The More of Less Report (October)

Another month...gone. I'm not in the worst place, but neither am I in the place I want to be. I have had lots of tears this month. Life feels like too much. And yet, I don't want to pry my grubby hands off anything else. And we've added in a few things, too, like social time with friends, trying to restart small group at church, etc. While it feels like I can never win (What defines "winning" anyway?), here's what I have done:

January-LESS scrolling: I scrolled a lot some days/weeks, and less others. I find I scroll most when I feel really tired and just want "brain candy." I am trying to be better about closing scrolling apps when they no longer serve me, and finding something else to do instead, even if it is just a word game. 

I have kept Facebook off my phone. I don't find it useful, and I think the web interface is better overall (and less accessible). I did add the Threads app this month, however. (I gave in to prompts for things I wanted to see, but couldn't.) So far, I am not spending a lot of time there (and I hope to keep it that way!), but it is interesting. 

This month, I unfollowed a bunch of accounts on Instagram, but then I refollowed them a few of them. It is so easy to develop parasocial relationships on the social media apps, but I need less of those and more real friends. I probably need to be constantly culling my feed.

February-LESS picking: I think I have been better with skincare and worse with haircare. I don't know why this is a thing, but it is, and I need to keep working on it.

March-LESS hunger (judgment): I am on such a roller coaster with this one. I want to trust my body, but quite frankly, I don't. And this month, I started taking creatine, which promotes water retention and can cause bloating, which further disrupts my experience of my body. But, it might help with bone geometry and muscle growth, both of which I need, so we proceed (Hnatiuk, 2026). I think this might just take a while.

April-LESS goals: I didn't really have any goals this month. I think that somewhat gave me license to overeat, go to bed late, etc. I am such a person of extremes. I didn't even focus much on my LESS word. I would like to find moderation, but that does not seem to be me.

May-LESS no: We did some stuff. I still felt tired. I think I feel tired whether I say, "Yes" or "No."

June-LESS lying to myself: I tried to give myself what I said I would, but that was most often "little treats" of things that were not the best for me (though maybe not the worst?) like caffeine, social media scrolling, etc. I wish I could just be honest with myself about my failings and suck it up and make myself better, but alas, no such luck this month!

July-LESS fear: I think the Lord did help me here. While I had some twinges of pain and wanted to worry (more on that in my LESS word for the month), I mostly stayed away from it. Praise the Lord, the pains went away and I have felt mostly fine since. 

On the flip side, I think I have realized that I do harbor a lot of inherent fears about what other people think of me, the future, if I will be able to handle hard things, etc. The need for work in this area continues.

August-LESS scarcity: Praise the Lord, we are done paying for our big trip! While that does give us more flexibility, I also want to be wise (and not just spend on those new travel credit cards to get the bonuses, which we want, but not at a cost of buying stuff we don't need). We do also have savings goals for our longer-term future.

September-LESS complaining: While I did not overtly practice this each day, I did catch myself trying to take a positive perspective a few times. The thing is that I need to keep practicing this mindset because it is not yet a habit for me.

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My life is very much a work in progress, and at the end of this month, I must say that overall, I feel discouraged. Goals and intentions don't even seem worth it if I will fail them every time. (For example, I said I needed to focus on holistic health this month. I missed two of my goals completely, and was not really healthy beyond that, either.) But I remind myself that the ultimate goal is progress, not perfection, until Jesus calls me home (Philippians 1:9).

References:

Hnatiuk, S. [Host]. (2026, September 29). What's new with creatine with Dr. Scott Forbes. [Audio podcast episode]. In Fuel. Run. Recover. https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/stephanie-hnatiuk/episodes/Whats-New-with-Creatine-with-Dr--Scott-Forbes-e3pbleg

New International Version. (2011). BibleGateway.com. http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/

Pumpkin Day (Year Five)

You know what day it is? That's right. It's National Pumpkin Day. And of course, I have a fall pumpkin recipe roundup for you, this year, with an emphasis on pumpkin sourdough recipes:

*Note that I cook with pumpkin throughout the year, but emphasize it in fall!

Artisan pumpkin sourdough bread (The Pantry Mama)

Chocolate pumpkin muffins (Sally's Baking Addiction)

Eggs Benedict with pumpkin hollandaise (Sumptuous Spoonfuls)

Fluffy sourdough pumpkin pancakes with chocolate chips (Chasing Our Simple)

Pumpkin brownie cookie balls (Once Upon a Pumpkin)

Soft pumpkin sourdough bread (Drive Me Hungry)

Sourdough pumpkin banana bread (The Pantry Mama)

Sourdough pumpkin muffins (The Pantry Mama)

Sourdough pumpkin scones (Sourdough Brandon)

Sourdough pumpkin pie baked oatmeal (The Pantry Mama)

Sourdough pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies (The Pantry Mama)

What We Cooked and Ate (Week 43)

This Week's Eats:

Homemade Irish salt and herb seasoning (God-Given Ingredients)

Instant Pot chicken lo mein (365 Days of Crockpot)

Instant Pot lentil soup (Rainbow Plant Life)

Irish ground beef casserole (365 Days of Crockpot)

Sourdough pumpkin scones (Sourdough Brandon)

Vietnamese roasted carrots (Cooking Therapy)

Noteworthy Repeats:

Egg bake casserole (Food 52)

Freezer Pull-Outs:

Artisan pumpkin sourdough bread (The Pantry Mama)

Soft pumpkin sourdough bread (Drive Me Hungry)

Sourdough gravy (The Pantry Mama)

Returning From Vacation (A Reprise)

Returning from vacation is always a little rough. There's the travel, the jet-lag, the laundry, and the let-down. I still stand by my original post-vacation practices, to try to abate these a bit, but as I have gotten older and God has allowed us to travel more, I have added some:

1) Turn down the air conditioning. We live in Arizona, and our house gets hot! Coming home to a hot, dank house after vacation is no bueno. Having a Nest thermostat allows us to control our air conditioning remotely, so when we remember, we adjust the temperature when we hit the airport, or a certain point out on the road.

2) Empty the suitcases right away. This is not for everyone. My husband prefers to lounge when we get home. I, on the other hand, play a game with myself to see how fast I can put things away. Life after vacation is overwhelming enough. Adding suitcases of stuff to put away just adds to the burden.

3) Start laundry. I try to move dirty clothes straight from my suitcase to the washer. Maybe I run the washer right away. Maybe not. Either way, I get a leg up on my chores.

4) Hydrate. I tend to get a little dehydrated when traveling, so replenishing fluid is vital. Dehydration is no good for the body, or the post-vacation blues.

5) Consider a vacation-inspired meal. Right away, we are (hopefully) eating food out of the freezer to ease the burden of post-vacation cooking. A little later, though, it is fun to try to find or recreate food from the vacation. That helps relive some of the memories, and adds some variety as well.

BONUS: Give thanks for the comforts of home. Vacations are great, but so is home. A familiar kitchen, bed, and shower are no small thing, and I like to celebrate them when I return from vacation.

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And that's a wrap on this installment of travel posts. Readers, any questions?

How in the World Did We Afford This Trip?

I think there is a part of me that believes I need to write this post to justify taking the trip of a lifetime. Another parts of me appreciates when people share the costs of their vacations. In hopes this post might help someone else (or at the least, remind me of my blessings), I am writing about how we afforded this trip.

First of all, I have to say that I firmly believe that all good things comes from God (James 1:17). This trip was one of them. We simply could not have afforded it nor gone on it without His provision.

Second, God has blessed us in many ways that allowed us to save for this time. We are married and have two incomes. We are blessed that we can mostly live on one of those. Though we really need to save the other for retirement (as one of us started very late to retirement savings), we have some funds we can redirect as needed. We had kind of forgotten about it, but we still had a chunk of money given to us by my parents for our wedding. Besides appliances we needed to replace and a motorcycle we bought for my husband to commute on (which saved us money, because he needed a car, which would have cost a lot more), we basically put all of this money towards vacation.

My mom taught me to budget and save. We learned to live very frugally while my husband was in school, and have mostly continued to live that way. I shop the grocery sales, often going to multiple stores to get the cheapest products. We mostly buy store brand items and cook from scratch, rather than buying prepared products. For the most part, we eat simply. All of this keeps grocery costs small. God provided our condo before the housing market spike. We have not been able to afford to buy a house now, which keeps our housing costs lower that the surrounding area. We keep our house warm in the summer to reduce utility costs. We still share a phone plan with limited data. We try to save whatever we don't spend. 

We skimped even more than usual this year, too. That meant eating out almost never (and we rarely do anyway), eschewing dates that cost very much money, and not going on any other vacations. Sure, we did a few things, but we really limited ourselves, even more than normal.

We bought our airplane tickets and paid for our hotel before the war in Iran. Though still a lot of money, I am certain that our costs were nothing close to what they would have been. Additionally, we worked with a travel agent who was able to help us get discounts on some of our travel and stays. We got the Delta credit card to avoid checked bag fees. All of this helped make the trip more affordable on the front side.

We saved for this trip all year. That meant eating out very little to none, eschewing dates that cost very much money, and not going on any other vacations. Sure, we did a few things, but we really limited ourselves.

On the vacation, the first hotel provided us with breakfast. We ate big and snacked for lunch, saving the cost of a noontime meal. When we ate out at dinner, we enjoyed ourselves, but by no means ordered the most expensive dishes on the menu. Occasionally, we got drinks and dessert, but not every time.

When it came to activities, my husband saved us big bucks! He figured out how to use the bus in Ireland, and that meant very few Uber or taxi rides. We walked as much as we could besides that, so we did not even use bus fares a lot of the time. Our Pohlberg Lighthouse and Glendalough treks provides days of activity with only transportation costs.

In Scotland, I ate in the room for breakfast, avoiding the hotel breakfast fee. (My husband ate downstairs on breakfast coupons his parents gifted him.) I also ate in the room for some dinners, not the best idea ever, but it worked.

We walked to Coatbridge for free. We did souvenir shopping mostly at Aldi. We splurged on airport transportation, but took Scotrail to Edinburgh. Basically, we could have spent a lot more, but we did not.

All in all, the "average" cost of a two week trip for both of us to go on this adventure. That was still quite a large cost, but God provided for it. I think it will be a while before we could possibly afford such a trip again, but we are also investigating more ways to save. Funds are never endless, and we want to stretch the ones God gives as far as possible!

What We Cooked and Ate (Week 42)

This Week's Eats:

Chicken and chickpea soup (Kalyn's Kitchen)

Chocolate pumpkin muffins (Sally's Baking Addiction)

Relief society casserole (365 Days of Slow Cooking)

Sourdough granola bars (Sourdough oat bars) (Somebody Feed Seb)

Southwest spaghetti squash bowls (Budget Bytes)

Noteworthy Repeats:

Egg bake casserole (Food 52)

Freezer Pull-Outs:

Soft pumpkin sourdough bread (Drive Me Hungry)

Sourdough gravy (The Pantry Mama)

Ireland and Scotland Trip: Cultural Differences and Parting Thoughts

This was certainly the trip of a lifetime AND I am glad to be home. I am drinking my own water (albeit less nice than the fresh tasting tap water we had in Scotland), having ample access to toilets (ahem, bathrooms), sleeping in my own bed, and navigating my own shower with more ease. Adventurous as travel food is, I am thankful to be back home eating regular "normal" meals filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. Europe was not that different, but it was. Let me share some interesting things I noticed on our travels:

In Ireland

Ireland seemed to have a focus on sustainability. Many homes had solar panels on the roofs, but I thought it was rarely sunny? Most restaurants used bamboo silverweae and gave cardboard (instead of styrofoam) containers. There were a lot more cans than bottles. Bottles had a hinge built it to hold on the water bottle cap.

Kids were going to school after 8 AM. Most wore uniforms. Lots of people rode busses, but I also saw lots of foreign automobile brands: Peugeot, Renault, and Skoda, to name a few. People drove very close. (The streets are very narrow.) I saw no accidents, however.

Servers at restaurants did not really come back after taking orders and delivering food. We learned quickly to ask for pitchers of water for the table when we sat down. No one offered to split checks at the end of meals. Ever.

I saw sourdough twice in Ireland. Once it was the sourdough doughnut. The second was bread for our "toastie" sandwich.

Thought Ireland seems healthier than the US overall, many people in Ireland smoke and vape. I didn't think that the cigarettes smelled as bad, but still. Neither of those are good for you. Is this habit because it's cold there, or culturally accepted, or ?? I did not smell a lot of marijuana, as I do in the US, but I was told drugs are still an issue.

Walking paths are ample. I saw few e-bikes and scooters. I did see a few, though. Most bikers wore neon vests or shirts of some sort. Most walkers wore headphones, more over the ear than discreet like AirPods or earbuds. I saw lots of people running in Ireland. Most ran with their phone in their hands. I saw Asics shoes the most. Most people in Ireland do not wear sunglasses. Most dress warmly, and wear sturdy shoes (NOT tennis shoes, though I am glad we had our Hoka Cliftons).

Language was definitely different. "Biscuits" were crackers and cookies. Chips were fries. Takeout was "takeaway." Bathrooms were "toilets." Towing was "rescuing." Parking lots were "car parks."  The "f" word was common. The city was very multicultural, but in some parts of town, it was obvious who was out of place.

Overall, people were very nice, though!

In Scotland

What is it with smoking? Aer Lingus sold cigarettes on the flight there. Passengers were not allowed to bring hot drinks on board, I don't know why. 

Our hotel, well, left something to be desired. It smelled a bit dank. We did not get a washcloth. There was only a furnace (with no temperature gauge) for heat. We had no refrigerator. The king bed was very firm and seemed to be made of two twin mattresses put together. The hotel was also far from most things we wanted to do, not the worst, but not the best. 

Every time I visited a website in Ireland or Scotland, I got a popup asking me if I wanted to reject cookies. The Walmart app worked, but not Safeway. Wordflower stopped working.

There were very few toilets, and those available required paying. The toilets we did visit mostly had hand dryers instead of paper towels. Many of the restrooms did have lotion with the soap. What does that say?

I saw sourdough twice here. Once, I saw it for sale in a gift shop on our Discover Scotland tour. The second was at lunch for my mother-in-law's tea. Both times, it had old grains and/or seeds and nuts in it.

Language was still different here. Everyone used the word, "wee" a lot. Potato chips were "crisps." Lines were "queues." Sweaters were "jumpers." Windshields were "wind screens." Semis were "lorries." Wide load was "abnormal load." I saw a little more aggressive driving, traffic, and honking here, but still no accidents.

We saw a lot of wind farms in Scotland. (I understood that more after our cold, wet day in Edinburg.) The history is very gruesome. The culture was very superstitious overall. The country as a whole seemed more melancholy than Ireland. Although I did not see it, our tour driver also told us drugs as a big problem, especially in Glasgow.

Parting Thoughts:

Given that I did get sick in Scotland, I think the travel time was a little too long (or at least for my stamina at the moment(. It is easy to hop from country to country in Europe, but is it worth it if I am exhausted? Many people in our family loved Scotland. I favored Ireland. Maybe it was the weather and my experience. I will only know if I go back.

Europe was cool, but I still want to visit all fifty states. That also seems like more accessible travel. My husband loved traveling internationally, however, so I would guess both will be in our future.

While I have lots of pictures and memories from our trip, now that I am back, I do wish I had picked up a few more little things to enjoy once we got home. Sure, the food and snacks are great, but those will run out. A few mugs or something might have been nice. Will I think that in a few years, though? Who knows. For now, we need to settle back into this life and figure out how to save for future adventures!