We made it to the beach

It was a pretty easy drive, as far as 13 hours of driving can be considered. We stopped three times for gas, bathrooms & a bit of food. There was some road construction (always, with a drive that long) & some traffic as we got closer to Portland. But, otherwise, all went well, and we arrived at the beach house yesterday evening.

The inside of the house is very warm, which is unusual & a sign that it was quite hot over the weekend. The weather is currently blissfully cool - around 65. 

From a frugality perspective, we tried to keep the road trip costs under control - packing snacks & water, using a gift card for breakfast, and opting for an inexpensive lunch (Costco food court, while gassing up.) I also packed dinner for last night in the cooler. We had leftover chicken curry, that was delicious & easy to reheat. We brought all of our perishable items with us, and I was able to make a salad to go with dinner. I also brought three zucchini, so my family will definitely be going home with some zucchini. ;-) 

The rest of the family arrives on Friday, and we have some stuff to get done between now & then:

• Go for a run. Looking forward to the cool weather & flat running route. Definitely a change from our house!
• Go to Costco & the grocery store. The closest major store is quite a haul, so I'll bring a cooler & we will stock up. I've already cross referenced our list & menu against what's available in the house. We don't want to buy anything that we already have in the freezer
• Stop by the post office. Nick was expecting a package, and it's not at the house. I'm assume they are holding it at the post office.
• Start packing. 
• Time permitting, weed wack the side lawn.
• I'm technically on vacation today, but have a few things to do for a meeting I committed to attending tomorrow am. 

And, for a photo... I haven't been to the beach yet, but here's what I'm hoping for (this is last June).

What about you? What are you up to today?

Somehow, it's Sunday

This entire week has whizzed by. I can't believe it's Sunday. Yesterday was a busy, but fun day. I took Sam to his soccer scrimmage, went to two Targets (the first one I went to was closing permanently that day & had no inventory, unbeknownst to me). I also washed 1/2 of the sheets, made dinner, took the boys + a bonus friend mini golfing. And went to the grocery store, picked up the cooler, dropped off zucchini & went for a walk. After the soccer scrimmage, I noticed a girl asking Sam for his phone number. They go to the same school, but don't know each other, and played on the same team during a blended roster scrimmage. So cute. 

The boys at mini golf made me laugh. Telling stories, generally being foolish teens, and attempting to best each other. I really enjoy this phase, particularly when they are off their technical devices, and just being kids. They got ice cream cones, & I managed to avoid one (mostly because ice cream is not my stomach's friend). June was not a great month for me from a calorie perspective, and time at the beach means this will probably continue through the first week of July.

I still have plenty left to do today. 

1. Go for a run
2. Wash our sheets, make the bed
3. Laundry
4. Make chicken curry
5. Pack. For real, finish all packing but final stuff
6. Meet neighbors this evening for watering explanation
7. Move all (potted) tomato plants to the front yard, so the neighbors can water them. 
8. Vacuum
9. Bathrooms
10. Clean the kitchen. Nick used the food processor & the ice cream maker yesterday, so the kitchen is...messy. The oreo ice cream he made is delicious, however.
11. Run to Rite Aid for a couple of things.
12. Both boys have tennis lessons
13. Dead head herbs
14. Package & mail an eBay sale

That's it on our side. I'm missing the "do nothing but have fun" vibe of Hawaii. Can I go back? ;-) Hope you are all having a wonderful day. What are you hoping to accomplish today? 

Getting ready, and an early menu plan

I have a lot to accomplish this weekend. We moved our travel day (to the beach) up by a day, & I'm feeling some time pressure to get everything done for our trip a day early. It will all happen, with careful planning & organizing.

Here's what I have on the list for today. Some items may shift to tomorrow, depending on my productivity level. :-) 

• Figure out dinner. I was planning on chicken curry, but we will be home late, and that recipe takes a bit of time
• Start packing
• Finalize menu plan
• Build shopping list for the vacation house
• Take Sam to soccer practice
• Take the boys + a friend mini golfing
• Pick up cooler, drop off zucchini with a friend
• Show neighbors the watering situation
• Move tomato plants to front yard, for watering purposes
• Go to Target for road trip snacks
• Get cash for parents
• Work out
• Package/mail eBay item

Here's what I'm thinking for the menu over the next week or so. I need to be on top of it, as there are logistics involved (coolers, shopping in multiple places, guests, etc):

• Saturday - egg roll in a bowl
• Sunday - chicken curry. M to make rice, cauliflower rice for M's dinner.
• Monday - leftover egg roll in a bowl. We'll need a quick option, as I'll be packing, & Sam has his final summer league practice
• Tuesday - on the road, if traffic is bad. If we make it to the beach in time for dinner, I'll make a quick salad out of cooler items, and the kids can have frozen pizza (one less item in the beach freezer) & M & I can have grilled chicken from the freezer there. 
• Wednesday - I'm thinking spaghetti & meatballs. Soy noodles for M. 
• Thursday - leftover spaghetti & meatballs 
• Friday - family in town. Takeout pizza & salads
• Saturday - family in town. Grilled chicken + caesar salads
• Sunday - 4th of July, family in town. Grilled burgers & hot dogs + potato salad, baked beans, fruit pizza for dessert
• Monday - 4th of July leftovers.
• Tuesday - drive home. Eat on the way, if traffic is bad. If not, likely 4th of July leftovers, or something quick from the freezer

What about you? What are you up to today? Any fun menu plans coming up?

Frugal Friday

We are back to real life, and attempting to save a bit of money again here & there.  I really struggled to get going this week, but, unfortunately, the week didn't stop to wait for me. ;-) 

Saving on things we buy

• I used a couple of grocery store rewards for items Nick needed for his Father's Day dinner
• Bought an Amazon gift card to earn a $10 Amazon promotional credit during Prime days
• Doesn't quite fit into this category, but we received reimbursement from our HSA for our COVID tests, and I applied the money to our mortgage. I consider it "found" money, even though we are technically just reimbursing ourselves. 

Earning money

• I unpaused my eBay listings & sold a few things:
• A felt craft kit
• A shirt I found at the beach house that had never been worn (and, already outgrown by the kids)
• Another shirt Nick insisted he needed (a "dressy" shirt) but didn't wear before he outgrew
• A puzzle storage system (discovered at the beach house)
• I also received a $6.55 check from a class action lawsuit I vaguely remember filling out
• We received an $80 credit on our auto insurance, due to additional COVID relief

Avoiding spending

• Nick made homemade hamburger & hot dog buns to go with dinners this week

Eating what we have

• I made chicken on Friday evening, when we got home from the airport, avoiding another meal out
• I also made eggs for breakfast on Saturday morning, despite being tired & jet lagged before an early soccer game, & not really "feeling it". ;-)
• I cut up two large bowls of fruit, which meant lazy teens ate it quickly
• I sauteed a zucchini for dinner
• Nick shredded all of the zucchini that grew while we were out, and I froze it for future muffins or bread 
• I made pickled jalapenos out of our first batch of garden jalapenos. M loves these on almost anything. 
• My spinach bolted, so I cut it back & trimmed all that I could & we used it for salads. I also planted more spinach and kale
• I picked strawberries, lots of green peppers, tomatoes, Greek basil, zucchini, & kale. We froze the strawberries for smoothies, and used everything else in salads

For others

• I caught up on a few non-profit volunteer tasks
• I mentored a group of interns at work
• I gave away zucchini to a neighbor 
• Listed some of M's summer clothes that no longer fit (discovered while packing for Hawaii) & a bunch of board games on Buy Nothing

That's it from our side. How did you do this week?

Pickled jalapenos & it still feels like Monday

I'm having a heck of a time getting into the swing of work/life, post vacation. Work is particularly painful, with some challenging issues ahead. But, here we are, right into Tuesday. All I can say is that I hope this week goes quickly! :-)

I've gotten a few things done, completing our Oregon tax form for the sale of the vacation house. That required a call to the state tax bureau, to answer a question. I also had to ask the title/escrow company to update the forms numerous times, as they had errors. I'm not feeling great about that. 

I need to find someone to water our plants when we're gone next week. M thought we had a plan last week, but we had a huge heat wave, and we lost quite a few plants. I had wanted to hire Nick's neighbor friend to water, and it was clear I should have gone with my instincts. Unfortunately, he's not available next week, so I'm looking for other options. 

I picked a few large jalapenos, and did a quick pickle on them. They are great, and an easy fridge item. M loves pickled jalapenos, and we buy them in the off season, so it's also a bit of a money saver. Here is the recipe I use. It couldn't be easier. 

My sister is now in Hawaii, celebrating her son's graduation from high school. I'm attempting to live vicariously through her, as she enjoys the beach, sunsets & all of the Hawaii fun.

Hope everyone is having a great week! What is one thing you've accomplished today? 

Menu Plan Monday

Oooh, I'm unprepared for the work week! I'm grateful we got back on Friday evening, but even so, I still needed a few more days of "vacation adjustment". Nevertheless, it's on & I'm back to work today. 

The boys have an afternoon tennis camp this week, and Sam has soccer practice, so dinner timing will be a bit all over the place. Here's our plan for the week:

• Friday - we had a combination of snacks, flight meal (kids) & then I baked up chicken when we got home/were unpacking
• Saturday - M grilled hot dogs, and Nick made homemade buns. I made a green salad & fruit salad. 
• Sunday - Nick made dinner for Father's Day - burgers, homemade buns, and a burger sauce. They were delicious!
• Monday - I defrosted barbecued chicken from the freezer, so we will have that on leftover buns
• Tuesday - hot dogs, green salad & fruit salad
• Wednesday - tacos
• Thursday - barbecued chicken
• Friday - TBD, but I typically make more of an appetizer meal on Fridays. So, potentially wings or panko crusted shrimp. 

What are you having for dinner this week?

Travel priorities

I thought I'd share a bit more about our trip, while it's fresh in my mind. I do not consider this trip to be frugal, by any stretch of the imagination, but we instead treated it as a major splurge. Even treating it as a splurge, we made sure to prioritize the most important aspects of the vacation, and not waste money on things that weren't important to us. 

Here's how we planned:

Savings/budget. It goes without saying that we had cash to pay for the entire trip, and had the money tucked away in our savings. Because we didn't travel much (at all) in 2020, we had carryover travel money available in 2021.

Flights. We needed six flights to Hawaii (ours, and my parents). Because of COVID, Alaska Air allowed you to carryover your companion fare to 2021. We took advantage of this, and split our travel into two groups. I added Nick as my companion, and used the 2020 companion fare, and then booked M & Sam together. This allowed us to use both companion fares, driving the cost way down. I also used miles for both of my parents flights. I booked early, when flights to Hawaii were still pretty reasonable, from a mileage trade in perspective. 

Lodging. This one was harder for me, and I went back & forth quite a bit. After a lot of research, it was clear we'd need to choose our highest priority: having a kitchen, access to the beach, number of included activities, or best available hotel rooms. After polling the group, we decided that we wanted to prioritize the number of included activities, for a few reasons. 

• Booking water sports for six people was really, really expensive
• Access & availability to the activities were highly varied 
• The activities were the things the kids/my parents were most excited about. In fact, when we planned this trip, the boys & my dad sat down & planned out all of their preferred activities. The hotel we stayed at had a resort fee that included: stand up paddle boarding, snorkel/boogie board gear, kayaking, canoeing, work out classes, ukulele lessons, bingo, etc. We took advantage of all of these, saving a lot of money. 

Once we decided what we prioritized, I started looking on Costco travel, which we consistently find to have the best deals on hotel prices. My first choice hotel wasn't available, so I booked something else (it had a few included activities, but not as many). I kept looking, and eventually found what I wanted. Hotels booked via Costco also come with a car rental. Given how difficult car rentals were to book during our trip, this was wonderful. I upgraded to a mini van, so we could have room to transport all six of us.

Food. We requested a fridge & microwave for the room, but the food prep options were pretty limited, which we knew going in.  

We all decided that breakfast wasn't a big deal to us, as we'd be doing water activities in the morning (the water is smoothest, and best for things like kayaking & paddle boarding). My mom made & brought two giant loaves of bread (pumpkin & banana), & we bought bananas at Costco. This served as breakfast. 

We bought snacks & drinks for the pool at Costco, which helped us avoid pricey hotel purchases. We were able to bring some of the snacks on the return flight as well.

For lunches, we went out to an inexpensive fish & chips restaurant one day, and the other few days shared some things at the pool bar. We were able to use our bingo "winnings" to offset some of the cost there. For our arrival day, and departure day, we stopped at Costco to buy snacks & fill up on gas (respectively) & the boys had lunch at the Costco food court. As you can imagine, that's always cheap. ;-) 

Dinners were a different story, and we knew they would be a splurge. We planned for a mix of restaurants, and our main goal was to ensure the menu suited the diners, and whenever possible, have a view. Because of the huge surge in travelers to Hawaii, and current labor shortage, it was pretty challenging to get reservations anywhere. In the end, it worked out great. M & I had a special dinner out for his birthday, while my parents took the kids to a different place. All of our other meals were together & were fantastic. And, not cheap. :-) 

Other stuff. We were able to pack all of our stuff in three small carry on bags (for the four of us) & took advantage of the hotel's free laundry. This allowed us to get into & out of the airport quickly, and ensured we had no baggage charges. We also needed very little in the way of new things for the trip. I bought one new dress to replace one that no longer fit. The kids needed a pair of new trunks, and one pair of "dressy" shorts for dinners out. I found the shorts at Marshalls, for $8/each, so they were quite a deal. The trunks were 2/$12 at Costco. I used a gift card for the majority of the cost for my dress. 

And, there you have it. That's how we planned, budgeted & prioritized our trip. What about you? How do you plan for travel? Do you make a similar list of priorities? 

Frugal Saturday

The last week or so has been spent on vacation, so lots of money out (and memories made), but fewer opportunities for frugality. There have been a few wins here & there. 

Saving on things we buy

• Planning ahead for our trips to/from the airport, I purchased (slightly) discounted Uber gift cards through Raise. I also clicked through Rakuten to get to Raise, saving a small amount more.
• Took advantage of an iBotta strawberry offer, saving $.35. That offer triggered another (redeem any offer type of thing), saving another $.15. I like saving $.50 for strawberries we were planning to buy anyway. Also, we bought them on Friday evening, and they were gone on Saturday afternoon. The teens are big fruit eaters!
• Uploaded all of our receipts to Fetch
• Picked up some snacks & drinks at Costco, to save a bit on food spending. 
• I went through our hotel bill & found an overcharge, and had it corrected. 

Earning money

• I paused all of my eBay sales, so nothing there. I did find $.35 on the ground in Hawaii ;-) 

Avoiding spending

• I packed snacks for the kids, and also pre-ordered them a meal for the long flight. 
• Brought our own water bottles to fill, to avoid having to buy drinks for travel days.

Eating what we have

• We did a good job clearing out the fridge ahead of our trip, finishing off leftovers, etc.

For others

• Gave away a bunch of garden produce ahead of leaving town, as well as two gallons of milk. Waste makes me sad, so this makes me happy. 
• We paid for my parents trip to Hawaii, as the gift for my dad's (belated) 70th birthday & my parents (early) 50th anniversary this fall. So happy for the time & memories together.
• I managed to give away a yard sign metal holder (Nick refused to display his middle school graduation sign), so at least it's not going straight to the recycling bin. 

Sam has an early soccer game, in a bid to avoid the heat this morning. We got in late last night, so combined with jet lag, I'm very tired. Hope you are all having a great day!

Surfing, turtles & all the fun

 We went to the gym this morning, then caneoing, and had a few turtles following our canoe. They got SO close! (Photos below). It was incredible.

The boys went surfing, and excellent times were had by all.

Whatever expectations/hopes I had for this trip, they were wildly exceeded. It was such a wonderful family experience.

Boys, surfing:

The turtle basically got into the canoe with us:

Even the view from the gym is lovely:

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!

Paddle boarding & bingo

We started off the morning at SUP (stand up paddle boarding) & the water was perfect, with low wind. We all had a fabulous time. The boys took an ukulele lesson with my dad, and then we had bingo by the pool We won four bingo prizes, which was pretty great - poolside drinks (x2), an appetizer, and an entree. We  plan to use them tomorrow. 

Tomorrow will be canoeing, and the boys are taking a surf lesson. We've done everything we've wanted & then some. I'm very happy with our decision on lodging, as we went back & forth numerous times on our biggest priority. In the end, we opted for a hotel with lots of (included) activities, as that was the boys biggest priority. It's worked out so well, & the activities have been the highlight of the trip. My parents also had photos taken for their 50th anniversary, and they are stunning. 

My view this afternoon was pretty fantastic. 

Hope everyone is having a lovely week!

Sunset

 We pulled over on our way back from dinner, because the sunset was breath taking. No filter on the picture. 

We kayaked today, and had an overall fabulous day. Tomorrow is stand up paddle boarding. Can't wait!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. 

Maui vibes

 Maui is, as expected, absolutely fantastic. All of the activities, family fun, & laughs. So many laughs.

Dinner view

View from my yoga mat. Ocean side yoga = total bliss

Swimming with the turtles

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!

Frugal Friday

It was a busy week, with Sam in soccer camp & Nick wrapping up school, along with plenty of other errands. But, it's also a week where we planned out summer travel. I can't believe it - travel planning is back! I'm very tired after the busy week of getting ready for vacation, but we're almost there. 

Saving on things we buy

• It took two very long calls with Comcast, but I got our internet bill back under control, after they raised our rates. This promotion is good for the next two years, which will help. In total, I'll have saved $1200 in two years, by calling in. So, well worth the time, despite the temporary pain.  
• I also saved $.70 on our grocery bill via iBotta offers, and uploaded all of our receipts to Fetch as well. The contrast of those small vs large savings..they all add up.
• Used Southwest points & a tiny amount left over from a gift card to buy two flights for later this summer, saving $900. I'll take it!
• Also travel related, used a 10% off promo code for a flight for our family relay (assuming it happens, with COVID). This is our last year, so we're hoping it occurs. We are all double vaccinated. I used travel credit for the rest of the cost.
• I'm working on cutting down on our usage of plastic wrap. I ordered a set of silicon covers, and took advantage of a new customer offer, and free shipping, saving $10. 
• I noticed that the local grocery store was having a gift card offer with Home Depot. I bought gift cards (we use them frequently for house projects) & earned $30 in grocery store rewards
• Used a $10 credit to buy a Father's Day gift for M
• Took Sam out to Chiptole, after a long week of soccer camp & soccer practices. Finally used the $1 or so remaining on my Chipotle gift card. It's now out of my purse!

Earning money

• It continues to be a slow week, and I'm ramping down sales in advance of a vacation. But, a few things here & there. I sold:
• A set of 3 blank VHS tapes (new in sealed wrappers). Who knew these were still a thing?
• An outgrown hoodie
• A wand topper, from the days we used to go to Great Wolf Lodge. I had no idea I still had this, but discovered it while cleaning out an ignored drawer. 
• A sweater I never wear
• Earned a $5 Paypal offer by downloading the app. It covered postage for an eBay sale. 

Avoiding spending

• Used additional travel credits for my flight to pick up the boys from my parents house later in the summer, with $0 out of pocket
• Picked up two PE uniforms for school, off of Buy Nothing. It looks like I'll only have to buy one extra set per kid, saving me about $30. 
• Neither of the kids have flip flops (long since outgrown). I considered picking up a cheap pair for summer, but didn't feel great about that. As we were going through M's stuff, we discovered two like new pair of flip flops. One pair fit Sam. Nick opted to wear slides for our trip, and doesn't like flip flops. Great! No out of pocket spent needed. I'll list the other pair on eBay, as they are an expensive brand & no longer made. 
• I took Nick to Starbucks to use a gift card he'd received (for his 8th grade graduation). I was hungry, hadn't made lunch, & was very tempted to buy lunch out. Instead, I came home & had a burger out of the freezer. 

Eating what we have

• They are not my favorites, but the boys don't like a granola (purchased to top yogurt) & granola bars I bought a while back. I've been slowing working my way through them. 
• We continue to eat a lot from the garden: spinach, kale, radishes, carrots, zucchini, mint, basil. I can't wait for the tomatoes & peppers to really start producing. 

For others:

• Gave away a bunch on Buy Nothing
• A very fancy dress from the way back time machine, when I was *ahem* much younger & could wear a dress without a bra
• Swim goggles, two sets of snorkel gear
• Swim trunks & a swim shirt
• I accidentally bought two yearbooks for Nick (speaking of frugal fails). I even checked my budget spreadsheet & tried to get a hold of someone to find out. Somehow, still ended up with two. Another mom offered to buy it from me, but I was happy just to give it to someone who would use it. As a thank you, she made a donation to the school PTO. Win/win. 
• Gave away lots of zucchini to friends, neighbors, & everyone who was picking up items on Buy Nothing ;-)

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