On the Move again

Sometimes when I blog here I feel almost that I have to write about all things cheap…and well my life and  lifestlye and how I am growing and changing are so much more then how to find things on the cheap….so I have decided to switch gears with my blog, and pour more of me into it…with that said I invite you to read my new blog at http://lifeandthoughts.wordpress.com/.

Father’s Day

Tomorrow is rather a sad day around this house. My dad has been gone for years now and I miss him still all the time. Even when I was living out on my own and raising my wee girl there was that nightly call from or to dad. He was calling to make sure I was safe and sound and at home.  I miss him so very much especially when days like tomorrow roll around.

I also feel bad for Roo who may never know what it is to have a dad. Yes she has a father but she doesnt have a dad, at least not one who is there for her in any way that matters. She has not seen her father since she was 6 months old. My ex has never tried to have a relationship with her and I think that sucks for both of them. Any attempts were first mine for her and then her own,  but there has never in 10 years been an unsolicited call to her, never a request to see her even when he was less then an hour away from our home. Roo is at an age where she is really beginning to question why, and to be honest I dont have answers for her. I  pray that Heavenly Father fills this hole for her.

For any men that might read this if you are a father, then please make sure you try to be a dad too, your children need you more then you may ever understand, even if it is just a phone relationship over a long distance it is a place to start..

To you who have dads and to the dads that are out there have a blessed Father’s Day.

Volunteering

Just got home and I am so very tired! But it is a good tired. You know the kind after a hard day of work that you love. Today  I volunteered at our local food bank. i am there volunteering my time and talents twice per week. It gets very busy. Between sorting food, getting bags of food ready for clients, getting things ready for a community lunch program that they ruin as well, and working with clients it can be tiring.

But volunteering my time and talents is one thing that I enjoy and it doesnt cost me a penny to do it! As well it allows me the chance to give to my community and meet new people and learn new skills. I also believe in the rule when you give you are really gaining so much more. For me it makes my day even when I come home tired…if you don’t volunteer somewhere somehow in your community may I recommend it. You will come home with a smile I can almost guarantee it.

Works of Me: Hobbies

Okay we all have our evil pleasures right? Well mine arent that evil at all , they are just time consuming and that is so ok with me. What is your favorite thing to do?

I have two: reading and scrapbooking!

First I love finding a good read. Recently one of things that has worked wonderfully for me in this arena is a group on Facebookowned by the publishing house Haprper Collins..They give away free books each month. Last Month I read “Why bad things Happen to Good People” by Debbie Ford. It was a good read that helped me to understand some of my own thinking some of the time. There is nothing better then curling up with a good book, especially in the park on a warm sunny afternoon.

My other addiction is scrap-booking. I love it! For me it is a great way to journal through pictures our lives. One of my favorite websites to go for scrap-booking freebies is one that finds all the free scrap-booking stuff that is out there each week.Digifree is a great resource blog for all your free scrapping needs. For me it gives me great supplies that I can download each and every week.

Well this is what works for me, addictions that I can love! Now I am off to read another addiction What Works for Me over at Rocks in my Dryer.

The Cheap Summer Experiment

Well here we are again at that time of year, when you want to have some summer fun yet do it on the cheap! How am I going to do it? Well after a certain meeting two weeks ago my income level is uncertain as of August 1st so I plan on doing an experiment. First I took radical steps to cut my costs: got rid of the land line because we are never home especially during the summer. So we now have one cell on a decent plan…$45and all the minutes this mom needs.I got rid of the Internet as well and will be blogging for free from cafes and the library. So after rent and bills it leaves me with $450 to go everything with. So what are my plans?  How am I going to cut costs in Toronto this summer and even have money to go away with?

The Cheap Summer Experiment

1. Take advantage of the FREE stuff to do here in the city. From public pools, libraries, and free events there is plenty to do here in town.

 We will only TTC to one event per week, the others we  can walk or bike too. The first event we will hit is Luminato.It was so worth going to last year and we had a blast! It starts June 6thand is a great way to start off your summer with a bang.

2. Use the money jar approach to spending.

Our jars are $4o for groceries per week, $7.50 for laundry, and $12.50 for other–all clothes are bought so there is no need for new stuff.

3.When shopping utilize coupons, points collection(ie SDM), and flyer shopping to get the best prices you can find.

 UsuallyI can spend $40 on meat for a month ( we eat meals that include meat about 4 times a week). Usually2 big bags of chicken pieces and a big club size of lean ground beef that I can stretch with TVP does us.

4. Have a garage sale of all that stuff you don’t need- use this money as summer fun money or use it for something you need. Other great ways are to utilize Craigslist or Kijiji to make a sale.

We are doing this and Roo especially is clearing out stuff as she becomes a preteen on a mission of a new room design which is one of our other summer projects.

By doing this well will have enough money to do what we really want late in the summer and that is take our first family vacation ever. We are headed to Nova Scotia and PEI for a couple of weeks. Roo will get to spend time with her cousins and grandma. For our trip we are using  the train to get there, and have FREE places to stay so we should be okay going with $500.  We can’t wait and are getting excited about our first real chance to travel.