Knitting and wood splitting

Kids had hockey games this morning, they both played amazing. We lost both games but the kids had a blast either way.

This afternoon I was able to fit in a run, split some wood and finish my knitted blanket!  It’s so warm! One of the largest projects I have ever done.

Roaring 20's

Long time since I wrote on here.  In fact I'm typing this post on my cell, which would not have even worked on my last one!

We are all quite a bit older, possibly wiser? Life here in the mountains treks along...I find we are too busy to slow down for a moment and enjoy the little things.

Th past 2 days I have been down with the flu, nothing is more frustrating then not being able to do anything, but it's a blessing in disguise.   I have knit, baked and started my paint by number.  All items I would not have had time for if I was able to do more.

Just hanging out with the boys was such a treat!  T made dinner with daddy, all by himself.

Joy is found in the simple everyday things.

Goals and Plans

Hey peeps!

Been a while since I have updated this blog,  wow a really long while.  Life gets so crazy when working full time, with 2 little(ish) boys at home and hubby.
I have decided to jump back on the loosing weight bandwagon.  I have gained about 12 lbs in the past year or so, and they don’t seem to be moving.

I didn’t want to follow a full fledged diet since I find them so hard to stick to and so restrictive.  Looking at the food pyramid I followed it loosely for the last 3 weeks and have lost about 4 lbs.  we are planning a trip to San Diego in April and I want to feel comfortable on the beach and in summer wear.

Today is started the 21 day fix meal plan, it’s simple and straightforward.  I am still running 3 times a week and doing weights twice a week.  But with this meal plan I should be able to see some progress fairly quickly.

I’m hoping to loose a total of 15 lbs before San Diego, but realistically I need to loose about 20-25 to be truly healthy.  I have always carried a bit of extra , and I have gotten used to it... but I don’t need to .

I will not accept the fact that I carry a bit extra, I am going to work to loose about 20 and then I will see how it goes, I want to get to a point where I can maintain a healthy weight without the extra hips... for good!

Join me if you like as I work slowly to a healthy plan!!

January 2018 Budget/ Debt Update

I am so happy to announce that we were able to put a whopping $ 4597 towards our debt in January.

It seemed almost like it came easy, although this is just that start. Budgeting this month was a challenge.  Sometimes I feel like the bad guy, since I end up saying "it's not in the budget" all of the time.  With both the boys and my husband.  I say it so much in fact that my son asked if we were poor!

I explained to him that we are in fact not poor, but we own a lot of money and we want to pay it off.  In order to do that we have to stick to the budget so that later, all of the money that we bring in will be ours, not to the bank.

I find it challenging to stick to the budget sometimes, almost like you get in the mood to spend... It's so easy to blow money quickly when you at the store, or hungry, or even just sad.  I am trying really hard to keep the debt in the forefront of my mind so that I can make sure I keep my priorities on top.

We were able to pay off so much towards that debt this month because we sold my husband's truck.  I feel bad since he loved that truck, but since we each also have a car, and our camping van.  The truck was just sitting, not being used.  IT made the most sense to sell the truck, the amount of cash it took to keep it filled with gas is double what either of the cars required.

For January, the daycare did not cash our check yet, and the motorbike insurance is due.  This means we will be paying $1400 in daycare and $400 in insurance.  Making this month a bit more tight... not so much towards debt, but if we stay in the red then we are winning!

What are your biggest expenses this month?  Do you have unexpected things that you forgot about?  What do you spend the most money on?

Yarn Along

It has been so long since I have created one of these posts, or any post for that matter!

Luckily The Small Things Blog has just started this back up as well!

I find that its hard to fit in my knitting into my busy days filled with work and 2 little boys that are getting bigger all the time!  Next year they will both be in middle school EEEk!

I started this grey knit hat for myself ages ago, hoping to be able to get it done within a month or so, since the days have been so cold lately.

The book is obsession falls, a mystery adventure with a touch of romance!

Just the type of book that mama needs to dig into at the end of busy days.

Check out the other yarn along submissions for this month here: Yarn Along

Down with Debt

This year we have decided to get rid of our debt!  We have carried it for far too long!

I hate to admit it, but starting this month we had $57571.80 worth of debt.

Our goal is to pay off $14,000 this year.

We will be doing this through sticking to our budget, selling items we are not using, and saving money in every way possible!

Stay tuned to find out how we are doing this, hopefully we can get to this goal together!

We want to be debt free in 3.5 years!

So far we have paid off $5500 this month!

Mec 10 k

Last Saturday I completed the MEC #2 race- 10km.  I completed the race in 1:10.  This time was awesome!  Almost my best time.  This race had 124 meter gain up the hill, then 70 km winds at the top and back down.  I had a wicked negative splits for my time!  I actually really enjoyed this race.

My sister completed the race as well.  I did nit run much with L though as she is still getting back into training after a few injuries.

I have been struggling this week with weights and running.  Trying to find the energy to do weights as well as running is always hard for me.  Last year when I was training for my half marathon I fell off the weights wagon.  My legs were not as strong as they should have been.

I am trying to find a balance to do both.  I have become bored with my current weights routine.  Today I did a Zuzka ZWOW HIIT workout.  IT felt really good!

I may do Hiit once a week and 2 full body weight workouts are what I am looking at.  Or possibly 2 upper body weights and 1 lower body weights.

Do you run and lift... how do you balance it?

Running and Building

Its been a very busy few weeks!  My knitting has not been touched at all!

T went to see the eye doc at the hospital.  He has a cataract that was found in his first ever eye exam.  They are going to do surgery at the end of April.  They just take out the old cloudy lens and put in a new one!
I am excited and a bit nervous.  It's so far away that I am not getting very nervous yet, ask me again as the day gets closer.  T is more worried about glasses that he will probably need after.  I am sure there will be more questions and worry as we get there!  But he will be able to see which is more then his eye is doing at the moment!

I have been running quite a bit.  I have not solidified my running plan yet for the half marathon but I really need to get to that today or tomorrow!  My last long run was last Sunday where I ran 4.6 miles!  It was a beautiful and warm run!

                                                        

Cy has his last hockey practice this week. They asked all parents and kids to jump on the ice and join in the scrimmage!  It was great!  I t brought back all my memories of playing hockey as a kid.  Q feel a few times :).  T is ready for hockey next year!

At work we do volunteer hours. Yesterday we went into the town and built some bridges for a new trail they were making!  IT was so fun, 8 degrees.  MUCH better then doing paperwork in the office.  This year part of my job has become Volunteer Coordinator so I get to choose, and organize the volunteering opportunities that we do!

 Stay posted for my updated half marathon training plan!  Happy weekend to everybody!

Yarn Along

With everything that I have been doing lately knitting has not been plentiful.

But I am working on a hat for T.  I am almost at the stage to start making it smaller for the top!  Also I just finished reading this book last night.  It was one of the books that you cannot put down.  A real page turner...if you like mystery\ Jason Bourne type books this is a good one!

I am linking up to the Yarn Along over at Small Things Blog

Running Training Feb 22-29

I have 2 Half Marathons coming up this year so I have jumped right back into training again.  This year is different in the way that I am determined to stay strong and injury free.  Last year I was plagued by the dreaded ITB!

These are the workouts I did this week:

22- OFF
23-RUN 1.75 MILES
24-CHEST/ TRI
25-RUN 3.36 MILES, BACK/ BICEPS
26-OFF
27-RUN 2.34 MILES
28-LEGS/DELTS/ABS

A bit slow running this week.  I ran on the 23rd in the am.  Later in the week a cougar was spotted walking down our street in the middle of the day.  I was not comfortable running in the early am for the rest of the week after that!

I ran after work on the 25th, it was still sunny a wee bit!
                            


Saturday I run with my little dude and the dog in the morning.  We did not have very much time because we had Cy hockey game 1.4 hrs away.

Then my mom took the boys for a sleepover so  and I could have an overdue Valentine's date!

Q and I went to the farmer's market to buy some cheese and some sausage.  Balsamic and Roast Onion Gouda is my new favourite!

After the market we went to value village to donate some stuff and found a bunch of nice things for the boys and us.  We had a coffee, nice dinner, and some wondering around the mall.  Then we decided against a movie as there were none that looked awesome.  We watched some NCIS and went to bed.  It was a really great night.

                                     

I am super tired today.... trying to get the house sorted before Monday comes.  Next week is shaping up to be just as busy!

How is your training going?  Any races coming up soon?

Meal Plan Monday (ooops Wednesday)

To be truthful I had this meal plan done yesterday for when we went to the grocery store.  I just have not had time yet to put it on the blog.

I am linking up to the Meal Plan Monday over at Organizing Junkie

I meal plan for 5 days or so, then I just make for dinner what I feel like from the meal plan.  This allows for more flexibility in my plan.

1.  Meatball kebabs with Green Beans , Meatball Recipe, Sauce Recipe, , Bean recipe

2. Hawaiian Stir Fry

3. Simple Shepard's Pie and Mixed Salad

4. Taco Cupcakes & Mexican Coleslaw

5. Pineapple Pork Chops & Spaghetti Squash

6. Leftovers

7.  Dinner Date with Hubby (late Valentine's)


Q was home to take C to taekwondo so T and I stayed home and made meatballs, we used half ground beef and half ground elk.

Let me know if you enjoyed any of the great recipes above!

PMS Volcano

Today started out good.  I woke up feeling almost 100% like a normal person.  My stomach was a bit off still, but no cramping!  Stomach cramping is the worst, way worse then the vomiting I think.  Maybe I am used to vomiting from having "morning sickness" for 18 months when pregnant with both my boys.  I think the cramps hurt more then a good old fashioned vomit.  It's like a good cry, everyone feels better after one.

T was sick again this morning.. he tried for the toilette but hit the floor as well.  Half and half.  So I just said, oh well here we go, and cleaned it up.  After 5 days of mama cleaning vomit in the house what's one more puke?

T seemed to be ok after that (just like I said above) so we headed to the city.  We were meeting my 3 month old niece (and my sister and her hubby), and my brother and wife for brunch.  Made it ok and the boys were able to eat some fruit, bacon and ginger ale.
Cutest baby!  She is so smiley and happy.  When she is hungry all she does is dive bomb my sisters boobs.  Highly entertaining!

The boys and I headed to a park with coffee.  It was about 6 degress today!  Georgrous for a February day!  Superstore was next.  It went well without running over any crazy people with my cart.

When it was bedtime the boys refused to listen, my mean mama voice came out!  Once they were in bed I breathed a sign of relief and went to the bathroom, where I proceeded to sit on pee on the seat.  Mama was not impressed!



It took me a while to cool down, including a good cry.  Once I was able to pull myself together I asked hubby to pick up midol.

Time for a snack and bed.

Anyone else have explosive pms?

Friday

Well people I made it to friday.  It was a rough week with the sick kiddos.  Then they shared with me and I have been sick for the past 2 days.  Now my husband is feeling a bit rough.  He never seems to be that sick when it comes to the stomach bugs though.  Not fair!

My boys were feeling good enough to go to daycare today (its family week so no school).  I went into work feeling ok.  But by 9:30 I was packing up to come back home.  I had to make sure the couch was not floating away!  I napped and ate some toast.  The flu is mainly gone but because I had not eaten anything for 2 days my body was exhausted.

I have not felt this bad since I had the flu when Cy was just 3 months old.  That time I thought I was pregnant again, I was ready to kill Q.

Finally feeling a bit better.  Friday ended with a cuddle from the boys and me falling asleep on the couch again.

FLU....THAT IS ALL

Woke up this morning at 12:44 am to the sound of someone vomiting in their bed.  Followed by "mom...i threw up".  Cy had a stomach bug.  Poor guy.  I set him up in the living room with a blanket on the floor and a pot to vomit in.  After he threw up about 5 times Cy was able to go back to sleep.

At 2:30 am I was woken up by the sound of a little dude vomiting in his bed.  Followed by "mom...I threw up".  T had just joined his brother in the land of flu.  I set up T on the floor of the living room with his own pot to vomit in.

Then I dragged my sorry ass back to bed.  I tried to sleep but I had my ear open for if the boys needed me again.  It was a long night.  Cy was up first feeling pretty good at 7 am .  T slept on the floor until 9 am.  Cy still seems to be ok, pretty thrilled that we watched movies all day and played video games.
T is still feeling not great, just watching his brother play video games.

I was also bit by the flu bug, my coffee did not go down well.  I had a few sips and then had to pour the rest of it out.  I am going to try a bit more coffee in a bit.  I REALLY need my coffee today even if my stomach is not on board.

I hate when the kids are feeling like this.  With a headache you can give an advil.  With a cut you can give them a band aid and a kiss.  When they have a sore tummy all you can really do is give them cuddles and hope they can vomit enough to feel better.

Having a day at home nice and quiet has its benefits though.  I was able to finally get the whole monthly budget down on paper and see where we are at.  It's looking good!  When we get paid tomorrow we might be under by about $10.  Not the $450 we were a few weeks ago!

I also got a ton of cuddling done with the kiddos.  Usually they are so busy that they will not sit down for a cuddle for more then a second or two.

I was working at home yesterday because I had no daycare for family week.  Today we have the flu.  Also it looks like I will be working from home tomorrow as well.  I love being home with the dudes but there is something to say for the normal routine.

No Spend Week Outcome

Last week when we had no plan to do a no spend week we spent a total of $529.61 in 1 week!

This amount only includes gas, food, and extras.  All other payments such as mortgage and natural gas ect are all paid automatically.

If we keep spending that amount for a whole month we are looking at 2118.44 a month.  This is about $776 over what we have budgeted for these areas.  No wonder we are having trouble keeping our bank account in the black.
$776 over for a whole year would mean we would be spending about $9300 over budget!




This last week we started a no spend-a-thon.  We are only allowed to spend on gas, groceries. only when necessary.

We spent a total of 119.99!  Much better!



Anyone else doing the no spend month?

Let me know how its going!

No Spend Week Sucess

So far so good!  Last week when we put the check in the bank we were in the red by about 1300.

This week when my check goes in we will be in the red by only 450!  Still in the red but a huge improvement.

The Q and I are not quite on the same page for how we want to pay off the debt.  I would eat pb and rice for a month (or longer)  to make sure the debt is paid off as soon as possible.

Q on the other hand feels like he had worked for so long, would like to get the house finished.

I see a good point to both sides, but I HATE debt!  Since even before we were married we have had some kind of debt over our heads.  It makes me feel awful :(

I know that we would feel so much more secure and happy if we had no debt!  I want to have all moy money to go to us not to some item we bought years ago and can't even remember.

So far so good with the plan.  I will plan out next week after the check goes in!

Grumpy Monday

Not me, I am actually not grumpy today it seems like most of the people around me are.  I am trying very hard to make sure that my mood is not affected by the grumpy makers but wow its hard.

People at work were grumpy, they are frustrated in their positions and that means that they get to dump on me... really?  Would you say that to your boss, I think not!

T was fine until I told him to sit for his snack or it would get taken away.  He did not listen so I took away his snack.  It seemed to be the end of the world!  Grumpys came out!

We went for a walk to break the grumpies and it worked for a while... but I am thinking he is just tired.

As I sit here writing this he is back on the floor whining about writing out the title of his book.

Ahhhh give me the strength to get through the evening without looing my cool!

My little guys are so cute and I need to keep reminding myself about that as I continue the march to bedtime.

SO adorable eh?

Budget Time

Looking at our budget from last month we realized that we had spent almost $1500 in food alone!

Our budget is about $700 per month for groceries.  I am shocked at home much we have spent, but I know that we are not spending enough time looking at the budget.  We should be looking at it every few days I think... we look at it once or twice a month right now.

Step 1:  Actually look at the budget.
Step 2: Stay within the budget.
Step 3: Adjust as needed.

Hopefully do not cry later!

We are looking a bit of extra income this month so hopefully it will be enough to get us into the red!

Meal Planning Monday (Wednesday Shhh)

I really meant to do my meal planning on Monday.  Get the week started right and organized, but Monday turned into Monday night.  Which let to Tuesday, and eventually Wednesday night. Where I sit now figuring out my meal plan for the week.  The best part about meal planning on Wednesday is that I already have 2 days figured out!

 

Here is my Meal Plan for the Week- Hooking up with Org Junkie's Menu Planning Monday Link up
July 20- July 27

Monday- Meat Pie for kiddos Amy's Broccoli Pie (the best!) for me!

Tuesday- Refried Bean Corn Tacos with Vegetables

Wednesday- Butter nut Squash & Parsnip Soup from My Darling Vegan & Beef Hot dogs

Thursday- Porcupines Skillet from 30 Handmade Days

Friday-  Possibly out for Dinner

What are your plans for the week?  Do you enjoy planning out the week or do you like to go with the flow?  It's been a while since I created a successful meal plan, sometimes I feel like its been forever since I have cooked!

I cannot wait until the weekend when I am going to make some of this!

Pantry Challenge Part 4

We have now completed our 2 week PANTRY CHALLENGE!  Cue- the music!

I want to say that it was a roaring success and we saved a ton of money, but I can't.  Our challenge was a success.  We used a bunch of food from the pantry/ freezer that would have normally sat until it probably went into the trash.  Also I think that we are much more aware of the amount of money we spend on food.  

It takes time to plan out meals, and use what you already have.  I agree that its much quicker to go to the store and pick up everything that you need for a meal without a second thought.  That is until you take a look at your bank account and wonder where all the money went again!

From the start of our Pantry Challenge we spent a total of $407  on food.  We usually spend $500 on food for a two week period.  There is still alot of room for improvement!  I wish we had spent less and eaten more form what we had at home.  

When it comes to challenges everybody wants to hear that you fed 20 people on $25 for a month!  But for our family, in the area that we live in that's just not possible. 

 I would be really happy with $300 for a 2 week period.

  We are ahead and I am pleased with the results!

How did your pantry challenge go?  Do you learn anything?  Will you do it again?  

Have a great night!