Award

My pal over at The Quest to be Financially Abundant listed my wee little blog in her list of 10 blogs that she loves. Thanks P! :)

I thought I would join along as it has felt like ages since I've posted. (No need to worry, just life getting busy on us.) So without any further ado, here is me playing along, for the fun of it.



10 Blogs that I love:

1. Gail Vaz-Oxlade. Just like I can't imagine starting my morning without a cuppa, I also can't imagine starting a day without a daily dose of Gail wisdom.
2. My Half Dozen Daily is the second blog I read daily. She's a SAHM who homeschools, and is currently trying to sell a chameleon so her teenaged daughter will come home, lol!
3. Over at When I get to Where I am Going , J udy is an avid knitter, who attends school, is paying off her debt, all while running a household of adult and teenaged kids, a husband, and her mother. Update: Judy has taken down her blog. I'll miss her posts. :(
4. Saving for Travel or SFT for short, keeps us up to date on her travel around the globe (I'm so jealous!) and is our gracious host for The Sealed Pot Challenge 2013. She hosts weekly updates on this for those who are interested.
5. Sharon at MidLifeMomMusings just recently moved to her own domain and Wordpress after deciding to commit to blogging. She always has something good to share.
6. The Warm Hands Network is a charity knitting blog that chronicles the yearly shipments of knitted good to some needy children right here in Canada. Not only do they take knitted items from a specific list, they also accept Canadian Tire money toward the purchase of boots for folks who live in an area where the temp can drop to -40 C (that's the same as -40 F).
7. $lay the Monster  is B-Kat's blog. She paid off her $148,000 mortgage  in ten years. Nowadays, she works diligently to keep out of the clutches of the Debt-Monster.
8. Jolie writes Shaking the Money Tree, and I love reading about her life.
9. I love to read alottastitches where Linda crochets one child sized blanket per week for children entering foster care. That on top of the knitting, sewing and other crochet projects she has going.
10. Sass writes about her life with Princess Penelope (her daughter) and her two pups, Thing 1 and Thing 2 over at Getting Us There. I love her pictures of her shopping trips.

7 Things about me:

1. I love to observe people. By nature, I'm kind of quiet, a little bit shy, and would much rather sit and watch people at a party or gathering than getting involved in conversations.
2. I am a member of the Bear Clan of the Oneida First Nation people. To me, this means that I have a strong connection to family (by birth or by choice) and will do most anything I can for them. It also makes me want to sleep a lot in the winter time.
3. My self-esteem has bipolar disorder, I think. I either have all the confidence in the world in my strengths and abilities, or I have the worst self-esteem in the world. Depends on the day, I guess.
4. I do have a strong personality with some very strong opinions on things. I find that people either really, really like me or they absolutely hate me. I have learned to live with this and not to worry about those who don't like me.
5. I'm learning a lot about myself through knitting. I used to think knitting was all about the end result, the item I made, but it's become more about me just doing the knitting and what occurs in my head while I'm doing so.
6. Some of my favourite music is fairly heavy. Like heavy metal heavy. I don't seem the type at all, lol.
7. I want to get a dog in the worst way, but until we are in an actual house and not an apartment, I won't do it. It wouldn't be fair to the dog.

Rules if you want to play.

1. post awards on blog
2. thank person that nominated you, that would be me, but your blog is thanks enough!
3. List 10 blogs you love
4. list 7 things about you
5. List these rules
6. tell people you nominated by posting on their blog

Ontario Bloggers

I just wanted to say thank you to 'JustMe' over at Just North of Wiarton and South of the Checkerboard for featuring a bunch of Ontario bloggers yesterday. Now I have lots of new reading material.

Stop by these blogs and show them some love. You may find something new and interesting.

I can reply on comments now

Some days, I don't feel so smart. I have been trying to figure out for the last month or so how to have a 'reply' feature on my blog comments. Until the other day, this feature has eluded me.

I know it had to be something rather easy to do, because lots of bloggers have this feature. It's just that I wasn't one of them.

It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I am somewhat technically challenged. I lurve my electronics, but somehow, someway, I manage to mess up the most basic stuff. Simple stuff. Like being able to reply to a comment from a blog visitor.

It took me near tow flipping hours Sunday morning to figure it out. Blogger tends to have rather idiot-proof set-up and instructions, but 'reply' was one of those things I just could not figure out. So I went back to the beginning of the instructions (like a moron), and read through until I found what I was looking for. Two measly clicks. That's all it took for me to be able to thread conversations with you all.

I've already replied to some comments, and will be doing more in the next week or so. Now, I won't promise that I'll reply to every single comment I get, but I will be replying when I feel the need.

Thanks Blogger for making a college educated woman feel like a dumb-bunny. :)

Women's Money Week, 2013

Attention Bloggers!

Remember last year when Women's Money Week posted the Ultimate List of Women Money Bloggers?

Some of us had to send them an email, or something to get added to that list, and others were just automatically on it. I still use that list to find good things to read on the Interwebs, written by fabulous women who write about money. To see my wee blog on the same list with Gail Vaz - Oxlade and Krystal of Give Me Back My Five Bucks was certainly exciting to say the least.

How many of you have stayed with Women's Money Week and been following the Weekly Resource designed to help you take action each week? Did you even know that there are weekly articles and way to hold yourself accountable for the week's action item? The whole blog/site is geared to help those who want to reshape their financial future, and will hold you accountable should you need that too.

You can also sign up now to be a part of Women's Money Week 2013 which will run from March 4 - 8, 2013. Their site says, "It will be a great chance to connect with other bloggers and get incoming links." More information will be available in January.

I like the idea of having some new people popping in to read my wee blog, so I signed up. Perhaps, given a bit of time to write, I'll be able to write a marvy-fab article that will get featured during WMW2013.

Anyone else interested in taking part in this?

Updated

Hi all.

I've updated my blog list. I removed some blogs that have sadly come to an end, deleted some that I no longer follow (sorry) and added some new-er ones that I have found in my searches. Some blogs won't be to your tastes at all but I enjoy reading them.

If you would like me to add you to my list, leave a comment with a link to your blog.

I'm Grateful for My Friends

The Liebster Award is a way to give some love to bloggers who have less than 200 followers.
I am fortunate enough to have been given this honour twice now. Thanks to fellow bloggers at The Quest to be Financially Abundant and It's Me, Sam for giving me this award.

There are rules to receiving and accepting this award.

The Rules:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and Paste the Award to your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the word and love to other bloggers.
5. Have Fun!!

With that said, here are my top five picks:

1. We May Be Poor, But We Are Happy : Judy blogs about her money and her sometimes hectic life. A sandwich generation gal who has a lot going on. I love checking in with her daily to see what shenanigans she's up to.

2. Digging Out and Up : Cassie blogs about her budget challenges and life in general. I love the tone of her posts, and I'm sure you'll enjoy them too.

3. Slay The Monster : B-Kat is slaying her mortgage and showing her progress to the world! It's been great to watch her progress. I'm so looking forward to reading this one through to the end.

4. A True Undertaking : My friend writes this blog anonymously, but I do know her in real life. She's a jack of all trades kind of gal, with big ambitions and a new baby daughter. She honest and caring, and I love all that she writes about.

5. Debt can kiss off! : Taylor is a new-ish blogger (7 months and counting) and blogs about beating down her debt and her and the hubby live their dreams.


I realised while making this blog that some of my favourites have already gotten the Liebster award from another blogger, so I made sure to include some blogs that I love that haven't already gotten one.  I also realised that most of my favourite bloggers are women. I look forward to reading these (and many other) blogs every single day. Even if the posts aren't that frequent. :)

Over the last year, I've come to feel friendship from the blogging community. I've been involved in a couple of swaps, and have had personal emails from a few bloggers as well. I know there are folks in the world who would say that online friendships aren't true friendships, but I would disagree. Some of you reading this blog know more about me as a person than some of my own family. I value the friendships I have made this past couple of years, and I want you all to know I'm glad to have met you all.

Do me a favour, and check out the blogs I have nominated for this award, and spread the love.

Thanks again to It's Me, Sam and Finding My Way for your nominations. I'm grateful for your friendships.

My Top 10 Checklist

Thanks to Carla over at My Half Dozen Daily ( who attributes her post to Momof2 at Abundance: Frugality, Food, Fitness and Fun ), I have also decided to make my own Top 10 Checklist.

The idea is to make a list of ten things that are important for you to do every day. Write them down, and then check them off as you go along.

At first I thought, "Oh, I'll just write down the top ten things I need to do today" and then I realised after rereading both articles, that the list should be things you need or want to do everyday. Thinking about it while writing my list really shows what I value and where my priorities are.

My Top Ten Checklist

1. Write a blog post, a letter, a thank you note, or a section of my story. Writing everyday is something I love doing.
2. Have my 5-A-Day. Smoothies make this much easier but I need to keep this a priority if I ever expect to lose any weight.
3. Clean for 1/2 hour. I can break this into two fifteen minute intervals if need be.
4. Do 1 load of laundry. We go through lots of clothing, and the mountain never seems to get any smaller. I have to keep up on this, and this is a good way to do so.
5. Spend 1 hour a day making or creating something. (Knitting, plastic canvas, candles, etc.)
6. Spend 1 hour daily on business paperwork. This should keep me caught up.
7. Make dinner from scratch.
8. Exercise for 1/2 hour; Walking outside in nice weather or doing at least one circuit of my DVD.
9. Spend 1/2 hour on budget/spending or finances. Must. keep. costs. down.
10. Spend time with members of my family, either individually or together. I love spending time with these people, so I will continue to show them that they are a huge priority in my life.

So, that's my 10.

And this post means I can cross off one thing on that list today. ;)

August 2011 Goals

I typically write out our budget in my spiral notebook, which is my guide, in order of priority of what needs to be paid and when. At the top is our monthly rent amount, as well as our telephone/internet/cable/fax account, followed by credit card payments and then various savings pots.

This month, I have added 3 new categories. One is the repayment to our rent account. The sooner we pay this back, the better I will sleep at night. Second is the Laptop fund. I want to start saving for this, although it not a necessity, it will make life easier when I meet with clients. Third is a saving fund for the new equipment I will need at some point for my business. I have to have it on my radar by writing it on the budget, so I won't forget about it.

My goals for August are:

1. Deposit the remaining $347.29 needed into the Emergency Fund.
2. Put $500 into the rent account to start paying back the loan.
3. Spend the vacation money we have taken out, and to spend it without regret or guilt.
4. Put any leftovers from vacation into rent account.
5. To earn $500 total from all side gigs.
6. Draft some blog posts and see if they will actually post while I am away on vacation.

I've been feeling like I'm all over the place with our money, so to try to combat that feeling, I'm going back to basics somewhat. all monies brought in during August will be divided by percentage according to Gail's Life Pie suggestions, and then deposited to those various accounts or jars.
It won't get us out of debt any faster, or get us to our savings goals quicker, but it will make me feel better about our money. That's what is the most important, that I feel like I'm in control.

What are your goals this month? How is your money making you feel lately?

Welcome!

Last night, I got to thinking that perhaps if I ever want to accomplish something in the field of writing, then I have to start somewhere. I have some writings in a folder on my desktop, but no one other than me has ever seen them. I started writing a story sometime ago and let a couple of people see it, but it hasn't gone any farther. In order to think of myself as a writer, I must write. I think that right now the easiest way to do that would be to blog.

Let me tell you a bit about myself. I am a 37 year old mother of 3 wonderful children; a 19 year old daughter, a 10 year old daughter and a 1 year old son. I am in a commom-law relationship with a wonderful man who has shown me that life is for enjoying.

I have many interests including reading, writing, personal finance, simpler living, knitting, creating, and travelling.

I have so many ideas floating around in my head that I want to talk about, discuss, and expand on that I feel some days that I will never run out of things to say.

In the next few days, our little family is leaving on vacation (or is it stay-cation as we are not leaving the country) for two weeks. We will be driving from London, Ontario to Edmonton, Alberta to visit family, and seeing a bit of our wonderful country along the way.

until next time...