Life DOESN'T Begin at Retirement - LIFE Begins TODAY!!

An ADD Post

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:53:00 +0000

In addition to being an introvert I have ADD. That's actually not a bad thing to have as an adult - I can multi-task like nobody's business and even though my desk is covered...I mean COVERED by about a dozen different tasks in various stages of completion I can always get it all pulled together by the end of a school day. I can also hear every single conversation going on in the classroom, every noise every student makes and am thus alerted to anything unusual very quickly. Which is also a good thing with a class full of students with autism!

I don't really have a topic today, have you figured that out yet? No, a million different things are rolling around in my head and I can't nail a single one down and make a post about it. So here are my random thoughts, in no particular order (that's half the fun - disorder!) along with a few random photos thrown in for extra confusion!!

Perhaps I could call this post: Spend 5 Minutes in MY Head!

exams start tomorrow at school, I can't believe the school year is almost half over
Carla's challenges - need to make some goals and a plan of action...can't think clearly enough now though so hopefully over the weekend
sure glad I LOVE vegetables
when will I get my report cards done I wonder?
need to buy Shelley a plant this weekend, she'll be back on Monday (her dad died this week)
why is Kazi so snippy lately?
still feeling a residue of sadness from watching "The Whistle Blower" (don't rent it!)
should I still take the car in to be checked now that the engine light is no longer on???
think I'll wear jeans tomorrow
wish people would stop drinking my Fresca!
4/5 days this week are NO SPENDS - YAY, no $$ for Sealed Pot - boo! That's sort of a microcosm of our country's economy these days...hmmmm....interesting
gotta get off here and go ride my bike...should I read while riding or play sudoku on the ipad?
Michael's supper smells really good
sure hope I remembered to turn the coffee pot off at school
how can I save any money next month when my income has decreased by $500 thanks to the stupid Canada Pension Plan deductions kicking in again?
I don't imagine I'll get a raise this year - our 4 year contract is up and I know Dalton McGuinty wants to keep salaries status quo - I'm ok with that...that means I've reached my top salary!! Wow, that felt weird!
why does my weight go up the day after I exercise and down the day after I don't - makes no sense at all!!??
a little nervous about going to Michael's friends for dinner tomorrow night, glad it's just 4 of us though, I get totally lost in a large group
yay - Kazi put gas in the car
felt strange to see a little dusting of snow on the ground this morning - wonder if we'll get any more?
gotta take pictures to sell stuff on kijiji on Saturday - hey - maybe I can incorporate that in each part of the two challenges?? Make some extra $$ (maybe) and declutter at the same time...hmmm...
maybe I can finish my book tonight, it's getting so exciting - the 2 main characters are out in a speed boat chasing the murderer and they're almost out of gas and there's a hurricane going on!!
really need to watch a comedy tonight after last night's downer movie - so brutal
what should I wear tomorrow night
how do I stick to my diet when someone else is making dinner and I'm a guest??? AND now going to Jambalaya saturday night with Troy - double yikes!
think I'll get the Globe and Mail on Saturday instead of the National Post, just for a change
should I go to the market Saturday morning or use the food I have until my next pay on Tuesday? think I'll wait and tough it out!
weight has been up and down all week though my eating has stayed the same - plateauing already?
poor Demi Moore
oh rats, forgot to have a nip of scotch last night in memory of Robbie Burns...oh well, maybe next year hahahaha!

And that's just the surface stuff!

My hummer!

PEI coastline - never far from my mind...

Pumpkins? No, just very colourful buoys!

At Cedar Dunes...now a favorite place to visit!

A lonely looking church, but peaceful.

Complementary colours....sigh....

Here comes the rain!

Michael's Guest Post

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:53:00 +0000

First off, big thanks for all the birthday wishes and comments. THANK YOU!

This is a special year, my son turns 25 and me 55. Later I will share a bit with about my son.

Here is how I spent my day.

I received a card earlier in the week from Starbucks offering me a free birthday drink and I saved for that morning and treated myself to a Venti Soya Carmel Macchiato....very delicious.

I purchased balloons which I had delivered at my work place. This created the space into a party all day long.

I also treated myself to a Jade plant. I will nurture it and remember how special I am and grateful for the many blessing of a life well lived.

After work, I met up with friends for our annual dinner get together to celebrate our birthdays at a very small and quaint place called the Black Friars Bistro

My meal was: Black Tiger Shrimp & Roasted Vegetables

in a mild Thai curry with cilantro and coconut milk on a

black pearl medley with candied ginger and Thai basil

Chaucer’s Pub

After dinner Jane picked me up and we went for a night cap at Chaucer’s Pub

Enjoying the warmth

Thanks Jane, for a wonderful birthday.

"Life itself is a gift.
It's a compliment just being born:
to feel, breathe, think, play, dance, sing,
work, make love, for this particular lifetime.
Today, let's give thanks for life.
For life itself. For simply being born!"

Daphne Rose Kingma
Inspirational Author and Teacher

For You Dad

“You taught me how to talk; you even held my hand and made me walk. You filled my mind with knowledge and understanding that I will never be able to learn if not for you. Thank you for everything!

I love you Dad.” Dane Duhaney

This is Dane and I about 22 years ago. I am most proud of him and the relationship we share. He gave me the ok to share what he wrote in his birthday card to me here

This year he will be 25 and we are planning a big celebration in South Beach Miami.

I feel very special to be included in your lives through Jane’s blog and thank you again for your love and support.

Thanks Jane for giving me this opportunity to share with you blog community of friends. Cheers.

My Vision Board 2012

I leave you with my vision board and a song from Natasha Bedingfield....Unwritten.

What You've Been Waiting For....

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:32:00 +0000

is coming up later today! Michael finished his "guest post" about his vision board late last night so when I come home from work later today I will post it.

Stay tuned.....

I'm Singing in the Rain...

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:32:00 +0000

Michael wanted me to take his picture with the umbrella - I've never known there to be a torrential downpour (actually several) during January before. We did have a little snow, but sadly it's all slush now.

I'm a little weary today so I'll make it quick. Last night we watched TWO, yes 2 movies via Netflix. One for Michael and I can't even remember what it was...oh yes... it was called The Peacemaker and starred George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. An edge of the seater complete with Russian spies, Bosnian nuclear arms thieves and lots of suspense. I would rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars (though 5 out of 5 for George looking so darn good!!) The second one was a little British drama (for me) about an aristocratic girl from Spain who has to come live in a British boarding school after a bit of an indiscretion and one of the teachers who becomes quite infatuated with her with deadly results!! Ooooh, I should write reviews!

Anyhoo (I'm giddy) because I should have gotten a bit more sleep last night than I did. So it will be early to bed tonight!

On Mondays I'll be updating my weight loss for the 10 Pound challenge. Last Monday I had lost a total of ...4.2 pounds...now I'm at exactly 6 pounds - only 4 more to go for this challenge but then I'm hoping to continue until I lose a total of 15 pounds. We'll see how it goes....

In other news I had a no spend day yesterday and today - woot woot! One more week to go and also until payday. I still have the $20 in my wallet (though tomorrow I will be donating towards another gift basket - that's three parents of my staff who have died over the past month!) so my $20 will be turned into a $10 dollar bill :( AND I have $136 in my account to cover food and gas for one more week - that should be more than enough. Again, we'll see how it goes...

Is the weather crazy where YOU live??

Sunday Night Chit Chat...Chit Chat

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:02:00 +0000

The wharf in Tignish - more fishing boats leave Tignish than
any other wharf in PEI.

Make sure you visit Carla's blog for the latest edition of Sunday Night Chit Chat!

What are you…
Reading?

Yes, I have two on the go which is why I haven't finished Plum Island yet, but it's an excellent read - the police officer who is investigating a double murder which is NOT on his turf has such a sense of humour - I love when a book makes you laugh out loud:)
I also read about 1,000 recipes today as I went through them all - I have recipes in a drawer, two boxes and on a shelf so I weeded them out and now what I have left fits nicely in the 2 recipe boxes.

Watching?
Nothing so far...Kazi is watching the football game - go Patriots! at her boyfriend's house and Michael is attaching a new cord from our new TV to our sound system so that the words will be in sync with the movie actors' lips tee hee. I'm telling you it's taking me a while to get used to high definition. It still seems 3D to me. We'll be watching a movie after dinner but I don't know what it'll be yet...something from....

Listening to?

Feel free to get up and dance!!

Cooking/Baking?
Nothing exciting...a big pot of vegetable soup yesterday using up some old carrots and celery - that'll be my lunch this week. Tried a different scone recipe today and I don't like it as much as my "usual" recipe so won't make them again. Pan fried some tilapia and made an amazing omelet for lunch with sauteed onions and garlic, crumbled turkey bacon, egg whites and skim milk mozzarella cheese melted on top. Yummy - The 10 Pound Challenge update tomorrow!

Happy you accomplished this week?
You'll love this one! I have a beautiful black wool winter coat that Michael bought me a couple of years ago but I haven't worn it this winter because, being wool, it had little woolly black pills all over it. So I bought some double A's for my defuzzer and went to town. Plus I did a white toque that got washed with some dark stuff (NOT BY ME!!) and a black sweater. I'm so glad I finally got that done - now I can wear my gorgeous coat!

I'm also glad I went to see my artist brother Kim after school on Friday. He has the landlord from hell and had to go to the tenant's rights bureau for help. He really needed to unload. We gabbed for FOUR hours nonstop!!

Looking forward to next week?
I have a few DIY projects to get done this week around the house and I LOVE crossing things off my TO DO list!

Thankful for today?
I'm thankful that Michael brought me a decaf soy milk american misto from Starbucks after he did his errands. I'm enjoying it right now. I am so thankful for a "room of my own" it's hard to express in words...though I will try one day this week! It all started with this:

Love as first sight!!

Yup - it fits me!!

I happened to tell Michael when we were shopping for our new TV back in December that I LOVED this chair so lo and behold he bought it for my birthday!! (which isn't til May!) and this led to the idea of creating a "room of my own" centered around this chair. I'm sitting in it right now!!
AND we can't forget about the birthday boy - I'm VERY thankful for him - especially now that he's the same age as I am for the next 5 months!!

The birthday boy at work.

At Chaucers Pub - you'd never know that outside the wind
was howling and snow pellets pelting the city!

My Response to Judy's Post

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:42:00 +0000

A few days ago Judy worte THIS POST looking back 10 years to a time when debt ruled her life If you haven't read it you really should click on my link and have a read. I am reading a lot about debt fatigue these days and thinking back 10 years or in my case, 20 years, is an amazing exercise to help keep you on the path to debt freedom. There are many days when we feel like we aren't getting anywhere, that we'll always have that burden of debt hanging over us like a black cloud. Well, I'm here to tell you to keep at it because you WILL get there but it might take a long, long time, even 20 years.But it's so worth it.

Few of you know of my humble beginnings, of my long journey to debt freedom. I'm not there yet but the light at the end of the tunnel is very bright. A few years ago I created my Seven Year Plan to debt freedom and early retirement to the east coast. Today I have 2.5 years left in that original plan and yes, I'm on track. Reading Judy's post made me think back over the past 20 years to see how tremendously far I have come. I started behind the 8-ball in more ways than one but as a single parent I was a tigress protecting and working for her young. There was nothing that I wouldn't do to give Kazi a decent life while still plan for the future.

The response below was simply a quick outpouring of my thoughts in the moment, but it has turned into so much more for me. I want to thank you Judy for your post. We all have so much to be thankful for and it serves such a great purpose to remember that everyday. As I tell Kazi, be thankful where you came from. And I know she is...this past summer she got a tattoo which is a line of script from a Beatles song called "Blackbird". She said she chose a Beatle's song as she knows they are my favorite band of all time. The line she chose was this - "take these broken wings and learn to fly." It was a tribute to me and all I've managed to do for her in spite of all the problems I had as well as a tribute to herself for growing up without a father in her life. Underneath the line of script are nine little blackbirds to represent her and I, my parents who made a life for me and my four siblings with even less than I had, and her five aunts and uncles. Even though I'm not a fan of tattoos I was blown away by how beautiful, personal and meaningful it is. She has her own vision board right on her skin and uses the idea that you can create a really good life even though you had great adversity to overcome to keep her motivated. I am so proud of her.

So that gives you a bit of sub-context for my response below. Please ask me any questions you want - I would be happy to answer them.

My face fits my cousin Paul's face perfectly!

In a nutshell - I had to live on welfare (social assistance) whatever it's called in U.S. I'm not sure. My ex was a gambling man, Kazi was a newborn and I didn't know where the next meal was coming from. I couldn't let Kazi suffer so I moved into a shelter for a week, then found student housing and went to teacher's college. For a year we lived on what the gov't gave us and thankfully had a childcare subsidy because of being on welfare. At the end of teacher's college I took two more teaching qualifications courses over the summer paid for with my tax refund. I had an old car that my ex bought for me for about $500 (out of guilt) and when the weather was too bad to get Kazi to daycare I took her to school with me...imagine that...me sitting in class with my one year old with me. My profs used to complain that she got more attention than they did but otherwise they never told me NOT to bring her. Thank God! The weekend before school began in September I got a phone message from a woman I was in teacher's college with - she'd heard of a teaching position in adult education. I took in a resume, had an interview and got the job. It was $30 an hour, more than I'd ever earned but it was only part-time so welfare continued to bump up my monthly earnings and provide a daycare subsidy. After 7 years of no benefits I managed to get a full-time permanent contract. I borrowed $$ from my dad for a down payment on a townhouse condo. We were home owners!! Just me and 4 year old Kazi. Even at that age she knew money was tight and would suggest things we could do that were free. She was such a bright little thing - it must have been going to teacher's college with me LOL! It took me til she was 10 to pay off my student loans and then another 10 years to get to the top of the teaching grid and make good money. We still live in our condo, free and clear. I learned how to make my money work for me and squeezed every penny that came my way. I still do. After all of that I hope to retire in 2.5 years (early on a lower pension because I've learned how to live on next to nothing and $$ is NOT important to me) in my old PEI farmhouse. It's amazing what you can accomplish through hard work and will power.
Thanks Judy for this post - it has really made me think back and appreciate what I've managed to do over the past 20 years. :)

At Scots Corner pub watching England LOSE (boo hoo) in
World Cup soccer.

NO/LOW Spend January - Week Three

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:56:00 +0000

This week I only managed 2/7 No Spend Days. But I don't think I did any frivolous spending - you can give me your opinion as always. This has been and will continue to be a quiet weekend. Both Michael and I have been diagnosed with the detestable "gucky throat" syndrome which is accompanied by the ever present "dry hack" or "wheeze" depending on your point of view. Thus we are staying put and resting our weary bods. Well, at least I am. Michael is working today unfortunately but did take a day off yesterday. Last night we decided to give Netflix a try...well, at least we're giving their "free month" a try and we'll decide after that. I'm keeping close tabs on our "internet usage" and the movie we watched last night used just under half a gig. We get 60 gigs a month with our current package and I want to make sure we don't go over or we'll have to pay so much per extra gig.

Without further ado let's get to this week's spending. You'll not likely remember but last Saturday I had $20 in my wallet and $155 in the bank which included $50 car insurance $$ from Kazi. Not a lot at that point with 17 days left of January and now I have a lot LESS!!

Sunday, Jan. 15: We went to Starbucks/Chapters (my downfall) and I spent $11.38 for a card and a small gift for Michael - did I need to buy him anything more? No, but I saw a really cute metal case with a small notepad (yup, fell for another notepad but not for me this time!!) that locked when you slid the cutest little pen through the closing apparatus. I also had a coffee but used my gift card. I put the change into my sealed post when I got home ($3.62) So I was left with $5.00! Then Kazi gave me her insurance money in cash so I added that to my wallet giving me $55.00 and I immediately turned around and stuffed the $5.00 into my sealed pot. If I run out of money before the end of the month it'll be because I LOVE stuffing money into my sealed pot!! Money in my wallet now - $50.00
Monday, Jan. 16: NO SPEND - Hallelujah!!
Tuesday, Jan. 17: took Michael to Chaucer's pub for a glass of wine followed by a specialty coffee which cost me $30.00 including tip - YIKES!! But yes, as you all know...he's so worth it!! So now I have only $20.00 in my wallet.
Wednesday, Jan. 18: Good grief it's date night!! We met on the 18th day of April so every month on the 18th we do something for date night. So I picked Michael up after work and we went to Coffee Culture before going to see a movie (Contraband - really really good!) At Coffee Culture I had a soup and a coffee for $6.00 including tip. The movie was $9.00 leaving me with $5.00 which I tucked into my sealed pot when I got home - see what I mean??? In my wallet now?? Nada! Nothing! Zippo!
Thursday, Jan. 19: NO SPEND!! Well of course - I had nothing in my wallet!
Friday, Jan. 20: withdrew $40.00 on my way to work so I could get a coffee - my Friday treat for $1.80. After work I spent $11.41 at No Frills on a few items we needed - not only did I stick to my short list but I decided a few things could wait! Then I spent $13.03 on quinoa at the Bulk Barn - why is that stuff so damn expensive?? Well, it was 20% off so I bought more than usual. I used my debit for both of these purchases, not cash. When I got home I put my change into the sealed pot. After I ate I drove back to No Frills because I had promised Michael some gingerale for his poor throat and tummy and I had forgot the first time. I paid cash and put my change into the sealed pot leaving me with $30.00 cash from my original $40.00.
Saturday, Jan. 21: drove Michael to work and bought my coffee and newspaper for my usual Saturday morning routine. I live for my Saturday mornings! Cost - $4.80. Because I like to live on the edge I tucked $5.20 into my sealed pot! I now have $20.00 left in my wallet.

As of today, including food and gas money I have $136.00 left in my chequing account plus $20.00 in my wallet to get me through the next 10 days. That seems a bit challenging in my estimation (gulp) but I am super motivated. I also have another $300+ in my account that I've set aside (in my mind) to pay for the "pipe" bill next month related to The Flood and replacement of my hot water tank. So if I had to I could dip into that but my intent is to forget it's even there and live on the $156. The car needs gas but it's Kazi's turn to put some in so that will help. We'll just have a low key week and keep plugging away. I'm not going to add any cash to my wallet - I can easily make it through with just my $20 (no birthdays or other unusual expenses on the horizon) and use the $136 in my account for groceries if we need any. We pretty well stocked right now but I'm sure we'll need milk and lettuce at least.

So that's my highly detailed spending for the week. I feel really good about the results - we had fun, we celebrated but all within reason. I love keeping track of my daily spending - it really helps me be more mindful of what I'm buying or not buying as I seem to pick up a lot of stuff but almost always put it back on the shelf. I'm very clear in my mind what we need and don't need and right now I can't think of a darn thing we need!

Upcoming posts: a response to one of Judy's posts, A Room of my Own, February's Budget, Clean Eating

Hope your week of No/Low Spending was successful.....was it??

Re Vision Board

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:34:00 +0000

I am loving your comments about my Vision Board. I am just on my way to school so later today I'll respond to your comments and answer questions later today.
Cheers everyone & Happy Friday

My Vision Board 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:17:00 +0000

Yes, I'm finally going to share with you my Vision Board. Michael and I each created one and this year's version had its beginning HERE:

Winter Camping - The Pinery
January 1, 2012

Michael and I took a few bags full of magazines, scissors, glue and paper so that we could spend some cozy time inside the yurt clipping out words, phrases and pictures that spoke to us in some way. During the cutting out stage we don't spend a lot of time analyzing we just go with our gut.

Here are a few of the phrases that I found and
clipped out.

It's an interesting process because when we go to the assembly stage words, phrases and pictures make new connections due to the way in which we arrange them creating new ideas and dreams that we hadn't been aware of but that "fit us" in exciting ways.

I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos - it was difficult to get angles with no glare yet allow you to still see the details. Plus, I dropped my camera at the Wine and Food (some call it Food and Wine but not me...;) and since then I think the quality of the pictures it takes has declined. It seems I am in the market for a new camera. Lucky me I am already saving up towards one!

J'adore Louise Pitre!(the woman in red!) She is Canadian, the same age as me (55), attended my alma mater (University of Western Ontario) and is the epitome of glamour & talent (she sings and acts on stage across Canada & in the UK) and I want to be her when I grow up!

Louise says: "A lot of the lines I have are because I laugh a lot. I don't have a problem with those!" Me either:) :) :)!! I love that a woman of 55 can look HOT!!! - she OWNS that red dress! Also in this section of my vision board are references to health and fitness, something I'm always working on: find your fit, love your shape, get outside, walking, having adventures.... encouraging phrases to help me stay the course at work, in my relationships, and with my goals: challenge, intense, passion, love, never cry quit, triumph and this special one: It may challenge my strength, but I am stronger. It may challenge my independence, but I am resolute... and "happiness and staying positive": Happiness levels change but, in my experience, the more positively we approach things in life, the happier we will be.

Here is the lower half of my vision board which emphasizes clean eating which means no processed foods, nothing from a package or can, no chemicals, no additives - just plain, wholesome and delicious foods. More about this in a future post. I am always looking to "simplify my life" ( no more stuff!) and to "celebrate life" with family and "friends". I want to "reach" for my goals ("Think Big. Be Big"), be "bold" and "love No. 1" (that's a hard one sometimes!) Some of my goals found in this section include learning to cross country ski, learn more about gardening, getting back to the basics (a more sustainable way of living - these goals have to do with when I'll be living full-time in PEI), travel, ("I had always dreamed of travel..." PEI & perhaps the Iles-de-la-Madeleine or Halifax this summer), and of course I want to "have fun"!!

I need to continue to "save" and "love my shape" no matter what weight I am - but if I reach my weight goal I just might buy a pair of skinny jeans!" I have to "face facts" and get on my bike and pedal my ass into those jeans!! So far "Will Power: 1....Giving Up: 0!"
P.S. I love mischief, oh yes I do!

I've included a lot of pictures of the outdoors such as the northern lights and a garden pathway I'd like to create in my PEI garden. Photos of birds and animals (I'm not too sure what the sheep illustrates but isn't she sweet?!!) The hat I covet!!

These two phrases speak VOLUMES to me. "EXHALE" is something I've finally begun to do. I've been holding my feelings in very tightly all of my life. There was never time to grieve, to celebrate, to let my guard down or even to slow down. As a single mother I've had to fight my way through life holding myself together for the sake of Kazi. Now I have my very own life coach who rejoices with me that I've started to let go a little, let myself feel and release myself from a lifetime of stress. Now that I have a partner I don't have to be the only one "holding it altogether." I CAN take a break, I CAN take a bubblebath, I CAN have a "room of my own" to escape to, I CAN look after myself and the world won't fall apart. I CAN exhale and learn to trust. I'm not there yet but the process has begun. The "room of my own" ("this room must be off limits") feels like the platform from which I'll finally be able to accomplish a lot of my goals, especially the one in the bottom right-hand corner: I FINALLY FOUND me ME me Me me ME!

Isn't that sheep too cute?!

I see a dog in my future, though I don't know what kind. I'm saving for a camera - good thing!

I finally found me! I am a lover of oats and blueberries (I'm having some right now!)

Under "life" it says "taking care of what you cherish most" - which is ME! See, I can type it, but I don't feel it 100%. I've always put others, especially Kazi, first...it even "feels wrong" to cherish myself the most. I understand the logic, but it's hard to change a lifetime habit.

See that blurry picture under the word "comfort"? A woman is relaxing outside in a hot tub and all around her are snow covered trees! I am SO going to make that happen in PEI!!

I am under "NEW MANAGEMENT - YOURS!...well MINE!" I AM going to try something new this summer - I am going to be staying in PEI for a few weeks all alone! This excites me (being the introvert that I am) but I am also going to have many adventures, travel, explore, visit friends, make new ones, and CELEBRATE MY LIFE!!

Because "life matters"! If you turn your head to the left and read the small print beside the lighthouse it says "I am a lean, mean health machine." HAH! Not sure if I'll ever be lean again but I'm going to try!!

It's a new year; anything is possible. Will I triumph? Yes, I rather think I shall! I keep my vision board on the wall beside my stationary bike. I see it every time I bike, every time I go to bed and everyday when I wake up. I take a moment to scan and see what will inspire me today. Hmmmm...I think today will be all about LOVE - self LOVE!
Do you have a vision for yourself in 2012?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:28:00 +0000

~~Today is~~ Yesterday was Michael's birthday (for some reason this post didn't publish yesterday, stupid Blogger) - he's 55 (caught up to me ha ha!) In tribute I am posting a series of photos from the past summer when we were at our home in PEI. The other day he was wishing we could be there walking down our laneway, strolling on the beach, sitting on our front porch as the sun was rising. Well dear, in 6 months we'll be there once again. Until then, remember and enjoy...and always remember - LIFE BEGINS NOW!!

He's not only handsome - he's handy!

On the wharf in Summerside, as the sun is setting...

Whacking away in the forest with his machete!

Enjoying the serenity of the front porch early in the morning...

I'm not quite sure what he's doing in the middle of the raspberry bushes!

VERY MUCH ENJOYING HEATHER'S TIKI PARTY!

We love to explore - here we're checking out the island's other drive-in theatre - we can see the screen in the distance from our property so we went on the hunt - won't be watching any movies here for awhile!

Mr. Potato Head:)

Our favorite pub owner - Steve -and his lovely wife Kelly (and me) whooping it up at the Albert and Crown...

Gotta love the red soil...there's still some in the trunk of the car:)

You know where this is Marguerite!

Enjoying an early morning coffee...potatoes growing in the background.

PEI is a great place for Michael to fly his kite...

Enjoying a dance...again at the Alberton and Crown...we like it there...

...every night's a party!

The singing white sands at Basin Head...

You just can't get a bad shot in PEI, and the scenery ain't bad neither...

Michael's debut as a lobster fisherman...he's always up for anything!...

even when others have had enough he keeps on ticking like the energizer bunny...

taking orders for a bbq on board some friend's boat in Casumpec Bay...mustard and relish on mine please..

Our last night was spent up near Tignish with some musician friends who were jamming one last time before heading south to Texas...unfortunately Michael had some difficulty handling the "screech" that night. You should have seen him in the morning!...

however, there are no pictures of him on our trip home - here we go, crossing Confederation Bridge!

But we'll be back for more adventures, more sunsets and more memories......ONE LOVE Michael!

Chit Chat Chump!

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:05:00 +0000

So I got home later than expected yesterday after a nice walk in the woods and a nice bit of blog reading and spending money oh oh at Chapters/Starbucks. Sunday was not a NO Spend because a special someone (tall, dark and handsome!) is having a birthday tomorrow. Yes, his gift was the winter camping in a yurt experience BUT I didn't give him his card then so I bought a card and a little something extra at Chapters yesterday for a total of $11.36. My americano misto was free thanks to a gift card.

Sooooooooo as I was saying I missed out on Sunday Night Chit Chat...so I'm a chump! And I'd even taken pictures of what I baked and all. Oh well, I'll just save those pictures til next Sunday - you'll never know the difference hahaha! oops...

Today I told Erika at Newlyweds on a Budget who set up the 10 Pound Challenge what my beginning weight was (I started my weight loss efforts on Friday, Jan. 6th) and to date I have lost 4.2 lbs. YES!! This chump is chuffed!! Usually I get off to a good start and then after a few days I start adding things back in but NOT this time (well, except for the Wine and Food Show but I mostly stuck to my plan for that night!) It really makes a huge difference to participate in a challenge PUBLICLY! Oh, and did I mention the cash prizes?? Now I know that the first few pounds are the easy ones and from here on in I'll be fighting to lose an ounce or two here and there. BUT I have until April 16th so it IS doable.

Tonight it's back on the bike. I was supposed to bike on Saturday to complete my weekly 100km but instead I worked on the "Room of My Own" which will soon be revealed to you. I did go up and down both staircases in my house about 1,000 times carrying books, furniture, photo albums etc but can't put a number on that. But I am including the 5 kms from our hike yesterday as you'll see in my sidebar. So I was 15km short on the week. That's OK. It's a goal to strive for but I'm not going to beat myself up for spending time on something else that is so meaningful for me.

Now it's off to a supper of a big egg-white omelet with sauteed mushrooms, green onion and green pepper, a side of green beans and a salad, followed by a 20km bike ride and then to bed with a book. I leave you with some photos from the Wine and Food show. Most were taken near the end of the show so not a lot of people about.

A lounge area where we finally took a load off and made friends with Alistair.....
keep reading...

Wine glasses ready for Saturday's crowd...

My fellow party animals - Troy, a college prof and Julie, an artist and teacher - we've been besties for well....decades!

My nifty plate which also holds my wine glass....oh, I see Alistair...

oh, look who's helping out at Jambalaya's food booth!

Glass...as far as the eye can see...

a Thai food booth...

oh no, all the coconut shrimp are gone! Good thing, they're only a million calories each...

Waiting for our free jerk chicken...

vino anyone?

There he is...hi Alistair!!

NO/LOW Spend January - Week Two

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:07:00 +0000

Wow, where has the weekend gone? I planned to post about my No/Low Spend January - Week Two yesterday but instead I took a trip down Memory Lane. Remember that place? I spent most of Saturday rearranging furniture, cleaning, going through boxes of papers and old photos and shedding many tears. Why? Because I am creating a ROOM OF MY OWN! More on that this week - that was just a teaser!

Oh , here's my version of a trailer:

I also planned to get caught up on everyone's posts, so sorry I neglected y'all yesterday but it was a very cathartic experience and now YOU are at the top of my list!

Let's get to the numbers shall we? I had some amazing No Spend Days this week and then I had a little splurge - nothing earthshaking. But, before I get going there's another number I'm celebrating this week! On my sidebar I'm counting down the days until retirement and the number slipped below 900 this week!! As of this minute I have 896 days left until retirement - woo hoo!

Alright, no more delays....(I started the week with $70.00 cash in my wallet and as you may or may not remember I was going to challenge myself to live on that $70.00 for misc spending and entertainment for the rest of the month!) That is so NOT going to succeed as today I have only $20 left and 16 days left in January. However, due to not spending all of my food and gas budget over the first two weeks of January and having my hydro and natural gas bills coming in under budget that $20 has increased. Let's see what I spent $50 on...

Sat. January 7 - $7.00 movie ticket at the Hyland to see "Martha Marcy May Marlene" starring the younger sister of the Olsen twins. She was fantastic but the ending really left us hanging, and I mean REALLY hanging! ($3.00 to the Sealed Pot)
Sunday - No Spend: I did purchase a coffee at Starbucks but using a gift card.
Monday - No Spend
Tuesday - No Spend
Wednesday - No Spend
Thursday - No Spend

I don't think I've ever had 5 No Spend days in a row before EVER IN MY LIFE!!

Friday, January 13: $20.00 at the Wine and Food Show and yes I behaved myself pretty well. Considering how much I ate there last year and all of the desserts I sampled I can hardly believe I had such willpower this year. I had 4 two ounce samples of red wine and tried to stick to fish and veggies for my food choices: sauteed mushrooms in some sort of reduction, tomato bisque with shrimp garnish, escargot, an organic veggie wrap, jerk chicken (free from Jambalaya:), a special type of organic radish (I think the fellow called it watermelon radish? - they were cut in large slices and pink inside not white- no bitter taste) and then I tried the most interesting food of my night - a cheesecake made from squash, red pepper and a couple other ingredients with a piece of crispy fried bacon stuck into it - delicious! Lastly I had one scoop of organic vanilla icecream with a dollop of apple butter and when I say it was to die for I mean IT WAS TO DIE FOR!! I also donated $5.00 at work for a gift basket for a staff member whose father died just before Christmas and put $4.00 in my Sealed Pot.
Saturday, January 14: I spent $3.00 for some mutsu apples at the Farmer's Market which really should come out of the food budget but it'll all work out in the end...I hope! I also purchased a newspaper for $3.00 and a Timmy's coffee for $1.80. I returned some wine bottles to the Beer Store and received $2.80 for my troubles. Together with the change in my wallet I was able to put an even $5.00 in my Sealed Pot. Michael and I did go out for a couple hours in the evening to a bar called Cowboys for a friend's birthday but he paid the cover charge and the cost of my LOW-CAL beer (Miller's Chill - it has lime added to it and is only 70 calories and is very yummy:) Thanks Michael!

So I am left with only $20.00 in my wallet. However, with the added $$ from my over-estimated bills and savings on gas and food I have an extra $155 in my account so in total I have $175 to cover misc and entertainment expenses until the end of January. AND THAT IS AFTER SETTING ASIDE $300 TO COVER THE COST OF "PIPE" RE the INSTALLATION OF NEW HOT WATER TANK!! I AM ECSTATIC!! So although I won't reach my NO/LOW Spend January goal of increasing my EF to $2000 I WAS able to absorb an extra $500 of FLOOD costs without taking a cent from my EF. Already I see this month as a HUGE success as long as Mr. Murphy doesn't pay me another visit that is.....shhhhhhhhhhh!

My daughter will be paying me her share of the car insurance this week ($50.00) so that will put my wallet back up to $70. I am comfortable with that for the next week or so. I bought groceries ($108.62 left in the food budget til Jan. 31st) and put in $40 worth of gas ($60 left in the gas budget). So all in all I call the 2nd week of No/Low Spend January a rousing success! And my Sealed Pot increased by $12!

How did your second week go???

Posts to come: Sunday Night Chit Chat, The 10 Pound Challenge: Monday's weigh-in and biking update, Vision Board, A Room of My Own

Friday Link Love

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:26:00 +0000

It's been forever since I did an edition of "Friday Link Love." So here goes; the top referring URLS over the past month have been (sound of drum roll) -

http://saving4later.blogspot .com (thanks Canadian Saver!)
http://wemaybepoorbutwearehappy.blogspot.com (thanks Judy!)
http://midlifemommusings.blogspot.com (thanks Sharon!)
http://anostrichnamedsam.blogspot.com (thanks Sam!)
http://shakingthemoneytree.blogspot.com (thanks Jolie!)
http://gracefulretirement.blogspot.com (thanks Grace!)
http://gazelleintense.blogspot.com (thanks Sarah and Jenny!)
http://halfdozendaily.blog.com (thanks Carla!)

And now I must pull myself together for the Wine & Food Show - I have a plan to not blow my diet so let's hope I stick to it!!

Hip Hip Hoorah Tomorrow's Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:52:00 +0000

That's not really my topic, just my heartfelt feeling at the moment. It has been a long and grueling week of meetings and helping kids transition back into the classroom after two weeks off with their families. One of my boys who is only 15 and about 6'4" (he has be bend waaaaay over to sniff the top of my head and yes I always smell good!) had a great day on Monday but the honeymoon period was over on Tuesday and by 9am wanted to "go home" and "see mom". I got him through to lunchtime by reading to him and acting out the actions to the stories in a very silly way. Yes, I still sit on the floor and have absolutely no dignity left.

Challenge Updates:
1. The 10 Pound Challenge: click on the link to check out Erika's challenge at Newlyweds on a Budget! It's not too late to join! I'm really hoping to win one of the great cash prizes - they are a great motivation to keep focused on this weighty challenge (tee hee!) To help me achieve this goal I have cleaned out the fridge, freezer, cupboards and pantry. I've told Michael to stop buying me giant chocolate bars. I'm back on the Calcium Diet AND I'm committed to pedaling 20km 5 times a week for a total of 100km per week. So far I've pedaled 60km this week and I'll be heading for the bike shortly after I finish this post. If I win any money for achieving a weight loss of 10 pounds it will help me with the next challenge...

2. The Sealed Pot Challenge: thanks to sft for organizing this challenge. Head over HERE if you would like to learn more! If I win any of the cash prizes offered in The 10 Pound Challenge I will put it into my Sealed Pot! I'm doing pretty well putting any spare change I have into the Sealed Pot, but when I'm NOT spending (next challenge;) then there is definitely less for the pot! However I have a lot more time left to get it filled up so I hope to catch up to Carla who weighed hers - 3 pounds already!!!

3. No/Low Spending: I will update my week of No/Low spending on Saturday as well as my own personal $70 challenge. Suffice it to say that this is my 5th no spend day in a row. Tomorrow WILL be a spending day as I plan to go to the Wine and Food show with a friend. I will have to be careful to not eat or drink too much or spend too much either. Luckily my girlfriend has reduced price tickets because she works at Fanshawe College in the culinary dep't and they have a booth at the show. My plan is one or two glasses of wine (they are about 3 ounces - not a full glass of wine) and to eat my dinner there - some chicken or fish and some salad or other veggie dishes - (again, these are sample sizes so very tiny portions). Good luck to me!

And that's all she wrote!!

Tablets c1960

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:33:00 +0000

Definition of a tablet c1960: a number of sheets of writing paper, business forms, etc., fastened together at the edge; pad

My love affair with tablets, or pads of paper, began many decades ago (gulp) when my brilliant mother began tucking one into my Christmas stocking each year. We weren't allowed to come downstairs until 7am so my brother Kim and I would amuse ourselves with whatever we found in our stockings which somehow mysteriously appeared at the end of our bed sometime during the night. It wasn't unheard of for us to wake up at 3 or 4am and stretch out a toe to see if we could hear that longed for sound of crinkly wrapping paper and feel the firm but bumpy contours of our Christmas stocking. How thrilling it was!!

We would get together in the boys' room or the girls' room and occasionally even in the bathroom if our older siblings didn't want to wake up. I always hoped for one thing in particular - the thick pad of paper - YES, it's here!! What did I fill it with? Stories of my own, but mostly drawings - drawings of fashion designs (step aside Stella McCartney!) and houseplans...strange hobby huh?

We look pretty posh don't we? I don't know how she did it but she raised 5 kids on the earnings of my dad's manual labour at the local co-op plus the money she made writing and selling children's stories. With two older sisters you'd think I wore a lot of their hand me downs but they were (and still are hahaha) 9 and 12 years older than me so she had passed their clothes onto others by the time I showed up. I did wear hand me downs, but they were from the daughter of the postmaster and were really good quality, lucky me!

But I digress...

I want to show you one final gift from my Secret Santa - how did she know of my long love affair with paper? (and lists!)

I. love. this. tablet!! A nice sized box for each day of the week and a shopping list on the side - perfection! A week at a glance! It goes everywhere with me tucked in a side pocket of my purse. Whatever did I do without it? When I get to the last page I plan to photocopy it and make my own tablet!

Now I must confess to a purchase...what??...but it's NO/LOW Spend January you say?!! HAHAHAHAH, fooled you!! A certain someone paid me back $25.00 so I spent $23 and change on these:

Everything was on sale at Chapters. The KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON daily calendar of British "stiff upper lip" humorous sayings helps keep me sane at work:) The Money Spent tablet has a brilliant setup for recording purchases, and the Great Ideas tablet is so I can record all of those super-de-duper ideas I have no matter where and when I have them!! The two monogrammed notebooks were $1.00 each and I just bought them because. They were cute and I wanted them.

So that is how you can SPEND and still have a NO SPEND day!........
technically.......no? Ah c'mon, it didn't change my balance one little bit AND I put the change into my Sealed Pot!

The 2012 definition of a tablet: A general-purpose computer contained in a single panel. Its distinguishing characteristic is the use of a touch screen as the input device. Modern tablets are operated by fingers, whereas earlier tablets required a stylus. (I have one of these too but shhhhhhhhh, don't tell Canadian Saver!! Oh crap, I let the cat out of the bag....)

Which type of tablet do I prefer?? Well, I could exist without my iPad, but I could never ever get through a day without a pad of paper! Sorry Apple!

Winter Camping in a Yurt - Day Three

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:59:00 +0000

Yes, the saga ends tonight! Tomorrow I'm going to talk about my love affair....... with pads of paper! AND how to spend and still have a NO SPEND DAY!! Ooooh, that's a good one!!

So here's the last of the photos from the Yurt adventure:

A wee bit of sunshine struggling to get
through the grey clouds. Mmmmmuch
colder today - down to -18c!

Before you think we're getting
all mushy here, I was a bit of
a grumpus because it was so
ccccccold and Michael was all
gungho about going for another
100 mile hike. Sometimes I just can't
handle his high level of gungho-ness!
This is how he
tries to improve my mood!
Pretty underhanded
wouldn't ya say?

Where all had been open water yesterday
is now covered with a thin veneer of ice
and snow - would NOT want to fall into
the river or the lake today!

We took a different trail but then drove
down the road a ways so we could go to
the lake again - lots of wave action again
today - I don't know HOW cold it was with
the wind chill.

Inviting no?
NOT!!
No sand today - just lots of ice formations!

Because of the size of the waves and the
frigid temperatures everything
within 20 - 30 feet of the shoreline was
now coated with ice!

Just hanging around trying to stay warm!

Lumpy ice is nice!

I felt sorry for the long grasses -
they were frozen solid!

Won't be long now til the river is all
covered with ice.

A very different shoreline
than yesterday! Everything
is frozen solid.

As we were walking back to the car we
came across a family feeding the chickadees!
So I joined in and Michael snapped a few
pictures. I tried it without my mitts but
my hand froze within seconds.

But the birds didn't mind my mitts.
So was I glad that Michael dragged my
butt out for a hike - YES!!
Just an example of the pros and cons
of living with a life coach - ya just
can't get away with being a grumpus!

Look - two chickadees!
Gotta go, going to finally finish watching
"Couples Retreat"!!
SO FUNNY!!
Don't ya just love Vince Vaughn?
Ya sure wouldn't catch him on a
100 mile hike!!

Sunday Night Chit Chat...Chit Chat January 8, 2012 Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 01:51:00 +0000

Sunday Night chit chat is back!! Be sure to head over to check out the Chief of Chit Chat - the one and only Carla! Oh, and Carla? Thanks for the handy dandy template!!

My PEI homestead - I really really miss you!

What are you…

Reading?

Ha! Funnily enough I'm reading the book Carla loaned me and she's reading the book I passed on to her last week!

This book is a quick and absorbing read - I like the fact that she (like so many of us) learned about personal finance the hard way and developed a series of rules that enabled her to pay back over $100,000 of personal debt and get back on track with her life and future goals. I'll tell you more about it when I'm finished.

Watching?

We started watching this last night but I couldn't stay awake - so I'll finish it tonight...maybe:)

Listening to?

I'm listening to the ocean with a Toskana overlay which seems to be a few different jungle-type birds chirping - very relaxing indeed! I'm quite taken with this free app!

Cooking/Baking?

Nothing today but yesterday I made up a big batch of chili made with ground chicken so my daughter will eat it (she doesn't eat red meat) plus a big pot of vegetable soup to have for my lunch this week at school. I also cooked some salmon for myself as I'm...ahem...eating fish as part of my attempt to lose 10 pounds.

Happy you accomplished this week?

SOOOOOOOOO friggin' happy to have cleaned up the basement after The Flood!

The dastardly hot water tank!

Also happy that the Christmas decorations are put away except for the bare tree which I really hope will have disappeared by the time I get home tomorrow...right honey?

Looking forward to next week?

I am looking forward to getting back in routine, believe it or not!

Thankful for today?

Today I am thankful that Michael and I got to go for a walk in Springbank Park and have a good heart to heart chat and watch the sun setting over the Thames River. I'm thankful that my partner is also my best friend:)

Sunset behind our house in PEI

Good night all! Hope you had a peaceful and relaxing Sunday!

Winter Camping in a Yurt - Day Two

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:04:00 +0000

So many topics to write about and not enough time. But I'll get there, I know I will. Tomorrow sees me getting back into routine again: get up at 5:45am, work til 3pm, get back on the exercise bike and start racking up the miles to get to Judy in Philadelphia!

There are challenges galore: The No/Low Spend January, the Live on the $70 in my Wallet Challenge, The 10 Pound Weight Loss Challenge, the Biking to See a Whole Whack of my Blogging Friends Challenge and the Sealed Pot Challenge. So let me see if I've got this straight:

I can't spend, I can't eat, I must excercise and I must save.

Thank goodness I have a great support team - YOU!!

Obviously I love a challenge, always have, so it's a matter of matching wits with myself to not only achieve my goals but have fun in the meantime. And believe me, I have more than enough ways to have fun: I LOVE playing with my new iPad, I have the "7 Money Rules for Life" by Mary Hunt to read(thanks for the loan Carla!) along with "Plum Island" by Nelson deMille (I'm about 1/2 way through and it is SOOOOOO GOOOOOD!(thanks Secret Santa!!) and two books on making the most of my introvertedness (thanks to Lisa for that new word)! AND I have two other purchases I will tell you about soon made in December so they don't count in the No/Low Spend January though they do cause me a few guilty pangs once in a while (rarely!)

So onto adding more FUN into the day - here are some more Winter Camping in a Yurt Day Two pictures for your viewing pleasure:

A sneak peak at some of Michael's
inspirational words for his vision board.

The campsite looks a little forlorn
with a smidgen of snow, but no worries,
there'll be a blazing fire later in the day.

The temperature has fallen from +7c to -2c
but nothing that Michael's super duper coat
couldn't handle
with how many was it dear? 9 pockets??

At the start of the Cedar Trail,
about 2.3km each way.

Dear, how many times have I told you
to hold the camera HIGHER!! No one
needs to see all of my chins!

Although it's called the Cedar Trail it is
largely covered with oak trees - a slight
change in colour from grey and white.

OK, you didn't tell me there were STAIRS,
lots and lots of STAIRS on this trail!

We persevered on all of those stairs to reach
LAKE HURON;
just down the road about 30 minutes
from Bayfield where my, well
not mine anymore, trailer resides.

The waves were huge due to the strong winds - we could hear the roar of these waves from our yurt - I just love falling asleep to that sound.
My nice daughter downloaded a free app called Relax Melodies onto my iPad that plays all sorts of sounds from nature so last night we went to sleep to the sounds of ocean waves. The app comes with a timer so it will eventually shut itself off and an alarm so you can wake up to whatever sound you like.
I don't think I'd wake up though - the sounds are too soothing!

Pretending the wind chill isn't minus 50!!

When in Rome...

Right after this shot a big wave got him!!

Leaving our mark

Heading back - I snapped this photo
hoping to get the waves in the
background - I got more than I
bargained for lol!

I know, I know, we can be pretty
sappy sometimes...Michael more
than me of course:)

Ok, I told him to look "sexy"...

It was a pretty gloomy day weather-wise;
snow pellets off and on all day.

This is where you go to rent a canoe etc;
closed for the season.

Ahhhhhhhh, stirring up the fire and
loving every minute.

Chef Michael warms up some chili to go with
our sausage on a bun - YUM!

He wanted to take a lot of pictures of his
Blundstone Boots because you can
send the photos to the company
and possibly win a trip:)

We rang in the New Year...again...
with a bottle of bubbly -
it was chilled to absolute perfection
with just a few ice crystals in it.
Freixenet is best
very very cold!

Oh no, not again!

I improvised by putting tinfoil over
the top of this lantern so the wind
wouldn't blow it out - worked great!

Popping the bubbly!

Nothing better than a
paper cup of cold bubbly...

...unless it's a paper cup of cold bubbly
in the middle of a snow pellet storm
by a roaring fire! Yes, I actually
enjoyed this immensely...

...and so did my fearless partner!
Happy Birthday Michael! (Jan. 17th!)

Keeping the home fires burning...

Twirling in the snow on my way to the
washroom hut (it was actually really nice
- warm, clean and most importantly
not too far from our yurt!

And of course the night wouldn't
be complete without
creating snow angels!

I wonder what Day 3 will bring...besides
more snow!
Hi honey!

NO/LOW Spend January - Week One

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:51:00 +0000

Well, I'm not buying MUCH! Thanks Carla for inspiring us to keep our spending very very low as you can go during the month of January. After all the carefree spending I did in December it is definitely time to put a tourniquet on the free flow of money exiting my accounts!

One week of January has passed and it's time to assess just how little spending I did.

So here goes. On January 1st I withdrew $100 from my account plus I had $10 left in my wallet from last month so I started the first week with $110.00 for misc spending. I spent the following:

$15.00 for firewood while winter camping (Jan. 2)
$3.60 for a coffee and a muffin at Coffee Culture on the way home from the Pinery after winter camping (Jan. 3)
$1.80 for a coffee at Tim Hortons (Jan. 5)
$6.34 for Globe and Mail and the National Post (Jan. 7)
$13.26 for my Sealed Pot (oooh I like THAT one!)

Total money spent during Week One - $26.74 plus $13.26 into my Sealed Pot!!

Not bad, not bad at all!

Money remaining in my wallet - an even $70.00!! I am issuing myself another challenge - I'm going to make that $70.00 last the rest of the month!! I won't be buying any snacks that's for sure (see The 10 Pound Challenge!)

Other Spending:

$211.88 for Steam Canada re The Flood - instead of taking this amount out of the Emergency Fund I am going to take it out of my Misc spending which means things will be much tighter than usual this month - hence wanting to make that $70 in my wallet last for the rest of the month.

The $301.07 that I have to pay for the up-to-code "pipe" for the new hot water tank won't be coming off until February's Reliance bill so deferred for now.

Gas - budgeted til the 15th $100.00; spent so far $0.00 (my awesome family has been helping to pay for gas!!)

Groceries - budgeted til the 15th $200.00; spent so far $168.34 leaving $31.66 in the food budget. I just did my first grocery shopping of January 2012 yesterday and a bit more today. I foresee spending more for milk, bread and salad possibly before the 15th rolls around and another $200 is added to the food budget. Doing great!

Other expenses: condo fee ($208.00); Line of Credit interest and payment ($602.76); various savings accounts ($750.00)

I'm happy with how the month is going so far. My heating bill came via email and is only $59.00 - last year it was $91.14 for the same period!! That just shows you how warm it has been this year! Right now I have the back door open a crack, the front door is open a bit and windows in the basement are open and it's freakin' January the 7th!! What little snow we had when this picture was taken is GONZO! (That's the lovely Carla, daughters Mya and Maria and me just 3 days ago!)

Above and beyond the $70.00 in my wallet I have $315.00 left in Misc spending. Maybe, just maybe if I can hang onto that money I can use it to pay for the "PIPE"!!

Hope that's not just a pipe dream hee hee, couldn't resist!

How is YOUR NO/LOW Spend January going so far?

The 10 Pound Challenge - are YOU in?

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:22:00 +0000

This is going to be the most important question you get asked today, maybe this week, or even all year!!!

Are YOU in? No? Not yet? Well, what are you waiting for people??

Erika, over at Newlyweds on a Budget, is hosting a 10 pound weight loss challenge. That's it, 10 pounds! (or more, or less - it's entirely up to you!) But, if you achieve your weight loss goal you'll be in the running for a bunch of cash prizes!! Yes, you heard me - CASH!!

So run (don't walk) over to Erika's blog for your chance to shed some unwanted pounds and earn a chance to win some much wanted cash!! Sign up is required so get moving!!

Winter Camping in a Yurt

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:10:00 +0000

Life seems to be back under control. But knowing how tricksy ol' Murphy can be I'm going to tiptoe lightly around that subject. I've spent the morning getting caught up on the last little jobs to get the house shipshape - laundry continues as we speak, I screwed the shelves back onto the wall behind the basement door - I had to remove them so the workers could haul out the old hot water tank and bring in the shiny new super-quiet very efficient new one. I did my first grocery shop of 2012, but more about that tomorrow as I evaluate my first No/Low Spend week of January.

Now, on to more interesting topics; you've heard more than enough about The Flood. Let's talk about camping in a yurt!! OMG we had every kind of weather imaginable! The first day it was +7c(45F) and poured down rain on the drive to the Pinery. For the rest of the day it was a bit misty and we were fine wearing our rain jackets & jeans. The second day it was -2c(28F)and we had flurries of snow pellets attack us off and on all day plus very strong winds. The third day it went down to -18c(-4F) with more snow AND some sunshine. We brought winter coats, winter pants to wear over our regular pants, heavy boots, gloves, hats and scarves so we were fine no matter what Mother Nature threw at us (but man, she musta been pissed off at somebody!)

Also, our first night there the hydro went out....for four hours! We were lucky that a camper that was leaving gave us a large bag of wood so once Michael got the fire going - no mean feat with wet kindling and heavy winds but he persevered (what a man!) - we were able to stay fairly toasty by the fire. With no heat due to the power failure it was much colder in the yurt! By about 10pm the hydro came back on, the yurt warmed up and we called it a night!

On the second day we bought TWO bags of wood...just in case! Snow pellets aside it was a glorious day. We had a long hike which ended up on the shores of Lake Huron facing winds so strong it was a challenge remaining upright. The wind was howling, the waves were HUGE - it was an awe inspiring experience. In the evening we had a campfire for several hours and toasted in the New Year with a bottle of bubbly and made plans to come back next year!

The third day we hiked again and met up with a family who were patiently holding out their hands filled with birdseed trying to get the chickadees to land & eat. Both Michael and I joined in with great success. Although -18c we kept warm and braved the beach once again. This time however, the frigid temperatures had worked their special magic and everything - logs, driftwood, long grasses - was encased in ice!

Here are a few pictures from Day One of our Yurt adventure:

Stopped at a lookout point along the way - as you can see the river has overflowed its banks from all of the rain.

Men like Michael (sensitive, sweet, thoughtful, loving, in touch with his feelings:) really are a rare breed!

There - you can see a couple of yurts through the trees - no snow at all at this point. Just rain.

Each yurt is equipped with a gas BBQ. We used it to heat up our mulled wine and to cook our sausages the 2nd night.

We also had a picnic table (wet!) and firepit...also wet!

Here, let me show you around inside the yurt: there are two sets of bunkbeds, singles on top and double on the bottom. Add to that a table and several plastic deck chairs plus one wall-mounted electric heater. The peak of the yurt is open to the elements with just a raised cover over the opening to keep out some of the rain, snow pellets and snow.
It was actually quite magical to live so close to the elements: the wind and waves created a constant roar and it was funny to see the snow pellets drifting down from the hole in the peak of the yurt!
We had to bring our own food, drinks, dishes, pots, towels and sleeping bags. I made a huge crockpot full of chili which we kept on low, brought muesli breakfast pitas, homemade scones with raisins and chocolate chips (YUM) because as you know you have to EAT MORE when you're winter camping to help keep you WARM!

There's our free bag of wood:) And our outdoor cooler! Anything we needed to keep chilled we just left outside our door which, by the way, had about a half-inch gap around three sides - no need to worry about a lack of fresh air!!

The food, beverage, flashlight, music and everything else centre!

I have no recall of what I was pointing at but at this point we were collecting kindling to make our first fire.

Michael and the kindling box - at this point he's still smiling because he doesn't yet know how hard it's going to be to get that first fire going!

Working away at getting the fire going with a mug of mulled wine at the ready. Did you know that glossy magazine pages don't burn very well?

SUCCESS!! Thank goodness as it became our only source of heat for many hours.

I'm having a great time!! At this point I didn't know I'd be huddled by the fire for hours to come due to an electrical outage...and the mulled wine really helps to lift one's spirits! Note my new Blundstone Boots in a colour called "Crazy Horse Brown" - a Christmas present from Michael!

He was a little worried I was going to melt the rubber on the bottom of my new boots, but I DIDN'T, OK??

Note to self - next year remember to bring a corkscrew!
I want you to look beyond my silliness to the couple in the background...see the woman in the blue coat and the man in the red hat and green coat?
They provided us with some unwanted X-rated entertainment during the electrical outage. I'll leave the details to your ever fertile imaginations.
I yelled at them but that only seemed to spur them on...stupid people.

Here I am inside the yurt in our cozy little bed looking for images and words for my 2012 vision board - that pink fuzzy PJ top is the warmest thing I've ever worn...ever!

Opening the yurt door on Day Two - it SNOWED!!!
About 1/2 an inch, but it SNOWED!!!
Stay tuned, more to come...

Murphy's Law - Update #2

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:50:00 +0000

I feel like I'm living in an episode of The Hoarders right now. I just signed my life away for the new "pipe" and then snaked my way through all of the mess to find my bottle of scotch!! Here's to No/Low Spend January! Cheers!

There is so much STUFF piled around each room I just want to find a nice quiet clean closet somewhere and hide til spring. It's 8:45pm and now I get to spend the next couple of hours making a pathway to our bed. Not much sleep was had last night and I feel like I could sleep on the kitchen counter but since I couldn't wash the dishes that's out!

Do you know the hot water tank installers don't even clean up after themselves?? No, we have to go and vacuum up from all the soldering etc - what a MESS! So Carla, I'm letting you know since I've not been able to make comments on your posts tonight that I am procrastinating going down into the basement to get started on the clean up. But any second now I'm going to get my butt off this chair and go down those stairs. Any second now...see ya, bye-bye....

Murphy's Law - Update #1

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:01:00 +0000

So I'm a little bummed as I was hoping to get my EF up to $2000 this month by participating in Carla's January No Spend. Just paid my first bill associated with THE FLOOD of 2012 which was $211.88 to Steam Canada. I certainly don't begrudge the money however as the wizened little man with the big hose sucked up the lake in the basement lickety split!!

I am getting a new hot water tank - they're coming to install between 4 and 8pm. The good news is I'm certainly saving on the heat bill!! The hot water tank works in conjunction with the furnace so I can't run the furnace. I don't mind that so much, it still feels plenty warm in here, but I do get tired of going to the tap and nothing comes OUT!!! Makes me realize how lucky we are to have clean running water at our fingertips - we just take it for granted. But damn I want a cup of tea!

The bad news is I need a new "pipe" (I don't get plumbing lingo AT ALL) as, you know, they update the "code" every year meaning my 18 year old "pipe" is not at the level of the current "code" so they need to replace said pipe to the tune of $300 plus lots and lots of taxes.

The good news is no other damage was done. Most of the water stayed in the furnace room and the laundry room which have cement floors plus a drain in the laundry room floor.

The bad news is there is stuff from the basement EVERYWHERE!! so that the workers have clear access and don't have to move so much as a piece of lint out of their way (they're not allowed to touch our stuff...insurance purposes...aren't they the lucky sods!?!)

So the bad news is (ha, gotcha, you thought there was gonna be more GOOD news, ha ha) my back is killing me from moving things that are way heavier than I can handle and my clothes are way too tight so the waistband of my jeans is digging into the area of my back that hurts intensifying the PAIN.

Sheesh, what a whiner I am today!

The good news, for you, is I'm done my little rant now and will go back to defrocking the Christmas tree and the rest of the house.

Oh oh oh wait! I've got more good news!!! I DO have $1800 in my EF so have ample $$ to cover this little emergency because this DOES qualify as an emergency n'est-ce pas? I'm STILL having a NO SPEND month because EMERGENCIES don't count, right Carla?

Murphy's Law

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:25:00 +0000

Last night as Michael and I watched "Hannah" on our brand new 40" TV and brand new blue ray DVD player we sighed with pure unadulterated joy and I said "ain't life grand?" or some such nonsense.

Nonsense indeed. Little did we know that while we were watching the movie our hot water tank was emptying itself into our basement, and of course while emptying itself it was continuously refilling itself like a good little water heater should.

When realization set in (around midnight!) we slipped into our rubber boots and I made an irate call to the rental company who proceeded to kindly book me in for the next day. How helpful. Then I called the heroes at Steam Canada who actually work 24/7 and within an hour a tiny little gent was sucking up the water with his big hose. (careful Mark!)

We made it to bed around 2:30am. Today I find out that they are finally going to replace my piece of junk hot water heater but I have to move EVERYTHING out of the way between the front door and where the hot water heater will go. The new tank costs me nothing but of course the length of pipe connecting it to the water source is no longer "code" so it has to be replaced to the tune of $300.

What fun!

So if you're wondering why I'm not catching up on your blogs this morning like I had promised myself I would do it's because I'm slogging around a damp basement hauling bits and pieces all over the place. Oh happy day!

And what I really wanted to tell you about was our yurt adventure. Maybe later...we'll see if Murphy has indeed left the building!

HAPPY NEW YEAR MY FRIENDS!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jane) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 19:38:00 +0000

from:

Michael and Jane
Thank you to each and everyone of you for your gift of friendship,
there is no better gift in all the land!

"Oh, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe
with a person; having neither to weigh
thoughts nor measure words, but pour them all
out, as they are, chaff and grain together,
knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift
them, keep what is worth keeping, and then,
with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away."
George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), 1819 - 1880