Au revoir beautiful Summer, bonjour gorgeous Autumn

I can not believe how quickly August raced by. It seems unfair that I didn't have enough time to soak in the sun reading. I know partly I didn't make the time or take advantage of any time I did have. Just another lesson learned about seizing the moment. The final look at my August goals reveals the following completions and some deferred goals.
Pay Hair mix charge : Done August 15 (or sometime in there)
$200 in savings account: only able to swing $122. Too much eating out!
$100 in Down payment account: only $22 again due to lack of discipline in the eating out department
English units 13, 14 and 15: DONE!!!
Psych quizzes 4 and 5:DONE!!!
English Essay and Psych Essay: Picked topics for both, started on the English Essay and gave myself a due date of September 5th. Psych essay is a research essay and I began a folder on EBSCO with relevant articles from psychology journals.

Not a bad month, but fiscally could have been better. Part of it is Summer has this way of making me spend money and when I got back from Latvia many moons ago, I never bothered to grocery shop till last week. BUT with September rolling in is that feeling of "back to the books" responsibility.

My September goals:
1)Pay Banff Hotel Charge on VISA: $484.88 as well as July and August's purchase interest charges (July: 111.98 and August: 108.96)
2)$200 into Emergency Fund Savings account
3)$100 into Down Payment Savings account
4)English Essay
5)Psychology Essay
6) Enroll into 2 more English courses for October 1 start

I need to start snow flaking again the way I was last May. I already know the first part-time pay cheque from the toy store is going to be a little more than $200 which will take care of the purchase interest charges. And I am receiving a raise at my full-time job which will aid in the savings goals I think. And I have my English and Psychology final exams this month so goals 4 and 5 are really inevitable. I look forward to a successful month. :)

Grand Illusions

I am not sure what to do. I have become more and more dissatisfied with my part-time job and I kind-of want to quit (on the spot, no notice given). The other part of me enjoys the extra income and although I live in a city where part-time jobs are a dime a dozen, the idea of looking for another part-time job doesn’t thrill me -- one of those “better the devil you know” kinds of deals.
I am up for my one year review September 4th at my full-time job, and I know I will be getting a raise. When I returned from Latvia, my boss repeatedly informed me that he had no idea how much I did around here and how efficiently I did it all. I know he will give me a steller review and the union will then up my wage. It’s the way it works around here. I just don’t think my raise is going to be enough to justify quitting the toy store right now. I could go the route of looking for a roommate which would reduce my rent and bills by half, but I like my space. In April, my lease is up and A is talking about us moving in together.
Should I stick it out another month? See what effect my raise has on my income (for all I know it will mostly go to taxes!) and then decide? I am just really unimpressed with both the owners and the assistant manager. They have scheduled me for days I informed them that I couldn’t work. My cheque was shorted two hours (although they did pay it out on the next cheque) once. When I interviewed, I told them I didn’t want to work weekends as I am in school and work full time already. I like my Saturdays and Sundays for studying as well as relaxing. So for Labor Day long weekend they have me scheduled Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. I don’t mind an occasional Sunday shift or a Friday evening shift, but I really don’t think it’s fair when they agreed to my terms to have me scheduled Friday and Sunday the same weekend!
But the money…I really want my debt paid off and a healthy down payment savings account. I need to look into other options of steady extra income. I have been scheduled for September so I think I will finish the month off and then re-evaluate. October I am going to be much busier too as I will be starting two more courses in school.
Why can’t I be a multi-billionaire who only worries about where the next party is at?

TGIF Timewaster

Another week bites the dust! I received my Internet bill yesterday and was surprised that it carried the balance of last month onto this month when I remembered paying it in August. I called the company and they informed me that no payment has been made since July. Then I re-checked my bank records and saw my mistake. My cell phone and my Internet are with the same company but different divisions, and when I paid the bill I wasn’t paying attention and paid my cell bill instead. Now I have to pay a late fee!!! GRRR. This morning I straightened it all out and paid my Internet off. I don’t what I would do without being as I don’t have cable anymore nor can I imagine not being able to check my facebook regularly.
Not a whole lot planned this weekend. Going to a concert with a friend on Saturday night and I went to check out this photography exhibition. I am hoping that I can have no-spend days today and Sunday to help in my 101 in 1001 goal of having 500 no-spend days out of the 1001. I have to average about 15 no spend days a month for the next 33 months to meet it. This month I have 4 (although possibly more because I wasn’t really tracking it at the beginning). On my other Blog I have a chart to showcase the no-spend days.


EDIT: So I realized that yesterday in the same blog post I wrote about paying my bills and having a spend-free day. I forgot that paying my bills counts as spending so no no-spend day for me! When you do everything online it feels less like spending, more like transferring. But Sunday for sure, I am going to make a spend-free day.

You're on the other side of the mirror

This weekend I was able to finish all of my reading for school,clean my entire house, get Molly's hair cut, and visit the farmer's market. Tonight, I am feeling a lot like these guys:


A thunder storm is starting right now and so much of me wants to go out and dance in the rain. It's been sweltering all week and I need the rain to help cool down my house. These guys could use some rain too I think:





A fairly productive weekend. I am studying to write my online quiz now and that's one more thing crossed off my list of goals!

I love thunder storms!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

A gnome is born...

Yesterday was payday from my full-time job and today is payday from the part-time job. I ♥ payday! I can pay off my hairmix credit card charge today and some purchase interest too. Feels good to meet another August goal.
Speaking of August...where the hell did it go? I can not believe it is already half way through the month and there is officially about a month left of summer. I have a lot of school work to do this weekend to catch up.

MID MONTH REVIEW OF GOALS:
Pay Hair mix charge : Paying this in 2 minutes
$200 in savings account: transferred $100 yesterday
$100 in Down payment account: not yet
English units 13, 14 and 15: 13 and 14 are done, working on 15 today
Psych quizzes 4 and 5: Hopefully 4 will be done this weekend. have one more chapter to read for that
English Essay and Psych Essay: Not started yet as still finishing up units

Not too bad for a mid month review. Just got to keep on truckin' :)

Healthcare Snowflaking

I have A on my benefits plan and I pay his healthcare every month. This only started in July and I don't notice it off of my check. A is going to pay me back what is deducted off of my check for his healthcare and because I don't notice, I am going to split this amount in half every month transferring half to my down payment fund, and half to my emergency fund. By December (which is the last month in Alberta we have to pay for healthcare!!!) I will have increased both acounts by $132 each. Doesn't seem like a lot, but will add to what I am already contributing. And every penny counts..

Lego Mini-Me

Hooray! A is home and my much-needed hug arrived. I feel a hundred per cent better with him here. His trip was fabulous and he loved the concert. I guess at one point 70 000 people were singing “run through the hills” with Iron Maiden. A said the bands looked just as impressed with how many people were there as the people there did.
Today, there is a new chocolate place opening in the city where you can order the chocolate you want and they make it right in front of you. I have put this on my list of places to check out and can’t wait to try delectable chocolate that I watched being made. YUMMY!!!
My part-time job shorted me by 2 hours on my pay cheque. I was assured that they would put those 2 hours on my next cheque, but I am so not impressed. I think I need to look for another part-time job. I can’t wait for the day when I don’t have to work two jobs. Nothing like motivating a girl to aggressively save and finish up her education then to pay her minimally to deal with managers that appear to becoming more and more clueless.
This weekend looks like a low-key spending weekend. A work BBQ followed by a play tomorrow, but nothing planned for Sunday. Tonight, I am watching my friend’s baby and hanging out with A. Did I mention how happy I am that he is home?

It's time for a change

A comes home tomorrow and I can’t wait. I need a hug very badly. Yesterday I was feeling so low and down about myself, but today I decided that I can’t dwell on the past and mistakes I have made. I can only go out of my way and not make the same mistakes and learn from the ones I have made. I keep realizing more and more that I need to grow up. I need to stop partying so much. I need to stop putting myself in situations where the part of me that I hate seems to thrive.
In 5 years or so, I don’t see myself in this city. I don’t see myself dealing with the same drama or contributing to it. That means I still have 5 years to grow out of it. I am starting with my 101 in 1001 plan. And there will be people who want me to come out and party and be the “old” Arual, but I have to be strong and keep with my plan of being the Arual that I love. The one who doesn’t have regrets and is clear-headed in the morning. I am too old to make my plan for the evening revolve around how ridiculously messed up I can get.
I wish it were tomorrow.

I wish

I wish I could just up and leave and start all over somewhere. Just A, me, my dog and cat. New life, new friends, new beginnings, a clean slate. I try so hard to be a better person, but my past knocks on my door to remind me that maybe I am not. I wish there was a way for me to just go away and everyone would forget about me.

Rosebud in a blink

I love the beginning of a month. It’s a fresh slate that has 31 (or 30 or 28 depending…) days of opportunities waiting to happen. And I especially love the beginning of the month when it falls on a Friday! Not only is it one of my favorite days of the week, but it also means that I have a weekend to work on monthly goals and I start the month off on a positive foot. And I love it even more when that weekend is a long weekend. Today could quite possibly be one of the happiest days of the year 
Today is also the day that I start my 101 goals in 1001 days project. I created a blog for that project so that each goal will be updated there. I suppose I could have put the two together which I may do in the end, but for now I just created a new one.
My weekend looks promising – tonight a quiet night watching Sex and the City Season two. Tomorrow, a drive out to the country for a bonfire at a friend’s place which is sure to filled with rowdiness. Sunday and Monday are filled with housework and homework. I am really hoping to get two units in my English course done this weekend (2 novels). The one novel I am halfway through and am hoping to finish it tonight, the other novel I will start on Sunday when I get home from Nanton.
I also received my schedule from the toy store and looks like I will make approximately $420 extra dollars this month to apply to my VISA! Super stoked about that.
I sure do love the beginning of a month 