Yesterday was +10C and beautiful outside. Went for a long walk at lunch and was actually hot by the end of it. Today, it is -10C and we are getting hammered by a major blizzard......more than 10cm and still coming down! Kids are on March Break, but work closed early for a "snow day". I tried to convince T to stay home, but he still went to work.
Of course, we closed at 11:30am.....I had already booked a half vacation day for 12pm. Every year, we get a snow day on a day of vacation....and I don't get that time back! So, while everyone else might think this snow day is great, I think it sucks!
Wednesday 12 March 2014
Sunday 26 January 2014
NYR 2014 Update
So, it's been a few weeks, and by now most people have ditched their New Year's Resolutions. I thought it would be a good time to check in on the progress of mine (or lack of), while I have a moment to sit down.
1. Take more pictures! Nope. I have taken a few with my phone, but have not pulled out either camera since Christmas!
2. Take more "me" time. Yes. I have been taking some me time, thought I still feel guilty about it. I have enjoyed a few bubble baths with facial masks and magazines.
3. Lose weight. 2013 saw a weight loss of 40lbs! I feel great, but still have a ways to go! Another 50lbs or so. Well, this will be a work in progress. So far I think I have lost what I gained over Christmas (which was only 4-5lbs, so not bad). But I have set a goal of losing 40lbs by my Birthday (that's 5 months away, so less than 10lbs a month).
4. Work on the house. With the exception of drastically expanding on my gallery wall (which, for months only had 3 pictures!), we haven't done anything. Part of that is because my husband has been in the process of switching his weekend rotation and has therefore worked more weekends than usual - leaving little time to do anything. Add to that the fact that I was sick for a week with Strep, and both kids were throwing up, and we've had at least one snow storm.....there hasn't been much time or opportunity to get stuff done. Although, we did redo C's closet a little - took out a shelf and added a rod so we could organize his clothing. (this meant finding a new home for the dishes that were in his closet from when it was the dining room closet).
5. Purge, purge, purge! I have gone through both kids' closets and pulled out what doesn't fit.....but that's as far as I got. I haven't actually purged anything yet. Though I am feeling some very strong motivation to do so very soon - my head and life feels cluttered and I need to declutter my home so my head and life are less cluttered. Make sense?
6. Work my Epicure business more - it's me time, I enjoy doing it, and it's extra money to help pay off debts. I haven't done much in this area yet - just collected a few orders in January but haven't tried hard to set up any parties etc.
7. Get on an even better budget, so we can pay off more of our debt, and get closer to reaching our goal of debt free. I would love to pay off one major debt by the end of the year. I kind of have my head in the sand with this one right now. Well, not really, but things are already tight, so I don't really have much desire to make things even tighter. But, we are rounding our pay cheques down in our budget lines, and saving the "overage" so we can have a bit of a cushion.
8. Do more family outings - hopefully free, or for little money. We haven't done this yet....for the same reasons as not doing anything to the house yet. We've all been sick and hubby has been working more weekends than usual while adjusting his rotation.
9. Finish Miss P's quilt I should've added other sewing to this - I have so many dress patterns and beautiful fabric. But with nowhere to set up my sewing permanently, I have to be in the mood - because it involves dragging everything out of the basement to the dining room, and packing it all up for meals etc. Not easy to do with something as big as a quilt!
10. Blog more HaHa - obviously, this hasn't happened yet, since this is my first post in 3+ weeks!
11. Cook more - we have fallen into a rut lately with dinners. I need to pull out the cookbooks and start trying some new recipes. Yes! Have been experimenting and making a few new things here and there.
12. Read more. This also falls into me time, but I haven't been reading much for the past year. I would like to try to read one book a month...I got two for Christmas so I have no reason to not get started on this now. Finished one book so far - Tori Spelling's Spelling it Like it is!
And my biggest one, to make a baker's dozen:
13. Be present in life - be in the moment, worry less, stress less, and have less distraction. Put the cell phone down, turn off the TV and computer, and be present in my family's life - be focused and enjoy the small things. Don't take any of it for granted. A work in progress.
1. Take more pictures! Nope. I have taken a few with my phone, but have not pulled out either camera since Christmas!
2. Take more "me" time. Yes. I have been taking some me time, thought I still feel guilty about it. I have enjoyed a few bubble baths with facial masks and magazines.
3. Lose weight. 2013 saw a weight loss of 40lbs! I feel great, but still have a ways to go! Another 50lbs or so. Well, this will be a work in progress. So far I think I have lost what I gained over Christmas (which was only 4-5lbs, so not bad). But I have set a goal of losing 40lbs by my Birthday (that's 5 months away, so less than 10lbs a month).
4. Work on the house. With the exception of drastically expanding on my gallery wall (which, for months only had 3 pictures!), we haven't done anything. Part of that is because my husband has been in the process of switching his weekend rotation and has therefore worked more weekends than usual - leaving little time to do anything. Add to that the fact that I was sick for a week with Strep, and both kids were throwing up, and we've had at least one snow storm.....there hasn't been much time or opportunity to get stuff done. Although, we did redo C's closet a little - took out a shelf and added a rod so we could organize his clothing. (this meant finding a new home for the dishes that were in his closet from when it was the dining room closet).
5. Purge, purge, purge! I have gone through both kids' closets and pulled out what doesn't fit.....but that's as far as I got. I haven't actually purged anything yet. Though I am feeling some very strong motivation to do so very soon - my head and life feels cluttered and I need to declutter my home so my head and life are less cluttered. Make sense?
6. Work my Epicure business more - it's me time, I enjoy doing it, and it's extra money to help pay off debts. I haven't done much in this area yet - just collected a few orders in January but haven't tried hard to set up any parties etc.
7. Get on an even better budget, so we can pay off more of our debt, and get closer to reaching our goal of debt free. I would love to pay off one major debt by the end of the year. I kind of have my head in the sand with this one right now. Well, not really, but things are already tight, so I don't really have much desire to make things even tighter. But, we are rounding our pay cheques down in our budget lines, and saving the "overage" so we can have a bit of a cushion.
8. Do more family outings - hopefully free, or for little money. We haven't done this yet....for the same reasons as not doing anything to the house yet. We've all been sick and hubby has been working more weekends than usual while adjusting his rotation.
9. Finish Miss P's quilt I should've added other sewing to this - I have so many dress patterns and beautiful fabric. But with nowhere to set up my sewing permanently, I have to be in the mood - because it involves dragging everything out of the basement to the dining room, and packing it all up for meals etc. Not easy to do with something as big as a quilt!
10. Blog more HaHa - obviously, this hasn't happened yet, since this is my first post in 3+ weeks!
11. Cook more - we have fallen into a rut lately with dinners. I need to pull out the cookbooks and start trying some new recipes. Yes! Have been experimenting and making a few new things here and there.
12. Read more. This also falls into me time, but I haven't been reading much for the past year. I would like to try to read one book a month...I got two for Christmas so I have no reason to not get started on this now. Finished one book so far - Tori Spelling's Spelling it Like it is!
And my biggest one, to make a baker's dozen:
13. Be present in life - be in the moment, worry less, stress less, and have less distraction. Put the cell phone down, turn off the TV and computer, and be present in my family's life - be focused and enjoy the small things. Don't take any of it for granted. A work in progress.
Wednesday 1 January 2014
NYR 2014
I can't believe it is already 2014!
2013 was a rough year for us as a family - lots of bumps in the road that we had to weather. Some have been resolved, some are ongoing, but we are breathing a little easier. There were lots of great things in 2013, but I am not sad to see the year end (except that Christmas went by way too quickly). All these bumps in the road for us, combined with me returning to work full-time, meant my blog fell by the wayside. I thought about coming back and writing, but I just didn't have the right motivation.
A New Year, a New Blog...sort of. I am not reinventing my blog, but rather, going to start blogging more. I know I keep saying it, but this time I am determined. It is one of my New Year's Resolutions....and speaking of resolutions, here are mine for 2014:
1. Take more pictures! I am not committing to taking one a day, or specific amount, just to take more. Life flies by so quickly, and the kids change so much, I really need to get back into my photography. And they don't need to be photo shoots, just more pictures in general. Documenting our lives and loves.
2. Take more "me" time. My husband works random hours, so sometimes it is hard to have me time because I am a 'single parent' a lot of the time. And to be honest, I feel bad taking me time - doesn't every mom? I feel like every waking moment should be about spending time as a family. But I will burn out if I don't take some me time. Luckily, my husband is very supportive of this.
3. Lose weight. 2013 saw a weight loss of 40lbs! I feel great, but still have a ways to go! Another 50lbs or so.
4. Work on the house. Nothing specific here - but I will be making a list of the things we want to do around the house. In general, we want to make our house a true reflection of us. And make it feel more like our home.
5. Purge, purge, purge! I have too much stuff. It's hard for me to part with stuff, but I am really trying to create a more minimalist lifestyle. If I don't love it, need it, or have true sentimental meaning attached to it, then it needs to go. Our house is small and we don't need half of what we have.
6. Work my Epicure business more - it's me time, I enjoy doing it, and it's extra money to help pay off debts
7. Get on an even better budget, so we can pay off more of our debt, and get closer to reaching our goal of debt free. I would love to pay off one major debt by the end of the year.
8. Do more family outings - hopefully free, or for little money
9. Finish Miss P's quilt
10. Blog more
11. Cook more - we have fallen into a rut lately with dinners. I need to pull out the cookbooks and start trying some new recipes.
12. Read more. This also falls into me time, but I haven't been reading much for the past year. I would like to try to read one book a month...I got two for Christmas so I have no reason to not get started on this now.
And my biggest one, to make a baker's dozen:
13. Be present in life - be in the moment, worry less, stress less, and have less distraction. Put the cell phone down, turn off the TV and computer, and be present in my family's life - be focused and enjoy the small things. Don't take any of it for granted.
2013 was a rough year for us as a family - lots of bumps in the road that we had to weather. Some have been resolved, some are ongoing, but we are breathing a little easier. There were lots of great things in 2013, but I am not sad to see the year end (except that Christmas went by way too quickly). All these bumps in the road for us, combined with me returning to work full-time, meant my blog fell by the wayside. I thought about coming back and writing, but I just didn't have the right motivation.
A New Year, a New Blog...sort of. I am not reinventing my blog, but rather, going to start blogging more. I know I keep saying it, but this time I am determined. It is one of my New Year's Resolutions....and speaking of resolutions, here are mine for 2014:
1. Take more pictures! I am not committing to taking one a day, or specific amount, just to take more. Life flies by so quickly, and the kids change so much, I really need to get back into my photography. And they don't need to be photo shoots, just more pictures in general. Documenting our lives and loves.
2. Take more "me" time. My husband works random hours, so sometimes it is hard to have me time because I am a 'single parent' a lot of the time. And to be honest, I feel bad taking me time - doesn't every mom? I feel like every waking moment should be about spending time as a family. But I will burn out if I don't take some me time. Luckily, my husband is very supportive of this.
3. Lose weight. 2013 saw a weight loss of 40lbs! I feel great, but still have a ways to go! Another 50lbs or so.
4. Work on the house. Nothing specific here - but I will be making a list of the things we want to do around the house. In general, we want to make our house a true reflection of us. And make it feel more like our home.
5. Purge, purge, purge! I have too much stuff. It's hard for me to part with stuff, but I am really trying to create a more minimalist lifestyle. If I don't love it, need it, or have true sentimental meaning attached to it, then it needs to go. Our house is small and we don't need half of what we have.
6. Work my Epicure business more - it's me time, I enjoy doing it, and it's extra money to help pay off debts
7. Get on an even better budget, so we can pay off more of our debt, and get closer to reaching our goal of debt free. I would love to pay off one major debt by the end of the year.
8. Do more family outings - hopefully free, or for little money
9. Finish Miss P's quilt
10. Blog more
11. Cook more - we have fallen into a rut lately with dinners. I need to pull out the cookbooks and start trying some new recipes.
12. Read more. This also falls into me time, but I haven't been reading much for the past year. I would like to try to read one book a month...I got two for Christmas so I have no reason to not get started on this now.
And my biggest one, to make a baker's dozen:
13. Be present in life - be in the moment, worry less, stress less, and have less distraction. Put the cell phone down, turn off the TV and computer, and be present in my family's life - be focused and enjoy the small things. Don't take any of it for granted.
Friday 26 April 2013
Reno before/during
Here are a few pictures of the dining room before it became Little C's bedroom....and some pictures I snapped during the process. Please excuse the poor quality - some of them were taken with my phone, and at night/or in poor lighting.
Before: The dining room. T had already taken the furniture out, so picture a long table and 6 chairs and a high chair in here!
During: the framing for the wall goes up!
During: With the framing done (and electrical, heat vent/duct work, and lighting done), the drywall starts going up.
During: drywall on the 'public' side of the wall goes up.
Before: The dining room. T had already taken the furniture out, so picture a long table and 6 chairs and a high chair in here!
During: the framing for the wall goes up!
During: With the framing done (and electrical, heat vent/duct work, and lighting done), the drywall starts going up.
During: drywall on the 'public' side of the wall goes up.
During: my Dad sanding the drywall mud:
You've Got Mail
Remember when AOL and the internet were new, and you would click on the little mailbox and wait for those three awesome words: "You've Got Mail"? Now everything comes electronically and we rarely get 'snail mail'. And now we get excited when we do get snail mail. Like today: Sweet P got two, count 'em - TWO pieces of snail mail today! She was so excited. And she was the only one in the house to get mail.
The first was a postcard from my brother and his wife that are currently travelling in Europe. Sweet P has been asking, every day since they left, where her letter is. LOL. Well, it finally arrived from Spain today.
The second piece of mail was a chain letter for a sticker club from her friend. The concept is, you mail a package of stickers to the kid whose name is in the #1 spot. Then you move the name of the kid who sent it to you into the #1 spot, put your name in the #2 spot, and send it to 6 kids. So those 6 kids will send stickers to the kid whose name is in spot #1 and then move your name to spot #1. Sound confusing? I am probably not explaining it well, but the bottom line is that within a couple of weeks, Sweet P should receive 36 packages of stickers! I was thinking of doing this with recipes for adults.....how fun would it be to receive 36 new recipes in the mail? Or email might be better.
Anyway, Sweet P was so excited to receive mail today. Someone should invent a talking mailbox that says "You've Got Mail" when you open your front door.
P.s. I know it's cheesy, but I love that movie. I know most people love Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle (which I hate), but I prefer You've Got Mail.
P.s.s. I am still working on the "before & after" post about our reno......I accidentally took all the after pictures in RAW and don't have the time to go and edit them. So I am waiting for another sunny day to take the pictures in JPEG.
p.s.s.s. Little C is 11 months old now.....he will be 1 next month and Sweet P will be 4 next month.....that also means I go back to work next month (boooo - I really wish I could stay home with the kids forever)......
The first was a postcard from my brother and his wife that are currently travelling in Europe. Sweet P has been asking, every day since they left, where her letter is. LOL. Well, it finally arrived from Spain today.
The second piece of mail was a chain letter for a sticker club from her friend. The concept is, you mail a package of stickers to the kid whose name is in the #1 spot. Then you move the name of the kid who sent it to you into the #1 spot, put your name in the #2 spot, and send it to 6 kids. So those 6 kids will send stickers to the kid whose name is in spot #1 and then move your name to spot #1. Sound confusing? I am probably not explaining it well, but the bottom line is that within a couple of weeks, Sweet P should receive 36 packages of stickers! I was thinking of doing this with recipes for adults.....how fun would it be to receive 36 new recipes in the mail? Or email might be better.
Anyway, Sweet P was so excited to receive mail today. Someone should invent a talking mailbox that says "You've Got Mail" when you open your front door.
P.s. I know it's cheesy, but I love that movie. I know most people love Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle (which I hate), but I prefer You've Got Mail.
P.s.s. I am still working on the "before & after" post about our reno......I accidentally took all the after pictures in RAW and don't have the time to go and edit them. So I am waiting for another sunny day to take the pictures in JPEG.
p.s.s.s. Little C is 11 months old now.....he will be 1 next month and Sweet P will be 4 next month.....that also means I go back to work next month (boooo - I really wish I could stay home with the kids forever)......
Tuesday 16 April 2013
It has been one of those weeks
Every time I feel like we are getting a leg up on things, something comes up and we take 2 steps back. In the last couple of weeks, our van was hit in a parking lot. We were not in it, but it was considered unsafe to drive since the front passenger door would not open. We had to take it in to get fixed, get a rental for a week (we were given a Jeep Compass - let me tell you, that IS NOT a family car. Our car seats barely fit, T couldn't drive it, and as a passenger his knees were hitting the glove box), and we had to replace the car seats. Insurance has been great - although we still haven't been reimbursed for the car seats (which were over $800 for the two).
We finally got our van back and then in the mail get a ticket from a red-light camera. We went down to the courthouse to see if there was a way to reduce the ticket price or get on a payment plan....waiting to hear about that still.
Then I did our taxes (well, still doing them) and it looks like we will owe - AGAIN. Every time I am on maternity leave, I owe taxes. I don't know why the government can't just take off the right taxes on EI. On the plus side, it isn't much at all - the first year it was over $1000!
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A before & after post on the reno is coming soon - still working on some finishing touches in C's bedroom.
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On another note - I can't believe C will be 1 next month, and P will be 4 next month! And that I go back to work in 5 weeks. Where does time go? It will be really hard going from being home with them 7 days/week, to leaving them every morning 5 days/week.
We finally got our van back and then in the mail get a ticket from a red-light camera. We went down to the courthouse to see if there was a way to reduce the ticket price or get on a payment plan....waiting to hear about that still.
Then I did our taxes (well, still doing them) and it looks like we will owe - AGAIN. Every time I am on maternity leave, I owe taxes. I don't know why the government can't just take off the right taxes on EI. On the plus side, it isn't much at all - the first year it was over $1000!
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A before & after post on the reno is coming soon - still working on some finishing touches in C's bedroom.
******************************************
On another note - I can't believe C will be 1 next month, and P will be 4 next month! And that I go back to work in 5 weeks. Where does time go? It will be really hard going from being home with them 7 days/week, to leaving them every morning 5 days/week.
Friday 29 March 2013
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