July change

(loving the posts I can get ready and have auto published while I am gone :-)

A lot of my July bigger expenses went on the CC, to be paid off when I got home. When I buy exclusively in cash, all change goes into the jars and it adds up quite quickly.

I had a roll of loonies, 2 rolls of quarters and a roll of dimes, for $50 in change. This went to my savings goal for Back to School.

I thought I'd enclose a pic of my tomcat, who is a total mama's boy and was curled up on me, slowly making his way ONTO the laptop as his way of saying  he needed pets.

August long weekend

With July already a memory it's time to face August. Thank goodness August comes with a long weekend. For my family (the whole group) it means camping.  Same place up north I've shown you pics of before. This is a series of lakes but the particular place we stay has only a dozen sites, with some summer home cabins nearby. It's quite intimate and being invaded by the Moneytree clan this weekend. If I have done my  number count correctly, there will be about 30 of us there. A few got there yesterday to start getting set up. This includes my boys.  I have to tell you it was a very odd feeling to watch them pack up and head off, all on their own to join the rest of the group. I have hit 'that age' as a mother when they drive 2 and a half hours on their own I guess.

I wasn't sure if I was going to be going. My dad had a ministroke on Wed  morning. Since I was the only daughter still at home, I martyred up to stay home near them in case they need someone. My boys were leaving on their own and DH was heading out tonight after work.  Well my dad is a stubborn sort and will eventually die in the middle of doing something. I get a phone call from my mom this morning saying he's hooking up the 5th wheel and would I mind coming to help. ohhhh k dad you drive me nuts LOL

I msg'd the troops to tell them Grampa and Gram are en route and they had all better be there to help him set up.

I got a text from one of my nephews a bit ago to say that they had pulled in. Within 15 minutes the grandkids had the 5thwheel backed in, level, unhooked from truck. Awning was out, outdoor carpet (to keep dirt away) out, picnic table adorned, chairs up and a fire going in the firepit. My mom was gently pushed into  a chair with a baileys and my dad was surrounded by the dogs. Made my parents proud they had raised their kids/grandkids right.

Looks like I will head up tonight. Crossing fingers colitis isn't an evil bitch. See y'all on Monday!

August 2012 Goals

Since July was so successful I decided I will put up some goal for the final month of Summer. For me it technically ends Aug 26th as we start work on the 27th. Many are the same but tinkered with.

Walk 45 miles this month.
I did well in July so I would like to repeat this in August with a higher goal. I know once school starts I am going to have to change my schedule and I will have to see how much energy I have and how healthy I am.

Lose 8 lbs this month (and keep it off)

I will go with the WW guideline and hope for  2 lbs a week. If I work the program and walk and I don't achieve it I will be ok with that, because I know I am still on program.

Bake 4 times (on the cooler/rainier days)

 

Try 2 new recipes

Snowflake $200
This will come from bottle recycling, money saved from weekly jars and potentially, money left from summer 2012 or back to school.

Read 2 books just for ME

Read 5 books for school

Log 50 hours of quality prep work at school (before Aug 26)
It's time to kick it into gear and get things ready. I will ensure 'quality prep work time' by making a list of things I need to accomplish. That will save me from wandering about  and keep me focused. SO much to do.

Thank you thank you thank you!!

I just heard wonderful news and wanted to share.

Remember my friend Karen, who was in the Canadian Paralympics Super Fan contest???

Well close to the end of it, certain 'voting irregularities' were discovered regarding one of the other contestants. This forced the Committee to investigate. When they could not reach a decision on the legalities of it, they were forced to go to Plan B - all entries, even the ones with no votes, were put into a hat and one winner was randomly chosen. We were heartbroken when our Cheering Canuck was not picked.

Well today I heard from her and she told me that the Committee decided to award a duplicate prize to the top unofficial vote getter. Karen is off to the Olympics to cheer on her friend Joan on the Paralympic Rowing Team.

I am beyond happy for her. Thank you to all of you who clicked and voted and helped make this happen. You did a good thing!!!

July goals update and reflection

Well I have to say that despite it's quietness, July was a very good month for me. I wasn't at the lake like several of my coworkers, nor was a on a roadtrip touring Chicago and New York, like two others - I didn't get to the mountains like the lady in the room beside me nor did I do the summer games tour like two others, with their children.

July was quiet, but July was oh so healing for me. I am so appreciative of the month for giving me time to rest, time to start walking again, tentatively at first. Time to declutter and sort. Time to get out my WW books at start up. Time for a little road trip. Time to read and time to watch TV.

I did not go to the school other than about 3 hours to get it ready for summer cleaning and clean out lockers. THAT is a first for me. Not sure if it is good or bad but it is sure different to not be there working already. It means I have a lot of time to put in during August though.

I was appreciative every single day for the temporary remission I have. Said Thank God every day. Meant it literally and figuratively. I was holding on by my teeth to get to the end of June and so appreciate the schedule I have for work that lets me have this rest time.

So how did I do on my July goals? Well they weren't lofty but it gave me a bit of a focus and I think I did pretty darn well.

Walk 31 miles this month.

- I did great. 47.12 miles. Thank you Nike App for tracking for me! It felt amazing to be able to walk even though I am massively out of shape and was sweating like a pig and panting at a half mile. Baby steps I guess. Cost to me? $0 though I sure could use new shoes as mine are falling apart, but they don't give me blisters!!

• Lose 6 lbs this month (and keep it off)

Thanks to Weight Watchers and walking. I lost  13 lbs this month. I am using the old points program for those who follow WW. I am doing it on my own as I need to tailor the food to my colitis diet. 13 is a lot. WW says on average folks lose 1 to 2 lbs a week. I am big though so it comes off faster at the start. I have had great success with WW before but then at some point fell off the wagon and went back to my old habits. I haven't been able to stay on the program for a longer period of time, for a LONG while. I hope this is successful.

• Bake 4 times (on the cooler/rainier days)

Well three is better than nothing. I made cupcakes and cookies and banana bread. Just too hot to have the oven on. Will have to try a bbq baking recipe. would kill two birds with one stone :-)

• Try 2 new recipes

I made crock pot pulled pork which was great and made meatloaf on the BBQ the other day when DS1 was craving it. I need to get more recipes in my routine.

• Snowflake $150

I flaked $163 this month. Some from recycling. Some from change. A little bit from weekly jars but  not much. $20 went to pay for the balance of my new cabinets. A bit went for storage containers for my new cabinets as the old ones were the wrong dimensions and the rest went to savings goals.

• Read 4 books just for ME

Love love love that I had time to read. Such a gift.

- No Greater Love - Julie Ellis
- Dont You cry - Joy Fielding

- Blaze Wyndham - Bertrice Small
- One Fifth Avenue - Candace Bushnell

• Read 5 books for school

- Empty - Suzanne Weyn
- They Never Came Back - Caroline B. Cooney
- The Compound - S A Bodeen
- Drought - Pam Bachorz
- Code Talker - Joseph Bruchrac

• Not on the list but should have been. DECLUTTER

While I didn't get to the whole house, I did a couple of areas that had been bugging me for quite sometime. If I put it all into big black garbage bag equivalents, I would guestimate about 30 bags exited my home. Some to recycling. Some to the school. Some were books and clothes donated and the rest was trash. Feels good!


All in all it was a great month and I can look back and be happy I accomplished some good things.