After spending nearly all of 2020 cooped up in the perpetually damp Pacific Northwest, Mrs. Tako and I decided it was finally time for a family vacation. Things are finally starting to open-up again after COVID-19, and we wanted to go someplace that was warm, loaded with good food, and someplace new to us…
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Has it really been two weeks since I last posted here? Time flies when you’re having fun I guess! With the kids are out of school, and summer well underway, we’ve been on vacation for the past two weeks!
Our most recent adventure took us to Arizona, where we soaked up loads of the southwestern sunshine and plenty of mesquite grilled tacos…
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With most of the population in Washington state getting vaccinated by the end of May, things have finally started to open back up again. The pandemic is subsiding here, and it seems like life is (slowly) returning to normal.
As you might expect, our travel adventures resumed in May as well. We took full advantage of the fine May weather, and went camping on Washington’s coast, near a small town called Ocean Shores…
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It’s been a long time since I’ve written a post about snack foods. Over the years, I’ve written a number of different blog posts about making snack foods, but for some reason I haven’t written a new one in years.
Go figure!
In the past, I’ve written about the low-cost snacking wonder that is popcorn, and how incredibly good DIY salsa can be. Both are great snacks that can be healthy and ultra affordable… as long as you skip the over-priced commercial products…
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Ahh spring!! Spring really starts to hit the Pacific Northwest when April rolls around. Things finally start to green-up again. It’s also the time of year when our weather starts to turn towards “dryer” and “slightly warmer”.
This is typically when I emerge from my winter hibernation, and start spending a lot more time outside…
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When it comes to Japanese cuisine, most people will encounter it at their local Japanese restaurant. Serving up the classics like sushi, ramen, gyoza, miso soup, and edamame, most of these “Westernized” restaurants aren’t actually all that good.
Which is too bad, because Japanese cuisine is actually way WAY better than that.
Unfortunately traveling to Japan for some good eats isn’t possible, due to COVID-19…
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Another month another dollar. That’s how I like to think about these regular monthly reports anyway. Every month we turn the crank one more time on the Wealth Machine. While our net worth actually increases a whole lot more than $1 in a single month, I like to think in simple terms — Dollars at a time.
It’s the KISS principle applied to wealth building!
Turning the crank means saving, investing those extra dollars, and then compounding any additional value…
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Happy New Year! It’s no secret that I’ve had this blog on ‘pause’ for the past few weeks. I took some time off from writing to enjoy the Christmas and New Year’s holidays with the family. It’s been fun. I’ve spent a lot of time with the kids, playing board games, and ‘helping’ them test out their new toys. There’s also been plenty of socializing (virtually) with friends and family over Zoom.
It’s certainly been a very different Holiday season (to say the least), but we still managed to have a good one!
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If I’m being perfectly honest, November is really NOT my favorite month. Where we live in the Pacific Northwest, November tends to be extremely wet, cold and dark. This is usually not very conducive to a positive mental attitude. With only the Thanksgiving holiday, there aren’t even many holiday’s to look forward to in November.
This November was especially difficult, because like many other people we mostly stayed home due to the pandemic. I was feeling a little down to be quite frank…
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