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Goals Update – August

Every month, I like to check in with the ‘New years goals‘ I set.  I’m getting a little rusty on updating some of my reporting (like meals and volunteering), but if nothing else, it’s a regular reminder of what I’d like to be doing!

Financial

Save $20k $26k cash by 22 Dec (for when I get a mortgage offset account): nicely replenished with a tax return
July: $18,035.56
August: $21,140.13 (+3,104.57)

12 in 2 Adventures savings fund: something had to give in the month of rent + mortgage
July: $749.93 (how’d that go down?)
August: $1.72 (-$748,21)

Grocery spend: increase achieved

That’s a blog post in and of itself – probably on Monday.  Let’s just say it’s more than doubled, and we’re shocked!

Volunteering hours: alright (poorly remembered though!)

Sat 3rd: 4hrs doing church flowers

Sun 4th: 1 hr doing Sunday School

I’m sure there’s heaps more – bad at tracking!!

Ah that's right - I did church flowers this month!
Ah that’s right – I did church flowers this month!

Health

Cook at home twice a week: Achieved! Since no eating out month (and the BF being around all the time), I’m much better at eating hearty, homecooked meals!

Items in bold were cooked at home from scratch

(Thu)
Dumplings out (Fri)
Apple sauce (sick) (Sat)
Domino’s pizza (Sun)

week 1 –
Soup and garlic bread (Mon)
Mac & cheese (Tue)
Leftover Mac & cheese (Wed)
Nothing – feeling bloated (Thu)
Cauliflower risotto – as in no rice!(Fri)
Mum’s birthday dinner (Sat)
Roast lamb (Sun)

week 2 –
Quesadillas (Mon)
Out for a 30th (Tue)
Pizza Risotto (Wed)
Omelette (Thu)
Leftovers?! (Fri)
Thai out for another 30th (Sat)
Roast beef (Sun)

One of the most vibrant things I've seen whilst on site!
One of the most vibrant things I’ve seen whilst on site!

Week 3 –
Cornbread, with pork mince with homemade taco spice (Mon)
Macaroni with anchovies and bacon (Tue)
Leftovers (Wed)
Crust Pizzas out(Thu)
Schnitzel/grilled chicken & chips <- ready made (Fri)
Beef sliders (even using left over cabbage!) (Sat)
Pulled pork nachos with Mexican beans (Sun)

week 4 –
Macaroni & Cheese (Mon)
?? (Tue)
Red Rooster (Wed)
Mexican out (Thu)
Gnochhi, then Nutella pizza (out) (Fri)
Risotto (Sat)
Dinner at parents for Father’s Day (Sun)

The boyfriend has taken the lion’s share with cooking.  He doesn’t need recipes, it’s tasty and it’s about 1/3 to 1/10th of the time it takes me.  I enjoy weekend prepping ‘weird’ hand and home made meals (like gnocchi).

Sugar:

What? Surely I didn’t think I’d stop eating sugar.  I have a killer caramel cheesecake recipe, remember! With a gluten free gingernut biscuit bases… mmmm.  And then… there was a lemon meringue pie for the greater good of the family.

Made this for the big family dinner for Mum's birthday. She got a coconut and date mousse (as it was sugar free)
Made this for the big family dinner for Mum’s birthday. She got a coconut and date mousse (as it was sugar free)

Train for polo – Training to run a half marathon:  sort of – good weeks and bad

Stopped for a week after I got some bad shin splints!  So I just bought some new shoes to (hopefully) help.  Thankfully I googled for a outlet, and shaved $70! (!!!!) off the price by buying the old style.

Cultural

2 films a month: still  none!?

2 books a month: achieved

I finished Zero Waste Home and I will add to my blogger friend’s review.  I’m likely to be a little harsher, I looked very intently on all that was said :p  I did read something else, but hmmm not sure what.  Maybe there wasn’t

Social

Call/connect with an out of town friend: YEP!

Thanks to a Melbourne trip I caught up with a friend!

Career

Certification: oh so close…

 Oh so close – I have the 150 hours (over the past three years), and I have one episode report that’s too long (a mash up of two ‘episodes’ and totally disjointed) and one that’s too short AND makes no sense… I have no idea what I was trying to write/say!

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Melbourne in photos

Last Wednesday afternoon, I headed to Melbourne for three nights to complete some training. The course will help make up 150 hours on my continuing professional development to help me become a certified engineer.  This is one of my annual goals – getting my certification!

Naturally, I can’t enter a hotel room now without taking photos, so I figured I may as well share:

I could easily have snuck the BF in - or a gaggle of friends!
I could easily have snuck the BF in – or a gaggle of friends!

This was the Holiday Inn on Flinders, which is well located when your course is in the same building! I didn’t get much ‘sight seeing’ other than inside the course room for 16 hours, so the photos are of the little quirky things I did see.

Back to my room, the pillow ‘menu’. There were “hard” ones too!

In case you were wondering... Though I did struggle to remove this temporary band!
In case you were wondering… Though I did struggle to remove this temporary band!

Breakfast wasn’t included in my room rate (well I never asked?!) so I headed out each morning to get a coffee and something to eat. The first morning I got a fruit salad, but the photo seems have gotten lost. The next day, I went all out!

I think I paid far more than the size would have you think - those globs of colour must be worth their weight in gold! Still, yummy splurge b'fast
I think I paid far more than the size would have you think – those globs of colour must be worth their weight in gold! Still, yummy splurge b’fast

I was a lovely place, the Grain House, and I did break my attempts at being gluten free. It was lovely a venue, and they were totally flummoxed I didn’t order coffee (repeatedly). See, my course had great coffee/hot chocolate!

The interior of the lovely maker of pancakes
The interior of the lovely maker of pancakes

After two nights in a hotel, I’d used my ‘freebie’ and moved to stay with my friend in South Melbourne. I’ve known this friend since school (she was my boarding house supervisor). In that time, she’s lived in Germany twice, me in France once. In addition, I’ve visited her twice in Germany and once in Brisbane (when she was visiting her parents), and she’s visited me in Paris and in Sydney. We certainly are jetsetters!

The view from my friend's apartment. I can see why she chose it!
The view from my friend’s apartment. I can see why she chose it!

We had a pretty leisurely evening together and morning before my Saturday afternoon flight back to Sydney. We did so much walking!! Though, the walking was worth it, for the things we ate (not all of it was I ‘blogger’ like for, so there’s no photos of delicious gnocchi or pear & nutella pizza or my pastry!)

Mac and cheese burger by the beach
Mac and cheese burger by the beach

Wow, my phone takes great photos in good light (and horrible photos in bad, as seen below!)

As you can see, burgers and slaw are my thing – and… whilst i don’t have a file photo, so is Mac and Cheese! The BF cooks it to ‘pick me up’ pretty regularly.

Compared to my homemade version with potato bread and red cabbage slaw
Compared to my homemade version with potato bread and red cabbage slaw

Speaking of – I came home to a beautiful bunch of my favourite flowers, which I (of course) have forgotten to photograph. I’ll get a snap as they open up nicely. There you have it, a mini break in Melbourne in pictures.

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Goals Update – July

Every month, I like to check in with the ‘New years goals‘ I set.

Financial

$20k $26k target by 22 Dec: ah, maybe this will need to be adjusted again with the move.  I’ll leave it for now, and see how things settke
June: $17,938.69
July: $18,035.56 (+$96.87 thanks to moving costs :()

12 in 2 Adventures: failed: not done any adventures, working on the two long term ones, and no adding to savings
June: $898.81
July: $749.93 (how’d that go down?)

Grocery spend

I thought I’d add a quick update, seeing my July challenge was no eating out, I figured my grocery spend would go up.  It hasn’t, it’s about the same.  Although, I probably ate at the bf’s more this month, so that might be why?

Volunteering hours
Tue 2nd: 4.25hrs at the co-op
Sun 7: 1hr at church
Sun 14: 2hrs at church

Health

Cook at home twice a week: definitely achieved with my ‘no eating out’ month, but records are patchy!

week 1 –
Leek tart(Mon)
Coop food provided (Tue)
Wedding meal (Sat)
no more records?

week 2 –
no record for the rest of this week, except:
Multi course birthday dinner (Sat)
Chinese roast beef with vegies (Sun)

week 3 –
Another forgetful week!
Dinner @ parents (Sat)
Pizzas (ready made from grocery store) (Sun)

week 4 –
Gnocchi with tomatoes (Mon)
Sweet potato chips (Tue)
Fried Rice (Wed)
Sushi (Thu) <- yes bought out
snacks/leftovers (Fri)
Macaroni & cheese (Sat)
Spaghetti bolognese (Sun)

Week 5
Quesadillas (Mon)
Leftovers from Mon (Tue)
Beef with rice noodles (Wed)

Sugar – so so, not commited like I have been, but not entirely a free for all
It started well, but ended poorly, with lots of cakes at work, including me trying a gluten free sponge recipe, making a GF chocolate cake, using a packet mix for brownies (just to use it up). I also made a vegan cheesecake with dates and a touch of sugar. Then I also ate dessert at the fancy friend’s b’day dinner, and we bought ice creams in the past week. Sigh!

Train for polo – Training to run a half marathon: just platueaing! Something I want to achievely work on once I’m settle in my new home
2nd – couldn’t run 3kms to Co-op, so mainly walked with some jogging stints
9th – home to co-op, 2.93kms with some running
12th – 1.23km walk to the bf’s work
13th – 2.83km jog with hills around the bfs, with running
15th – 4.8km run back from dancing, some walking
22nd – 4.4km est, home to pole dancing, more walking than running
23rd – 4.3km mostly walking to/from hair dresser
29th – 1.53km jog/walk to appt

Cultural

2 films a month: failed (though did see two DVDs)
I can hardly believe I’ve not seen a movie in a cinema in a month – that is SO unlike me. I did mention to the BF that perhaps we could see something last night. I did watch two DVDs recently, one based on the IRA (slow burner, not really recommended). The other one was called The Factory and was better than I expected – it stars John Cusack and Jennifer Carpenter (from Dexter), and follows serial abductions of prostitutes, until John Cusack’s daughter also get abducted. There’s an awesome twist too!

2 books a month: achieved
I read Bottlemania, which you can read the review of here. Other than that, I finished The Heart Broke In by James Meek, and here’s my review (gosh that seems like a long time ago I read that!). Lastly, I’ve started on a book about called Nice Girl by R.j. Chin about Keli Lane. Keli Lane has been convicted of murder of her second child, who disappeared after an informal adoption. This is one of three children she had in secret, the other two being formally adopted. Her fourth child lives with her. This story is compelling to me, because… Keli was my boss at the school she was employed at during the years much of this drama happened! She was an Olympic water polo hopeful, and recruited me as a casual coach at her school. She left suddenly during my time working at the school. Based on the half of the book I’ve read, most people who knew her, myself included, do not believe she killed her baby. I think it’s rotten you can be convicted of murder when there’s no proof of murder. I’m sure there’s crimes committed, but murder is certainly not one of them! Here’s some more background in wikipedia

Social

Call/connect with an out of town friend: achieved
YES! A friend I made in Paris, who at the time lived in Wollongong, has been in Sydney since Feb. So I finally had her around for a cuppa, before moving out of my place. I also spoke to a number of school friends with the bad news of a friend’s death. Lastly, I semi spammed my nearest and dearest (but not local) with the link to my new house, so they could ooo and ahhh… So all round, a great month on social connections.

Career

Certification: minimal progress

Seriously, other than three hours spent at talks for continuing professional development (I need 150 hours).  I booked into a pricey course to get another 16 hours.  I’ve also been meeting with both my mentors, I’ve really not moved forward with this one as much as I could have. I need to set some time to get onto this and get it DONE!

Looking for next role: achieved, will remove from goals list

I’m in the new role, and I’m swamped. Let’s say I was under utilised in the last role, and now I hardly can think straight! But I love being busy, just perhaps not at the same time as moving house!!

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July Challenge: No eating out

Although it’s not the true end of the month, I thought I would check in with my experience of my self imposed challenge not to eat out for a month!

1. I was innovative, with packing everything for a two day road trip. So I know I can be ‘frugal’ and skip eating out. (I will summarise grocery costs at the true end of the month, and see if there’s been a noticeable increase, and probably update this post with more info).

2. I did cheat. There were a handful of take away coffees (some even in single use take away cups!). There was one breach in the first weekend, and then two breaches the following two weekends. I also went out with my next door neighbour for Vietnamese. I didn’t want to reject her suggestion (it’s our first ‘date’), and cooking at home wasn’t practical with going to open houses on the same night.  Last night I got sushi from the sushi place outside the grocery store – so it’s sort of out, and sort of not?!

source: www.mslimalicious.com
source: www.mslimalicious.com

3. My boyfriend was on board (but bored!). He encouraged me to stick at it (like last night! He cooked nachos, but I didn’t want nachos). Though it’s become a common placeto say ‘we’ll do that/go there in August’.  Bring on August and some dates!

4. I did buy some ready made meals from the grocery store, such as garlic bread, soups and (freezer) pizzas. I’d like to move away from processed foods, as I’ve mentioned before, but it’s just too hard sometimes to balance all the things you want to do, with LIFE! So I gave myself leave passes.

5. I’ve certainly spent less money, with every week having some of my weekly allowance still in my wallet. That being said, I’ve spent way more than a usual month as I outlined here, and more recently with the rental bond and that sort of thing.

Overall, it was an interesting challenge.  I proved to myself that I can cook at home, and eat at home, and it’s not all that taxing, though I do occasionally take short cuts with ready made meals.  It is a little more socially challenging to not eat out, and my relationship with my colleague seems less strong after missing our weekly lunch date.  Actually, in light of my role change, a few one on one lunches might have been better to keep the relationship strong, even though I’m ‘jumping ship’.

On the whole, I don’t think I’ll re-do this challenge for the sake of it.  It’s good to know I can tighten the belt, but it’s all been a bit too much of a challenge in these later weeks of the month, with all the moving plans.

 

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Weekend away without eating out

I did have a super exciting post on retirement savings written. (Australian retirement savings are called ‘super’, so that’s a play on words). So not really ‘super exciting’.  But then, I just spent the weekend in Orange, NSW about 3.5 hours from Sydney.  Given that I challenged myself to no eating ‘out’ for the month, I had to be super organised!!

Firstly, the no eating out challenge is largely a financial exercise, so I didn’t reject the dinner at the wedding reception.  And I gave a gift, just in case anyone thought I might be cheeky enough to truly have a ‘free meal’!

Here's everything I packed for a 'no eating out' weekend road trip
Here’s everything I packed for a ‘no eating out’ weekend road trip

We left Sydney at about 8am Saturday morning.  Knowing the bf, I didn’t make breakfasts for him, but I did expect the need to stop off for coffee, repeatedly!  So, within walking distance from my house, we stopped for his first cappuccino (in a keep cup!).  He’s not really his charming self without a coffee, and he’s not in on the ‘no eating out’ challenge.  Whilst he procured coffee, I munched on my granola parfait.  That’s the fancy name for my layers of muesli (granola), yoghurt, grated carrot and frozen berries.  It was a little dry, but certainly edible.  I may have also sipped from the poisoned chalice of bought coffee too… I am weak.  And coffee is strong!

self catered road trip
Bottom left is a breakfast parfait

For morning tea, I enjoyed a mandarin as I waited at the rest stop.  For those non Australians, this rest stop involved a sturdy, new hut, with two ‘long drop’ toilets (google it for you’re game!). They kindly have picnic tables nearby but I settled for the car due to the biting wind and the smells it carried!  For the bf, there was oven dried salami.  It excreted so much greasy/oily muck, ewww…  But it did crisp up nicely.  I though the bf would enjoy it alone, but mentioned it’d be nice with cheese and crackers, so I happened so have some, and whipped them out!

Somewhere between the middle of the drive, and more open countryside, we stopped for the n’th time at a McDonalds.  Mainly for the bathrooms.  But also for the coffee.  The bf might have broken my ‘no eating out’ rule when I succumbed to a coffee.  I just didn’t want to be a sleepy/crabby lady any longer! But I didn’t pay, so maybe I’m safe on a technicality.  (I did buy the bf a coffee on Friday morning, so maybe that voids the claimed technicality?)

The swanky bedroom in de Russie
The swanky bedroom in de Russie

Lunch happily coincided with our arrival at the hotel.  It was lovely – if anyone wants somewhere swanky but relatively affordable (because it allows you to stay one night, rather than most places with a minimum stay of 2 nights) I’d highly recommend de Russie Suites in Orange (they are also in Mudgee).  We had delicious turkey, cranberry, baby spinach and cream cheese croissants/gluten free wraps.

Turkey croissants for the bf
Turkey croissants for the bf

After the ceremony, there were some delicious hot finger food – like pork belly and gallettes (savoury crepes, which are the specialty of the region the bride is from in France).  Not to be deterred though, on returning to our hotel, we had wine and cheese on crackers. Yes, I’d even made gluten free biscuits for myself!  When that was all munched up, I moved onto some gluten free pear and walnut bread.  And maybe some spiced nuts.  Oh and some cut up carrots and capsicum.

Dried salami, candied nuts and pear and walnut bread to the left
Dried salami, candied nuts and pear and walnut bread to the left

The wedding dinner was lovely, in line with the delicious hors d’oeuvres after the service.  The mains were lamb or pork, which is unusual.  It always seems to be chicken and beef.  In any case, it was tasty! And dessert was also yum – the bf and I diligently split it all down the middle – between a gingery/creamy/jelly topped something, and a caramel and chocolate tart (yes, I also ate sugar… sigh).  We were surprised the wedding didn’t have a menu, so every dish was a surprise.

Sunday saw a repeat of my breakfast parfait, but the hotel provided a little breakfast pack.  So from the pack, I made the bf some coffee and toast.  The coffee was a start, but there were two further McDonald’s coffees on our journey – though none for me!

Sunday snack included walnuts spiced with egg whites and cinnamon, and sliced strawberries which I froze, and then thawed making them a nice soft stewed mess.  There was also an apple too.  Lunch was samosas, which sadly contain ‘the gluten devil’ as the bf calls it.  I’m just not sure making gluten free puff pastry is worth the time!  And that more of less ended the epic menu of DIY road trip food.

Now in list form

Overall, I think we succeeded.  The bf remarked how ‘cheap’ the weekend had been when we were sorting out dinner on Sunday night (with a $2 DVD from the store, yes, they still exist!).  He reckons he spent a grand sum of $15 on coffees, and that was it!  I covered the accommodation and fuel, seeing the wedding was for my friend.  I’m so thankful to the bf and his lovely car, which he did all the driving in – all the way there, between all the wedding components (including in -3.5 C with black ice!), and back to Sydney.  He was also a pretty good sport about eating all my inventions!  I’ll leave you with a less than ideal photo of the married couple:

Alice and Alex
Alice and Alex

So there you have it, a self catered road trip! What’s your go to snack or rest stop meal when you’re on a long car trip (or even flying)?

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Goals Update – June

Financial

$20k $26k target by 22 Dec: On target to reach it by 21/11!
May: $16,413.13
Jun: $17,938.69 (+$1525.56)

12 in 2 adventures fund

May: $574.32
June: $898.81

Generosity target
Slower month this month, but annualised, I think I’m still doing fine.  Maybe I’ll report on my hours volunteering?

Health

Cook at home twice a week: Easily met, especially with the BF’s cooking mixed in

week 1 –
Dad’s graduation dinner (Sat)
Ceasear salad at BF’s (Sun)
Red Rooster (Mon)
Spag Bol with zuchini (Tue)
Garlic cheese pizza (Wed)
Chicken Ceaser Salad (Thu)
Satay pork pies, Zucchini slice & Pumpkin Pie (Fri)
Malaysian at Mamak and N2 gelato (Sat) <- my go to for out of town visitors!
Curry and Rice at parents (Sun)

week 2 –
nothing… Ice cream at vivid festival (Mon)
Oven roasted cheery tomato gnocchi (Tue) <- can I just say, I didn’t think something so easy could be so tasty! I even skip on the basil and it’s awesome
Chicken with Bombay potatos (Wed)
Zuchini slice? (Thu)
Pepperoni pizza (Fri)
Mamak again, different location and different people (Sat)
Nachoes by BF at my place (Sun)

week 3 –
Ceaser salad at BF’s (Mon)
Gnochhi with slow roasted tomatos(Tue)
McDonalds (I had a freebie) (Wed)
Gnocchi (from ricotta) (Thu)
Salt and pepper squid at the pub (Fri)
Onion tart (Sat)
Pad Se Ew (sp?) at BF’s (Sun)

week 4 –
Onion tart (Mon)
Onion tart (Tue)
Food at Coop Fundraiser (Wed)
Dominos pizza (Thu)
Nothing (some cake?) (Fri)
Gnocchi with oven dried tomatoes at BF’s (Sat) yes again!
Stew at a friends (Sun)

Sugar: Back on a good thing, but only 1 week this month

After a shock on Monday week ago (seeing my whole reflection in the mirror!), I have decided to cut sugar at least til the end of July.  My loop holes are that if I bake it at home, it’s ok (like a great gluten free pear and walnut bread mmmm).  Natural sugars are ok (milk, fruit).  And I won’t be a Nazi – I did nibble a tiny bit of a snack Mars Bar and the BF ate the rest.  Or the super good organic chocolate at the coop that someone kept offering me – with coconut sugar I think.

Train for polo:

Taking the season off.  I am pleased I got a continuous 4km run in on Wednesday and it felt a-ok.  It was relatively flat, and I only walked about 30m at a time before I started running again, so law of averages says I ran!

Cultural

2 films a month: Happily yes!

Definitely! There was the silly This is the end (which we saw with free tickets… which is the only way I’d ever suggest anyone sees this – unless you are a man who likes toilet humour); we also went and saw The Great Gatsby and The Internship which I enjoyed more than I might have expected.  Technically, World War Z also came in during this month too!

2 books a month: Also a yes!

I read The World Without Us and Perfume, click the links if you missed my reviews

Social

Call/connect with an out of town friend : Achieved, gold star here

A friend from Victoria visited, so she made all the effort 😉 And is now a reader – yay!  And at the beginning of June I went to the Gold Coast and caught up with a school friend.  So two good activities with two out of town friends! Win!

Career

Certification: Bah, not so much progress :s

I’ve got my mentor to read three of the woeful 16, and updated two of them.  The third one, all about ‘evaluation’ – he said what I wrote doesn’t really prove that I have this skill.  He is, of course, right, but I just don’t know how to fix it!  Maybe start again :s

Looking for next role: Moving along nicely

Interestingly, one has found me.  I spoke to my boss a week or two ago, looking for some growth/learning areas he thought might be useful.  At the same time, i told him about my career goal.  A week later he called me into his office and suggested a lateral move, with the view that it will enhance my skills, and may give me some management ‘practice’.  So, I think it’s a no brainer that i take it!

So the month that was June.  All round, pretty good.  On track with savings (and a HUGE backpay/OT/on call pay supplement this week too!).  Killing it on my cultural goals, and ok on the career and social fronts.  Maybe I should add ‘running’ into the health part – and keep myself a little more accountable, as I had a huge hiatus after this post.

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June challenge: track eating out costs

I’ve mentioned more than once (here and here), that I’m sure my eating out costs are higher than my monthly grocery spend.  It’s the only way I can explain how I spend so little on groceries and I haven’t starved 😉  Actually regular readers would know, every month I set a goal to cook at home two nights a week.  I usually meet this (and I don’t count the ‘cooking at the bf’s’ in that either!)

Whilst thinking of a challenge I considered ‘no eating out’ in June.  It was doomed from the start, with a night away at the Gold Coast.  So I decided I would track it first, and then next month, work on a ‘no eating out’ challenge.

Now I want one! I love a great pepperoni pizza! source:kingstonhouseofpizza.com
Now I want one! I love a great pepperoni pizza!
source:kingstonhouseofpizza.com

So, to start with, this is normal programming, complete with a mini break in there.  We seem to have one mini break out of town every month at the moment – between weddings, work and ‘why not’s.  Let’s hope this week is an outlier in the month (though if every week truly is like this, imagine how much I’ll have saved at the end of July’s challenge?).

Here’s the ‘rules’

  1. I track the total meal and drinks cost (coffees, cocktails etc).  This includes whomever I eat with, usually the bf
  2. I proportion what amount of that is mine (not exactly, but just a rough 50/50 or 30/70).  This is helpful when I eat in a big group (ie with my family) and whilst I don’t/didn’t pay, work out what it might have cost me in real terms.
  3. The BF is aware of the tracking, but neither of us are changing our behaviour just yet.  Basically, business as usual

Week 1 – hold onto your hat’s frugalistas…

9.3% of my (weekly) take home salary covered my own meals out, so far.  Actually, that’s ignoring my family night out, where dad paid.  If I’d paid my way, I’d have spent 12.7%  And if I paid for everything we eaten out as a couple, it’d have been 13.8%.  Oh and don’t you worry about fairness, there’s been hotel costs & cabs in this same week and I’ve paid nothing for those.

Now, let’s hope for a calmer few weeks, and a nicer end of month check in…

For a random aside, as I can’t contain my jubilation!

My current career inspiration source:http://www.generalhonore.com/index.html
My current career inspiration
source:http://www.generalhonore.com/index.html

Career Goals Update

I’ve now met with my internal mentor (got tongues waging in my office, seeing me meeting one on one with a big cheese!).  He was a dynamo and I’m sure it’s going to be a great match.  As a result of both mentors, I’ve had a flurry of activity, including applying for RedR to be on their disaster register. Lucky I got on this promptly, as applications close tomorrow!  Next step will be a phone interview – so close those fingers everyone!  I also asked my manager to review my skills and help me identify some learning opportunities for me, to make the most of my current role whilst we ride out the storm of no jobs and uncertainty in our company.  And I’ve sent three of my less than ideal career episode reports to my external mentor.  Hopefully our next meeting will bring some insights on how I can strengthen those.  I’m walking with a spring in my step, and radiating sunshine with all these little steps toward the career I want!

Thanks readers, you’re really helping me keep accountable and make sure I achieve my goals.

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Goals Update – May

Financial

$20k  $26k target by 22 Dec: On target (increase of $1,829.61 this month)

Apr 2013: $14,522.79

May 2013: $16,352.40

Generosity target of at least $100 per week:  ahead of annual target

I have decided to just list whether I’ve achieved this for the month, and whether I’m behind or ahead of my annual budgetted ‘generosity’.

Health

Cook at home twice a week: achieved as much as I can remember (week 1 was hazy!)

I’ve started making a soup about weekly, to use leftovers for lunches at work.  This has settled my angst about vegetable intact and means I can be happier eating less balanced dinners which might be the preference of those I dine with 😉  Bolded items were cooked at home

week 1 –

(Mon)
(Tue)
(Wed)
Cheesy Garlic pizza (Thu)
GF pasta in Brisbane (Fri)
Steak out in Brisbane (Sat)
Nachos at Brisbane airport(Sun)

week 2 –
Rice crackers and brownies? (Mon)
Pumpkin & Lentil soup (Tue)
Pizza (Wed)
Leftovers? (Thu)
Spaghetti Carbonara (Fri)
Nachoes and Sliders out (Sat)
Quiche, waldorf salad & spaghetti marinana at parent’s house (Sun)

week 3 –
Vegetable soup (Mon)
Steak and chips – met the BF’s MUM!! (Tue)
Udon Noodles with miso (Wed)
Prawn & scallop pie out (Thu)
Stuffed peppers (Fri)
Ceaser Salad at BF’s (Sat)
Eurovision party (Sun)

week 4 –
Pumpkin Soup (Mon)
Dominos Pizzas (Tue)
Tuna bake (Wed)
Satay chicken and rice at BF’s (Thu)
(Fri)
Italian birthday dinner out (Sat)
Nachos at BF’s (Sun)

Weel 5-
Sweet Potato and Suede soup (Mon)
Chicken with rice noodles (Tue)
Miso with Udon noodles (Wed)

Limit Sugar – totally off this bandwagon

Train for polo – not playing the winter season

Cultural

– 2 films a month: achieved

I saw two DVDs as well as going out to the movies.  I really wanted to see Warm Bodies and so the BF obliged and took me.  I loved it, I loved the subtle humour.  Really pleased I went and saw it.  Whilst it seems a little like a chick flick, I think it’s got enough going for it that others can tolerate it.

I also saw two movies at home, Unthinkable wasn’t something I heard about, when it came out, or since.  It was an American who plants three nuclear bombs in the US.  Probably a little bit of a sensitive issue for Americans, but I enjoyed the film.  It was pretty graphic – they use all the torture methods that are and are not approved.  It certainly makes you ask questions of torture, but also the motivations of the tortured – perhaps they’ve resigned to their fate, and therefore no end of torture will cause them to reveal the information you’re seeking?  The second film was The Hunger Games which I haven’t read, but was interested to see nonetheless.  I think I was actually surprised how into it I got, and I really did want to see ‘what happened in the end’.

Saw Iron Man 3 at the movies, and I’ve not seen the first two, but I still followed what was going on and enjoyed it immensely – obviously enhanced by the La Premiere session, which involved food and alcohol service to your couples chairs, separated from the general public.

– 2 books a month: achieved

First up was Winter Garden which was a great balance between modern day USA and fairytale time (which becomes wartime Russia).  Really well told story, with lots of characters going on a little personal discovery.

Gosh it seems like it’s been a long month, and somehow I managed to get The Paradox of Choice read, though it took forever.  I wrote a very brief review too.

Social

Call/connect with an out of town friend – achieved
In May, I took a weekend back in my former home town, Brisbane, and had a great dinner with a school friend. The other night, I met up with a friend who I met at an overseas conference, who does a similar role to me for a company in Brisbane. I always have the best time catching up with her – we’re so in sync as nerds!

I also spoke to a friend originally from Perth but now in Melbourne – both for her B’day and again she rang me a week later to sort out coming to visit! The coincidence in all this was that I knew it was her birthday and whilst i was listening to a national radio program they read a text message she sent in! She lived in a pretty small town in Western Australia and when they mentioned that, and her name, well it couldn’t have been a bigger coincidence – I pulled over then and there to ring her for her birthday and exclaim her nationwide ‘fame’!

Career

– Certification – 60% done well, 40% still to improve

Of the 16 career episode reports, I’ve written something for every one. There are five that are too short (one, woefully so).  But I’m starting to see that I’m chipping away at this, and it will get done!  I’ve set an ‘end of the year’ target to complete this.  I also need to send three to my non work mentor to review.  I did consider sending the ‘worse’ ones, but then I don’t want to make a bad impression – but it’s best to get help where I most need it!

– Looking for next role – I’m working on it!

Whilst I’ve not actively sort a new role, in the last month I’ve met with my non-work mentor.  We talked about a career plan and he gave me some helpful tips. Mainly, he talked and I took a lot of notes (oh, of course I talked too… don’t worry).  As a result of that chat, I’ve sought out an internal mentor.  Someone in senior management, but not part of my direct reporting structure, which I think it helpful.  He’s also been overseas with our company sending him to NYC, which would be a dream come true for me.  So after going out on a limb with a ‘will you be my mentor’ email, not a day later I have a willing mentor and a date to meet in early June!  Yay!

Posted on

Goals Update – April

Financial

My backpay came through this week, which now means I’m on a higher salary.  It also means all my savings targets got a generous boost! 😀

$20k target by 22 Dec: On target to achieve

Mar 13: $13,003.17 (adjusted from March goals post to include interest of $53.11)

Apr 13: $14,522.79

12 in 2 Adventures: Ahead of target

Start of month $229.76

End of month: $797.56 + $89 paid for knife skills course

Generosity target of at least $100 per week not quite there

(weeks Mon thu Sun – and based on when things were withdrawn from my accounts):
week 1 – $45 + $70 (dad) + 12hrs volunteering (babysitting, flowers, Sunday school)
week 2 – $20 + $80 to the cause spoken about here
week 3 – $20 + 2 hrs volunteering (babysitting/cleaning)
week 4 – $35 + $50 for a swim-a-thon of a colleague

I don’t want to share too much of my 12 in 2 goal to read the bible, but let’s just say I’ve started, and in a year, I should have the whole thing licked.  Why am I bringing it up here?  Well I read about giving, but silently, so only God knows.  Made me question publishing it on the blog.  But then I realised, the blog is helping me do it – in the sense that it reminds me to give to those less fortunate.  What are your thoughts?  Should I just retire this segment from my goals update?  It does feel a little… show-off-ish

Health

Cook at home twice a week: achieved

Bold means I made it myself!  March was a roaring success – and April on average wasn’t too bad.  I had one week where I didn’t hit my target, but given I’d been sick in the stomach and then super busy, I’m not 100% worried.  I’ve seen an increase in eating at home of late, so that’s a bonus.  Most of my meals out seem to be homecooked too – either at a friend’s or my parents.  I still buy lunch 2 days a week – Mondays and on the weekend at least once usually.

Chicken and Leek terrine, thanks to coles.com.au
Chicken and Leek terrine, thanks to coles.com.au

Udon noodles (Thu)
Leek & Chicken Terrain and focaccia (Fri)
Leek & Potato bake (Sat)
Vietnamese noodles with prawns (Sun)

*can you imagine me coming home with EIGHT leeks – it was comical*
week 1 –

Chicken & Leek terrain with leek and potato bake leftovers (Mon)
Rocket salad with beef (Tue)
Apple sauce (sick!) (Wed)
Chicken soup – leftovers (Thu)
Ginger and Lemongrass stir fry (Fri)
Snack food at water polo presentation night (Sat)
Nothing 🙁 still sick from WED! (Sun)

week 2 – let’s not talk about some of the nutritional decisions I made this week, shall we?
?? (Mon)
Chocolate cake (Tue)
Pizzas (Wed)
Garlic pizza – inhaled pre concert (Thu)
Sushi – nearly made me sick (Fri)
Wedding (Sat)
Roast chicken at friend’s place (Sun)

week 3 –

Dosa with curried root veges – I used mustard when I couldn’t buy mustard seeds, it works (Mon)
Vegie pasta bake at a friend’s (Tue)
GF pizza(Wed)
Lasange at my parent’s (Thu)
Italian out (Fri)
Coconut buns and chicken dim sum (Sat)
Leftover GF pizza (Sun)

week 4 –

Chickpea Salad (Mon)
Pizza (Tue)
Nachos at BF’s (Wed)
Curry at parents (Thu)
Sushi (Fri)
Roast lamb and potatos at BF’s (Sat)
Chicken Ceaser Salad at BF’s(Sun)

Sugar – out the window!

Train for polo – off season

Cultural

– 2 films a month: achieved

Sunday night in week 1, my darling took me to Identity Thief I felt pretty rotten, which can be evidenced by the fact that the only Maltesers I consumed were those brought to my mouth! That’s unheard of! Funny funny film – even though BF is convinced I don’t like comedy.  I  also Die Hard – Die Another Day.  Gosh I’m good to my bf! Next up, Warm Bodies I think.

–  2 books a month: achieved

Grotesque sort of straddled the months, but definitely in this month was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn which I thoroughly enjoyed – you can read my review.  I tried to get into Blown with limited success (had it on the go for two weeks).  I think picked up The Winter Garden by Laura Hillenbrand, and I’m really enjoying it!

Social

Call/connect with an out of town friend – not achieved

Not going great with this – I did send some messages but really not enough.

Career

– Certification: on target

Seems I missed two of the sixteen competencies when I was writing out the framework, so whilst i said LAST month I only had three to go, I really had five! So now I’ve done two more, I have three to go.  Only four are at the proper length though, so more work is needed

– Looking for next role: making progress

After some scheduling difficulties, I’m had an information interview with a company this week.  I’m not sure I’ll make the change, given it’d mean longer hours and a lower salary, and the only real carrot for me is that I could move to France (or somewhere else, but France is where I’d like to go, and their ‘home’).  Nonetheless, I’ll make sure to look at their job ads monthly just in case.

I also now have a professional mentor, outside my company, thanks to the professional body that I’m doing my certification through.  We meet in early May at an event, so it shall be interesting to see what I learn and how I grow.

Posted on

12 in 2 list – a time and money plan!

Zorbing with OZBallsSource: http://www.ozball.com.au/Image_Gallery.aspx
Zorbing with OZBalls
Source: http://www.ozball.com.au/Image_Gallery.aspx

I’ve decided if I’m every going to get this list done, I need a plan – to save the money, but also to DO the things I’ve listed.  Two on going task (bible reading and half marathon running) are both currently in practice.  As for the other 10, I’ll list them in chronological order.  Sadly one goal has been deleted, but it’s for the best reason!

Activity list Proposed date

Cost
Dinner at Quay Jan 13
Knife skills course May 13

$89
Go on a silent retreat 3-14 July 13

??
Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb Sept 13

$218 – $298
Do Bridge Run (half way to half) 22 Sept 13

$55
Go Jet Skiing Nov 13? Dec 13

$300/per hour
Learn to Surf Nov 13 – 3 days

$445
Dinner at Aria Jan 14

$420
Read the new testament Mar 14

$0
Run a half marathon May 14 or Sept 14

$120
Plan and prepay funeral Nov 14

$6000
Zorbing Jun 13

$110

+$105 in flights

$1997

You can see the grand total has omitted the funeral prepaying – it’s just such a large chunk… so I have to have $2k raised over 21 months, that’s only $95 a month.  I can surely find that!  I’ll now sling any ‘extra’ cash at the end of the week into an ‘adventures’ fund (remember, I put a set amount away every week towards my $20k goal to refinance my mortgage at the end of this year).  Here’s to getting fun stuff onto the agenda, but still meeting my savings targets!