Back to Work Recap

     Well, it's been a while but I'm back. My last post was just prior to our family ski vacation, which was immediately followed by my return to work from maternity leave. Since then, despite the crazy, hectic pace, I've managed to continue exploring the world of living on a beer budget but enjoying champagne tastes.
     I'd originally thought I would splash out and buy some new items for my work wardrobe but to date, I haven't. I've found that despite being a couple years old, my suits, blouses, etc. are feeling new-ish to me because I didn't wear them at all last year when I was pregnant. Also, things are fitting me differently due to weight-loss and the mysterious shape-shifting that occurs with women's bodies, post-pregnancy, leaving us with totally different skinny spots and trouble zones than before. Plus, with a bit more weight-loss as a motivator, I am holding out on buying anything new so as not to wind up with brand new clothes that are too big and unwearable. Now that I am through the having babies phase, I've vowed not to have multiple clothing sizes in my wardrobe any more.
     I can't even begin to describe how exciting it was to get that first paycheque after my return to work. I could have hugged our Payroll Administrator and I had such a warm moment, checking my bank balance online. However, despite the feeling of having won the jackpot, I have not gone crazy living the life of someone who earns a decent living. Rather, I've continued to make and take my lunch to work pretty much every day. Weeknight dinners are simpler and cheaper, with my crockpot working overtime for Cam, Auz, and I, and the blender continuing to churn out homemade baby food for Lauren. Weekend meals have been a bit fancier, but as I always say, I'd rather blow the budget on a home-made meal than spend that same money on an okay meal at a restaurant. That lesson was reinforced last weekend during a slow-service, mediocre dinner at Casey's while juggling a crabby, tired baby.
     Not to say I haven't been spending money. My Visa bill came in last week with an "ulp!" factor of $8,000, but it was primarily for all the items bought at Lowe's, Home Depot, and Rona for our basement renos. I am talking truckloads of stuff. I was lucky enough to have my friend Jenna do a pre-purchase scout out with me, to get me focused on all that I would need to choose and her fabulous taste and know-how really helped me make smart and organized choices. The actual purchasing visits had the joyous feel of a spending spree without the scare of buyer's regret afterwards. What was funny, though, was that Visa flagged a fraud-alert on my account, with the first big purchase going through like an elephant through a python. I guess that big spend was so out of character for me that the folks at Visa were being cautious, which I appreciated, as I also appreciated the validation of not being a regular big spender. At any rate, the renos are nearly there, and I am so looking forward to having a finished basement with a dead-sexy bathroom, real soon. Point to note: I had saved and budgeted for the reno, with the money already put aside to cover the Visa bill (I charged it to get the Visa rebate dollars) so please don't think for a moment I am advocating spending sprees on credit.
     I must confess, however, that my old frivolous habit at work has cropped up again, and what I am referring to is my Starbucks addiction. Right now it's about a weekly skinny vanilla latte habit, but as any little addiction problem evolves, it's a slippery slope. However, if a latte warms the cockles of my heart on a stressful day at work, it's a far more responsible option than say, drinking at lunch or tearing a strip off the resident office bully. All in moderation, my friend.
     So that about brings us up to speed. I promise more regular posts now that I am back into somewhat of a groove. Cheers!
   

Target Targetting Canada

     When I walked into the kitchen this morning, Cameron waved the newspaper at me and said, "Target is coming to Canada!" While he is not in the throes of a red cart romance, he knows I am. My love for Target has grown over 9 years of work-related cross-border trips to Buffalo and plenty of high-speed marathon shopping events at the red retailer.
      According to the Toronto Star article, as part of Target's international (a global red cart romance? Oh yes!) expansion, they plan to be in Canada in 3 years' time. Originally it was thought they'd buy and take over Zellers, but that didn't happen. Much as I appreciate Zellers for having provided me with my first H.R. job and my husband (how's that for an H.R. faux pas - fishing off the company pier!), as a retailer, they are so behind the times. Lousy selection and not the greatest pricing. Wal-Mart is great for basics and has cheap prices, but it just doesn't compare to Target, which is in a league of it's own.
     I love Target because it is upscale cheap chic. Their buyers are just as cutting-edge as upscale retailers, and realizing consumers want current, trendy, and stylish products at a lower price, they strive to not just satisfy them, but to wow them.
     When I visit Target, I take a two-pronged approach. I have a mental shopping list of specifics to buy, but I focus primarily on tuning my radar to fabulous items and deals. First stop is always the ladies' fashions. Usually, there is a rack of "guest designer" clothes, a collection made by a designer specifically for Target, and is only there for about a month. This is a similar strategy to H&M's approach. For example, last year there was a line of clothes in Target, designed by Proenza Schoeler.
     The clearance rack is also pretty good. I bought a long-sleeved t-shirt for $2.00 last year to wear on a ski trip. I've also had luck with the Merona line of classic clothes, always good for business-wear. The Isaac Mizrahi fashions are hit and miss for me, but his shoes are quite good and my white Mizrahi wallet has received many compliments. I've also had great luck with the Gilligan & O'Malley line of bras. For example, I recently bought a nursing bra for $14.00, while normally one of those would set you back at least $30.00 anywhere else.
     Around the store I continue. The cosmetics department is fantastic. Sonia Kashuk, Boots No. 7, and Pixi are some of the interesting lines they carry, in addition to the usual drugstore-brand suspects. On to the shoe department for inexpensive, stylish pumps and flats. Last year I bought Austin a pair of Crocs knock-offs for $3.00.
     Kids' clothes are pretty good, but I usually buy used for my shorties. I've not really examined the mens' department (sorry Cam!) and while the Liz Lange maternity clothes were quite attractive to me last year, I'd already built my maternity wardrobe and resisted the urge to buy more.
     On to the hard goods, where I spend most of my time in the home goods aisles. Hotel quality (high thread count) sheet sets for crazy cheap prices. Nice blinds and drapes. Seasonal table-wear to lose your mind over without blowing your budget. Small appliances (like a programmable Crockpot for for $19.99.) Home decor items that are current and stylish. All the time I'm doing the math and figuring out how much is reasonable to bring through Customs. (side note: I declare everything. Never, ever, ever, lie to Customs. Right, Cam?)
     A little browsing in the food aisles (great variety of coffees and the store brand, Archer Farms is darn good) for brands and items not available in Canada. Final stop is usually in the pharmacy area. Here is where I'll find Target brand items that are only available as name-brand in Canada. I scored an infra-red ear thermometer last Fall for $19.99 under the Target brand, when all I could find in Canada were name-brand ones for upwards of $70.00. I've also been known to buy store-brand "family planning" items like ovulation kits, pregnancy tests, and KY. Last but not least, I pick up Tom's of Maine deodorant at half the price than charged at home, and salon brand hair products about 1/3 cheaper.
     Another way to shop Target is online, where they have an even broader range of products, especially in the home furnishings area. What's great is consumers post reviews of products they've bought or tried. Target shoppers are a loyal bunch and are happy to take the time to review products. What I've done is researched items in advance, and then bought them at the store in-person.
     Since I can't shop Target as regularly as I like, I don't consider myself an expert. More of a cross-border Target admirer. There are, however, a number of blogs dedicated to this rabid love for Target that its loyal shoppers have. My favourite is Slave To Target, which was the first to coin the phrase "red cart romance", that pretty much sums up my sentiments towards this amazing, fun, cheap chic retailer.

Cook it, baby, cook it!

     Over the past 2 weeks, I've started cooking for the youngest member of our household. At her doctor's suggestion, Lauren started solids a month ago and once she'd settled nicely onto baby rice cereal, I started integrating pureed vegetables, which I cook myself. It seems to be going well. Lauren's a huge fan of sweet potatoes, is okay with turnips, but is not a lover of carrots. The "ewww yuck" facial expressions in reaction to carrots is pretty darn funny, however.
     When Austin was a baby, every meal he ate came out of a jar. I never really considered cooking baby food for him, nor did I seem to have the time or energy to do so. As a preview for things to come, Austin was a big eater right from the start. As a tiny guy, he would eat an entire jar of vegetables in one sitting. As he got bigger, he was eating at least a big jar, sometimes even a little bit more. Thinking back, while our intentions were good in feeding him prepared baby purees, he was consuming quite a bit of sodium, sugar, and preservatives. And the cost was eating us out of house and home. Well, not quite, but you get the point. I can't remember exactly what we were paying, but I think it was around a dollar a jar.
     Being a little better organized and far more proficient in the kitchen this time around, I decided to investigate making my own purees for Lauren. I found a simple and straight-forward book at Chapters, "Blender Baby Food" by Nicole Young and Nadine Day. What really inspired me to buy it and try it was the authors' comments on how babies fed home-made foods generally became better eaters, more open to trying a diversity of foods, and usually became fruit and veggie lovers. That and the health benefits were motivation enough for me, although, of course, the financial savings was already a no-brainer for me. At the very least, I figured if cooking our own baby food worked out only for some of the time, I was still going to be ahead of the game in feeding Lauren well and saving a couple of bucks.
     The experiment has been a huge success, in my opinion. The time, mess, and equipment involved is minimal. I had originally thought I was going to need to buy a food processor, but the book says everything is blender-able. I've got a blender, but being a bit lazy around clean-up, I have only used my hand blender (the immersable kind.) In terms of preparation, all that's involved is peeling, finely chopping, briefly boiling then simmering, then pureeing of the vegetables in the water. While it's simmering, I'm doing something else. It's not like you have to stand over the stove the whole time while it's cooking, so really, there's not much time involved at all.
     The ratio of food to water is 2:1 in most cases, and the cooking specifics are bring to boil, then simmer 20 minutes before cooling and pureeing. That's it, that's all. Not nearly as mystical and complicated as I had first imagined.

     In terms of storage, Santa brought Lauren Baby Cubes, most likely from Toys R Us. Or actually, Santa did. While they're handy, they aren't necessary. I am also using a silicone ice cube tray, bought for $1.00 at the dollar store. With the ice cube tray, I just fill the cubes with puree, freeze it, then pop the frozen food cubes into a freezer bag on which I label the contents and date before firing it into the freezer. I usually put a day or two's worth in small jars or plastic storage containers in the fridge. The frozen stuff defrosts easily in the fridge or can be microwaved for about 20 seconds on the lowest power level to defrost.
     Aside from the nutritional benefits and hopefully, making Lauren a good eater, the cost savings has been staggering. For about $1.00, I can buy and prepare a vegetable that will make approximately 8 meals for Lauren. I've heard baby food is way more expensive in the stores now than it was when Austin ate it, so at a minimum, I am feeding Lauren for 8 times less than I did with Austin, probably more. Isn't that incredible?
     What's also nice is this method of cooking and feeding also ties in with a recent decision I made. I realized we were eating way too much prepared foods and vowed to do my best, within reason, to prepare more of our own foods and "eat closer to the source". More on that in a future post.
     Next up for Lauren's vegetables are parnips (should prove interesting, as I am not keen on these) and butternut squash (which I love.) I am then going to move on to pureed fruits. What I'm most looking forward to introducing is "guacamole for beginners". I think it will be the true test of whether Lauren will be a diverse eater like the rest of us. Fingers crossed that she will coo "Ole!"  

Courage, My Love

     As mentioned in my previous post, I have an annual birthday tradition of setting my intentions for the coming year. It's more about a theme or an attribute or character quality than making a list of resolutions. Having reflected and noodled for the past few days, I've decided the quality or attribute I most desire for 2010 is courage.
     The Oxford English dictionary defines courage as "the ability to do something that frightens one; strength in the face of pain or grief." While I don't consider myself to be a Cowardly Lion, there are some areas in my life in which I could use some courage, more courage, or just a different approach or a kick in the pants.
     I realize courage doesn't just appear. You have to work at it, often "faking it til you make it", as many self-help folk profess. I think you also have to ask for it, claim it, and even make a mantra of it. Regardless of how it comes, my hopes for the coming year include:

• Courage to focus my attention on "being" rather than "doing"
• Courage to better balance serving my needs and serving the needs of others. Women tend to put ourselves last, and we can be better moms, wives, friends, etc. by ensuring our own needs are met. It takes courage to make the time to have a little "me-time" but it is so necessary.
• Courage to speak up more. For others who need me to stick up for them, to encourage others, and to ensure my voice is heard for what I want or need.
• Courage to pursue my "big rocks" (important actions/goals) and to let my "sand" (busy-work) slide a bit. For insignificant tasks, the mantra "C+ works" is something I'll need to remember.
• Courage to take the time to write more, share my writing with others, and pursue my writing goals.
• Courage to delegate the "sand" at work and sink my teeth into "big rocks", paving a path to achieving my professional goals. Courage to remember professionalism is not a popularity contest and to be more conscious of who I am and what I am portraying at work.
• Courage to reach out to others in friendship. What's that old saying - "To have a friend you must first be one."
• Courage to allow myself the things I want. I am guilty of denying myself at times, thinking I don't 'deserve' it.
• Courage to let go of things that are no longer serving me, be it habits, clutter, time-wasters, toxic people, or negative thinking.
• Courage to say "yes" to things and more importantly, courage to say "no" when I need to.

     Most of all, for this new year, I ask for the courage to live this year in such a way that when I reflect back on it, I will have no regrets.
     My friends, I wish you nothing but good things for 2010. May you experience health, healing, happiness and peace. And may you have courage, plenty of it, to pursue your dreams in 2010.

2009 - You Gotta Have Faith

    My birthday (which happens to be tomorrow) falls in that mellow, post-Christmas/pre-New Year group of days that tend to blur together and be less than memorable. I typically get all melancholy, reflecting back on the past year and contemplating the year to come.
     I am not a fan of New Year's resolutions as they tend to be forgotten by mid-January. Honestly, I think the only people who benefit from these resolutions are gym owners, who get a pile of new sign-ups and hope to heck they'll never show up at the gym from February onwards.  I prefer, instead, to set sail into the year with a few intentions which I tweak and adjust throughout the year.
     This past year has been about faith. As I sat on a Mexican beach a year ago tomorrow, contemplating my 40th birthday and my barely pregnant belly, I set the intention to be kind to myself and others throughout the year, but to be especially kind to myself (and not get stressed or ill) during my pregnancy.
     I realized I would have to have faith in myself, others, and God to see me through. It wasn't easy and there were plenty of lapses but somehow, I managed to have faith that it would all work out alright for everyone, during what turned out to be a pretty challenging year.
     I kept the faith through my high-risk, miraculous pregnancy. I leaned on it through downsizings at work, and during times when I wondered about the security of my job. When we had a genetics scare for our unborn baby, I clung to the faith of friends who held steadfast while I was wavering. I survived a high-stakes professional game of "chicken" in the workplace because I had faith that it would be a win-win for everyone, and it was. I had faith in the safety of my brother who did significant business travel around the globe this year, and his trips were successful, interesting experiences, and thankfully safe ones. I had faith that loved ones who passed away this year (and there were quite a few, unfortunately) had gone on to a better place and that somehow, their survivors would find comfort and peace. We are still struggling through these losses, but with faith are managing somehow. I had faith my work would be covered off successfully during my maternity leave and it seems to be going just fine, better than expected, actually.
     The big one for me was having faith in Lauren's safe arrival. I had to believe it was all going to work out, that it was really going to happen for us, despite all kinds of nasty medical situations in the past, some of them quite harrowing. It took quite a bit of faith to be cautiously optimistic rather than pessimistic and scared. As the weeks passed and the danger-zone of 32-33 weeks approached, I braced myself and kept the faith. Those weeks passed without incident. At 38 weeks, Dr. Nick joked with me I'd be begging for induction, and I started to wonder if I'd be able to cope through labour, having had a c-section with Austin. 2 days later I felt the dreaded symptoms of HELLP syndrome and as we headed for the hospital, I held onto my faith that it would all be fine and both Lauren and I would be safe.
     On July 26, at 10:24 a.m., Lauren arrived via c-section, a healthy, gorgeous little girl. It was truly a "moment of being" as Kim would call it and my life changed in that moment. Despite my dangerous medical condition, I did well, recovered, and bounced back surprisingly quickly. All, I believe, because I had faith.
     The balance of the year has been a blur but full of minor faith-testing moments. Helping Austin through little challenges. Getting through the sleep-deprivation phase of post-partum recovery. Dealing with bureaucracies in government and the Catholic church to resolve issues. Staying involved at work without getting too involved. Watching my bank account dwindle but knowing maternity leave is a once-in-a-lifetime-never-to-be-back-again thing. Growing in faith through joining the moms' group at church. Helping friends and family through tough times. Reaching out to others, with the faith of "being a friend to have a friend." Starting my blog. Dear reader, while you've only been along for a short ride with me, I hope 2009 was good to you and during the tough times you managed through it just fine too.
     Next: Looking forward and setting intentions for 2010.

Love The One You're With

     In an effort to shed my honorary title as Queen of Clutter, I've been systematically going through our house and sorting through stuff. I've pulled open drawers, closets, boxes, fridges, and freezers. In the process of discarding, giving away, and reorganizing, I've discovered all kinds of things I'd forgotten about and have received some pretty good insights into my habits and personality.
     In addition to discovering we'd been hanging onto quite a bit of useless stuff (or useless to us but useful to someone else), I've also found there are useable things that we've forgotten about and in a lot of cases, purchased duplicates of. For example, food in the pantry and freezers, a whole range of skincare products in the master bathroom, and a whack of travel-size amenities pilfered from hotels were among the trove of found treasures. The odd duplicates collection includes multiple half-used bags of chocolate chips, several bags of rock-solid brown sugar, and more nail polish than at the local Vietanamese nail palace.
     For the sake of not being wasteful, as well as for saving money and actually using/enjoying what we've got, I'm making an effort not to buy more stuff til I've pretty much depleted our current "inventories". In the Purchasing & Logistics world, that's called "FIFO" (first in, first out) versus our recent "LIFO" (last in, first out) approach.
     In terms of food items, my rifling through the freezers has yielded some interesting meals. Hot Italian sausages  were broiled and tossed with some pasta. That was interesting in a good way. Frozen chopped ham was thrown into a batch of French Canadian pea soup. Unfortunately, this was "interesting" being used as a polite term instead of what Cam and Austin really thought. Sadly, I found numerous packages of expensive but freezer-burnt boneless, skinless chicken breasts. What a waste.
     The chest freezer in the basement is nearly empty, the freezer in the kitchen fridge is less packed, and the freezer in the garage "beer fridge" is still in the early days of exploration. Key learnings from my freezer diving (upscale dumptser diving?) have been:

1. Have a good look in the fridge, freezer, and pantry before going grocery shopping.
2. A suggestion from my friend Mimi in Montreal: Keep an inventory list of what's in the freezer, to save yourself from having to rifle in the cold.
3. Use stuff up. It's a complete waste of money and freezer space to buy food and then let it get freezer burnt.

     As for personal care products, at a recent spa visit, when asked "And how are you for skin care products?", rather than be tempted (or strong-armed as some spas do) to purchase something new, be it a tube or an entire product line, I laughed and politely declined, saying I had pretty much every skin care brand represented in my bathroom cupboard. And so, I am now systematically using, enjoying, and using up the products I've got. Just finished a jar of Yves Rocher night cream and have launched into a collection of travel/trial sized Sothys products given to me by my friend Victoria, who swears by this brand. Next stop will be the collection of Avon skincare products stashed in my drawer.
     I normally stretch my shampoo and conditioner dollar by alternating salon brand (I am keen on the Schwartzkopf brand) with really creamy, oopy-goopy drugstore brands like Pantene and Dove. Having discovered Cam's serious haul of hotel mini bottles of hair products, I am working them into the rotation as well. I draw the line, however, at only using name-brand shampoos and conditioners out of those little bottles, and the shampoos have to be of the creamy variety. Otherwise, you're pretty much washing your hair with dish soap. Steer clear of product that is only labelled with the hotel name, unless it's a high-end hotel. For example, Hyatt has a pretty good ginger shampoo and conditioner, but heaven help you and your bad hair day if you dare to dip into Days, Holiday Inn, or Comfort hotels' "private label" products.
     I've heard it's fun to "shop your own closet" and find new clothing combinations. Haven't tried this yet, and am a bit concerned that it will be the blind leading the blind, considering the wardrobe consultant and the shopper are one in the same person. Will report back on this in future. 

  

Holiday Outfits - a quest

     It's that time of year again, when there are plenty of social occasions (too many, it seems sometimes) and nothing to wear. Every year I have fantasies of a Christmas social season that resembles the lovely gatherings depicted in magazines and store flyers. You know the ones - women in fabulous cocktail dresses, men in tuxedos, and children in their finest. Champagne is flowing, conversation is witty, and the children are behaving. 
     The kids in Childrens' Place ads are so well-dressed and none of them have food down their fronts nor smeared on their faces. The women in the Vogue holiday editorial spreads are a bit surly looking, perhaps in need of a drink, and their dates are very attentive and not even hammered. Not that I'd wear a $3,000 couture gown to a holiday event. Heck, I wouldn't even shell out for fancy children's clothes for my kids, because I know the realities of how little wear the clothes would get and how destroyed they'd be in one wearing.
     At any rate, the reality is that the events I will attend are more GAP/Old Navy holiday parties than even the ones in the Sears catalogue. I'm not saying we'll have a Griswold Christmas, but I don't foresee strapless gowns, champagne flutes, and Cameron in a tux. I'll be amazed if he even has a suit in his closet that's wearable.
    With visions of holiday insanity kicking off next week, I started thinking about what I'll wear to my company's holiday lunch and Cam's company's Christmas dinner/dance. Keeping in mind they're both corporate events, I rifled my closet and ruled out pretty much everything. Too much skin. Too dressy. Wore it already. And, most importantly, I am at that wacky post-partum stage of "I hate my clothes, nothing fits, and I don't want to buy anything new until the baby-weight is all gone."
     The only solution was to head out to retail. Not wanting to spend a fortune, I figured my best bet was to find something lovely, designer, and second-hand at a consignment store. Stopped in to Consignorita, a local consignment store which I'd not visited yet. Surprisingly, there was very little in terms of consignment items (one rack), and everything else was brand new. It struck me as an odd business plan, to market the store as consignment but try to sell new stuff, especially as the new stuff was high-end and fairly casual. Also, it's a bit of a shock to expect consignment prices and be presented with full-priced designer gear. Maybe a margarita before shopping at Consignorita would reduce sticker shock.
     The sales person was super nice, very helpful and did find me a lovely-yet-funky v-neck, wrap, purple and leopard print  Frank Lyman dress, which looked great on, but I wasn't keen on spending close to $200 for a dress that I probably wouldn't wear very much. Call me cheap, but I was looking more for a dressy blouse or top to get some wear out of.
     I knew it was time to hit up my favourite haunt for treasure hunting. Armed with a sense of humour, a bit of determination, and Lauren as my co-shopper, we headed out.

Ajax Value Village

     Value Village isn't just for kids' clothes, although we warmed up our shopping muscles by looking for dress-pants for Austin,. Scored some for him for $4.99. I decided to rifle through the dresses but only found strapless, summer, outdated, or downright hilarious frocks. I moved on to the blouses and yes! I found a gorgeous sheer black, ruffled, FMX Design Studio blouse which I'll wear with a fabulous micro-fibre camisole I found for $4.99. I can wear these with black pants or a skirt, and a nice pair of heels. And the blouse was only $7.99. Awesome. 

Blouse with cami layered underneath.

     So let's do the math. I could have spent around $200 for the Frank Lyman, but spent only $13.00 plus tax on myself instead. I'm thinking with the savings, I could go nuts and get my hair done, mani/pedi, etc. Or, of course, get some nice bottles of wine and some steaks. I think, however, this time, I'll mentally file the savings for when I get my post-Xmas Visa bill, and be glad I didn't spend the money this time. Of course there are always the January sales to look forward to...