Happy Halloween!

Do you know what I asked myself several times this afternoon while taking a streetcar across the city? It was this: Costume or real clothes? Because it's not always apparent who is costume and who isn't on the 31st of October in Toronto. For example, funky patterned tights with striped leg warmers and silver sneakers. Most likely real clothes. Shiny spandex leggings and very large, backcombed hair. Probably real, but you never know. Full 70s basketball uniform. Costume. I hope.

We just got home from hanging out with our friends and their two kids. At one point it was just me and her three and a half year old son on the porch, waiting for more kids. He was still wearing his adorable blue alien costume (Stitch from Lilo and Stitch) but was completely tuckered out and sitting on my lap. I asked him if he had a good time trick or treating.

Stitch: Ya. But not the haunted house. I didn't like the haunted house.
Me: You'll like it more when you're older.
Stitch: I think I'll like it when I'm 14 years old.
Me: Really? Not when you're 13 years old?
Stitch: Nope. And when I'm a million years old I can touch the whole sky.



!!! Isn't that profound! (Or have I just had too much candy?)

Total debt: $2731 and a bit (No new number. The trickling money is even slower than I thought it would be.)
Spent today: $0 (Lots of free pizza and candy. Now I'm taking my tummy ache to bed!)

You gotta have friends!

Can I just say, all of you are SO helpful! You're so full of great advice every time I ask for help. And one of you went above and beyond for me this week!

It's regarding my recent need for ski wear. A loyal reader and a lovely friend (Hi!) sent me a note to tell me that Costco sells a ski outfit every year for a really reasonable price. And then she offered to go and pick one up for me! "Don't worry if you need a different size or don't like it," she told me. "I can always bring it back or exchange it for you."

Seriously!

So she brought me the suit today. (I work with this lovely reader/friend, although sadly not quite as closely as I used to...) It's awesome! The medium is a teeny bit tight on my hips, but the jacket has one of the those two-way zippers, so I can just undo it from the bottom a wee bit and voila! She picked a gorgeous colour combo too -chocolate brown with light blue and white accents. Very chic. (The DP said he really like the colour...and then told me I looked like a big poo. What's wrong with boys?)

The best part is her incredible timing - tomorrow is the last day that I can return the Columbia jacket to Winners for a full refund. Ta dah!

Wait, no the best part is that the jacket I'm returning was $135 with tax and the ENTIRE SUIT was $94 with tax. SCORE!

I'm so happy and so grateful. This is my very public THANK YOU!

(And, just so you guys understand the full extent of her generosity, she also found men's ski pants on sale for $24.99 and has offered to pick a pair up for Jamie! I'm so lucky.)

Perhaps it was the knowledge of this great deal that lead me to Joe Fresh at lunch... where I purchased a pair of $6 glove and a $29 sweater. (Very cute raspberry coloured cardigan that will be a great layering piece all winter! she says defensively.) Alas, I'm a little over for my week, but a bit of the long-awaited money will trickle in tomorrow, so I promise there will be a new number for y'all.

Total debt: $2731
Spent today: $50-ish
Weekly total: $148.66 (Whoa!)

My lid needs to be flipped. Or something!

Once again I find myself in a hairdo dilemma. The latest cut by a mid-range stylist, which was done back in August, just isn't growing out nicely. It's not awful, but neither is it good. There's something wonky about the way she blended the left side of it, so it never sits as well as the right side.

Plus it's getting boring again.

So I called to find out if my original (read: expensive) stylist is back to work yet. The poor woman, who is actually a couple years younger than me, hurt her back earlier this year. The bad news is that she's STILL out and will be out the rest of the year. (Obviously I realize that this is doubly - or even triply - bad for her. But let's focus on me, since this is my blog.)

What to do? I'm very ready to shell out some dough for a haircut that looks good longer than three weeks, but who can be trusted?

I think I might try a salon that's a little edgy - all the better to banish boring hair - and that a few of my friends have been to in the past...

The date is set for next Friday. Stay tuned!

Total debt: $2731 and a bit (I'm so booooorrrreed of this number!)
Spent today: $6-ish

Have I purged too much?

I have often prided myself on my ability to purge stuff from my life. My nomadic upbringing taught me the benefit of never having too many things. (Although I'm still annoyed that my Barbies bit the dust before my 10th birthday. We were changing continents, though, so traveling light was a priority.) But isn't pride one of the seven deadly sins? If so, that would explain why my superior purging abilities are coming back to bite me in the ass.

Namely, I need a skirt for my choir performances. A plain black ankle-length skirt. A skirt that I owned for many years. A really nice one, too! Until plain black ankle-length skirts went out of style and I donated it. That was several years ago. And now I need a new one.

A couple of women in the choir regaled me with tales of how they had made their plain black ankle-length skirts. Just a bit of fabric, some elastic for the waist and a few seams through the sewing machine. I smiled and nodded, unsure of how to explain that I not only don't own a sewing machine, but that I'd have nary an idea of how to turn it on if I did.

*Aside* During an enlightening visit to Canadian Tire with my mom while she was here, she tried to convince me that I needed to buy several things that I don't actually need, including an entire set of pots that were on sale, despite the fact that the DP and I have two sets between us. One of those things was a sewing machine, which seems like a pretty big piece of equipment for a two-bedroom apartment, particularly when no one in the apartment knows how to use it. *Aside over*

Sure, I took home economics in junior high and we did have a sewing segment. But after I broke THREE of the machines, they made me sew all my stuff by hand. So I forged ahead in life and never looked back.

I'd really like to sew. And I was considering taking a beginner sewing course this fall, until I realized I'm busier than I thought. But I can't sew. And so I need to buy a plain black ankle-length skirt.

Any ideas where I can find one?

Total debt: $2731 and a bit (That's right. The money in the mail remains elusive.)
Spent today: $5.23 (Afternoon treat.)

Baring my bank account, but not my belly

I'm trying to determine whether I hate or admire this girl at my gym. See, lately I've been going to the gym near work during my lunch hour a couple times a week, to get in my strength training. It's a good break from my day and I don't get overly sweaty, which I would if I was doing cardio. Anyway, I keep overlapping with this one girl who does an ENTIRE HALF HOUR of ab work. Seriously. I timed her today, because I suspected it was about a half hour, and I was totally right. And it's not just basic crunches, but all these crazy ab exercises with weight plates and various other accessories.

My first instinct was to hate her. Wait - hate is a pretty strong word. I guess I was just annoyed by her more than anything. Particularly because the ab portion of my weight training is a little lacking of late. I know core strength is important for your back and blah, blah, blah, but I've just become lazy about it the last year or so. The only person that sees my tummy is the DP. And when ab-baring fashion comes back around again, I'm fairly certain that I will be past the age of having to comply with the trend. (Much like leggings this time around.)

But while I was busy being annoyed by this woman, I suddenly realized I was more annoyed by myself. Annoyed that I don't have the same single-minded focus that she does. When it comes to the rest of my strength-training I can easily push myself as far as I can go, but I give up when it comes to my belly.

That led me to think about money. (Not such a stretch. A LOT of things lead me to think about money.) And about a conversation I had with an acquaintance today about the $300 shoes she bought. Now I have NO idea what this woman's financial situation is. She could be completely comfortable, have no debt, and have an entire fund for shoes set aside. But I suddenly realized that I do have a pretty single-minded focus on something - on paying off my debt and paving the way for a prosperous life void of useless debt. (The kind I would inevitably incur if I thought $300 for shoes was an decent price.)

So it turns out that the ab-tastic woman in the gym and I have more in common than I thought. And now I admire her and will silently cheer her on through every core marathon. Just like all of you cheer me on, even when I wimp out and purchase frivolously.

I just don't ever want to run into ab-girl at the beach...

Total debt: $2731 and a bit (The money in the mail continues to be elusive. I can only hope to be showered with cheques all at once in the very near future.)
Spent today: $1.23 (Post-workout chocolate milk)

There's good news...and bad news...

The Yorkdale mission was, I'm happy to say, a complete success! Meaning that nary a cent was spent (by me) while in the mall. I just enjoyed doing a bit of browsing, seeing the new Crate & Barrel, helping the DP buy a couple of new shirts, and appreciating how much they've improved their bathrooms in the past few years. (As someone who pees before she leaves home and then again as soon as she arrives somewhere, and then again about every hour after that, I really appreciate good facilities.)

The DP and I were marveling at home much the mall has changed over the years. I lived only one subway stop away for 7 years, so I used to hang out there quite a bit, and he said it was his respite from York during his university years. It was always big, but now it's a behemoth and sort of fancy. There are certainly plenty of upscale stores that I can hardly even afford to browse through.

I experienced plenty of want. In fact, I didn't even contemplate going into Jacob, because I was in there the other day and saw at least a half a dozen things I not only wanted, but also believed that I needed. Funny thing is, my life is still ticking along fine even without them.

This was one of my many wants in C&B:

I'm not in love with this pattern, but I really enjoy the shape of the chair. And the ottoman. I adore an ottoman.

Anyway, the bad news part of this blog is that I did spend money today. I broke down and bought Japanese food for dinner, since the DP was on his way out to have fun without me and I couldn't bear the thought of the cooking and then the cleaning and blah, blah, blah. So I got my favourite: Combo #1. It comes with miso soup, a few California rolls, chicken teriayki with rice, shrimp and veggie tempura, and an orange. It was mostly yummy, although the chicken in the teriayki was overcooked to the point of being inedible. That's extra sad, because normally I would just take a bite or two of that dish and then save the rest of it for lunch tomorrow, because, hello, combo #1 is SO much food!

So, I can't deliver the zero I promised, but at least I didn't come home with a new chair. It all evens out in the end!

Total debt: $2731 and a bit (Could there be money in the mail this week!?)
Spent today: $12.42

Preemptive blogging

Okay, this is just a quick blog post to alert you all the I am going to Yorkdale with the DP and I am NOT BUYING ANYTHING! Truly and sincerely. My credit card is staying in my sock drawer. As much as I want to indulge my desire to make purchases (and reward myself for filing three - count 'em, three - freelance stories this morning), I am going to stay true to all of and to the mission at hand.

There will still be a zero at the end of this blog later!

Total debt: $2731 and a bit
Spent today: $0 (thus far)

Red, red wine

Last night the DP and I had a bit of wine with our dinner. I stopped at one glass, but he poured himself a pretty sizable second glass. The outcome: We were asleep by about 10:30pm. Aren't we wild and crazy!?

The early turn in turned out to be a good thing, since I was up early this morning and ready to tackle some freelancing that needs to be finished before work on Monday morning. It probably sounds crazy to some people, but I am way more focused and productive first thing in the morning. By early afternoon I'm only good for tasks rather than anything involving strenuous brain work.

Anyway, it's been a day of errands. We got some groceries (I successfully avoided going into Joe Fresh, even though I desperately wanted to. No more self-sabotaging! I've got a goal to reach.) and I made some soup. The DP is doing the laundry and I just finished cleaning the kitchen. All this so I can go OUT tonight!

That's right. The girl's night that I had to postpone last weekend due to my overwhelming feelings of...well...being overwhelmed, has been rescheduled for this evening. And I'm really looking forward to it. It's with my "new" friends. (Hello, if you're reading this!) I met them standing in Indigo, waiting for David Sedaris to read back in the summer. We managed to meet for drinks shortly after that, but since then our lives have completely gotten in the way. Tonight we have our second "friend date." I'm feeling pretty confident that it will go well.

Tomorrow, there must be a gym visit. And more laundry (towels and sheets). And more writing. And in the evening I will have to devote some time to being jealous, since the DP gets to go to the SYTYCD US concert! And he can't bring me!! (In case I've never mentioned it, he works on the Canadian version.) Sad. Very, very sad.

Speaking of shows, how am I going to NOT sabotage my master plans, yet still afford to go and see Sound of Music? Because I keep hearing it's really good!
Hmmmm...? More freelancing, perhaps? (Where, oh where, is the money in the mail?)

Total debt: $2731 and a bit
Spent yesterday: $17.23
Spent today: $56.55

Gold in them hills (but not in my mailbox)

I'm running back out again this evening, because the darling DP got us free tickets to see Ron Sexsmith. We're both fans, although I'm a bit of a newer fan, so I don't know a ton of his stuff. But what I know - I really like! We're particularly excited because one of his special guests is Meghan Smith, who is one of our current faves. The DP received a sample of her EP through work and we're hooked. She's sort of a down home Norah Jones type. I can't wait to hear her live!

So, sadly, still no money in the mail. I wish I could be very zen about it and just believe that it will come when it's supposed to come. But that's not so much my style when it comes to cold hard cash. I earned it and now I want it!

Okay, in lieu of a big fancy post, since I need to change my clothes and run out the door, here's a link to a cute little piece I wrote for Slice.ca. Happy reading!

Total debt: $2731 and a bit
Spent today: $8.98 (A birthday card, an afternoon treat, and a meatball sub, which I just inhaled.)
Weekly total: $105.48 (A few bucks over, but I think they were leftover from last week!)

A little extra funny for you...

Because this blog makes me laugh out loud every time I look at it, I thought it was time to share the mirth.

Seriously, if you're having a bad day, check it out.

Sleep well!

I'm cutting myself off

A quick pre-choir post for y'all.

So, for the first time since I began this journey to becoming debt-free, I've had to remove my credit card from my wallet in order to stop myself from using it.

I don't know what's happened! I think I'm getting a little cocky, knowing the end is near. But what's actually happening is that I'm pushing that end further away, because I always need to clear my credit card before I pay more on my debt. (It has a much higher interest rate, so it only makes sense.)

It started innocently enough - much needed drugstore stuff, a couple of magazine subscriptions that I can write off - but in the last couple of weeks it sort of got out of control. I bought that beautiful new iPod (which I LOVE) and then I spent some money on iTunes, getting new music to put on it. Then I took the cat to vet. Then I went to the drugstore and got some essentials plus a few things I never let myself buy (a deep-conditioning treatment for my hair, a serum for my face to combat winter dryness, a box of hair dye that I don't need yet because it was on sale...). Oh, and don't forget that new ski jacket yesterday.

Not good people. Not good. And I continue to wait on money in the mail, which is leading me to believe I have more than I do.

So the card came out and it will stay out for a while. I'm putting on the brakes and embracing the idea of NOT spending.

Sadly, unless that mail money shows up, my credit card debt may stop me from making a loan payment this week. And that is not the way I wanted things to go. I guess, like many vices, I can never let my guard down when it comes to money. Not if I want to get ahead.

Total debt: $2731 and a bit
Spent today: $5-ish

A wonderful dilemma

The only problem with winning a fabulous ski vacation to Whistler when you haven't even looked at a ski hill in close to 20 years, is that you need to buy a lot of stuff in order to go.

Such as:
- a ski jacket (Since I'm a city dweller that prefers indoor winter sports, I haven't owned a sport winter jacket since I was in early high school.)
- ski pants (If I'm going to enjoy full days on the ski hill - and I do plan on enjoying them - I will need to be toasty. And dry.)
- ski gloves, a touque, some sort of muffler
- ski goggles (You need goggles, right?)
- ski socks

Um, this is starting to get expensive.

Today I found a Columbia ski jacket in a cute shade of green at Winners for $119. My coworkers assured me that this was about half the price they normally are, so I bought it. I figure it will come in very handy up north and that I'll probably have it for many years to come. For the other stuff I'm hoping to hit some boxing day sales. Or pre-holiday sales. Or just luck out and get more of it at Winners!

Any suggestions?

Total debt: $2731 and a bit
Spent today: $0 (Cash, that is. Of course I charged the jacket...)

Purple Nurple (Wait, does that mean something rude?)

Want to know a wonderful way to start a Monday morning? Have your shiny new PURPLE iPod delivered!



I have so missed having an iPod, particularly when I'm on a crowded subway or at the gym. And this one is sooooo pretty. Plus, since I ordered it online, I got to have something engraved on it. After a few google searches and much thought, I went with this Cervantes quote: (I feminized it.)

She who sings scares away her woes.

Isn't that awesome!?

Now I'm anxious to play with it and excited to try some of the new features, including the video feature! But what, pray tell, do I buy to watch on it? I don't want to buy a movie for $20. You can rent a movie for under $5, but then you only have 24 hours from the time you start watching it to finish it. I will totally do that next time I'm going to be on a long trip. (Maybe to, oh I don't know, WHISTLER!) Then I thought I could buy an episode of a TV show. Maybe one of the "Pushing Daisies" episodes I've recently missed! But it turns out that I could only buy one if I was American. Canadians can buy episodes of "Degrassi: TNG" and "Corner Gas." Stuff like that. No thanks. It's going to have to be a music video. I just have to decide which one...

Other than my fun new electronic device, it's been a pretty standard Monday. STILL no money in the mail! Every day I anxiously open up the mailbox, but nothing. Sigh.

Hey, what do you guys think of my new ads? It's another advertising network and I'm hoping to earn some more money, so feel free to click on them. They're much prettier, don't you think?

Okay, I have to do some writing. And then maybe some "Project Runway" viewing. And most definitely some Apple Store shopping.

Total debt: $2731 and a bit
Spent today: $3.50-ish (A crusty baguette to go with leftover soup!)

Sorry if I'm boring you

I am SO happy to report that I don't have the dreaded Sunday Night Feeling, mostly because all of my productivity. I am so glad that I just took the weekend to catch up. I think I'm about 90% caught up, which is probably almost the most anyone can feel in this ever-changing world. (I didn't mean for that to sound deep...)

Between all the "doing" that I did this weekend, I also had a lot of downtime to balance things out. (I only have the two-hour finale of "Project Runway" left to watch.) The only problem with my low-key weekend is that I have nary an exciting thing to blog about.

So my goal this week is to ramp up the excitement for you guys! I promise, I'll do my best.

Once again, I think I'm going to go to bed early. Don't judge me!

Total debt: $2731 and a bit
Spent today: $8-ish

I should cut down on my partying

It's just after 10pm on a Saturday night and I'm about to go to bed! Seriously. I got to work last night and did a bit of writing, plus laundry and other required household chores.

This morning I was up bright and early at 7:30am with thoughts of all I needed to accomplish running through my head. And it's been a productive day! I got groceries, took the cat to the vet, ran some errands and wrote the first draft of the article that's due this week. Then I finished another article, folded the laundry from last night and did a whole bunch of other stuff. (And when I needed some down time, to recharge, I watched two episodes of Project Runway on YouTube that haven't aired in Canada yet. Why wait if you don't have to?)

All that to explain that I'm exhausted, so I'm going to go to bed and do a bit of reading - magazine reading, which is part of what I need to get done - and then call it a night, so I can attack tomorrow with the same amount of energy.

With any luck, I will feel more pulled together by this time tomorrow night. Fingers crossed!

Total debt: $2731 and a bit
Spent yesterday: Just under $10, but it was leftover from the week before!
Spent today: $80-ish. (BIG grocery shop)

Hurry up and wait

I am feeling very overwhelmed these days. Ever since my vacation in early September, I just haven't felt on top of my life. Do you know what I mean? It's like I'm two (or three or four) steps behind at all times, trying to catch up. And I hate feeling that way! I like to be at least half a step ahead of the game.

I know, I know - cry me a river! Lots of people walk around feeling like I've been feeling all the time. But it's not for me, I tell you!

And yet, I keep pursuing and taking on more freelance work. I'm loving all the freelancing! I just need to get a little more on top of it. Which is why I (sadly) cancelled my plans tomorrow night. I was supposed to have a little pot luck with two great women I am still just getting to know. And I was really looking forward to it! But when I laid in bed last night fretting about everything I need to accomplish this weekend, I realized that sometimes we have to know our limits. So I'll see them next week instead. And this weekend will be all about playing catch up and then slowing way down and chilling out a bit.

It's very, very needed.

But right now I'm going to go and watch "The Office." It's my favourite, but I'm sad that the DP is still at work! It's one of the only shows we watch together. Alas!

Total debt: $2731 and a bit (They tell me the money is coming!)
Spent today: $20.65 (Kitty litter and I totally bought Japanese food for dinner. BUT I got lunch for tomorrow out of it as well. Yes!)
Weekly total: $80.10 (Way under! Yay me.)

And the winner is...

I had such a good night. Sadly I missed my choir rehearsal, because I was at my first travel/tourism event for the new magazine I'm working on. It was a swanky - and delicious - dinner put on by Tourism BC and full of reps from ski resorts all over the province. There were many interesting conversations about skiing and just life stuff that we all have in common as human beings. Plus I won a cozy sweatshirt from one of the resorts as a door prize.

But then something unbelievable happened. When it came time to pick a winner for the grand prize - a 4-night ski vacation in BC, including accomodations, air fare and lift tickets - they picked my card.

THEY PICKED MY CARD!!!!!

I still can't believe it. So then I had to go up and pick a card from the hat to determine which of the resorts I would be going to. And I picked Whistler!

So, the DP and I were planning on a tropical vacation this winter, but instead we will be heading west and strapping on some skis. (And taking a beginner lesson or two, because I haven't skied in a really long time!) Oh, and when I mentioned that my family is all in BC, they said they could book the flights so that we could extend our stay in Vancouver.

I don't know what I did to deserve such a happy thing, but I'm going to grab it and not look back!

Total debt: $2731 and a bit (Still no money in the mail!)
Spent today: $7.33 (Food stuffs)

Short week update

I'm back and as busy as ever, so this post may be a tad on the short side. But I can make up for it with some photos!

I hope everyone had a lovely long weekend. The weather here in southern Ontario was unbelievably gorgeous.
We saw some cows:



Including this cute little trio:



We spent some time in nature:



And saw the stunning fall colours:



I took lots and lots of pictures:



And Daphne survived two big car rides, but just barely!



It helps to hug her.

Hope everyone got out to vote today! I guess we'll find out soon enough what the outcome is. Let's hope the whole country is on board for some change.

Total debt: $2731 and a bit (Still waiting on that money in the mail...)
Spent Saturday: $0
Spent Sunday: $0 (I'm always well taken care of up north)
Spent Monday: $5.38
Spent Today: $32-ish (Lunch out and some groceries)

Unstuck! or Welcome to the 2s!

Today is a very happy day for many reasons.

1. I made a nice big loan payment this morning, so there will be a new number at the bottom of this post. It's getting lower all the time! I'm waiting on some money in the mail, so hopefully it will get even lower before long. I'm seriously starting to think of life post-debt, which is new, weird and wonderful.

2. I have secured 1.5 new freelancing gigs with a new client! It's 1.5 because one of them has been assigned and I've been told that the other will be assigned next week. I love making new connections and having them translate into more work. I've never thought of myself as a workaholic, but maybe I am. Or maybe I'm just narcissistic and like seeing my name in print ;-)

3. IT'S A LONG WEEKEND!!! A long weekend that involves turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, which are totally my favourite savoury foods. The DP and I are heading north tomorrow, so there will be no blogging, but there will be pretty fall colours, family time, and probably too much to eat. Let's be honest.

And without further ado...

Total debt: $2731 and a bit (!!!!!)
Spent today: $14.72 (Some celebratory beverages, meaning a bottle of wine and a chai latte.)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I'm thankful for all of you.

Crooks, I tell ya!

Toronto Hydro has pissed me off. Anyone else?

When I called to open an account with them last May, they insisted that I give them a deposit of almost $100, because I didn't have a history with the company. I was quite taken aback, especially since they could have just run a credit check on me and found out I pay my bills on time, but felt reassured when the woman explained that after about 9 months of being a good customer, I would get the money back.

So, 9 months go by and I get a bill that doesn't reflect a repayment of my deposit. So I call.

No, no, I have to wait a full year.

So I wait. I get one bill just after the year mark, but I figure that since I am paying for months within the first year that the next bill will reflect a reimbursement.

Not so. I got a bill this past week. It's been well over a year. I call them back and explain the situation. They're very pleasant and agree that it's time I get my deposit back, so they're sending a note to the billing department right away. But they recommend that I call next week to make sure it's gone through, so that I'm not penalized if I miss paying my current bill.

WERE THEY NEVER GOING TO TELL ME!?

I'm pretty organized and on top of things that concern money, because I need every little bit I can get. But what about the people that forget that they've put down a deposit? Does Toronto Hydro just hang on to the money, praising themselves for stealing from unorganized customers? And why do I have to follow up?

Where has my money been? Where would it go if I didn't call to complain? In fact, shouldn't my bill reflect the fact that I've made a deposit with them? And shouldn't their billing system be designed to automatically factor in a deposit after 12 months?

Seriously. When it comes to essential services, there's no one you can trust in this world and that makes me sad.

On a much happier note, a couple of my most recent freelance articles just went live, so I thought I'd share them with you. If you've been thinking about adding fresh figs to your diet, read this one and if you want some tips on negotiating a salary, try this one.

Total debt: $3564 and a bit (LAST DAY FOR THIS NUMBER!)
Spent today: $6.36
Weekly total: $86.37 (I feel like I must have missed something here, but I only have a twoonie left in my wallet!)

Tammy has shed her blood for Russia

Sorry I didn't get a chance to post yesterday, but I have a good excuse. I was at a FOUR HOUR OPERA! No joke. In fact, if you tried to make a joke and said, "What was it based on, War and Peace!?" Well, that wouldn't be funny. Because it was. I was at War and Peace: The Opera.

Don't misunderstand my consternation - it was really good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. But DAMN it was long! I said to my lovely partner in crime, who was also the person who secured the *free* tickets to the epic event, that we were really going to feel like we'd accomplished something by getting through the whole thing.

And we did. Plus, we figure we never have to read the book now that we know the story. Which is this:

Act 1
Young, nubile Natasha is the object of everyones affections, including a recent widower, the caddish brother of a promiscuous Francophile, and the husband of the same promiscuous Francophile. She gets engaged to the first one, but his family doesn't think she's cool enough, so they send him away for a year to test their bonds of love. She gets bored and is easily swayed by the cad's kisses, with whom she tries to flee in the night for a forbidden elopement. (More forbidden than she knows, since said cad is already betrothed.) Her maid (or cousin or someone) tells on her, therefore foiling the plan. The third guy (who is known as an all-around good guy married to a slut, albeit an attractive slut) is called in to talk some sense into Natasha, while secretly grappling with his own feelings.
WAR IS DECLARED!

Intermission. At this point we were only 1 hour and 45 minutes in, so we were glad that we stopped and stocked up on Tim Horton's cookies before arriving.

Act 2
Ummmm...war stuff. Lots of it. The Russians sing about how they're going to fell the French. And then Napolean and the rest of the French soldiers sing about how they're totally going to crush the Russians.
Rinse and repeat.
I'll admit, it got a little old, especially since it was almost two hours of it. Again - great performances, but I was daydreaming about being at home in my loungey pants.
Oh, at the end Natasha was reunited with her original fiance, who forgives her and then dies. And then the nice guy married to the promiscuous Francophile finds out that she's alive and he's dead, so it ends with him seeing the possibility of future happiness with Natasha. (I can't remember what happened to the cad and his sister, but they probably died.)
Right! And Russia wins, but the whole place is burned down.

The end! Home to bed!!

So that's where I was. And tonight I should be at my choir rehearsal, but a very busy week and a some trouble sleeping has left me unbelievably exhausted. Plus I had some freelancing that I needed to finish. So I'm tucked away at home and will have my head on the pillow at 10pm sharp!

Total debt: $3564 and a bit
Spent yesterday: $14.52
Spent today: $16

Stuck!

Guys, I'm getting kind of worried. Even though I've technically given myself until March 8th, 2009 to pay this debt off (Hence the 33.5 part of the title, because that's my half-birthday), I was really hoping to have it gone before we ring in 2009.

Yet things seem to be stalled!

Please send me some happy money vibes. The number should definitely change at the end of this week. If Canada Post is good to me, it could be a lovely big change. If not, it will be a less wonderful change, but still a change.

Even though I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, sometimes it feels just as hard as it did back in January.

Reality check: Only six more paychecks left this year. Boooo!
Good news: There are three paychecks in January. Yaaaayy!

Total debt: $3564 and a bit
Spent today: $9-ish (A belated catch-up dinner with a wonderful woman!)

Weekend's end

Oh Sunday evening, how I wish you would never end. (Better yet, I would rather you didn't arrive in the first place!)
A little more of a weekend recap for you, as promised.

Friday evening was a spent with a wonderful group of smart, funny women. My favourite kind! We ate, we debated, we shared and we watched a mediocre romcom. ("Made of Honor" with Patrick Dempsey. The best part was Michelle Monaghan's wardrobe. Full of adorable outfits!) 'Twas a perfect end to the week.


(And even though we all contributed to the evening, our host insisted on giving me $3towards the rental, even though it was part of my contribution. She's an avid reader - Hi there! - and knew that this coming week would be tight. A sincere thank you.)

Saturday was a whirlwind of activities, starting with an early morning gym visit, followed by laundry and groceries. Then we went to see the concert, so you already know that part. And then the DP took me for dinner, which was yummy, before we hit one of the Nuit Blanche exhibits, which was disappointing. But we consoled ourselves with a Julia crepe (Raspberry jam and dark chocolate) from the excellent Crepes a Gogo, which we ate while walking all the way home. My feet were tired by the time we arrived, but the DP indulged me in a foot massage to make up for it.

Today was a day for work, but in a good way. I had some freelancing stuff to do, plus a bit of tidying around the house. And the DP and I made about a million cookies for his coworkers. They're very busy now that the show is in full swing, so homemade cookies are a good way to keep morale high.

Now it's time to think about making some dinner and packing up for tomorrow. Alas, weekends can't last forever. (Although next weekend can last for three days!)

Total debt: $3564 and a bit (I'm stuck! But I'm waiting for money...)
Spent Friday: $20.49 (The $15 I had already spent on Thursday, plus the food for the potluck, minus the friendly movie contribution.)
Spent Saturday: $20 (Groceries! We were very frugal, since neither one of us will be home very much.)
Spent today: $0 (Although I charged over $70 at the drugstore. Sadly yesterday was 20X the points, but I didn't get around to realizing how much stuff I needed until today.)

It pays to be friendly, because you just never know...

So, the DP and I headed down to the Cabaret Festival in the Distillery District this afternoon, specifically to see Sarah Slean play her set. We're sort of new fans, you see. Anyway, we made our way into the theatre, which had been set up with tables and chairs, and were trying to figure out the best place to sit so we could see both her face and her hands on the piano, since I like to watch people play piano. We decided which table we wanted at the exact moment that this older couple also chose the same table. Since there were six chairs around the table and only four of us, we all agreed that sharing the table would be lovely.

Then we proceeded to chat with these random people. First about the festival itself - they had already seen several shows and were planning to see a bunch more. And being the name-dropper that I am, I mentioned that I had a friend appearing in one of them. They asked if they might know her and so I said her name (the remarkable Shannon Mercer, once again). They made that noise of recognition that people make and declared that not only did they know her, but that she'd been to parties at their home. And that they'd seen her in a concert last weekend. Why, WE were at that concert, we replied. Then there was a bit of chit chat about the concert and the gentleman mentioned that his son, Don, was part of the concert.

Wait. What? Don? As in Don McKellar? As in the screenwriter of that big movie that just opened this weekend? As in Tony Award winner for "The Drowsy Chaperon"? As in BIG CANADIAN STAR!?

Okay, I'm not going to bore you with how the rest of the conversation went - not that it wasn't wonderful conversation. I'm just going to tell you that we were indeed sitting with Don McKellar's charming parents. And it came out that his father is a lawyer by trade who produces theatre as a "hobby." He, in fact, is the Chair of Soulpepper and, therefore, one of the producers of the cabaret series we were all there to see.

Crazy cool person to talk to. I only wish I could have excused myself for a moment, run to a computer and googled him, so we could have had an even cooler conversation. Because now that I've done that, it's evident that this man's "hobby" keeps him fairly busy. Apparently he's also the Chair of the Toronto Arts Council and has his own charitable foundation that seems to have funded every theatre and dance company in this town. He's also one of the producers of "The Drowsy Chaperone" and the "Anne of Green Gables" sequel "Anne and Gilbert."

And to think that I downplayed my performance past when they asked me about it. I just sort of mumbled that I used to sing. (Listen, when you're sitting waiting for an amazing singer-songwriter to take the stage, you don't brag that you used to tour across Canada in children's shows wearing a horse costume that had to be inflated just before you went on stage, because it had a slow leak and you didn't want the ass to be dragging on the ground before the scene ended.)

That's my story. Sarah Slean was INCREDIBLE! Charming and gorgeous and full of such originality. We were already big fans of "Get Home" and now my new favourite is "Looking for Someone," which is so simple and perfect. And she had the audience sing along with the chorus, which was haunting and poignant, since it's a song that everyone can (or could have) relate(d) to at some point in their lives.
Oh, and her encore was "Nightingale Sang in Barkley Square," which I love and I used to sing.
All so good. Get thee to iTunes and do some downloading.

Okay, I'll talk about my fun Friday night and the latest money numbers tomorrow. I'm done for the day!

Oh money, wherefore art thou?

Good news! I was just going through my wallet, looking for my receipts from today, and I was about to toss my bill for the expensive water I ingested yesterday when the light bulb came on over my head:

I can claim the fancy water! I was at a networking event to further my freelancing career, so I can claim it!

Thank goodness.

Anyway, back to my muddled money day.

I forgot to mention one of my purchases yesterday, which was some pre-choir rehearsal food that came to a total of $7.78. I didn't have enough actual cash on me (or left in the weekly cash allowance) to pay for the food, so I paid by interac, because I knew I had a tiny cushion in my account. However, when I got home and checked my account online, I realized that I had put myself in danger of being overdrawn by 60 cents or something if my TTC pass money came out. I have overdraft protection, but I really didn't want to pay for the charge.

Keep up. This is confusing.

SO, I transferred my money for this coming week a day early, meaning it would land in my account today. (I keep my budget for the non-payday week in my high-interest savings account, which requires a day to process any transactions.)

This morning I purchased some bad-habit treats from the change I still had in my wallet. No problem! But on my way home I stopped to get a couple of things from the grocery store that I convinced myself I needed for dinner. And then I stopped to pick up a dvd for girl's night tomorrow, but I reasoned that that could come out of next week's budget.

All this to tell you that I've already managed to spend $15 from next week's allotment. It's particularly disturbing, because I have several social events to attend next week... I'm just going to have to be very frugal at the grocery store this weekend, which will only make sense, because the DP has been working late constantly and I will be out on the town, buying meals.

And I'm determined to stick to this damn budget thing! The number seems to be stuck. But part of that is because I've been waiting on a big freelance check for a while now. Maybe it will come tomorrow. That would be helpful.

Total debt: $3564 and a bit
Spent today: $3.73
Weekly total: $93.68 (Mmmmmm? I must have missed something somewhere.)
Already spent from next week: $13.47

The water crisis

I'm going to keep this short and sweet, before I fall asleep at my desk.

Worst money moment of the day: I went to this networking event for editors at a pub after work and I didn't want to have a "drink" drink, since I had to head to choir from there, so I ordered a bottle of water. A $4.17 bottle of water.

I should have had some wine.

Total debt: $3564 and a bit (Aha! There's the dreaded interest.)
Spent today: $8.90 (Tea, really expensive water, and a quick pick for the $35 million 6/49 draw tonight. Don't judge! You can't win if you don't buy a ticket!)