Monday, January 31, 2011

1/31 - Fitness & Nutrition

Weight = 156.8 Yeehaw! :-) Only 3.8 lbs until I reach my pre-youngest child pregnancy weight. I have 12.8 pounds until all of the baby weight is officially gone.

Food:
Breakfast:
egg + spinach + feta + 1/4 wheat bread - 250
coffee + milk + fiber - 30

Snack:
1 piece cheese - 100

Lunch:
1 granola bar - 140
1/2 Mexican salad (chicken, salsa, romaine, etc) - 300
5 tortilla chips with 1/4 c guacamole - 170

Snack (starving, but didn't need the calories):
yogurt covered pretzels - 140

Dinner:
sauteed beans - 100
2/3 serving Giada's Italian Baked Chiken & Pastina - 300
Total = 1530

No workout

Goals for February

In order for me to be successful with my 2011 goals, I need to break them down into smaller tasks & track them monthly. Here's the plan for February.

1) No shopping for clothes, shoes, or makeup for myself. Also, no shopping for the kids unless I've already checked their closets & it's something they need (no impulse shopping).
2) Keep variable monthly expenses to $1750.
3) Save all extra money in my 401K payoff fund. By the end of February, have $12K in my 401K snowball fund.
4) Log 500 minutes of cardio workouts in February. This should be easy with my ski lessons.
5) Log 150 minutes of strength training in February.
6) Log 100 minutes of stretching in February.
7) Organize and clean my closet & bedroom.
8) Have one date with M.
9) Get together with two friends.
10) Add to my list of favorite meals, so that we have 20 compiled by the end of the month.
11) Complete a 2010 family photo album.
12) Read two books.
13) Pack a lunch 16 times in February.
14) Track all spending.
15) Have 10 no spend days.

January Goal Wrap Up

I am very pleased with my goal achievement in January. Overall, things look good! In addition to the goals listed below, I've lost 6.2 lbs this month. Woo! I'll aslo be updating my side bars at the end of the day, when I can pull the financials.

1) No shopping for clothes, shoes, or makeup for myself. Also, no shopping for the kids unless I've already checked their closets & it's something they need (no impulse shopping). - Achieved!

2) Keep variable monthly expenses to $1750. - Achieved! My variable exepnses for the month were $1394.19, so I spent 80% of what I expected.

3) Save all extra money in my 401K payoff fund. By the end of January, have $3500 in my 401K snowball fund. - Achieved! I now have a little over $10K in that account, so I blew that goal out of the water. I did this by refiguring my budget, lowering expenses in a variety of categories, and stepping up my Craig's List, Ebay, used book stores, etc. To be fair, the refiguring my budget to allocate a higher percentage of my investment account to this payoff was by far the biggest advantage this month. 

4) Log 400 minutes of cardio workouts in January. This should be easy with my ski lessons.-  Achieved! I completed 662 minutes of cardio in January.

5) Log 150 minutes of strength training in January. Fail. :-( I only completed 88 minutes of strength training in January. Not sure if it's the goal that's out of whack (for example, skiing is great for building muscle strength, but I only count it as cardio - it's hard to break the workouts into just one category), or just a lack of motivation on my part. A little of both, I think. I really need to step this up in February.

6) Log 100 minutes of stretching in January. Fail. I only completed 40 minutes of stretching in January. I had originally planned to take pilates or yoga classes, & it never happened. This needs to get kicked into gear in February.

7) Organize the master bathroom, including going through/cleaning out all of my makeup, hair products, toiletries, etc. - Achieved! I also managed to get the boys bathroom cleaned & organized, & as well as our dining room. To be totally honest with you all, there was only one piece of furniture (a china hutch) in our dining room, so that was a piece of cake. :-))

8) Have one date with M. - Achieved! We not only had a date "day" when both of us were off of work, but we also did an evening date in January.
9) Get together with two friends. Achieved. I had three lunches with friends.

10) Create a list of 10 favorite meals. Achieved. I actually have 12 meals on the list right now.

11) Complete a 2010 family photo album. Fail. Did even start on this.

12) Read two books. Achieved! I read 5 books this month.

13) Only buy lunch 1x this month.- Fail. I bought lunch this month 4 times. This was my first time tracking this, so I need to figure out some improvements in February.

14) Track all spending. Achieved!

Weekly Spending

My goal for 2011 is to keep my monthly flexible spending (i.e. what I charge on my credit card & includes: groceries, dining out, gifts, clothes, lessons for the kids, etc) to $1750/month. This nets out to around $58/day, which is pretty eye opening. I am regularly overspending the $1750/month, so I need to start keeping a close eye on this figure. Keeping the monthly spending in check is a critical part of paying off my 401K loan in 2011.
Monday
- $147.96 at Costco. Chicken was on sale, so I stocked up. A few other expensive items (Gatorade for skiing, toilet paper) & a bunch of produce.
+$13.14 at Pottery Barn. Returned yet another champagne flute that didn't match. :-)
-$13.33 lunch at Nordstrom with M.

Tuesday:
-$8.42 at Panera
+$7.00 - rebate check
-$23.11 at grocery store

Wednesday:
-$16 at Wendys while my son was in the hospital. Dinner at home wasn't an option.

Thursday:
-$47.93 at Costco. I picked up a stackable storage bowl set that I've been searching for (on sale for $17) & a few other things we needed - pineapple, edamame, cottage cheese, yogurt, & eggs.
-$44.41 at Fred Meyer. I got M's favorite beer as a special treat. We had a very frightening day yesterday with S's hospital visit, so I thought a pick me up was in order. I also picked up the final items for goodie bags I'm wrking on, & a few grocery items.
-$8.42 at Panera. I know. It was a rough day.

Friday:
No spend day

Saturday:
$6.78 at the grocery store. Getting items to make M lunch tomorrow when he's at the mountain. Much cheaper than buying something!
$22.78 at the party store. Picked up items for my youngest son's party, items I was assigned for the preschool Valentine's party, & items for my older son's birthday party. Fun times. :-)
$22.51 at Target on some beverages for our picnic tomorrow, party items, etc.
$45 on gas.

Sunday:
No spend day

Total spent for the week = $386.31. A little bit more than I had hoped, but I'm at $55.19/day, so just under the $58/day I have budgeted. Yeah!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

1/30 - Fitness & Nutrition

Weight= no weigh in today. Was in a rush this morning.

Food:
Breakfast:
sauteed spinach + feta + egg + 1/3 whole wheat lavosh - 250
coffee + milk + fiber - 30

Lunch:
vegetable sandwich - 325
granola bar - 140
1/2 serving chips - 80
pretzel gold fish - 130

Snack:
cheese - 100

Dinner:
1 piece pizza - 300
1 beer - 200

Subtotal = 1565

Workout = 4 hours of downhill skiing. (That's just the time I spent on runs, not counting lunch, etc) I'm sore. :-)

Menu Plan Monday

Review from last week - we tried Bob's Awesome Lasagna & it was . . . awesome. It will definitely make a repeat appearance. It also made a ton. The only change I made was to add more cottage cheese. I love cottage cheese. :-)

Lunches:
  • Sunday - my oldest son & I will be at the mountain taking ski lessons, so we'll be having a picnic at the lodge. Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches + fruit + nuts. Maybe a treat to motivate him. And myself.
  • Monday – Leftover pizza + fruit
  • Tuesday – Leftover Italian Baked Chicken & Pastina
  • Wednesday – Leftover Thai chicken pizza
  • Thursday – Leftover lasagna + fruit & yogurt
  • Friday – Leftover risotto
  • Saturday – Whole wheat + hummus + veggie paninis
  • Sunday - my oldest son & I will be at the mountain taking ski lessons, so we'll be having a picnic at the lodge. Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches + fruit + nuts. Maybe a treat to motivate him. And myself. :-)
Dinners:
*asterisk indicates that it's the first time I'm trying the recipe. I try & post reviews of our favorites in the following week's menu.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

1/29 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

Weight = 157.2. Woo!! Down again.

Breakfast:
little bit of sauteed spinach, egg, feta, & 1/2 a whole wheat lavosh - 275
coffee with milk & fiber - 40

Lunch (Panera). I swear, I don't normally eat this much Panera in a week! :-)
1/2 sandwich & salad - 500

Dinner:
2 glasses of wine - 160
1/2 burger + fries - 400
edamame - 150
1 bite cupcake - 50

Total = 1565
No workout

Friday, January 28, 2011

1/28 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

Weight = 157.6. I've finally hit the 5 lb weight loss since the first of the year. Woo! I've officially lost 5.4 lbs. My mini goal is to lose another 4.6 lbs & hit 153, which is the weight I was at when I got pregnant with my second child. Onward & downward!

Food:
Breakfast:
coffee+ milk + fiber - 30
egg + english muffin + 1/2 laughing cow - 220

Snack:
fruit smoothie - 180

Lunch:
2 pc wheat bread + 1 pc cheese + hummus & veggies - 325
Pear - 80
cottage cheese - 100

Snack:
fig, craberry & almond muffin - 140

Dinner:
lasagna - 335
wine - 120

Subtotal = 1340
Workout:
28 minutes on the ellpitical, level 13
3 minutes of running on the treadmill
20 minutes strength training
10 minutes stretching

Thursday, January 27, 2011

1/27 - Fitness & Nutrition

Weight = 157.6. Finally. :-) Yesterday was easily one of the scariest in my life. I got a call in the afternoon that S (my oldest child) had fallen five feet onto the ground from playground equipment & couldn't move. When I got there, he was in a heap on the ground, with teachers surrounding him. I can't express in words how terrifying that was. He went by ambulance to the hospital & we were there for 5+ hours while they checked him out. Thank God - he is okay. Swollen & sore, but no serious damage. I am so very grateful for the health of my family today. I kept myself together very well yesterday (I had to - my youngest son was freaked out enough for everyone), but I am *very* emotional today.

 
Food:
Breakfast:
  • muffin +grapes - 200
  • cheese - 100
  • coffee with milk - 20
Lunch (Panera)
  • soup & salad - 510
  • chocolate gold fish - 150
  • 2 pc candy - 30
Dinner:
  • crackers - 150. Apparently, crackers are my go to comfort food. :-)
  • 1 piece pizza - 300

Total = 1460
No workout. My day was filled with putting our house together & taking care of a recovering boy, doctor's appointments, etc.

1/26 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

Weight = 158.6. Still not seeing any progress on the scale, but I will not give up! I know that I'm eating well, working out, getting plenty of sleep, & taking care of my body. My weight will catch up eventually. :-)

Food:
Breakfast:


  • english muffin + 1/2 laughing cow + sausage - 220





  • coffee with milk & fiber - 30




  • Snack
    • fruit smoothie - 180

    Lunch:
    • Pear + cottage cheese - 180
    • crackers - 130
    • 1 banana muffin - 180

    Snack:
    • 1 pc cheese - 100
    • crackers - 200 
    • candy - 60
    Dinner:
    • 1/2 baked potato from Wendys - 150
    Total = 1450

    Workout:
    30 minutes on elliptical, level 13
    15 minutes of strength training

    Tuesday, January 25, 2011

    1/25 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

    Weight = 158.2 - Still higher than I'd like, but moving downward, which is nice to see. Can't wait to see 157 on the scale!

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • english muffin + 1/2 laughing cow + egg - 220
    • coffee with milk - 20
    Snack:
    • cheese - 100
    • cashews - 80

    Lunch (Panera)
    • You pick two soup & salad - 390
    • Pear - 80
    • crackers - 170
    Dinner:
    penne casserole + a little bit of rice - 400

    Total calories = 1460

    Workout = 25 minute walk. Not feeling great today, so I didn't have a full work out. I did get outside for the walk, & fresh air.

    Monday, January 24, 2011

    1/24 - Fitness & Nutrition

    Weight = 159.4 Depressing to be back in the 159s. I know I'm eating well & getting adequate exercise, so I'm frustrated. I was hoping to be at my mini goal of 155 by Friday, but that looks impossible at this point. Best thing to do is push on & keep putting in the effort, I suppose. :-)

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • 3/4 english muffin + sausage + 1/2 laughing cow - 200
    • coffee with milk - 20

    Snack:
    • 1 pc cheese - 100

    Lunch (out):
    • Bread, handful of fries, 1/5 chicken sandwich, salad - 500

    Dinner:
    • wine - 80
    • penne casserole - 400

    Total = 1300 calories
    No workout - sore from yesterday!

    Sunday, January 23, 2011

    1/23 - Fitness & Nutrition. The ski lesson edition

    I took my son for his very first ski lesson today, & did a half day lesson myself. It was very fun, but the logistics were a nightmare. I need to improve the planning so that next Sunday is much easier. :-)

    Weight = 158.4

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • egg + english muffin + 1/2 laughing cow - 220
    • coffee with milk - 20

    Lunch:
    • 1 2/3 sandwiches (packed from home) + a handful of chips, pirates booty & goldfish crackers - 600
    • 1/2 gatorade - 65
    • 3 pc candy - 50

     Snack:
    • cashews - 80
    Dinner:
    • wine - 120
    • pepperoni casserole - 300

    Total = 1455
    Workout:
    We parked at a very far lot this morning, so I carried two sets of skis, a bunch of gear, & dragged a child more than a mile. I also skied for about 2ish hours. It was a lot of cardio, but I'll estimate it at 120 minutes. My arms are shaking for carrying everything & on the way down, I carried my youngest son. My arms need to be in better shape for this! ;-)

    Menu Plan Monday

    Lunches

  • Monday - working out with M & will grab lunch there with a free coupon

  • Tuesday - Leftover pepperoni casserole

  • Wednesday - leftover lasagna

  • Thursday - Leftover Thai chicken pizza

  • Friday - Leftover chicken pastina

  • Saturday - Leftover lasagana

  • Sunday - my oldest son & I will be at the mountain taking ski lessons, so we'll be having a picnic at the lodge. Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches + fruit + nuts. Maybe a treat to motivate him. And myself. :-)


  • Dinners:
  • Sunday -Pepperoni casserole from the freezer + Greek salad, my interpretation of this recipe.

  • Monday Bob's Awesome Lasagna *

  • Tuesday - Thai chicken pizza *

  • Wednesday- Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina (I made an extra batch & froze it last week) + roasted vegetables 

  • Thursday - Baked salmon with rice

  • Friday - Tortellini & homemade pesto (from the freezer)

  • Saturday - Homemade tomato sauce (from the freezer) + pasta & meatballs

  • Sunday - Beef and cheese manicotti *


  • *asterisk indicates that it's the first time I'm trying the recipe. I try & post reviews of our favorites in the following week's menu.

    Weekly Spending

    My goal for 2011 is to keep my monthly flexible spending (i.e. what I charge on my credit card & includes: groceries, dining out, gifts, clothes, lessons for the kids, etc) to $1750/month. This nets out to around $58/day, which is pretty eye opening. I am regularly overspending the $1750/month, so I need to start keeping a close eye on this figure. Keeping the monthly spending in check is a critical part of paying off my 401K loan in 2011.

    Monday
    - $58 at Costco - produce + yogurt + cheese for lunches

    Tuesday
    - $50 took a friend to lunch

    Wednesday
    - $11.46 at Rite Aid. Picked up a few additional goodie bag items + free toilet paper.
    - $10 to buy a $20 Amazon gift card via Living Social. Will use this for Christmas/birthday gifts.
    +39. Took my change in & added it to my snowball account.
    - $7.49 at Trader Joes.

    Thursday
    -$56 for race fees. I signed M & I up for a 5K - the money goes to a good cause. :-)
    -$2 for lunch. I did bring my own lunch today, but it was terrible. It wasn't particularly good when I made it, but today it was absolutely inedible. I really didn't want to get anything else, but I was hungry & didn't want to eat junk. I got a small cup of soup, but now i'm over my January goal of only buying lunch one time this month. Bummer.

    Friday
    -$52.90 - gas
    - I won a $50 spa gift card at work today. Woo! I'll be using it for my "no shopping" monthly reward.

    Saturday -
    -$48.57 - Pottery Barn for a champagne flute that we broke over the holidays, a spoon rest, & cloth napkins.
    +$34.60 - Crate & Barrel return. I didn't like how the cloth napkins washed, so I returned all but the one I washed. Also, the champagne flute was not the right one, so returned that.
    -$61.25 at Sports Authority. Bought my younger son ski goggles & ski socks, & both boys needed shin guards & soccer socks.
    Sunday -
    $12 on Gatorade at the ski lodge. I'll be stocking up on Gatorade (the zero calorie kind) at Costco for the next set of lessons. Each bottle of Gatorade was $3.25!! I almost choked when I saw the price. :-)

    Total for the week = $296.07
    Total per day = $42.30 - under my total. Yeah!

    Saturday, January 22, 2011

    1/22 - Fitness & Nutrition

    Weight = 158.8. Not surprising - M had a late flight so we ate much later than normal. I'm going to keep my calories at 1400/day for the next couple of weeks in order to get to 155, per my plan.

     
    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • english mufffin + 1/2 laughing cow cheese + egg - 220
    • coffee + milk - 20

     
    Lunch:
    • cottage cheese - 100
    • 2 pc wheat bread with hummus, cheese & vegetables - 325

    Snack:
    • handful of pirates booty, peanuts, etc while packing tomorrow's lunch - 150

    Dinner:
    • Parmesan chicken tenders - 300
    • 1/4 c pasta with tomato sauce - 100
    • cosmopolitan - 150
    •  
    Total = 1465
    Workout = 30 minutes treadmill, 4.0

    Friday, January 21, 2011

    1/21 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

    Weight = 159. Not sure why I'm up this morning, but likely due to my saltier than normal meals yesterday. Will focus on getting back to 158 for tomorrow. Also, desperately need a workout today!

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • 2 blueberry waffles - 200
    • coffee with milk - 20

    Snack:
    • granola bar -140
    Lunch:
    • cheese - 100
    • apple - 40
    • pasta - 300

    Snack:
    • low fat frozen yogurt - 150
    Dinner:
    • peanuts - 80
    • grapes - 70
    • wine - 120
    • 5 mushroom turnovers - 210
    Total = 1430

    Thursday, January 20, 2011

    1/20 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

    Weight = 158.2 - holding steady

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • coffee with milk -20
    • english muffin + 1/2 laughing cow + morningstar sausage - 220
    Snack:
    • zucchini muffin - 160

    Lunch:
    • a few bites of terrible leftovers - 80
    • chicken noodle soup with crackers - 150
    • apple - 80

    Snack:
    • 1 piece cheese - 100
    • protein water - 30

    Dinner:
    • cashews + cottage cheese - 150
    • Grapes - 50
    • 1 Olympiad pizza - 400
    • candy - 40
    Total = 1490
    No workout

    Wednesday, January 19, 2011

    1/19 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

    Weight = 158.2 Super excited - working towards 157 now!

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • English muffin + 1/2 laughing cow + morningstar sausage - 220
    • coffee with milk - 20

    Snack:
    • nonfat latte - 100
    • 1 piece cheese - 100

    Lunch:
    • zucchini muffin - 150
    • apple - 80
    • pasta with sundried tomatoes - 275
    Snack:
    • chocolate milk - 160
    Dinner:
    cottage cheese +handful of cashews - 140
    pasta with sundried tomatoes - 300

    Total = 1555

    Workout = 20 minutes on the treadmill - fast walk, 2% incline, speed 3.7

    Tuesday, January 18, 2011

    1/18 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

    Weight = 159.2

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • english muffin + 1/2 laughing cow + morningstar sausage - 230
    • coffee with milk - 10
    Snack:
    • 1 pc cheese - 100
    • 1/2 special K bar - 85
    Lunch:
    • salad - 300
    • 1/2 zucchini muffin - 100
    • apple - 80
    Dinner:
    wine + cashews - 200
    pasta with sun dried tomatoes - 300
    2 pc candy - 50

    Total = 1455

    No workout today

    Weekly Money Update

    This post is part of a series that My Pretty Pennies hosts. For more posts like this, check out her site!

    1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on a vacation/birthday party trip for my youngest son.
    2. Today I feel anxious about money. I took a friend to lunch today as planned, but that means no more lunches out for the rest of the month! Yikes.
    3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was playing with the kids this weekend.
    4. I will consider this week a success if I stick to my packed lunch every day. :-)
    5. My signature outfit is jeans & sweaters (at least in the winter). I love black, so I wear a lot of black sweaters, black cardigans over various tops, etc.

    Monday, January 17, 2011

    1/17 - the one where I do a 5K

    Weight = 158.6 Woo!

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    1/2 pc wheat lavosh bread + egg + salsa + feta = 250
    1/2 grapefruit - 40

    Snack:
    fruit smoothie - 180

    Lunch:
    cashews - 80
    1 piece of cheese - 100
    apple + cottage cheese - 180

    Snack:
    Pirates booty - 130

    Dinner:
    Cashews - 60
    rice & chicken dish - 300
    wine - 120
    candy - 150

    Total = 1580
    Workout:
    43 min - 5K. I did 3.1 miles in 43 minutes, so now I have a starting point for my 5K training.

    Also, I exceeded my January workout cardio goal today! I'm at 405 & my goal was 400! I do have a lot of room for improvement on strength & stretching, however. :-)

    Menu Plan Monday

    M is out of town again for part of this week, so I generally eat leftovers or easy dinners from the freezer on those nights. I'd love to bake this Fig, Applesauce & Almond bread , because it's been on my list for weeks! :-)

    We tried this Fusilli with Sausage, Atichokes, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes yesterday, & it was incredible. Easy, & I would highly recommend it. The only change I made was using a chicken sausage to cut down on the fat versus the Italian. In retrospect, I should have added a little crushed red pepper to offset the spices we missed in the sausage, but it was delicious.

    Lunches:
    • Tuesday - Taking a friend out to lunch to celebrate her wedding.
    • Wednesday - Leftover fusilli + fruit
    • Thursday -  Leftover fusilli + fruit
    • Friday - Whatever leftovers remain
    • Saturday - Grilled ham & cheese sandwiches
    • Sunday - my oldest son & I will be at the mountain taking ski lessons, so we'll be having a picnic at the lodge. Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches + fruit + nuts. Maybe a treat to motivate him. And myself. :-)
    • Monday - working out with M & will grab lunch there with a free coupon
    • Tuesday - Leftover Italian baked chicken & pastina
    • Wednesday - leftover lasagna
    • Thursday - Leftover Thai chicken pizza
    • Friday - Leftover pepperoni casserole
    • Saturday - Leftover lasagana
    • Sunday - my oldest son & I will be at the mountain taking ski lessons, so we'll be having a picnic at the lodge. Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches + fruit + nuts. Maybe a treat to motivate him. And myself. :-)
    Dinners:
    *asterisk indicates that it's the first time I'm trying the recipe. I try & post reviews of our favorites in the following week's menu.

    1/16 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

    Weight = 160. Up a little after date night last night, so not terribly surprised. I'm working on my next mini goal of 155 by 1/29

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • coffee with milk -20
    • Persian bread with jelly & feta - 250
    • small serving pineapple - 30
    Snack:
    • Blueberry smoothie - 180

    Lunch:
    • chicken pasta - 300
    • apple - 80
    Snack:
    • 1 piece cheese - 100
    Dinner:
    • wine - 140
    • pasta with sun dried tomatoes, chicken sausage & artichokes - 400

    Total = 1500

    Workout: 36 minute run/walk (25 minute run at 4.6 miles - no stopping.) This was the best workout I've had in YEARS, and makes me feel like running a 5K is totally within my reach. I'm going to research options today.

    Sunday, January 16, 2011

    Weekly Spending Wrap Up

    My goal for 2011 is to keep my monthly flexible spending (i.e. what I charge on my credit card & includes: groceries, dining out, gifts, clothes, lessons for the kids, etc) to $1750/month. This nets out to around $58/day, which is pretty eye opening. I am regularly overspending the $1750/month, so I need to start keeping a close eye on this figure. Keeping the monthly spending in check is a critical part of paying off my 401K loan in 2011.

    Monday - No spend day

    Tuesday - No spend day

    Wednesday - No spend day.

    Thursday - $4.25 smoothie at Panera, but it was free with my rewards card. There smoothies are really yummy, but filling. I wish they came in a smaller size. And, $73.40 at Costco. All groceries with the exception of $10 worth of dishwashing soap. Mostly produce + milk, cheese, cottage cheese & Pirates Booty for the kids lunches.

    Total spend for Thursday = $73.40

    Friday - No spend day. +$2.75 found in my office stuff when unpacking.

    Total spend for Friday = +$2.75

    Saturday
    - Spent about $600 booking two hotel rooms for my youngest son's birthday (we're combining a vacation to a water park with his birthday, per his request). I'll be getting reimbursed about $400 of this. We normally spend about $350 on parties, so the water park trip will be roughly the same as the cost of a birthday party once I add in the food we will spend at the hotel + the cost of the room, etc. Technically, I think I will fund this expense out of our vacation budget, not my variable monthly expenses. That said, if I can cash flow it & keep the rest of my expenses down for the month, I will try & leave the vacation budget untouched. We want to take the kids to Disneyland this year, so we need to save up!
    -$119.79 at Crate & Barrel for a wedding present, cloth napkins (ditching paper), a replacement white wine glass & champagne glass that were broken over the holidays.

    -$48.87 at the grocery store. I had to pick up two kind of coffee, and I also stocked up on treats I don't normally buy for the "picnics" I'm putting together. My son & I have ski lessons on Sundays for the next 8 weeks, & I want to avoid buying lunches & snacks at the lodge.

    +$520 at the casino on date night - M won big :-)

    Total spend for Saturday = +$151.34


    Sunday -
    -$5.48 at the grocery store. I picked up a few lunch essentials for the week (bread, grapefruit, apples).
    -$38.50 at Rite Aid. I will be getting a $5 rebate & bought 2 years worth of iron supplements for a ridiculously low price. (I checked that the expiration works). I also found a fantastic price on 7 gift items for treat bags for my son's birthday - Bakugan Silly Bandz. :-) They were regularly $6.99 & I got them for $.69 each.
    -$11.17 at Fred Meyere picking up items for birthday party goodie bags. We're having two parties, so items for each.
    -$21.24 at Target for more goodie bag items + a binder & dividers for the home notebook project I'm working on.
    Total spent on Sunday = $76.39

    Total spend for the week = Net positive of $4.30 - always a good sign to end on a positive note. :-)

    Saturday, January 15, 2011

    1/15 - Fitness & Nutrition

    Weight = 158.8! Very excited & pleased. I'm 5.8 lbs away from the weight I was at when I got pregnant with my youngest child.  My next goal is 155 by 1/29. So, I have two weeks to lose 3.8 pounds - I know I can do it!

     
    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • coffee with milk - 20
    • Persian bread with jelly & feta - 230
    Snack:
    • zucchini muffin - 160

     
    Lunch:
    • cottage cheese - 100
    • pasta with chicken - 300
    Dinner (out for happy hour/date night):
    • 2 cosmopolitans - 180
    • 1/4 burger & fries + salad + shrimp - 600

    Total = 1590.

    No workout today

    Week 2 - Progress against January Goals

    How did I do against my January goals this week? Let's take a look! All up, I'm pleased with my progress. There are a few areas where I can improve, but I'm enjoying the month & the progress being made. In addition, I've lost 4.2 lbs in 2 weeks, which is awesome. :-)

    1) No shopping for clothes, shoes, or makeup for myself. Also, no shopping for the kids unless I've already checked their closets & it's something they need (no impulse shopping). Doing a great job on this one! The temptation has been easier to resist since I no longer read the sale emails, look at the catalogs, or go to the mall. :-)
    2) Keep variable monthly expenses to $1750. - This one was hard to track this month, as we began the challenge on 1/1, but the credit card billing cycle was already half over. So far, we're doing a great job keeping our variable spending in check, so I'm pleased.
    3) Save all extra money in my 401K payoff fund. By the end of January, have $3500 in my 401K snowball fund. - Not sure what my master plan was to come up with this $3500. ;-) I'm snowballing all of my extra money, but certainly not the $1K necessary to get me to $3500 in my account. I have a few things coming up like my flexible spending funds, so that may push me over if they are deposited in time.
    4) Log 400 minutes of cardio workouts in January. This should be easy with my ski lessons. - I'm well above my target pacing, with the month half over I'm at 326 minutes & I'm skiing on Sunday & will probably complete my January goal then. I'll need to grow this goal so I can keep up the motivation!
    5) Log 150 minutes of strength training in January. I'm behind on progress on this one - I'm at 53 minutes, so about 1/3 of the way to my goal.
    6) Log 100 minutes of stretching in January. - I'm a little behind my progress on this goal. I've logged 30 minutes, so I'm only 1/3 of the way there, & the month is half over. Need to step it up.
    7) Organize the master bathroom, including going through/cleaning out all of my makeup, hair products, toiletries, etc. - Done! I'm now working on organizing my jewelry armoire, as I have a ton of stuff I don't wear, plus other random things have made there way into the armoire. Time to clean it out.
    8) Have one date with M. - M & I are having a date night tonight!
    9) Get together with two friends. - I had lunch with a friend yesterday, so I'm half way there. I have plans for lunch next week with another friend.
    10) Create a list of 10 favorite meals. Exceeded - we have 12 so far.
    11) Complete a 2010 family photo album. Haven't started. This week has been crazy with the new job  + getting the boys birthday parties arranged, & doing some travel planning for family. Maybe next week?
    12) Read two books. Achieved. I've read 4 books this month, & I'm half way through a fifth book.
    13) Only buy lunch 1x this month. - So far so good. Haven't bought lunch yet, & the month is 1/2 over.
    14) Track all spending. - So far so good.
    15) Have 8 no spend days this month.  - I added this goal last week, but I'm at 6/8, so 75%. Having this goal has really helped me keep my spending in check.

    Friday, January 14, 2011

    1/14 - Fitness & Nutrition

    Weight = 159.2 - Woo! My goal was 159 today, so I'm very pleased. My next mini goal is 155, so I'm now focused on that number.

     
    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • english muffin + morningstar sausage + 1/2 laughing cow - 220
    • coffee with milk - 20

     
    Snack:
    • pirates booty - 130
    Lunch:
    • 1 pc cheese - 100
    • 1 muffin - 180
    • 1 apple - 80
    • 1 serving persian rice dish - 300

    Dinner:
    • Giada's Italian Baked Chicken & Pastina - 300
    • cosmopolitan - 150


    Total = 1480

    Workout = 30 day shred, level 1

    Thursday, January 13, 2011

    1/13 - Fitness & Nutrition

    Weight = 160

     
    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • oatmeal - 155
    • fruit smoothie with yogurt - 270
    Lunch:
    • 1 pc cheese - 100
    • spinach tortellini with 1/2 tsp pesto, fresh tomatoes, & 1/2 tsp parmesan - 350

    Snack:
    • 1/2 special K bar - 85
    Dinner:
    • pirates booty - 130
    • nuts - 80
    • Wine - 80
    • 1/3 serving of Persian rice dish - 200
    Total = 1460

    No workout

    Wednesday, January 12, 2011

    1/12 - Fitness & Nutrition

    Weight = 159.6. Woo Woo Woo! Back in the 159s. Super excited, & my goal of 159 by Friday seems very doable. :-)

     
    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • English muffin + 1/2 laughing cow + egg - 220
    • coffee + milk - 20

     
    Snack:
    • mini bag of oyster crackers - 66

     
    Lunch:
    • 1 mini zucchini muffin - 180
    • cheese - 100
    • leftover risotto - 300
    Dinner:
    • wine - 120
    • sauteed brussel sprouts - 150
    • ravioli with parmesan & fresh tomatoes - 300

    Total = 1456

    Workout = 30 day shred - level 1

    Tuesday, January 11, 2011

    1/11/11 - Fitness & Nutrition

    Weight = 160.4 - I'm exactly 1/2 a pound above my goal - cross your fingers!

    Today was not my best day. I got home from work & was starving & didn't have a specific meal plan, so I started snacking. Always bad for the calories, and I didn't have a "real" meal, because I used all of my calories on junk. That said, I'm happy that I stopped myself from going nuts & really consuming a ton of calories.

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • pineapple - 20
    • coffee with milk -20
    • Small serving of egg/potato/cheese - 230

    Snack:
    • Green tea - 0
    • mini zucchini muffin (homemade) - 180
    Lunch:
    • 1 pc cheese - 100
    • Small serving of leftover risotto - 275
    • apple - 80
    • 1/2 special K bar - 85
    Snack:
    • chocolate milk - 160
    Dinner:
    • 1 pc cheese - 100
    • nuts - 80
    • mini muffin - 180
    • mini pack of crackers - 66

    Total = 1576

    Exercise = 25 minutes on the treadmill (walking). Not my best workout, but the first time I've worked out after the boys were in bed in a long, long, long time. It's essential that I come up with alternatives to my lunch time workouts when meetings get in the way & I can't make it. This wasn't perfect, but it worked! I'm proud of myself for getting off the couch when I normally just veg out & making it happen. :-) It also made me feel sort of redeemed after a poor day of eating. :-)

    Monday, January 10, 2011

    1/10 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

    Weight = 160.8 My goal is to be at 159 by Friday. I know I can do this!!

     
    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • egg/cheese/potato mix - 250
    • coffee with milk - 20

     
    Snack:
    • homemade mini zucchini/chocolate chip muffin - 180
    Lunch:
    • 1 piece cheese - 100
    • Chicken with pasta - 300
    Snack:
    • 1/2 special K bar - 85
    • cashews - 80
    Dinner:
    • 1/2 apple - 40
    • small serving of risotto - 200
    • 1/2 peanut butter & jelly - 215

    Total = 1470

    Workout = 21 minutes of strength training + 5 minutes of stretching

    January Goals - week one progress

    I tend to get so wrapped up in other things (ahem, life) that I forget to check in on my monthly goals. Checkng it definitely helps me stay focused & in some cases remember what I'm working on & why. Here's a quick look at where I am with about a third of the month to go.

    1) No shopping for clothes, shoes, or makeup for myself. Also, no shopping for the kids unless I've already checked their closets & it's something they need (no impulse shopping). - So far, so good. I even returned a few pair of extra pajamas that we got over the holidays & made an itemized list of what the boys need in the next few sizes. I used the store credit to only buy items they needed. I have done zero shopping for myself (since the end of November) & it feels good. A little strange (which is probably a sad commentary on how much I used to shop), but I'm actually enjoying it. I am finding that I'm rediscovering items in my own closet & getting much more variety in my outifts. I like it!
    2) Keep variable monthly expenses to $1750. I think this will be, by far, the hardest of all of our goals, but the most important. It's challenging because the billing cycles don't add up to months & that's how I originally configured this, so I'm having to manually track a bunch of stuff. I definitely need to take a second look at the goal & see if I can make the numbers match the billing cycle rather than the month. We currently have $145 left to spend until the 21st. Another challenge is that we actively tried to track this/follow our plan starting Jan 21st, but I didnt' realize we were 1/3 of the way through our billing cycle by then. So, I'm hopeful that next month will be better on this one. Either way, tracking our progress against our budget categories has been very helpful.
    3) Save all extra money in my 401K payoff fund. By the end of January, have $3500 in my 401K snowball fund. So far, there hasn't been anything to report here. I think I have a rebate check of $3.99 or something that I discovered when I was cleaning out a bag, but I don't want to make a trip to the bank for that. I'm planning on taking all of our change to the bank in the next few weeks, so that will help. I also have two items to list on ebay. I need to consider additional ways to make extra income in January.
    4) Log 400 minutes of cardio workouts in January. This should be easy with my ski lessons. Doing great on this one. I am very happy that I reworked my fitness goals - I'm highly motivated my length of workout now, rather than just marking 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. I think this is going to yield serious fitness results this year. I've done 281 minutes so far, & the month is 1/3 over, so definitely on track.
    5) Log 150 minutes of strength training in January. Super excited that I have this goal to track, because I can tell that I would not focus on it otherwise. And, I need to. I have bird wings going on & need to tone up my upper body in a major way. This is going to be something I need to really work on to hit my goal. I'm at 12 minutes so far this month.
    6) Log 100 minutes of stretching in January. I've enjoyed the stretching component more than I expected, & have logged 15 minutes so far this month. I did purchase a pilaes/yoga card for the gym, so I'm hoping to complete several classes a month to hit this goal.

    *** Just wanted to call out that I've also lost 2.2 lbs since the month started, which feels great! ***

    7) Organize the master bathroom, including going through/cleaning out all of my makeup, hair products, toiletries, etc. Achieved! My bathroom feels so manageable & it is about a million times easier to find what I'm looking for. I'm extremely proud of this, because I got rid of a bunch of junk & cleaned everything. I still need to do a couple of things (find a basket or liner for under my sink & devise something that will hold my mini drawer organizers in place so they're not constantly sliding around), but overall, this is done. I'm going to move on the project I originally slated for February - the closet! I'd also like to inventory my shoes, clothes & bags while I'm there, so that project will be a big one. Good thing I can get started now. :-)
    8) Have one date with M. - We had a date at the very first of the month, and it wasn't an evening thing, but it was fabulous, so I'm going to count it. We also have a sitter coming this week & have a work dinner event, so that's a mini date as well.
    9) Get together with two friends. - This hasn't happened yet, but I have a few events on the calendar for the month.
    10) Create a list of 10 favorite meals. Exceeded - I am currently at 12!
    11) Complete a 2010 family photo album. Not even started. I need to get on this!
    12) Read two books. I've exceeded this goal. I've read 4 books (love the free Kindle books!) & am started on a 5th. I think I need to raise the bar on this goal.
    13) Only buy lunch 1x this month. I think I'm on track with this one, but do need to confess that I used a free coupon from my gym to buy lunch last week. My intent when setting the goal was to save money, so I think I'm doing fine. This one may be hard because I have lunch plans with a couple of friends later in the month. I'll have to see if I can get creative. :-)
    14) Track all spending. - So far, so good. Mostly because we haven't purchased much. This is a hard one to do consistently over time, but is important.

    Sunday, January 9, 2011

    1/9 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

    Weight = 161. I'm trying to not let this bother me - I know that a fluctuating weight (even after a healthy eating day) is one of the risks of weighing in daily, so I'm going to push on. I will admit that I was a little bummed when I got on the scale this morning, as I was hoping to see 159. Maybe tomorrow. :-)

     
    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • english muffin + 1/2 laughing cow + morningstar sausage - 220
    • coffee + milk - 20
    Snack:
    • fruit smoothie - 180
    Lunch:
    • trail mix - 100
    • few bites of apple/bagel/cheese - 120
    • egg/potato/cheese scramble - 300
    Dinner:
    • Trail mix - 100
    • cheese - 100
    • 1/2 pear - 40
    • chicken with pasta - 300
    Total = 1480


    Workout:
    45 minutes elliptical, level 13
    12 minutes of strength training
    10 minutes of stretching

    My legs are still sore from my run on Friday, but I plan to hit it again tomorrow. In other great news, I was able to pick up a very punch card at my gym, good for pilates & yoga. It brings the cost per class down to $2/each, which is super reasonable. I used a combination of a New Year's discount on the punch card + a coupon that every member gets at the beginning of each year for renewing + a gift card, making the whole thing $0 out of pocket. I'm very motivated to get back into pilates & yoga to get flexible & strengthen my core, which will hopefully reduce back pain.

    Menu Plan Monday/Sunday

    Baking/breakfasts: I'm planning to make mini frittatas one day this week, since I didn't get to it last week. M is traveling this week, so I'll be making fewer big meals & using this as an opportunity to eat from the freezer, etc. I usually find that these weeks save money in the grocery bill! I'm also going to come up with a two week dinner plan, because I want to start working my way through the freezer stash & tracking meals that we have ingredients for. I also made zucchini muffins to eat during the week (substituted chocolate chips for walnuts).

    One update from last week - I tried the Pepperoni casserole & it was amazing. Not particularly healthy (I could only eat 1/2 a serving & still hit my calories for the day), but it was very filling & extremely easy and made an enormous batch. Plus, M liked it, and he's a very picky guy. This will definitely make it onto our list of favorites.

    Lunches:
    • Sunday  - M is not a huge breakfast person, so I've been craving a diced potato/egg/cheese scramble. I had that for lunch & used up some potatoes that were about to go bad. I have leftovers for a couple of breakfasts as well. Yum.
    • Monday - Leftover chicken penne dish + fruit
    • Tuesday - Baked Shells with Pesto, Mozzarella & Meat Sauce + vegetables & hummus
    • Wednesday - Leftover risotto + fruit
    • Thursday -  Leftover chicken cordon bleu + fruit
    • Friday - Whatever leftovers remain
    • Saturday - Grilled ham & cheese sandwiches
    • Sunday - my oldest son & I will be at the mountain taking ski lessons, so we'll be having a picnic at the lodge. Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches + fruit + nuts. Maybe a treat to motivate him. And myself. :-)
    Dinners:
    • Sunday (M out of town) - Leftovers from a wonderful chicken penne dish that I cobbled together last night with leftovers + salad 
    • Monday (M out of town) - Oven baked chicken risotto from the freezer + salad
    • Tuesday (M out of town) - whatever leftovers remain
    • Wednesday - Chicken cordon bleu *
    • Thursday - Out for a belated holiday dinner with M's team
    • Friday - Parmesan chicken and rice 
    • Saturday - Leftovers
    • Sunday -Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina (makes two pans - 1 for the freezer) + roasted vegetables 
    • Monday - Pepperoni casserole from the freezer (the dish made 5 dinners for us, so I have a few still in the freezer). Huge recipe!
    • Tuesday - Bob's Awesome Lasagna *
    • Wednesday (M out of town again)- Quesadillas + salad
    • Thursday (M out of town again) - Breakfast for dinner
    • Friday (M out of town again) - Sausage & lentil soup + salad
    • Saturday - Tortellini & pesto. I need to come up with a plan & recipes to start using all of the pesto in our freezer. :-)
    • Sunday - Thai chicken pizza *
    *asterisk indicates that it's the first time I'm trying the recipe. For whatever reason, lots of new recipes this week

    Saturday, January 8, 2011

    1/8 - Fitness & Nutrition

    Weight = 160.2 - Woo! Only .3 lbs from my goal!!

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • 1 small zucchini muffin - 190
    • coffee with milk - 20

    Snack:
    • Trail mix - 120

    Lunch:
    • pear - 40
    • cottage cheese -100
    • cheese stick - 100
    • 1 2/3 mini pepperoni calzones (from the freezer) - 350
    Dinner:
    • cosmopolitan - 160
    • hummus with celery - 80
    • pasta with chicken & white wine sauce - 350

    Total = 1520

    Weekly Spending Wrap Up

    My goal for 2011 is to keep my monthly flexible spending (i.e. what I charge on my credit card & includes: groceries, dining out, gifts, clothes, lessons for the kids, etc) to $1750/month. This nets out to around $58/day, which is pretty eye opening. I am regularly overspending the $1750/month, so I need to start keeping a close eye on this figure. Keeping the monthly spending in check is a critical part of paying off my 401K loan in 2011.

    Monday - today was a spendy day - M & I both had the day off & the kids were back to school, so we had a date day. We did, however, have a fabulous time!
    • $489 - season ski pass. (I have lessons all season, so it was cheaper to buy a season pass today)
    • $2.50 - vitamin water
    • $7 - Carter's. I returned a few pair of extra pajamas the boys got for Christmas & picked up 2 pair of pants, 2 hoodies, a fleece, and 2 long-sleeved shirts. The $7 was my out of pocket after the pajama credit.
    • +$30 - we hit the casino after our skiing & shopping & I made $30 in five minutes on the penny slots while I was waiting for M to cash out. He made substantially more than me, but I won't get into that here. ;-) He has his own account for spending money, which I don't track.
    Total spend for Monday = $468.50 (after taking into account my winnings)

    Tuesday - no spend day, which I desperately needed after Monday :-)

    Wednesday:
    • $101.27 - Costco. This included produce, yogurt, coffee ($17), & handwarmers for skiing ($16).
    Thursday:
    • $1.99 for trail mix. My office is being moved & the box with my snacks is still on the moving truck. I caved & went to the coffee bar for a snack.
    • +$.21 - the previous occupant of my office left $.21 in change scattered on the floor & apparently couldn't be bothered to pick that (plus tons of junk) off the floor.
    Total spent for Thursday = $1.78

    Friday:
    • $5.24 at the grocery store. I picked up a zucchini to add to the 1/2 I had at home, & made zucchini muffins for breakfast. I also got mushrooms for tomorrow's dinner, as well as sandwich bread for the boys lunches next week.
    • $1.55 at Rite Aid. I had a $20 off reward, so I used it to buy a few healthy snacks for my office (I bought 4 boxes of Special K bars, & 2 boxes of Special K protein water mix). I also got a $5 reward for next time. Looking back, I wish I would have used the reward for toiletries, as I'm really trying to cut processed food out of my diet. I was in a rush, & ended up with this. Win some/lose some.
    Total spent for Friday = $6.79

    Saturday:
    • $34 - hair cuts for the kids.
    • $3.98 - bread store. I discovered a bread outlet close to my house, & the prices are about 1/3 of Costco. I picked up 24 english muffins & a dozen mini whole wheat bagels for just under $4. A great deal.
    • $55 - gas
    Total spent for Saturday = $92.98

    Sunday:
    No spend day

    Total spend for the week = $671.32. This week was unusual with the large ski pass purchase (the money is saved & this was a planned expense), but I have a feeling that if I track every week, every week will have some sort of miscellaneous & random expense. Tracking our spending this way has been very eye opening. Daily spend per day was $95.90, or roughly double of what I need to hit daily to achieve our monthly goals. :-( I'm going to need to have a super cheap week next week to average out to the right amount for the month.

    Friday, January 7, 2011

    1/7 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

    Weight = 161. Woo! 2 lbs left to my goal of 159 by next Friday. I know I can do it!

     
    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • 1 piece of Persian bread + 1 tbsp feta + 1 tbsp blueberry preserves - 250
    • coffee with milk - 20
    Snack:
    • small snack bag of oyster crackers - 66
    • cheese - 100
    • almonds - 170 (as you can tell, I'm starving! I've eaten my morning & afternoon snacks already & it's only 10:15. Yikes!)
    Lunch:
    • chicken salad - 150
    • freeze dried raspberries - 50
    • Apple - 80
    Dinner:
    • wine - 80
    • salad - 120
    • cashews - 80
    • zucchini muffin - 180
    • 1/2 small piece of pizza - 150
    Total = 1476
    Workout:
    I had a fabulous workout today - the best in a very long time. I did a 40 minute run/walk combo, with 23 of the minutes running & 17 walking. That's the best I've done in almost a year. I felt fantastic when I was done. Woo!

    No shopping update

    I didn't really recap my "no shopping" plan in December, so I wanted to cover that & talk about my plans to keep myself motivated!

    As background, I have several reasons for wanting to stop shopping this year. 1) I already have plenty. Really. Plenty. Plenty of clothes, plenty of shoes, plenty of makeup. For the most part, so do the boys. I'm sure a few things will pop up as they grow out of sizes, & I will of course replace what they need. But, I also overbuy for them, so I am not going to be picking up random things in stores because they are "a  good deal." Half the time, I get home and find that the boys already have plenty of that item, which makes the "good deal", a complete waste of money. 2) I find that I enjoy what I have when I focus less on purchasing. I also get much more creative with my outfits when I am not constantly on the look out for something new. 3) Buying new clothes has been an excuse when I gain weight & can't fit into my old clothes. It's both a waste of money and supportive of something that I no longer want to do. I have plenty of clothes that fit, and I will be losing weight, enabling me to fit into other things in my closet that I currently can't wear. I have plenty. 4) I tend to lose all sense of self-control when I shop. I may go in for something I need, but walk out with ten other items that were on sale and "a good deal", but that I didn't need. Clearly, they are not a good deal & waste money. 5) I want my focus to be on experiences, rather than material goods. I would much prefer to spend money taking the boys skiing, signing them up for lessons, taking them on a day trip, etc. And, I love massages & have a lot of back pain from having a job that requires a great deal of time hunched over the computer. I can get more massages if I stop wasting money on things that I don't truly need.

    That was a little more long-winded than I had intended, but I'm sure you get the idea. Now, on to the rewards! I'm a person highly motivated by tracking, goals, & incentives. Knowing this about myself, I've created a plan. For every month that I don't shop, I get a massage! I already achieved my goal in December (no shopping), & had a massage last Sunday. It was bliss & really helped with my chronic back pain.

    How am I paying for my rewards? Massages are terribly expensive, so I devised a plan to get a few of the massages for "free". Basically, the gym that I go to also has a large spa attached, and they offer a holiday gift card promotion. For every $500 in gift cards you purchase, you get a $100 bonus gift card for free. The gym also has a backup childcare facility that we use regularly. For example, I needed to work the week between Christmas & New Year & the boys school was closed. I used the gym backup care for 5ish hours each day for a week. For two kids, that was around $300. I knew I would use the gift cards on essential expenses, so I purchased several to last for the child care throughout the calendar year. As a result, I now have 2 bonus gift cards, which will cover the complete cost of a massage. Additionally, I just received a large gift card from work which will cover 1.5 of a massage at a different spa. Woo! This will greatly reduce the cost of my reward, and of course, I will be saving money by not shopping, & will use those additional funds to cover the rest of the months. Even if I directly buy a $100 massage each month, it will be less than I was previously spending on clothes, shoes, makeup, & clothes for the kids. I wasn't shopping every month, but when you average it out, it was much more like $200+/month.

    That's my plan, & I'm motivated & focused. While my goal is not to shop for the entire year (13 months, including December), I created the reward to work monthly, which means that I stay focused even if I have a slip - I can jump back into the plan the next month & stay on track.

    How are things going with your New Years goals? I'd love to hear!

    Thursday, January 6, 2011

    1/6 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

    Weight = 162.2 - same as yesterday

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • coffee + milk - 20
    • small amount of pineapple - 20
    • english muffin + 1/2 laughing cow + morningstar sausage - 220

    Snack:
    • small bag of oyster crackers - 66
    • 1 piece of cheese - 100
    Lunch:
    • apple - 80
    • baked shells - 300
    • 2 srvgs of trail mix (starving after the gym) - 260
    Dinner:
    • 1/2 glass wine - 60
    • small serving pepperoni casserole - 300
    • Roasted carrots - 50

    Total = 1450 

    Fruits/Vegetables = 2/2

    Workout = 36 minutes elliptical, level 12

    Wednesday, January 5, 2011

    1/5 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

    Weight = 162.2

    Food:
    Breakfast
    • 2 small pieces of Persian bread + 2 tbsps feta cheese + blackberry jam - 250
    • coffee with milk - 20
    Snack:
    • 1 tbsp of trail mix - 50
    Lunch (out - going away lunch with my team - start my new job tomorrow!)
    • wild greens salad + bread + potato leek soup + 1/4 grilled cheese + 1/8 c mac & cheese - 550
    • 2 chocolates - 120
    Dinner:
    • glass of celebratory wine for my last day on my team - 80
    • Chicken with goat cheese + sun dried tomatoes - 275
    • sauteed brussel sprouts - 150
    Total calories = 1495

    Fruit/vegetalbes = 1 (fruit in my salad)/4

    No workout. Still between gyms, but this will be resolved by tomorrow. Woo!

    Tuesday, January 4, 2011

    1/4 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

    Weight = 164. I realize that yesterday was not a perfect eating day, but I'm pretty disappointed to see that I'm up a pound. Nothing to do but focus.

    I managed to resist the 20 lbs of popcorn (carmael, cheese, kettle, & plain) sitting in our break room today. I had tea instead. :-)

    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • small piece of pineapple - 20
    • coffee with milk - 20
    • english muffin + 1/2 laughing cow + morningstar sausage - 220

    Snack:
    • almonds - 170

    Lunch:
    • cottage cheese - 100
    • cheese stick - 100
    • Apple - 80
    • 1 small piece of pizza - 280
    Snack:
    • 1 small package oyster crackers - 66
    • 1 mandarin orange - 35
    Dinner:
    • Pepperoni casserole - 400
    Total calories = 1491

    No workout today - sore from skiing!

    Goals for January

    In order for me to be successful with my 2011 goals, I need to break them down into smaller tasks & track them monthly. Here's the plan for January.

    1) No shopping for clothes, shoes, or makeup for myself. Also, no shopping for the kids unless I've already checked their closets & it's something they need (no impulse shopping).
    2) Keep variable monthly expenses to $1750.
    3) Save all extra money in my 401K payoff fund. By the end of January, have $3500 in my 401K snowball fund.
    4) Log 400 minutes of cardio workouts in January. This should be easy with my ski lessons.
    5) Log 150 minutes of strength training in January.
    6) Log 100 minutes of stretching in January.
    7) Organize the master bathroom, including going through/cleaning out all of my makeup, hair products, toiletries, etc.
    8) Have one date with M.
    9) Get together with two friends.
    10) Create a list of 10 favorite meals.
    11) Complete a 2010 family photo album.
    12) Read two books.
    13) Only buy lunch 1x this month.
    14) Track all spending.

    Monday, January 3, 2011

    1/3 - Fitness & Nutrition

    Weight = 163. Ready to kick start my plan to get down to 130!

     
    Food:
    Breakfast:
    • english muffin + 1/2 laughing cow + egg - 230
    • coffee with milk - 20

     
    Lunch:
    • 1/2 hoagie with turkey, swiss & bacon & chips (at the ski lodge) - 500
    • 1 beer - 180

    Dinner:
    • 2 tacos (homemade, no cheese + light sour cream & + salsa) - 350
    • pomegranate - 120

    Total calories = 1400

     

     
    Workout:
    120 minutes of cardio/downhill skiing. It was definitely a workout, because my legs are quivering & sore! :-)

    Sunday, January 2, 2011

    Motivators for one of my resolutions

    I did two things over the past couple of days that were very humbling & a great reminder of why I need to drop this weight. First, I took my youngest to the pool yesterday & got to wear my bathing suit. YIKES.

    And, today I was prepping my ski clothes for tomorrow (M & I decided to spend our date day tomorrow skiing - super excited!) & tried on all of my ski pants. Most won't zip up all the way. The one pair that will fit & I can wear tomorrow are very snug. Oh goodie - skiing in tight pants. Since I have ski lessons all winter long & I'm not buying any new clothes, I think I'll be well served (and infinitely more comfortable) if I drop some weight immediately. ;-)

    Weekly spending wrap up

    My goal for 2011 is to keep my monthly flexible spending (i.e. what I charge on my credit card & includes: groceries, dining out, gifts, clothes, lessons for the kids, etc) to $1750/month. This nets out to around $58/day, which is pretty eye opening. I am regularly overspending the $1750/month, so I need to start keeping a close eye on this figure. Keeping the monthly spending in check is a critical part of paying off my 401K loan in 2011.

    This week was a little spendier than usual, as I was at home & getting a bunch of post-holiday errands done.
    • Monday -
    - $14.92 - Grocery store for basic dinner ingredients - mostly fresh produce.
    - $22.98 - Gap for a birthday gift for a friend. However, I returned two shirts there for a refund of $28.45, but it is a store credit. I'll use it to buy jeans when the boys shred the knees on their current pairs. :-)
    - $119.24 - Costco - basic groceries for the next week or so, plus a few extra treats as we're having an overnight guest on Wednesday, & my parents will be staying over on New Years Eve.
    - $13.69 - Bath & Body Works for the handsoap that we use (on sale for 75% off - I bought 10).
    - $12 - Nordstrom bar for my annual holiday lunch with M. I had a gift card for the rest of the balance. Total spend for the day = $182.83
    • Tuesday:
    -$7.50 - Panera for a salad to go with a soup I brought from home. The soup was delicious, but not particularly filling after my workout.
    +$39 - Returned a Christmas gift that we didn't end up needing
    - $37 - Hair cut (it had been 7 months since the last cut, so I desperately needed one - $25 + 12 tip = $37). Total spend for the day after adding in the credit = $5.50
    • Wednesday:
    + $10 - I took a bunch of kids books over to Half Price Books today,& made $10.
    + 22.76 - I also returned a toy to Fred Meyer. I used the Fred Meyer store credit to purchase a few items we need for New Year's Eve (champagne & orange juice + hair clip, as I got a hair cut & my hair will no longer fit into a pony tail at the gym). I spent almost  the same as my gift card & got $.76 back in change.
    - $3.80 - Party store. I picked up three rolls of Christmas wrapping paper to save for next year.
    - $4.11 - Old Navy.  I bought my oldest son a fleece at Old Navy that he needs for skiing
    - $.87 - Michael's for a Christmas craft for next year.
    - $14 - McDonalds - dinner for me +the kids after a bunch of evening drama required us to leave the house. Total spend for the day is $12.02(after adding in the $10 book credit & $.76 from the leftover Fred Meyer).
    • Thursday -
    - I returned some makeup (a gift) to Sephora today & got a $43 credit that I'll use when my existing items run out.
    - $1.37 - Hallmark for Christmas wrapping paper
    - $6 for coffee & breakfast at Starbucks, but I used a gift card.
    -$5.41 - I replaced a knife that went through the disposal (used a Crate & Barrel gift card so total out of pocket was only $5.41).
    - $4 -  toll
    - $52.06 - Costco for Kleenex & a couple of other random items
     Total out of pocket spend for the day is $61.47
    • Friday:
    -My parents were in town for a little NYE party, and they treated me for lunch.
    $58 - Pizza for dinner (4 adults & 2 kids)
    $26.11 - grocery store  (beer, ice cream, and party favors for our kids)
     Total out of pocket spend for the day = $84.11
    • Saturday - No spend day! Finally. :-)

    • Sunday:
    -$44 - movie tickets for me + the kids to see Tangled, as well as popcorn, water, & a box of candy. Holy moses - since when did the movies get to expensive??
      Total out of pocket spend for the day = $44

    Total spend for the week = $389.93, which averages to $55.70/day, just under my goal of $58/day. Wow! I'm pretty excited.

    Menu Plan Monday

    Lots of carryovers from last week, as our week had a bunch of craziness. ;-)

    Baking/breakfasts: I'm planning to make mini frittatas tomorrow morning. Yum!

    Lunches:
    • Sunday - Tomato soup, hummus + celery, fruit
    • Monday - M & I both have the day off, so going to lunch!
    • Tuesday - Leftover pizza + fruit
    • Wednesday - Pepperoni casserole + fruit
    • Thursday -  Risotto from the freezer
    • Friday - Leftover lasagna + fruit
    • Saturday - Grilled ham & cheese sandwiches
    • Sunday - Whatever is left in the fridge :-)

    Dinners:

    *asterisk indicates that it's the first time I'm trying the recipe. For whatever reason, lots of new recipes this week

    Saturday, January 1, 2011

    First reflection of 2011

    I am thinking: that I'm happy that I'm sending M off to ski tomorrow & I'm going to take the boys to a few fun activities. He's a wonderful guy, & I love being able to give him a break.
    I am reading: "Crossfire" on my new Kindle - still!
    I am wearing: my new black Victoria's Secret yoga pants (Christmas gift), a blank tshirt, and a black fleece. I am grateful for: our health. A dear family friend passed away yesterday, and it puts everything in perspective.
    I am looking foward to: my day with my boys tomorrow - and my massage!
    I am going: to take the boys to the gym tomorrow while I have a massage (my reward for not buying myself any shoes, clothes, or makeup in December!), and then I'm taking them to see Tangled.
    I am happy with: my new haircut.
    I love: my husband. He's a rock star.
    The week ahead: My baby (i.e. my 3, almost 4 year old's) first movie! I'm taking him to see Tangled.

    Happy New Year!

    I am excited to ring in 2011. :-)

    I finished updating my tickers (on the right), so the numbers should all be current as of now. My finaly 401K loan payment of the year was finally applied, so I was able to calculate our net worth, which as of right now is around $790K. I'm looking forward to paying off our 401K loans in 2011, losing the rest of the weight I need to lose, & continuing my efforts to get/stay organized & work on small projects around the house that improve our living space.

    Enjoy your New Year's Day!