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Scenery overload
We met the coach that would take us up to Whistler and spent the two and a half hours on the Sea to Sky highway goggling at the insanely stunning scenery. I also spent a lot of time observing the blonde family in front of us. At first I though they were speaking German, then perhaps Dutch, but when the little girl, who was about 6 or 7 years old, put on her headphones and turned the music way up it became clear – they were Swedish! This tiny tow-headed girl (her hair would cost a FORTUNE at the salon to duplicate. It was the perfect blend of about four different shades.) was listening to ABBA! Too funny. At first I assumed it was the “Mamma Mia” soundtrack, but I caught a glimpse of her iPod screen (All five of them had iPods) it was ABBA Gold. Maybe their music is like national folk songs in their own country rather than gay anthems like the rest of the world.

Shangri-La
I don’t know about all of you, but my life has not been chock full of luxury hotel stays. There have been a few here and there, quite often for work trips, so I’m left alone to take in all the splendour of the room on my own. So it was especially nice to walk into the incredible lobby of the Westin Resort and Spa and have the DP there. Someone to look and lift my eyebrows in order to communicate, “Holy shit! How did we get this lucky!?”
I think our room might qualify as fanciest thus far for me, purely for the fact that it was a one-bedroom suite! So we had a “living room” with a fireplace and a couch and chair, plus a table and chairs and a full mini-kitchen, PLUS we had a bedroom.
**Warning: I’m going to sound ungrateful for a teeny tiny second**
The only problem was that the fireplace wasn’t in the bedroom. If you wanted to enjoy the fireplace, you had to hang out on the couch, which wasn’t very cushy or comfy. Okay. Shutting up now.
**Done. Sorry.**



The absolute best part about the room was the bed. The Westin calls their bed “Heavenly Beds” and with good reason. The pillow top on the mattress was the thickness of the last three Harry Potter books stacked upon one another. So decadent and divine. In fact, there was a brochure in the room pricing out the entire bed experience, from the mattress to the sheets to the dust ruffle to the decorative pillow. You too can have a Heavenly Bed, but you may need to sell a kidney for it.

The hottest accessories in the village
The first order of business was to get our ski rentals for our lesson the next morning, so we ventured out of the hotel and walked about a hundred metres and found ourselves at both the rental place and the base of Whistler mountain. So close! Crazy. We go in to be fitted and I’m feeling confident that all the unbelievable technology that has become available to us in the past 20 years since I last skied has trickled down and allowed ski boots to now be comfortable.
I was wrong.
Sigh.
I also discovered that I don’t know how to carry a pair of skis, poles and boots all at once and look like a confident ski bunny. So the hundred metres back to our hotel was like a walk of amateur shame. But I made it. Thank goodness.

The beginning

I've been trying to keep a bit of a log about the trip. Here's the first installment. Stay tuned for more!

Let’s get this party started
I was so excited the night before our departure that I only slept for about three hours, but I still bounded out of bed about 15 minutes before our alarm sounded. A FREE VACATION TO WHISTLER! Is there any other reason to get out of bed at 5:45 a.m. on a January morning? Our trip to the airport was smooth and we found ourselves through security with about a half hour until our flight was due to board.
So what did we do? Well, we went to Tim Hortons, of course! Strangely enough, the Timmy’s line was the longest line we encountered all morning. Funny.

Then I needed airplane snacks, because I have a misguided notion that calories don’t count in the friendly skies. Sadly I forgot to get some M&Ms at Shoppers the night before, so a medium-sized bag and a litre of water cost me $7.31! Our entire order at Timmy’s – two bagels and two teas – came to a mere $4.31. It’s at this point that I realized there’s no such thing as a truly FREE vacation. (Not that I’m complaining!)

Blue skies smiling at me
Our flight went off without a hitch, until I needed to eat some real food. (Apparently M&Ms aren’t very nutritious, which came as a total surprise to me.) If you haven’t flown in a while, let me break the bad news – free airplane food no longer seems to exist. AT least not on Air Canada.. About a half-hour after we reached our cruising altitude they came around with the food and beverage carts. I was watching “Horton Hears a Who” on my awesome MacBook (I rented it on iTunes. I’m so tech savvy!) and happily eating my M&Ms even though it was only 11:00 a.m. They were selling lunch stuff. Overpriced sandwiches, salads, wraps and pizza. That kind of stuff. I wasn’t the least bit hungry (You don’t have to be hungry to eat M&Ms), so I asked if they’d be around again later. Oh yes, they assured me.
Three hours later, when I’ve already finished my movie, watched two episodes of “Entourage,” taken roughly 800,000 photos of mountains far below and burned through the empty calories from the delicious little candies, I’m starting to get grumpy from hunger. The DP tries to convince me to press the call button to ask if they are actually going to come around again, but the annoying polite girl that lives inside of me didn’t want to bother anyone. I’’m such a wimp! He calls them for me and when they come by they promise that they were just prepping the carts. Yay! I’m totally ready to order the veggie and hummus wrap. I can taste it already! Sure it’s going to cost me $6, but I have to eat, right?
By the time they reach me the only option is the pizza or a Greek salad. How frustrating! If I’d known they were going to run out of what I wanted, I would have ordered it earlier! (Mental note: Remember this for the return flight…) We both get the salad, which is fine, but not what I wanted, you know?
Okay, enough complaining.

Here's one of the zillion photos I took from the plane:

Packity pack pack pack

It's vacation-preparedness central around here. All laundry and running the dishwasher and making piles and piles of stuff to potentially bring. There are lots of events that I need to pack for! There's athletic-type ski clothes. There are comfy apres-ski clothes. There are fancy dinner clothes. And there are seeing the family/hanging out with the nephews clothes. That's a lot!

Not to mention footwear. Obviously I need my big winter boots. And some nice fancy dinner shoes, since I am without a pair of tall black boots this year. (Hopefully it's not so snowy in Whistler that I can't walk to dinner in my nice shoes...) And then a pair of runners for hanging out time. But do I wear the big boots on the plane? Or do I try to pack the big boots, which will take up a lot of space.

So many questions.

Plus I took my iPod out of my purse a couple of hours ago, so I could charge it, and now it's gone missing. How does that happen?

EIGHT MORE HOURS OF WORK!

God I hope I don't have really bad post-vacation letdown heading into February. Because that would suck.

Okay, I'll try to post tomorrow night, but I'm promising nothing. And I'll also try to post a bit from B.C. (I'm bringing my fancy new Macbook. The DP picked up the cutest polka dot case for it today!), but I'm also not promising much.

Have a fabulous week!

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045 (I'm going to work on this when I get home. Promise!)

The change we need

It's an incredible day in this world of ours. A historic day. Did you watch? I feel lucky that I work at a company that sent out an email this morning inviting us to gather around the television in the kitchen at 11:30 a.m., to usher in a new era of change. And they had snacks. Snacks and change. Now that's a good Tuesday.

His speech was amazing. He's so poised and charismatic. A true leader. I can't wait to see what this means for the world.

And didn't Michelle look gorgeous! And those charming little girls. I think it's going to be a good four years.

Meanwhile, 16 more hours of work before vacation! Not that I'm counting.

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045

Avoidance techniques

It turns out that there are a lot of things that need to get done before you leave on vacation for a week and none of them involve going to the gym. Plus it's January. Aren't we supposed to hibernate in January?

So instead of working out, we cleaned out the fridge (can't cross the country when you've got past-their-prime condiments sucking up energy) and repotted some plants (no recreational snow sports allowed if the hibiscus and fig tree aren't allowed to flourish). Tomorrow we need to do laundry, because the DP has Wednesday evening plans and it's better when we tackle the ten-floor trek together.

You know what else an imminent vacation involves? Spending money.

I bought a toque and a gator, which I needed. And I had to get a book for the plane. But I had a $10 gift card towards that! But then I noticed a coupon for H&M on my dresser - $10 off if you spend $50 by the end of January. So I picked up a few non-vacation items... I'll admit it.

Now don't get mad! It's allowed to happen sometimes.

Only, my current tax balance number isn't changing yet. Instead, I'm going to get through vacation with plenty of money in the bank and then make a payment if there's anything leftover. (There should be some leftover.) I'd rather head west knowing that I won't need to break out the credit card.

We were up north this weekend, dropping the cat off with the DP's mom. It's so weird not to have her here. When I came home from work tonight I actually heard a phantom meow from the other room!


Who knew I liked her so much?



Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045
NO BUDGET THIS WEEK!

Just a little off the back

I learned something interesting when I went to get my hair cut this evening! I went to see someone new at my favourite salon - my beloved stylist is still only working part-time since suffering a back injury - and I explained that I'd like to grow my hair for a bit, so I just wanted the back cleaned up and I wanted proper bangs once again.

She said: Do you just want a maintenance cut?

Excuse me?

Apparently, a maintenance cut is done on dry hair, so you don't get a nice neck and shoulder massage, nor do you get a shampoo and a blowout. BUT it's $30 cheaper!

Did you guys know about this?

It was exactly what I wanted and what I needed. The only thing that gave me pause - I saw a senior stylist, so it still cost me $50 for about 20 minutes of snips. Seemed pretty steep.

Oh well.

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045
Spent today: $17-ish (Plus $52.50 for my hair, which I'm not counting. But good news - the credit card is once again empty. Wahoo!)

A whole year old

Here it is. The one year anniversary of Freedom 33.5.

When I started this blog 365 days ago, it was an impulse decision. I was home alone on a cold winter night with nothing on TV and that indescribable desire to do something meaningful in the year ahead. I'd recently starting reading other people's blogs pretty regularly and the thought suddenly popped into my head: I should have a blog!

But what would I have to say? What would I have to share that people would want to read.

The debt angle most likely occurred to me because I was in a constant state of worry about how I was going to get it under control. Plus I didn't want to pretend that I had it all figured out anymore. I wanted to come clean. I never suspected that it would open up other people's floodgates. Suddenly people were seeking me out to talk about their own money issues, which made me feel much less alone and truly helped me reach my original goal.

It was all meant to be!

Okay, so I tried a little experiment to celebrate this anniversary and asked my loyal readers to send me an email with info on what their favourite blog posts of the past year.
(Insert sound of crickets...)
Um, the experiment sort of failed, which is fine! I know you're all busy and have lots going on in your own lives. So, I'm taking it upon myself to give you a little rundown of MY fave posts:

- I come clean
- I think a radio contest would solve all my problems
- I ruminate on chocolate and a potential life of crime
- I recap an awesome crappy move instead of blogging about my debt
- I make excuses so I can buy new clothes
- I make a fool out of myself in front of a studio audience
- I take a solo trip to Ikea
- I go to a very long opera
- I get where I wanted to go

And my favourite post:
- I have an eventful trip to Ikea with the DP

Enjoy reliving a few of our precious moments together. Here's to year two!

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045
Spent today: $5-ish
Weekly total: $112.59 (oops)

So NOT the better way

Why oh why is the world so cruel? How can I possibly be expected to wedge myself into a packed, gross subway car twice a day?

Maybe I've been watching too many episodes of "Gossip Girl" lately, because suddenly a car and a driver is at the top of my want list. Or maybe it's because the subway has been extra bad lately.

Normally I don't mind the commute. I like to read my glossy mags* and chill out. Besides, on a good day it's a pretty quick trip. No more than 15 minutes actually on transit. But the delays seem to be constant these days. And it's always so busy that getting a seat is pretty much impossible.

Also, I stepped in a puddle on urine on the subway on my way home last Friday. I had been standing right in front of a rough-looking man who was sitting down. He got off at Bloor and I gratefully sunk into his seat, only to get a distinct whiff of urine the moment I did. I tried to ignore it for a minute, but there was no denying the stench. Then I got scared. Was I sitting in it? I didn't smell it until he got off. So I stood up and thankfully felt that the back of my jacket was dry. Then I looked down.

Yep. A sizable puddle of pee. Piss, even. I was standing right in the middle of it.

Thank goodness for winter boots and no dragging hemlines. Thank goodness the car wasn't so crowded that I had to continue to stand in it. Thank goodness I only had two more stops to go. And thank goodness for snowbanks to step in.

I think any warm feelings I had left for the TTC died that day. Now I'm cranky the minute I arrive on the platform, already dreading what's ahead.

I have been watching too much GG. I'm becoming a spoiled whiner!

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045
Spent today: $0

*Now that I'm getting several girly U.S. magazines, I ended up on some mailing list and received a Victoria's Secret catalogue. The DP naturally assumed it was a very early birthday present for him. We both marveled at how such skinny women could have such large breasts. Surgery really has come a long way. (He chooses to believe they were blessed by a higher power.)

Can I buy away my winter blues?

You know what's surprising after all this time? I still have money anxiety. Even though I don't have anymore more major debt, I'm still worried about saving my tax money and finally paying off the DP. Plus I have a couple hundred dollars on my credit card that I want gone. Now.

So here's the really crazy part. The anxiety makes me want to spend.

What's that all about? I guess the desire for a quick hit of having something new never goes away? I also think I was lulled into a happy state of having lots of money coming in before Christmas and now that it's stopped, I'm still trying to adjust. Not that I've purchased anything crazy! There's a small list of things I need right now, most of them for Whistler, and I'm trying to hold off until I get paid on Friday. I've also been weirdly obsessed with a fitness dvd that I read about in a magazine. I've actually gone out looking for it, which is so dumb. I generally do all my working out at the gym, so I DO NOT need a dvd! (It's funny. I'm obsessed with it because I read how good it was. And even though I'm one of the people who writes those articles, they still get to me! I swear, I am a marketer's dream client.)

Oh, did I mention that I took the piece of art that the DP bought me to be framed? Ya. Framing costs an arm and a leg. But I didn't want to leave it sitting in a poster tube for months, so I bit the bullet. I had to pay half up front, which is part of what is on the credit card.

I am waiting for some freelance money. Some of it will most likely come this week and the rest of it will hopefully come soon after. Those two cheques will more than cover my credit card - provided that I don't use it for anything else!

After Friday I can pick up the last of what I need for our vacation and get my hair cut. And then I will have lots of money to actually go on vacation. The tax fund will have to wait until I see what's left apres ski.

Logically I know that I'm in a good place, but emotionally I'm feeling stagnant and precarious. It's probably just January. Have I mentioned how much I hate January!?

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045
Spent today: $6 (Extra veggies for dinner.)

Experimental blogging

I got something exciting in the mail this evening - the final statement from my now defunct student loan account! It's so beautiful. Particularly the part where it says "Balance: $0." Sigh.

And the timing was divine, because next week is the 1st anniversary of Freedom 33.5!

I've been bloggity blogging for a whole year now. And even though my current financial goals seem to be stuck in some seriously sticky mud, I have used this blog for some financial good.

I need your help to celebrate my online birthday! Email me (sutherland.tammy at the gmail) which post was your favourite and why. Remember to email rather than put them in the comments section, because then I can publish a post about everyones favourites on the actual anniversary. The big day is Thursday the 15th, so send your email by the 14th to be included!

I hope people actually want to do this or it's going to be a very boring birthday post.

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045
Spent today: $0

Sunday night gold

I can't fully concentrate on blogging because the Golden Globes are on. One of my oldest friends and I always IM through awards shows, because she lives in Montreal, so we can critique the outfits. It's not overly exciting this evening. Let's hope that they step it up a bit at the Oscars.

I spent most of my money this weekend. It happens! We can't seem to grocery shop without spending a wad lately. It was a great weekend though. We had some friends over for lunch today and they brought their charming little boy. He's almost a year old and could not be cuter or happier. We had fun.

Oh, here's something adorable for you! The DP showed this to me the other day and I promise you that you'll enjoy it.



Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045 (I am SO tired of this number.)
Spent Saturday: $81.48
Spent today: $6.35

Second Christmas!

I usually go to Ikea in one of two states - either I am going to blow my wad on a large piece of furniture or I am going to accompany someone just for the fun of wandering around the showroom. The latter state is followed by wallowing over the fact that my apartment looks nothing like the showrooms, despite the numerous Billy bookcases.

My point is, I never have money to spend on all of the cute accessories. I'm either broke or already feeling guilty about the big ticket item I'm about to buy, so I have to leave all the fun stuff behind.

But not tonight.

You see, the DP and I received two very generous gift cards to the common sense emporium for Christmas (Thank you!) and decided that we would spread that money around on smaller things rather than buy one of those Ikea chairs that everyone has. It was a tough decision, because those chairs are SO COMFORTABLE. But this was oh so much fun.



We got 21 items for $213.38!

Some of the things we really needed, like the drying rack. Finally we won't have to spread our wet clothes all over the apartment. We also needed another big pot for our incredible hibiscus, but the one we bought isn't quite big enough... But I also got some lovely accent things!

Excellent way to spend a Friday night, even if I didn't consume any yummy Ikea food.

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045
Spent today: $13.76 (Drugstore stuff. I confess that I charged the $13.38 that we owed at Ikea.)

I've got a lotta living to do!

Normally this is my least favourite time of year. January and February often make me feel like a big pile of lazy blah. But I am suddenly the busiest of bees! Truly. My next free weekend is the long weekend halfway through February. And with so much to do, there's very little down time for me to complain about how much I hate winter. (I'm also taking vitamin D supplements this year, which seems to be helping.)

And while I'm excited about all the fun things ahead in the next month, including the fast-approaching vacation, I'm struggling with how to earn some extra money when I've got so much on the go! I want to pitch more freelance ideas, but I'm worried that the deadlines won't be doable.

I think I'm going to wait until the vacation is done and then really give it a concentrated push. At that point, I will at least be at home, so I can figure out how to fit it all in.

But tonight I am going to enjoy just sitting around. The DP is going to hang out with the boys, so the remote control is all mine and I'm wearing the comfiest pjs. I'm going to plug in my battery to recharge.

Bring it on!

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045 (It's been the same for almost a month now. Gah!)
Spent today: $11.81
Weekly total: $74.92 (This was an easy week as far as my budget is concerned, because we did a HUGE grocery shop before my budget reset last week. It will be back to reality now.)
Spent today:

Linkety link link

Since I was out at the cinema this evening, I don't have enough time to write a proper blog post. (I saw "Milk," which was awesome!) Therefore I will give you guys some links to other things that have been going on with me.

Check out my latest article on Homemakers.com here. It's all about soup and has links to lots of yummy soup recipes. Isn't it the perfect time of year to put on a pot of soup!?

And over here you can read my RD Best Health article about how to put together your own weight loss group, in case anyone is thinking they'd like to drop a few pounds and need a good support system behind them to achieve it.

If you're near a newsstand (or you're a member of GoodLife, where they're handing them out for free), check out page 22 of the Jan/Feb issue of RD Best Health magazine to read my article about Dance Dance Party Party. There's even a bonus! A photo of me and one of my lovely friends. The DP took the photo, just so you know. (He's a little annoyed that he didn't get a photo credit.) Oh and click here to see a mention of the article on the DDPP Toronto blog. And then stay tuned to that blog and come to the next edition of DDPP!

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045
Spent today: $31.76 (Lunch out with one lovely friend and dinner and a movie with another!)

I only have eyes for you

Ladies, let's talk lashes for a moment, shall we? (Sorry gentlemen, this post won't give you much to work with. Unless you occasionally like to perk up your peepers a bit...) While the DP struts about with long, luscious lashes that beautifully frame his amazing blue eyes, I have to make do with a shortish set that prefer to be stick straight, meaning they don't have that girlish sweep that makes the boys swoon.

And I like a bit of swooning my life, dammit!

During my "Life upon the wicked stage," (Quick, ten points to anyone who gets that musical theatre reference!) I happily donned false lashed every time I had the chance and I loved the compliments I would receive. (A tip - Cast parties mean mucho photo taking, so leave you lashes on after the show.) Alas, my 9-5 office life is not quite as conducive to playing dress-up and make-believe.

Ergo, I am always trying out new mascaras. So when a marketing company contacted me and asked me if I wanted to try L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara, I couldn't say no!

It's one of those double mascaras, meaning you have to put on a layer of white stuff and then a layer of black stuff, which I wasn't too jazzed about. But then I remembered that it was free, curled my lashes and applied both concoctions. I was very impressed with my lashes, I must say, but I have often been impressed with my lashes after the first application of any new tube of mascara.

And I went about my day.

The happy surprise came when I glanced in the mirror during the late afternoon. My lashes still looked exactly the same as they did first thing in the morning! All curled up, long and flirty. That was new. And I liked it!

I have been pretty faithful to my new tube of mascara ever since, although there is one strange side effect - it comes off in tangible bits of...well...gunk. You don't need soap or eye makeup remover, you just need water. But you will find little flecks of black on your face as you try to get it all off. It's something I'm willing to live with, though.

Does it sound like something you'd like to try? If so, leave a comment on this post with your email address and I will send you an email that tells you how you can get a $5 off coupon and you can have a tube of your very own.

Just 'cause I love y'all.

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045
Spent today: $1.17 (A little chocolate milk after my lunch hour workout.)

Addendum

Haha! I have tamed the electronic beast! I have conquered the motherfu*!$&@ motherboard!

We have passwords that work! We are wireless, which is very 2009.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

When passwords go wrong

If you ever find yourself wondering how you should spend the last evening of your two-week holiday, I urge you to promptly plop yourself down on the nearest soft surface, pick up the remote and finish off whatever television series you happen to be watching on DVD. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you become full of purpose and try to finally secure your wireless router in order to stop your neighbours from stealing free Internet.

Guess why I didn't blog last night?

Nope. Not because I was busy laughing my ass off through the last 4 episodes of the second season of "30 Rock," (Kenneth is definitely on my fantasy dinner party list! Liz would be, too, but I'm afraid she would make too many Star Wars references and the DP would fall in love with her.) I didn't blog because I was preoccupied with creating that all-consuming rage that only accompanies computer problems.

How hard can it be to add a password to your network!? I'm not a Luddite - I can handle myself around a computer. I found the appropriate instructions on the router website, I managed to create a password for my actual account on the website, I named our network, and, eventually, I locked our network.

The problem? NONE OF THE PASSWORDS I CREATED WILL LET US INTO OUR NETWORK!!!

Oh the anger. I knew it was time to step away and leave it alone for a night when I wanted to throw my beloved new MacBook across the room. Thankfully we can still take turns plugging our laptops into the router, so we're not completely disconnected, but the whole point of a laptop is that you can use it wherever you want!

Blerg.

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045 (STILL!)
Spent Saturday, Sunday, Monday: $6.20

Well hello budget! How I've missed you...not!

If you happen to be a Virgo like me, you probably LOVE getting organized at this time of year. Put up a new calendar, update your address book and get all your ducks in a row before going back to work. For me, this is fun.

I should probably drink more.

Anyway, having this fancy new computer makes all of this even more fun for me, so I've been busy creating spreadsheets so the DP and I can keep better track of our household expenditures this year. Really find out how much it costs to live our lives.

I also collected all my receipts today, which I've been a little lazy about lately. Now I can accurately confess all of my spending to all of you once again. That should keep me on my toes and out of my wallet a bit more. Hopefully...

Today I spent my money on some extra groceries and two different tea dates with two wonderful women. Also a great way to start a new year! Oh, and I still had $20 leftover from last week in my wallet when I took out my $100 for this week, so I'm giving myself a little extra in the budget. Why? Because I can!

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045
Spent today: $23.98

I'm resolved not to be so stupid

There is so much to like about a brand new year. A fresh start. Nary a mistake in sight. (Although both the DP and I have dropped and broken things today... Bad omen? Or are we just clumsy?) Yet another opportunity to live the life you've always wanted.

Which is why I put the credit card in my underwear drawer.

It has had a really good workout the past couple of months and now it's time for rest.

It's also time to re-instate the budget, which will start tomorrow as per my regular blogging pattern.

Just because I bid one big debt adieu doesn't mean I've accomplished all my financial goals. I have to get focused and make big things happen this year - things that cost big sums of money.

My short break from my fiscal reality has been awesome, but I have no desire to dig myself another hole. I have to go up!

Tax goal: $2000
Current balance: $1045

ps. Ten points if you get the musical reference from the title!