Scotland=T-110 Days

We are booking (a portion of) our Scotland trip this weekend!  It’s so close I can almost feel the Highland air on my skin.  With that said, I’m pretty much done saving up!  I started saving up maybe two or three months or so ago.  No, I don’t make a bunch of money.  I just have a fool proof way of penny pinching.  And the best part?  Not only is it fool proof, it requires no brain power.  My method is this: set aside $20 per day.  That’s it.  No hard math.  No random increases per week.  Just $20 per day.  The only hard part is remembering/getting yourself to pull $20 out and not dipping into your savings.

If visuals are your thing, here you go:
Add $20 every single day to a savings account, a piggy bank, etc.  Just keep piling it on!  And any time you have the opportunity, add more.

Day	Total Amount Saved	Day	Total Amount Saved	Day	Total Amount Saved
1	$20	31	$620	61	$1,220
2	$40	32	$640	62	$1,240
3	$60	33	$660	63	$1,260
4	$80	34	$680	64	$1,280
5	$100	35	$700	65	$1,300
6	$120	36	$720	66	$1,320
7	$140	37	$740	67	$1,340
8	$160	38	$760	68	$1,360
9	$180	39	$780	69	$1,380
10	$200	40	$800	70	$1,400
11	$220	41	$820	71	$1,420
12	$240	42	$840	72	$1,440
13	$260	43	$860	73	$1,460
14	$280	44	$880	74	$1,480
15	$300	45	$900	75	$1,500
16	$320	46	$920	76	$1,520
17	$340	47	$940	77	$1,540
18	$360	48	$960	78	$1,560
19	$380	49	$980	79	$1,580
20	$400	50	$1,000	80	$1,600
21	$420	51	$1,020	81	$1,620
22	$440	52	$1,040	82	$1,640
23	$460	53	$1,060	83	$1,660
24	$480	54	$1,080	84	$1,680
25	$500	55	$1,100	85	$1,700
26	$520	56	$1,120	86	$1,720
27	$540	57	$1,140	87	$1,740
28	$560	58	$1,160	88	$1,760
29	$580	59	$1,180	89	$1,780
30	$600	60	$1,200	90	$1,800

Initially, I tried to do some weird and convoluted saving method where I would pull out a specific percentage of left over money after bills from every paycheck.  But that was so much math!  I have enough math in my life.  I decided I didn’t need any more.  Then a family friend, who is an insurance salesman so you know he’s all about the savings, was talking about saving up money and he gave me this idea.  Why didn’t I think of it?!  It’s so simple!  And so effective.  In just a few months, I’ve saved up enough money to pay for my entire trip to Scotland.  There have definitely been days where I’ve wanted to throw in the towel and just take all that money and spend it on something completely unrelated. 

The hardest part for me is that my life is not stable.  I don’t have a 401k or an IRA or even a savings account right now.  So this money that I’m saving, there have been times where I just wanted to forego my wanderlust and do the mature thing and save that money for my future.  It’s the constant inner struggle of wanting to be a grown up and not wanting to give up on my adventurous spirit just yet.  As heart-wrenching as it is, I’ve given my adventurous spirit a deadline: the end of 2017.  I’m not just going to give up travelling altogether, but it will definitely take a backseat to a lot of things.  2017 will be the year for adventure (more to come on that topic later).

So, with 2017 being the year of adventure, 2018 will be the year of practicality.  I will start saving for practical things like retirement (i.e. the not fun stuff).  I just have to try to compartmentalize the worry until then.  I have an entire year to be free!  So for now...Scotland, here I come!

Basic math for Scotland!  I even found a tour we can do in the winter time!

But in case you are curious how I planned for Scotland, here is the (organized) madness that went into it all:

Map of Scotland (minus some islands).  We plan to hit Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Stirling, Kyle of Lochalsh, Pitlochry, Inverness, Loch Ness, Highlands, and
The Isle of Skye.  All by train.

I still have to find a castle for us to stay in by the request of one of my travel companions.  Not that I mind staying
in a castle one bit.

Safe Travels,

What I'm Eating This Week: Spinach Lasagna!!!!

Yup!  I'm eating lasagna.  And losing weight while doing it.  Well...mostly.  It goes up and down like weight does, especially on weekends.  It's so hard to keep my eating under control on the weekends.  Does anyone else have that problem?  How do you remedy it?

So I normally avoid pasta like the plague because I turn into a zombie around it.  I'm serious, I lose all self-control and it just becomes a "braaaaiiiiiinnnnnssss" situation.  I will go back for seconds, thirds, and even fourths.  But, I love lasagna because the pasta is incorporated into the entire dish!  It's not a standalone thing where I get to pick and choose how much of it I get to have.  There's only a set amount in every piece.  It's brilliant because it's automatically portion controlled pasta!  I'm safe from becoming a pasta fiend.  Let's just say that options are not my friend in MANY areas of my life.

As for my running: I'm on week 3!  I ran a whole 3 minutes without stopping ;)  I know, I'm a rockstar.  Though my knees did start to hurt after the run today which makes me so nervous.  Time to bust out the ice packs again.

Anyway, here is what I'm eating this week:

You can find the original recipe at Pinch of Yum.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic (or like 7 cloves)
• 1 Teaspoon Thyme
• 5 Ounces Baby Spinach
• 2 Pounds Ricotta
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• Splash Apple Cider Vinegar, to taste
• 12 Oven Ready Lasagna Noodles
• 25 Ounce Jar Pasta Sauce (I used a mushroom one)
• 2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella
• 1 Cup Water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan.
3. Add garlic and thyme and saute for about 2 minutes.
4. Add spinach and saute until barely wilted and remove from heat.
5. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, egg, salt and vinegar.
• If you would like, add a portion of this mixture to food processor and mix.  This step is entirely optional and the recipe will turn out fantastic even if you don't do this.
6. Add a small amount of pasta sauce to a 9x13 pan, just enough to cover the bottom and place 3 lasagna noodles over the sauce.
7. Top with 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, 1/4 sauce and 1/2 cup of mozzarella.
8. Repeat once more.
9. Pour 1/2 cup of water over the layers.
10. Repeat the layers one more time.
11. The final layer will be 3 lasagna noodles, remaining 1/4 sauce and 1/2 cup mozzarella.
12. Pour another 1/2 cup water over the lasagna and cover with greased foil.
13. Place in oven for 30-40 minutes
14. Remove foil and bake for another 10-20 minutes until water is mostly evaporated.
15. Let lasagna sit for at least 10 minutes before serving so that the noodles can absorb any remaining water.
16. Enjoy!

Add caption

Nutrition:

• The original recipe was for 12 servings, but I like my servings a little larger than that so I made this into an 8 serving recipe.
• By my calculations, with the ingredients I used, this is about 450 calories per serving.

Notes:

• I would probably add less water next time as I don't think my oven gets hot enough to really cook it all out fast enough.  So keep that in mind when making yours.  If your oven gets hot, you'll need more water, if not, you'll want to use less.
• I try to stagger the lasagna noodles as they aren't quite long enough to cover the entire pan.
• This is actually my second time making this recipe but I've changed a few things up this time: I used the food processor this time around.

BTW, Pinch of Yum is my favorite recipe website.  That girl is absolutely a genius when it comes to cooking for real life.  Go check out her site if you are looking for recipe inspirations.












Safe Travels and Scrumptious Eats,

What I'm Eating This Week: Lentil Chili

I haven't run out of things to say about travel if that's what you're wondering.  Not by any stretch of the imagination.  I still think about it constantly, and still plan frequently.  For some reason, I am just having a very hard time articulating any of those thoughts into relevant blog entries.

So...instead, I want to focus on another area that is consuming my thoughts at this moment: my health.  Last year I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was put on a particular medication, Seroquel, that caused a very substantial weight gain.  Since then, I have stopped taking that medication but have had a difficult time losing the weight regardless.  I chalk it up, in large part, to my laziness, and in part to the frequent changes in medication and the continued need for medications which all have a common side effect of weight gain.  At least one of these things I have control over and have decided to finally start using that control.  I have started running again (I'm being very careful by using my knee braces and never running on consecutive days), and eating proper portion sizes and less junk food.  With that said, I want to try adding a new section to my blog to see if there is any interest.  I will call it "What I'm Eating This Week" in which I will give a recipe that I am using for that week (if I'm trying something new).

Without further ado here is what I'm eating this week:

You can find the original recipe at
Little Broken

Ingredients (my version):
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion
2 14.5 Ounce Cans No Salt Added Diced Tomatoes
2 32 Ounce Cartons Vegetable Broth
6 Cloves Garlic, Minced
2 14.5 Ounce Cans White Beans
20 Ounces Lentils (I used red)
1 Bunch Cilantro
Chili Powder OR a combination of the following:
Paprika
Oregano
Cumin
Cayenne
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Bay Leaf
Salt
Black Pepper
Vinegar (optional)
Red Chili Flakes (optional)



Instructions:

1. Chop up your onion (or use a food processor) and saute it in a large heavy pot with the olive oil over medium-high heat for a few minutes until the onions are soft and slightly golden.
2. Add garlic and chili powder or the combination in italics if you ran out of chili powder like I did and saute for another minute or so.
3. Add tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, and lentils and bring to a boil.
4. Once boiling reduce heat to medium and simmer partially covered for about 30 minutes or until lentils are soft.
5. Remove bay leaf, add the white beans to the pot and stir.
6. Transfer 3 cups of the chili to a food processor and process until smooth.
7. Return to the pot and stir to combine.
8. Add salt, pepper, and vinegar if you choose and any more seasoning you think necessary (like pepper flakes).
9. Stir in chopped up cilantro, top with your favorite toppings (sour cream, avocado, chips, cheese, etc.) and enjoy!

Nutrition & Servings:

• By my calculations, my version of this chili is about 515 calories per serving without any of the fix-ins.
• This recipe makes about 7 servings, and each serving is 2 cups.

Notes:

• I hate chopping onions because I have the most sensitive eyes.  I'll start crying even if they are being cut or sauteed in the same house as me.  If you have the same problem, a food processor can help.  I still cried like a baby but it could have been so much worse.
• You probably noticed that I didn't give specific amounts for the spices and that's because, in that regard, I am a strictly "to taste" kind of girl.  I like things very seasoned and spicy so I added a bunch.  You might want to add less depending on your own personal tastes.
• I am a super messy cook so, hopefully, your kitchen won't look like mine when you're done (I really should have taken a picture).  Do you tend to clean as you go or leave everything until the end?

Safe Travels and Scrumptious Eats,