And the Blessings Keep Coming!

Whether you believe in a higher being or karma or whatever it is amazing the blessings that come into your life when you are trying to better yourself or your situation and when you least expect it.

As you know I am really refocusing my efforts to become more organized in my life. This includes in my financial and household aspects. While being very much in the third trimester has slowed down some of my household efforts of getting organized (though I am okay with where I am) financially I am on the ball. I established my slush fund and it is working. My spreadsheets are working and keeping me on task and within budget. Right now we have a relatively healthy savings account (thank you tax return).

So things are looking up, but we knew we would have some unexpected expenses. Like a new bike for Miss G. The bike we had that was her size we bought for Miss V at a yard sale a couple years ago but it has ceased to work. And though my husband has looked at it and researched possible ways to fix it we just could not get it going. (Though why it is still sitting in our garage I will not know! I think I need to get him on the letting go of junk bandwagon.) So, a new bike was needed. We had gone around to a few yard sales and couldn't find anything. We were thinking we would have to buy new, which considering it would be for 3 kids wouldn't have been the worst thing, but it would have definitely been more expensive.

Here is where the blessing came in. We had decided that last weekend we would go out and buy a bike. It would eat into some of our savings but this was something that we needed. So I went grocery shopping in the morning, my husband went to the park with the kids and then in the afternoon we were going to go find a bike. Well, call it luck or divine intervention a school mom friend of mine happened to be at the playground at the same time as my husband. He happened to ask her if she knew of an economical place to buy kids bikes. And she said, "my shed". She had the exact size of bike we were in need of, and was about to get rid of it herself. She refused payment and we walked away with a great looking bike that is going to last us for a while!

Another thing I had to do was get some more summer clothes for Miss G and Miss P. I had been putting it off because I have so many appointments and by the time I got home I just wanted to relax. Well the same day as the bike miracle this same friend dropped off a huge box plus 4 bags of clothes that were the exact sizes and seasons I was looking for! So the majority of the shopping I was needing to do for the kids was done. There are a few things I still need to supplement but not much.

These two experiences has reaffirmed a few things. One, people are generous. We all want to help each other out. If you let people know what your needs are it gives them an opportunity to help out. Sometimes we feel we need to do everything ourselves or slog through things on our own. But, when we open ourselves to others magical things can happen.

Two, when you are trying to better your situation things work out to help you with that. I call it my righteous desire. When I am working towards a righteous desire things will conspire to help me in that. You may call it something else, but the principle would be the same.

This is not meant to be a braggy post about my families good fortune. It is more one of gratitude. It is one that shows when we are trying to do the right things we get blessings to help us with our goals. It is one to show that when we have a generous spirit generosity is given back. And it is about humility. When we are willing to humble ourselves great things can happen.

Have you ever had a time when you were supremely blessed with exactly what you needed?

The Sustainable Market - How Awesome!

I am blessed with kids who will sleep in relatively late, or at least, allow me some quiet time in the morning before the hustle and bustle of the day. My favourite thing to do is wake up with the 8:00 news and then listen to the last bit of the KW CBC radio morning show. Yes, I know that most of the day is already gone by that time, but, this is the season I am living in.

A couple of weeks ago they had on one of the founders of a new online market in the Waterloo Region area. After the interview I knew I had to check out their site. The market is called The Sustainable Market. You can go to their website here. Once you have registered (which is free and there is no membership... honestly can it get any better). You can look at what they have that week to offer. The prices are pretty reasonable. You then order what you would like. Then they give those orders to the producers (who are local) and they have it ready for you to pick up on the Market day. The produce is picked to order so there is very little waste, and you get to pack your own bags, so you get to choose which fruit to take. What an awesome idea.

In this region we do have a lot of other farmers markets. But, sometimes it is hard to make it out to them, or they are so ridiculously crowded that it makes for a less than ideal experience. (Parking can be a nightmare!) It also takes time having to walk up and down the aisles to see what is available and who has the best prices. With the Sustainable Market, you can do all that from the comfort of your own home and then go to the pick up Market to get your produce. No pushing through crowds or herding of children needed.

Does that mean I will never go to the "regular" markets? Of course not. Sometimes it is nice to go there for the atmosphere and to get yummy fries, or sausages, or freshly squeezed juice. But when my weekends are packed and I can't make it out during the week, I definitely like this online option.

Do you have a market like this in your area? Or if you are from Waterloo Region have you used this new market? What do you like about it?

Region of Waterloo Eco-fest

Yesterday I had the priveledge of being a parent volunteer for Miss V's field trip to the Eco-fest. It was a the perfect day weatherwise and the exhibits were very cool.

What is eco-fest. It is an awesome hands on experience for kids and anyone to learn about water and the importance of keeping it clean. They learned about how watershed work, how water contamination can be caused and dispersed. They learned about water cycles, aquatic animals and the importance of keeping foreign species out of our ecosystems. And there was much much more. We weren't able to do all the stations because there was just so much to do! It was a great day and the kids had so much fun. To learn more about eco-fest you can click here. If you are around the region you can check it out tomorrow. Admission is free and it is well worth going.

I liked the day because no one sounded too preachy and it helped the kids start to think about how their daily actions could affect others. Sometimes it is hard, especially as kids but even as adults, to think about what ripple effects our actions have on those around us. Quite often it is out of site out of mind. It is so easy to just toss something or throw something down the drain and then not think about it anymore. Probably if we were all more cognoscente about what happened after we got rid of something we would be more careful of how we dispose of things, and try to use reusable things and limit the amount of waste created.


I am so grateful for the time I got to spend at eco-fest and for the time for inner-reflection I was able to have about my actions. There are little things I can do to help the planet be more sustainable. I am looking forward to the challenge.

Some thoughts on Full Day Kindergarten

I love the movie You've Got Mail. There are so many observations or, as Nora Ephron (writer and director of the movie) put it, mini-essays, about life in the movie. It is fantastic. One of the mini-essays that I relate to is when they were discussing the ability to zing people. Tom Hanks character is very good at zinging while Meg Ryan's mind goes blank.

While I myself don't have a problem coming up with zingers, what I do have a hard time is coming up with an articulate way of expressing my opinion when it goes against others. For example, on facebook people are always putting up articles about potentially contraversial topics. Most people are in one camp, and while I may agree partially, there are things I feel they miss, yet if I tried to put it in a comment it wouldn't work, so I end up not putting anything and feeling rather miffed the whole time. Does that ever happen? It is not until days later, when the topic or post is already old news that I have formed some sort of response. So I share it with my husband, Poor guy, having to put up with all my musings, but it's his job. I need the response to be out there in the cosmos.

Well, this happened to me this week. I decided to share my response on the blog. Please bear with me.

The topic was on the supposed waste of money on full day kindergarten in Ontario. Everyone (on the facebook post) was on board with it being a waste as studies show it doesn't help the children later academically. If we are looking at the issue from a pure academic stand point, then yes, it is a waste of money. But the thing with this issue is that you have to look at it from a broader angle, not just an academic slant.

We are living in a society that is making it harder and harder for families to get by on one income. While some of us are willing and able to make the sacrifices and lifestyle changes necessary to stick to one income, it is still hard. Parents are then left to scramble to find responsible childcare at a reasonable price. That is not always easy. Governments promise universal childcare but that is a reality that is not going to happen anytime soon. What they can do though is create all day everyday (aka Full Day) kindergarten. Is it the best solution, perhaps not, but it one less monetary constrant on the economics of working parents. As well, for those children who comes from a lower socioeconomic reality, there are benefits to this solution.

One of the commenters said that the best indication of how well a child will do academically was whether that child stayedwith a parent/primary caregiver until age 6. While that would be great in ideal world, the world is not ideal. Of course we would like it if our children could have more one on one attention whether with us, as their parent, or a nanny or a constant care provider, but that can be hard to have happen too. While most of those who were commenting were stay at home with their children and come from that slant already, it really doesn't give the whole picture of the situation. It is easy for us to comment on things when we are in the comfort of our own home and are able to provide that stability of care to our children, but not all are so lucky.

We live in a socialized government system. We are giving of our taxes to help as a whole. If you are not in need of that help yourself, great! Others may need that help and it is great for those services to be there. You never know when you may need to access them. I am definitely more centre/left in my thinking. I like to see things as a whole society not just me. While I'm still not sure if I will send Miss P. to Full Day Junior kindergarten, it's nice to know that others who aren't as blessed as I am and need help with safe and affordable childcare, can get it for their 4 year olds. Miss V. went to Full Day kindergarten when she was 4 and she flourished and really came out of her shell a bit more. The next year we moved and switched to a school that hadn't gotten the Full Day program yet, so she went every other day. Once again that was perfect and I was happy to have her home to be with Miss G. more. Miss G. started junior kindergarten every other day and this year, in senior kindergarten, she goes everyday. She has had so much fun and it has been a great experience for her. The teachers are fun, they are still learning things, and she is able to experience things that I might not be able to offer. I'm exhausted and just not organized enough to pull something like that off. I might be someday but I'm not now so I am so grateful that she is able to do all that fun stuff with her friends.

Should school be looked at as merely child care, of course not. But, in a way it is. We are trusting the teachers and other education workers to help our children become who they are going to be. Education is not purely academic anymore. Education is about society, it about helping those who need a little extra help and making sure all children are given opportunities to be their best selves, both academically and socially. So to me, money spent on that, whatever the academic results, is not a waste. If this is a waste then I should think that all money spent on allergy testing is a waste since I don't need it and personally wouldn't benefit from it. (Just to be clear, I do not actually think that... it was just the first example to come into my head.) All government spending could be seen as wasteful, and believe me there is a lot of waste in the system, but sometimes we need to look at the societal good and not just what's in it for me.

I truly do live a blessed life, and I don't want to ever take that for granted. I think that when things are going well or easily for us it is easy for us to look down on others or their situation. We need to always be grateful for what is going good in our life and do what we can to help others who may need some help.

Thank you for putting up with this long winded opinion peace. This topic can be very touchy, as all topics seem to be lately. I just wanted to get some of my thoughts out there into the cosmos.

The Importance of Great Partners

Last night, as I was putting my little one to bed, I could hear through the door my husband reading a bedtime story to our older two. In that moment I felt true happiness. It was so nice that I knew as I was taking care and snuggling with our youngest, my oldest were also feeling love and closeness. My husband and I were truly working as a team in that moment in time and that is a great feeling.

As much as we like to be able to do things independently and show off our independence, there are times when it is important that we have a partner. There are times when in just makes sense to ask and to have help and support. It in nowise makes you any less of an independent super hero. Instead it allows you to share your burdens. It helps lighten your load and your partners. It helps us to feel happiness.

Partnerships can take form in many different ways. It can be a spouse, both of you working together to better your lives, run a household and raise a family in shared values and ideals. It can be a neighbour, perhaps helping each other with household tasks, gardening etc. It could even be business partners. People and companies who work together for a common great goal.

No matter what partnerships you are in they can be great. There are times when they can be infuriating. When you are bringing two sets of people together, each with different life experiences and views, there will be differences of opinions, differences in how they do things, and differences in the priorities of what to get done. This, if you let it, can cause anger, frustration, and hurt feelings to enter into things. This will not allow the partnership to work effectively or let trust occur. It is important that when having a discussion from different sides you deal with facts, not personal putdowns. It can be hard not to take things personally when something is important to you. If both sides are trying to work together for the greater good, know it is not personal, it is just trying to get the best possible outcome for what you are working towards.

In our familial partnerships, especially those with a spouse, who would have been raised differently, it important to set aside these differences and come up with a common standard in which you can operate. It means taking the best of your collective experiences and and using that as your platform for how you do things in your home. It is sharing what is important to each of them and making sure those important things are done. For example. I don't care if the bed is made in the morning. My husband does. So we need to come up with what we both can live with. It is about give and take, it is about deciding what at the end of the day is make or break deals. It is about looking out for the other's happiness. If both of you are looking to make the other happy then both of your needs should be met.

Working in partnerships can cause you to put yourself out there, which isn't always easy for you to do but the rewards and benefits are worth it. So rededicate yourself to your partnerships, which ever forms they come in and commit to making new ones, ones that will help better you, your family and your community.

I Love to Ride My Bicycle! I Love to Ride My Bike!!

I must say, this summer, temperature wise, has been awesome. There have only been one or two super humid days and even they didn't seem all that bad. Because the temperatures and humidity have been so nice we have been biking a whole lot more and we are loving it.

Where we live in the city we are lucky because there are so many trails nearby. While teaching road safety is always a good thing to do, I don't completely trust my kids to be looking out for dangers or keeping their bike going straight etc. So roads and sidewalks aren't my first choice. That is why I love the trails, they aren't as busy, there aren't as many entry points to watch out for and it is wide and obstruction free.

The closest trail to our house is really awesome as it goes straight to the library! We have been going to the library at least twice a week because it makes for a great bike ride. So it's like super bonus points for awesome parent of the year! (I need all the bonus points I can get.) My kids are getting exercise and expanding their brains at the library (though the last one is debatable), seems good to me!

I wonder what others on the trail or at the playgrounds we pass think of our caravan of bikes. We have the oldest who zooms along, staying just close enough to be in yelling distance, but not so close that she  has to claim she is with us. Then we have the middle one who troops along, peddling her legs so fast that it is crazy. And then there is me pulling the bike trailer with the little one. (I love my bike trailer, it is a Chariot brand and seriously, the best purchase ever! We have had it for 7 years now and have used it in the summer and winter and it still looks and works great!) I hope that whoever sees us is motivated by us. I hope it helps them know that if I can do it with three crazy kids they can too. I hope it helps motivate them to go on their own adventure with their family, and to the pregnant lady that I have seen on the trails twice, I hope she feels assurance that she won't be a shut-in with kids but that there are lots of possibilities of getting out and having fun. Life, and an active life does not end with kids, you just tweak some of the expectations you put on yourself and then blam! You are back in business.

Biking is a great way to exercise and move your body without lots of strain and stress. You can go as fast or as leisurely as you want and you are still moving faster than walking, and thus, you get a more varied scenic look of the city. For this reason, I love to ride my bike!

Awesome Activities at Your Library

During the summer I try not to over schedule or have set committed activities. You never know what the weather will be like or what will be coming up last minute (you can't always plan a beach day), so it is nice to have your days free, thus making everyday a kind of adventure.

With that in mind there is still one constant that we have and that is our library. We go at least once a week, sometimes more, to get books, movies, and listen to stories or do other activities. This year at our local library, and probably most libraries across the country, they have a summer reading club. Each child is given a passport to write down all the books they read. Each time they go to the library they show the passport and they tell about one of the stories they read and they are given stickers, ballots to win weekly and the grand prizes, and other little prizes (like a coupon for free ice cream). The kids are excited to share what they are reading about and are excited to choose new books.

kids reading during the first warm day this spring

Along with the reading portion, the library hosts different activities. There is the usually story time and craft time but there are some other fun options. At our library for instance, they are doing lego building, robot programming, learning about animals and their habitats, making LED jewelry, marshmallow catapults, make your own lip balm and more. And the best thing about these programs is that they are absolutely positutley FREE! Isn't that amazing?!?! (For info at what is happening at Waterloo Public Library reading club click here) I can't wait to go to some of the programs, mostly because I want to learn about them too, hopefully my kids do too! By the end of the summer the librarians and other staff at the branch we go to usually know our names very well. It is always nice when the kids go into the library and the staff welcome them by name. It makes it a special place for them and they are excited to go.

For more information about summer reading clubs or to see if your local library is doing it check out this website (for Canadian libraries only, though it has some cool activities to do and gives you some book ideas). If your library isn't doing this, ask them if they will. Be an advocate for your kids and community. Libraries are to serve the community and are not just about books anymore. It is truly is a learning centre.

So happy reading, and happy exploring you local library. If you don't know what to read, head on over to my other blog. There should be something that piques your interest. What free things are available in your community for your kids to do?

Talent Auction

It is amazing the different talents people have. Each person is so unique with their abilities. My sister can play the song "The Rose" on the piano, right hand doing the chords, the melody being played by her nose. "The Rose" with her nose, that's pretty amazing if I do say so myself.

When we think of talents often we think of things that we have created. Dishcloths that we knit, aprons we sew, paintings we paint, chairs we build and so much more. These talents are great and amazing, but, they are not the only ones. Some people have a talent of just being able to relax and stay calm. Some people have the talent at being able to clean up messes that kids make (I'm thinking bodily ones but don't want to go into too much detail, you know what I mean). Some people are talented at discovering the community in which they live and all the cool niche things to do. Others are good at smelling out good deals. These are talents that people don't often think about.

Last week the ladies at my church had a talent auction. It had to be something that people could take home that night so it made us think outside the box. While a lot of items were things that we created, there were some that were outside the box. Some one brought a relaxation kit, with tips/things that could be used to relax. Another person brought their favourite bodywash that helped their skin feel great. Some one brought books that they liked to read. Some of the more traditional talents were knitted dishcloths, homemade jam, caramel-chocolate covered apples, paintings, plants from people's garden, homemade bread, a homemade library bag. It was neat to see what people were interested in.

This is what I brought

Talent auctions are a great way to share your talent without seeming too boastful. When we have talents we should be using them to help others. This auction did that. Some people make great bread, some don't, the talent auction gave people a chance to figure out who was good at a talent they wanted help with and at a later date perhaps ask that person for help in developing that talent.

Getting ready for the auction I was able to start to develop new talents of my own. I made the label using an online photo editor . I had done a little bit with the editor before, mostly putting on the watermark on my latest blog photos, but I am nowhere near a pro. But, it was fun figuring it out and I look forward to playing around with it more. I was also able to give people my blog url. Once again, I am nowhere near a pro blogger, but it is something I am enjoying doing, finding my voice and finding out what I want to say.

We did not use money to buy with. At the beginning of the event each person was given a questionnaire to fill out. The questionnaire had yes or no questions and points associated with them. After you answered all the questions you tallied up your points and that is what you had to work with. You could do something similar for your own auction or you could always make it a fundraising event for a charity if you wanted to use real money.

It doesn't have to be a church group who does this. You could get your friends or neighbours together and have a talent auction. It is exciting to get a chance to get others better and see what they like doing and are proud of. It is fun to share and it is fun to be inspired.

What talents would you take to a talent auction? What new talents are you beginning to develop?

A Difference of Opinions Does Not a Stupid Person Make

Yesterday was election day in Ontario. Despite only have 51% voter turn out, it was still higher than previous elections. We went from having a minority Liberal government to a majority, much to everyone's surprise. (The polls leading up to election day showed a very tight race.)

Today I went onto facebook. I had a couple of messages to deal with, but I inevitably started reading the news feed. There were some posts about the election, many voicing their sadness that the conservatives did not win or at least do better. (I seem to have a lot of conservative friends on facebook, or maybe they were the only ones who wanted/needed to post something.)

There was one post and resulting comments that really made me pause to reflect and stirred me into writing this post. (Don't worry, I am not making this a political blog.) The post basically said, and I paraphrase, that they were shocked that the Progressive Conservative party did not win, they thought they should move from Ontario because of it, and then, in later comments, more than one person said or agreed that whoever did not vote conservative were stupid, and that basically every person in the province was stupid because they didn't vote the way these particular people wanted.

Now, irregardless on how I feel about who won or lost the election, I take great insult to the way that this frustration was being taken out. We live in a world where people are different. They have different educations, ways of thinking, life experiences, talents and skills, etc. I love to read, I do not consider those who don't read to be stupid. I love Ikea, do I tell someone who doesn't that they are stupid? I think we all should recycle and compost. Do I tell someone they are stupid if they don't do those things right now?

By calling those who disagree with you or do something that you do not agree with stupid who are ultimately shutting down any exchange of ideas. Great ideas and good policy does not come from one person shutting down everyone else. It comes from a collaboration of many people. All bring to the table their collective knowledge and life history. The ideas bounce back and forth and get refined and polished. If those around the table were calling others names or calling them stupid, the dialogue would shut down fairly quickly, and not much positive change would happen.

When someone disagrees with me, I try, not always successfully, to understand where they are coming from and why they might think like that. Once that understanding is there we can discuss our views, why they are different and then come to a consensus, a way we can work together and move forward being the best we can be.

In the media and news we only see question period when our politicians are yelling at each other and acting divisive. I think that makes us feel we need to be divisive when talking about politics or elections. Behind the scenes, the politicians talk with each other, they work on committees together, and while the governing party has the ultimate say, they do hear what the other parties have to say too.

We need to listen to others and not just say that they are stupid. That is too simplistic a reaction for a complex issue such as voting. Usually a lot of thought and inner turmoil goes into whom we decide to vote for. It is not just a simple thing. When I cast my ballot I was still battling back and forth between who I would vote for. I stood with my pencil poised for about twenty seconds. If after this inner debate I voted for someone who others thought I shouldn't, should I be labeled stupid for that? I don't think so. It was a hard decision. I did not make it lightly. That is not so say that we can't be shocked or gobsmacked when things don't go our way or when people do things differently. Sometimes we have to acknowledge to ourself, "wow, that's not what I would do or act" or say "I wonder why they would have done that, that's kind of weird." But then you move on from it, you don't think that person is stupid, just different. You can either adopt their practice or not.

As for the other comment of saying they were going to move to a different province, that seems a bit over-the-top. Politicians come and go. Political climates change. In Ontario we have had conservative governments, liberal governments, and more socialist governments. and that was only in the past twenty years. Should we move every time the political climate changes? There is no guarantee that a province that has been conservative for a while won't all of the sudden change. Look at the last federal elections. Yes, the Conservatives won and formed the government, but I don't think any one saw the NDP becoming the official opposition. That was a shocker. So, moving really isn't going to do much. If you have a legitimate concern about the government, call your local representative, no matter what party they belong to. They are there to work for you. Voice your concerns. Be an advocate. Sitting back and calling people stupid and saying you will move, when let's face it, in reality that is most likely not going to happen (you need to make sure you have employment, someone needs to buy your house, you need to pack), will not bring about change, the change you think that this province/country needs/deserves.

Sorry for this rant, but I just could not believe the juvenile thinking that these people were expressing. Their lack of showing respect to others was astounding. It is fine to be upset and voice your frustration and concern, but do not blankly label people as one thing. Do not shutdown an opportunity for dialogue. And do not make idle, over-the-top threats/remarks. If you want to make Ontario a great place to live, demonstrate it through your actions and your words. No one wants to feel belittled or that their thoughts are silly. You capture more flies with honey than vinegar. Remember that when you are trying to persuade others that your way of thinking might be the best option. Here's hoping for more open dialogue opportunities in the future.

My City is Pretty Great

Sometimes when I am thinking about what to write I can become pretty stumped. I know I should be writing about my life, my favourite things, what is going on but, sometimes my life just seems pretty boring and same old-same old.

This week was one of those weeks. I am continuing trying to go through my junk, I am trying to read some of my books for my other blog. I sort of feel like I'm not really living to the fullest. I'm just going through the motions.

So, while I have been contemplating and going through the motions I had time to reflect on some pretty great things that are available to me and my family through this great city I live in.

The first thing I think is great about our city is the recreational activities I can take my children too. The city has a pool which has tons of swimming lessons and aquafit programs. Growing up in rural Ontario I did not have access to a pool. In the summer I could go to the lake, but I like swimming all year round. It was a treat when we would go and visit my sisters living in the city and we would always go swimming. Having a pool to go to all year round is awesome. My family loves going swimming. Even my youngest, who the first time we went to the pool screamed the whole time. She is now a lot happier. :)

One of the best programs, and really best kept secrets, that the city offers at the pool is a program called kinderfun and swim. It is two hours long. The first hour and a half is free play with lots of different toys. They do crafts, have story time and snack. The last half hour they are in the pool with qualified lifeguards having lots of fun. This program is amazing and reasonably priced. My two oldest have participated and they had so much fun. They also gained confidence in the water because they were allowed just to splash around and have fun. The put their heads under the water all by themselves, which a years worth of swimming lessons couldn't convince them to do. The staff running it are so much fun and the kids are always sad when it is over. So, if you live in Waterloo and have a child from 3-5, check out this program. It is so good.

The other thing I love about my city is our library. We have three branches and each branch offers neat programs for all ages. And the best part about it is it's free! The branch I go to is the smallest one. It is really a hole in the wall. It is attached to a community centre which allows them to have some really fun kids programs. They have knitting groups and movie making groups, story time, music time and so much more. The nice thing about going to the smaller branch is that you get to be familiar with the staff and the kids are excited to go and tell them about their favourite books, as well as their lives. It is always nice to go someplace where you know people, they are friendly, and they are genuinely happy that you are there. No matter where you live, check out your library. It is awesome. And, they will be more than happy to set up programs to suit your interests.

There are other community groups that are fantastic and offer so much. Currently our oldest is a Spark, which is a branch of the Girl Guide association. It is so nice for kids to have positive adult role models, besides their parents. I find, I could tell my kids something, but until they see it for themselves, or another adult agrees with me, they don't quite take my word for it. There have been many times when my daughter says to me in a voice of awe "wow Mom, you were right". I'm like, duh. But I just smile and say, "Yep!"

There are groups for just about anyone and any interest. If your own city doesn't have a group set up for your interests, start one. It could be online and then evolve into something face to face and great. If you have an idea for something fabulous, chances are someone else would think it is fabulous too. Take a risk and put it out there. That is how wonderful things come to be.

I am looking forward to the summer months when there will be so many outdoor activities. I love the buskers festival and jazz festival and I'm looking forward to the movies in the park.

Waterloo is pretty great. I'm sure your city is or can be pretty great too! If you are in Canada, have a great long weekend!

THE JUNK - You Have a Give Away Pile. Now What?

It has been awhile since I have written my junk series. Probably because I am in the midst of dealing with my junk and am trying not to be too hypocritical.  ;-)

So, you have gone through your stuff. You have put all the recycling in recycling and all your garbage into the garbage. Now you are left with all the other stuff that is still useful, just not useful to you at this moment. What do you do? This is a tough question to answer. A lot of this stuff you paid for with hard earned cash. You don't want to simply give it away. Yet sometimes we are so desperate to have it gone, or fear if it doesn't go away that instant it is doomed to be plucked from the giveaway pile and will forever be part of your household.

Here are some ideas.

Take items of good quality/repair to a consignment shop

I do this with my kids clothing that still has a lot of wear left, but my kids just don't want to wear anymore. I am lucky to have a great kids clothing consignment shop just down the street from me. Their store is set up so you get a percentage of what the item sold for. You can either get the money in cash or save it as store credit. Since I buy a lot of my kids clothing there I keep it as store credit. There is nothing as satisfying as walking out of a store with lots of nice clothes and not having to spend an penny on it (ok, a nickel as our penny has gone the way of the dodo).

There are other consignment stores for adult clothes, furniture, or other good quality items. That is the thing with consignment stores. They are more picky about what they take in because they want the item to sell, so, if they turn away your stuff, don't feel bad, it's just not in their niche.

Consignment stores also have different agreements/contracts. Most have a set time they will allow that item to be in the store. And then either you let them dispose of it how they will or you have to go and get it. At the kids consignment store I use, they have the item on their racks for 3 months. After that they slash the price by 50% and have it their for another 3 months. If is still hasn't sold you can come in and get your item or just leave it there (you just won't get a commission for it). I usually just leave my stuff there if it hasn't sold. My mindset if I can get money awesome, if not, well at least it is out of my house!

Host an item swap

This is a great way to get rid of things but still getting something in return. My kids' school just hosted a book, movie and game swap. I got rid of some of the icky children's books I loathe to read, and we got to pick up some that are cool and don't fill me with loathing.

There are many ways you can do a swap. You could make it an item for item thing. So if you bring in three items you can leave with three items. Or you can bring in your items and leave with however many items you want. You can make it for just clothing, or just books, or just toys, or just kitchen gadgets. Or have it be a smorgasbord event.

A church near me has a clothing swap. You bring in a bag of clothes and get a ticket for either a small bag or a big bag depending on what you brought in. This allows you to take that size bag of stuff home for free. If you didn't bring in any items  you can still bring stuff home it just costs you $1 for a small bag or $3 for a big bag.

A swap is great because you can either do it on a small scale with friends, or on a huge community scale. It's up to you, but it is a great way to get new to you stuff, for free.

Yard Sale

This is a great way to get cash for your junk without needing a middleman. Sometimes you can get your whole neighbourhood together and have a neighbourhood yard sale. You will get more people coming by and it is fun to do things with others.

Make sure you do yard sales when the weather is warm and people want to be outside. This might not be a big deal for people who live in climates where it doesn't snow, but here in Canada, please wait until May, it will be too cold otherwise.

When you are putting a yard sale together make sure you have clear prices. This doesn't mean you have to label every single item. You could have signs that say, Books $0.25 or Fill a bag of clothes for $1. When you do this people can prepare their money and won't constantly be asking you "how much". Be prepared for hagglers. At the end of the day you are not having a yard sale to make a million dollars, you just want some compensation for your junk, so make some deals.

Another tip is be ready for the early birds. Hardcore yard salers start combing the streets early, like 7ish early. Sacrifice sleeping in and be ready for them. Have money ready to make change. If possible make your sale a rain or shine event, that way you don't have to plan on spending another Saturday with the yard sale, this could mean hosting it in your garage or putting up some sort of shelter.

Put item on Kijiji or another online sale website

My husband is the king of kijiji. He can sell anything, and have it sold fast. His tips are take lots of pictures of the items from a variety of angles. People want to see what you are offering without having to come see it physically. We get lots of contacts because people can see from the comfort of their own home what exactly we are offering.

Another tip is to make your add interesting. My husband comes up with some of the funniest little lines when making up his add. It takes him an hour to put it together, but it gets results. We have never had to wait longer than half a day to get someone interested in our item and usually it is sold within two days.

I have done all those things now what?

If you have done those things and still have items left over this is when you need to make a decision. What is more important, trying to get money back on these items, or having a house with less clutter and junk? At the end of the day it is your decision. There is no right or wrong answer. Though I will admit, having less clutter and junk around definitely helps my blood pressure go down and I can spend more time with my family than worrying about what to do with items that I don't love.

This spring we are going to have a yard sale. I have a closet in the basement where I have been putting various items we want to get rid of. My husband and I have decided that as soon as the yard sale is done we are gathering all the items that haven't sold and donating them to charity. For us having less clutter is the answer for us.

Olympics! Yay!

from flags.net

I don't know why, because I am not the most athletic person in the world, but I love the Olympics, specifically the winter Olympics. I love watching the skiing and the skating and the luge and the bobsleigh. I love seeing nations coming together, putting aside differences and competing. Of course there is always controversy. It wouldn't be life without it. But there is something about the Olympics that gives it an almost mystical quality.
As you can see, Olympic fever is running through our house. Since we don't have cable t.v. we watch the events we want online. CBC is doing a superb job broadcasting here in Canada. I am so glad they got the rights back. The great thing about watching online is I don't have to watch hockey if I don't want to. I know Canada is supposed to be this hockey nation, but I don't get it personally. I would much rather watch the finesse of a perfectly thrown curling stone, than see a hockey player hack away at the puck. It is just not that exciting for me. And, as the stations usually broadcast hockey games, making me miss other events, I can just skip all that and watch the events that I like. Isn't it great that we live in a time of such a technological marvel?

Even the dentist office is in Olympic spirits. I went to get my teeth cleaned today and they had a t.v. with the Olympics on. So much for reading my book. All the staff were in their Canada gear and there were flags everywhere. It was so neat to see.

I think that is what is so special about the Olympics. Whether you are athletic or not. It binds us together. Our nation, no matter how divisive we are during the rest of the year, comes together in support of something that is greater than ourselves. We look outside ourselves and we send our collective support to people we don't even know.  Other nations, who are smaller or less well off than our own, we cheer and celebrate them, wanting them to do well. I guess what I am trying to say is the Olympics helps us remember that we are more the same than we are different. That we all want love and support and worthy goals.

So enjoy the Olympic season. Cheer for your nation. Cheer for competing nations. Cheer for being part of this amazing global village!