The price for four tickets to Hawaii

Nonstop, from San Jose airport to Maui. . . $107. Life is good!

We've been thinking of going to Maui again with the kids, right around Thanksgiving this year. We went at that time a two years ago, and it was amazing! We finally had enough frequent flier tickets to make it happen (seriously, M traveled *all the time* for his old job). We were 3,000 miles short, so we spent $87 buying the extra miles, and then there was a $5 security fee for each ticket. Grand total = $107.

For inquiring minds, it took 280,000 frequent flier miles, and they were going to expire soon, as M doesn't travel as much, and our local airport doesn't have many Alaska Airlines flight (our Seattle hub).

I'm now trying to figure out how to make the rest of the trip cost $6000 or so, which should be interesting. We're staying for nine nights! I'm so excited!

Anyway, getting the flights booked put me in a very good Monday mood. ;-) My night time calls also got canceled this evening, as it's a holiday in Tokyo. I'm momentarily blocking the fact that I have to get my passport renewed so I can start traveling for work. :-(

In other fun Monday news, I ran three miles, with Nick pacing me on the scooter. It was 78, & I was panting when we were done, but i did it!!


What was one positive thing about your Monday?

Another Saturday, another soccer game

Sam has soccer all.the.time. ;-) 

Luckily, the game is at our local elementary school, so just walking distance from our house.

Also on the agenda today:

1. A trip to Costco for grocery shopping
2. A couple of miles around the track (during soccer warm ups, naturally) :)
3. Yoga
4. Make banana muffins
5. The produce stand for some mini cucumbers & strawberries
6. Rite Aid for Motrin. Nick has had a terrible headache for a few days now - poor guy.

And, I think we're going to grill burgers tonight - it's supposed to be 75 today. Mayyyybe, we'll get crazy & make some margaritas tonight. We're a wild crew!

What about you? What are you up to this Saturday? How is the weather in your area? Fingers crossed that the game isn't quite the 0-11 blowout of last weekend. ;-) 

April goal check

The month is half way over, so I thought it would be good to do a quick check on where I'm at. Mostly because I need to refresh my own memory on what I said I'd get done this month. ;-)

All right, so here's my  list of goals, & where I'm at:

1. Lose 3 lbs. - I've lost one pound. Considering we had our little adult getaway this month, I'm pretty pleased about this. On track.
2. Track my calories every day using MyFitnessPal - Yes! This is just habit & I really enjoy taking a closer look at my calorie intake, & how it trends, & how that impacts my weight.
3. No dessert at work! For the entire month! - This has been incredibly difficult for me, but yes! I'm shocked by how many extra calories I have each day to spend on healthier food. :-) 
4. Complete 1,000 minutes of cardio. - I'm at 520, so on track. 
5. Complete 8 strength workouts. - Yes! 4 workouts so far.
6. Complete 8 stretching workouts. I'm good at getting in one workout a week (on Sundays). I need to also do one evening per week. - Fail. :-( Zero. Nick has started soccer on Sundays, which has completely interfered with my schedule. I need to find a new yoga routine.
7. Register for a half marathon, or a 15K. Start training. - Yes! I've signed up for a run in July, and have started increasing my mileage (both walking & running).
8. Better manage my work schedule - take more breaks, work out regularly, and block out time on the calendar. - Baby steps, but yes!
9. Have one date night with M (should be easy - we're doing a long weekend together). - Done! We went to Las Vegas & had an amazing time together. Although, it was too short!
10. Do one social activity. - I had lunch with a friend yesterday, and have been trying to plan an activity for some other ladies that live on my street. It will likely get scheduled for May, but I'm trying to branch out!
11. Find a running club. - Nope. I need to investigate new options, as I've emailed my neighborhood alias & didn't hear back. Not sure what my next step will be.
12. Finalize tax payment plan. - Done, & mailed. :-( 
13. Stick to our budget. - Definitely not. We bought season passes to Great America (with a work discount, almost the same price as a regular ticket), & had to enroll the boys in camps for the summer. .. Camp was almost $4K for all of the weeks. Our childcare costs will be next to nothing in the summer, but in the meantime. . . 
14. Continue exploring next career options. - I haven't spent a ton of time on this, but I think about it often in small doses. It's especially an area that I think about when I'm on walks after work. I think, long-term, I'd like to work part-time. It's not realistic in my current role, but maybe that's something I can work towards. 
15. Make a list/plan for my trip to the beach over Memorial Day of what I want to accomplish/get rid of. It's a fun girls trip, but I plan to take full advantage of being there to go through our stuff. Minimize the pain when we actually sell. ;-) - No, haven't started. 

Not exactly perfect, but I feel pretty good about my progress so far. And, just for fun, here's a picture of my boys - they are on spring break this week, so they went to Santa Cruz with a camp. Other than the fact that my oldest forgot his shoes on the beach (and, they were brand new!), it was a great experience. It was 82 degrees on the beach yesterday!

And, what about you? What were you hoping to accomplish in April? There's still time to refocus your energy & get some things marked off of your goals!

Sunday Night Chit Chat

What a fun & fast-paced weekend it's been. I managed to get in 20 miles of walking & running this week (my goal!). I'm *thinking* about doing another half marathon in July (albeit at a much slower pace from my previous time), and if I keep up the miles at this level, it's within reach.

We had a soccer game yesterday (Sam's team got absolutely decimated) & the tops of my feet got sunburned! That was painful in my running shoes today. Nick had soccer this morning, & both boys attended a birthday party this afternoon, while I ran the track at the park where the party was held. I also made hummus, & pesto from all of the gorgeous basil growing in the yard. It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend, & I didn't work at all. Wish all of my days were like this. ;-)

• Reading: I just finished a book this afternoon (reading out on the patio with a glass of wine - absolute HEAVEN). 

• Listening to: The boys are listening to an episode of Top Gear. They are obsessed with cars. ;-) 

• Watching: Same as above. Top Gear!

• Cooking/baking: I make pasta with pesto (fresh from the garden), and we had a huge veggie tray with homemade hummus for an appetizer.

• Happy I accomplished this past week: I finished our summer camp registrations (oh my, the cost, and oh my the time needed to coordinate!!!) I also got our taxes all mailed off. *Shivers*

• Looking forward to: My friend is visiting from Seattle with her daughter, and we're having lunch on Wednesday. We're also going to Great America with the kids on Saturday, which should be fun. 

• Thankful for: Having enough money to pay our taxes, despite owing a boatload of money. And, that we had such a fabulous weekend together. The boys are growing up so quickly, & the journey is getting very enjoyable. :-) 

What about you? How was your weekend? What are you looking forward to in the week ahead?

A little weekend getaway

M & I took a mini vacation on Thursday evening, while my parents flew in to watch the boys. It was one of my goals of 2014 to have at least one solo weekend, and it was so fabulous. :-) I absolutely adore my boys, but having a little adult time was the best!

My parents managed all of the normal kid activities (the school walkathon, two soccer games, and two soccer practices), while we played blackjack by the pool, sipping mojitos. ;-) I got a great massage, and we had leisurely meals together. It was way too short (we had to fly back on Saturday evening, as my parents Sunday evening flight got moved up by 5 hours!).

And, we were fully back to reality on Sunday morning. Nick had soccer at 8:00 am, I took my parents to the airport, Sam had a soccer game (scored his second goal of the weekend!), Nick had a birthday party, and finally, Sam had a pool party with a friend. Other than doing the laundry & picking up groceries, it was all I could do to survive the day. ;-)

We came home with a little bit of money, which is always a great way to end a trip to Las Vegas. :-) The time away really reminded me how much fun we have together, and how important it is to reconnect. It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day of parenting, but we also need to make time for our marriage. Since our last getaway, we've - moved, both switched jobs, and there's been a tremendous amount of stress and change. I'm hoping to schedule more regular date nights, since weekends away aren't possible without a lot of advanced planning.

Back to reality! Here's our menu plan:

Monday - tacos
Tuesday - grilled burgers & homemade buns
Wednesday - Leftover tacos
Thursday - Chicken & pasta
Friday - risotto. Not sure on the flavor yet. Maybe asparagus & chicken?
Saturday - homemade pizza
Sunday - Still have to figure this one out, but if Costco has salmon, we will likely grill that with corn or asparagus

It's supposed to be warm all week, so we're looking forward to the nice weather. What's on your menu this week? How do you make time for your spouse? Regular date nights, or weekend getaways?

April Goals

It's time to look ahead & set new, fresh goals for April. Here's what I'm planning on doing:

1. Lose 3 lbs. 
2. Track my calories every day using MyFitnessPal
3. No dessert at work! For the entire month!
4. Complete 1,000 minutes of cardio.
5. Complete 8 strength workouts.
6. Complete 8 stretching workouts. I'm good at getting in one workout a week (on Sundays). I need to also do one evening per week.
7. Register for a half marathon, or a 15K. Start training.
8. Better manage my work schedule - take more breaks, work out regularly, and block out time on the calendar.
9. Have one date night with M (should be easy - we're doing a long weekend together).
10. Do one social activity.
11. Find a running club.
12. Finalize tax payment plan.
13. Stick to our budget.
14. Continue exploring next career options.
15. Make a list/plan for my trip to the beach over Memorial Day of what I want to accomplish/get rid of. It's a fun girls trip, but I plan to take full advantage of being there to go through our stuff. Minimize the pain when we actually sell. ;-) 

I think that will work. What are you planning to accomplish in April? 

Sunday Night Chit Chat

Thanks so much to Carla for hosting!

• What are you watching? - The boys are watching a car show about Porsches. ;-) 

• What are you looking forward to this week? - My parents are flying in on Wednesday. Super excite for them to see the boys, and to spend time with them. They have never been here, so it should be fun. M & I are also going away for two nights to Napa. CAN'T wait!! :-) 

• Lesson did you learn last week? - That I need to branch out, socially. And, manage my calendar more diligently. Also, I learned to give a bit more (socially) at work. I'm all business (but friendly), but have discovered that investing the time & energy to be more social means a happier & more enjoyable work environment. I'm naturally more of an "eat lunch at my desk, run back & forth to meetings, & then hustle out to pick up the kids" person, but I'm trying to carve out like 30-60 minutes per week to be more social. 

• What was your best moment over the last week? - Today, spending time with my boys, playing in the sun, and laughing. So nice! I also made the effort to go & talk to two of the neighbors & exchange email addresses, so maybe we can go for the occasional hike. I miss having friends, so these are needed steps!

• What is your #1 goal for next week? - Finish our planning to come up with the money to pay for our major tax bill. Good times! ;-) 

• What was your Best/Worst Financial decision over the last week? - Best decision - rather than suggesting take out after a very long & wet soccer game, I threw together a quick & delicious dinner. Worst decision - not last week's decision, but not finding an accountant until it was too late. SO painful to go it alone this year. 

• Which recipe is next on your "to try" list? - I've been craving chicken parmesan, so may try this one. 

I managed to walk 4 miles today (split into two groups), did my power yoga, made homemade pizza for dinner (chicken pesto, with goat cheese for the adults, cheese for the kids), made bread, cleaned the fridge, did laundry, coordinated the April soccer carpool schedule (I swear, i need a masters degree in scheduling), & started to pack for our trip. Great & productive day!

How about you? How is your Sunday going?

Taxes are finished

Oh, sweet love a duck, was it ever ugly. We've owed every year, but I went out of my way in 2013 to plan better. I had more deducted from each paycheck, and I saved a substantial chunk of my bonus. However, nothing could quite prepare us for unexpectedly moving, switching jobs, renting our house, and dealing with California state taxes as well as the relocation costs.

We are getting an $11 refund from the state. Party! :-)

We owe $14,300 to the IRS. Sobs. . . I have almost all of the money saved, but need to pull a bit from investments to cover the rest. Oh, sad times. Sad, sad times. We continue our search for a tax planner to help us figure out how to minimize our tax burden while planning ahead for our total taxes in 2014. Fingers crossed that someone will free up after tax season.

On that note, I'm off to be productive. We had an 8:00 am soccer practice, and I've been relaxing since. I need to make bread for the week, pack for our adult getaway, squeeze in yoga & a walk, and do the stack of laundry that is sneaking up on me daily.

Back for chit chat later.

Are you done with your taxes? How did they turn out?

Sunday Night Chit Chat

Thanks to Carla for hosting the chit chat!

• What are you reading: Some pretty tragic free romance novel on the Kindle. I just purchased a few books (Gone, Girl was my favorite), so I'm back to only free books for a while. 
• Are you watching: My kids are watching magic tricks. Nick received a magic set for his birthday, so we're all about the magic shows!
• Are you looking forward to this week: I'm doing a happy hour with a girl friend on Tuesday. I'm still working on making friends here, so happy that I'm building my network.
• What is one thing you did last week that you don't want to repeat this week: I didn't do a good job of managing my calendar (I was on jury duty, so it was a total crapshoot anyway), which meant it was hard to manage my time & get things done.
• Was your best moment over the last week? I did a great 5 mile hike yesterday, and had all of these fabulous & creative ideas to problems I've been facing. Plus, it was gorgeous & I saw tons of wild animals & just soaked up the sunshine.
• Is your #1 goal for next week? Stay focused on my workouts, and stay RELAXED. Do not let work stress get me down.
• Song can't you get out of your head? Happy, by Pharell. 
• Best/Worst financial decision over the last week? Best - let's see, I don't think I spent anything during the work week. Worst, I'm planning to buy a ticket to go visit my sister and best friend in May! :-) 
• Is something that you'd like to learn to do? I'd love to learn to play chess! My husband and the boys play often, but I've never learned.

Hope you're having a nice & relaxing Sunday.

Financial update

It's been so long since I posted last! I hope everyone is doing great, knocking their goals out of the park, & having a fabulous March.

M has the kids at soccer this morning (bright & early, at 8:00 am), so I'm trying to be productive before sweaty little boys come home. ;-) I've got muffins in the oven, bread in the bread maker, I'm washing sheets, & cleaning the fridge!

A few quick updates - I've been working out more! Working out makes me feel sane. :-) I get my best ideas on runs/walks. I also feel much better about myself when I make time to exercise. All of those endorphins, I suppose. I'm still working too much, but hope is in sight! I've already hired an employee who will start on 4/1, and I have two more in the pipeline that I expect to be able to hire in the next month. YES! These people will all work in different time zones (where we have other staff), so I can reduce my evening meetings & early morning meetings. I'm very happy about that. ;-)

We celebrated our little leprechaun's birthday on Monday (he turned 7 - seriously, where has the time gone?), and we've been doing carpools & soccer & sleepovers. Childhood is much like I remember it, and I do everything I can to not let my work interfere with all of the activities that make childhood special.

Here is the birthday boy, putting on a musical performance. 

I've been doing much of the cooking on weekends, and then eating leftovers during the week. By doing that + adding in a few freezer meals, it's been working extremely well. We are already over our March grocery budget, but M's been doing most of the shopping, & he tends to be more "free" with the grocery spending than I am. ;-) 

In other financial news, everything is just sort of working. We are waiting to figure out our tax bill. Mostly, I have to go through the effort of closing out the last few details. I think we're going to owe around $15K to the federal government, and get a small refund from the state.

M & I are also going to take a mini adult only vacation in a few weeks. My parents are coming to hang out with the boys, and we're going to Napa. I wish it were longer (just two nights), but I'm thrilled to get some alone time just the same!

In other great news, we have a showing at our vacation house today. Fingers crossed!!

Have a fabulous, relaxing, & productive Sunday!

February financial recap - where did all of the money go?

At the end of each month, I look back to evaluate how we did against each budget category, and determine what changes I need to make in the months ahead to keep us on track with our yearly budget.

February was a wild month - lots of car repairs, my birthday, Sam's 8th birthday, a trip to see family, Valentine's Day, & an extremely high amount of dining out (as a result of all of the special events & travel).

Here's how we did!

Income:
I received a peer bonus at work - $86
And made a little money on eBay - $25
Plus our normal paychecks
Grand total of $15,629. (This is our net, after health insurance, retirement savings, taxes, & charitable giving come out, plus all of the regular old deductions).

We also made $3,800 on our rental property in Washington.

And, total spending (includes both mortgages on our two residences, and our rent in San Francisco):
$17,779

Major areas where we were over:

• Our auto category. Two cars needed new tires. Budget is $200, we spent almost $1,000.
• Dining out. Budget is $150, we spent $516!
• San Francisco Utilities - budget is $400, we spent $660. Cost of increased power & water usage.

Areas where we were under:

• Gas - we continue to spend less than anticipated. (Our budget last year included lots of driving to our vacation house, as well as trips to the mountain for skiing). Under by $150
• Groceries - who can believe it?! As you can guess from the dining out, we ate way too many meals out for birthdays, and on our trip. The grocery bill was a record low of $286, so saved $163.

That's pretty much it. It was not the normal month, but I'm glad that I track, & plan ahead. March will involve finalizing our taxes, which is most definitely not going to be pretty. I need to start planning for that.

How was your February spending? Any big areas where you were over or under? Do you need to adjust your yearly budget to stay on track? 

February Goals Recap - How did I do?

February was a *very* difficult month. Way too much work, I started to have a flare with my lupus (it's gotten better since I've increased my medication), I got locked out of the house while I was supposed to be making work calls from home, I got a flat tire, I got into a fender bender, our roof had a leak, M's team went through an organizational change, & it was very likely for a while that he was going to get laid off. . . from the job that we moved here for. . . . Ahhhhh, yes. It was good times for sure.

Anyway, suffice it to say that February was mostly about survival. But, I hate not recapping my goals, so I'll just get right to it. ;-)

1. Lose 2 lbs. - Nope. I lost, then gained, then evened out. I'm just where I started the month.
2. Track my calories every day in MyFitnessPal. - Yes!
3. Complete 900 minutes of cardio. - I finished at 467. My lowest in the last year, as far as I can tell. 
4. Complete 8 strength workouts. - No, I completed 4.
5. Complete 6 stretching workouts. - No, I completed 3.
6. Decide on a half marathon. - I did look at a couple, but didn't make a final decision until last week (in March). 
7. Have one date night with M. - Yes!
8. Build long term financial scenarios. - Yes, although with M's potential lay off (it didn't end up happening, but that's a story for another day), we opted to hold on going further with our discussions, as it was very stressful with so many unknowns.
9. Finalize our legal documents. - No.
10. Put $500 in the boys college accounts, as their birthday gift. - Yes!
11. Track spending, create a month end summary/report. - Not yet, but coming out in the next few days!
12. Get together with one friend. - Yes!
13. Read 4 books. - Yes!
14. Have 10 no spend days. - Yes - I rarely spend money during the work week, as food & drinks are free at the office!

Not a banner month, by a long shot. But, I'm refocused in March, & determined to get my workouts in.

How about you? How was your February?

Menu Plan Monday

Planning a menu for the week is the only way I manage to get dinner on the table on crazy week nights, and avoid eating out. I have evening calls twice a week (meeting with Japan), so it's super important that I do the majority of the cooking on weekends & then add a side dish, or defrost something from the freezer during the week.

I made monster cookies for the kids lunches (YUM) yesterday, plus bread, pizza dough, & taco meat.

Here's what we'll be eating this week:

Saturday - we had grilled burgers. It was 75 here. ;-)
Sunday - Homemade pizza
Monday - Tacos (meat prepped on Sunday)
Tuesday - Leftover burgers
Wednesday - I have an evening event to attend, so leftover pizza, I'm guessing.
Thursday - M is out of town, so I'll probably do pasta & chicken for the kids, and something to use up all of the red potatoes that are going bad for me.
Friday - M is out of town, so something easy like sandwiches.
Saturday - M is out of town, & Nick is having a friend sleep over for his birthday. Likely cheese pizza, homemade popcorn, & birthday cupcakes! :-)
Sunday - Leftovers
Monday - out to dinner for Nick's actual birthday. He's requested Greek food.

What about you? What's on your menu plan for the week? What are your tricks for getting dinner on the table during busy week days?