theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

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Archives for April 2018

What I read in April

April 30, 2018 filed under: books

I read eight books this month and all very good ones! Pick some for your reading list!

Half broke horses by Jeannette Walls (★★★★★)

I finished this book in 48 hours, which should give you an idea of how much I enjoyed it. Historical novels – true life or fictional – are my jam. I would say they’re my favorite genre. This book tells the life story of Lily Casey Smith, Jeannette Walls grandmother, who left home at 15 to become a teacher, then worked on ranches and aspired to get her pilot license during the Great Depression. It’s so hard to believe how different life was just over a century ago, especially out in the West.  While a lot of this memoir is fictional and based on retold stories (Jeannette’s grandmother died when she was eight), we also get a glimpse into her mother Rose Mary’s upbringing and the family dynamics that led to Jeannette’s memoir “The Glass Castle”.

Those who save us by Jenna Blum (★★★★☆)

Ah yes, another WWII novel. I enjoyed this book well enough (even though parts were hard to read because of the content), but let me be the petty language nerd that I am for a minute: if you pepper a book with German phrases, because you want it to be more “authentic”, for the love of good grammar, make sure that they’re spelled and used correctly. I found numerous mistakes in this book and as a German native, it just irked me.

The “flow” of the story felt a bit interrupted for me going back and forth between the past and the present and lacked a bit of overall “coherence” (don’t quite know how to put it), but thank goodness for the ending. Sort of, I guess. I don’t want to give anything away if you haven’t read it yet. In a way I thought it was great, in another way, I had expected something different, but I give it a solid 4 stars. Gah, go read the book and tell me what you think!

The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion by Elle Luna (★★★★☆)

This is a relatively short inspirational book exploring the reasoning that drives our decision-making and the question we have all asked ourselves before: “what I am supposed to do with my life?” and the push and pull between the “Should”(what we feel is expected of us) and the “Must” (the thing we dream of doing, our heart’s desire).

The book is not life-changing by any means, many things you’ll just nod along with (because you know them already), but it has nuggets of wisdom and beautiful artwork to go along with it and I was definitely able to take something away from it.

The year of less by Cait Flanders  (★★★★☆)

I’ve been reading Cait’s blog and have listened to some of her podcasts episodes, so I naturally wanted to know what her book was all about. While I did enjoy this book and it has some good takeaways, don’t be fooled into thinking that this is a self-help book. It’s more a memoir of Cait’s life and while there are some parts that deal with decluttering your home and spend your money more intentionally, it’s mostly about decluttering and getting a handle on Cait’s life. She shares her struggle with alcoholism, her weight loss journey, her career changes, and her romantic relationships. Running away from home (and her problems) and then returning to it.  Often it sounded like she was just punishing herself with her self-imposed shopping ban. I appreciated her sharing her story and I am sure there are people who can relate to her problems, but part of me wanted this to be a bit more universal advice on living with less and having a healthy relationship with money than how it is related to other areas in your life (because that is a very subjective thing).

Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years by David Litt (★★★★☆)

Do you remember the beginnings of Obama on the national stage and how people were infatuated by him? David Litt couldn’t escape it either and started out as a campaign aid before he made it to the White House as a speechwriter. If you miss the time when the White House was ( or at least seemed) functional, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this.
This book gives a glimpse behind the scenes of the White House during the Obama years and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy and nostalgic for when this very decent man was still our Commander in Chief. There is a bit of realism in the book, as we learn how much of the president’s public appearances are staged and scripted. I think, Litt himself became a little disillusioned learning about the inner workings of the White House, but he kept a sense of humor about it and his writing style was realistic but still hopeful. And you can tell when the president has a dedicated and talented staff behind him and when he doesn’t (or chooses to ignore it altogether).

This snippet was stolen from somebody else’s review, but it sums up what I loved most about this book and Obama himself:

“ […] Litt gives us more than a few glimpses of the president himself. We see him as a thorough professional, demanding the best of himself and others. He can be distant, and critical, at times, but he is also a man who is collegial, forgiving, and gifted with a fine sense of humor.”

The Witch of Napoli by Michael Schmicker (★★★★☆)

This is historical fiction, but based on the real-life controversial medium Eusapia Palladino (1854-1918), and tells the story of Alessandra Poverelli, a medium in the late 19th century that has the scientist of the era in a tizzy. The story is told by a young upcoming photographer and reporter, Tommaso Labella, who becomes Alessandra’s friend and confidant as they’re traveling through Europe trying to prove to skeptic scientists that spirits do indeed exist.

The ending fell a little flat for me, but overall this was an enjoyable book and if you’re into historical fiction, I can recommend it.

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis (★★★★☆)

This was a great, quick read. I loved Rachel’s writing style and humor. I could relate to a lot of things she touched on and I would definitely recommend this book. But: what turned me off a little bit is that she seems to think that if only you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything you want. She’s trying to prove this by recounting every story about all her accomplishments. She wanted the man? She got the man. She wanted to write a book. She wrote a book. She wanted to be successful. She became successful.  She wanted to adopt? She adopted. She wants to do it all? She does it all. I am a very positive person and I definitely subscribe to the “never give up, keep on plugging”-mindset, but for most people, it’s not as easy as that. I am not trying to bash this part of her story, because I think she encourages and supports other women in many ways, but it sometimes sounded like that just the right attitude would solve all problems, and it often doesn’t. She must realize that she’s also been very lucky and privileged in a lot of ways. 

An American Marriage: A Novel by Tayari Jones (★★★★☆)

Oh, this book broke my heart in so many ways. The book tells the story of Roy Hamilton and Celestial Davenport, a young couple that has been married for less than two years when Roy is convicted of a crime he did not commit, then sentenced to twelve years in prison. This is a book about marriage and the very specific kind of loyalty it asks us to give. Is that loyalty a fair thing to ask? What circumstances excuse breaking the commitment you made? It’s easy to agree “to love someone, for better or worse, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, as long as we both shall live” when the life in front of you appears easy and promising. But what happens, when the rug gets pulled from under you? What’s this commitment worth? 

Jones has constructed a story that explains what it means to be married and also what it means to be black in America. What a timely read. Her style offers subtle clues to the undercurrents of prison life, women tied to prisoners, and how an unjust conviction – even if eventually overturned – can wreak havoc on a couple and its family. We’re painfully made aware that there is no such thing as ‘love conquering all’. Life is more complicated than that.

What was your favorite book last month? Leave a comment, and then add me on Goodreads to keep in touch.

 

16

Monthly Favorites | April

April 27, 2018 filed under: monthly favorites

1. I kinda refuse to spend huge amounts of money on workout clothing (except for shoes) and will pick up running clothes where I can (mostly Target and Old Navy). I recently got a 2-pack of 32 Degrees running shirts at Costco for $7.99 and they’re awesome. Moisture-wicking, super-soft and they fit great. I am wearing the heather pink shirt here.

2. My mom used to make a delicious dessert from quark, whipped cream and fresh (or canned) pineapples and this Open Nature Strained Greek Pineapple Yogurt almost tastes exactly like it. I wish it had a little less sugar, but oh well. That’s why it tastes so good, right?

3. Because I talked about YNAB in my recent review, I wanted to mention again how much I love the YNAB app, which has really made tracking our spending so much easier on the go. Whenever I pay with cash, I just whip out my phone and enter the purchase (and while I am at it, I can also check my ‘available balances’ for each category). Done. It’s really not that hard, guys.

4. I mentioned before, I am not much of a lip product fan. It usually comes down to texture and taste of the product. But one lip product I have repeatedly come back to is the Rimmel Stay Glossy Lip Gloss in 185 Savoy Plum. It gives some nice color and shine and doesn’t taste weird. That’s a win in my book.

5. I love my Dutch oven. I  cook everything in it. Stews, pasta dishes, stir frys, you name it. It’s easy to clean and just so useful all around. I also use it to bake bread.

6.Confession: I am #teamalmondbutter. Probably because I didn’t grow up with peanut butter and never fell in love with it. But almond butter I did fall in love with. Especially Trader Joe’s Raw Almond Butter. Ever since I tried this yummy (steel cut) oatmeal recipe from Laura, I am all over the almond butter again (I go through phases, don’t you?). I like both, crunchy and creamy. What’s your favorite?

7.  I went to the German butcher shop in town a couple of weeks ago and they had Brandt’s “Zwieback”, which is a type of rusk. It was insanely expensive (comparatively speaking), but I needed to get a box. I love it with a thick layer of (unsalted) butter. I’ve had a craving for it for a while and I don’t know any other place anymore where you get it. World Market used to have it, but I checked a couple of times recently and it seemed like they had discontinued it.

19

Thinking Out Loud #19

April 26, 2018 filed under: Thinking out loud

+ Did you grow up watching the “Moomins”? I loved that show as a kid and when I randomly and unexpectedly saw a Moomin character pop up in my Instagram stream, I knew I had to use it as inspiration for my April bullet journal layout. I chose the snork maiden.

+ I am on my 8th book for this month. Yaasss! Can’t wait to share my April reads with you. There were some good ones.

+ I went to Costco a week ago to cash in my rewards (a whopping $2.74 for last year. I know. Amazing. I just don’t earn the same rewards on the Costco Citibank Card since they switched from Amex, which I still use quite a bit more). I also decided to downgrade my membership for that reason (because we only shop at Costco maybe 4-6x per year). The clerk was really nice and after looking at my rewards check decided to retroactively downgrade my membership for the last year, which meant I practically didn’t have to pay anything else to renew for the next year. Awesome.  Customer Service FTW.

+ I am working on a couple more finance posts. I hope you’re up for that. I also hope that you’ll be sharing some details about your finances with me. I feel like we should be more open and transparent about finances altogether.

+ My run this morning felt hard. When it shouldn’t have. But I guess there is no “should” in running. Some runs feel easy, some runs feel hard and there is no rhyme or reason to why particular days feel harder than others. Just keep showing up!

I am linking up with Amanda from Running with Spoons for Thinking out Loud again.

10

The thing about…

April 23, 2018 filed under: about me, lists!

I came across this post idea on Charlotte’s blog a couple of weeks months ago and I loved the idea, so I am finally stealing it.

DSC04778

The thing about uncertainty is that we all have to live with it, day in and day out, and that there is nothing we can do about it.

The thing about coffee is that it really only tastes good when it’s a quality bean and brewed the right way (says the coffee snob that is me).

The thing about time perception is that it is rarely accurate. Either time is creeping along or flying by like a rocket ship.

The thing about hobbies is that I have too many and don’t know how to prioritize (first world problems, I know).

The thing about books is that there are too many and that there is too little time to read them all.

The thing about travel is that there is so much to see and to explore and once you have seen a magic place, you want to go back there and also explore new places and then there is never enough time and money.

The thing about running is that sometimes it feels easy and like you can run forever, and sometimes it’s hard and you have to fight for every mile, but not giving up and finishing your run strong gives you a sense of accomplishment you didn’t know existed.

The thing about friends is that some will disappoint or reject you and others will embrace you and lift you up. Pick those ones.

The other thing about friends is that most of mine definitely live too far away.

The thing about relationships is that you can never know what is really going on behind the scenes and you shouldn’t make assumptions. But,… 

The thing about people is that they will judge and make assumptions and you gotta find a way to ignore it, and sometimes that’s easy and sometimes it really freakin’ hard, but you also don’t owe anyone an explanation.

The thing about blogs is that I’ve met some really great people and made some really awesome friends and I don’t want to imagine a world without blogs.

The thing about Sundays is that I blink and it’s 5 p.m. already and I wonder where my weekend went.

Now, your turn: tell me a thing about something.

20

What I bought at Trader Joe‘s – Vol. 7

April 20, 2018 filed under: food, traderjoes

I haven’t shared my most recent Trader Joe’s buys with you and I am sure you’ve been desperately waiting for an update, am I right?

Isn’t it weird? I shop at Trader Joe’s every single week. I usually have a shopping list that I try to stick to, but I also always peruse the aisles and explore new products. Do you also frequent the “food tasting stand”? It’s always nice to try foods before you buy them and I often try things that I would never ever would have picked up on my own.

However, there are still a ton of items that have been around (apparently) forever, but that I have never consciously seen or purchased. It’s a little mind-boggling to me, because our Trader Joe’s store is a good size, but not HUGE by any means and you’d think, as often as I am there, that I have seen it all, but far from it.

In case that happens to you, too, that you’d like to be made aware of great items that have escaped your food shopping radar so far, I am sharing my Trader Joe’s finds every once in a while, because who knows what you might be missing out on!

So, without further ado, a list of things that I highly recommend you try sometime, if you haven’t already.

European Whole Grain Bread ( 18  oz – $2.99) ★★★★★ \ bread section

It shouldn’t surprise you that I buy this European-style bread from Trader Joe’s. It’s healthy, it’s filling and you should definitely try it with a slice of gouda, touch of mayo, tomato, onion and a pinch of salt & pepper. Then come back and tell me that you couldn’t eat this for the rest of your life. I’ll wait.

Uncured Salame di Parma Mild Salami (4 oz  – $4.99) ★★★★★ \\ deli section

This is hands-down the best salami I had in this country so far. It’s sliced thin and it’s so delicious.

Haricots Verts (Green beans) (12 oz – $2.99)  ★★★★★ \\ vegetable section

As mentioned in my last “monthly favorites”-post, we’ve been on a bit of a green bean kick. We buy these haricots verts from Trader Joe’s and just bake them for 15-20 minutes. It’s the best.

Spinach tortellini (10 oz – $2.29) ★★★★★ \\ refrigerated section

I love that Trader Joe’s has tortellini filled with spinach (my favorite!). They cook really quickly, are great with a bit of pesto or other pasta sauce, or, as I like them, in the tortellini soup I can’t shut up about. At this price point, they are a good deal, too. Most fresh-packaged tortellini are much more expensive.

Gluten free oat cranberry flaxseed cookies( 6 cookies/ 5.7 oz – $2.99 )  ★★★★☆ \\ bread section

Someone recommended them (on social media, was it Instagram?) and of course,  I had to buy and try them, because I like oats-everything. And I tell you, they did not disappoint. They could be a little crispier for my personal taste, but I’d assume most people like the slightly softer texture just fine. I’d definitely buy them again.

What did you pick up at Trader Joe’s this week?


* I am not affiliated with Trader Joe’s, nor have they endorsed, sponsored or paid for my reviews. I am just sharing my love for the store and its products, which basically means free advertisement for them. Ha. All opinions are my own.

21

Currently | April

April 19, 2018 filed under: currently

listening to a podcast. Gasp. I know. But only because one of my best friends is podcasting from her job as a foreign correspondent in New Delhi. And yes, it’s in German. I am sorry.

watching all the baseball. The Red Sox are a joy to watch this season. Ok, for me they’re a joy to watch any season, but they had such a good start. (I can’t shut up about it. Sorry, not sorry.)

eating asada burritos from our favorite taqueria. It’s our go-to take-out food and we usually get it once a week. It’s affordable and it always ends up being dinner + next day’s lunch for me (the burritos are huge), which is always a plus. What’s your favorite take-out?

drinking decaf coffee. I am not really affected by caffeine (I think), but J is and since we both had cravings for afternoon/evening coffees lately (for me, it’s really a comfort drink), we’ve tried some decaf and it works.

feeling kinda blah right now. And I can’t even tell you why. Hate that feeling.

looking forward to some girl time with my friend Susi in May. I am so overdue, I can’t even tell you.

going on a work trip to Sonoma Valley soon. I agree, it could be a lot worse. Haha. I am actually looking forward to it.

reading The Witch of Napoli by Michael Schmicker. I like it so far (I am only a few chapters in). I think this is a book I originally got for free through BookBub. I must admit, when their email comes,  I always just look if the free books interest me, otherwise I’ll try to get the books at the library.

kinda loving puzzles right now. As if I needed one more competing leisure time activity. (My MIL brought a puzzle when she visited and we finished it together and it was so much fun. I am suspecting that it’s probably just going to be a phase though. As much as I like puzzles, I know myself and I think I will end up choosing something more “productive”  – or, if I am honest, something where I can multitask – over doing a puzzle most times.)

stoked that a new Michaels store has opened closer to where I live. It’s the little things, people!

going to a meet-the-baby-shower this weekend. The parents requested new or cherished favorite books to add to the baby’s library and I was thrilled to find a translated version of a German children’s book, The Rainbow Fish, which is a super-cute book with beautiful illustrations. I am fairly certain nobody else will gift this book.

What’s up with you currently?

16

Review | Why I am (still) using YNAB.

April 17, 2018 filed under: finances, review

© ynab.com

As I mentioned in my Spending Report post earlier this year, I wanted to give you an updated review of the budgeting software I’ve been using for the last 3 years. I reviewed You Need A Budget (referred to shortly as YNAB*) once before, but that was before they migrated their software to an online subscription service a couple of years ago.

To be honest, at first, I wasn’t thrilled to be forced to go from a one-time desktop purchase to a subscription-based service (although that seems to be the direction many software are going these days), but I quickly made my peace with it because a) I just really like the software and b) the annual fee is totally acceptable and worth it to me. (To be completely transparent, I have to disclose that since I was a previous YNAB user, my subscription was grandfathered in after the migration and my annual subscription fee is lower than what they advertise on their website now. I still think it is worth the cost.)

The basic budgeting approach hasn’t changed. What sets YNAB apart from other money tracking software is that with YNAB you’re not just tracking your spending (in retrospect), but you’re looking ahead and assigning dollars for future expenses. Think of it as your income divvied up into little pots that hold the money for each of your monthly expenses, emergency fund, and long-term goals, and you always know exactly how much is in each pot.

Initially, I found it helpful to divide our spending into three categories:

  • fixed expenses (e.g. rent, Internet, subscriptions, etc.) that are the same amount every month,
  • fixed expenses with actual numbers that might slightly vary (e.g. gas, electric, groceries, etc.),
  • irregular recurring expenses (e.g. car insurance) that only have to be paid once or twice a year, but you still need to budget.

Once you have a ballpark number for those expenses and know how much you have left over to put into an emergency fund, savings, and discretionary spending, you can start building a budget.

YNAB’s budgeting approach still works with four simple rules. They have been rephrased since the early days, but the idea is basically the same.

Rule One:  Give Every Dollar A Job

The secret is to be intentional about what you want your money to do before you spend it.  Look only at the money you have on hand and ask yourself, “What should this money do before I’m paid again?” You either budget it towards your expenses or decide to put it into savings, but nothing is left “unbudgeted”. If you have all your fixed expenses budgeted, the leftover money can help to “cushion” your expense categories to ‘have a little extra’ just in case, go into your emergency fund, or towards “fun money”, but regardless of where it goes, you have to assign it a ‘job’.

What I do:

At the beginning of each month, I put money for all fixed expense (mortgage/rent, utilities, other bills) in the appropriate category. I also always budget a certain amount towards groceries, fun money, gifts, etc., even though I know that those are numbers that will fluctuate every month (but at least, I have a ballpark number in my budget. This is where rule three comes in!).

Rule Two: Embrace Your True Expenses

(used to be “Save for a rainy day”)

This second rule helps you budget in advance for less-frequent, but recurring expenses (like the car registration, quarterly insurance premiums, Christmas, etc.) and also helps to stash away some funds for expected, but less predictable expenses (like car repairs, vet bills, etc.) By putting a little bit of money in these categories every month, you embrace your true expenses by setting money aside for them in advance. You’ll have peace of mind that you’ll have the money in your account when the bill comes due. No “shit-I-forgot-about-this-bill”-surprises anymore!

What I do:

I divvy up irregular, reoccurring bills (like insurance payments, annual subscriptions, etc.) into “monthly payments” and budget that amount in the appropriate category every month. That way I make sure that I have the money sitting in my account when the bills come due. I also budget a small monthly amount in categories that could trigger an unexpected expense (e.g. car maintenance, home repairs.)

Rule Three: Roll With The Punches

A budget is not rigid. It not only will, but needs to be adjusted every month. The goal of budgeting is not to be able to anticipate your spending down to the penny and stick to the same budget amounts every month. It’s simply not feasible. Life is not predictable like that and every month will be a little bit different.

The goal is to ‘roll with the punches’ and adjust and tweak your budget every month accordingly. Overspent in one category? Make adjustments (e.g. take away some dollars from another category to cover the extra-costs). If you can’t or choose not to, the software will automatically deduct the overspent amount from next month’s money and you’ll just have to tighten your budget next month. On the flipside: if you don’t use the budgeted amount in a category, it will roll over to next month, too and you’ll have a little extra money as a buffer. Not every month will be the same, but you can strive to balance out between the months. It all comes down to try really hard to just spend what you have!

What I do:

I absolutely embrace this rule.  

I think this rule is one of the most important rules to keep in mind because people forget (or falsely believe) that if they set a budget, they must live by it ‘down to the dollar’ and that is not just exhausting to think about, but also highly unrealistic. No wonder people have bad connotations of the word ‘budget’.

If we have leftover money in the grocery category, for example, but ate out more than usual, I ‘transfer’ money from the grocery category to the ‘dining out’ category for that month to the cover the shift in expenses. I also sometimes simply roll over leftover grocery money to the next month because I know that during a month where I do a Costo-run, my grocery budget will automatically inflate a little bit.

Rule Four: Age Your Money

(used to be “Live on last month’s income”)

You want to increase the time between the moment you earn a dollar and the moment you need to spend it. The longer each dollar sits in your bank account, the ‘older’ it will be. The concept follows a ‘ first in, first out approach’, so the dollar you made in the previous month will be spent before the last dollar that you made.

This last rule is really geared towards people who currently live paycheck to paycheck and struggle every single month to pay their bills because they’ll be covering those bills with money that don’t yet have in their possession. The goal here is to save up enough money (roughly the equivalent to what your regular monthly income is) and then live off that money the following month. This is not technically ‘saving’, it just means you’re creating a buffer in your bank account, so you’ll always be “one month ahead”. So, to get to the ‘last month’s income” point, your money needs to be at least a month (30 days) old. Of course, the more you age your money, the more financially secure you will feel.

What I do:

We’re luckily in the position now that we already budget for the current month with last month’s income. So, even though I don’t have any debt to pay off and savings that I can dip into if need be, this way of thinking about your budget and how to manage your money makes a lot of sense to me. I treat every month as if I only had last month’s income available. I know that fixed amount (I get paid bi-weekly, so it’s usually two paychecks) and can budget with that amount for the month.

The interface

This is what the (new and improved) interface of the software looks like (obviously, this is just a test screenshot, not my budget).

It’s completely customizable. You can create new categories, organize them in different ways (by pay cycle, importance, alphabetically…) and delete categories you don’t need. In the left column, you add your accounts (I listed all my bank accounts, credit card accounts, store card accounts, Paypal, and yes, a cash account).  

The software pulls in online account information automatically, only cash expenses have to be filled in manually. You can split transactions into multiple categories (which I routinely do after, let’s say, a Target run, where I bought groceries, personal care items, and household goods) which makes tracking your expenses by category really easy.

So, at the beginning of each month, you budget all your recently earned money (which will show in the green box at the top) into the different categories in the “budgeted” column, the software keeps track of your spending in the “activity” column and the  “available”  column tells you how much money is then available for each category. Ideally, the green box shows “zero”, when you have budgeted all your money. 

Once it’s all set up, working with your budget is really not all that time-consuming. I sit down once a week after my weekly grocery run and check in with my budget. That usually doesn’t take more than 30 minutes (often less). When I spend cash, I immediately put the cash expense into the app, so there is no discrepancy when I review my budget online. And then, I reconcile my account at the end of each month to make sure I didn’t miss anything and all numbers add up. I find this interactive part highly valuable in the budgeting process because you’re forced to log and look at every individual expense.

Why I have stuck with this budgeting software.

1. The software has an easy to use, eye-pleasing interface and to me, it feels pretty intuitive. I love that you can customize every part of it to your needs (you can add categories and omit the ones that don’t apply to you.)

2. I love that the software goes hand in hand with a very handy app that makes tracking “on the go” really easy and then automatically syncs with the web version.

3. YNAB has been an invaluable tool to keep on top of all our irregular, recurring expenses throughout the year. I know where our money goes at any given moment. I have gained a better understanding of our spending habits and priorities. 

4. One of the most important parts of this budgeting approach for me is that I don’t pay much attention to my bank account balance anymore but instead look at the ‘available column’ in the software. My bank account shows me all the money I have, but because this money is set aside to cover various upcoming expenses, the ‘available column’ has much more meaning. You put in your spending as you go and the software does the math for you and always tells you how much more money is available for each category for the rest of the month. By just looking at how much is available in each spending category I make sure that I know how much I can spend while meeting all my other financial obligations.

Conveniently, you can check this in the app while you’re out and about and before making any purchases. Talk about holding yourself accountable!

5. Since it’s now a web-based service, I can access it from anywhere. I initially thought that wouldn’t be something that wasn’t important to me, but I realized: it is. It’s convenient to be able to check in with your budget wherever you are.

For me, YNAB just works. 

Phew. This post got longer than I thought. Can you tell, I have a lot to say about YNAB. Let me know if you have questions for me. I’d be happy to help.

In case you want even more information, YNAB creates insightful reports that will give you pie charts, spreadsheets and more in response to all your pressing questions about your budget. Our ‘spending report‘ post from earlier this year was created with the help of YNAB’s budget reports.

YNAB also has a very informative blog and offers online classes if you need help to get started or if you’re having trouble with a particular issue. Their help team is also very responsive, in my experience.


* This is not a sponsored post. I have not been compensated by YNAB or anyone for this review. The opinion is solely my own. However, the post does contain affiliate links. If you feel like this software could be for you, download the fully functioning trial version and give it a shot! If you like it, you can use this link to activate the software and we’ll both get a month free!

12

April Link Love

April 16, 2018 filed under: link love

Around the Interwebs

LOVED this. Go read! The last conversation you’ll ever need to have about eating right.

The science of how your diet affects your mental health. I totally believe there is something to it.

An interesting topic I would love to debate with people sometime. Do you have an opinion on UBI? The paradox of universal basic income.

Are we prepared for the looming epidemic threat? Scary.

How to win an argument about guns.

Interesting read: The demise of the nation state.

Around the blogosphere

I am all for women as role models. Thanks for that, Kate! Who Are the Women that Drive You To Greatness – & How Can You Become One?

What My Budget Looks Like Today. My friend Stephany got really vulnerable and talked about her finances (actual numbers) and I applaud her for it. We should all be more open about finances!

When life doesn’t turn out the way you thought and you decide that you’ll be trading dreams for joy. Kudos, Amber!

Craftiness

I love this: Magnetic Display Rail.

Here are 5 must-know tips for every bullet journal newbie.

10 Strategies to Ensure You Always Have Time for Planning

So pretty! Peacock Tail Mandala pillow: FREE crochet pattern.

Deliciousness.

This looks and sounds delicious! Grilled Sharp Cheddar, Applewood Bacon, & Shaved Sprouts.

Why you should never, ever drain your pasta in the sink. I used to do that, not anymore.

I’ve been having a craving for a tuna sandwich lately. Maybe I’ll try this: Sourdough Tuna Melt.

I love simple pasta dishes, don’t you? The perfect spaghetti carbonara.

Share a good link with me in the comments!

16

Thinking Out Loud #18

April 12, 2018 filed under: Thinking out loud

Another Thursday of random word vomit. I appreciate the opportunity to just put down here whatever comes to mind by linking up with Amanda from Running with Spoons for Thinking out Loud,  don’t you?

+ The Red Sox are on fire. ON FIRE. They started this baseball season of with such a bang (they just had to surrender their 9 game winning streak yesterday, but still!). I cannot wait to see what the rest of the season will bring, but I am already so glad I shelled out the money for another MLB TV subscription for this year, so we can watch all the games (oh, the joys of being a Red Sox fan on the West Coast).

+ J and I have been making a habit of it to frequent one of the coffee houses in town on the weekends more often. I am usually not one to spend money on coffee shops (I love our home-brewed coffee in our Chemex), but I do like having some couple rituals and going out for a walk and cup of coffee on the weekends seems worth the expense. What small couple rituals do you maintain regularly?

+ First, WordPress decided to send me just the occasional comment email notification, one person’s comments always had to be repeatedly approved (even though I had approved previous comments from that person), and now WP has decided to not send me any comment notifications at all anymore. Are you on WordPress? Does this happen to you, too?  (If I don’t respond or have overlooked comments, especially on older posts, I apologize.)

+ As I mentioned, I started a new knitting project (who’s surprised?) with this beautiful gradient yarn. Pretty obsessed right now. I try to get a few rows in every evening. It’s such a soothing activity.

+  I am currently obsessed with this tortellini soup. We’ve been making it weekly lately and I am not sure when we’re going to stop. It’s  super-easy and quick to make and so full of flavor. It also packs some serious protein and veggies (and I lightened up the original recipe a bit). What’s not to love? Do you find new meals that you keep making over and over again?

+ Yesterday would have been my great-aunt’s 96th Birthday. We lost her 5 years ago. It’s normal that I still get the urge to call her on her birthday, even after 5 years, right?? And that I felt devastated when I couldn’t. Ah, grief. You’re so reliable to always keep showing up.

+ Today is my Friday and I am so ready for the weekend. That’s all.

12

Lower Antelope Canyon | Page, AZ

April 10, 2018 filed under: photography, travel, USA

Hey, remember the road trip that I went on  with my cousin B and his girlfriend in September when we visited all the National Parks? Let’s continue the recaps! Here are parts 1, 2, 3, and 4.

As you might recall, I left off when we visited Horseshoe Bend near Page, Arizona.

While we were in Page, we had also booked a tour at the “Lower Antelope Canyon” via Ken Tours. [Warning: this post is photo-heavy.]

Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon, which are common in Utah and which, characteristically, are significantly deeper than they are wide. ‘Some slot canyons can measure less than 1 meter (3 ft) across at the top but drop more than 30 meters (100 ft) to the floor of the canyon’ (Wikipedia) (as you can see in some of the pictures below). B and I had seen Upper Antelope Canyon on this previous visit, and I just remembered it as a magical place carved out by Mother Nature, but M hadn’t seen either and so we decided to do a tour at the Lower Canyon this time.

Both canyons were formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone, primarily by flash floods through Antelope Creek, a intermittently water-bearing creek originating in the Mormon Ridges southeast of Page. Rainwater, especially during monsoon season, runs into the extensive basin above the slot canyon sections, picking up speed and sand as it rushes into the narrow passageways. Over time the passageways eroded away, making the corridors deeper and smoothing hard edges in such a way as to form characteristic “flowing” shapes in the rock. (Wikipedia).

Upper Antelope Canyon (also called ”The Crack”), which you can access through a (most of the time) dry river bed, is ground level and requires no climbing. The entrance is a narrow curved slit in the cliffs only a few feet wide and you could easily miss it. However, once inside, the canyon has the shape of an upside down “V”, it’s mostly pretty wide at the bottom and narrower at the top. The beams of direct sunlight radiating down from openings at the top of the canyon are much more common here and bathe the sandstone in bright orange light.

In contrast, Lower Antelope Canyon (also called “The Corkskrew”) is the opposite. The opening, where you enter into the canyon through a series of staircases, is pretty wide, but the bottom is narrow and there are many twists and turns. It is longer, narrower in spots, and even footing is not available in all areas. Five flights of stairs of varying step widths are available to aid in descent and ascent through the canyon. The canyon has the shape of a “V” and it feels much more cave like, even though it is shallower than the Upper Antelope Canyon.

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We were part of an early morning tour at 8:20 a.m., so we had to get up early to make it there in time (although it’s only a 10-minute drive from the center of town).


{courtesy of Google}

The crowds were already forming (which was to be expected) and I cringed a little bit inside to be once again part of such a mass event to see ‘nature’. It just feels contradictory, but again, if I complain about the crowds, I realize that I am part of the problem.

The organization seemed a little haphazard, as there were so many people in line for a various different tour starting times and we all had to be separated out into the correct groups. The waiting time wasn’t too bad though and we were amused by the lady that repeatedly asked for our “confirmination numbers”.

In the end, it all worked out and our tour started on time.

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I was a bit wary that the walk through the canyon would be pretty crowded (and usually it is hard enough to take pictures without other people in it as it is), but luckily the crowds dispersed a bit when the tour started and our tour guide made sure that people had space and (mostly) unobstructed views to take pictures.

When you’re inside the canyon, it’s very hard to imagine that this place still experiences regular flash foods and reshaping of the canyon walls. Sometimes you can find hints of the most recent flash floods stuck to the walls (like debris and wooden logs).

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As you can see, the walk through the canyon is a lot of twist and turns and absolutely stunning views. The tour guides always point out different shapes that the water has carved into the rock and that they have named because they resemble certain things like

… the upside down heart…

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…the eagle …

The Eagle

… the lion…

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… the buffalo head…

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… the Indian Chief…

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… the Joker face…

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… and the lady in the wind.

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The newest ‘addition’ to the tour guides repertoire: “Donald Trump” carved in stone.  Do you see his hair flip?

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And this is where you ‘crawl’ out of the canyon at the end of the tour. It’s hard to believe when you see this opening from above that there this whole deep labyrinth of beauty below the surface.

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If you would ask me which tour I would recommend, Upper or Lower Canyon, I would say both. As mentioned, expect significant crowds. The place has become much more popular (even since I first visited in 2011) and you just have to expect wait times and many, many people. However, Antelope Canyon is so unique and so incredible that I think it’s possible to look past the crowds and still be able to appreciate its stunning beauty. While the waving and coloring of the sandstone is pretty similar, the hiking experience in the two canyons is very different (IMHO). The Lower Antelope Canyon tour was $40 and quite a bit cheaper than the Upper Antelope Canyon tour (in case this might be a deciding factor for you), although the Upper Canyon is the only place where you have a chance of seeing those iconic light beams mentioned earlier

Some travel tips:

+ Lodging options around Page are unfortunately all on the expensive side. We stayed at the La Quint Inn & Suites Page at Lake Powell. It’s one of the cheaper options and it’s a pretty new and well-run hotel (with a very decent breakfast).

+ We’ve been going back to “Bonkers Restaurant” every time we visit Page. It’s a local favorite and the food is really good.

+ If you’re in the area, make sure you visit Horseshoe Bend and go on one of the Antelope Canyon tours. (Duh!) You won’t regret it. But you should know that there is much more to see in the area. Unfortunately due to time and money constraints, we couldn’t take advantage of it all, but other cool things to check out: Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam,  Rainbow Bridge National Monument (by boat), and I really want to do the Glen Canyon Float Trip (where you can see Horseshoe Bend from below!) sometime!

20

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Hi, I am San – German native, dual-citizen living in beautiful Northern California. Runner. Knitter. Crafter. Reader. Writer. Proud aunt, sister, and friend.

I’ve been blogging since 2004 and don’t intend to stop any time soon. If you are looking for personal content and making a  genuine connection, you’ve come to the right place.

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