Puerto Rico on a Spending Fast

Here we are in happier, warmer times.

I wish I could give every married couple I know a week away like this. And to my sweet friends with stressful jobs and busy babies, I would give them two weeks.

On vacation, it was easy not to spend money on myself because all the BEST things- sun, sand, trees, blue sky, ocean, sleep, were free (less the cost of airfare, and accommodations... details, details)

But in getting ready for the vacation, I had to create several loopholes in the following areas:

1. Clothes (that fit). This was tough because certain body parts have been redistributed after having two children in two years. The areas you would like smaller tend to widen, and the areas you would like bigger sadly shrink (or maybe a better word is 'deflate?') This creates a need for new swimsuits and shorts, in the least. BUT, thankfully I never throw anything out, so out of the twelve swimsuits I own, I tried them all on and three fit. I called up my friend Katie and borrowed shorts so phew, we didn't have to cancel the trip.

The biggest difference in how I prepared for this trip, was actually going through old boxes of spring and summer clothes and trying everything on. It turns out I have a decent warm weather wardrobe! I just forgot because I spent all last summer in a spit-up induced daze wearing the same gym shorts and tank top. I did pack more accessories than I usually would and since I rarely dress up, the clothes I brought felt as fun and special as new ones would. Had I been able to, I would have bought more than just sunscreen but it was a fun experience to not focus on acquiring new items but enjoying the ones I already owned.

2. Books. I am an avid reader and given a few uninterrupted hours, I will sit down with a book before doing anything else. I knew this would be one of the biggest struggles in my spending fast. But again, simple- I borrowed! I found two in my mom's bedroom and grabbed one from my friend Sam when we got to Puerto Rico. They might not have been my first choice but once I started in, each caught and held my attention.

I read this in its entirety on the plane ride to San Juan and bawled like a baby! It was wonderful.

I have enjoyed every one of her books, she is a great writer. 

This was my first Nicholas Sparks book and it was good. 

Sam also brought lots of magazines so I didn't feel deprived at all!

3. Mani-Pedi. My dad is the KING of coupons. So when we decided to drive to Naperville a day early because of a pending snow storm, I called him and YES, of course he had a random gift card to a salon AND a coupon to buy a pedicure and get a manicure free. So I was able to snag both at no charge to myself, thanks Dad!

I took cash out of Hubby''s wallet to pay the tip. QUESTIONABLE. Better to not think too hard about that one.

We simply had a wonderful time.

The resort lost our reservation, we did not freak out at them, and in return they upgraded us to a villa with our own private pool, is this real life?! We would really recommend staying here, the Gran Melia in Rio Grande.

It truly was easy not to shop. I would have given the chance as there were several malls close by. But since I couldn't buy myself anything, why even go? The one thing I would have bought were some neat bracelets like these that we found that were made by local women...

Instead, I have managed to keep my resort id bracelet on, it looks a little trendy and is a free souvenir. Here I am still wearing it a week later...

When we flew out of O'Hare, my suit-case weighed 46.5 lbs, when we flew out of San Juan, exactly 46.5 lbs! Usually on the return flight, I have to pass off things to Hubby to meet the 50 lb weight limit, it was nice to avoid that chaotic moment as well as the argument that goes along with it!

I ran from the car into my mom's house to see our little ones. I walked in and they both started crying-- for Dada! Little Lou literally ran right past me like I was invisible, and as soon as I picked up Mack- he reached for Dada too! Ungrateful! But now they are making up for it with lots of snuggles and little bursts of anxiety every time I leave the room.

Vacation was great, but home is great too. So grateful to be able to say that.

**Waiting in our mailbox was the Nordstrom Spring catalog, a little voice in my head said, "Don't you even look!" But in a weak moment, I grabbed it and a cup of coffee and hid in the closet. Look what I found, eek! Somebody else buy and rock these pretties, I love Toms and Jonathan Adler, such great patterns!**

February: A Love Hate Relationship

I can't wait for February to be over. I don't want February to end.

Three reasons I am not loving this month:

1. Hubby has been off work. This is something I would have done anything for a year ago. I would even have shaved my head to have home just a few hours a week. He lived on the other side of the state, I was 36 weeks pregnant and chasing a one-year-old. Since he was gone, I moved us to our new house by myself and literally had zero sane thoughts the whole month of February 2013. It is a miracle our marriage survived and even came to thrive out of such a tough time. But now... he is home all day, every day. And I am also home all day, every day. Our small children are there as well. We live in rural Iowa. It is winter. I often parallel my life to the Shining, or to riding on an airplane on an overseas flight where you are confined to a small space and are afraid the blood in your legs will clot from lack of movement. And our house is "open concept living" which means you can't really escape each other because there are no walls. We suffer.


2. The weather. Duh.

3. A major budgeting mistake. So we decided to try spending cash instead of a credit card on groceries, clothes for the kids, and eating out. We sat down together, had a very precious excel spreadsheet, punched all the numbers and figured out what we would need for the month. We were out of money by February 13th. Because I married a rule follower, he insists  we I learn from our my errors and go the rest of the month without buying groceries. We are living off a large bag of sweet potatoes and red meat. We buy "half a cow" every year and yes, I know this is confusing to some. If you are a suburban girl like me, when your husband tells you that you are going to pick up half a cow, you might think the cow has literally been cut in half. When you arrive at the gas station at 11pm to pick it up from his old roommate, you will start to hope that there is a tarp covering the poor halved cow. You will wonder if you will see its sweet brown and black spots. Do not worry! You are instead picking up coolers filled with steaks, ground beef, roasts, that have been packaged for you. It is all very clean and proper and un-vegetarian of us.

Reasons I am loving this month:

1. It is short, which makes for less days on the spending fast.

2. Next month Spring starts. And I am a firm believer in seasons starting on their official calendar date. So on March 21st, we shall see tulips, and blue skies, and 50 degree days. Also, spring clothes are out at Target so surely they are are in tune with what the weather is doing because we need some warm days to wear cute crochet shorts like these:

3. WE ARE GOING ON VACATION! Real deal. Not that anybody has noticed, but this winter has been a doozy. And I married a man who loves living in Iowa, bless his heart, so I spend 365 days a year begging him to take me to the ocean. We are going to Puerto Rico (due to some type of specialized fishing- so much animal slaughter- sorry to my vegan readers for this post!) We fly out of Chicago and are leaving the little people with our parents. This time with Hubby  is precious because we need to stop "discussing" who is doing the dishes and instead get some quality time together before he starts to travel again. Ohhhh the emotions. I will miss this:

But not this- a small snapshot of what our table typically looks like at lunch (I am lying, it is always much worse):

In some ways, I wish February would spill over into March so that I can have more time at the beach but I will miss my babies. And once we get back from our trip, I get to go grocery shopping-- Alleluia, all will be well in the world.