This week I reached a milestone. I finally paid off my student loan. It was also the last loan I had outstanding from my "twenties". Two student loans, a line of credit that turned into a consolidation loan and two credit cards.
Now, to be honest, I racked up so much debt because I spent two years unemployed and six years making less than twenty thousand dollars after taxes. When you factor in trying to pay rent and actually function, you end up with a lot of bills. At one point I pretty much had to live off my credit card. Suzy Orman would have a heart attack I'm sure.
So you can imagine how great it felt to finally pay off that last loan. It actually felt kind of weird seeing as I had been putting a large chunk of each paycheque into my savings account anticipating the pay off. I also waited on this last loan because here in Canada you can use the interest on your student loans on your taxes. And when it all came down to paying it--you have to call the bank to have them close out the account, it ended up taking longer than I expected and more phone calls than was really necessary.
In the end, I paid it all off, had a little hyperventilation moment and realized I was officially broke.
How did I celebrate you ask?
By paying for an oil change, a fuel system flush, new brake pads, a tire rotation and four brakes serviced. That was the moment was when I was officially broke. At least my credit card company will be happy.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Morning After
I think, in my family at least, if a party is a night on the town, then the kitchen is the hangover the day after. No matter how hard you work before, during and after, the kitchen never looks quite clean enough the day after in the morning light.
After a weekend that saw six cake mixes made (one slab cake and a shaped cowboy cake for the 1st birthday party and one cake for Easter dessert and one cake for my class tomorrow night), one first birthday party, one easter dinner and the normal easter festivities with two kids, we are cleaning up and putting things away. If you're counting, I have broken one wine glass and two shot glasses this morning. Oh and cut my finger with a peeler while peeling potatoes yesterday.
It was fun though, nice to spend time with the family and to celebrate my cousin's first birthday. The funniest part of the party was when my 17 year old cousin took a bet to eat an anchovy and ended up regretting it once the thing was in his mouth. I'm glad it's all over though and that we're back to normal. While I didn't get to bed before 2 a.m. twice this weekend, my aunt didn't really get to bed at all on Saturday night. How she did that amazes me.
After a weekend that saw six cake mixes made (one slab cake and a shaped cowboy cake for the 1st birthday party and one cake for Easter dessert and one cake for my class tomorrow night), one first birthday party, one easter dinner and the normal easter festivities with two kids, we are cleaning up and putting things away. If you're counting, I have broken one wine glass and two shot glasses this morning. Oh and cut my finger with a peeler while peeling potatoes yesterday.
It was fun though, nice to spend time with the family and to celebrate my cousin's first birthday. The funniest part of the party was when my 17 year old cousin took a bet to eat an anchovy and ended up regretting it once the thing was in his mouth. I'm glad it's all over though and that we're back to normal. While I didn't get to bed before 2 a.m. twice this weekend, my aunt didn't really get to bed at all on Saturday night. How she did that amazes me.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Friends
According to my Glamour mag and my O Magazine, it's friends month. As in, celebrate your friends month. I haven't made it through my Cosmo yet so I'm sure they will agree, at least, I hope they don't do the whole have great sex this month...with friends...because we all know what Cosmo is good for.
Anyways...I digress....it's celebrate friends month. And luckily for me, the girl who has trouble making new friends, I have some pretty kick ass friends.
But it was today's post by Jen that got me really thinking. I hate seeing any of my friends go through turmoil or trouble and from what someone else's friends felt/said about her, it made me start to think about all the wonderful things that make my friends such great friends.
I like how they always tell it like they see it, no holds barred, brutal truth. You can do that when you're a friend. I like how they support me, love me, respect me unconditionally. I like how they have such diverse and differing attitudes/opinions/perspectives. I like how I can call them up, email them, or just drop them a line to say "hey" and they know there's nothing behind it. I also like how when I haven't had time to do that, it's like we had just talked the day before. I like how they "get" me. As in, get my lame sense of humour or other ticks I have. Most of all though, I like that they're my friends, and not someone else's. (That sounds selfish, but I don't care).
So to all my wonderful friends, in case I don't say it enough, you're awesome and I love you! Thanks for being so great and for keeping me in your lives!
Anyways...I digress....it's celebrate friends month. And luckily for me, the girl who has trouble making new friends, I have some pretty kick ass friends.
But it was today's post by Jen that got me really thinking. I hate seeing any of my friends go through turmoil or trouble and from what someone else's friends felt/said about her, it made me start to think about all the wonderful things that make my friends such great friends.
I like how they always tell it like they see it, no holds barred, brutal truth. You can do that when you're a friend. I like how they support me, love me, respect me unconditionally. I like how they have such diverse and differing attitudes/opinions/perspectives. I like how I can call them up, email them, or just drop them a line to say "hey" and they know there's nothing behind it. I also like how when I haven't had time to do that, it's like we had just talked the day before. I like how they "get" me. As in, get my lame sense of humour or other ticks I have. Most of all though, I like that they're my friends, and not someone else's. (That sounds selfish, but I don't care).
So to all my wonderful friends, in case I don't say it enough, you're awesome and I love you! Thanks for being so great and for keeping me in your lives!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Fun
That would be the interior of
Splash Universe Dundee, MI where we took the four girls for three days this week.
My nieces spent three days with me for their March Break and since my cousin's two girls were coming down to spend the week with their grandparents (my aunt and uncle) we decided to do something fun with the four of them. Hence the three days in a water park.
I took the whole week off this year not only to burn up some vacation I probably won't get a chance to use this year and also to just take a break and relax before what is going to be two to three months of craziness at work.
The hotel was alright. I was kind of disappointed in Holiday Inn and their "misrepresentation" of the prices. They advertised a $75 off on the suite and then when you went to book it by phone (the only way to get the deal) the price was $225. If you booked it online it was actually $199. Hardly a deal. We ended up staying in a regular room and the girls had a great time. The hotel had the indoor pool and then the waterpark attached to it and then an arcade that they spent a great deal of time in. I loved seeing them having so much fun. My youngest niece loved that she could have donuts for breakfast (complimentary breakfast that had unripened bananas as the only fruit...nice).
I'm sort of not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow but only because I don't want to get up early and have to spent the day trapped at a desk. I joined the fitness club of the new community centre they built in town so I'm going to go back to the gym as it were. I also start my last cake class this week and with easter on the weekend, it's two weeks of four days only. I guess I shouldn't really complain...
Monday, March 10, 2008
Recharging
Some days I can't tell if I'm coming or going. Which is why this week is a good week. It's March Break and I decided to take the week off. My cousins girls are here and we're going to this cool hotel with a water slide in it later this week. This is a really good week to just recharge.
We had not one but two snow storms last week. And if you think about it, it's actually three snow storms in one week since it snowed on Friday, then Monday night then again on Friday. Which is actually a lot of snow. Add all that to the other five snow storms this winter and you can colour us up here a little anxious to get winter over with.
I managed to get stuck in the driveway on Tuesday morning. Then stuck again at the end of the road. Then stuck again trying to exit the expressway. The crews had not cleared our parking lot at work so that was another adventure trying to get in. It also made me extremely unhappy with my little car. Once again. I also got stuck at a construction site on Thursday, which would have been disasterous since my car was parked right at the edge of a big hole. I finally got someone at GM who would listen to me about the car and they're helping me out with an incentive to go into another GM car. Something I want since I've been eyeing the VUE hybrid. Good for the environment and good for the Canadian winter!
Monday I went to my cake decorating class and had totally forgotten to pack the essentials--towel, wet cloths and wax paper. That was fun. Then Tuesday and Thursday I had appointments after work so you can imagine what that was like rushing from one place to the next. This weekend I baked my cake and made all the flowers I need to make (including 67 leaves with really thick icing) so my arms are a little sore.
I'm looking forward to some relaxing around the house, some sleeping in in the morning and some nice vegging out time this week. Because work is going to kill me the next two months. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I won't get sick.
We had not one but two snow storms last week. And if you think about it, it's actually three snow storms in one week since it snowed on Friday, then Monday night then again on Friday. Which is actually a lot of snow. Add all that to the other five snow storms this winter and you can colour us up here a little anxious to get winter over with.
I managed to get stuck in the driveway on Tuesday morning. Then stuck again at the end of the road. Then stuck again trying to exit the expressway. The crews had not cleared our parking lot at work so that was another adventure trying to get in. It also made me extremely unhappy with my little car. Once again. I also got stuck at a construction site on Thursday, which would have been disasterous since my car was parked right at the edge of a big hole. I finally got someone at GM who would listen to me about the car and they're helping me out with an incentive to go into another GM car. Something I want since I've been eyeing the VUE hybrid. Good for the environment and good for the Canadian winter!
Monday I went to my cake decorating class and had totally forgotten to pack the essentials--towel, wet cloths and wax paper. That was fun. Then Tuesday and Thursday I had appointments after work so you can imagine what that was like rushing from one place to the next. This weekend I baked my cake and made all the flowers I need to make (including 67 leaves with really thick icing) so my arms are a little sore.
I'm looking forward to some relaxing around the house, some sleeping in in the morning and some nice vegging out time this week. Because work is going to kill me the next two months. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I won't get sick.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Tagged
It's taken me a few days...but here I go:Jen tagged me and here are seven weird, wonderful and out of this world facts about me. Ok weird is true...don't know if wonderful and out of this world is true...
1. I love the smell of dirt and freshly cut grass which sounds kind of weird but it's true. There is nothing more wonderful to me than the smell of freshly cut grass or dirt in the spring. There's this wonderful mossy earthy smell in the spring when the snow melts and the flowers come up and I love it.
2. When I was a kid I didn't like ice cream which my siblings thought was odd but it's completely true. And while I still don't "like" ice cream, I will eat only two kinds...Laura Secord chocolate chip or Baskin Robbins gold medal ribbon. It's more a "prefer" thing. I would "prefer" something other than ice cream but I have been known to crave it every now and then. Again, has to be chocolate chip though. Or I'll eat the ice cream sandwiches or certain ice creams with cake.
3. I'm really anal about being "clean" meaning that I have to shower every day and wash my hands about a million times. I'm the kind of person that if I've been out in public and haven't had a chance to wash my hands, I feel like I have the equivalent of about an inch of mud on my hands. I can't do the whole "don't wash your hair for a few days" type of thing. I'm also that person who used their shirt sleeve or a paper towel to open the doors of public washrooms.
4. I'm not an outdoors person making number one a strange thing but seriously...I don't like being outside. It's actually really strange because as a kid you couldn't get me out of the water and I got frostbite three times from being outside in the snow. I just don't like it. I don't like to be cold, I don't like wet snow, I don't like the heat and I definitely don't like sweating in the heat. Give me a nice temperature controlled area with a big window looking outside and I'm fine.
5. I believe in the adage do unto others firmly in fact its a mantra I try to live by. Which has gotten me into trouble more often than I would like. It also leads to being taken advantage of or walked all over. But still, it's a good mantra to live by so I'll let it be.
6. I am addicted to "noise". This one is a hard one to explain. I don't like silence. I feel uncomfortable during silent periods. I have to have some noise on in the background. Otherwise I am completely freaked out. Whether it's the sound of the television, the radio or my sound machine (white noise) at night, it's just something that I have to have.
7. I am inspired if I am in the shower, or in the car, or going to sleep or listening to music. If I have to write something or need to think of something creative, it always happens when I'm in my car or in the shower. At night, when I can't turn my brain off, I find myself thinking of stuff I want to write about or that makes me think of stories in my head. As a kid, I used to crawl to the night light in the hallway with my notebook and jot down poetry. Now I find I can solve just about any writers block by going for a drive.
So there you go. I don't know seven people with blogs so I can't tag them (well, ones that Jen doesn't know...) but that's me.
1. I love the smell of dirt and freshly cut grass which sounds kind of weird but it's true. There is nothing more wonderful to me than the smell of freshly cut grass or dirt in the spring. There's this wonderful mossy earthy smell in the spring when the snow melts and the flowers come up and I love it.
2. When I was a kid I didn't like ice cream which my siblings thought was odd but it's completely true. And while I still don't "like" ice cream, I will eat only two kinds...Laura Secord chocolate chip or Baskin Robbins gold medal ribbon. It's more a "prefer" thing. I would "prefer" something other than ice cream but I have been known to crave it every now and then. Again, has to be chocolate chip though. Or I'll eat the ice cream sandwiches or certain ice creams with cake.
3. I'm really anal about being "clean" meaning that I have to shower every day and wash my hands about a million times. I'm the kind of person that if I've been out in public and haven't had a chance to wash my hands, I feel like I have the equivalent of about an inch of mud on my hands. I can't do the whole "don't wash your hair for a few days" type of thing. I'm also that person who used their shirt sleeve or a paper towel to open the doors of public washrooms.
4. I'm not an outdoors person making number one a strange thing but seriously...I don't like being outside. It's actually really strange because as a kid you couldn't get me out of the water and I got frostbite three times from being outside in the snow. I just don't like it. I don't like to be cold, I don't like wet snow, I don't like the heat and I definitely don't like sweating in the heat. Give me a nice temperature controlled area with a big window looking outside and I'm fine.
5. I believe in the adage do unto others firmly in fact its a mantra I try to live by. Which has gotten me into trouble more often than I would like. It also leads to being taken advantage of or walked all over. But still, it's a good mantra to live by so I'll let it be.
6. I am addicted to "noise". This one is a hard one to explain. I don't like silence. I feel uncomfortable during silent periods. I have to have some noise on in the background. Otherwise I am completely freaked out. Whether it's the sound of the television, the radio or my sound machine (white noise) at night, it's just something that I have to have.
7. I am inspired if I am in the shower, or in the car, or going to sleep or listening to music. If I have to write something or need to think of something creative, it always happens when I'm in my car or in the shower. At night, when I can't turn my brain off, I find myself thinking of stuff I want to write about or that makes me think of stories in my head. As a kid, I used to crawl to the night light in the hallway with my notebook and jot down poetry. Now I find I can solve just about any writers block by going for a drive.
So there you go. I don't know seven people with blogs so I can't tag them (well, ones that Jen doesn't know...) but that's me.
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