About Me

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Let's Get Physical

I've been singing that song tonight. Why? Because I am dressed in 80s gear. Yep tomorrow is 80s day at the school I'm working at so I've gotta have some school spirit!

I am wearing my hair curly in a side ponytail, side bangs with a neon pink hair band. Big hoop earrings, blue eyeshadow and lots of it. A couple of my moms necklaces and a bunch of her bangles. Then I'm wearing this normal neon pink v-neck t-shirt, and my neighbour let me borrow her black spandex pants (I should mention my neighbour is in her late 60s lol). I am wearing flats because I have no 80s shoes (where are my high tops or my jelly shoes when I need them??), and my mom let me have a new pair of pink fuzzy home-socks. I cut the toes off of them and they are now leg warmers! They are a bit short but they will do.

I hope most of the students and teachers ALSO dress up!!

I sent a pic to BF and he thinks I look 80s yay! I love playing dress up. Enjoy your Friday and weekend!

Monday, April 26, 2010

This and That

I worked today so I had to have my brother take in my car to get the new tires. It ended up costing $247, blah! I'm glad it is done though. The tires were only $69 each, and the rest was labour etc. It costs so much to have THEM change my tires. I really need to learn. Hopefully the equipment necessary isn't too expensive. But if I learn that will save me $140 per year!!! Just changing tires (once a year to change from winter tires and once a year to change back to winter tires)!!

I taught Grade 5 today and this kid who needs a computer to do his work printed 100 copies of another boys speech while I wasn't looking. Sneaky little devil!!

BF came this weekend which was nice. He is moving to a new apartment in Toronto for his placement (he will be there for 6 weeks) this weekend so I will be travelling there on Saturday once he is moved in. We're looking for some inexpensive ideas of things to do around Toronto. I'm thinking we might go to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Science Centre and Reptilia (just because I get in free as a teacher and can take a friend to Reptilia for free). He also wants to possibly go to Casa Loma. He's not very into art and I've been to ROM at least 6 times. Any suggestions?

I bought some books using gift cards I received for Christmas last week and spent about $25 extra. My roommate is getting married this summer and her birthday is in May, I got her this cute book called "How To Get Married, By Me The Bride." It's written from the perspective of a 6 year old, it's cute! I think she will like it. She is a supply teacher too so she can use it in the future.

I'm volunteering for a couple of hours tonight and need to get ready. I hope you have a great week and are able to enjoy some of the sunshine!!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Working!!

I have been working a lot lately, and have been loving the classes (as well as the paycheques)! I worked 4 days this week and 4 last week. Hopefully I get a lot next week too, I have nothing booked for it yet. This school year has been going by pretty quickly! I am hoping that some LTOs (long term occasional) come up for the end of this year or next year.

There are a few schools in my board that are switching to the full-time kindergarten so I am hoping that will create a few jobs. I would LOVE to work everyday, in the same classroom. When I first started supplying I was too nervous to apply to the LTOs because I felt like I needed a bit more experience under my belt. But now I feel confident in my abilities and believe I am ready for my own classroom, even if only for a maternity leave. Hopefully some come up soon!

One can dream!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

New Tires

Yesterday I visited with my friend. Usually we end up going out for lunch or supper but since both of us are on a budget, we decided to make lunch and go for a walk. It was great! I love free/inexpensive activities!

After visiting her I loaded up my old tires and headed to the local tire service company. I showed them my two tires (the other two were discarded when I got my snow tires on). They looked at them and took some numbers and he booked an appointment for Monday for my car. I think if I understood everything correctly that they will take off my old snowtires and put on the two tires I still had, and two new tires for about $200. I hope I understood it correctly, I guess I will find out Monday!

Darn cars.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Income Tax In!!

I got the mail today and I received my new mastercard. It includes the pay pass and the chip. It's pretty cool haha. Also in the mail was my income tax cheque!

Grand total of $2037!!!! How sweet is that? So I went to the bank to deposit the cheque. I was hoping the bank would still be open so that I could withdraw a large chunk of that cheque but it was closed so I had to go to the machine and they would only let me withdraw $1000.

That money is going toward my E-fund. If I have time tomorrow I will withdraw another $500 and totally fund it. I also transferred another $75 to Christmas/Gifts, $100 to TFSA, and $250 to Travel. I also want to take BF for supper this weekend. He has paid for a lot of dates lately. Annnnnd that will pretty much take care of my entire income tax return. Sure easy to get rid of money, but I feel it's going to responsible places. April has been a great month so far!

Now to update those side bars!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Recycling, Do You Do It?

Today while volunteering after work we went to the local recycling plant. It was pretty amazing actually. A bit stinky, but very interesting! Our local plant collects recycling from all over the district. They collect A LOT! I remember when I lived in Niagara area we weren't allowed to recycle certain things (yogurt containers, etc) but here we can recycle just about everything! From plastic bags, to glass, to yogurt cups, to milk containers, to styrofoam, the list is quite extensive!

We saw the workers separate the materials by hand, and we saw equipment that separated it by machine. We saw a TON of plastic come down this shoot and onto these conveyer belts into this machine that crushed it into a huge cube and wrapped it up to be shipped out.

Also in the plant we saw all the other crushed cubes that were made from plastic bags, aluminium, regular plastic, etc. Did you know that they sell the aluminium for $1700 per tonne! Talk about one man's trash being another man's treasure!

Plastic bags are worth the least amount. I also learned that they sell the plastic bag cubes to China. They apparently use the plastic and combine it with sawdust to make furniture. Interesting!

I recycle a lot and compost just about everything that can be composted. I still know I can do better. I think I'm going to try harder at doing this (I often forget things like bread bags, plastic from cheese bricks, saran wrap, etc). I highly recommend going to your local recycling plant if you get the chance. They are all different and each one accepts different things. It's very cool to see how it all works! We keep a lot out of the landfill!

They also compost however that is taken to a different plant. We learned a bit about that and it's all very interesting and very timely for Earth Day which is Thursday. It definitely makes a difference!

Do you recycle or compost?

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Pay Day

Pay Day was on Friday. YAY!

I received my regular pay from teaching, and then I got another pay from my job working at the rec centre. I THOUGHT they underpaid me last time but wasn't sure because I hadn't received my pay stub yet. So I was excited to receive an extra $130 from them this week.

BF found and bought a wii so $140 went to him. Since it was like extra money I hadn't budgeted yet, I just used the extra pay money to give to him instead of taking it out of the Christmas/Gift fund. Also because it was still extra unbudgeted money I was still able to contribute to the Christmas/Gift Fund with this pay day! That's why it is so high right now! It will continue to grow until September when it is BFs birthday and graduation, that will be an expensive month. I'm thinking about either buying him a TV or a game system which will be expensive. His parents bought him an ipod touch for finishing school this week. After September I will have to work to get it back up to $500 before Christmas time.

I was also able to put $150 toward travel. I have now passed my goal of $500, and I think I am going to aim for $1000 to take on the trip now. Double my original budget! I know, not the greatest thing to do, but this is a once in a lifetime trip and I doubt I will spend it all. I just want to make sure I can cover everything I want to do. Side bars are going to change soon to reflect this new goal.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

My Family Loan Plan

My plan is to pay off my family loan. Then I want to save up $2000 in my regular bank account. That way I have the required $1500 to avoid bank fees, and I have a bit of leeway room in case. I also like to transfer my savings money a few days before paydays because it takes a few days to transfer to ING. I also have $2000 which will serve as my emergency fund if I need it. I am not ready to get rid of my regular bank account so I think this works out well. Hopefully I will get the family loan paid off and the regular bank account up to $2000 by New Years. $500 more went to the Family Loan tonight. YAY!

Therefore, my TFSA that I'm working on will no longer need to serve as my emergency fund and will instead be a planned spending account. I'm thinking car, wedding, house. My car hit 200,000km yesterday and as much as I hope to see it hit 300,000km I will try to prepare for not making it.

Monday, April 12, 2010

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Thanks ladies. It was very frustrating!!!

K comes to me after I shower (my mom had talked to both of them saying I was a bit ticked). He says, "sorry about taking your car without telling you." I say "thanks, I would appreciate it if you would ask" and he responds, "I kinda thought you knew." Grrr.

Anyway before I left L yells to me, "the money is for you" He left $60 and K left $20 for me under my keys. I go to my car and it's on empty :S He had told my mom that the car was on empty and that he planned on filling it up after they dropped their things off but I needed it to go to volunteer. I wonder what would have happened if my mom did not say anything to them. I definitely would have said something, but it shouldn't take having to say anything. BROTHERS! I filled it up after volunteering and it was $33.

I hope they learned something from it.

On the bright side of things, my gas is now filled up, I have an extra $40 for gas later this/next month, I got called for two full days of work later this week, I'm going to be able to pay $1000 to my family loan this month, and I won a free Tim Horton's coffee last night!

Some People!

Ugh! I'm not even that mad, I'm more disappointed. Let me tell you why.

My brother (lets call him K) a few weeks ago asks me if I will take him to Barrie (an hour away). K doesn't drive, yes he has his G2 but he does not like driving at all! I say sure I can take him but it will have to be on a day I have off and he pays for gas. He said sure. I get a call that night to work for a half day the next day in Barrie. How convenient, he is standing next to me at the time and I ask him if he wants to go, he says no. Why, I'm not sure. He is a bit of a lazy butt sometimes. Would have been more convenient and I said I would pay for gas.

Fast forward to today. K asks me if I will take him to Barrie sometime this week if I have time off. I say okay I can do that. My mom calls about an hour later (brothers are half sleeping). She asks if they still plan on going to Barrie today. I ask K and he says no because he is not feeling well. I let her know this and she says then she won't bother rushing home to give her car to them. I mention to her out of earshot of K and L (brother 2) that they can borrow my car since I'm not working today if they really need it anyway.

My mom then comes home for lunch (another chance to use take the car and drop her off at work). I mention that I have some errands to run today. My mom leaves with her car. L then comes to me and asks if K still plans on going to Barrie. I tell him that K says he is not feeling well so no but he should ask him in case. L asks K and K says he WILL GO!! I hear them talking about going. Thinking to myself how do they plan on getting there?? Chance for my mom's car has come and gone, and they haven't come to me to ask for my car.

I am sitting in my room organizing some things to get ready to make my trip to the library and bank and I hear the house door open and close and they are off....IN MY CAR!!!! I was surprised/mad/disappointed at that moment. I would totally let them borrow it if they had asked, but nothing!

I just think that is rude. They were not raised like that, they know I would have said yes and they took the asking part for granted. Maybe they thought it was okay because I had told K I would take him later this week, or maybe they thought it was okay because L asked if K had still planned on going to Barrie today after my mom had gone back to work and I had told him to ask K himself. Either way I still think it would have been polite for them to ask. They will also get to see my car hit 200,000km, lame but I wanted to see all those 0s come up! I will wait now to see if they fill up my tank when they return. L already owes me a tank, grrrrr. Some people!

Sorry for the vent :S

Why Can't All Weekends Be This Good?

Ever have one of those weekends that just solidifies the feeling that you are with the right person? This weekend BF and I had a great time. Friday we went shopping, I was looking for a dressy spring jacket, and he was looking for a tie. He picked up a tie that matched my dress. I can't believe how expensive ties are! He got a tie that was $45 but was 25% off. I couldn't find any jackets that I loved so I didn't buy one. That night we went to see "The Last Song" starring Miley Cryus. I thought it was okay. BF didn't like it, the girl sitting next to me was balling. I thought the brother made the movie! He was very funny.

Saturday we went to his future apartment. Measured some windows for blinds and then went shopping. Blinds are also expensive! We went to JYSK and they had some nice blinds but they were odd sizes and wouldn't fit the windows we wanted. We also went to Home Depot, but wow those were CRAZY expensive because it was custom fit blinds only. We didn't get anything and then today BF's mom tells us that she also went today and measured and bought blinds for the apartment. Yay!

Saturday evening we went to prom (graduation formal). His mom gave me a dressy coat. She said it didn't fit her and was happy to give it away. What timing! I was just looking for a nice jacket the day before! We got all dressed up, it actually felt like prom. BF looked pretty good in his suit :) His parents took our pictures, they even drove us!! It was funny, so much like a high school prom. We had a good dinner and danced to a few songs. It was nice to meet his friends again, they were fun!

Today we slept in. We watched MTV (16 and pregnant), am I the only one that loves that show??? I don't get MTV at my house so it's a treat when it's on at his house. We sat outside because it was beautiful out! We fed some birds, chatted and laughed. What a wonderful weekend!

I also only spent $31 and that was on gas and a hot chocolate! Perfect!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

I mentioned before that a teacher thought of me when he knew he would be going on a trip in May. He spoke to me, he spoke to his two principals requesting me, they approved. However today it fell through. He is no longer going. It was still nice of him to consider me, and hopefully something else will come up. It would have been 6 straight days.

I have been busy working lately and am enjoying it! I think I will be able to put at least $1000 toward debt this month AND next month, and hopefully more if the work continues to come in. I have nothing else booked at the moment! I keep redoing my monthly budget by adding more to debt and savings depending on how many days I work.

My GST cheque also came in today. I will deposit that tomorrow. I am also trying to save up for a dentist appointment next month, AND two all-season tires. May will be an expensive month.

If I don't work tomorrow I am going to drive to BF's by noon. Otherwise I will just leave after work. I THINK that we are going to see "The Last Song." It's a Nicholas Sparks book made into movie. Has anyone seen it? We also have his prom to go to on Saturday night. I need to pick out what shoes I'm going to wear tonight. I'm looking forward to it. Hope he saves a dance for me :)

Monday, April 5, 2010

Added To The Funds

Today I put $150 to the Christmas/Gift Fund which brings me up to 87%. However I am going to withdraw about $200 shortly to purchase a wedding gift for my university roommate.

I also put $175 toward the Travel Fund which brings me up to 90%. I want to bring more than $500 though since I am beginning to think that may be a low number for a 3 week vacation. I am going to aim for at LEAST $700. If I come back with money that will be great to keep in the travel fund, but if I spend more than $500 I at least know I am covered.

My dad also did my income tax today and he said that I should be getting a pretty good return. He did not give me exact numbers so I'm not exactly sure what that means right now but I'm hoping it will help me contribute to the debt and funds! I'm just glad I don't OWE money!!

Long Weekends Are The Best

Wow, I've been MIA for a while! Blame the long weekend. I had 5 days off!

On Good Friday my roommate and her new boyfriend came up to my town for the day. We went for lunch (the BF paid, I like him!). We ate by the falls and then got ice cream and went for a walk across the falls. It was very nice. My roommate got a sunburn on her arms and face and my nose got a little burned it was sooo nice!! Then we went to the casino. We were there for 3 hours! It was a lot of fun, but we all lost money. I lost $12.50. So not bad at all for 3 hours. At one point I was up $30 though :( That night I met up with my cousin, her BF and another friend and his GF and we went out for ice cream and then played some board games.

Saturday my BF came up. We went out for lunch and then he also wanted to go to the casino! Haha I swear I'm not addicted! There I lost $25 so fast! But it was still fun playing with him. We came back went to church with my cousin and then BF and I had some wine with my family.

Sunday BF and I watched some movies and went to my cousin's for Easter dinner. We then came back to my house to play some board games. Then watched some more movies. It was a bit of a lazy day but it was a good time. BF left this morning really early to get back because he has some studying and an essay to do. I spent about $50 this weekend, not too bad. I may still go to a store to buy some discounted Easter candy!! Hope everyone is enjoying the nice weather and had a good Easter weekend! Looks like rain is on the way soon :(

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Merry Christmas!!

April Fools! It's not Christmas. Did I get ya?? Okay my April Fools jokes are pretty lame. My mom did trick me this morning. She asked if I was working, and when I said no she said, "Well if you do get work today make sure you wear something warm because it snowed again." It was early and I believed her for about 2.2 seconds then said, "Haha April Fools." She did get me though. Then I texted my BF and roommate who are both coming up this weekend and told them the same thing, that we have snow again. My roommate believed me! BF hasn't texted me back yet, but I'm sure he won't be fooled.

Today was also a payday! Early payday because tomorrow is a holiday! So I paid off my MC and paid $300 to my TFSA. Side bars are updated. I also threw an extra $40 to my Family Loan just to make it an even number.

Some April goals are to pay $1000 to my family loan. I'm hoping I get enough work in the next two weeks to be able to do this!! I want to put at least $150 toward the Holland fund, and another $150 toward my roommates wedding fund. We are buying them a wii. I think I will end up buying the gift (if I can FIND one available somewhere!!) and BF will pay for the hotel. Ideas of where to buy a wii?? Has anyone seen one available in Ontario somewhere?!? They have been sold out for the past two months I have been looking!