We've had some weather in the 80s this past week and it feels like we skipped straight from winter into full summer. I went for a run Monday afternoon and I could tell that my body wasn't used to the temperature because it was slow going. I had a bit more time to work out…
Since we're getting ready to get on an airplane and go on our next big trip soon, I thought it was past time to finally recap our favorite free parts of our trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. The trip was smack dab in the middle of my first ever attempt at at No…
I know I talk about community and friends and family quite a lot, but life is really about the people we share it with, and those connections are ultimately what matter most to me. Having your finances in order, a softer footprint on the planet, and lots of time to travel and explore don't mean…
April was a crazy busy month. Mostly in a good way, but still extremely busy. I started my public service board commission for our city, sent some good friends off on a move to Hawaii, wrapped up a work project and began a new one, and we went out of town three separate weekends because I…
If you hadn't seen her countdown in the comments over the last few posts, Budget Epicurean will be in town this weekend! Blog friends turned real life friends are the absolute best. She's never been to this area before, and I'm looking forward to showing her around so she can see how awesome the Pacific…
Last month, I accepted a four year volunteer term for one of my City's commissions, which means that I now have an evening commitment twice a month, as well as a lot of reading and studying to do before each meeting. While I've been working on simplifying my life and generally reducing my regular commitments,…
Somehow we've already arrived at the last week of April. Like I mentioned last week, this month has been insanely busy for us and the days have absolutely blown by. We have a two week trip coming up next month, and I'm looking forward to some time where we don't have so much going on.…
Sustainable living is something that comes naturally to me at this point in my life. I majored in environmental science, studied the sustainable built environment and sustainable food and agriculture in graduate school, worked as a park ranger for 6.5 years, and I currently work for a company that builds affordable, green buildings. When we…
This week has been a long one. We had a great time camping last weekend, but we didn't get home until 5PM Sunday night, and then we've had something going on in the evenings every night except for Tuesday. All good things, but it meant that this past week went by in a complete blur.…
Let's just start by saying that having pets isn't a frugal endeavor. One of our dogs, who is only 7.5 years old, has heart problems that landed her in the emergency vet overnight back in August. Against the odds, she's doing *mostly* better, though on twice a day medication for life, which by themselves aren't…