Sorry so slow on the Updates

I would update you guys on all my goals right now but this is a post I wrote Saturday before I left and scheduled for today. I just want to remind everyone to enjoy today and remember.... we get a whole day off tomorrow too!! Yay for long weekends!

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves! I'll update my numbers and goals for the month when I return :D

Baking was Fun

We made three batches of banana bread yesterday. Yes, I wrote banana bread. My mom had not received her zucchini yet so she thawed out a huge bunch of bananas. Once I made the first double batch I flew through the next two.

Then we were supposed to come home and get ready to go but we ended up drinking and playing Dr.Mario and Family Feud against each other on the NES. Then I remember BF saying he wanted to watch a movie in bed with me but I guess I didn't make it that far because he did watch one but I have no idea which one because I was out like a light!

It sounds like I'll be baking zucchini bread some time later in the week or next weekend.

Friday I love You

Yay! I can't believe Friday finally made its way here. I'm so grateful for the long weekend. BF and I have plans to go camping in Cumberland. I don't remember visiting there before, maybe just driving through so I'm up for an adventure.

BF set up a campsite reservation for Saturday night. We are only going one night as we are helping my mom bake tonight (she has a broken hand and a lot of zucchini) and we want Monday to relax and catch up on some things around the home.

This is something I've been waiting all month for so I'm pretty stoked! Let's just hope the weather holds up! ;-)

Smead Organomics is Getting you Organized

Want to save yourself time and money? Smead Organomics will help you do both! They have this nifty little program where you can enter your own personal organization problems and Presto! The solution designer will give you 3 different options to pick from to help you get organized. Who doesn't need a little professional organizing advice?

They also have a huge variety of articles written to help motivate you and give you tips on how to become more organized. If that isn't enough to get you interested, how about saving some money too? They have a calculator that will help you estimate just how much being disorganized is costing you!

If you're interested you can also sign up to get emails and organization tips sent right to your email. Check them out and save yourself some grief later on. A little time spent getting yourself organized now will definitely be worth it down the road!

Torn

So yesterday I went to my interview and I got along with the manager of production really, really well. We are very similar people! It went so well that she asked if I could stay for a second interview. I guess they want to make sure you are the right person all around instead of just going off one persons' opinion so two different people interview you.

The second interview went well too but by that time (1 hour and a half in) my brain was getting tired. I'm not used to using it so much lately. Hahaha. She said they would call my references in the morning.

I got calls from two of my references this morning saying they gave me glowing references and so I should have no problem getting the job. There's just a few little problems.

1) The pay is .60 cents less than what I make now. I won't have to carpool anymore which will save my $60 a month but still....

2) I really love my coworkers I have now and we had such an amazing day today. I will miss them sooooooooo much if I go.

The upside to the job is I also get a store discount both at the store I would be working at and at Bed and Bath. The people there seem to be really good too. It's a second hand store so I would get to see all the fun stuff going through and on my breaks I guess I would shop around (maybe not so good $$ ;-0 ).

I also like the fact that I'm helping stuff stay out of the landfills. BF and I are very environmentally aware and almost all of our furniture is second hand. Well now that I think about it everything is except our mattress, bed frame and pantry cupboard we bought. Damn, we are good!

They haven't called me yet to say that I've got the job but I don't know why I wouldn't. We'll see how it goes. I told them if they give me the job I would like to give my current boss at least one weeks notice.

Where has my brain been lately?

I thought I had been doing really well with money. So good in fact that I logged on to my online banking to see what left over money I could transfer onto my student loan. To my horror I realized I was in my overdraft for about $17 worth. Yuck!

Its been quite some time since I've made a mistake like this. Now I'll have to pay up some small bank fees to rectify what I've done. I am disappointed with my mistake and realize that I've got to get myself back on track.

My mind has been a flood of thoughts. Last night I tossed and turned all night. I didn't get a winks sleep until 4am and my alarm soon went off at 5am. I decided to call in to work. I slept until 9am and then tried making a doctors appointment, forgetting my physician does not work on Thursday. So then I called my mom to find out things are more chaotic then ever with my sister. I'm so tired of this situation that I'm removing myself from it completely.

The upside to this post is that I do have an interview down the street in a few hours. The job is Monday to Friday and 40 hours a week. The best thing about this job is the fact that it is close to home. This means I won't be relying on carpool anymore, which will also save me $60/mo. Being so close to home also means that if I do decide to look for a second job I can run home quickly in between without hassle.

The last few days at work I've been feeling horribly guilty about looking for a new job. I discussed it with a coworker I've grown close to and he looked me straight in the eye and told me not to let guilt hold me back. I really can't wait to find something and tell my bosses I'm leaving. I want to tell them that I love working with them and my other coworkers but that I just can't stay because of money and other personal issues with the job. It will be hard but I've got to just deal with it.

We'll see how things go with the interview first. The interview is in less than three hours so I've got to get myself ready. Wish me luck!

Worried about my 2008 goals :(

This morning it kicked me in face. I haven't been thinking about my 2008 goals. Well thats not really true I think about that sort of thing all the time. I guess I just haven't noticed how fast this year has gone by. It's the end of August already and it appears I will only be able to complete one of two goals.

My two biggest goals for 2008 were to:

A) Start my retirement savings

B) Pay off my student loan debt

I just cannot afford to do both on this wage. This year has been so rocky financially. It's got me already worried about saving enough for Australia, retirement and other things next year. I feel pretty behind and I need to take action quick!

I really wanted to get a secured credit card in the next few months because you have to have it one full year before they return your deposit and viola you have a credit card again. The reason this is important to me is I want to have it for an emergency during our year long trip. Not as back up money but in case I need to book a flight or something that requires the use of a CC. I just don't have the $500 to do it right now.

I have 4 months left until the end of the year. I'm not going to be able to pay off my debt by the time of my birthday in October but I'm still hoping to finish it off by the end of the year!! So its going to be about $500 a month. Wow, its going to be more than a squeeze on my income. I think I'm not going to have an option regarding looking for a new job and maybe possibly a second job for a few shifts a week. :(

A Scary Look at My Pay Stub

Today I got my pay stub for this coming Friday's pay day and ouch! I'm not upset that I missed that day because I really needed it but boy did it affect my cheque in a way I didn't like.

The good news is it was somebody's bday so we all had ice cream from DQ on our last break. When I got home there was a call for a job but it was too late to call them back.

I'm kind of torn. I don't mind my job but there are still some things that bother me about it. I have to consider some other facts too.

1) The pay is bad

2) The bonus structure is a joke!

3) The person I carpool with is going to retrain for a different type of job with another company after the summer season is over (October probably) which means I'm hooped for a ride.

4) It's way too hard on my body. I'm having major pains in my back and in my wrists and hands. I have to go see my physician soon regarding some of these things.

If I left this job I would miss the people though. Ugh! Don't you hate that? When the job and pay suck but the people are so darn lovable?!

Check Your Meat Canadians!!!

There has been a major recall of meats in Canada. Here are two links to more info.

One: Here is a Global Video on the Matter

Two: A total list of the recalled meats

Dreaming of Pay Day

I missed one day of work last week so I will of course lose out on one days pay but I still can't wait for Friday! Once that money hits my bank account I'll be all set to reach all my financial goals for the month. It's been a long time since I've been able to make progress on my money goals and I'm ready to get back in it!

Relaxing

Yesterday I started off the day doing some laundry, tending to the garden and making lunch for BF and I. We played some video games together and tried to relax for a bit. Part way into the day I got a call from my mother who told me she heard sister's boyfriend go outside on the phone and turn down work because he said he had to take care of my sisters kids. WTF!!

Then my mom told me she found out that in the last three days he had spent about $500 of my sisters hard earned dollars on crap without telling her. THEN she told me that the reason he hasn't been calling before coming over is because he said their phone was broken. Turns out that after my mom went to their house and made him call Shaw their phone wasn't broken... they just needed to pay the damn bill. *sigh Her boyfriend didn't think of that though. Instead when he thought the phone wasn't working he went out and spent another $100 or so on a new phone. Oh geez!

I told my mom that this was stuff my sister needed to know. Her EFund will soon be drained, there will be no money and nobody working. I can't believe he turned down a job after all of this. It gets worse though... he's been having my mom take care of niece during the day (with her broken hand - mom), saying he's taking care of things like having their van fixed before the warranty runs up but instead he's doing nothing! My mom asked him to bring some of the kids laundry over so that they could have some clean clothes and maybe some... I dont' know ... socks!! They are always barefooted. She had to basically stand over him to get him to do it and when she walked away he packed up mostly clothes for my sister and him... no socks for the kidlets. ARGH!!!

Then he called me part way through the day and demanded I go to his house to watch his kids while he ran errands. I asked him why he couldn't bring them to my house and he said the baby was sleeping. I told him I'd have to call him back. I talked to my BF who at this point knew everything that was happening and was not willing to be suckered in. I called my sisters boyfriend back and said "ok, if you want me to watch your kids then you have to bring them here. I'm working on my own household chores I couldn't get done all week. If you don't want to do that then I guess you'll have to schedule your errands around baby's naptime." Then he pretty much hung up on me. How nice!

So BF and I decided to let it slide off our shoulders. We played some more video games, cleaned up and then went out to dinner at a Chinese smorgasbord with a friend. Afterwards we went back to our friends house, had some drinks and watched Kenny vs Spenny. It was so nice to just relax.

Today the rain is pouring and I still have a lot more to do around here so I guess thats what's on the agenda except for maybe some grocery shopping. Thanks again for all your supportive comments!

Thank YOU For Your Support

Reading my post from yesterday I realize I shouldn't type up posts when I'm feeling emotional. I ended up not having to take the kids yesterday so BF and I made some Nachos and watched the movie 21. Then I called up my mom and told I would come over and visit to give her a hand with my niece.

When I got there my mom said she had called the hospital and talked to my sister and her nurses who in turn talked to her boyfriend about the provided daycare services. My sister told her boyfriend that he was taking advantage and burning out the family as well as himself. So she told him to set it up right away as we know she will be in the hospital for at least a month and so expecting us to take their kids every day is ridiculous.

He was really upset about it. I know they had fights about other stuff as well. He's been spending like mad since she's been in the hospital and it sounds like its her EFund. Since she is in the hospital there is nobody making money. She told him to stop spending her money, get a job and get some daycare. My mom talked to her afterward and told her that when her boyfriend gets a job any daycare time that wont cover him working and visiting her that we will help out but that we appreciate the break.

I snuggled with my niece last night and she opened up to me a lot. She's only 6 going on seven but the things that came out of her mouth is scary. She has obviously heard a lot of things from either being up at the hospital or from adults talking when little ears are around. I tried to calm her fears by letting her talk when she wanted to and giving her little talks in between. She's really missing her mom. It broke my heart and brought me back to reality. I love my sister and her children.

So I'm going to continue to do what I can and hope that together we can all work this out so its not draining on everyone. I think once the daycare is set up and her boyfriend can get a job things will be better. I feel bad about my rant but it was an honest moment in a time of weakness. So now I'm off to try and get some laundry and things done around here that have been low on my priority list since all this has happened.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Feeling Exhausted

Thank god today is Friday cuz Dolly is dead tired. Taking care of the kids after work is really too much for me. Yesterday I was so tired I was in tears. My sister and her BF have been stalling on getting daycare (paid for) because they think they have support from us. Well hold on a minute, it's one thing to help out in a time of need but its another to be expected to watch their kids every day when they have another alternative. It's just not respectful to our time or our generosity.

Today I thought I was going to be kid less so I came home and decided to catch up on some me time. I was in the middle of shaving my legs when I heard a quiet knock on the door downstairs. I went to the window and peaked out and saw their van outside. I was basically naked and so I just ignored it and went back to the bathroom. I mean, if he can't even call I am just going to pretend I didn't hear it.

I called my mom shortly after and she told me she told him that I must be busy with errands. His response was well I'll wait an hour or two and then go see if she's done her stuff. WTF?!?! Then I found out he wants me to take their kids in the mornings on the weekends and then for an hour on and off for the rest of the day. I don't think so!

Meanwhile I haven't been able to do anything for myself. I have a tooth that is aching. Some physical pain which I believe is from my job that I need to see the doctor for among other things. I'm trying to find a better paying job but worst of all.... I'm so tired it makes me cry.

BF thinks I'm being selfish but he's not the one who gets up at 530am, goes to a labour job, comes home and gets a baby and 6 year old handed to them half an hour later. Then when their dad comes to get them its 9pm and he stays for an hour to talk about nothing. So when he leaves I can only go to bed.

Sorry for the rant. I must sound like a bitch but they are really taking advantage of my mother and I right now. They expect my mom to take care of the kids with a broken hand. She's had my niece two nights in a row and will probably have her again tonight.. Sigh....

Missed a Day of Blogging

I missed blogging yesterday so I guess I didn't make one of my goals. I will by the end of the month of posted more than 30 times so I'm happy with that. ;)

The reason for me not posting is because there are some problems in my family right now so we are all pitching in to help out my sister and her BF with her kids. Last night I had both the kids and by the time they left I was more than ready to hit the hay! I think I will just have the baby tonight which will make things much easier on me.

Another reason is because it was What's Cooking Wednesday and I didn't have anything prepared. I think I'm going to stop posting recipes and ideas for cooking on Wednesday's as its hard to keep up with finding new recipes and remembering to take pictures all the time. I will still be posting recipes, but not on a specific day. Sorry guys!

Carpooling to Work

The job I work now requires me to be at work 10 minutes before the buses start running in town. I had two options.

1) Buy a bike - I really didn't want to do this. It was too big of an investment for a lower paying job and living on the island gives us very unpredictable weather. Not only that but I had to purchase steel toed shoes before I could even start the job so I really didn't want to purchase another big item for the job. BF offered to buy me a bike but I don't think I would use it very much.

2) Find a carpool - The first day of work BF drove me but since he starts work hours later than me it was pretty ridiculous to expect him to drive me everyday. Also, he bikes to work to save on gas so I really couldn't ask that of him. So I asked my supervisor who suggested asking my work partner since she picked somebody up in my area already.

So within knowing her about 3 hours I asked her if she would like to make some extra gas money by including me in her carpool. She said it would be no problem. I decided to offer her $20 a week (ride to and from work) but she told me $10 would be fine. A week into carpooling the other guy stopped showing for work so when it came time to pay her at the end of the week I offered her $15.

The only thing that messes me up is remembering to have cash each Friday. Last week I forgot until the morning of as usual and had to take cash out of BF's bday fund I have stashed away. I didn't have any fives so I gave her $30 and said it was for this week too because I have a problem getting my hands on cash, lol. That was fine with her so now I don't have to worry about it this week but I think if I'm going to start paying a few weeks at a time I should mark it down.

So next payday I'll have to remember to take out an extra $30 to reimburse the bday fund. I committed to saving $200/mo so I'll have to withdraw $180. It's not so bad. I have made all my financial goals already this month except for paying down more of the student loan but I know I have more than enough to do that so I'm all set!

Carpooling is the way to go! It saves money, gas and its easier on the environment. I'm glad I sucked it up and asked the first day. It's also helped me bond to with my coworker which is great. If you are able to carpool I highly recommend it but make sure the person you are carpooling with is very dependable!!

Another $50 Snowball on the Student Loan

I received the cheque from the hotel I worked one half day at. I took the $50 and deposited it right away and now I've just initiated a payment to my Student loan. I'm glad to throw whatever I can at my last and final debt!

Side note: Those fuckers didn't included any breakdown or ROE so I guess I'll have to call and leave another message. Geez!

A Days Pay Lost

Today neither BF or I went to work. There is a lot going on with my family and we needed a day to help out and recuperate. It was not a total loss though. We managed to make it out to our PO Box and I was able to drop off a few resumes along the way.

Hmmm Blogger is a Little Strange Today

Just got home from camping, checked into my blog and found blogger had reposted a whole bunch of old youtube videos from a month ago over and over again. Sorry to anyone who has my feed. :)

Bottled up Frustration about Water

A while ago Ginger from Ginger Won't Snap wrote about the bottled water debate. I have to say in my personal opinion, unless something is seriously wrong with the water in your community, its ridiculous to drink bottled water!

First of all I'm not sure about the plastic they are using. It's usually number one plastic. I used to use a Nalgene bottle for my water, every day for 3 years in fact, but recently found out it was leaching toxic chemicals into my daily water intake, lovely! It's said that when the bottles get warm they release this toxin. I know a ton of people who leave cases of water in their cars all the time. How safe is this?

Second of all I feel its a waste of money. There is nothing wrong with tap water. I live in BC where the water is delicious. Sometimes I keep water in the fridge in a jug but its only to get it extra cold the way I like and is definitely from the tap. If I happen to forget my bottle at home when working I cringe to pay a dollar (or more :( ) for a bottle of water. I feel like its such a waste!

Thirdly, I don't think mother earth likes all the plastic either. I've been to a lot of outdoor concerts and raves where the fields were littered with thousands of bottles in the morning. Sure, it can be recycled but think of all the processing it goes through to get back to you.

So I'm off on the search to find the new love of my life. Or rather the new water bottle for my life. I'll miss my pretty pink one. :(

So what do you think about bottled water?

PayPerPost Payout

I have accumulated some money in my Paypal account from PayPerPost payouts. I requested a transfer on Tuesday to my regular banking account. It seems to take a long time to transfer money back and forth but I wanted to do this so that I could use the money to pay down my debt. I have requested $96 to be transfered. Once it hits my account I will go ahead and round it up to an even hundred and put it straight on that pesky student loan.

Die student loan Die!!! Too much? Yeah, I'm really ready to be debt free already. It's been a long road but I am definitely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now. :)

M.I.A. PAPER PLANES official video

I have had this song in my head for the last few weeks since a friend made the bar put her CD on when we were out for the night.

Weekend Plans

Yay for weekends! Oh Friday, I thought you would never come. Ahhh I can't wait to relax.

This weekend I am planning to go to the lake for some overdue camping time. I LOVE camping. I've lived in tents before because I liked it so much. No lie! This year I have not had a chance to go even once so I'm really eager.

We are going with two of my best friends (sisters) and their parents. I love their parents. They are the most fun people in the whole world. I promised my friends mom I would bring some booze for her since they bought us dinner a few weeks ago. Her only response was "gin and don't forget the limes". Alrighty then! Gin, tonic and lime all weekend!

I've done up some posts that will automatically post for Saturday and Sunday since its one of my goals to post at least once a week this month!

Everyone enjoy your weekend, I will! :D

PAYDAY!!!! How I love thee!

Yes, it is finally here. The day you wait 13 days for each pay period. Too bad it all gets allotted to things so quickly. This cheque is kind of fun though because I will get to do a few things with it that will get my monthly goals started!

1) EFund goal for this month will be completed!
2) All bills will now be up to date!

Fabulous isn't it?

It turns out that this month is a three payday month at my job. Since I just started awhile ago I will get two and a half cheques to help out. Next cheque I will be able to reach my goal for paying down my student loan, my goal for BF's birthday fund and I'll see about getting something into that Australia fund too. I am so relieved to have money coming in again, even if its not much.

My First PineCone Survey!

About two or so months ago I finally got accepted to PineCone but have never actually had a survey offered to me until today. I have done about 5 or 6 household questionaires that don't pay anything but this was the first paid one. Yay!!!

I was so worried there was something wrong because I wasn't getting any but this was a great surprise today!

The Heat is Killing Me

OMGosh it is hot hot hot outside. The weather is supposed to be crazy hot through the weekend which is great but it sure makes work miserable. Today I was so slow because I was just to hot. I'll have to remember to wear shorts and tank top tomorrow for sure!!!

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - Frozen Treats

It's been hot here on the West Coast lately. It's time to save some dough on frozen treats. If you don't already have one I'd suggest picking up some Popsicle molds. They come in all different shapes and sizes now. I'll bet you can pick some up at the dollar store. Just pour in your favorite juice with some fruit chunks and you've got yourself a frozen treat!

If you have a juicer at home you could take this one step forward and make your own juice so you would know for sure that you're consuming 100% pure fruit content. This is a fun project you can do with your kids if you have them. If not you could maybe add a little extra fun, as in alcohol, to kick things up a notch. Not to much though as we still want them to freeze people!

Try surfing the net and you can find all sorts of delicious recipes. I saw a lot of fun ones including some for rootbeer (YUM) and even beer itself. So dust off your molds and beat the heat with this yummy frozen treat!! :D

Sending out Resumes

Hello all. I've been thinking and its time to send out some resumes. I'm not happy at my new job. I try to reinforce positive thoughts in my head but the bad outweigh the good in this situation. There have been some serious issues with this company brought to my attention that I cannot overlook. Plus, the pay is just not enough. I got my pay stub today for Friday's cheque and I have to say I am not impressed at all. I can't live off this type of money. It's definitely not enough for me to bust my ass like I do.
So I will keep working there until I find something better. :)

$50 in the BF Birthday Fund

Yesterday I received $50 cash during my sisters birthday party. First $20 from my mom to pitch in for all the food and decorations as her hand is broken and she felt bad for not being able to help out. I'm kind of getting used to doing a lot of the family events by myself and having people pitch in $ instead. Good thing BF is such an amazing help for these things. Usually my mom contributes but with a broken hand I didn't expect her to, lol.

The other $30 came from my brother! Yay, now he's down to only owing me another $20 bucks. It's taken a long while but finally he's paying it down. I'm really happy about this. I never said anything to him about it before or while he was at my place because I think its tacky and would make him uncomfortable at a family event. I was delighted!

So I took the cash and stored it aside in a little hiding spot to go towards BF's birthday fund.


50/600 achieved!

It feels good to be ready to go

Ahhh. Sunday is here and I have everything done. We cleaned the whole house yesterday and by cleaned I mean scrubbed. It's so nice when all the house chores are done.

I already have the sauce started in the crock pot. Yesterday we picked up all the snacks and things while we were out and today we just need to pick up a few extra things for the cake I'm making.

We're ready for the birthday except for a gift for my sister. Yes, I took one of her kids the whole weekend and I'm throwing a big dinner today for all of our family but BF and I agreed it would be nice to get a card and maybe a little something to wrap up. I have no idea what to get for her though.. something small and sweet. Hmm....

My niece already made a card for her. It's really cute!

Forgotten Money!!

Last month I did two days work at a local hotel and forgot about picking up my pay cheque!!! Oh dear! I just called and left a message for the payroll department asking if they could please send the cheque and ROE to my PO Box address.

Oops! I don't know what triggered my memory but I'm sure glad I remembered! That money will come in handy for sure!

Happy 08/08/08 Day!!

So today is 08/08/08!! Did it prove to be lucky for you?

So my weekend plans will leave me exhausted I'm sure. First of all its my sisters birthday so as a present to her I'm taking her daughter for the entire weekend, so she will have the weekend all to herself with her BF and baby.

I love my niecy. We share the same birthday and we are buddies. I try to take her for a sleepover once a month. This gives both my sister and niece a break from each other. She is only 6 but a handful.

Tonight we are taking her to McDonalds for a golden treat and then off to see Wall-E. Tomorrow I'm hoping to get in some other fun activities and then maybe camp in the yard. Either that or have a movie in bed night with popcorn. She always like that.

Sunday she'll be helping me in the kitchen and to tidy up before the whole family comes over for a big spaghetti dinner with all the fixings for my sisters bday dinner. She picked the spaghetti.. I tell you... I make killer sauce!

So it will be exhausting but fun at the same time. I'm tired just thinking about it. I have some major housecleaning to do before Sunday. Eek!

Things that make Dolly smile at Work

Today I was thinking about the happy things I encounter at my new job

• When the boss turned off the radio (sign of an announcement coming) and asked for a tally of who wanted an Iced Capp. I don't drink those but the thought was nice
• When I asked my boss today if she considered me seasonal (I wanted to request vacation days on mine and BF's birthdays) she said of course not. She said if I was to leave it would be because I quit, not because she fired me.
• Even though we work as individuals we're all a big team and everyone helps each other.
• It really feels like my bosses are the parents and we are a big happy family of foster kids. Some people are kinda annoying but we all get along and nobody makes fun of anyone unless its just light teasing.
• I conquered my fear of using the pallet driver finally and people noticed! I had two comments in a row. First from my boss who said "hey, you are getting pretty good with that thing" after watching me use it. Then almost immediately after another coworker said "You know, I have to admit when you first started using that thing I watched you simply for amusement. Then I watched you to make sure you didn't need any help. Now I don't even watch you. You're doing great." This made me beam because this was a BIG obstacle for me at work and now I'm over it.

I thought up a whole list while I was working today and it felt good. I probably didn't remember them all just now but that's okay. I am happy there, the money could be better but for now I'm just happy to be somewhere that I'm treated well and feel good when I'm there. It's 100% stress free!

What's Cooking Wednesday!!! - A Natural Clean

This What's Cooking Wednesday I've decided that while its fun to try out new recipes and have a blast in the kitchen, there is always the big clean up at the end. With that said I've decided to feature natural home cleaning alternative links for this weeks installment.

BF and I are pretty big on doing our part for the environment. We both are employed by companies that take environmental issues very seriously which is a win win situation for us and the beautiful planet earth we all call home. I decided to do some looking around for links for the best homemade house cleaners. This way you are not using toxic chemicals that are nasty for mother earth. Also, I don't like to breathe in any of this crap.

The number one best part about this post is most, if not all, of these cleaning solutions can be made from things you already have on hand in your home which means ... saving $$$$. So here are the 5 best looking links I found. There is a lot of repeat information but I figure people will just pick out what they are interested in anyways.

• Less Toxic Alternatives for a Clean and Healthy Home
• Eco Cleaning
• Natural (and cheap) household cleaning products
• Natural Cleaning Alternatives
• The Natural Way to Clean Everything In Your House
  

Exciting News!!

Since I've been in such good spirits lately I've decided to go ahead and set up another savings account with ING Direct for my Australia fund. I don't have much to put in it right now so I did the minimum transfer of $10 to get it started. Yahoo!!!!!

You may have noticed the tiny change on my side bar indicating the first small step to making this trip a reality. I am so happy about this!

It was SO easy!! I was able to do it online all by myself within two minutes. I called in to make sure I had done it correctly, which I had, so now I feel confident I could set up others if I liked no problem.

If you are thinking of opening an online savings account with ING Direct please consider using my link on the right to earn both you and myself $13 with a minimum start up deposit of $100. This offer is good for Canadians only. If you are an American leave me a comment and I'll direct you to a friend with an American link.

Sending Love and Support to Mr.Freeman

If you have not yet heard Morgan Freeman is in critical condition after a brutal car crash today. Here is a link to this tragic story. Lets all send vibes of love and wishes to heal well.

Happy Birthday BC

Oh how I love BC. There is no place better on earth. I wish I had the day off like most people did to enjoy this beautiful day but daggnabbit I had to work. :( Well, it wasn't all bad. My bosses bought lunch for everyone today that we shared on our lunch break. Later on they surprised us with a big cake as well. They said that even though we had to work because of the contract they are under they wanted us to have some fun and enjoy the holiday. :) So nice!!

HAPPY 150TH BIRTHDAY BRITISH COLUMBIA!!!!

Planning BF Bday in November Started Yesterday

I love BF a lot. I love his smile and laugh. Even when he pisses me off so badly that I want to punch him in the face within 2 minutes he can have me laughing again. It's frustrating and relieving all at the same time. We love to bug each other as frequently as possible. It may sound a little weird but it works for us. We really are a good team.

I love to do really special things for his bday. The first year I knew him he was away at school so we didn't do anything. I called him and that was it. The second year I lavished him with presents. Last year I decided to throw him a surprise bday party!

I set up an event on facebook inviting all his friends he's made while in BC and told them to reserve the date but that they would not get details until 24 hours before just so there wouldn't be any slip ups. We went to a friends restaurant that features belly dancers the first Saturday of each month which just happened to fall on his bday that year. The dinner was amazing and everyone had a great time dancing with the girls. I left early and went home to decorate the house like a casino for all the boys to have an all night poker game. While I was doing that they all went to play pool at a reserved VIP room that I had set up beforehand. I joined them there after decorating. The food for the after party had all been prepared the night before while BF was sleeping soundly. It was a lot of work but in the end it was all worth it.

We talked about his bday the other night when we were at the same restaurant. BF hates his bday and said from now on he wants very casual laid back bdays where there is nothing too special, just a nice acknowledgement from people that its his special day.

I've been slowly forming possible scenarios for this year in my head. Last night I did some web surfing to check up on some of the ideas that I have. I think I have figured it out. I can't say much because I'm unsure of how much he reads this blog so I won't be able to give out any details. I'm thinking its going to cost me about $600.00 though. That's my set budget. I know it seems like a lot but the following month he's going away to Quebec for the holidays. Since it may be our last xmas before the big trip to Australia we are spending it with our own families.

Since his bday is not until the beginning of November I will need to start saving $200.00 a month to make this idea a reality. Its not so bad when I think about that way. One problem I have is needing a credit card for one part of the event for reservations. I think I will ask my brother if I can use his after giving him the cash upfront. Hmm.. lots to think about!

Video Explanation to Post Secret

A few weeks ago I posted about how much I love go to Post Secret on Sundays and reading all the new postcards sent in. Today I found a link explaining this phenomenon.

M.I.A - Paper Planes

BC Lions VS Allouettes Photos

Last week I announced I was going to attend a BC lions game in Vancouver. Dang! We had a blast!! I couldn't tell you to much about the actual game because honestly I'm not a sports person and I was more interested in the hype and drama of the crowd than the actual game itself. I decided to post a few pics for y'all.

Here is a shot of some of the cheerleaders doing a cheer with the BC lions mascot!
There was always something fun going on for the crowd. One thing they did was have a beach ball that was passed around. At one point BF's friend, the birthday boy, caught the ball. He threw it up in the air and spiked it like a volleyball. He must have hit it pretty hard as it landed right on the field. Next thing I knew we were being boo'd by 30,000 people. Oops!
We weren't the only drama going on though. There was a lot of security action in our section. This guy was taken out for drunken rowdiness. He stood up and accidentally dropped a cup of beer right on his GF's head which bounced off and soaked the people sitting around him. As he left he boo'd the section we sat in as we sang

"Na Na Na Na.. Na Na Na Na.. Hey Hey Hey.. Good-bye"

There was a lot of friction going on, but this guy was the funniest for sure!


As I said before there was always something fun going on . This guy is paid to go around hyping up the crowd by screaming and pounding on this drum.

At one point "the wave" started and went around the entire stadium about 7 times. It was a blast. I videotaped it going by.
BF was sad his team lost out at the last second but not too sad because we were all smiling ear to ear and the entire evening was a success. Thanks BF!!

Such A Sweetie!

Here is a small tidbit of the conversation I had earlier with BF on MSN while he's at work:
(names changed)

Dolly says:
hey baby
Dolly says:
do u know what time the show is tonight? i would like to stop by the Dollarama and get snacks first. they are open until 9pm
BF says:
well
BF says:
i was thinking of going there
BF says:
buy ticket
BF says:
take my girlfriend to a nice restaurant
BF says:
then go
Dolly says:
awwwwwwwww
Dolly says:
thats so sweet
Dolly says:
u are sexy


I was all prepared to make dinner before going to the show but now I will take out extra time to make myself super sexy for my guy. We are off to see the new Batman movie!

August 2008 TCOB

I didn't happen to make any goals for July so I better make up for it in August.

• Pay Federal Student loan under $2000
• Bump EFund up to $500
• Go over all bills and make sure everything is paid and up to date
• Update Dolly's Garden Blog at least once a week (I've been seriously slacking, sorry)
• Get BF to hang bulletin board so I can finish setting up office in an organized manner
• Organize one box from storage room
• Go on another hike with BF while the weather is still nice
• Get at least one good weekend of camping in
• Blog at least once daily

So there are my August goals. It seems like a lot to have nine goals this month but these are all things that need to happen anyways... well except blogging daily... that I do for you! XOXO