New URL! Same design!

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Back to packing!!!

All Great Things Must Come To A Pause

These past few weeks have been pretty awesome—but, alas, it's the last day of work, and almost Spain time (!)
Stay tuned for a new blog, and a new URL. (The name of which might be theroamingyoshi.com)
Until then, I leave you with this post from This Advertising Life:


When I’m away on vacation and hear about some drama going down at work:

 :) Blue Diesel, I'll miss you. See you in July!

It's really happening

Climber dinner was a special one this week: 12 days 'til Barcelona.

Tacos happened. Along with 5 huge tomatoes laboriously made into one gigantic bowl of pico de gallo. Yum.

Smiles all around.
More updates coming soon, before fly day. :)

Countdown

Be there before we know it!

Lessons Learned

Well, the MOWOSP (Month Without Spending) was an utter failure. On the other hand, I did manage to squeeze a couple lessons from the whole ordeal; the big one being that if I ever encounter actual financial turmoil, I can't count on being able to cut all funds, no matter how hard I try to convince myself.

Another lesson, or rather realization, was a look at the amount I actually spend each month. It's sickening. I should have Noodles & Company on retainer; it'd probably be cheaper that way.

And gas. I'm not exactly sure how I thought I would go about limiting my precious gasoline. One tank was supposed to be my set limit for the month, and that lasted about....a week.

It's quite embarrassing really. A non-spending month lasted all of 5 days.

But for now, I'm going to take it as a lesson learned, and try to be more aware of the money I spend.

62 days 'til Spain! (If that isn't reason enough to save up, I don't know what is!)

P.S. Check what I got today!

The MOWOSP (Month Without Spending)

This is happening.

THE GOAL: 

Save. Save. Save. 

Sustain, and possibly enhance a healthy-ish lifestyle.

Find clever ways to cut spending.

Stick with it! While money is important, the commitment is even more so. 

THE RULES: 

Does this need mentioning? Dining out, drinking out, or any unneeded spending—of any kind—is out of the picture.

Vital exemptions to The MOWOSP: Food, water, and shelter. (But very limited, indeed.) 

Water, gas, and electric will be staying. (I have an obligation to the utility companies as well as a roommate who'd dislike dining in the dark.)

Shelter- You get the idea.

Food is a bit trickier. Previous MOWOSPers seem to have stockpiled food in a spending rampage prior to go-time. (Which sounds a bit like an addict's binge week before rehab, right?) And again, my personal goal is to do this MOWOSP in a healthy fashion, so keeping fresh ingredients is a must. 

Food rations for week #1 are already in my fridge, and I'll take out a small amount of cash to use for the remaining 3 weeks. 

Transportation- Necessary for making-money purposes, one tank of gasoline will be rationed for the month. (Which hurts just thinking about.) 

Miscellaneous: Doctor's appointments ($10 per visit) and my gym membership ($28 for the month) are things I've pegged as necessities. While that last one is usually the first to be kicked off a budget, I'm keeping it around for a few reasons. Firstly, it actually COSTS money to cancel; and secondly, swimming, which unlike running or a team sport, is particularly hard to do on the street. To add a bang to my buck, I'll be able to take advantage of their other activities like volleyball and old-lady water aerobics. 

Exciting.

Alright.

GO.

Up next:

Dinner—Sponsored By The Samples On Toothpicks At Kroger.

Stay tuned.

It's Almost Time! #ClimberDinner

There may be a few chilly days ahead but today was in the high 60s and low 70s—perfect for patio eating. We dusted off the cobwebs and let my itty bitty charcoal grill get an early taste of summer.

For dinner: Seasoned Chicken topped with onions and served with a Summery Strawberry Poppyseed and Meyer Lemon Salad (OMG.) And much like the current weather confusion, it countered to Allison's delightfully cozy soups— Hearty Pea, and Corn Chowder. The later of which I managed to procure leftovers of, before being sucked down by climbers.

Finishing off our smaller-but-mighty spread was garlic bread, pita chips, and hummus courtesy of Bao and  #ClimberDinner newbie, Chelsea.

We. were. stuffed. And then came the cake.

See you next Wednesday.