Sunday 13 May 2012

Sunday chit chat


Pretty much everything made at Braeburn Lodge is this size, not just their famous cinnamon buns!

It's time for Carla's Sunday night chit chat!  Join us!


What are you…

Reading?  “Old Haunts” by E. J. Cooperman. The third in a series about a haunted guest house on the New Jersey shore. I read the “Hunger Games” last Sunday afternoon, which was really enjoyable – both the afternoon spent reading and the book itself! J

Watching?  It’s getting into re-run season, but there’s generally something I can find to watch. I started watching “My Ghost Story” on the Biography network last night, but had to turn it off because it got too spooky! I love that stuff, but I have my limits.

Listening to? Nothing much. The furnace (still!) switching on and off. I've had my windows open for a couple of days and slept like a log last night because of the fresh air. :)

Cooking/Baking?  Not really anything, although I was looking through cookbooks the other day to see what I could bake as snacks for work. I found a good, low fat lemon poppyseed loaf recipe I used to make often, but still need a couple of things for it.

Happy you accomplished this week? Pet care for Joey. He’s doing well so far and barring any complications, his sutures should be dissolved in a few more days. I have lovely soaps on the way and I got some extra hours at work, along with a few hours at my p/t job.

Looking forward to next week? My friend arrives Friday evening!!! Will also get tires changed on the car and an oil/fluid change, plus work on crossing off items from my “to do” list.

Thankful for today?  Plenty of cups of tea, working on my finances and organization for school, my cats, my awesome home, friends, family and MOMS!!

**********************************

Today I made a couple of inroads on my lengthy “to do” list I posted yesterday. I’ve adjusted my sidebars to reflect more reasonable goals in most of my accounts. I maxed out my gift fund using some of the money I got from my RRSP and cancelled the $16 bi-weekly auto-payment. I then readjusted my LOC $50 bi-weekly auto-payment to $66 bi-weekly ($50 + $16 = $66), so that I would be able to knock a little more off by the time fall rolls around. The final auto-payment at that amount will be September 5, my last full paycheque from work. I’ll adjust the payment amount after that, but need to stay focussed and bring it down as much as I can before that, so the monthly payments will be as low as possible.

I also cancelled my cellphone. The contract was actually up in March, so I’ve been paying on a month to month basis since then, but as I said yesterday, I so rarely use it, even for texting, it’s not worth it for me. It takes 30 days for the change to take effect, but will save me $30 a month in the long run, so I’m pleased. I can always call and reactivate it when (if!) I feel the need to. My final bill will be May 24 and I will get a bill in June that should read $0 and reflect the cancellation.

I realize I’ve got all summer to focus on this stuff, but the sooner I get things crossed off, the better. The summer will be gone before I know it and if I have unfinished items hanging around, I’m liable to panic and that’s what I’m trying to avoid.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Good job on the cell. I don't have a landline so I need mine, but I don't regret dropping the data portion and going back to my old flip phone. And yeah, better sooner than later.

Toni said...

That is a ridiculously big cinnamon bun! Is it just me, or do they always smell better than they actually taste? Your lemon poppy seed loaf sounds like a good idea, I think I might have to try to plan to make one too!

Northern Living Allowance said...

Karen - thanks! I have a landline, too, and much prefer it over the cell, especially for long distance calls. Perhaps I'm a bit old-school that way... :P

Toni - thank you for stopping by! And yes, I do find they don't taste as good as they smell, but these ones are pretty close! The lemon poppyseed load is actually made with lemon yogurt. It's delicious!

Jane said...

I'm curious about your "canal boat" fund. Have you ever written about the canal boat? I'd love to hear more!

Northern Living Allowance said...

Jane - No, I haven't actually. Good idea! It's not a very long story, but I think it could be worth telling, so I'll write a little something up. Thanks for asking! :)