cardio, 15 strength workouts, & 5 stretching workouts.
6. Keep my daily calories to 1500.
7. Buy all school supplies
8. Lower my pace time by 90 seconds (per mile) in my training for my big relay in August.
9. Find another race to train for.
10. Sort out my family schedule, & work travel schedule through the end of the year

That's it, but looks like plenty to keep me busy. What about you? What's on your list for July, and how are you doing so far? 

Five Frugal Things I Did This Week

It's been a bit of a whirlwind, returning from vacation. I'm so, so excited that the boys will be back from Disneyland (they are with my parents right now) this evening. It was great to have a kid free week, but I miss them too much! :-)

So, here's what I did this week:

1. Drove to LA to pick up the kids. Okay, M did this, but we were originally planning on having M fly to LA, pick up the kids from my parents, & then fly all three of them home. Instead, he left for LA super late last night, stayed at a hotel, and then will drive back with them this afternoon. SUPER long drive (7+ hours each way), but a savings of about $500, after gas & hotel cost.
2. Ate at home, even without the kids. Normally, when the kids are gone, we treat each night like a date night & eat out. This time, we ate out just once. Even when we got home late from the airport on Sunday, with nothing prepared, we went to Trader Joes & picked up a couple of easy options for $15. A huge cost savings over a meal out.
3. Decided to clean the house on my own this week. To be fair, the cleaning lady asked if this was an option, as she had a family emergency. She offered to send someone else, but I'm skipping it, cleaning myself, & saving $90.
4. Returned a few things to Macy's that I ordered online, and were a better deal in the store. Got a price adjustment. Savings of $65.
5. Sent in for various reimbursements through my tax savings accounts. A few copays on prescriptions while I was sick, & my vision check. I almost let these both go due to the effort involved, but thought better of it. Savings of $61.

That's it! We did our first *real* grocery shopping in four weeks yesterday, and it was pretty crazy. :-) Now I need to make a menu, clean the house, and spend a lot of time with my sweet boys!

And, here's a great picture of my dad at Disney, with his four grandsons. :-)

Have a great Friday & weekend, everyone!!

Back from a great vacation

We had a fantastic time at the Oregon coast - lots of sunshine (but, cooler than the 90+ degree weather in Portland), & family time. I was getting over bronchitis & pneumonia, so it was great to relax, sleep, bike ride, and hang out.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

The boys with their cousins, near where The Goonies was filmed.

Hug Point

Kite flying with Daddy

The beach at my favorite place

Other than that, I'm just recovering from the trip, and getting back into the swing of things at work. I haven't set any goals for the month, and need to check out my 2015 goals & see where I stand at the half way point.

I'm going to set a few goals for this week, just to make it easier for myself. ;-) No need to climb the mountain right out of the gate.

1. Talk to nanny candidates. I'm getting desperate - we haven't found any good candidates.
2. Review June goals.
3. Set July goals
4. Review 2015 goals
5. Buy travel stuff for trip in a couple of weeks
6. Set a menu for the week
7. Return a bunch stuff that I ordered online that didn't work out.
8. Work out 5 times this week
9. Exchange books at the library
10. Figure out what to do with all of our tomatoes in the garden!

How is everyone else? Any fun summer vacations on the horizon?