Labour Day Monday

There's a slow, steady rain outside while I curl up in the quiet house in jammies, with a cup of coffee. It's rained most of the night. Rather typical weather for SK's labour day long weekend. This extra day off is like sneaking one more thin slice of cheesecake after the company has gone.

It's been a busy one. DS1 has been playing hockey; a camp one more level up in the Junior A level. He did well. Not outstanding. But well. He made two cuts and now gets to travel with the team for the annual labour day rookie game against a community about 2.5 hours from here. The travel time for hockey is what kills you. Load the bus at 2 to get there by 5 to warm up, to play at 7:30, to drive back home and arrive just before midnight. With his reg team this year as well as this team, it's definitely not allowed to ride the team bus. Ah where did those days go when I used to have to go in the dressing room and get him ready, one layer of equipment at a time.

Since his father's off work this week on holidays, he's going to drive down and I will stay at home with DS2. DS2 couldn't give a rat's *ss about hockey so we try not to make him go more than we have to LOL

DS2 is getting ready for his investiture with Service Scouters. We got the call with the info yesterday and we go in to the city next weekend. DS1 plays hockey in the same city then too so we will divide and conquer and make sure there is family at both events to celebrate their successes.

and moi? well I did a mess of  cleaning and laundry this weekend between runs with the children. DS1 had a report on the Hound of the Baskervilles (a report in the first week of school!! LOL)  I actually have never read it so I blissfully could not offer much advice beyond making sure he sticks to the criteria of the assignment and ensuring he wrote a powerful opener. DS2 has been avoiding eye contact when I ask about homework so I'll have to tackle him this morning when he gets up and crack the motherly whip. Nothing worse than homework that is 'suddenly due' at the last moment on a weekend.

I also began the process of setting my mother up on face book. Mom is almost 70 and while they have a computer, she doesn't even  know how to turn it on. She protests she's not smart enough to do it, but you dangle a few hollow threats about what great pics of her new great grandson are on there, and suddenly she's (reluctantly) willing to try.  Can't tell me she can make buns as light as air and a piecrust that melts into your mouth and yer not smart (her words) enough to log in online. mmmm homemade buns and pie. man my diet's gone to h*ll in a handbasket.

I will give DS2 the responsibility of biking over there every couple days and forcing her to log in and then she will see it's not that hard.

and what will I do? I will happily read some blogs I got behind on this week. Work really interferes with my blog reading :P  I will finish the bed linen laundry. I will shop for some groceries for the week. I will do some  of my school work, either here at home or I will go to the school.

and I will bake something. This is baking weather. something........................cinnamony and..........................pumpkiny. mmmmmmmm nothing like the smell of baking on a grey, rainy day.

Heh gotta love spam

I haven't had one of these in ages. I love in particular the last paragraph where they get angry at me for having wasted their time :P

Dear Beneficiary,
RE: SWIFT TRANSFER OF US$ 1.5 MILLION ACCURED INTEREST INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.

I am Dr.Patrick Mensah the Head of Treasury Department ,HSBC BANK ACCRA GHANA in our bank, your over-due contract /Legacy funds was brought to our bank from all African Apex Bank, THIS MONEY WAS TAKEN BACK to the Federal Government Treasury for the period of time this money was in our bank. It generated an Accured Interest which we considered your long suffering/delays with WEST AFRICAN bureaucratic government officials. your name was brought to our bank as one of the unpaid beneficiaries whose funds has not been paid.

The World Bank auditors, International Monetary Fund (I.M.F) and other Monetary agencies resolved the issue in London after one week meeting and decided to pay you this accured interest funds via Swift Telegraphic Wire Transfer(KTT) into your designated account.

What we need from you now is any form of your identification for example,Your International Passport number or Your driving license number, Then your Telephone and Fax number for easy communication Your account information.

As a matter of fact we don't have enough time to waste since we have wasted time in contacting our respective customers, so try and comply with the entire necessary requirement for remittance.

We await your prompt response.

Best Regards,
Dr. Patrick Mensah
Head Of Treasury Department.
Hsbc Bank Ghana

who wants to go shopping with my money from the Bank of Ghana ????? lol

I have to giggle

It's now been 2 weeks since our garage sale. Two weeks of there being no couches/chairs downstairs where the boys hang out. We're waiting the arrival of our sectional. The store said to check in at the beginning of September so I called today. Not in yet. Check back again in 2 weeks.

meanwhile my poor poor children are sitting on the floor downstairs.

This is the best possible thing that could have happened. (  I say that now, hoping this sectional isn't forever coming in).  If we had went straight from one couch to the next, the new one would have been taken for granted.

This way, the boys are missing having something to sit on. They are appreciating the one we had before, and they will appreciate the one coming in.

The routine is now engrained

....of my fake weekly payday.

I am a once a month paycheque kinda girl. End of the month to be precise. Before I was Gail Vaz Oxladized and went on her budget and jar system, I really hated those last two weeks of the month. The money was gone. I had spent willy nilly and it was hard to make it through to the end of the money, before I made it through the end of the money.

When I went on the jars I had to decide what my 'weeks' would look like as I divided up my month. I couldn't go with the simple 'once a week' option, like say every Friday. as that leaves me with a few days each month with zero dollars.

So I took the variable option.  I just curl up with my big calendar and added one day to each week until I ended up with a normal week at the end of the month. That makes most of my pay weeks about 8 days long. I indicate each weekly 'pay day' with a lil star on the calendar.

For example. I got paid Wednesday, August 25th, or Week 1 as I call it. Week 2 is on Thursday, Sept 9th.  Week 3 starts Friday Sept 17th and then payday comes around Saturday Sept 25th.

I started with this about 18 months ago. It takes me about 10 minutes to go through the year's calendar, figure out my 8 or 7 day weeks, star them and I'm good to go. I just got my new "Mom's Helper" calendar last week so this morning I will star up the weeks until next fall.

What is great about it, is that I now 'see' myself as getting paid once a week.  I know what day I get paid the new weekly jar money. I know how long I have to make it last and I know that I will have another payday in about a week.

It makes it soooo  much easier than when I used to have to make the money last all month. So much more manageable. so much more freeing.

It might now work for everyone, but here at the Money Tree House, it makes my world run so much better.

Potions and Lotions

One thing clutter cleaning really does is remind you of what you have, and how much of it there is. In the days before work started, when procrastination really set it, I cleaned. Procrastination brings in some of my best cleaning moments LOL

I went through my stuff and found heaps and oodles of potions and lotions. Still. I mean I went through this last year and was on a crusade to ' use up'  the things I had. But the stock has crept up again and it's time to get serious.

Use up provides 2 things for me:
1) I dont spend money buyinig things I think I need, but really already have 12 of.
2) I clear out clutter in my house.

What all do I have ?
hand lotions and body creams. body wash and body scrub with the lil exfoliators in it. More facial cleaning pads and make up removal pads than any girl should have. foot creams and under eye creams. crest white strips. lil shampoos and conditioners.

Most of these things, I don't think I purchased. You pick them up here and there. Hotels. freebies. gifts. None of them are so special they need to be  hung onto until the queen comes.

So that is my September mission - use up as many of these products as I can and clear up space in my world.

PS - My time with the Arbonne test kit has come to an end. I will miss it very much. I absolutely love the products.