Saturday Happenings

This is the first Saturday in a long time without a soccer game! Sam's club season ended last weekend, and Nick injured himself at high school practice, so he'll need to miss the last two games this weekend. 

What will I do with all of this free time?! I'm giddy with the idea of nothing going on. 

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

• Defrost meat for meals
• Make banana muffins
• Make a Thanksgiving shopping list
• Stop by Rite Aid & the produce stand
• Pick up a few items at the grocery store
• Go to an early workout class
• Laundry
• Sweep the garage. We could build a turf field with all of the turf in our garage. Both the club fields & school fields are made of turf, and those tiny pellets get everywhere. 
• Clean the fridge
• Organize & inventory the freezer

That's it from my end. What are you up to this weekend?

Frugal Friday

 We've been working on eating things out of the freezer, as ours became overly full very quickly! Progress is being made. We also had a bunch of late nights with work this week, & easy meals were a requirement. 

Saving on things we buy

• I picked up a few items I needed for a holiday bread I make, and earned an iBotta reward for the yeast. Planned the purchase around the 3x points offer that the grocery store had going, and while I was there, picked up the Friday Freebie. 

Earning money

• Found $.15 on the ground, at various kids sporting events. ;-) 
• Earned a bit back from Rakuten, for online purchases over the quarter. It wasn't much, but will go towards offsetting a holiday purchase. 

Avoiding spending

• It's hard to find the right items to fit the boys, at this current phase. I picked up some winter wear, and not everything fit. I returned it right away, although, I just discovered they charge a shipping return fee. Moving forward, I'll suck it up & go to *shivers*, the mall to return the items. 

Eating what we have

• I made M a cauliflower crust pizza (base purchased at Trader Joes), & used a bunch of fridge/freezer remnants to make the pizza (marinara sauce, cheese leftover from Philly cheese steaks, pepperoni from the freezer). He reports that the pizza was fantastic.
• Remembered that we still had a bit of fancy cheese leftover from my parents visit, so got that out for a Friday night "happy hour", and served it with the last of a package of crackers.
• M took all of the arils out of the pomegranate I picked. I need to bring more in. 
• I finished off the last of the chicken pesto pasta for lunch
• Made Saturday's dinner out of items on hand (burger patties + buns in the freezer)
• Remembered to defrost naan bread, for our chicken shawarma dinner. 
• Used a few freezer items for dinner one night: Trader Joes orange chicken, fried rice & edamame. It cleared out quite a bit of freezer space.

For others

• Showed Sam how to sign up for a volunteer opportunity at a food bank. Teaching the teens life skills often takes some work, the first go 'round. :)
• I am also volunteering at a food bank for four hours this week.
• Offered to take a box of corporate swag that was going to the garbage. Parsed it out, and found a charity excited to take mens dress socks, hats & all of the new tshirts. Gave away the wipe board & pen packs on Buy Nothing. Recycled the giant boxes. 

What about you? Any wins to share?

Workout Wednesday

 It was a really busy & intense work week, but I still managed some good workouts in there. 

Workouts for the week

• Monday - Orange Theory
• Tuesday - 70 minutes of elliptical
• Wednesday - spinning + 2 miles of walking
• Thursday - 5.5 mile hike with a friend
• Friday - Orange Theory
• Saturday - Orange Theory
• Sunday - Orange Theory

Eating: I'm still wasting about 10% or so of my calories on unnecessary/unhealthy snacks. This needs to be improved.

Highlights/lowlights: I really struggle to avoid treats when I'm stressed at work.

Focus for the week ahead: Better eating, less snacking, continue to calorie track.

What about you? How did you do with your health this week? 

Menu Plan Monday

 Work is approaching peak crazy right now, and our freezers are overflowing. I need easy meals, that reduce our freezer inventory. 

Here's what we're planning for the week:

• Friday - Pizza x2 (cauliflower crust + regular). The regular pizza is in the freezer, and I have a cauliflower crust in the fridge & need to use it up.
• Saturday - Grilled burgers. (Beef + buns in the freezer)
• Sunday - egg roll in a bowl with quinoa (ground beef from the freezer)
• Monday - orange chicken + rice (both from the freezer, as I have a late meeting)
• Tuesday - burgers & brussel sprouts (freezer)
• Wednesday - egg roll in a bowl
• Thursday - chicken curry (freezer)
• Friday - TBD

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

Saturday Happenings

I really need the weekend, to decompress from work & try to take a mental break from all of the drama. Next week is also going to be a very intense week, and I'm doing my best not to borrow trouble & worry about next week over the weekend. I'm doing just an "okay" job at that, at the moment. 

Our freezers are both packed, so I need to also make sure we're making good progress cleaning them out, and menu plan accordingly. 

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

• I was able to switch to an early workout class, because our morning schedule changed a bit
• Sam's soccer game
• Nick's tennis tournament
• M is grilling burgers
• Costco
• Trader Joes
• See if we can fix Nick's $$$ cleats, so we can wear them tomorrow for his game
• Ensure lazy teens clean their rooms
• Laundry
• Sort out the boys phone plans

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

Frugal Friday

Well, our trip to Dubai to visit M's family is a go (and, exceptionally pricey for four people, to boot), but we did what we could to offset some of the cost. As Anne said last week, sometimes frugality is less about every dollar spent, and more about ensuring your money is being prioritized in the way that you value. 

Saving on things we buy

• I used United upgrade points to try & upgrade me + M to business class. I do not enjoy an international flight in economy, so fingers crossed. Additionally, signed the boys up for United frequent flier numbers, so they can also accrue miles on the flight. I haven't yet, even though we've flown them a few times. The international flight is definitely worth the miles, though. 
• I used Hyatt points to cover one hotel room. We need to book a few for family members, and I found a discount code that worked for the place we're staying. Luckily, the hotel is pretty reasonable. 
• Used $650 of United travel credits that Sam, Nick & I had to offset part of the ticket costs. 
• Nick needed new pants (it's cool here, and he's grown a lot since last year), so I used a gift card to cut the costs down. 
• I also used a combination of gift cards & rewards to pick up a few Christmas gifts. 
• Picked up two containers of oat milk, with an iBotta reward, saving $4.

Earning money

• I've continued to work, which on weeks like this... is a mental game with myself to continue! 
• Sold an old fitness tracker on eBay. 
• Listed the last of my husband's outgrown clothes on eBay. 

Avoiding spending

• Our grocery store was giving away pumpkins, after Halloween. I picked up two large pumpkins to roast & turned 1/4 of it into muffins. I pureed & froze the rest. 
• For M's Christmas gift, I booked two nights in a hotel, using points exclusively. 

Eating what we have

• Inadvertently fasted after a workout, and was starving for lunch & rummaged through the fridge. Remembered the last piece of leftover lasagna, so had that for brunch. 
• After we attended an anniversary party, the host sent me home with leftovers from the venue. I took a small box and that became lunch one day. The leftover samosas were particularly delicious. 
• Had leftover taco meat on a salad for lunch one day. Even remembered to use the last of the shredded cheese.
• Made pesto for a recipe, and used a ton of garden basil, shredded parmesan left over from a bagged salad, and 1/2 a lime I found in the fridge. I didn't have pine nuts, so subbed walnuts that I found in the pantry. It was super close to "free", minus the olive oil. 
• Picked up a rotisserie chicken at Costco (still so inexpensive), & used some for a recipe, and froze the rest of the chicken. Also made chicken broth out of the bones, which I used for the recipe with pesto, above. 

For others

• On our local Buy Nothing group, someone was looking for an old phone for a food bank. I was able to find one of ours, and I signed up to volunteer at the food bank. I'm interested in dabbling in some volunteer options, until I find some that are a great fit when I leave my job. 
• Gave away the boys outgrown pants. There is always a lot of demand for teen boy clothes, as they can't wear them often. I've been the recipient of some really nice things, so I also like to pay it forward. 

That's it from our side. What about you? Any wins to share?

Workout Wednesday

 It was a pretty good week, slowly integrating back into my workouts & healthier eating, post vacation.

Workouts for the week

• Monday - Orange Theory class
• Tuesday - 90 minute elliptical workout
• Wednesday - 80 minute elliptical workout
• Thursday - 4 mile run
• Friday - Orange Theory class
• Saturday - Orange Theory class
• Sunday - Orange Theory class

Eating - there were several social events (date night, friend's anniversary party, work dinner out), but all in all, it was a good week. 

Highlights/lowlights - 4 hard workout classes in a week, plus my first run in a while. I do still need to be on top of snacks, and work on dropping the few pounds I gained on vacation. 

Focus for the week ahead - tracking my calories.

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

Menu Plan Monday

 The weeks are whizzing by, and the weather has definitely taken a turn to feel fall like around here! We are also in a slightly different season, with boys activities, etc. The one standard is that we're always busy. Here's what's on the menu for the week.

• Friday - We were at an anniversary party, and the boys ate at the football game
• Saturday - M made rice & chicken
• Sunday - M, on a cooking roll, made Philly cheese steaks
• Monday - I'm trying a new recipe for one pot creamy pesto chicken
• Tuesday - rice & chicken, take 2
• Wednesday - cheese steaks, take 2
• Thursday - pesto chicken, take 2
• Friday - tbd. If Nick is eating with us, maybe pizza. If not, potentially wings & gyozas

What about you? What's on your menu for the week? Are you adjusting your menu for the change of seasons? Any fun fall recipes to share?

Saturday Happenings

We are all up early this morning, as Sam has the SATs at a local school. I suppose that means I should be extra productive today, with the bonus time. 

Here's what's on the agenda today:

• Take Nick for a haircut. The trend is for quite long on top hair. His is well beyond that, and very much in his face. He's finally agreed to get a trim.
• Sam asked for a ride to the SATs, as it's raining & he's pretty sleepy. I'll pick him up after.
• Go to a workout class
• Ride along with Nick (he has his learner's permit) to tennis volunteering.
• Make a menu & a shopping list
• Costco, the produce stand & Trader Joes
• I picked up two free pumpkins at the grocery store last night. They need to be roasted, pureed & frozen for future use.
• I'd like to get a few things listed on eBay & Buy Nothing.
• Clean out the fridge.
• Laundry.
• Depending on the weather, I may clean up some of the garden beds.

What about you? What are you up to today?

Frugal Friday

 It's a two week edition, as I missed last week. It most certainly wasn't a frugal week, but I'll share the things we did to save a bit here & there. 

Saving on things we buy

• Christmas flights are incredibly expensive this year, but I used a few options to save money. I split the reservation into two, and used a companion fare (credit card perk) to save $400 off of one flight. I also used the last of my Alaska flight credit for those two tickets, reducing my out of pocket spending. I was hoping to buy more Alaska gift cards on Costco (they are 10% off, and I get a credit card rebate), but they are no longer selling them.
• Used an Uber reward to save $5 on our trip back from the airport. Our departure flight was very early, and our return flight was very late, so we opted for Uber, vs having one of the boys or my parents drive us. 
• Picked up lunch stuff for the four of us (my parents, myself & Sam), so we could avoid eating out. 
• Used a $2 Panera reward, to take Sam to brunch. There was a glitch with our order, so we also ended up getting free drinks, which was a nice bonus. 

Earning money

• Sold another of M's outgrown jackets on eBay. They are all the same (slightly different sizes/colors) & I've been blown away at how consistently they sell, and at a pretty high price. I'll get the last one listed this week. 
• Sold a gift card on Raise.

Avoiding spending

• I took M & Nick to the airport for their soccer adventure, and picked them up, avoiding the cost of another Uber.
• Used the last of a Target gift card + rewards to pick up a few things on vacation

Eating what we have

• Ate random leftovers throughout the week, including orange chicken for breakfast one day, & an orzo salad (Trader Joes lunch leftover) for another breakfast. If I'm really hungry after a workout, almost anything works. 
• I also had chicken curry on toast for breakfast one day, making the most of random fridge items my parents left behind.
• Used up the dregs of a jar of marinara (I think my parents used some of it for lasagna), to make spaghetti & meatballs.
• Made garlic bread out of leftover sandwich rolls for Sam (M & I don't need any) to go with the spaghetti & meatballs. 
• My parents prepped a few meals when they were here, and left them in the freezer for us. I used the lasagna for a quick dinner on Tuesday. 

For others

• Kicked off another short term mentoring relationship at work. I participate in several programs that help senior folks from under represented backgrounds during their first few months at work, when they are building their networks & just trying to figure out how to ramp up. 
• I've been trying to slow down yet another work mentorship program, as I'm pretty swamped at the moment, but they needed a senior female, and there were none available. So, one more before I wrap up at work. ;-) 

What about you? Any wins to share?

November Goals

 The year is really starting to rock & roll now, as we enter the home stretch! 

Here are my goals for November:

Financial:

• Stick to our budget
• Progress towards side hustle goals
• Continue work on plan & budget for 2023
• Go through eBay inventory
• Give away 10 items on Buy Nothing

Family:

• One activity with the kids
• Help Nick learn to drive
• Two dates with M
• Connect with M's family
• Continue 2023 travel planning
• Finalize holiday travel plans, finish ski lodging

Fitness/Health:

• Post weekly fitness summaries
• Match September's calories burned
• Close rings 28 days
• Take advantage of workout classes
• Meditate 5x
• Lose 2 lbs

Personal:

• Do something social with friends
• Continue volunteer roles
• More thinking on "post career"goals

That's it for me. What do you have planned for Thanksgiving?

Two weeks of workout Wednesday

Combining a couple of weeks here, as I missed one when I was traveling:

Workouts for the week:

• Monday - Orange Theory workout class
• Tuesday - 1.5 mile walk, spin class
• Wednesday - 1.5 mile run, spin class
• Thursday - 90 minute elliptical + 1 mile walk
• Friday - airport day, so 1 hour of elliptical at 4 am. It was a true joy ;-) 
• Saturday - two yoga classes, plus walks on the beach
• Sunday - 1 hour of elliptical + canoeing
• Monday - 1 hour of elliptical + outdoor HIIT class
• Tuesday - 1 hour of elliptical + outdoor HIIT class
• Wednesday - 1 hour of elliptical + water aerobics
• Thursday - SUP yoga (so crazy hard & fun) + some walking on the beach, before we flew home
• Friday - 45 minutes of elliptical
• Saturday - Orange Theory
• Sunday - Nothing! For the first time in forever.

Eating: great up until the vacation, and then plenty of splurges. 

Lowlights: can't think of anything. I enjoyed the rest day on Sunday. 

Highlights: working out, even while on vacation. I really enjoy it. Not shown here is all of the reading I did, leisurely strolls on the beach, and pina coladas consumed by the pool. :-) 

Focus for the week ahead: I always struggle to bring my calories back under control when I'm back from vacation, so I'll be working on that this week. 

What about you? How did you do with your health?

October Goals Recap

 The month flew by (as always, really), so let's see how I did with my goals.

Financial:

• Stick to our budget. - it was an expensive month. We booked holiday flights (so, so $$$), added Sam to our car insurance, and went on vacation.
• Progress towards side hustle goals. - I actually used up a few gift cards (Target, Panera, Uber) & made some money selling things on eBay. 
• Continue work on plan & budget for when I leave work - we are considering a different budget approach, and working through that.
• Go through eBay inventory. - I listed a few additional things, & sold them. I need to finish going through the rest of my inventory.
• Stick to our budget while on vacation - yes! We came in just a bit under budget

Family:

• One activity with the kids - M took Nick to Las Vegas, and they had a lot of fun together. Sam & I went to brunch, and out to dinner a different night. 
• Help Nick with learning to drive - yes!
• Help Sam with practice & take him for the driving test - Yes, and he passed!
• Two dates with M - yes, an entire lovely vacation
• Connect with M's family - we've been texting. 
• Continue 2023 travel planning - still in the works

Fitness/Health:

• Post weekly fitness summaries - yes, minus the week I was traveling
• Match September's calories burned - I was about 400 calories short, out of a total of 18,400. I blame two days with 6 hour flights. 
• Close rings 25 days - 29 times! In fact, I got up at 4 am the day we left to get in a workout. 
• Take advantage of workout classes - yes, lots of workout classes at the office, at the gym & at the hotel we stayed at
• Meditate 5 x - still didn't manage to make that happen
• Lose 2 lbs - I lost these pounds before our trip, but will need to work to get them gone again. 

Personal:

• Do something social with friends - I had an impromptu trip to Portland, where I saw my sister & BFF & ran a race with them. 
• Continue volunteer roles - yep!
• More thinking on "post career work" life/goals - not much happened here, but I'm ticking away the days. 

What about you? How did you do with your goals for the month? Any wins to share?