get.away

had a nice break over my extended weekend. it wasn't as tiring as i thought it would be, since we basically took it easy. but i think R was more tired than i was since he drove everywhere and he was also traveling for work a lot.

the hotel was lovely, and we had a good time food-hunting and doing some sightseeing and shopping. it was more of a relaxing getaway anyway. also managed to squeeze in some time to see one of my best girlfriends who lives in the area. so all in all, everyone had a pretty good time.

gotta remind myself to stick to my budget real tight this month. i've been doing okay financial-wise since i started my detailed budget this year. savings get moved to the investment account, and thankfully funds are never short before the next payday rolls around. but apart from all the normal monthly expenses, this month i've got all these additional stuff; the car is due for service, and we need to cover back the expenses that we paid for the building management fees last month. also trying to save up some extra moolah for december - in anticipation of the BigBadWolf booksale. i'm really looking forward to it. i know i'll be like in the last few weeks of my pregnancy by then, but i don't care - i'm sure people will make way for pregnant people haha.

i find that the one weakness i have in terms of keeping up with my budget though, are my grocery-shopping trips. i used to go to BIG all the time, but then i'd want to grab everything from off the shelves, so i try to limit my trips there to when i run out of imported goodies. we normally do our bi-weekly shopping trips at this supermarket in ttdi. everyone thinks its a bit far but parking there is very convenient and most importantly, i don't have to venture into a mall to do my grocery shopping.

now that work and life is a bit more balanced, i have more time to actually sit down and plan our dinners and google recipes and whatnots, which i enjoy a lot. we normally pack a light breakfast of sandwiches, fruits, or yogurts in the morning to eat at work, and i normally head out and have a sub for lunch and i'll be home in time to cook our dinner. so it all pretty much works out. what normally throws my budget is our impromptu dinners outside with family/friends so nowadays i try to make a conscious decision to stay at home more, and plan our outings.