HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO AN AMAZING BUNCH OF MOTHERS!!

I know that not all of my readers are mothers (though some of them may be mothers in a few years) and I know not everyone recognizes Mother's Day. 


My feelings are this: I'll take what I can get bwahahahahahahahaha!


Sure it would be nice to have say, one day a week, like Sunday, when everything is done for me instead of by me. Perhaps if I had started that tradition when my daughter was tiny I'd get taken out for breakfast every Sunday, but I didn't. I only had one child and I took care of her every need - in fact - I admit that I did more for her than I should have. 


However, she is still my precious little 22 year old bundle of joy and I'm still her "momsy". And if all I get is Mother's Day on which to be appreciated more than usual then I'll take it. A free breakfast is a free breakfast after all lol!!


So, here I sit, it's 9:30am and I'm waiting, as always, for everyone else to get ready. I still had to wake up Michael and Kazi but that didn't bother me in the least - when someone promises to take me somewhere I hold them to it! After all, I am a mother and this is MY DAY!!

Tomorrow is.....

I wonder if I'll see my family....

My one and only child is now going on 23 years old. I don't really get to see her very much... though I feel her presence every time I walk past her disaster zone bedroom. Today I had to close the door - it looks like 10, no 20, suitcases exploded in there. Her room is more like a walk-in closet than somewhere you would sleep and do homework.

Yes, she has a boyfriend. They've been together over a year now and she spends most of her spare time at his house. He is a single child also and has a "bachelor pad" down in the basement of his parents' house. His mom is a different kind of mom than I am. She keeps her fridge and freezer stocked with their favorite, easy-to-make foods like frozen pizzas and other "instant foods".  At my house you actually have to use ingredients to prepare something to eat. She's a very nice person, this mom, don't get me wrong but I see my role as trying to prepare Kazi to be independent whereas this mom is very enabling. As long as she continues to cater to their every whim they'll be living in her basement.

Oh well, what can you do? Times have really changed. When I was my daughter's age I had been renting my own apartment for 3 years, had purchased my first car and had been working in a bank supporting myself on my measly income. I still remember my first yearly salary - $6,250.00. Wowzer!! I cleared $98 per week! Nowadays kids young adults don't want entry level jobs and they don't a job that they don't LOVE! Well good luck with that! I didn't start my teaching career til I was 36 years old after I put myself through university and teacher's college as a mature student while raising my daughter as a single parent.

But I have no regrets and most of this post is written with tongue firmly placed in cheek :) Sooner or later our kids will grow up, some sooner, some later. My daughter is well-educated and has always had one or two or three part-time jobs at a time. I think she'll find her niche and a job that is meant just for her. Some day. In the meantime she still has a lot of maturing to do and a lot to learn about life. And I'll always be there to catch her when she falls. It's still me she turns to when times get tough.

HAPPY FAMILY DAY OR PRESIDENT'S DAY OR HERITAGE DAY.....!!

Marking a Milestone

Oh my little one, it seems just like yesterday when you were my beautiful, precious baby, holding my hand when we crossed the street, hiding behind my leg when someone spoke to you, always sitting on my lap so you could turn my face towards you - you thought I was the most wonderful person in the world. 


And then you discovered "friends" and "peer pressure" and my star began to fall. Oh, I was always there to pick up the pieces when the mean girls struck or "the boy" as you called them moved on to another girlfriend. When you needed a "mommy hug" I was always willing to oblige even though those moments became few and far between.


You remember, don't you, when you thought you knew everything and I didn't know anything?

And then - today happened! You texted me to tell me you had an "interesting" day and you would tell me about it when I got home. Needless to say I rushed right home to hear what you had to say.


You said: "I took your advice" blah blah blah and now I need your opinion blah blah blah."


I said "wait, I have to remember this day - Nov. 23, 2011 - it's a banner day! You took my advice AND now you want my opinion!!"


I've been waiting a long time for her to come back to me! I knew it would happen eventually, but I didn't know when. She's only 21! I know I was at least 25 before I started listening to my mother again, valuing her advice, respecting her opinion and applying it to my life. Hallelujah, saints above! Miracles do happen! 


More to come...


P.S. I cycled 20km last night and I am officially in Toronto!! Woot woot! Hi Sarah...more to come...


P.P.S. Today is my 3rd no spend day in a row! I have 18 cents in my wallet. AND I even GAVE Kazi a quarter yesterday to help her pay for parking at the university.  I'm skint AND generous at the same time! 


P.P.P.S. I am going to hit 100,000 page views sometime this week! Wowzers!

Too Tired for Words

Last night was one of those "catch up on sleep" nights. Not that I've been staying up late or anything, well I guess the concert on Monday night did go past my bedtime. 

 But it was definitely worth it. Oh yes, most definitely:)


Yesterday I had two meetings - one with a difficult parent and one with my staff. I was a little anxious about both of them but I was very well prepared AND backed up by my dep't head. Both meetings went way better than expected so I was quite elated at the end of the school day.

So I decided to celebrate and got a free copy of the National Post from the main office and went home, put my feet up and read the paper from cover to cover. Oh yeah, I know how to partee!!

 Then, as if that wasn't enough excitement I took some movies back to the library and borrowed a few more.  I know I know how much better can it get?!?

 After riding my bike for 45 minutes I popped in a movie, tucked myself up in bed around 8:30 and promptly fell into a deep sleep - what a luxury!

 I tell you, I've seen the first half of more movies than you can shake a stick at but I don't know how any of them end!!

Today my baby girl turns 21 years old. I took her to see Keith Urban, bought her a fall jacket, a Shopper's Drugmart gift card, an umbrella and a 4G flash drive (she won't have to borrow mine anymore:), all funded from my gift account! How great does THAT feel!!


Tonight she is going out to dinner and a club with friends and then tomorrow night Michael and I are taking her out to dinner. I am excited about tomorrow - it will be my first pay with my new raise on it!! I will finally be able to complete September's budget and tally up my spending. I hope it doesn't turn out that I've overspent this month, but it certainly is possible as September is the second most expensive time of the year for me.


Have a wonderful "hump day" today. I'll be catching up with you all after work!

Weekly Wrap & Other Crap

Some sort of Blogger problem occurred over the past couple of days which prevented me from posting and commenting, then I was at my trailer in Bayfield for a day with no internet so I'm feeling a bit discombobulated. I guess I'll start with the numbers and add any other interesting tidbits of news that I can think of:

Reducing my line of credit continues to be my #1 priority so I love seeing my debt-crushingly huge blue tower dominating my financial landscape. Poetic, no?  Hey, I gotta do something to liven up the numbers.


Last summer I added $20,000 to my line of credit when I purchased my PEI home and by this Sept. I will have paid off that major expenditure leaving me with another $36,000 to pay off before retirement. At the pace that I am currently reducing my LOC it will be paid off at least a year (maybe two) before I retire! Keeping my fingers crossed here that no life-altering events occur like I get pregnant or something - hahahahahahah I kill myself sometimes!


Savings represents both long-term and short-term goals - $$ for retirement and $$ to pay for bills over the next year. Once my LOC is REPAID IN FULL I can really ramp up the savings by adding the blue tower to the green tower which will give me a greenish-blue tower I guess...


The gift savings account took a hit this month - it felt quite remarkable to transfer money out of my gift acc't and into my chequing account to cover a wedding gift and concert tickets for my daughter's birthday this coming September! I can barely believe I've PAID for Kazi's gift in MAY!! I am a changed woman - I am a financial PLANNER - hear me ROAR!!


The not-so-good news is that my hydro bill was up $10 from last month and I have no good explanation except that my daughter is finished her year at university and has taken up permanent residence on the couch watching TV with all the lights ON, her laptop open on the floor beside her in the ON position. 


Yes, she does work - the latest news is that she passed her BARTENDER exam and somehow I'm supposed to be as overjoyed about this as she is...I did muster up a forced smile/grimace and gave her a hug/slap on the back/head. Do you know you have to get at least 95% on the Bartender's exam in order to mix up a bloody Caesar?? Yeah, yet to drive a car you only need a minimum of 80%... huh?? I guess it's more important to know how to mix an Orgasm than it is to know how much space to leave between your car and the car in front of you - does this seem odd to you?


Anyhoo, my daughter's a bartender. Not that there's anything wrong with that. She works all night and sleeps all day. But.. she knows her vodka from her gin!


When I start getting too sarcastic it's time to close down the computer. I guess I just wish she wasn't so captivated by the bar scene and all the drama that goes with it. Hopefully it's a phase.


I'll be back tomorrow with further life-changing and earth-shattering updates from the past few days. I know, I know, what a tease. 


Until then, I leave you with a picture of my new BFF:
.
.
.
.....

Toady

Fairyland and Other Cool Places

Breakfast was excellent yesterday! I decided to really live it up and had steak and eggs, oooh how reckless - haven't had that in years! (It wasn't me paying so I threw caution to the wind!) But there was a method to my madness too because Michael and I had planned a 25km bike ride so thought I'd load up on protein;) (Pretty good excuse huh?)


Many thanks to Little Lamb who told me about www.gmap-pedometer.com. I was able to plot out a cycling route that was a 25km round trip and had us biking out in the country on the east side of Fanshawe Lake. Let me tell you that even with a gel seat I have a few tender places today! 


After we got home Michael threw himself into making dinner while my DD went and got us a case of chilled beverages - I really got the full treatment yesterday! Michael's son, Dane, was in town too so we had a great family dinner - BBQ'd chicken, steak, shrimp and tilapia, broccoli, asparagus, rice and for dessert - DAIRY QUEEN!! 


Here are a few photos from yesterday's bike ride:

Evergreens vs Dandelions - Who will win?
On Rebecca Rd.

Getting close to Fairyland

Here it is - Fairyland!

Exploring Fairyland

Fields and fields of trilliums

Such delicate beauty

Even Jack stopped by to welcome me!

Part of the bike path we accidentally found that meanders
around all of Lake Fanshawe, can't wait to explore it further.

Paused here for a bit, ate my grapes and enjoyed the calm and peaceful surroundings.

Looking for trolls

Can't help it - I'm a sucker for flowers!

There's something about the unfolding of petals that touches my soul.

Jack standing at attention!

Hope you had a magical weekend!

Living with Adult Children

My 20.5 year old daughter, Kazi, just left to go write her first of several final exams at UWO.  She has successfully completed three years of her French degree. One more year at UWO, then teacher's college and she'll be on her way to total independence.


At least, that's the plan.


I don't know (yes I do) who is having a more difficult time with her transition to adulthood and subsequent independence - me or her.  Yes, it's me. I am really struggling with this. I've come to the conclusion that when our children go to university they should really GO to university - to live as well as study. Having one foot in university life and one foot in your parent's home is an uneasy balance at best. At times it is downright awkward and at others kinda scary and tense. 


I think I could manage a whole lot better if I didn't know what time she is coming home at night or even if she IS coming home at night. Can you believe that a month ago I grounded her (an adult) because she didn't let me know she was spending the night elsewhere so I found her bed unslept in when I was getting ready for work the next morning. What's even more unbelievable is that she went along with it and stayed home for a week. She thought is was ridiculous but did it to appease me. It was the only time I've ever grounded her in her entire life. 


To help support herself she has taken a new job as a server at a university club called Jack's. She loves working there because a ton of her friends from school hang out there.  So does she when she's not working. One day last week she told me she got home really late (like 4am) because there had been an incident outside the club and the police were talking to her manager so they couldn't leave. Yes, apparently some guy outside the club was waving a gun around. 


I didn't know what to say. I knew I couldn't say what I wanted to say which was QUIT THAT JOB RIGHT NOW OR ELSE, so I just said I'm glad no one was hurt blah blah blah. 


In my head I've come to the point where I know I can no longer impose my values and lifestyle on her but it is still so hard to bite my tongue when I KNOW I know better than she does about certain situations. I've been doing a lot of research lately and keep reading that at this point in our kid's lives we can only "offer advice when it's solicited" or "pop in a leading question when the opportunity arises" but when it comes right down to it they are going to make their own decisions...they HAVE to make their own decisions, right or wrong, good or bad. 


This is the process, called maturation (or learning from one's mistakes), that we all have to go through...the true rites of the passage into adulthood. Trying to protect them from "life" only slows down or inhibits the process. The tough part for us moms and dads is watching them stumble and fall knowing that if they'd only listen to us we could save them from so much pain and hardship.


Huge sigh...


However, this was not meant to be. I have to keep reminding myself of all the idiotic and risky things I did at her age and realize that if it wasn't for those harsh life lessons I wouldn't be the strong and (somewhat) wise woman that I am today. 


More to come.......................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

NEVER ASSUME!!

First financial mistake of the year - NEVER ASSUME!! 


What did I assume? I assumed (and now I feel like an ass) that after doing my daughter's tax return that there would be the same amount of tuition credit that she would then transfer to me (her parent who helped pay for her tuition!) as there was last year. Are you with me?


Well, darn it all if she didn't earn too much $$ last year and she needed all of her tuition credit that she didn't use last year plus ALL of her tuition credit from THIS year in order to reduce her income by enough so she could get a decent refund.  


Which meant there was none left for moi.


That leaves me with a tax refund of almost $1,000 less than last year. That means it's over $200 shy of what I owe the trailer park for my lovely large lot plus $250 short of what I owe my brother for the painting I (shouldn't have) bought last week.  


That's $450 that I will have to squeeze out of my April budget. Something is not going to get paid the way I had planned and that makes my upper lip curl in horror and disgust!!  Also the other $550 I thought I was going to get back was going to go towards a few things I needed around the house, but oh well. 


It was the one little bit of extra $$ I thought I'd have to play around with this year.  Now I'm going to have to figure something else out. 


Moral of the story?  You got it - NEVER ASSUME!!

March Break

March break is a time of refilling my well. Yup, that's right, the well is nigh on dry as a bone so it's time to stop, look and listen.

So first off today Michael and I "stopped" off at the Red Roaster to have coffee with my big bro (pictured above) and old friends Don and Cherie. I laughed really hard and felt some moisture trickling into the well.

Next off we "stopped" at Chapters and Starbucks where I told unwound by reading the National Post from cover to cover without any sense of urgency about having to get somewhere else. Ahhhhh, a few more drops trickled into the well.

Tonight my daughter and I are headed to the Mandarin to have dinner with two nephews, Paul and Jamie, a great-nephew Ollie (pictured above) and my one and only niece Jennifer. Drip, drip, drip....

While visiting with my brother this morning we also got caught up on my sister-in-law Pat's (pictured above) condition.  She is still in hospital battling pneumonia and small improvements are being made. Slowly but steadily, drip, drip, drip...

What else does the week off hold? Lots of UNPLANNED time - perhaps a trip to see how my trailer is faring at Bayfield, some hikes, more visits with family and friends, probably getting my taxes done (I actually enjoy doing this), and putting my feet up. Lots of little trickles that add up to a much fuller well - then I'll look forward to heading back to work:)

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Rough Day - Finding the Balance

"Balance"
taken by Michael Duhaney at Bayfield, Ontario

I am laughing in my head (yes, I'm not that far gone that I sit alone and cackle out loud like a mad woman) because I was thinking that I'd just post a quickie using a couple of bullet points and call it a day, and then said to myself (because talking to myself is what I do) "yeah, right, like you could be brief, or concise bwahahahahaha".

Yes, it was one of those days, and if tomorrow wasn't Friday and the beginning of March break I'd be a little worried about myself AND my sanity, but one more day? I can make it.

The problem? Well there was more than one. First I had an EA call in sick. Unfortunately a lot of EAs around the board called in sick today so no replacement was available so we were shorthanded all day. So, of course this is the day that my "broken angel" becomes aggressive and a number of other students have "off" days. We made it through the day but it was extremely stressful. I did something today that I've never done before - when it was my planning time at 1:00pm I left my classroom, went to the staffroom, sat on the couch and buried my face in a newspaper. Usually I stay in my classroom and work, but today I just had to get out of there.


Blechh. I just want to go to bed. But first I must count my blessings...

• Michael sent me supportive emails to help me through the day
• when he picked me up from work he had bought a bottle of wine so that I could go home, put my feet up and relax with a nice glass of red
• he made an amazing pot of soup with chicken, tomatoes, lentils, onions mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm so good!
• he saved me the chicken wing - my favourite part!
• my daughter went and got me a decaf coffee from Timmy's and gave me a big hug
• my sister-in-law, who is in hospital with pneumonia is making some progress and was finally moved from emerg to a semi-private room
• Keith Urban is playing on my iPod
• I can see my snowdrops again, the rain is washing away the snow

Have a great Friday everyone! I'm feeling better already:)

P.S.  Hey, I was pretty concise after all!

Saturday's Child

Kilworth Conservation Area, March 6, 2011

See that, up there, in the centre of the picture? That's the light at the end of my tunnel. 

It looks and feels like a magical place where fairies sparkle and dance when no one is looking. It looks like a place of hope, where burdens are lifted from weary shoulders and a warm invitation to rest and renew one's spirits is extended.

It's a place I'm heading to one step at a time. With each step I feel lighter, I feel a tiny bit more distant from life's responsibilities. I was born a "Saturday's child" who has had to "work hard for her money" since I was 12 years old. I'm tired of working, I'm not gonna lie. I love my job, I love my kids, I love most of my staff but I have to admit that it's an exhausting job, mentally more than physically. Being on high alert from 7:45am to 2:15pm with adrenaline constantly coursing through my system...well it wears a person out.

So I keep my eye on the "light at the end of the tunnel" and look for ways to enjoy today, every hour, even this exact second when I'm trying to express myself to you, my friend.

Today we went to mass (I work at a catholic school) and the priest's message really spoke to me. He said we all need to take more time to reflect and allow God to speak to us. We are so busy, so plugged in and indeed I read today in the Globe and Mail that Canadians spend more time online than any other country in the world. I believe it. He said to try to find time during lent to just "be" and to "stop, look and listen".

I took his advice while the hundreds of students and parishioners filed up one by one to receive ashes on their foreheads and within 10 minutes three important messages made their way into my receptive mind:

• use my "alone time" in the morning before school starts to spend time in reflection, write in my reflection journal, and just be; see what thoughts, ideas and messages pop into my mind
• "my daughter still needs me"...provide her with lots of guidance even though she may not seem receptive at the time...she is listening
• "appreciate my man more"...how fortunate am I to have found such love in the second half of my life; I need to let him know more often how much he has added to my life

What a wonderful gift "life" is...A very wise man, Prem Rawat, made the following statement once at one of his events:

"Don't waste another moment on a wasted moment...that's a good quote because that's what we do. We waste one moment and then we waste four more on that moment so don't waste another moment on a wasted moment. Go forward, because your life, your breath, your existence is all about what worked, not what didn't."



This is a photo I took in 2009 at Port Stanley, ON and
it's one of my favourite photos of all time.
Can you see God's hands?

A Number of Things

Self Portrait - circa 1988

I'm getting sick and tired of posting snow pictures, hence I went a completely different direction with this post by including a self-portrait of myself back when I was taking photography at university. Oh, the good ol' days...when I had zippo money, no daughter yet and I was happy living on my own, albeit in a rental apt on the main floor of a house where I encountered my first BAT!!

And I'm pretty sure the upstairs neighbour was selling drugs out of his apartment as I'd hear people clunking up and down his staircase at all hours of the night.

What I LOVED about my apartment was my huge treed back yard. I used to spend a lot of time back there - it was peaceful and very full of green growing things. There were tiny little violets that grew wild all over the lawn and since then I've always loved the colour combination of green and violet. I dug up a square parcel of grass and planted more flowers. It really was an oasis of calm for reading my huge and expensive textbooks and studying for exams. Isn't it wonderful that for everything bad in a situation (drug dealer, BATS) there is something equally good.  It's a good reminder to always look for that silver lining because it IS THERE. We might not see it right away, but we will find it if we make the effort.

Interesting how one photo can evoke such powerful memories. I must revisit my old photos more often. I look back at the skinnier me and feel proud of myself.  I suffered a lot by choosing to hang out with the wrong boyfriends but what I made out of my life gives me hope for my daughter's future. My dad used to say that what he admired most about me was my "spunk". In the moment I didn't really understand what he meant, but looking back over my life I get it. And I can see examples of that feistiness in my daughter's life as she deals with working at a nightclub called Jack's here in London. (more about that in a future post)

I've been getting away from talking about MONEY lately in my posts. I am finding that with my balanced budget things are pretty much looking after themselves. I have automatic payments set up for everything - bills and savings and we are managing quite nicely to stay within food, gas and misc budget amounts. I think NO SPEND FEBRUARY has really given me the discipline I need to control my spending.

Yesterday Michael and I went to see "The Adjustment Bureau" with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt and it was soooooo good and soooooo applicable to our own relationship that we just stayed in this "movie buzz" for the rest of the evening. I'm still feeling the after effects today - it was one great movie with it's main premise that LOVE can conquer all. Go see it! We used our gift cards and sat in the VIP section - very comfortable:)

Today my spending will be limited to a $3 newspaper and a Timmy's coffee. The only other money I spent this week was $20 for an ink cartridge for our printer.

Life is good.

Big Beautiful Mistakes

The other night when Michael and I went to the Vietnamese restaurant

I picked out a couple of fortune cookies from a large bag sitting by the cash

register. Something about my fortune really spoke to me

so I thought I would share it with you:

"How can you have a beautiful ending without make beautiful mistakes."

Isn't that great? I love it.

I have made some really HUGE mistakes in my life but

they were beautiful mistakes because look where I am now - I'm headed

towards a beautiful ending - an adventurous life in PEI

with a really great guy.

My daughter is doing well in university and knows where she is headed.

I feel confident that she is going to be OK.

I have a really great teaching position which will reward me with

a more than adequate pension - in fact, I am planning to

live on a reduced pension and retire two years early!

A beautiful mistake

Here are just a few of my beautiful mistakes:
(in random order)

• married the wrong man
• accidentally got pregnant
• gave a lot of $$ to an unstrustworthy person (never got it back)
• didn't apply myself in highschool
• worked after highschool instead of going to post-secondary right away
• made some poor friend choices
• partied away my 20's

AND, these beautiful mistakes have resulted in a beautiful ending.
Don't regret your mistakes.
Everything you have done over the course of your lifetime
has formed the person you are today.

You are an amazing person.
I am grateful to know you.
What is...or will be...your beautiful ending?

The Income Tax Saga Part One

Part One: Information Gathering

1. Wait for schoolboard to issue T4 slip. Wave around in the air while performing classic Pete Townsend air guitar riffs..."we won't get fooled again!"

2.  Ice shoulder.

3.  Remind daughter for the umpteenth time that if she wants to get her grimy little paws on her refund cheque she better cough up T4s from the various jobs she had last year.

4.  Tap toe impatiently.

5.  Repeat steps 3 & 4.

6.  Look around on the desk for the file folder you put all receipts into over the past year. 

7.  It's red.

8.  Look under the desk for the file folder you put all receipts into over the past year.

9.  Go to the basement and carefully toss through the huge leaning tower of unfiled bills/receipts/bank statements/various & sundry pieces of paper to find last year's assessment notice.

10. Go upstairs, look behind the decorative screen on the bookshelves for scrap of paper with Turbotax username and password scribbled on it.

11. Ask daughter if she threw out anything from behind the decorative screen.

12. Wring hands, add moaning as required.

13. Go to Turbotax website and click "forgot password".

14.  Try to remember answers to security questions.

15.  Try to remember security questions.

16.  Look for the "safe spot" where you put the RED folder while you were looking for assessment notice in the basement.

17. Open magnum of red wine.

18. Look up the phone number of 24/7Wine for You!

19. Take 3 Advil and breathe sigh of relief when daughter brings you her T4s - tuck them into the red folder until Turbotax returns your phonecall.

20.  Login to Turbotax with new password.

Part Two:  Turbo on Through with Turbotax Software... 

Have a Sweet Valentine's Day!

If you read my Valentine's diatribe you'll have noted that the cynics were very much outnumbered by the believers. I think that says something nice about the world. (or at least about my READERS!!)

Today I received some cozy red "reading socks" (I can just envision being curled up by my woodstove in PEI with my red socks on:) AND a beautifully written original poem by Michael along with a special picture of the two of us.

Romantic stuff huh?  Sheesh he can be a mushy guy!

In return I had the photo of our foot impressions on the Northport Beach in PEI enlarged and framed in a beautiful frame made of juniper wood. That is especially poignant because the lovingly restored floors in our old farmhouse are juniper. For his sweet tooth a box of his favourite Dad's oatmeal cookies.

And a really mushy card.

For my darling daughter - an album of photos of the two of us from her 20th birthday party:

For her sweet tooth - a bag of caramel-filled chocolate hearts.  And because I am forever practical and she's been complaining of not having enough hangers I gave her a $5 pack of 30 plastic hangers.

So today was a bit of a spending day though spending on my loved ones was such a treat. The photos came to about $10, the frame and photo albums, cookies, candy, hangers and cards about another $45. I don't mind - I still have enough misc $$ to see me through until the end of the month plus money for gas and groceries.

I feel very blessed and forever grateful to have love in my life - the love of my amazing daughter and the love of a very good man. 

Here's my two week summary for No Spend February:

Right on Track!

TGIF (in 6.5 hours to be exact:)

http://www.webdonuts.com/2009/11/tgif/

I'm not sure why, but I am so glad that tomorrow is Friday...moreso than usual. It's been one of those weeks. It started off well and then it was all downhill from there.

The bad news:

• even though my daughter promised she'd text me if she was going to stay at her friend's last night I again woke to find her bed empty and NO message. She and I will be having another heart to heart talk when she finally makes an appearance. (I called her and called her at 6am this morning, and then texted her. Eventually she texted to let me know she was sleeping at her friend's house. So not impressed!
• had Cora in twice this week for what thankfully turned out to be minor repairs (so I guess that's both BAD and GOOD news
• after my emotional upset this morning I proceeded to eat candy (winegums) which strangely enough doesn't register too well in the ol' food diary
• am on my second glass of red wine (at this point that could be considered good news)
• the extra $$ I didn't spend from gas and groceries and misc that was going to go for extra debt repayment is going to Cora repairs instead (again I guess that could be considered good news that I had the $$ available)
• 2 of my educational assistants let it be known that they want an easier schedule for next semester - to that I say - BITE ME! We have no "easy" students. They are who they are - I think if you work in the area of special education you would understand that and not be looking to sit around all day working on a crossword puzzle!

"OK" she says taking a sip of wine and a deep breath..."time for the good news"...

• the two repairs to Cora cost $46 and $56 respectively, not too bad eh?; the first was to replace the thingamajiggy that the washer fluid comes out of to clean your windshield - it snapped in half in the -24c freeze-up we had over the last week; the second was to the rear brake drums to fix a little squealing sound. Can I just give a shout-out to Harry's Automotive Centre on Adelaide at Huron St. in London, ON for honest and reasonable repairs? I appreciate how  you never do unauthorized work and you tell me what really needs to be done and the least expensive way to do it.
• Raised my EF from $830 to $1300 :)
• Spent only $300 on groceries this month; usually spend $450 - $500 - love it!! (the extra helped pay for the car repairs - yippee!
• so far during exam week (started yesterday) I have completed my report cards, updated my students' IEP's and completed the schedules for my 6 educational assistants for the coming semester (and no one has an "easy" schedule!)
• had 2 lovely bottles of red wine leftover from Christmas :)
• have a partner who is a life coach who helped me through my crisis this morning with DD and gave me suggestions on how to best deal with the situation - gotta love that man!

The final financials for January will be coming Monday so will NOT do my usual Weekly Wrap tomorrow. I might just do a review on the two movies we plan to see tomorrow: "The Rite" with Anthony Hopkins and "The King's Speech" with Colin Firth. Yes, I do love those British actors! I am leaving work around 12 noon tomorrow because I CAN!! and we are going to two matinees at our local Rainbow Theatre which will only cost us about $12. I might even spring for POPCORN! Hey  - it's got fibre:)

Thanks for listening...

Weekly Wrap - Feeling Grateful

I'm so pretty...oh so pretty....I'm so pretty, and witty and wise.....in my wrap:)

Newsbeat: I used to work with a woman at the Royal Bank about a hundred years ago who used to sing the "I'm so pretty" song every morning before the doors were unlocked. I always wished I had her confidence.

Today was a wild and woolly day. My "broken angel" had a tough day - trying to bite staff (not succeeding thankfully), but biting holes in both of his slippers, biting a pilates ball and breaking it, biting a box and ripping it, ripping his one holey sock into pieces, biting the bottom of his backpack ripping a big hole in it. Oh yes, it was one of those days. All I did was record, record, record. But now the day is done and Michael and I are relaxing, with our feet up, at Starbucks both enjoying a free drink. Me because of a slow order last week so they gave me a gift coupon for a free drink and Michael because he gets a free birthday drink.

It's so nice to unwind:)The week has been full of ups and downs - birthday, sick child, $500 cheque coming from my car insurance, my broken angel. Up down up down. Yet I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for a week spent well: celebrating, reflecting, writing, mothering, reading, exercising, discussing and laughing.

Here is my three week chart. One more week (and a bit) and I'll be able to see the whole month:) The big news of course is the $500 I'm getting from the insurance company (not reflected here of course as I haven't received it yet)but I'm putting some on my Line of Credit and the rest into emergency savings. This will REALLY REALLY help because in February my pay will be approximately $340 less than January. So it's a darn good thing I've joined Sharon's NO Spend February which I may just have to continue til July when my pay will slightly increase due to not having to pay union dues and also my Canada Pension plan will be paid in full. I have six poor months and six good months financially over the year. Could be worse, could be way worse.

My misc. spending will have to be held in check. This month is higher than usual due to $152 being spent on my prescription sunglasses. I am very happy with my food, entertainment, gift and transportation totals and I don't foresee adding very much to those. My food buget still has most of its money due to Angela's "pantry challenge" and Michael has helped with the gas money:)


Heartbeat: While we were driving to Starbucks Michael told me about an acquaintance of his who he just found out had died in November. We had just seen him a few weeks before. At this point we don't know how he died. We find that as we get older we think about our mortality more and more and that we need to stop wasting today by only "living in the future". I used to think I wouldn't be happy until I retired. I found out that my thinking was very flawed. Today is all we really have. Michael finds himself guilty of thinking that he hasn't accomplished enough yet instead of feeling thankful for what he has today. But - we also can't stop dreaming and planning for the future so we have to find the balance. Here's what we came up with.


Live for Today so that We Can Plan for Tomorrow.


Are you living for today?

Finally....Closure

Kazi was sick yesterday when I got home from school so I ended up not going to volleyball, but that was ok because it turns out I forgot to register for this session anyway! Kazi had flu-like symptoms so I made a quick run to the grocery store and bought gingerale, apple juice, clear soups and soda crackers.

During that time someone left a message on my cell which I forgot at home. Gee I'm getting forgetful...isn't that the first sign of...hmmmm can't remember. Anyhoo, I checked the message and lo and behold the insurance company finally got their hands on the police report from Kazi's accident back in October. AND THE OTHER DRIVER WAS CHARGED!! Kazi can move on now - she was so happy because she KNEW the other driver and their "mystery witness" weren't telling the truth.

This also means I will be receiving a $500 check as the other driver's insurance will be paying my deductible! I'm going to put part of it on my Line of Credit and the rest into emergency savings. My goal for NO SPEND February was to bump up my emergency savings which now stands at a measly $830 so cheers all round:)

Since I didn't go to volleyball I rode my bike, but rode at lower resistance and only 15 km. Knees feel good today. It was good to give them a day's rest.

So here it is, 7:21am and I'm having a great day! Hope you are too!!

Weekly Wrap - Missing the Green

Wrap de Jamon y Queso Crema

Newsbeat:

Ha ha ha - wrap...get it?

Sorry, it's been a long day. And I'm tired and ready for a nice lay-in tomorrow morning, til at least 8am!

Anyhoo, my weekly financials are kind of ho-hum. I finally got paid today and my estimate was over by $11 so that sucked as I was really hoping I'd under-estimated. AND we (Michael) bought Sarah McLachlin tickets today as she's coming to London in March. ($164)!! Michael's paying for them but since it's his birthday on Monday and he LOVES Sarah I'm thinking of paying for them as a gift. That'll really put the squeeze on my budget but I think I can swing it. I ended up with an extra $100 in my misc. budget due to spending less on gas and groceries. I could put it towards debt BUT I still want to purchase a birthday gift.

Makes sense...I think:)

This my two week chart. Susanna, you mentioned that the phone/cable/internet was so low - well, that's because only my cell phone bill has been paid so far this month, the home phone, cable and internet haven't been paid yet, when they are you will see that column take a big jump.

I spent another $13 on iTunes - my goal is to purchase ALL the Beatles music one album at a time. That'll take awhile. Other than breakfast out last Saturday and putting $20 on my Starbucks card last Sunday I've spent NO money, NONE! Oops, told a lie... we went to see Black Swan today after school, a matinee so it was cheaper:) Wow, the music is still running through my head - SUCH a good movie.

Heartbeat: had a tough few moments with my daughter this week. She broke up with her boyfriend of over two years. It was her decision and she talked to us about it and seems good with her decision.  The tough moment was when I got up Thursday morning to get ready for work (5:45am) and her bed was empty. What a feeling and the thoughts that rushed through my mind - it was horrible.

I checked my cell phone for messages - nothing...checked the home phone - nothing. Asked Michael to check his phone...nothing.

So I called her cell number. Rang and rang and rang. I'm pacing around, what to do what to do...Called her number again and she answered - she and her friend had gone out together on Wed. evening and she ended up sleeping at her house. Of course at that point all my anxiety became relief and then anger. Later we talked, cried, rehashed things, hugged.

Man, being a mother can be hard sometimes. And scary.

Header: Prince Edward Island - isn't it so green?