Remember

As I was sitting in my classroom this morning, reading the paper and waiting for staff and students to arrive I was interrupted in the middle of an article about new house prices by the sound of a bagpiper as he walked past my classroom playing Amazing Grace. And then I remembered.

Today I remember my father, Gordon Douglas Harrison, Leading Seaman for the Combined Operations in the  Second World War. My dad was a changed man after the war but did his best to raise a family of five.  And he did a great job in between debilitating bouts of depression and anxiety which saw him spend a number of years in and out of psychiatric hospitals.

I am the wee one being held in my big sister's arms. She is the sister who is also moving to PEI.

I also remember my grandfather Lawrence Fitzroy Catton who fought and was injured in the First World War. I remember my mother's brothers - Fred, Verne and Arthur who were also active in World War II, especially Fred who was cited for exceptional bravery.  My uncle Fred stayed at his post sending out morse code messages for troops to retreat while under attack.  Although ordered to leave, he refused and helped to save countless lives.

Who are you remembering today?

Scenes from Sunday's (FREE) Walk

 Many thanks to psychsarah for suggesting this spot in London, ON for a walk - the colour palette is more limited at this time of year but there were still many miracles of nature to enjoy.

 The weather was simply glorious - brilliant sunshine and just enough of a nip in the air to make exercise comfortable.

 I thought this spot looked like fairy land - enchanting.

 Hills and valleys...challenging enough to feel it in your calf muscles and to make you huff and puff at little when you reached the top of an incline.

 Have you ever seen a more vibrant shade of blue?

 Dried up and dying - but still maintaining a graceful attitude.

 Enjoying the fleeting warmth of the sun - sunset today was at 5:02pm...sigh.

 I love the fall because: no flies, no bees, no mosquitoes:)

 Still a little colour and life to be found.

Why do these, whatever they are, remind me of Pekinese dogs?

Weekly Wrap

News Beat:
That's another week gone by. We had quite the mixed bag of weather this week ranging from gorgeous sunshine (got outside for brisk walks with my students) to today's football weather - cold, wet and muddy! The good news though is my school's football team won their semi-final game so Go Crusaders!

On the financial front: wayell (that's my southern accent attempt) I didn't keep that $20 dollar bill in my wallet but I still have two $5.00 bills so I'm only half disappointed...nah, who am I kidding? I'm over the moon to get through a week and only spend $10.00! (that was for my one weekly beer after my volleyball game on Wed. and Red Roaster coffee that I drank at the local library while using their wireless internet on Thurs. The other 3 days were no spend days - woot!  I think I'll just pop that $10.00 into my Crofters Lane jar and start myself off with a new crisp $20.00 bill for the coming week - that puts a big smile on my face! That's $10.00 closer to my next summer's trip out to PEI! =)

My heating bill (natural gas & I also have a gas dryer and hot water heater) was $25 under budget so I added that $25 to my misc spending which now sits at a robust $280 (that's for the rest of Nov.) I took the $152 I would normally pay for property tax (but have a holiday this month and next month as I am on a 10 month payment plan) and socked it into my Christmas fund and now have enough to book my DD's and my annual Christmas trip to Toronto. 

It's a Mirvish package deal - we are going to see Rock of Ages (love story set to the music of the 80's - Don't Stop Believin....), eat at a New Orleans style restaurant, stay at the very upscale Sheraton Hotel downtown, go see The Warrior Emperor and China's Terracotta Army  at the Royal Ontario Museum and shop at the Eaton Centre.  Well, my daughter will shop and I will hopefully resist the temptations that will surround me, make me weak, bend my will, torment me aaarrrrgggghhhhh!  BUT, if my DD wants to buy me a Christmas gift I'd be ok with that tee hee =)


My DP gave me an extra $100 this month for our budget and I immediately socked that away in the Emergency Account so hurrah for an extra payment towards that goal!

On the down side I find that the rental car I have uses more gas than my little Cobalt. Oh poo.  And I just got notice that my condo fees are going up by $25 in 2010 - pretty big increase:(

Heart Beat:
DD went back to her classes on Wed. & she should only have to have the cast on for a few more days. It was touch and go there for awhile as she attends the University of Western Ontario and the professors were in a strike position but managed to achieve a tentative deal by 3am Wed. morning. So between school and her boyfriend I haven't seen too much of her since Tues. night but we stay in contact by texting and I go into her room when she's sleeping and kiss her sweet cheeks (she doesn't even know:)

So far NO CHEATING on the BUY NO NEW CLOTHES pledge (yay me) and only a wee bit of cheating on the diet...ssshhhhh....don't tell anybody!!  Weigh in on Monday - eek! Here's how I cheated: beer on Wed. night (no it wasn't even lite beer), broken pieces of warm brownies that we made today at school to go with our lunch (well, I couldn't serve the broken bits now could I?), a couple of teeny tiny glasses of red wine mixed with some fizzy water...that's about it...hey that's not so bad:)

Whew - marathon post!
Cheers!

I'm Moving I'm Moving!

MCMom said in a comment yesterday:

"Just wanted to help you with a myth about that metabolism and getting older: the only reason people have a slightly slower metabolism when they age, is because they move less! You can totally have an impact on your metabolism by moving more!"

It's true...I don't move like I used to!

Michael - take me dancing!!

For now I'm moving on right out the door to my weekly volleyball game (to be followed by a beer?!?)

Every little bit helps! (Oh, and no cheating....so far....well except for the "lite" beer!) 

PASTA

My sister sent me the following diet - I guess she saw my post about wanting to lose a few pounds. I am wondering if it's legit...

Italian Pasta Diet....It Really Works



1. You walka pasta da bakery.


2. You walka pasta da candy store.


3. You walka pasta da ice cream shop.


4. You walka pasta da table and fridge.


You loosa da weight!

Hmmmm...so I'm guessing that the key ingredient (tee hee) of the Pasta Diet is the "walking"...they may be onto something here...

I, um, am definitely in need of more exercise so will clamber onto my stationary bike while I watch a rerun of Criminal Minds. Nothing like a good serial killer to get one pedalling faster, faster ahhhhhhh!

Seriously though (yeah right), I am attempting to follow the Calcium Diet which is aimed at women my age (over 40, away over 40!, menopausal) whose metabolism has slowed down allowing the pounds to creep on slowly over time.

I've set up my goal in the sidebar and will post any progress on Mondays - I think once a week is frequent enough though I will weigh myself everyday. 444 is on board for the weight loss challenge and hopefully Sharon if she can stop baking cookies lol!

Stay tuned!

Gail Vaz-Oxladej - Good Debt Bad Debt

The latest from Gail - my money guru!
http://gailvazoxlade.com/blog/archives/2266

Weekly Money Checkup

Here's a weekly money checkup from My Pretty Pennies that you can participate in. She posts 5 questions that have fill in the blanks for you to answer and post. It is a time for you to reflect and think about your relationship with your finances. Go ahead, try it.  I did and I'm glad I did - I just found out I need to track my cash expenditures more carefully!



1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on...I'm not really sure.  I just checked my budget and I withdrew $40 cash last week and for the life of me I can't remember what I spent it on.  Hmmm...hope I had fun!



2. Today I feel...ambivalent towards money, a sort of love/hate relationship I guess. Love to receive it, hate to part with it lol!


3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was ....hanging out at the Starbucks at our local Chapters bookstore with Michael.  I had one of those free drink coupons they give you they make a mistake in your order and I had been saving it until they were selling pumpkin spice lattes again. We took our laptops and used the free wireless internet, browsed through the bookshelves and enjoyed each other's company. 


4. I will consider this week a success if...I don't spend the $20.00 that is currently in my wallet.


5. If I could grow one thing, it would be ...wait for it...my HAIR. I used to have long wavy auburn hair, if you imagine that, but as it turned grey it became rather wiry hence the very short "do".