About Me

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Back To School

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

School starts for the kids in one week. That means that I am hopefully going to start receiving supply calls shortly after that. I cannot wait. I need to get back into the classroom. I have been reading a lot this summer and wish I had been more productive but it has gone by surprisingly fast. I am ready to start work again but wouldn't mind if this awesome weather stuck around for a bit longer.

I have my first P.D. day tomorrow. It's a half day and the drive is an hour away but we get paid to go and it should be informative. A fellow supply teacher called me this morning and we are going to carpool. She is going to drive so I will give her some money for that.

Today I read a lot of this Greg Isles book that D suggested for me. It's been good so far. It's called Footprints of God and it's about a secret project where a small team is creating a supercomputer. At first I didn't think I would enjoy it, but it's been pretty fast-paced and interesting so far.

I really want to get back into sewing. I think I may go to Fabricland on Thursday and pick out some fabric to make a rag quilt. I still have a gift certificate from last Christmas that is waiting to be used up. I think I may even get started on a Christmas project I want to make. I am sometimes really slow at finishing projects so the earlier I start the better. Afterall, Christmas is less than 4 months away now.

My boss at the rec centre also said that I could come in to work with a child care supervision program they have 4 mornings a week starting after Labour Day. That would be good to get a bit of extra income until the supply calls start coming in and they find a replacement.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Weekend Update and RSP Update

I actually had a good weekend. Friday I did some things around the house and went for a bike ride. Saturday I read some of my book and then left to visit my cousin in TO. She and I had lunch at the mall and then we drove to XBF's and picked up my stuff that he wanted out of his apartment. It was an awkward meeting and we were only there for about 5 minutes, it made it a little less awkward that my cousin was there with me at least. Glad that is done with.

Saturday evening our uncle brought us some supper and then we went out for ice cream mmm! We went to bed pretty early and then on Sunday we went out for breakfast with our uncle and then my cousin and I went to the EX. My cousin is having some financial issues right now so I paid for her ticket as well. It was really fun there! We didn't even do rides or games. We saw a lot of exhibits, met up with my roommate and my cousin's friend. Saw some shows. My favourite part was the ice show which featured David Pellitier and Jamie Sale. It was so awesome, definitely worth the price of admission!

I headed back home after that and met up with D. He said the wedding was awesome. He had a lot of fun and it seems like everything went really well for his sister and her now husband. They are headed off to Spain today for their honeymoon.

I spent $30 in gas, $4 in drinks, $32 on EX admission, $4 on ice cream, $10 on breakfast, $9 on lunch. An expensive weekend and nothing to show for it, but it was really nice to see my cousin and uncle.

Oh yah I also put in $500 toward a RSP GIC with ING. I locked it in for 5 years which has a rate of 3.25%. I am half-way to my goal of $1000 in RRSPs this year. I think I will make another contribution once school gets started and I am earning more money.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Summer is Almost Over!

It's sad. This summer has absolutely flown by. It's hard to believe everything that has happened in such a short period of time. It's been a good summer though too.

I baked cupcakes on Monday and did laundry, then went for a walk with D in the afternoon. Tuesday I went shopping for a gift for D's sister's wedding with him. She is getting married this weekend. He got her a coffee maker off of their registry. We had lunch and then he bought me a wii game and we had supper here with my family and then played the game for the rest of the night. I worked on Wednesday which was a lot of fun actually. After work we went and saw Inception which was confusing at first but had a great ending (one of those thinking movies)! Then today D and I went out for breakfast and then he headed off to meet the groom and his sister for wedding stuff.

I'm not going to the wedding. I would have liked to but was not invited. It is probably for the best anyway since D is in the wedding and would have to leave for pictures, and I wouldnt be able to sit with him at the ceremony or reception. It would have been a little bit awkward I think during those times. I've seen him everyday for the past 12 days though and probably won't see him again until Monday. I'm a bit sad about it lol.

I think I might do some reading, biking and sewing. Might even visit my parents where they go camping every weekend and do some swimming if it's nice. Might even go to TO and visit my roommate to go to the EX. I'm not sure yet! I've never been there so it could be fun!

What have I spent this week...I bought a wii nunchuk for $25, $28 on gas, some candy $3, D bought breakfast today, movie yesterday $10, and $10 for lunch on Tuesday. I think I've been eating out a lot more since hanging out with D. It's fun and we usually choose cheap places (typically breakfast) but it definitely adds up after a while. Gotta have more make-our-own dates.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Lack of Postings

Sorry about the lack of postings. It's been busy around here!

I had workshops Monday through Thursday. Friday I worked. I hung out with D everyday this week as well. Last Sunday I visited my cousin in Toronto. It was nice seeing her and some of the people in her life. It's always weird talking to her and she tells me all about these people. I picture them a certain way and it's never the way they actually turn out to be. It's kinda neat to do.

The workshops were for the school board. They were optional and we weren't paid but I believe in lifelong learning and thought they were well done. D was house-sitting this week for his boss and their dog just had puppies, so it was pretty neat to see the puppies. Their eyes are still not open.

I finished Generation A, it was interesting. A very weird ending actually. Not what I expected at all, I thought the ending could have been better, but oh well. On to the next book, not too sure what that will be yet. D recommended a mystery to me, but I think I might be in the mood for a quick chick lit. We will see. I have this entire week off so I could probably get a book done if I really tried.

This weekend we rented a couple of movies (Couples Retreat and  Cop Out). We made dinner together and this morning we woke up really early and went out for breakfast. We also watched Lilo and Stitch today haha. I think D and I might go out for supper tonight with my family, my brother's girlfriend, and my uncle. Not sure yet, but I hope so!

I still have not contributed to RRSPs, I will soon though. I think I am going to go with RSP GICs from ING. Wow a lot of acronyms!

I think I am also missing a paycheque from work I did in early July. I thought it would work itself out this past paycheque but it did not so I am going to have to go to the bank and get some records just to make sure, and if I really did not get paid I'll have to contact my boss and  payroll people. Grrr!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Finished Harry Potter

On Sunday I finished reading Harry Potter. Yes I'm several years late in reading it!!

It took me about 100 pages to really get into it. I'm just not that into fantasy books. I'm more of a chick-lit kinda girl. But once I got into it, it was really good!

Last night D and I watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (why do they call it the Sorcerer's stone in the movie and the Philosopher's stone in the book??). I really liked it and it was neat to see how I imagined the characters to look to how they were presented in the movie. Usually once I have read a book that has been made into a movie I always think the book is better, however in this case I think they did an excellent job at sticking to the storyline.

Now I am reading Generation A by Douglas Coupland. Anyone heard of it before?? He also writes J-Pod and Generation X which I think are his more popular novels. I am about one-third of the way through and it's been quite humourous and a little strange. Basically it's about 5 people (each chapter is written from a different character's perception) in different parts of the world. It takes place in the future 2024ish. All the bees on the planet have vanished, so it's a darker world without the pollenation of bees, and then these 5 people get stung by a bee in their part of the world. They are taken in for testing to see if they are connected in some way.

It's been an interesting read so far. D recommended the book to me. It's funny and I like learning about the personalities of the 5 characters. For example, one is addicted to World of Warcraft, one is from North Bay, Ontario and has Tourettes, one lost his family in a tsunami, and another is a very interesting corn farmer. Hope to do a little more reading today!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Not-So Planned Spending

My brother asked me to take him to the city yesterday because he had to do a medical for the Army. I agreed as long as he paid me gas money. So I dropped him off at 10 and had until 3pm to occupy myself. What did I do?

I went shopping :S

I went to the mall AGAIN! Yikes, good thing I live an hour from the mall because it could be detrimental. Anyway, I did pretty good, I bought a tank top ($12.99) and a backpack. I've been looking at backpacks for a while now that mine has a broken zipper. I've had my old Jansport since I was 13....that's 12 years!! It was time for a new one. I bought a Burton on sale for $59.99. Hopefully it will last me another 12 years.

After the mall I headed to Futureshop. I had a giftcard I received from XBF for Christmas and wanted to look at the GPS's. There was a Tomtom on sale so I got it. It came to $46 after the gift card was used. Not too bad, hopefully I won't be getting lost as much now! My brother programmed it on the way home and it seems pretty easy to use.

After Futureshop I had lunch at The Great Canadian Bagel mmmm love that place! Lunch was $2 something. I brought a few snacks and water of my own.

After lunch I went to the beach. I brought the book I'm reading and laid down on the sand to read. I was only there for a few minutes though when my brother called me to pick him up. He gave me $70 for driving him, I said I don't want that much but he made me take it.

Overall, probably another too big of a spend day. But I already paid off my credit card today. Plus I made $70 for driving him.

Next week I am heading back to the same area Monday to Thursday for some school workshops. Gas is going to be difficult, and I am not going to allow myself to go to the mall!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Phone Plans and Big Spend Day

Yesterday my mom and I both had the day off. We decided to go SHOPPING!

We went to Winners, and then to the mall, then out for lunch, and then to Costco. I bought a dress (lol I thought it was cute, although I don't have any event to wear it to, it was only $35 and could be worn multiple times). I also bought a casual shirt, and a couple of work shirts, two white undershirts, two bras, a calendar, a giant bag of chocolate chips (for baking), a couple boxes of tea, a hoodie, and a DVD player (mine broke last week).

Total cost was $250 yikes!!

I owe my mom $125 for the Costco trip. Then I also owe her $30 for some long distance calls darn. I know I have made a number of calls from my cell phone this month too, definitely not looking forward to that bill. Oops! *Actually I just looked it up online and it was double what it typically is. Ouch!!* Maybe I need to look into updating my plan to include more minutes.

What is your phone plan like? I am currently with Bell. I have 200 minutes, 500 texts, call display, and message centre. I think that's it. What got me this month was the 200 minutes. If I go over then I am paying $0.20 per minute!!!! Long distance is only $0.10 per minute. Typically I pay $45 with taxes etc each month and this month is going to be $90.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Where To Invest in RSPs??

I still have not invested in RRSPs. I am 25 and have thought about them but haven't looked too deep into what it all means. It's a bit confusing with the GICs, Mutual Funds etc.

Currently I have two bank accounts: Scotiabank, and ING Direct.

Where should I contribute to RRSPs? Should I be looking into GICs or Mutual Funds? What is the safest route to go?

What do you do?

In other news, I worked three days this past week which were really good. I enjoyed them a lot. I had a game night with D and two friends. D and I watched a couple movies this weekend and went out for ice cream and sat by the lake. It was a chilly weekend compared to normal. It was nice to hang out with him and hope to see him again soon.

I also contributed $600 to my TFSA on payday Friday woohoo.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

LONG Weekend

I had an extra long weekend because D had Tuesday off. I worked Friday and then we were supposed to go to this shopping festival in town with my cousin and another friend. However he bailed on me because he was too tired to go, I still ended up going with my cousin and friend. It was a lot of fun and we saw a lot of people there!

Saturday D came over. We ran some errands in town, and he got a new HTC phone. Very cool. We then got some ice cream and sat at the falls and he took me to where he lives and showed me his favourite computer game and we chatted with his roommate. We then went out for supper and looked up potential areas to camp.

Sunday we talked more about camping and thought we really should have left that morning because it was beautiful out. We drove to Georgian Bay and looked into camping there, then decided to buy a tent and get ready to camp the next morning early. We went to his parents' house and borrowed a bunch of canoeing gear and some camping supplies. Strapped the canoe to his Jeep and then came back to our town to pack the rest.

We woke up early on Monday to pack everything up and head back to Georgian Bay, Massassauga Park. We got there and packed the canoe and then paddled for FOUR hours to get to our site. We swam and then started setting up. As soon as we were done setting up, it just poured for the rest of the night. The tent leaked with a tarp over top out of every zipper, I wonder what the return policy is on tents at CTC. It was difficult to have a fire and cook our burgers but it was done. Good thing D is very outdoorsy!!

Today we woke up, cooked breakfast over the fire and then packed up. It took about FOUR hours to paddle back as well. We did stop once for a quick swim to cool off. It was such a nice time camping with him. My back is absolutely killing me now though from all of the paddling! What a great workout! After we packed up the car we drove back to his parents' house to return everything. Then we returned his things and then mine. Then my brother, D and I went out for supper and a beer.

Total cost for the long weekend? $62. I found a loonie on the street during the shopping festival downtown and I didn't buy anything. I bought a sandwich which was $6 (lunch for two days) and ice cream for both of us ($7). I also paid for supper tonight which was $50 (D paid for the camping pass which was $23 for a night and two days of parking). It's a good thing I am working the rest of this week! I hope everyone had a great long weekend and enjoys the short work week woohoo!!