IWIW – 02/29/12

Yesterday I had to focus my train of thought back to reality.

Today is all about being delusional … again!!!

Today’s want is brought to you by the letter T, as in:

Tablet

I have no real need for a tablet.  I have a perfectly good laptop.  But give 2 of my cousins an iPad and all of a sudden, I want one.

My Step-Mom got this Toshiba tablet for Christmas.

(Source)

Considering when we last spoke she wanted an iPad I asked why she chose this one. She pointed out that it can read SD cards, has USB and HDMI slots and expandable memory.

Good enough for me!

My parents are the kind of people who research the heck out of expensive purchases. So when they finally part with their money it’s because they are getting a great deal.

I think I told you that I am going away for March Break.  This got me thinking that having a tablet would be a great idea.  I can use it to blog while away, cause I know you all are really interested to know what I am doing all the time!!  I can read blogs while chilling on the beach.  My kids can use it to entertain themselves on the long drive there and back.

Several good reasons why it’s a great purchase.

Only one reason against it.

I. DON’T. NEED. IT.

So even though it was on sale when all these while thoughts were running through my head, I left the tablet in the store.

Yeah me!!

Slippery slope

Today’s post is about kitchen porn.

Yesterday my cousin added new cabinets to her kitchen.

It went from this.

To this.

Of course this got me thinking about my own kitchen.

Then she sent me this.

 (Source)

Very pretty + nicely organize = Super sexy!!!

And before I knew it, I was day dreaming about changing my kitchen … AGAIN.  Pondering taking the measurements so I can get an estimate from Home Depot.

And then I went to bed and woke up to my reality.

My cousin has a different set of circumstances to mine.  While I would love to re-do my kitchen and I will, the time is not now.

Once I get out of debt, I will take measurements and pick cabinets and all that stuff. But until then I need to remain focused.

IT.IS.HARD!

Especially since I am nowhere near the end of the tunnel.

Low (No) Spending & Decluttering Challenge, wk 4

Low (No) Spending Recap

Feb 19
$12.68 milk

Feb 20
No Spend Day

Feb 21
$11.29 dinner with Princess
$18.06 coffee press and travel mug
$3.77 fruit
$5.64 Sunny Day mug

Feb 22
No Spend Day

Feb 23
$2.59 bread

Feb 24
No Spend Day

Feb 25
$21.00 dinner with friends

Grand Total: $75.03 
3  No Spend Days

Decluttering Recap

This week-end, I would have like to tell you that I tackled started my “dreaded” task but that would be a lie.  I have several boxes of CDs to rip and then get rid of.  I thought I would have started it already but sadly I did not.  I have 3 garbage bags of stuff to donate, along with an old TV and lamp.  My goal is to at least get these out of my home before the week ends.  

On the positive side I did finish my taxes.  I was kinda been dreading it, does that count??

The strangest thing

Ummm, I think I was headhunted today.  First time EVER!

I work for a small company, so I tend to wear many hats.  One of those hats is receptionist.  When our front desk person is away from the desk, the main line is forwarded to my area and when it rings I usually answer it.  Sometimes in a fake accent to amuse myself.

Today, the phone rang and the person on the line was looking to speak to a job title that was similar to mine.  So I said “Speaking” and she launched into an introduction including the company she works for.  Thinking she was cold calling to see if I needed any additional staff, I let her continue.

As it turns out I was very wrong.

She was looking to recruit me.

She has a client who is looking for someone who is currently doing what I do.  Curiosity got the better of me and I let her continue.  The job sounds interesting enough, but what I really wanted to know was the compensation.  She told me the salary offered.  It was lower than what I am currently making.  She asked me to name a price, so I told her $8000.00 more than I am currently making and $20,000 more than her suggestion.

She didn’t seem to blink.  In fact gave me the “if it’s the right person, her client would be willing to pay” speech.  I’m intrigued.  I gave her my contact information.

She sent me an email requesting my resume.

I think out of nothing more than I am extremely nosy, I will send her my resume and see what happens.

I’m not sure what it would take for me to leave my company.  My intention is just to see what else is out there.  I am happy where I am. More money never hurt, but I am learning new things at my current position and I am really enjoying that.

I told one of my friends who asked me if I would tell my boss that I was offered another job and try to negotiate more money if it came to that.  Until she said it, the thought never crossed my mind.

I’ll keep you posted on whether or not anything becomes of this.

I Want it Wednesday

There’s a saying that I grew up hearing often that loosely translates to “those who want it, can’t get it and those who get it, don’t want it.”  

What this has to do with anything I have no idea, but it prompted me to start looking at my own wants.  

The list is long.  So I figure every Wednesday for the foreseeable future I would feature one of my wants.

First up on the list:

Braces

My teeth are not extremely crooked.  In fact if I didn’t point it out there is a chance you might not notice.  The kinda look like these teeth.

(Source)

The issue is that I had braces as a child to straighten out my teeth and as the years passed my teeth have been shifting.  While it’s not bad now there is the possibility that it could get much worst.  One of my Uncles had to put on braces in his fifties because his teeth were starting to lean over is how he described it.

On an ordinary day, I would not contemplate getting braces as I do not have orthodontic coverage through my benefits AND both my girls have braces and they are not cheap.  BUT my teeth are bothering me my dentist and he has graciously offered to fix them for a discounted fee.

I can hear you asking “How much, how much, how much??”.  

The treatment plan my dentist is recommending is:

• brackets on my upper teeth only
• for approximately 9 months 
• for the cost of $700
• paid in monthly installments of my choosing 
• interest free

This includes the cost of the brackets and the monthly adjustments.  After the braces are removed, I might need to purchase a retainer which would cost an additional $350.

I recognize that at this moment, this is completely a want.  But my thoughts are that this has been on my mind just not in the forefront.  I think I am getting a good deal, considering just the monthly visit to get the braces adjusted is $150 EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.  I fear that if I wait, my dentist will retire and I will have to go somewhere else and it will cost a lot more.

The money to pay for it would come out of my allowance, so my debt repayment and savings contributions would not be affected.

So my $5 question to you is, should I do it?

Do not leave unattended

This day was longer than long.

Last night I went to bed way too late and had to get up 1 hour earlier than normal to drop little Miss Diva at school to go on her QC trip.  Feeling tired and slightly cold, I stayed in bed longer than I should have.  So it was a quick throw on some clothes, pull back my hair and out the door.

In the basement garage, I left Diva by the garage door with her suitcase and walked towards my car.  As I got closer I pressed the remote to open the doors.  Nothing happened.  Thinking I was too far away I tried again as I got closer.  Still nothing.  I stood beside my car and tried again.  Pulled apart the remote, not sure why but that didn’t work either.  I opened the door with the key, expecting the alarm to go off. NOTHING.  My battery was dead.  The clock and odometer that are usually visible were gone.

At this point, I started to panic a little, as the bus was scheduled to leave at 7:15 and it was 7 am at this point.  We do not live close enough to her school to walk.  It is a 7 minute car ride.  I said a little prayer and called the mother of her best friend, hoping that she can pick up Diva.  She answered and agreed to leave the school and give us a ride. I am ever so grateful. In fact she later told me that she usually doesn’t get reception while in the school, it’s amazing that I did get through to her.

We arrived at the school and the bus still had not arrived.   In fact by the time the kids got on the bus and it pulled away it was after 8 am.  I arrived back home to see the CAA battery boost truck in the parking lot.  He took his portable booster into the garage with me and the car started immediately.  I drove the car out of the garage while calling Princess to see if she was awake.

Now this is where I will admit fault, but when the battery dude was there I gave him a blank look when he was trying to figure out why my new  just replaced after this incident battery was dead.  I think it was the fault of the best $10 I ever spent.  My car has heated seats.  The driver side seat no longer heats.  The dealership thought it should be a quick, cheap fix; it wasn’t.  The next suggestion was a $400 one.  I declined.  One day while killing time in Canadian Tire, I came across a heated seat cover on sale for $10.  A warm backside is a happy one, my friends.  Anyhoo, while out and about on Sunday, I don’t think I completely pulled out the car charger and since I didn’t go anywhere on Monday …. it had plenty of time to drain my battery.  But don’t tell the battery dude.

At this point, the battery dude suggested I leave the car running for a while which was not possible as I had to get myself together, then drive Princess to school for 8:40 and at this point it was 8:25. He turned off the car and then started it again without any issues so he figured I should be alright.

I returned home, to find Princess mostly dressed.  Tired and in need of coffee, I decided to make her late for school by getting ready for work and having a cup of caffeine.  I did a fast shower, inhaled coffee and made a quick salad and we were out the door.  It is just after 9 when I dropped Princess off.

The day was slow and long.  I discovered that 11 days ago I accidentally deleted some records from one of our databases and there was/is no back up available.  Along with a programmer, we came up with a game plan.  I stayed late to execute.  Records have been recreated and all is well.  But it was 6:45 pm when I left work.  Although I went in late, I didn’t need to stay quite so late.

Earlier in the day I decided that I was not going to go home to cook dinner.  So I found a “2 can dine for $9.99″ coupon for Harvey’s, a burger joint, and went to collect Princess from home.

We sat in the restaurant which is rare for me.  I like to take my food home.  When we were finished I suggested we go into the nearby Asian supermarket to get some fruit.  Since it was our first visit, we walked up and down EVERY aisle.

And that’s when the trouble started.

I found this.  And since I thought it was beyond cute, it came home.   Did I mention it also had a lid. I did also pick up some fruit if that matters to anyone!

Since I was still on the road and had a coupon to get a French press reduced to $10 from $24, I went to pick it up.

 (Source)

Never leave a tired woman unattended.

While I did not do any real damage I did pick up this.

 

(Source)

I am a sucker for glass and no longer have a suitable travel mug at home. So that sealed the deal for me.  Plus it was on clearance!!

Given that this is the longest post about nothing much, I think I will call it a night and stop rambling.

 

Low (No) Spending & Decluttering Challenge, wk 3

Low (No) Spending Recap

Feb 12
No Spend Day

Feb 13
No Spend Day

Feb 14
$4.28 groceries

Feb 15
No Spend Day

Feb 16
$97.77 groceries

Feb 17
No Spend Day

Feb 18
$81.38 Wal-mart
+$80.77 Refund
$22.59 Track pants for Diva

Grand Total: $206.02 – $80.77 = $125.25
4  No Spend Days

Decluttering Recap

I had this great idea.  The food processor should live in the kitchen.  Since I am short on cupboard space, I thought it could sit on the kitchen table with it’s cousin, the mixer.

There was a small problem, can you see what it was?

Now the cousins can hang together.

On an unrelated note, inspired by this Mutant Supermodel post, I picked up a scarf I started crocheting … a very long time ago. I found it 2 weeks ago when I was cleaning out the chair in my room.  It had been so long that since I last crocheted I had to look up how to start a new row. I will post pictures when I am finished.

 

Unproductive

And loving it!!

It’s Family Day long week-end here in Ontario.

And because I know I have Monday off, I have been on the slow boat.

I have not done much.  In fact, I have not even decluttered yet.  I have picked the place, the kitchen table.

It is a hot mess, but it won’t be for long!!

Better post tomorrow, right now I am going back to doing nothing!!

Thrift store shopping

When I read about all the great deals bloggers get at thrift stores, I get a little jealous.

(Source)

It is only in the last couple of years it has occurred to me to even walk into a thrift store much less shop there.  I was am the queen of donating, but it never dawned on me to look and see what others donated.

Since I read a lot of American blogs, I was introduced to cheap grabs at local thrift shops.  And wondered if I could find deals here.

2 years ago on my trip to MD, my cousin pointed me in the direction of what she called a great thrift shop.  I scored this purse I had my eye on previously for $7, regular price was $29.99.

(Source)

I was hooked.

Hoping to replicate the same finds locally, I went into a thrift shop I happened to pass several times before.  To put it delicately, I opened the first door, hesitated, then opened the second door and my nostrils were assaulted by a musty smell that was beyond unpleasant.  I hightailed it out of there.

It took another year before I went into another thrift store.  This one was better but still not enticing me to really shop.  I wandered around but it was very cluttered and disorganized.

Last week-end, on the recommendation of my BFF, I went to the closest thrift store to my place.  It was not bad.  Everything was organized and neat.  Since I had a long list of errands to run, I only spent a short amount of time in the store.  My intention is to go back when I have time to spend hunting.

I am slowly becoming more aware of thrift stores in my local area.  I would like to find a few more to see what else is out there.  Hopefully I can find one that has lots of cool items are great prices.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Hope it was a good one for you.

Be you single or not, here’s to spending time with our loved ones.  Making sure they know that they are loved.

I’m going to go harass hug mine now.

I leave you with one of my favourite love songs.

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