Highs and Lows

Tina's post today inspired me to follow the same format, so I'll be sharing highs and lows with you! It's fitting for this week with everything that's going on around here.

High
A super productive weekend of packing. Terry got a TON done over the weekend (since I'm not able to lift anything heavy or stand on chairs, he's doing about 75% of our packing), and I tried my best to help as much as possible while also taking time to rest. Our house is definitely getting there, and I'm confident that this move will be one of our least stressful ever!

Low 
Being sick. I came down with a cold by Sunday morning, and today I feel pretty awful. I'm sure a variety of factors led to being sick: my dad was sick when he came to visit (my mom got sick once they got home), the time change plus subbing multiple days last week that required 6:30 am start times, and general stress. So yesterday I woke up feeling less than stellar, and today I have a cough, some sniffles, and some minor body aches. Since I can't take any medication, I'm sipping chamomile tea like crazy to soothe my throat and hoping for lots of sleep this week.

High
Feeling the baby kick! Our little one is all over the place in there, and I am thrilled that he or she is so active. I can feel those little thumps almost all the time now, and I love knowing we've got a healthy baby so far!

High
Our budget. We set a somewhat arbitrary spending limit for our grocery budget last week and managed to come in under target! I'm sure the excitement will wear off rather quickly, but it was fun to challenge myself to find creative ways to cook healthy, varied meals at home while still finding good deals. Again, let's just see how long that lasts...

Low 
Moving. The moving process itself is going well, and I know we're going to fall in love with our new place once we're in, but I am so sad to leave our apartment. It's small, but it was our first home as a married couple, and it was a truly great place to live for three years. We keep trying to tell ourselves that it's good to move forward and that our new place will be so much better for the baby, but I think it's okay to be a little sad, too. Luckily, the reason I loved this place so much was because we made it a home together, and I know we'll do the same for anywhere else we live.

High 
Our menu this week. We're still aiming for a sensible budget, which works perfectly with our goal of cleaning out our cabinets. As Terry packed up the kitchen, we found a bunch of items we can incorporate into this week's meals. You'll notice we're planning on making bigger quantities of meals and using them as leftovers so that we have more time to pack (and perhaps relax a little) during the week. Here's our menu:

• Monday and Tuesday: Spaghetti bolognese with wilted spinach, homemade sauce, and a side salad
• Wednesday and Thursday: Sausage, cheese, and veggie quiche
• Friday: See what we have left or eat out for our last night at the apartment

Here are our lunches:

• Monday and Tuesday: Quinoa Greek salad (I made it last night while cooking dinner, and it made for a super easy morning)
• Wednesday: Probably PB & J or something else easy
• Thursday and Friday: Tuna salad (similar to last week's)

Breakfasts and snacks throughout the week:

• Eggs--scrambled, fried, whatever sounds good
• Fruit (we have some mango and oranges leftover from last week, plus new stuff from today's grocery shopping)
• Yogurt (usually mixed with honey and/or nut butter)
• Cottage cheese with fruit
• Smoothies

Since we've packed away most of our specialty cooking items, like the stand mixer, waffle iron, crock pot, and almost all the baking supplies, I don't see a lot of homemade baked goods in our future until we're settled in at the new place. We'll be enjoying a lot of leftovers this week, which I know some people hate, but I absolutely LOVE leftovers and how easy they are to reheat and serve! Perfect for such a crazy time. 

High

This one's a bonus, but I found out something CRAZY last night! At our birth class, Terry and I were talking to our teacher about our due date, because she has emphasized multiple times how doctors' estimated due dates can be several weeks off. During our conversation, she asked if I had noticed any symptoms immediately upon conception that might have indicated the day I got pregnant. Well, remember when I ended up in the hospital and was diagnosed with colitis?

I had always suspected there was a link between getting so sick and getting prengant, and our teacher thinks I was right! She said it's most likely that my colon reacts to hormones, which is why my stomach went crazy. The good news is that we can more accurately guess our due date, and luckily we agree with the doctor that the baby should arrive within the first week of June. Isn't it crazy what our bodies do?

Any highs or lows for you today? 

Of possible interest: 10 Ways to Buy Organic on a Budget

Italian Burgers

Thanks so much for the encouraging and helpful responses on Monday's budget post! I'm feeling super motivated to be creative with our budget right now, but we'll see how long that lasts.

Yesterday slipped away from me a bit once the evening rolled around. I spent the afternoon tidying up and washing the previous day's dishes (oops), and then I did a little prenatal yoga while Terry jogged around the nearby park. When he got back, we took a lovely, long walk through our neighborhood (and passed right by Matthew Broderick! There was eye contact. It was cool)--but didn't get home until almost 8 pm! That time change totally threw me off, I guess, because I thought it was much earlier when we left for our walk. Sunshine at 6:30 pm is so deceiving.

Anyway, thank goodness we had some delicious and easy leftovers for dinner, so it was on the table in about 12 minutes (and devoured about three minutes after that). Here's what we made on Monday:

- Ground beef (~20 ounces, because the package was from Costco) mixed with 1 sweet Italian sausage (casing removed), 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and some salt and pepper
- I mixed up the meat and spices, created 6 (!) patties, and grilled them on our indoor grill pan (we didn't think the smoky flavor of the BBQ would work with these flavors)
- To assemble: I topped the burgers with mozzarella cheese (on Monday we had leftover Burrata...yummmm), heated up some store-bought marinara sauce to slather all over, and used whole wheat toast as buns

I have a few thoughts about these "Italian burgers" that I think I should share with you: 1) They are incredibly tender, and the flavors are like a meatball sub; 2) I'm SO glad we used a little extra meat to make 6 patties instead of 4, because now we scored three meals instead of just two; and 3) While I recognize and appreciate the need for variety in our diets, I wish I could eat one of these every day for the next month.

To sum up: I was a fan.

So after those spectacular burgers, cleaning up, and our pregnancy exercises, I was beat! We staggered off to bed for another 5 am wake up call today.

And that's where we'll pick up this WIAW. The major "event" going on around our house this week is our new emphasis on a mindful budget, but we still stocked up with some awesome foods for the week. Here's what we had today:

Breakfast: 

1 fried egg (oh, yeah, I dropped a carton of eggs on yesterday and broke several, so we already only had two left this morning) + one piece of whole wheat toast with smashed avocado and cottage cheese and a sprinkling of pepper

My parents actually introduced me to this toast-avocado-cottage cheese combo, and I LOVE it. It's high in protein and hits three food groups, which is unusual for me for breakfast!

Snacks eaten throughout the morning:

Banana with sunflower seeds and two Mandarin oranges and more sunflower seeds

Lunch:

Terry found this recipe for tuna salad with white beans (we used Great Northern instead of cannellini), and I added it to a giant handful of mixed greens. Unfortunately, I forgot the lemon wedge AND the dressing that are supposed to go with the salad, but it still worked, and I added cucumbers (not pictured above). (By the way, this salad took me about 5 minutes to make yesterday morning! SO easy!)

Dinner:

Leftover burgers (described above). I used one piece of toast and made an open-faced sandwich, and we had some greens on the side mixed with oil, balsamic, salt, and pepper (the eggplant pictured was devoured Monday night with no leftovers). I'm just so sad those burgers are gone now.

Dessert:

Food Babe's almond butter brownies (I added 1 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the batter this time to give them more of a brownie color, and I actually love the flavor even more, so I recommend it!) with a glass of milk


And here's a new triceps and chest workout for your Wednesday enjoyment. I made it for Terry and completed a very toned-down pregnancy version (below) myself. As always, be sure to warm up properly before you get started! This one would be perfect to add on to a Tabata workout or other short, intense cardio.

Notes:

• The idea here is to complete each superset twice (the cable triceps pulldowns, cable chest press, and plank knee-to-elbows are the first superset, so do that twice through), then complete an exercise (dips or push ups, respectively) to fatigue (and only once). Then you're done!
• It's short, so aim for moderately heavy weights to challenge yourself. The last few reps should feel difficult, but save your energy and good form for those fatigue sets.

My pregnancy version:

• Completed three sets of each superset
• No skullcrushers for me (since I can't lay flat on my back), so I did overhead tricep press instead
• Omitted the core exercises
• Skipped the fatigue sets

Be sure to check out the other WIAWs!

I'm hoping to get some extra sleep tonight since this time change has been killer. So with that, I'm off to bed!

A Better Budget

I'll admit that Terry and I aren't exactly experts in budgeting. We have both been employed full-time for about five years, and we lived comfortably without needing to make major sacrifices. We even managed several pretty spectacular vacations, like Europe (three times!), Turks & Caicos, and a few cruises. We eat out now and then (we choose to eat in most of the time for health reasons), we enjoy fun outings around LA, and we try to give generously to our alma mater and our friends and family for birthdays and other celebrations.

But this year we hit a triple-whammy budget-wise: I left my job in anticipation of a relocation for Terry's job, which never happened; we got pregnant; and, because of said pregnancy, we are now moving to a slightly more expensive apartment. While these changes were all--thankfully--made by choice, we still feel the need to create a more mindful budget so that we can continue to live comfortably and so that we can provide a financially stable future for our little one.

The thing is, though, once we started looking for ways to cut back on our expenses, we realized we don't have as many easy cutbacks as we thought. The good news: We're already doing a lot to save and spend in a responsible way! The not-so-great news: Nothing we do will make drastic changes to our budget. So we looked at several articles for budgeting suggestions and found that we already follow a lot of the ideas. For example:

• We already don't belong to a gym and spend virtually nothing on fitness.
• We rarely eat out and cook almost everything from scratch.
• While we do own two cars (and therefore pay insurance, registration, etc. for two cars), we carpool to work almost every day we can.
• We don't drink coffee and almost never go to coffee shops like Starbucks (it's funny how often this one is suggested as "an easy way to save $4 a day!").

Recent changes we've made to avoid needless spending (we had to be creative! A lot of these suggestions weren't on any of the lists we read, but we have found them to make a slight difference):

• Alcohol. Terry loves craft beers, so this one is a major sacrifice for him, but he is such a champ that he doesn't seem to care much at all. We have a nice stock of liquor in the cabinet, and he'll fix himself a drink maybe once a week. We also canceled our wine club shipments, since Terry wouldn't open a bottle of wine just for himself while I'm pregnant. And of course, I don't drink at all right now so that saves some money too!
• Beauty. I got a manicure and pedicure in Vegas with my friend Amanda (actually very reasonably priced!), but otherwise I've skipped nail care, waxing, and hair coloring. Hair coloring isn't super safe during pregnancy anyway, and I've heard that breathing in the fumes at a nail salon isn't awesome, either, so I guess it's all for the best. This one isn't too much of a sacrifice for me, because I really don't look forward to these types of appointments (unless my sister-in-law Ashley is cutting my hair, which is just the greatest experience and you should all be jealous).

• Clothes shopping. For a few months, I was on a shopping spree! Once my belly started to show, I had a blast buying new clothes. I think it was the most interested I've ever been in fashion. But since then, I've cut myself off and will make do with my awesome new wardrobe for the rest of the pregnancy. Luckily, a lot of those clothes also came from shopping with my mom (thanks, Mom!) and gift cards.

• Diving. Terry loves diving, but it's a very expensive hobby. I'm hoping he'll be able to go at least one more time before the baby comes, but it does add up quickly: taking the ferry to Catalina, renting a tank, paying for a hotel room, and buying or maintaining equipment. Terry has again been more than willing to sacrifice, even though I hope he can find some opportunities to dive again soon.
• Eating out. We really didn't eat out that much before, but now we're even more motivated to plan ahead, grocery shop, and make food at home. On the occasions we do eat out, we choose sensible restaurants that don't break the bank so we can enjoy instead of pinching pennies.

• Eating in. Even eating in can get expensive, but there are ways to eat healthy and on a budget. I spent some time looking through Lisa's posts about 100 Days of Real Food on a Budget, where she fed her family of four on a tight budget for 100 days. She has some helpful ideas, like skipping meat (use cheaper sources of healthy proteins) and dessert (ha!). 
• Entertainment. I mentioned this one, but we recently cut our cable. We just weren't using it, and it felt like a huge waste of money. Several people I know (or "know" in the case of fellow bloggers) said they've cut cable and experienced virtually no withdrawals, and I'd have to say the same! We did, however, subscribe to Hulu, and I've been watching some of my favorite shows there. We also have (for several years) only gone to movies using our free passes, which we earn from donating blood to our local blood bank. 

What we refuse to sacrifice (and are willing to work hard to keep in our budget):

• A safe, comfortable home for ourselves and our baby. We must have looked at 25 apartments over the course of a month to find our new place, but it was worth the effort. We will have space to spread out, a safe location, and even a fireplace and mantle for our baby's first Christmas!
• Gifts and celebrations for our friends and family. We have lots of exciting events for our friends and family this year--weddings, baby showers, birthdays--and we want to make sure we are able to participate and give as generously as possible. These special trips and gifts don't factor into our budgeting. And while it's certainly not necessary or expected that we spend a certain amount on our loved ones, I like to try to find the perfect gift without the self-inflicted pressure of spending a certain amount.
• Our health--specifically our food quality. It took us several years to get where we are now in terms of healthy living, and I'm adamant that I don't want to take any steps backward to save a few bucks. We will continue to buy organic as much as possible and purchase brands that make good choices (non-GMO, for example).
• Similarly, supporting brands we trust and respect, like The Honest Company, for all other needs. 

So today I went grocery shopping, and I experimented a little with budgeting. I think I normally do a decent job of keeping our purchases reasonable (buying only what we will use, avoiding impulse buys, etc.), but there's always room for improvement. For example, instead of only stopping at Trader Joe's, I also needed to go to Costco for some paper products, so I started there to see what I could cross off my list for food, too. I was able to buy a lot of produce and meat there instead of buying them for a higher price at Trader Joe's, and a lot of it will likely last us into next week.

Anyway, we're interested to see what these (admittedly minor) adjustments make in our budget, especially while I'm still in limbo between jobs. But even when I am working again, these habits will be great for saving, so it's good to get started now!

Any tips I'm missing? How do you establish and maintain your household budget? Any tips on the best ways to save on baby-related budget items?