Thank you for your supportive comments on my last post. Needless to say my confidence was severely shaken by events that happened a couple of years ago but I am on the upswing and have great hopes for the future!

Part of becoming stronger obviously must take into account my physical shape...or lack thereof! It seems that I take in way more calories than I burn! My mother referred to her tummy as "middle-aged spread" which is scarily accurate as I watch my middle spread to my thighs and butt! I have good intentions to eat right and get lots of exercise but my good intentions are often thwarted by the fact I have so many retail stores near me that offer great deals on JUNK food! No Frills, Giant Tiger, WalMart and not just one but TWO Dollaramas!

I'm (sort of) glad I don't know where to buy
chocolate-covered black licorice!!

My greatest indulgence, as some of you know, is licorice and chocolate. Sometimes I buy dark chocolate instead of milk thinking I am making a healthier choice. HAH! More fool me!

So...anyways I try to balance things out by juicing at least once a day, eating oatmeal for breakfast and having dinners that are mostly based on vegetables. Add to that -daily exercise- which will increase with better weather and I still have a lopsided pear-shaped body but it's strong!!

THIS??

My exercise regime includes walking/hiking on Mon. Tues. and Wed., yoga on Thurs. and volleyball on Fridays. Yesterday it rained ALL day so instead of getting outside walking I rode my stationary bike instead. I hope to gradually increase the length of my walks/hikes so that when Annie's and my trip rolls around in late August I'll be strong and fit (well, fit for me!) Usually I don't do much in the way of exercise on the weekend but I may try to get on my bike for an hour each day.

Or THIS??

It's the age old problem, no?

Thank You

Hi everyone. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you out there who have supported me with kind words and offers of help, whether it be to offer your home to me or a shoulder to cry on, to go for a coffee or just stunned shock.

I appreciate each and every offer, every supportive word, every cyber hug, every email from some of you who are unable to comment. Why is that anyway?

Right now I have nothing figured out. I want to take my blog in a different direction but not sure what that will be yet. Unfortunately I ended up with the flu also so I really was down and out for awhile. I haven't been out of the house since Christmas Day but am going to attempt going to the grocery store tomorrow morning and to a friend's house for New Year's Eve tomorrow night. Nothing too strenuous. The flu was mostly in my respiratory system - lots of thick coughing, fever and chills, headache and body aches. I still have a bit of a cough but not too bad and am over the chills etc. I guess my immune system was pretty non-existent.

Again, I've made no decisions. But there are some obvious areas I need to work on. These include:
1. Health and Fitness
2. Renos and redecorating
3. Preparing for Retirement

I have started thinking about #1.  Tomorrow I am starting on a 5 day juice fast. I recently watched "Fat, Sick and Almost Dead" on Netflix about a fellow from Australia who went on a 60 day juice fast because he was obese and on many medications due to the diseases he had developed by being obese. He was able to rid himself of all medications, drop a large amount of weight and become physically active again. I have also researched somewhere close to school where I can join a beginner's yoga class. And I have researched a place close by where I can treat myself to a spa day.

I'm not kidding myself that doing these things will change my life but I have to do something and start somewhere and where better to start than on myself.

LOVE you guys!!

Tutti Frutti

 Isn't fruit pretty? This is one pile of many piles in the kitchen. I tell you, the saliva starts flowing just looking at this pile! I'm just hoping someone doesn't pull one out from the bottom though because - AVALANCHE! We certainly are blessed in this country to have access to such a variety of fruit at reasonable prices. I was trying to figure out in my head the other day if we're spending more or less on groceries now that we're buying so much fruit and vegetables but I gave up. I need pencil, paper and a calculator to figure that one out.

 But, if I were to GUESS I'd say we're spending about the same. (Yes, you're right - if I was keeping track of my spending a wee bit better I'd know the answer to this....but that's another post.) We're trying to eat a mostly whole foods diet, so no boxes of crackers (FAIL), no packaged side dishes like Knorr Sidekicks (SUCCESS) and trying to reduce our meat consumption (MOSTLY A SUCCESS).  It's a work in progress and I'm not going to cry over a box or two (or three) of Triscuits, especially those Crack'd Pepper ones or a chicken wing or ten!

I read something very upsetting the other day - RICE has the highest levels of ARSENIC of any foods and you know what came in second - VEGETABLES!! I mean isn't arsenic a poison used in Agatha Christie's murder novels??  Do I really want to eat food that's laced with arsenic?? This really bothers me and I don't know what to do about it. Here's a link to an article that talks about it in depth if you're interested. I could give up rice but not vegetables!!

The other day a friend posted a photo on Facebook of a "root vegetable" stir fry she had made, well, actually her husband made it. I thought it looked delicious so made one last night full of parsnips, potatoes, carrots and turnips. We also roasted some sweet potato fries in the oven. It really was as good as it looks and super easy to make.  Very satisfying.

Just a bit of olive oil and lots of seasoning - onion, garlic, sea salt, pepper, some cayenne etc. I'm glad there are leftovers for tonight! And they're all for me as Michael is fasting for a medical test he's having tomorrow.
Nothing serious. I hope.

Well, that's my food update for now. This is all part of a desire to take better care of my body so it will hold up a while longer. Missing a month of work and having to live on a reduced paycheque because of a pinched nerve just isn't acceptable. And now it's time to get my butt in gear and ride my bike - yes I'm still pedaling away but have added a little twist to my routine which I'll tell you about later.

Hope your Monday was memorable!

March Break Begins...

in two more days!!  And I am preparing a list of things I want to get accomplished. For example, I plan to strip the old caulking from around the bathtub and re-caulk it. I'm going to clean the grout between the tiles in the bathroom with bleach. My daughter got a printer with her mactop and has never been able to hook it up to work wirelessly so yes, I'm going to solve that problem (maybe). I MUST get rolling on listing items for sale on Kijiji - that's only been on my TO DO List for a few months... ETC. ETC. I won't be twiddling my thumbs! If I get bored I have these to keep me occupied:

 Right now I'm reading a book on my Kindle AND I'm almost finished "The Introvert Advantage" (you can see my bookmark sticking out.  And Michael wants me to get started on "The Soul of Money" which a friend sent to him on his birthday - he's finished it and is raving about it. I'm really looking forward to being able to sit for a couple of hours and just read :)

Happily I am back on my bike and pedaling like MAD!! Only 120km from Philly (and no, I haven't forgotten about you Sluggy! I have a stubborn 3 pounds to lose to get to my 10 Pound Challenge goal and have (once again) renewed my efforts....sigh... Speaking of losing weight (not) I have my daughter's fave recipe baking away in the oven - it's called No Peeking Chicken (kind of a play on words of Peking Chicken just in case you didn't catch the reference!) It's the easiest recipe in the world!! You put a bunch of skinless chicken in the bottom of a roasting pan - I'm using thighs this time but any parts will do, and cover it with a mixture of a can of cream of celery soup, a can of mushroom soup, a can of water, some sour cream if you have it but that's optional (well, not optional for ME) and a cup full of either wild rice or brown rice. I had some celery stalks that were getting a little floppy so I cut them up and tossed them in too. Mushrooms are nice in this recipe too. Then sprinkle some onion soup mix on top. Put a lid on it and bake 2 hours in a 350 oven - and NO PEEKING because the steam needs to stay in the pot! Yum yum yum!! Course I'm having some chicken but only a teeny weeny bit of rice. Yeah, right!

Last night I worked on income tax as Kazi printed off the tuition forms from her university. I juggled numbers and got us both a very juicy refund. Hers will pay almost half of next year's tuition!! Plus she's mailed forms away for a tuition rebate from last year's tuition that our very in-debt gov't is offering (though probably not for long!) Mine will be put towards my line of credit though I might allow myself a new spring top as it was a robust 15c today with lots of sunshine. One of those days that are such a gift in early spring. So, tonight I file my taxes online and should see the $$ next week! Yippee!!

And finally - Today's Inspirational Moment:

Michael bought these flowers on Valentine's day and has gradually been removing the dead ones as they wilted, dried out and fell onto the table. Yesterday I took this other picture:

this is all that remains after 3 weeks. Michael's been going through a bit of a yucky time and we were inspired by how beautiful these perky little remnants looked floating around in a dish or water. They have no stems anymore and the petals are curling up but there is still a bit of life and loveliness left. Here is what we came up with after having a good long heart to heart talk:

"Even in the midst of our mess we can salvage something good." 


Whenever we go through a tough time we can ALWAYS take away something good. Whether is be a lesson learned, an inner discovery of our own strength or simply the satisfaction of knowing we did our best in a difficult situation there is always a silver lining if you look hard enough.

Here endeth the lesson.

Challenging Challenges

Besides Carla's double challenge of No/Low Spending and Decluttering my little piece of the universe I am taking part in two other challenges - The 10 Pound Challenge with Erika at Newlyweds on a Budget and The Sealed Pot Challenge with Sft at Travel, Mortgage Freedom, 101 and Life Goals. Also, once Little Lamb at Little Lam Wants to be Debt Free  becomes debt-free (very very soon!!) I will be joining her celebration by dedicating a 25km bike ride to her amazing accomplishment!

You could say that I'm challenged.

Here is a look at my Sealed Pot:

Now, I don't weigh mine like some people I know (Carla), but then $5.00 bills don't weigh very much! I'm keeping it well fed. I have a feeling I might need to make another pot or find something a little larger. But I'll wait and see. I've been thinking a lot about what I'll do with the money and I think I've finally decided. I'm going to put the money into something I really need for my home in PEI. I don't know what that'll be yet, but by December I will have made up my mind. Some possibilities are: a tankless hot water heater, new deck, new fence, leveling the driveway, commissioning a headboard from Jeffery Kerras at Back Road Folk Art, or another piece of furniture for the house.

I'm glad I didn't make a firm decision right off the bat about how I wanted to use the money once opened. It's nice to have something to dream about and I can keep changing my mind right up until December.

The 10 Pound Challenge is a different story:

I haven't been as successful with this challenge as I would like. There have been a lot of ups and downs, lots of temptations - invitations to dinner, eating out, Valentine's Day dinner and so on. I would say that 5/7 days per week I'm sticking to my "eating plan" (stole that from Gill - it's so NOT a diet!!)  Hence the ups and downs.

Now, if it were a TRUE eating plan I'd be able to stick to it even when I eat out, but I haven't been. I've been indulging myself. My only saving grace is I still have until April  16 to lose the ten pounds. I have lost a solid seven pounds and do notice the difference in the waist band of my clothes. I would like to lose at least another seven pounds for a total of fourteen pounds. Sooooooooooooooo I will keep trying. And trying. And trying. I won't give up. I'm pretty confident I can get to ten pounds by April 16. Then I'll try for another four to five pounds more by summer. I have hung onto a big pile of summer clothes from skinnier days - if I can't wear them THIS summer then out they go. I really don't to do that, hence the CHALLENGE!

Sigh......OK, time to get my but in gear...I think I need to go have some lunch...I'm suddenly feeling very hungry!

Trenton, Ontario - What's not to LOVE??

You are in for a treat today my friends. All of you know Little Lamb who wants to be debt free? Well, she lives in Trenton, Ontario and has provided me with a wealth of information about her great city and surrounding area. I have to admit to a little jealousy, as this is one of the most beautiful spots in all of Canada and well, all of Canada is pretty darn amazing so I am giving Trenton a HUGE compliment!


After I'm done sightseeing and going for a run with Little Lamb perhaps I can persuade her to splurge on a meal at Tomasso's where I hear the bruschetta is to die for AND they serve up a mean dish of jambalaya which I LOVE! 

After I've cycled on through Trenton I'll be heading southeast into the United States - first stop will be Philadelphia - the City of Brotherly (or in this case sisterly) Love to see Judy!

But first - TRENTON!!


There is so much to see and do! First up the National Air Force Museum to view the "Halifax", a WWII bomber that lay submerged at the bottom of Norwegian Lake Mjosa for over 50 years and then exhumed and lovingly restored by over 100 volunteers.

Now THAT's cool!!

 Fishing in the idyllic Bay of Quinte!

This is the world famous Bleasdell Boulder - yes, it's HUGE!! which sits in this location after being carried a great distance by glacier thousands of years ago. 

 The Trent-Severn gateway: also known as the gateway to "Canada's Playground"!! Sounds like fun!! I wanna play! Oh rats, it's winter!

 Lake on the Mountain - this mysterious lake with an unknown fresh water source sits 60+ metres above the Bay of Quinte and defies all known geographical logic! Mohawk Indians believed that spirits lived in the deep waters and early settlers believed it to be bottomless!

A panoramic view of Trenton and area from the top of Mount Pelion (let me tell you I'm glad this is a "virtual tour" and that I didn't have to actually walk up all of the steps in order to see this!!

Ahhhh, remember summer? This is one reason why this is Canada's playground!

Snowmakers hard at work...whoosh!! Did you just see me fly by on my skis?? No? 
Pay better attention!!  This is where Little Lamb goes with her running group - yes they run on HILLS! 

 I don't know how Little Lamb knew my favourite food is icecream but it is and at Slickers they make homemade icecream! She recommended either Campfire (tastes like burnt marshmallows - oh yeah!) or Apple Pie...decisions, decisions...

I LOVE chocolate AND nuts so the Chocolate Almond is tempting but then so is the Banana Pecan Pie with Caramel or Oh Henry goes Camping!! Perhaps a scoop of each! Ok...where are my running shoes??


And now for the grand finale! Little Lamb also reminded me that Trenton Air Base receives all of our "repatriated soldiers" and that Trenton is the beginning of our Highway of Heroes. I'm familiar with Trenton also because Michael's son, Dane, is a firefighter on the base. We're glad he's based here in Canada where he's safe and well-cared for. Other families with sons and daughters, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters in the military aren't always so lucky. 


The Highway of Heroes is a grassroots patriot "happening" that has become a matter of fierce pride among Canadians. We are known as being rather reserved and quiet about our nation's contributions to peacekeeping missions etc across the world but we LOVE and RESPECT our heroes. 


Take a look: (you'll need a kleenex)

Thanks Little Lamb for an in depth look at your part of the world. I truly appreciate it!

First Stop - Toronto!

Hey Sarah! I should be arriving in Toronto later this week! Once I finish this post I'll be heading to the basement for at least another 15km on my stationary bike! When I get there (Toronto, not the basement) I hope you can suggest a couple of fun FREE activities and tell me what you LOVE about Toronto!

Toronto gets a bad rap from the rest of Canada for some reason...it is the city everyone loves to hate! I don't get it personally, it's a city where multi-culturalism thrives, I think it's beautiful and who doesn't like to shop in Kensington Village! I took my daughter there for her first prom dress and she found a second-hand black strapless number with a short poufy skirt for $20! She paired it with a pair of black converse running shoes and navy blue hair! (She had a brief goth period...thankfully it only lasted a couple of months!)

Many of you have said you would join me on a leg of my journey. I will continue to post in my sidebar what my next destination is and how many km. til I get there. You will need to choose which part you would like to join in on, how you're going to join in (stationary bike, treadmill, walking outside, jogging etc but NO DRIVING!!) and how you're going to track it. It's easy with my bike as it tracks my mileage but something else I do is set up walking routes outside and then drive it once to see the distance. Or, invest in a pedometer:)  Whatever works for you!

Monday night is girls night around here. My daughter coerced me to watch an episode of Gossip Girls with her one night and so now of course I'm hooked.  So while she relaxes on my bed and stuffs herself I'll be pedaling away like the Wicked Witch of the EAST!  "I'll get you my pretty...yes, you and your little dog too...cackle cackle...!" I swear I'm losing it! Today was a rough day - two EAs away so I was juggling staff all day while I was also trying to prepare for a big meeting. It wasn't pretty. A good brisk bike ride will do me good. Or...I could drive over to Dairy Queen for a blizzard...I find when I'm stressed I turn to food, not just any food, oh no, it has to be "bad for me" food. Fortunately there isn't any to be had in the house and generally my overall laziness keeps me from actually making a trip to go get some. Ok, I'm going to try and be good - it's off to exercise I go!

What's your favorite treat to indulge in? I have many: black licorice, icecream, Vector cereal, chocolate, sweettarts, Reisens, sour keys, popcorn.....

CHALLENGE!

Of course you knew there had to be a challenge coming up!! Well, here it is! Dust off your bikes girls (you too Mark!) 'cause I'm heading your way.


As I reach each destination I'm hoping you'll join me for the next leg of my journey.  I don't care if you walk, cycle on a stationary bike, jog or crawl on your hands and knees (Judy - no sleds allowed lol!) but I challenge you to get up and MOVE!! 


No need to answer now - I'll remind you as I near your town!

New Itinerary - TORONTO or BUST!!

Hokay - I think my plans are in place! Here's my new map with the additional destinations on it. I have rejigged my route somewhat with the result being that I will head to Toronto first (watch for me Sarah!)(Sorry Niki) then on to see Christy in Brighton ON, and then Trenton, ON to see Little Lamb. I'm glad I get to go to Trenton as Michael's son, Dane, is a firefighter on the air base there! 

Not shaped like a starter pistol anymore Barb, more like a futuristic space zapper!

From Trenton, Ontario I will head southeast into the United States visiting Judy in Philadelphia PA, then on to see a new friend in Cape May, NJ which looks like a very interesting place to visit!  After that I'll be heading southwest into Virginia to visit with Sharon in Centreville and Tanner in D.C. (yes Tanner, I'm going to stop by and say HI!) Then back into PA to see Mark and family in Harrisburg and Niki in Warren.  Next up is jpkittie in NE Ohio and SonyaAnn in Antioch, IL. At that point my bike will start to utilize its flying abilities and I'll soar south to work on my tan with Lisa in Central Florida and then west to Houston where I'll spend some time with Susannah - my very first READER!! How cool is that?!


OK, not done YET! Since I'd be flying over Colorado anyways on my way to Lewiston, Idaho I'm going to touch down in Mead to visit my friend Marge. I LOVE mountains and she's got a view that'll knock your socks off!  After seeing Kim in Idaho (and IF I survive the 7 mile drop to sea level to Lewiston!!) it's just a quick flight to Vancouver where I'll rest up for a couple of days. (Can you put me up Barb?)


I'll need the rest because after Vancouver I'm leaving North America and heading to.....AUSTRALIA!!!  Yes indeedy, no trip would be complete without popping by to see my mate Louise! 

Louise lives in the Blue Mountains area!!

And while I'm there I'm going to make a surprise visit to Maureen who's been WAY too busy to blog since going into business with her sister and opening an Italian restaurant!! Maureen lives in Queensland. 


What a trip eh? I can't wait to get started!  Wait, I already have!

And in other news...

• ...I've been testing a few different models of bicycle-planes for my upcoming journey...since I drew up my itinerary I've had another seven or eight fellow bloggers wanting me to visit them so tomorrow I am going to photocopy another map and replan my route.  I will absolutely visit everyone who has expressed an interest which will mean having to occasionally take to the skies!  And thanks Sharon - I will take you up on your offer so that I can include a visit to Tanner during my time in Virginia!  And Barb, no I didn't realize my route was in the shape of a starter's pistol - how cool is that!? Once I redraw my route I wonder what it will look like??
• I've got Christmas all figured out - suhweet!! Kazi and I went and looked at beds and mattresses and found what she wanted at Jysk. I've transferred the $$ from my Christmas/gift fund and will make the purchase tomorrow. Both the bed frame AND memory foam mattress were on sale - yippee!!  Kazi is a very practical girl - in the next couple of years while she's still living at home she wants to receive small appliances for her birthday and Christmas - like a coffee maker, iron, microwave and so on. I actually think she's quite brilliant!  
• Further to Christmas: we currently have 3 TVs in the house but only 1 of them works lol! So I proposed to Michael (no, not THAT kind of proposal!!) that we buy ourselves a nice sized flatscreen, put our older larger TV in the family room and get rid of the 2 that don't work. Oh, and he said YES!
• Michael bought us tickets to see PRINCE on Dec. 5th!!! WOW!!  Thanks honeybunch!!
• I have been keeping up with inputting my spending in www.spendingdiary.com and will post November's first weekly wrap tomorrow
• and finally, it's a brilliant sunny day here in SW. Ontario and I've had a wonderful LONG morning thanks to turning back the clocks...once everyone else is up we'll be planning our usual Sunday hike.  I hope everyone else's Sunday is as gorgeous as mine!!

GOALS 2011-2012

One thing I noticed about my 2010-2011 goals review was that I had too many of them - some of them I had forgotten about so I'm going for simplicity this year. I do better when I keep things streamlined, when they get too complex I totally tune out. So here goes.


Financial Goals:

• Increase total savings from $56,398 to $67,000 over the next 12 months (this is long-term savings only: RSPs (interest only) and TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account)
• Save $600 towards the purchase of a new camera
• Save $1200 towards condo redecorating
• Save $1200 to add to my Emergency Fund currently sitting at $1527
• Save $960 to pay for Crofters Lane house insurance and property tax currently sitting at $160
• Save $1500 for Christmas and Birthdays for 2012
• Save $2880 for Crofters Lane maintenance and travel expenses next summer currently sitting at $480
• AND decrease my Line of Credit from $34,300 to $9,700 over the next 12 months
• continue to follow my current zero-based budgeting style (it works for me...most of the time:)

All of these accounts are already set up with automatic deposits/payments. All I have to do (HAH!) is not overspend because if I do then it reduces either savings or debt payments and I don't want that to happen because I am working towards:

Yes, ladies and gents, I am talking about being debt-free in 16 months at which time that $2,000 per month currently going towards debt repayment will then be channeled into my long-term savings. Hopefully by then Stephen Harper will have increased the limit on our Tax Free Savings Accounts to $10,000 per year from its current limit of $5,000 but I won't hold my breath, damn politicians!!

My personal goals are also going to be plain and simple - not simple in that they are easy to achieve, but simple in that they are clear and straight forward.

Personal Goals:

• Get my weight back under 130 lbs. Folks, I'm barely 5'3" and I'll be damned if I'm going out and buying all new pants to replace the ones that fit just fine up until a year and a half ago! Yes, menopause does wreak havoc on the waistline but I'm not giving up yet. What I won't do is put a deadline on it - that's just a recipe for failure. And I'm NOT buying pants with a stretchy waistband - that's just a cop out! 
• Exercise everyday. Lunchtime - 30 minute power walk 5 days a week, work out in my school's cardio/weight room 2 times a week (Tues. and Thurs.), ride my stationary bike at home 3 times a week (Mon. Wed. and Sat.) and go hiking every Sunday. I know this looks complex but I'm already doing it so it's easy peasy. Do the scissors exercise once a day - see Sarah's instructions HERE!
• Find reasons to be happy every day!!  
• Tell my wee family I love them every day!!
• Find a reason to laugh every day!!
• Be grateful every morning that I woke up!!

In my next post I'll expand on my personal goals to show you the thinking behind them. How are YOUR goals coming along??

Monday's Music to my Ears

I've made a big decision...well I made it a while back but it still holds true today and for every Monday hereafter.  Wait for it....


I've decided to LOVE MONDAYS!


I mean, why the hell not? 


What's good about Mondays? It's a new day, a fresh beginning to a new week, a chance to try again and get things right! Or "laugh trying!" That's my new motto - instead of "I'll get it right or die trying", I'm going to "laugh trying." 


Mondays are highly underrated. Everybody loves to slam Mondays - "there's still five more days of work, I need to drink a vat of coffee to get through the day, I'm tired from all the partying I did, work sucks"...these are typical comments you often hear on a Monday. 


But no more I say...embrace MONDAYS! Throw yourself into your new work week with enthusiasm, humour and vigor! Today, Monday, Sept. 26, 2011, will never come again.  Make it memorable!  What did you do today that was worth remembering? 


Here's what I did: 
a) I went for a 30 minute walk on my lunch and decided to swing by the police station to see how the planned protest again police violence was going...it was the usual assortment of riffraff, disengaged high school students and street kids holding up signs that read "F-CK THE POLICE"....I chuckled to myself when I realized they had just ruined their chances of being seen on tonight's local news.


b) I weighed in this morning at 9 pounds lighter than I was 5 weeks ago which made me grin and say "wheeeeee" and 


c) I found a great way to display some data for a meeting tomorrow and that also put a smile on my face.  


So that's how I'll remember today, it wasn't just another "Manic Monday!"


Here, for your listening pleasure, is one of my all time favorite protest songs. Feel free to sing along...I know you will!





Signs signs everywhere are signs.....

The Kinky Five Dollar Walk

While out for a long walk with Michael (but perhaps not quite as long as this sentence) after school on Tuesday, (back when it was warm and sunny, not like now when it's raining, cold and windy...remember that one good day?) we hit upon what we thought was an economical way to spend some time (and very little money) that was not only good exercise but also inspirational, original, magical, illuminating, humorous, relationship-enhancing and perhaps even a little bit kinky!  


While we meandered through a cemetery, a used book store, a lot of back streets, up and down countless hills, a Tim Horton's, a Price Choppers, several green spaces and a park (whew!), we purchased a 2nd hand book that has been on Michael's must have book list for over a year about building community through drumming, a box of Oatmeal Crisp AND a Timmy's coffee (we shared).


We had so much fun that we thought we would turn this walk into a regular event and call it The Five Dollar Walk. We would take only $5.00 with us and see what possibilities present themselves and anything we didn't spend we would add into the next walk's money. Sort of a VERY FRUGAL speed-walking mini-vacation life enrichment workshop all rolled into one. 


I'm not even kidding....except maybe about the kinky part. But I have an open mind and I think you do too, or you wouldn't still be reading this!  

Tonight's the Night!!

If the above scientific diagram is accurate, and who am I to argue with science, then I'm still a teenager...bwahahahahahahaha!!


The big news tonight is I've just passed the halfway point in my cycling trek to Alberton, PEI.  That's right - I've cycled 962km since January 1st leaving a mere 940km left to go. And I feel pretty darn good!  Perhaps not quite as fit as when I was 18 but pretty close. 


Michael and I have recently embarked on a "healthful journey" by increasing the numbers of organic "superfoods" in our diet and eliminating almost all processed foods. More on that soon. I will say this much: our vocabulary now includes the words "chia seeds" and "quinoa".  

OK I Need to Stop Spending NOW!

Well here it is February 28th and we're spending March's money already. That's what happens when my pay goes in on the weekend before my actual payday. However, groceries needed to be bought and what we bought will last us to the middle of the month when I get paid again. One thing we are learning around here is how to make our food budget stretch. We really are handling our food preparation in a more economical way. We're eating a lot less meat and building meals around a wider variety of staples such as lentils, chick peas, kidney beans, navy beans, rice, potatoes and sweet potatoes.

BUT I need to put the brakes on spending! Have you ever noticed that once you start spending you want to keep on spending!!! We ended our weekend splurge yesterday by going to the Black History Month gala (which was wonderful by the way - one of our good friends Charmain sang - she's amazing) but it cost $12 each and then when it was done we were starving (we thought they'd have food but there wasn't!) so I suggested we go to our favourite Vietnamese restaurant for soup and "something". The "something" for me was shrimp pad thai and for Michael spring rolls and curried chicken and we shared a large sweet and sour soup. Scrumptious!! All in all it only came to $30 including tip so it wasn't expensive.  BUT we need to get back into the groove of spending less, eating at home and following our budget!

It's startling to realize how quickly spending a bit extra here and there can develop into a full-out binge and before you know it the budget is in tatters. So I'm reining in the spending and putting a lock on my wallet. Gotta get back on track. 

Luckily "Princess" is on tonight followed by two episodes of "Til Debt do us Part". Gail Vaz-Oxlade will get me back on the straight and narrow like NOBODY else can while I pedal like mad on my bike. I've missed pedalling my way east for awhile but I'm feeling well enough to get back in the saddle so OFF I GO!  I did 15km on Saturday and will try for 25km tonight. I'm heading past Cornwall and will soon be in Quebec - La Belle Province!

Tally ho!! Zoom zoom zoooooooooooooooooommmm!!!!!



Beat ya!!



And the Spending Continues...



Friday night has traditionally been our movie night. Last night was no exception. The difference was that instead of going to see the latest releases we went to a more "arty" venue. I had scoured the ads and there was NOTHING, I mean NOTHING that we wanted to see that we hadn't already seen. 
So we went to an often overlooked theatre in London and saw
Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling (yum) and Michelle Williams and
London River starring a couple of actors we were unfamiliar with. Both of these movies were showing at the Hyland Theatre.  I was so impressed with the quality and the "relationship" themes of both movies that I suggested we get Hyland Theatre membership cards, you know, to save money at which pointed Michael pulled two membership cards out of his pocket - he knows me so well:)
Then, because we hadn't spent enough money and because it was only about 9:30pm we headed to Maggies, a nice little jazz club on Richmond St. We had some Blueberry Tea (not much "tea" in it we were told:) and escargot (Michael not me) and some amazing bruschetta while listening to some great live music (though I did wonder it the singer knew any rock songs hee hee). Michael finished off with a glass of merlot while I had a FREE sample of a fairly new single malt called Singleton's - it was free because they only had enough for about a "half" serving and then the bottle was dry! So that was a nice little treat:)
I have to say it felt really weird to be spending any money - we shared the expenses though Michael bore the brunt of the costs.  Oops - forgot to mention that I stopped in at my local Giant Tiger's because I had seen in their flyer they had decorative rubber boots on for half-price ($20) and I also bought a pair of red canvas running shoes for $3.00!! Both of these items will be going out to PEI so I can stomp around my land in the red dirt rain or shine.
After those expenditures I still had about $60 left in misc spending money so today I went to the ATM and withdrew cash - this is the first cash I've had in my wallet since January!!!  AND it didn't stay there long:) I splurged on my one and only newspaper for February and bought everyone a coffee. The remainder of the $$ went into the Crofter's Lane Jar which has been totally neglected this month... until today.
So one of the benefits of a No Spend February has been a wee splurge with some of my remaining misc money. Tomorrow I will change my sidebar graphs and summarize what I learned during the No Spend month. I am having a totally lazy Saturday and once my loved ones head off to work I am going to get back on my bike to resume my journey to PEI. I still have a bit of congestion but am finally, really, truly, on the mend.

Talk to you tomorrow - hope your weekend is going well. (Still snowing here:(

Leaving Napanee, Heading Towards Kingston, Ontario!!

Napanee is very pretty in the winter, but I must continue on my biking journey to Prince Edward Island, so....tally ho!!

Ugh - why the heck did I start this quest in January?!? I need teeny tiny

wiper blades on my glasses!

Kingston - here I come - look out!!

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling tra la la la la la!

Poor Richard Sifkitz. While riding his stationary bike to lose weight he starts to disappear into the strange mural he painted on his wall depicting the microscopic men at work clearing out his hardening arteries. Who woulda thought?

Me, I'm only staring at my map of Canada wondering how far I've gotten in my journey from London to Alberton, PE. How dull am I?So far over the past 11 days I've pedalled 157km (97.6 miles)which brings me to lovely Mississauga - I'm almost in the city of Toronto!!

I've pledged to ride 15km per day, 5 days a week for a total of 75km per week. I've already surpassed that goal by 7km and I've got 3 more days in the first 2 weeks to ride, ride, ride, let it ride:) My goal now is to stay the course. I'm notorious for starting off all gungho but losing steam (getting bored)part way through.

One thing that keeps me going is thinking about Michael and I cycling the 470km Confederation Trail in PEI from Tignish to Elmira...must..get..in..shape... 

We plan to pack light, spend the nights in B&Bs and take lots and lots of photos along the way:)


First the island, then....the WORLD bwahahaha!!



Cheap Night In

I am feeling pretty good about this week - I've had $0 in my wallet all week and STILL have $0 in my wallet lol! Other than bills out of my account I've spent nothing - I'll do my weekly wrap later today.

Last night I pedalled along Hwy. 401 another 20km. Witch is right that having a visual (map of Canada) to chart your progress is highly motivating. (See side bar for kms biked each day.) So far this week I've travelled 66km which took me through Ingersoll, through Woodstock and well on my way to Cambridge.

After dinner we watched a movie called "Amnesia" that we borrowed from the library. It was British and very good but then it ended in the middle of things and we realized it was a series. Of course now we're hooked! The second episode is on the DVD and I can only hope that the library has all episodes of this series. I was in bed, lights out, shortly after 10pm. Trying to get more sleep these days as part of looking after ME!

Today as I drove to school I heard the radio announcer talking about the Canada/Russia hockey game in which Canada blew a 3-0 lead and lost 5-3 to the Russians. He happened to say that most people have lost sight of the fact that while we didn't win gold we did win silver! And I realized that I was one of those people.  All I was thinking was that we LOST. Yes, well we lost gold, but we WON SILVER so woot woot to those wonderful young men who did their best and brought home silver medals. There is certainly no shame in that.

Why is it that we only value the top prize to the exclusion of all the other prizes?? Canada didn't lose gold, they won silver.  I'm going to keep saying that to myself all day.

See you later for my Weekly Wrap:)

Biking from London, ON to Alberton, PE (1902 kms)

Meet my bike. Well, my brand of bike but not MY bike, though I kind of wish it was because I am coveting the hardware on those cupboards! I wonder whose house it is?  Maybe I can wangle an invite...

Woops, back to the point. I've been reading a lot about setting goals lately, go figure, and I've decided to create some sort of goal for my recumbant exercise bike riding to give it some relevance by having a destination. So...I've decided I am going to ride my bike all the way to my new home near Alberton, Prince Edward Island!!  All 1902 kilometres although minus the slush, the snow and the traffic as I'll be staying cozy, safe and somewhat sweaty - in my bedroom at home.

I've calculated on my well-worn calculator that if I bike 15kms for 5 days a week I will reach my destination in PE by the end of June, just in time to actually DRIVE there for my summer vacation:)!!:) I've already biked 30kms in the past two days so already I'm down to 1872 kms. In the spring I prefer to get outside on my road bike so will figure out some way to measure the distances that I ride.

This is so exciting - I feel much more motivated now that I have somewhere to go! Even if it is just in my imagination....for now! I'll be sure to take some pictures along the way! But meanwhile you can check on my progress in the sidebar, just above my personal finance goals and weight loss goal:p