Halloween Happenings

I miss the days of small boys in Halloween costumes. But, we are in another phase for sure. :-) Nick is heading over to a friend's house to play poker, & eat pizza. Sam is likely not going anywhere, so we will eat chicken & dumplings, hand out candy, & watch a scary movie. Tomorrow is soccer tryouts, so no one will stay out very late. I hope to see at least a few kiddos in cute costumes.

I had a productive but enjoyable day yesterday. I'm done with almost everything on the list, but still haven't made it to the produce stand. Maybe after dropping off Nick, or perhaps it will need to be done midweek. We shall see. 

We went to a soccer game this morning, I walked during warmups. Then we went to Costco, which was my foolish mistake, as both boys were super hungry. I feel like we bought everything. In reality, we were out of a bunch of basics (flour, sugar, vitamins, etc), which always adds up.

I went for my final walk of the month (step challenge is done today) & I clocked in over 300 miles for October, more than doubling my highest ever cardio month. I had 3,145 minutes of cardio in October, which is crazy. Woohoo! I'll be glad to be getting back to a more diverse set of workouts in November. ;-) 

I came back from my walk & tidied up the house, put chicken in the crockpot for chicken & dumplings, & now I'm onto the laundry. 

Throwback Halloween...

Wishing everyone a lovely Sunday!

Saturday Happenings

 The last few days have been filled with driving & teen activities. I'm so happy their lives have returned to some sort of COVID normalcy. 

Nick went to the last school football game last night, Sam had soccer practice. I was up late, waiting for Nick to get home from the game. Blissfully, I slept in about an hour past my normal wake up time.

As for today, we somehow don't have any soccer on the agenda! Hurrah. Very excited, and planning to use the extra time to be productive in the kitchen.

1. Pick more pomegranates
2. Clean up the garden
3. Pick the last of the tomatillos & roast them.
4. Make muffins
5. Make a fresh tomato sauce for the freezer, out of our abundance of tomatoes
6. Pick up a few items at the store
7. Make a Costco list
8. Costco
9. Run to the produce stand
10. Get in a long workout
11. Make a beef vegetable soup
12. Have Nick make two loaves of bread
13. Do a (virtual) happy hour with my sister & friend
    
14. List at least one item on eBay

And, a few pictures from the last week or so...

Pomegranates from the tree. So delicious!

A couple of photos from our vacation:

That's it for me. What are you planning to do today?

Frugal Friday

It was a lovely weekend away, but we are now back to our regularly scheduled life. Here are a few wins we've had, in the frugal department.

Saving money on things we buy

• I noticed that the hotel didn't apply the $50/night food credit that was supposed to be included, so asked about it at check out. It was applied to the bill as one total, which worked out perfectly, as we had spend just less than $50 on one of the days. 

Earning money

• On the work front, I received another high score for the last six months of work, which will translate into a higher bonus, salary & stock. More than exceeds all of my other frugal wins for the year, but not as fun as the daily wins. ;-) 
• I paused my eBay sales while I was traveling, but sold a hoodie

Avoiding spending

• Tried to mostly eat at home, despite our guests. We did pretty well, and I had leftovers for lunch a few days. 
• Took my parents to the airport, & used the electric car, saving fuel costs. 
• Picked tomatoes & jalapenos from our garden.

Eating what we have

• We didn't end up having the one pan chicken rice on Wednesday, so I made it on Sunday. It used more of the long peppers, as well as two bags of chicken from the freezer. I was also able to substitute garden jalapenos for the recipe indicated canned chiles. 
• We also had the two bags of Korean beef I prepped & froze a couple of weekends ago, and had that with rice for dinner one night
• We also picked our first pomegranate from our tree! We all love them, so we're excited to try them. We have A LOT of pomegranates. 
• We continue to pick tomatoes (bringing them inside to ripen) off of our plants.
• Nick made a loaf of French bread to share with our neighbor, and for our dinner on Sunday

For others

• Our neighbor lost power, so we brought her several meals, called the power department for her, got a hold of her daughter (our neighbor is elderly), charged her small electronics, loaned her our charging unit, and checked in on her throughout the days.
• Donated to a fundraiser, as my coworker lost her infant baby
• Bought a meal service for another coworker going through a challenging time
• Gave away three pair of jeans that Nick outgrew. 
• Dropped off a bottle of champagne to a coworker who was promoted (I volunteered to do this on behalf of our mutual manager, who doesn't live in the area)
• Took my parents to lunch as a thank you for all of their help this week.
• Checked in with my volunteer/non-profit role

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

Monday (Tuesday) Menu Plan

My parents are in town for a few more days, and spending time with us before they head home. As a result, we are feeding 6-7. Our neighbor's power is out, so we've also been feeding her dinner. 

• Friday - M & I were in Scottsdale, and went out for Mexican food, at the hotel we were staying at. We had fajitas. Yum.
• Saturday - M & I were still in Scottsdale, and had steak. Yum.
• Sunday - We were back home, & I made a fiesta chicken rice skillet, that we served with garden tomatoes, sour cream, chips & guacamole.
• Monday - My dad made a delicious stuffed shells dinner, with Caesar salad & garlic bread
• Tuesday - M is making rice, and we will serve that with the Korean beef dish I made & froze last week. We will be driving to multiple soccer practices
• Wednesday - My dad is making one of Nick's favorites - homemade baked chicken tenders
• Thursday - Everyone is flying out, and I'll be juggling various soccer practices, so leftovers
• Friday - Nick & Sam both have activities, so likely frozen pizza & salad

What about you? What are you eating this week? Any good recipes to share? 

Frugal Friday

There are going to definitely be some splurges ahead, as we're out of town for a few days, and my parents are with the boys. Making good choices the majority of the time allows us to also have fun when the opportunities arise. 

Saving on things we buy

• Scanned all of our receipts to Fetch
• M & I were both pretty sick on Monday, so I picked up soup at Panera, using a gift card. I paid a small amount out of pocket for a tip (curbside delivery), but the rest was free.

Earning money

• It was a quiet week, but I earned a $1 doing a survey via iBotta
• I paused my eBay sales, so nothing happening there

Avoiding spending

• Found a free, excellent shape cooler on the street (with a free sign). Used it for transporting a few things to the office for an event, and will either keep or pass on to others. 
• We have an at home COVID test kit provided by our employer, and were able to test multiple times (for free) to ensure what we have is a regular, although yucky, cold. Not COVID. 

Eating what we have

• Made more applesauce out of apples from a friend, & a sad looking lemon in the produce drawer. I'm obsessed with applesauce muffins, so the applesauce is a great addition to the freezer
• Made zucchini bread to have on hand for guests, using the last of the garden zucchini
• Made chocolate brownie cookies  for guests, and put some in the freezer for easy desserts as needed

For others

• Made applesauce for a neighbor
• Helped a friend with a ride for her kiddo, when she had an urgent work situation

What about you? Any wins to share? 

Menu Plan Monday

M & I will be on vacation/out of town Thursday-Sunday, so my parents will be feeding the kids & I won't be in charge of any meals, short of ordering something at a restaurant. ;-)  

• Friday - Pizza & salad
• Saturday - caprese chicken skillet
• Sunday - Korean beef rice bowls
• Monday - Caprese chicken salad
• Tuesday - Leftover Korean beef rice bowls
• Wednesday - Chicken fajita rice with chips & guacamole (my parents arrive)
• Thursday - out of town 
• Friday - out of town
• Saturday - out of town
• Sunday - Not sure what time we'll be home, so may be something cooked by my parents

What's on your menu this week? Two of the recipes above (caprese chicken skillet & Korean beef rice bowls) are new to us, so fingers crossed they are a hit. 

The produce stand, and other Sunday things

Yesterday was a day full of running around (Nick's ref games, Sam's PSATs drop off & pick up, a trip to the produce stand, Sam's soccer games, etc). I also made a double batch of apple sauce, and a zucchini chocolate chip bread. The applesauce used up apples a friend gave us (and, an old lemon from the fruit drawer) & the zucchini bread used up the last zucchini from our garden.

I got in a slow walk (still have a head cold) & Nick made dinner. I highly recommend this (new to us) recipe for Korean Beef Rice Bowls. We will double it next time, as it was just enough for one dinner. We also used sriracha in place of the gochujang sauce, as we didn't have any. M made basmati rice for the rest of us, and I made him cauliflower rice mixed with riced cabbage. Team work! Sam did the dishes. ;-) 

As I mentioned, I went to the produce stand yesterday, and I'm always so impressed with the prices. You do have to check the quality, but it's typically very good. 

Here's what I bought for $13.03

• 3 heads of broccoli - $2.58
• 2 head of cauliflower - $2.98
• 1 bag of large sweet peppers - $1.99 (2.5 lbs)
• 2+ lbs of Persian cucumbers - $4.30
• 1 bunch of radishes - $.49
• 1 bunch of green onions - $.69

I had originally planned to get a red pepper for a recipe I'm making on Wednesday, but the 2.5 lb of large sweet peppers contained plenty of red peppers (and more), and was the same price as a single red pepper. Great deal. 

What's on the agenda for today? 

• Soccer game for Nick
• Soccer game for Sam
• House cleaning
• Making muffins
• Working out
• Laundry
• Finalizing my packing list for next week
• Making caprese chicken skillet (a new recipe)
• Tennis for Nick (it may rain, however)
• Prep for the week ahead
• Clean the spare room (normally M's office)

That's it from my side. What about you? What are you up to today? We have an 80% chance of rain today, and I'm thrilled. We need it so much!

Saturday Happenings

 It was a busy day yesterday, with lots of driving around for homecoming, and both boys getting to bed late. And, up again early, as Sam has the PSATs & Nick has a reffing job this morning. I'm about to drop Nick off, and then hope to maybe sneak in a quick nap before I officially kick start my day. I'm a terrible napper, but we'll see what I can finagle.

Spotted on my walk yesterday:

Other things happening today:

• Pick Sam up
• Work out (20k steps)? This has been my daily average in October (21k, actually), but I'm not feeling great today, so we'll see what happens
• Make applesauce
• Take Sam to his soccer game this afternoon
• Do some baking (muffins, cookies?) ahead of my parents visit
• Go to the produce stand
• Menu plan/shopping list
• Costco
• Laundry
• List a few things on eBay & Buy Nothing

What about you? What's happening today? And, are you a napper? 

Frugal Friday

 It was a pretty standard week, but we did have a few wins. 

Saving on things we buy

• Used a few iBotta offers
• Uploaded all of our receipts to Fetch
• Received a $100 credit for Sam's soccer fees, by volunteering for three hours on a Saturday a month or so ago. 
• Bought Southwest gift cards at the grocery store, earning $60 in grocery store credits

Earning money

• I haven't been listing anything on eBay, but sold a few things:
• A book from a freebie table
• A pajama top that came in a set. Nick likes the pajama pants, but not the top
• Redeemed $5 of Fetch Rewards for an Amazon gift card

Avoiding spending

• Used grocery store rewards to pick up a few items to round out our dinner on Sunday
• No eating out this week, despite considering it several times!

Eating what we have

• I really wanted to get takeout or go out on Saturday, but the kids (surprisingly) talked me out of it. I made chicken fajitas, using up chicken (freezer) & peppers (fridge). Everything was delicious, and I served the fajitas over a cauliflower rice/cabbage rice (Sam's accidental shredding incident from last weekend). The cabbage rice/cauliflower rice combo was great.
• Nick made apple crisp, using up leftover apples. 
• Nick also made French bread, to go with dinner on Sunday. He had a failed loaf on Saturday, but tried again, & it came out great.
• I made butternut squash soup, with squash M brought home unexpectedly from Costco last weekend. 
• Used up chicken & taco meat from the freezer

For others

• Helped another family out with a super early carpool
• Picked up trash on my walk
  
• Shared apple crisp with a friend
• Made a couple of donations
• Found our neighbor's dog a few blocks away & returned her home

How about you? Any wins to share?

A holiday challenge

 I had an unexpected soccer game on Sunday (bumped into a coach at Starbucks on Saturday, who asked if Nick could make an early morning game). It was a *really* early start time, but the view was so lovely. It almost made up for setting an alarm on a Sunday morning. ;-) The photo has no filter.

I'm feeling the need to create some financial challenges for myself. I have a bunch of bigger projects in motion (finding an accountant & financial planner, opening up a Donor Advised Fund to make charitable donations more advantageous, etc). I used to use my eBay money to pay down our mortgage, and it was so exciting & motivating to see the balance drop regularly, with each small payment. Now that the mortgage is gone (hurrah), I'm losing my motivation.

I've decided that I'll use all of the eBay money earned between October-December to cover holiday expenses and gifts. I don't think it will be enough, but I'm hoping to offset 30% of our holiday budget, with earnings. Let's see how I do!

I haven't been listing much at all, so I'm off to a slow start. Hopefully this will be the motivation I need to kick things into gear.

What about you? Do you have any holiday or other financial challenges/goals you're working on at the moment?

Menu Plan Monday

We had a nice weekend, full of lovely fall weather. My only complaint is that I didn't sleep well last night. Hopefully I'll catch up a bit tonight!

Here's what we're eating this week:

• Friday - gyozas & chicken
• Saturday - chicken fajitas
• Sunday - butternut squash soup, homemade bread/grilled cheese
• Monday - chicken burritos
• Tuesday - soup & sandwiches
• Wednesday - spaghetti & meatballs
• Thursday - tacos
• Friday - TBD. The boys are likely going to the homecoming football game, so if they are gone, we might go out to dinner

What about you? Have you tried any good recipes lately? 

Frugal Friday

This week was definitely a bit slower than last week, and I enjoyed the time in the kitchen, turning apples into applesauce. 

Saving on things we buy

• Nothing really worth reporting, although I did upload all of our receipts to Fetch. 

Earning money

• I haven't been updating my eBay listings, but I've sold a few things that were listed a while back.
• Another suit
• A kids tie (from Nick's 6th grade graduation)
• A pair of jeans M kept at the vacation house

Avoiding spending

• Dried & crushed mint for the spice cabinet. We grow our own, so it's a free addition. M uses the mint in his yogurt sauce he serves with kebabs. 
• A friend & I traded garden goodies. She gave me a bag of apples, & I gave her zucchini. Yum. 
• Turned the apples into a huge batch of apple sauce (8 containers). It tastes like apple pie, and it's delicious. I used some of the applesauce to make applesauce muffins. 
• Brought apple sauce & three loaves of homemade French bread (Nick made) to a friend's house for dinner, when they had both boys over for dinner.
• Another neighbor gave me additional apples, for snacking
• I mended Nick's favorite shirt, hoping to extend the life a bit.

Eating what we have

• I had takeout leftovers for lunch one day. Takeout is expensive (in this case, we used a gift card), but it's nice when they extend to another meal
• Used up garden strawberries & a couple of mini watermelons in smoothies

For others

• Volunteered for the grad school I attended
• Picked up trash on my walk
• Gave away a few things on Buy Nothing

That's it from my side. Any wins for you to share?

October Goals

October should be a fun  month. My parents are coming for a visit, we're heading to Santa Barbara for our anniversary, and work *should* be a bit more dialed back. 

Here are my goals for the month:

Financial

• Find an accountant & financial planner. I'm hiring an accountant this year, given our vacation house sale, and I'd like another set of eyes on the financials of my "leave work" plan.
• Track all grocery expenses, to get a perspective on a realistic budget, and any cuts/swaps we want to make
• Make $150 in side hustle

Family:

• Have two dates with M
• Set up permit appointment for Sam
• Have a fabulous anniversary trip
• Have a family adventure

Fitness/health:

• Fast until noon 20 days
• Lose 2 lbs
• 1300 minutes of cardio
• Run 25 miles
• 10 strength workouts
• Meditate 12 times
• Continue doctor's stuff for lupus & my back pain

Personal:

• Donate or toss 30 items
• Try 2 new recipes
• Write for 30 minutes
• Put out at least one Halloween/fall decoration

That's it for me. What about you? What are you hoping to accomplish in October?