July Goals Recap

 July was the month of COVID, where not much played out as expected. Here's how I did with my goals & progress.

Financial

• Stick to our budget - we were way over on eating out (meals out on vacation), but came in under our grocery bill, so modest wins. 
• Progress towards side hustle goals - I've been good about using up our gift cards (used up a Panera, Subway & part of a Target gift card), & I sold a few things on eBay & made $136. 
• List all of M's outgrown clothes on eBay. Go through & donate non-selling eBay items. - 90% of the way there. 

Family

• Plan one activity with the kids - lots of fun stuff: boba outings, rafting, biking, etc. 
• Finalize plans for Bend - yes, and we had a great time!
• Have two dates with M - we enjoyed our kid free long weekend & went on two dates
• Plan a call with M's family (or, send videos) - sent videos. (M talks to his parents each week, but I'm typically the one who sends kid photos/videos). 

Fitness/Health

• Start posting weekly workout/fitness summaries, to keep myself on track - Done! I'm enjoying the summaries. 
• Beat June's calorie burned goals - definitely no. COVID did not serve me well, in the fitness department. I went from 17,127 to 12,516. 
• Close rings daily - I broke my 249 day streak when I had COVID, sadly. 
• Take advantage of workout classes - I missed most of July, due to various family members having COVID
• Meditate 5x - I meditated 2x. 

Personal

• Do something social with friends - I went on a hike with a friend, and spent lots of time with my sister, and also saw another friend at a party. 
• Finish work volunteer commitment - done!
• Complete half of training for advisory role - while I was stuck in bed with COVID, I actually finished this!
• Read Biased for book club - not quite. 

That's it for me. July was "okay", given all of the health factors. Being sick really slows you down. What about you? How did you do in July? Any wins to share?

Workout Roundup - double edition

Covering two weeks, as a I missed a post during my vacation 

Week 1 Workouts

• Monday - 90 minute elliptical
• Tuesday -  70 minute elliptical + short walk
• Wednesday - 20 minute treadmill walk + 60 minute spin class 
• Thursday - 1 hour walk/run
• Friday - 45 minutes on the elliptical, before I was interrupted by a kid who needed a ride
• Saturday - setting up a birthday party, prepping all of the food, etc. No workout
• Sunday - clean up of the above, helping my mom. No workout.

Week 2 (vacation mode) Workouts

• Monday - 2.5 mile walk + 90 minutes of kayaking
• Tuesday -  90 minutes of walking, split into several chunks
• Wednesday - 50 minute walk + 30 minute evening walk
• Thursday - 45 minute walk
• Friday - 30 minute walk
• Saturday -  40 minute walk
• Sunday - 60 minute Orange Theory class

Eating - my eating was all over the place, but well over my calorie goals while on vacation!

Lowlights - plenty of snacking, and general junky food/treats, while on vacation. 

Highlights - still reasonably consistent with workouts.

Focus for the week ahead - getting back on a healthy eating & working out trajectory. 

What about you? How are you doing with your workouts, or healthy eating?

Menu Plan Monday

 We're back from vacation, and attempting to get back into the groove. The kids are full on in activities, and club sports, so there will be plenty of driving again.

• Friday - we had a taco/nacho bar in Bend
• Saturday - a quickly thrown together dinner, after getting back from the aiport
• Sunday - grilled burgers + fresh tomato paella
• Monday - coconut chicken curry 
• Tuesday - leftover burgers
• Wednesday - paella + grilled chicken
• Thursday - leftover chicken curry
• Friday - TBD, but potentially wings & gyozas

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

Sunday Things

 We are back from a lovely family vacation. The boys & I flew to Portland on Friday night, after Sam completed his last day of work. He wrapped up earlier than expected, so we were able to change our flights & avoid being on the last flight out. That was a win! 

We celebrated my nephew's 20th birthday on Saturday, and I got to see my BFF & her daughters, as well as a bunch of other family members - many of whom I haven't seen in a few years, due to COVID. The party was a hit, despite the excessive heat (100+, which is beyond unusual for the area). 

My sister & I then spent a few days together, while my parents had the boys. She & I kayaked, went to lunch together, went on runs, and shopped/planned for our family vacation in Bend.

On Wednesday, we drove with my parents to Bend, to the house we rented. My nephew picked M up at the local airport, and we kicked off our annual summer vacation. The house was great! I feel like VRBO/AirBnB can be quite deceptive in the pictures, but this time, the house was really quite great, and super spacious.

Bend was cooler than my parents house, although still hot. There was also smoke a couple of days, from local wildfires. My dad & Nick did a ton of mountain biking. The other boys biked one day, and kayaked another day. We drove people around, went for walks, & had a lot of laughs. I really enjoy that part of the country & the warm summer days, & cool evenings. 

We flew home yesterday afternoon, and I cobbled together a dinner out of freezer items, while M ran to the store. I have quite a bit to do today, after being gone for just over a week. I also feel like I've gained 10 lbs, so I need to get the eating back into "normal" mode, and out of "vacation" mode.

Here's what's on the agenda today:

• Meeting a friend for a workout class
• Working in the garden
• Pickling jalapenos
• Making muffins
• Planning my work schedule
• Arranging soccer carpool
• Sorting out the overall schedule, which incorporates work, soccer, Nick's camp logistics, M's schedule, etc
• Catch up on bills & receipts
• Make fresh tomato paella
• Finish menu plan
• Laundry

There's probably more, but those are the "must dos" for today. What about you? What are you up to today?

Frugal Friday

Nothing feels particularly frugal these days, but here are a few wins we've had lately.  

Saving on things we buy

• This is more under a fun experiment bucket, but we tried the "Too Good to Go" food waste app, and picked up a mystery box at our local bakery. It was a full grocery shopping bag filled, for $5.99. Inside were a dozen+ doughnut holes, and three enormous loaves of bread. The loaves were probably double, or 2.5 as big as what you'd buy at the store. 
• Picked up deli meat & cheese, to go with our bread & make sandwiches for lunch. We don't keep bread at the house regularly, so we don't keep sandwich fixings on hand. Used an iBotta rebate to earn $.10 back, and uploaded the receipts to Fetch. Used a gift card to pay for the out of pocket spending. 
• M & I did some planning ahead to minimize travel costs for the to/from airport for our upcoming trip. It was quite a matrix of details, as we are leaving on different days & out of different airports, but we've got it worked out & will save quite a bit. 

Earning money

• Sam worked over time 2x (after camp child care) to earn extra money, and Nick helped his tennis coach, earning money as well. 
• I sold a few beauty products on eBay

Avoiding spending

• Arranged carpools, and drove our electric car for our portion of the carpool. 

Eating what we have

• Turned the giant loaf of bread (noted above) into a variety of sandwiches
• Using up as many tomatoes as humanly possible, & we still have SO many! Too many tomatoes is a good problem to have, I suppose.
• We finished the enormous loaf of bread, and Sam took sandwiches for lunch at work all week. 
• Used old carrots in a curry, and had that for multiple dinners.
• Kept on top of leftovers.

For others:

• Gave a giant loaf of wheat bread to a friend, and another huge loaf of rye bread away via Buy Nothing. Both from the Too Good to Go app 
• Helped a lost hiker, while on a run. She was heading in circles, so I'm glad she found me. 
• Picked up some cloth napkins on Buy Nothing, that nicely supplemented our napkins. I asked the giver, and she was excited to receive garden tomatoes. Yeah for the sharing economy!
• Traded another neighbor zucchini for lemons. We do have lemons, but never quite enough for our usage (M uses it as a salad dressing, and has salad 1-2x/day). This was a great trade, as we won't eat the zucchini before we head to Bend. 

That's it for us. What about you? Any wins to share?

Workout Roundup

I'm still working on getting my energy back, so my workouts were much more mellow than usual (dialed back time & intensity).  

Workouts for the week

• Monday - 1 hour elliptical
• Tuesday - 1 hour elliptical + short walk
• Wednesday - 1 hour elliptical + 2.5 mile walk
• Thursday - 1 hour elliptical + short walk
• Friday - 1 hour elliptical + short walk
• Saturday - 4.5 mile walk. I tried to run a bit, but it was mostly a walk
• Sunday - 90 minute elliptical + short walk

Eating

My eating has really been quite so so. It's a common challenge for me. When I'm not feeling well, I crave easy carbs (bread, sugar, & the like). 

Lowlights

Definitely not having my energy back entirely.

Highlights

I'm feeling much better this week than last week, which feels like a step in the right direction!

Things I want to focus on this week

Mix up my workouts a bit, and continue to improve my eating. Get plenty of rest. 

What about you? How are you doing with your health?

Menu Plan Monday

 Another week, another menu plan! I'm in a bit of a cooking rut, so let's see if I can force my way out of it. ;) 

• Friday - gyozos & wings
• Saturday - adults out to dinner, kids = pizza 
• Sunday - chicken curry & rice
• Monday - chicken fajitas
• Tuesday - leftover curry & rice
• Wednesday - leftover fajitas
• Thursday - clean out the fridge, or enchiladas
• Friday - traveling 

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

Saturday Happenings

 It's pretty quiet today, and I'm enjoying the leisurely morning. I slept in past 7, which is just about unheard of for me! Sam worked a couple of after care shifts at camp this week, so he's been tired & also enjoying sleeping in.

M & I are planning on a date this afternoon, which I'm looking forward to. 

Here's what I'm up to today:

• Laundry
• Work out
• Sort out a doctor's appointment for Nick (he's got some ongoing back pain, triggered by tennis & scoliosis). 
• Date with M
• Menu for the week
• Costco
• Pick up Too Good to Go order from a bakery (first time trying it)

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

Frugal Friday

It was a pretty quiet week, as I was recovering from being sick for part of the time. M & the boys helped me out with some of these. 

Saving on things we buy

• M had a great grocery store stop (copious instructions were provided!) It was double points day, as well as Freebie Friday. The freebie was my favorite (expensive) protein bar. I also had two coupons for free items (avocado & a dozen eggs) if you spent $10 in a transaction. I needed oat milk for my coffee, and I've been going through it more regularly, as Nick now likes it in smoothies. We also picked up two packages of Tillamook cheese, which were on sale. He used a gift card for the remaining out of pocket, & I uploaded the receipt to Fetch when he got home.

Earning money

• Continued to list a few things on eBay, and sold a jacket & a makeup product.
• Not for me, but Nick has finally paid off his very expensive mountain bike! We made a deal last summer, that if he left his bike at my parents (where he does the majority of his biking), he would need to earn enough to pay for a bike here at our house. It's taken just under a year, but he's done it. He's earned the money through a few side jobs (reffing in the fall & spring + helping his tennis coach out), as well as applying all of his birthday & Christmas money to it. It's nice to have him understand the value of hard work. And, now I can erase the long tracker, showing him how much he still owes me. ;-) 

Avoiding spending

• Serendipitously, a neighbor posted free, new teen shorts on Buy Nothing. I'd just bought some of the same kind for Sam, so I was able to return those, and instead the free ones fit him perfectly. What a lovely gift from a neighbor!
• Additionally, I've been looking for a solution for Nick's closet organization, and a neighbor offered up furniture that was pretty much an exact match to our existing furniture. We haven't figured out how to reshuffle the furniture across the boys room, but really excited to have some additional pieces to leverage. 

Eating what we have

• Used garden strawberries & an overripe banana in a smoothie 
• Ate leftover Chinese takeout for several lunches & a dinner. I added some leftover rice to egg drop soup, to give it some more heft, and it was delicious. The soup was the gift that kept giving, as it sounded good, even when nothing else did. 
• Continued to use up lots of garden items: cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, lemons, etc.
• Used the rest of the lettuce (from lettuce wraps, as part of the Chinese takeout) in a salad
• I'd made tomato sauce out of a giant bag of tomatoes picked up for $1 at the produce stand, & stuck it in the freezer. Took that out for an easy dinner this week, and added meatballs & pasta/soy pasta.
• Ate a chicken curry dish (leftover from a dinner one night, that I then froze) for lunch one day. 
• Made tacos for dinner last night, using up taco meat from the freezer 

For others

• Finished my leadership course! Having COVID was no fun, but it did actually force me to rest & be in bed/on the sofa, which gave me a lot of free time to finish my class. I can now 1) apply for reimbursement for the course, and 2) start serving as an advisor for the university
• Gave away a bunch on Buy Nothing

What about you? Any wins to share for the week?

Workout Roundup

This is the week that I got COVID, so things look a little different, to say the least. 

Workouts for the week:

• Monday - 95 minute elliptical workout
• Tuesday - I had a high fever, so I didn't work out, breaking my 249 day streak! I was pretty sad about it, but always best to listen to your body. 
• Wednesday - same at Tuesday, but add in a cough
• Thursday - went for an incredibly slow 25 minute walk to the mailbox. 
• Friday - 20 minute elliptical, at a very low pace, which I regretted
• Saturday - walk around the block
• Sunday - 3.5 mile slow walk

Eating:

My eating was all over the place, and under my goal calories. I had lots of popsicles & Gatorade. Smoothies, soup, etc. The first day I started the Paxlovid, it bothered my stomach, so I ate a lot of crackers throughout the day. Altogether, eating was a wash & I'm not worried about it. 

Lowlights:

The obvious - getting COVID & being sick.

Highlights:

I feel lucky that I'm still healthy, and so far *fingers crossed*, COVID hasn't triggered a lupus flare. I'm also feeling like I've turned the corner & am getting better, which I'm very grateful for. 

Things I want to focus on this week:

Getting my energy back, plenty of rest, etc. 

How about you? How are you doing with your fitness goals?

Menu Plan Monday

 I'm trying to keep things easy this week, as my energy level is pretty low. Here's what's on the menu for the week. 

• Friday - takeout leftovers
• Saturday - burgers & caprese salad
• Sunday -  beef skewers & grilled zucchini
• Monday - burgers & Greek salad
• Tuesday - tacos
• Wednesday - spaghetti & meatballs
• Thursday - tacos
• Friday - TBD, or wings & gyozos

What's on your menu this week? Any recipes to share? 

Saturday Happenings

I'm now on Paxlovid, to try & keep my symptoms from progressing, so fingers crossed that works. It will be a quiet weekend for me, for obvious reasons. Any errands noted below will be run by others. ;-) 

1. Menu plan
2. Shopping list for Costco/produce stand
3. Garden
4. Finish LAST module of leadership course. The bright side of taking time off of work & laying around all week is that I made a ton of progress on my leadership course, and I'm on the last unit. Once I've completed it, I can begin my role as an advisor for the university program.
5. Stretch. I'm tight from all of that time resting - my body is quite confused.
6. Find an option to organize Nick's closet. I've posted on Buy Nothing, but if I come up empty there, may look online for something at Target or Amazon.
7. Work on plan for Bend trip
8. Review schedule for the week
9. Read by the pool

What are you up to this weekend? Hopefully you are having a more exciting time than me! 

Frugal Friday

Now, I have COVID, so I'm staying home & trying to rest. Some of these things were done before I was sick. 

Saving on things we buy

• I used some rewards to offset the cost of an item for Sam, and added in an inexpensive shirt, to qualify for free shipping. The shirt itself was "free" vs paying for shipping. 
• Converted $37 of loose change into an Amazon gift card. Change was found while cleaning out the boys room. They both owed me a bit of money, so this offset that, much to their delight, since I did most of the work ;-) 
• Used an iBotta offer for popsicles, when I wasn't feeling well
• Used a grocery store gift card to pick up a few things we needed here & there

Earning money

• Continued listing things on eBay, & sold two makeup sample bags & one of M's shirts
• Finally had enough points in Fetch to redeem for a $10 Amazon gift card, so now have that added to my account

Avoiding spending

• Picked up the Friday Freebie (a 1.5 liter of sparkling water) at the grocery store
• Used flight credit to buy flights for my parents in October (they are coming to watch the kids while we are on a trip for our anniversary)
• Used a gift card to have lunch delivered on Tuesday, when I had a high fever. It was a splurge that I very much appreciated. The soup totally hit the spot.
• Also used a gift card for M to pick up dinner one night, when I couldn't cook. It's a double win, because I'm also trying to work through the gift card stash, & we have lots of leftovers.   

Eating what we have

• Ate leftovers for lunch (the chicken curry rice dish was so fabulous as leftovers)
• Made grilled zucchini out of garden zucchini
• Used applesauce (from the freezer, since last fall) to replace a missing ingredient in muffins. That muffin recipe also used up 1/2 a bag of frozen cranberries.
• Ate a burger that had been in the freezer for quite some time. 
• Lots of garden items, still being used: lemons, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, basil, mint, etc. 

For others

• Invested a lot of time in my leadership course. Once that's complete, I can serve on a non-profit advisory board for a university. On the positive side, I was able to use some of my sick days to listen to some of the content, and I made really good progress. 
• Gave away a bunch of stuff on Buy Nothing (8 bags of things on the porch!)

What about you? Any wins to share?