March Break

I've been getting pretty steady work the past few weeks which is AWESOME. I think it might have to do with teachers wanting some extra time off to work on report cards, but I will take it anyway I can get it! I taught kindergarten yesterday which is one of my favourite grades to teach :) Today I didn't receive any calls for school but they called me at the rec centre to work at the child centre there (good timing) and so I worked a few hours there and was able to get some programming done for the March Break activities I will be running next week.

It's almost March Break!! Where has this year even gone? It's good though. I've been fairly productive. I taught myself a new crochet technique today, how to make a ripple pattern, but I can only do it using a single crochet, the double crochet messes me up. I'll work on it. I also went to the gym today with my brother, I think I'll be feeling it tomorrow since I haven't been doing any exercises lately, lack of motivation.

This Sunday is BF's grandpa's 88th birthday. BF asked me if I wanted to go to Toronto this weekend again and spend Friday and Saturday night at a hotel. Of course I said yes. I'm excited for it, it's always nice to stay at a hotel for a little bit, mini-vacation for us. His master's formal is coming up (I like to call it the prom) and so I need a dress for it so I'm hoping to go shopping for one while we are in Toronto. I was actually thinking about making a dress, but it's in less than a month (April 4th) and I just don't think I'll be able to get it done having never made a dress before. A month might be cutting it short. I own ONE dress (I recently donated a couple to the Salvation Army) and I've worn it the past few dress-worthy occasions so it's time to invest in another one, hopefully one on sale!

This prom coming up is also an incentive to make me want to exercise better and eat well. My brother's co-worker gave him a bunch of cookies that she made yesterday, they were huge and heavy like steaks, and I had 4 yesterday and ate the last 2 today :( I've probably gained a few pounds in the past week. Hopefully I can get my butt in gear and start eating healthier (less steak-size cookies at least) to look good in my dress.

Do you have any March Break plans?

My Mileage

Jessie did a post in February asking others, "what's your mileage?" I had never calculated this before. However I was curious after I read this post. I have recenely calculated this mileage for the last 5 times I filled up.

I range from 6.4litres/100km (36.38 miles per US gallon) to 7.7litres/100km (34.45 miles per US gallon). I got these calculations from a mileage calculator (so easy) from this website. I do mostly highway travelling due to work. I also travelled above the speed limit most of the time.

Some ways to save save on fuel are to slow down. This one is easier said than done though.

Don't drive, or limit driving. The weather is getting nicer, can you walk? Can you do all of your errands in one trip?

You should check your tire pressure. Keep 'em pumped up!

Accelerate at a gradual pace. The faster you burn it from a stop or slow speed the more fuel you are using.

Travel at a constant speed. This goes along with the last one, the less shifting your car has to do, the better, especially in traffic jams.

Weekend Recap

How was your weekend? I had a fun weekend. I left my house early on Saturday morning to visit my cousin and her boyfriend in Toronto. We got our eyebrows done (the girl waxed, threaded, plucked and cut them), it was my first time getting that done EVER. I was so nervous but it really wasn't that painful. We also did some shopping at Costco, I love that store! We met up with my BF then on the subway and went to see a comedy show at Absolute Comedy. It was very funny!! What is weird too, is that I only know about 5-10 people that live in Toronto, and I saw one of them there, a guy from my Teacher's College class. It's such a small world!!

We drove to BF's house after and celebrated his friend's birthday. On Sunday BF made me breakfast, we watched some funny animal youtube videos, we washed my car, and bought a few things for his new apartment. It was a really fun weekend. I spent $40 at Costco (some books, and cards), $30 at the comedy club, $10 at the bar celebrating BF's friend's birthday, and $20 on eating out. No more spending this week!!

Updated Savings

Today was payday. It was a small paycheque, next one will be better. However I was still able to update my savings with it. I put $250 toward my TFSA, $100 toward Christmas/Gift, and $100 toward travel. Feels nice to see those progress bars grow!!

My next paycheque will go toward my CC (stuff I purchase this month), and debt. I'm looking foward to it!

Another Day, Another Dollar

I went in for a half day today teaching Spec-Ed at my old elementary school. I was preparing my day, and I get a call to come down to see the principal in the grade 7/8 classroom. I go and he is there with the kids and asks me to forget what I was supposed to be doing and that he needs to change my schedule to cover the 7/8 class, they weren't able to get a supply for her. Then he asks what I'm doing for the afternoon. Nothing. He asks me to stay for the afternoon too. Woohoo. I've been getting a lot of work lately which has been really nice. The payday in 2 weeks will be pretty good compared to lately.

I didn't have a lunch though, and I was supposed to meet my mom and grandpa for his birthday lunch at Swiss Chalet. Lucky for me it was only about 5 minutes from the school. So I still got to go out for lunch with my grandpa and back with lots of time before the bell rang. Practiced some sign language with him too. Unfortunately my weekend ASL class was cancelled so it was nice to be able to practice with someone fluent.

Tomorrow is payday, yay! Hope everyone has a fantastic Friday and weekend.

How Much For A Haircut?

I am getting my hair cut tomorrow. I'm also going to get it highlighted, I'm so excited. I don't get to go to the hairdresser very often. 3-4 times each year. It's expensive and it's very hard to schedule around my working schedule. However I already know that I am only working in the morning tomorrow so I called today and booked an appointmennt for tomorrow afternoon.

How often do you get your hair cut? How much does it cost to get done? What do you get done?

I have long hair, not crazy long but below my shoulders. I get partial highlights, and then about once a year I will get full highlights. I go to a place I trust and they do a nice colouring. It costs me about $100 with tip. Yikes, that's why I don't get it done very often.

Boys have it easy, my brother cuts his own hair! FREE! I could highlight it myself but that is such a process and it never turns out the way you want. I have light brown hair, and if I don't get the colour right it turns out a weird orangish colour, so it's worth it to me to have it professionally done.

February Spending, March Goals

February was an expensive month. I spent a total of $1669 eeeeek! The breakdown:

Expenses (Total $959)
Car - $506 (I had some repairs, an oil change, not typical)
Food - $4
Restaurant - $22
Clothing - $0
Gifts - $6
Personal - $77 (pills and some foundation)
Education - $50 (applied to several jobs)
Phone - $42
Everything Else - $252 (this was for some books, $26 mailing fee, fabric, and some CC payment leftover from Jan, no interest was paid at least)

Debt (Total $300)
Family loan - $300

Savings (Total $410)
Christmas/Gifts - $60
TFSA/E-Fund - $250
Travel Fund - $100

Wasn't a great month with car expenses and buying books I really didn't need.

Looking forward to March, I want to spend way less on my car. At least $300 to my family loan again. I'm hoping at least $400 also to savings. I also want to get my hair cut and highlighted. I hope to be busy with work this week to help with these things!