Wednesday was our 10th anniversary. I decided ultimately to write a short blog post about it because I wanted a simple record of the last year like I’d done previously, and I enjoyed going back and looking at the past few years when I’d done the same.

We both worked that day, but we managed to sneak out for a short lunch together, and then we went out for dinner and wine tasting in the evening. My husband’s godfather came over to watch the kiddo so we didn’t have to pay a babysitter, we took the bus both ways, and we made it in time for happy hour, but it wasn’t a super cheap evening.

We are making our big celebration our trip to Iceland later this winter, but we still wanted to go out and celebrate the actual day itself. Because we are spending the money on the trip though, we kept the evening to a more mid-level expensive date instead of an all out anniversary splurge. We had a wonderful evening though, and it felt like a big deal to hit double digits in our marriage.

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Friday’s Frugal Five

1. We had another car free day on Saturday, where we walked then three miles down the hill to the breweries and then back home again. Overall, the kiddo walked over six miles himself that day, including over five hundred feet of elevation gain. He was pretty tired on the way home, but we managed to keep him moving with the promise of pizza when we got there.

There was also a charity event that happened to be going on that day, and as it was a charity surrounding cancer (they provide college scholarships to siblings of children who got cancer), I was all in and bought more beer (and spent more money) than I’d planned to for the day. Of course though, cancer stories tug on my heartstrings in a serious way and I’m always going to open my check book for that these days.

2. I had oatmeal for lunch at work again on Monday. It was one of those days that I really didn’t feel like eating what I had at my desk, but I powered through the feeling and didn’t buy lunch that day. While I’m allowing myself one lunch out each week, I try not to make it Monday because then the option is out for the rest of the week.

I also made a bit extra of my dinner during the week and brought that to work for lunch as well. While this feels like something they shouldn’t be a continual struggle for me, it is. If I don’t keep a tight handle on the food situation, it easily balloons out of control. So for a week like this one, where I could have easily eaten out all week, bringing and making food at my desk feels like a big win.

3. My mother in law had meant to watch the kiddo a couple extra days this week, but they had a medical emergency with their dog and she needed to be home one of the days she’d planned to be with him (ps their dog is doing better – but keep him in your thoughts because he’s got a long road ahead of him).

When I found out they were having such troubles with him, I reached out to my neighbor and she was able to watch the kiddo that day instead. Raising children takes a village, and we’ve got a wonderful one.

4. The kiddo has this mason jar piggy bank that he’s been filling up since That Frugal Pharmacist sent it to him last year, and it had gotten almost completely full in that time. When my husband mentioned that to him, he got super excited and asked if he could open a bank account (clearly his mom is a money nerd…)

We counted up and laid out all of his money, which he decided to use $20 for a new lego set, $30 to his new bank account, and then we kept the remaining $9.27 (and $0.51 Can) in the piggy bank so it wasn’t completely empty. We took his money to the store where he bought his lego set, and he was thrilled to use his own money and get his own receipt.

It will be a long process with him and teaching him what we can about money, but I feel like we’re headed down the right path. Especially when he remarked that he wanted to spend half his money on his lego set and half on a set for Uriah. I told him I’d get the second set, but it completely overwhelmed my heart that this kiddo who won’t spent his money on almost anything talk about spending half of it on another friend to make him happy.

5. We spent some time this past week cleaning up the garden a bit more and getting it ready for the winter. I tend to be a bit slow about garden bed cleanup at the end of the summer, and this season is no exception. My garden still thrives even with the periods of neglect, which is good news for me.

We also saved some seeds, namely marigolds and purple sprouting broccoli. We’re expecting more wet weather soon, so we needed to harvest them before they started to mold. I still buy a few seeds each year, but that shrinks every year.

Ps I was on an episode of the What’s Up Next Podcast this week talking some more about SlowFI. Go check it out!

Exercise Update

Saturday I tried to get the kiddo to do some Cosmic Kids yoga with me, but he got bored a few minutes in, so I switched on a twenty minute power yoga video and actually got to finish the whole episode. After that, we walked round trip to the breweries in Kenmore, and I finished the day with 22,000 steps.

Monday was a hike through the trails with the kiddo and his neighbor friend. Tuesday I ran home from work, which was five and a half miles and 580 feet of elevation gain. It’s been a while since I’ve done it – and it’s way harder than to work – and my legs were very sore for a few days after. I had to take a few breaks on the steep parts, but it felt good to still be able to finish out the run. I finished that day with 25,000 steps.

Wednesday was our anniversary, and we did some walking as well as to and from the bus, and I ended that day with just under 17,000 steps. Definitely my highest step count week in quite a while.

Do you track your steps? Does it motivate you to move more?