Humboldt Broncos

Back in April I wrote a post about the road accident that killed most of the Humboldt, Saskatchewan Broncos junior hockey team and coaching staff and injured many more. Today I read about the reformed Broncos team and their upcoming first game - a home opener. I am in no way, shape or form connected to this tragedy other than being one of millions of Canadians who were brokenhearted in the long and painful aftermath of this horrific accident.

In Canada you either play hockey, coach hockey, watch hockey or support your own child, brother, nephew, cousin and friend at 5am practises at the local arena. I guess you could say we all live and breathe hockey. As I jet over the Atlantic my thoughts will be for those remaining Humboldt players who will bravely take to the ice Wed. night. I know they will be playing their hearts out for their lost teammates.

Just by stepping out onto the ice they will be victorious. 

I've Got Gas!...

....or maybe I should say my car has been gassed up :)

I managed to hang in there until gas went down at 3 or 4 stations in London on Friday.  As someone who shops around for the best gas price Fridays seem to be a good day to top up the tank. I was on my last "bar" of gas in the tank so things were getting a little desperate but this past Friday I wasn't disappointed. Prices dropped briefly from weeks of $1.26 per litre to $1.17 per litre saving me a couple of bucks.

$45.00 filled up the Honda's tank and should last me into the month of May. Lowering my gas budget line from $60 per month to $45 per month seems completely doable.

This photo does not reflect today's prices.

BUT...I have a question. A reader who lives north of me, but still in Ontario, says their gas prices have been around $1.18 most of the time.  Why is there such variance in the price of gas? Why isn't gas the same price everywhere in Ontario or anywhere else for that matter? I do understand different places have different taxes applied to gasoline but that wouldn't affect sellers in the same province...would it?

*($1.18 per litre = $4.46 per gallon for those in the U.S. as there are 3.78 litres in a liquid gallon.)

With warmer weather hopefully making an appearance soon I won't worry about the price of gas as much, as I'll use my bicycle at lot, though of course summer activities like beach days will require more gas. 

There is a movement here in Canada pushing for people NOT to buy any gas on April 15th. This has been done before, quite successfully, with gas prices dropping for a period of time after the boycott. I hope it's successful again this year.

**On a more sombre note - I'm sure most of you have heard about the Junior Hockey team in Humboldt, Saskatchewan that occurred this past Friday. It was a horrific accident involving the team bus and a transport truck with 15 players, coaches, media being killed and the other 14 injured, some seriously. The outpouring of support from around the world has been incredible with $4.4 million dollars raised for families through a GoFundMe page. More than 60,000 people representing almost 60 countries around the world have donated.  It's not the dollar amount that is so amazing as it is how many people worldwide have shown how much they care. I feel very humbled by this and it gives me faith that the majority of people in this tiny world of ours are truly decent, kind and caring. 

Solidarity in the hockey world was also shown by NHL teams (Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets shown above) with players wearing the Junior Team's team name (Broncos) instead of their own names. 

In the words of our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

Tonight we pay tribute. To the team, to the families, to the community: The whole country is behind you. You are loved, and you will be remembered.

Satisfying Sunday

I did all of my errands yesterday so that I could stay at home today and watch the final hockey game (YAY Canada!!) and closing ceremonies. The game started at 7am so I was up at 6:30am raring to go. What an awesome finish to the games for Canada. It wasn't really a nail biter of a game thankfully so I wasn't too stressed out :)

While I was out yesterday I stopped into my favorite store - HOME DEPOT!! I made a list recently of what I needed to get to finish my renos and I was able to knock a few things from the list - very satisfying! I bought 18 new handles for my kitchen cupboards, 4 for the downstairs bathroom and 6 for the upstairs bathroom.  I installed the kitchen cupboard handles but not the ones for the bathrooms as I plan to paint both vanities first.

Also crossed off the list is the wallpapering tray - I hope to get the wallpaper hung in the foyer over March break plus a whole bunch of painting so I am getting all the needed supplies in NOW so I won't be able to procrastinate once March break arrives. That's the plan anyways.

Recently I was in Giant Tiger getting a few things for school and I noticed they now sell quite a wide range of window curtains/panels and yesterday I found just what I needed for around my patio doors. I  was soooooo happy about this because I needed panels longer than the standard 84" and I found ones that were 96" long - SCORE!!  I also scored a nice drapery rod for my dining room window on sale for $8 and hung a satiny beige curtain I bought 2nd hand at Talize. I'm trying to do my renos/redecorating on a small budget and since I went over budget on all of the flooring (which still isn't all complete) I've had to be more frugal in other areas. This morning I hung a "new to me" curtain in the laundry room - also a Talize purchase. I'm trying to get at least 1 little job done each day so that it doesn't seem too overwhelming. So far so good.

I think I have a solution for the basement floors. There is laminate flooring installed now but it's slightly damaged from getting damp when the hot water tank leaked - I don't want to spend a lot replacing it and found on youtube that cement floors can be painted so that's another goal though I don't think there will be time on March break for that too - I may need to hire someone.

Well, the laundry is done (during intermissions of the hockey game) so my last job for today is washing floors and vacuuming but wouldn't you know Kazi came home after watching the hockey game at her boyfriends's house and is now sound asleep - I guess the vacuuming will have to wait. I know many of you would just go ahead and vacuum anyways - after all it is 2pm - but I like having a handy excuse for procrastinating :)

  Happy Sunday everyone!

Who Knew?

Whoa - who knew the Finns had such a great hockey team??  The game is tied 1:1 with seconds to go in the 3rd period. Looks like overtime.

A friend recently recommended "Goodreads" to me on Facebook and I've been busy rating books and selecting those I want to read in the future. I also wrote a review for a book recently recommended to me by a reader of my blog. "Anon" thought I would enjoy a book called "The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism." I downloaded it to my iPad and read it last night in one go. I know I'll be re-reading it as well as taking it to my next staff meeting on Tuesday to share with the educational assistants. The insight I've gained is something I never thought possible. To get "inside this young man's head" and get answers to questions that have puzzled me for years is so amazing. Thank you thank you thank you Anon!! I hope you read this post! Down on my side bar is a Goodreads widget as well as a link to my review.

I've been doing a little "monkeying around" with my blog yesterday and today. I can't bear to look at the snow and ice anymore so decided to get some spring and summer into my blog.

(Oh, thank goodness, Canada just scored in overtime YAY YAY YAY!!!)

Well, now that the hockey game is over I think I'll head out to do some errands as tomorrow most places will be closed as we celebrate FAMILY DAY!!  Yes, it's a long weekend :) So much to celebrate as Kazi is safely home from her travels, the Olympics continue and I have more wonderful books to read.

What's on YOUR reading list?

Lazy Day

I keep thinking I should be doing something...

I get upset with myself because I don't feel like doing anything...

But my puritan upbringing doesn't let me rest easily...

Ok, got THAT off my chest. Onwards and upwards. My alarm went off at 7am. Do you think it's strange that I set my alarm on the weekend? Well it's a little game I play with myself. If I get up early then the days of the weekend seem looooonger;  I guess they are longer or at least the amount of time I'm awake is longer. It's all psychological.

I treated myself to a Timmy's and a newspaper today and enjoyed both while keeping one eye on our women's curling team. THEY ARE UNDEFEATED!! Did you know that curling is the second most popular "arm chair" sport? After hockey? I LOVE watching curling - I love how we get to hear them work out their strategy and the loud cries of HARD....HARRRRRRRRRD!!! from the skip. I love the overhead shots showing where the rocks lie and how they can each make their throw curl this way and the other way making seemingly "magical" take outs - I think it's amazing.

YES, I am CANADIAN! And I really wish I had one of those Molson Canadian beer machines in my kitchen! Errrr.....maybe beside my recliner would be better!

Isn't that cool?? I have a passport - do you think I could get a beer?

Perhaps after I'm finished my glass of wine!

Last night I had THE most amazing dinner with my friends Troy, Julie and Susan. We went to a Thai restaurant and had quite the decadent meal - I had a strawberry smoothie with a double shot of rum, DEEP FRIED spring rolls and seafood pad thai. Oh my goodness! I'm sure I exceeded my daily caloric intake with just the smoothie! And I've never had deep fried spring rolls before - they were to die for. Needless to say most of the pad thai is in my fridge (just a regular fridge though I think there are a couple of Bud Lights in there :) 

Then off to see "Monuments Men".  Being an Art History major I really enjoyed the story and I wondered frequently how much work it must have been to duplicate all of those paintings and statues or is that all done with computers?? I thought the dialogue was not the greatest in parts and it jumped around a bit but overall it was enjoyable though the real loss of some major works of art made me sad. There were some funny spots like when Matt Damon's character was standing on an unexploded land mine - yes, that might not seem funny but it all worked out...in a funny way...

Happily this is our Family Day long weekend :) :) so I still have 2 days left to enjoy. I think I'll load up my plate with leftovers, feed the cat, and treat myself to an episode or two from the new season of HOUSE OF CARDS!!! And tomorrow I must cheer on our Canadian men's hockey team as they play against Finland. YES, I lead the most exciting life!  

No/low Spend

I had a nice day today, I am happy to report. I got up a little earlier and went to have coffee with my brother Gord and sister-in-law Pat. We chatted for almost 3 hours! Then I went to my Asian grocery store as I needed more cucumbers for juicing and some zucchini for making Ratatouille.

While I made soup I listened to the World Junior Hockey Game (Canada vs Finland) on my laptop. I don't have cable TV anymore, just Netflix, so I listened to a live audiocast of the game. Unfortunately my team took a lot of really stupid penalties - like a 10 minute misconduct for a stick to the head of a Finnish player. We deserved to lose that game. Tomorrow Canada will play for bronze at 9am and guess who will be listening while she does her school prep?

Tonight I am going to see The Life of Walter Mitty with a girlfriend. I watched the trailer and it looks pretty inspirational - just the kind of kick in the pants I need.

So while I didn't have a NO Spend day I consider it all money well spent. I made a huge pot of soup that I'll take to school for lunch saving me mega lunch money. And I'll make coffee or tea at school instead of spending $2.00 daily at Timmy's.

For the price of a coffee I got to see family members and listen to my brother ramble on about birdhouses and motorcycle trips. And for the price of a movie I get to spend time with a girlfriend who understands my life right now.

So all in all I spent ($2.00/coffee + $12.00/vegetables + $9.00/movie) for a total of $23.00. No, I won't be having popcorn. This is Day 4 of my Juice Fast and I'm doing great! I've had two mostly green juices today (kale, chinese broccoli, celery, cucumber, carrots and a fruit thrown in to sweeten it up - blueberries in one and an apple in the other. Delicious. Really. I mean it.

I'm beginning to notice more energy and more clarity in thinking. And my immune system really needs the boost. One more day and then I move on to Ratatouille and a root vegetable stir-fry. Can't wait! I use potato, sweet potatoes, turnips and onions and believe me when I say it is sooooooo tasty!!

No time for biking today but that's OK. I was really feeling it in my knees today so I'll postpone til tomorrow. And I did do 16km last night. So, I'm on track for spending, on track for biking, on track for juicing and on track for getting out there and socializing.

Yup, a good day. Hope yours was just as good...or better!!!

PS - I never thought I'd say this but I just told Kazi to have fun at Bingo!! Now who's the old lady?!

Too Busy Watching Hockey History Being Made :) Hey, I'm Canadian - it's in our Blood!

Canada winning Gold in 2008

Gotta support our boys!! Right now they're winning 2-0 after one period:):):) Since the first period is over I have a few minutes to type.

Today was an exciting day - for the first time ever I own prescription sunglasses:) No more cheap clip-ons that don't fit your regular glasses even in your wildest imagination, no more squinting while driving on a sunny day so I'm happy happy happy! Cost? $152.00 with all the anti-glare and anti-scratch coatings galore. My benefits used to cover $200 every 24 months which with my progressive invisible bi-focals was a mere drop in the bucket but recently they upped that to $400 every 24 months. I had my eye exam in December (I passed) and my eyes hadn't changed. So I kept my regular glasses and put the $400 towards the sunglasses. 

Oh yes, AND my insurance company now covers the cost of the exam too so I saved the $94.00 I had put aside back in December's budget which helped me cover my shopping spree:)

Did anybody see Deepak Chopra on Dr. Oz today?? What do you think about him? Personally, I thought what he had to say was inspiring and relevant. I think I'm a fan.

Back to Reality

http://www.churstongrammar.com/

Oh quit your whining!

Life is good. I've put in a full day's work, which wasn't too painful except for the getting up at 5:45am part, went grocery shopping to the tune of $108, rode my exercise bike for over an hour while watching Dr. Oz, wrote in my journal, balanced my books, and am now luxuriating in an episode of Princess which is followed by back to back episodes of Til Debt Do us Part (oh Gail, how do I love thee, let me count the ways...) inbetween watching our Canadian Jr. Hockey team beat the shin pads off the U.S. team!! OMG - make that 3-0 woo hoo!!  Going for GOLD!!!

Tell me, how could a Monday night be any better than this?

My only concern now that we are in the New Year is how much more I will be paying in payroll deductions as everything is going up, up, up this year. Which means my net pay will be going down, down, down. Well, we gotta pay for all of those bailouts somehow - spreading the pain. All those billions of dollars in make-work infrastructure projects the past two years to heat up the economy- it all has to be paid back sometime and I guess "sometime" just became NOW! I'll just grin and bear it I guess. Two things you can do nothing about - death and taxes.

Had a phonecall from Brent today - he's my student who was put into a group home in Petrolia a week before Christmas break because his dad had a breakdown. He's nervous because he has to start at a new highschool in Sarnia and has a meeting there tomorrow. He needed some reassurance. On the bright side he really likes the group home - says the girls are all over him! And he has a girlfriend (maybe more than one by the sounds of it lol)!

Also heard from the previous owner of my house in PEI. He keeps his eye on it for me and reported the loss of only one shingle after the past four storms - it's high and dry thankfully.

How is your week going so far??