Holy! Cars = Expensive

Hi Hi, sorry for the delay in posting! Its been a busy few days out here :)

I am happy to report that our movers arrived early last Thursday morning, and let me tell you, the boy and I were both BEYOND excited to get our kitchen stuff and be able to finally start making some decent meals. I am nearing the end of the unpacking - its only what? ... 4 days later now ... that's not too bad. The boy had a mild freak-out on the weekend over how many pairs of shoes and purses I shipped, I however - do not see a problem with this - they are very necessary in my life :)

In addition to that, my car (or Civi - as I call her) arrived around lunch on Friday - so it was a good 48 hours. I had to get cracking right away on getting her properly outfitted for Calgary weather. Right now we are in the midst of a hot week and today's temperature was a high of +10 - which I'm quite enjoying - but I have a feeling it won't last long. So I called around and got quotes on snow tires and a block heater so I'll be prepared for the winter. But holy hell someone forgot to tell me how expensive all this stuff is! Ugh, not the best situation to be in when you are currently unemployed.

Other that figuring out the car and the unpacking, I've been touring around quite a bit. I hit a natural food store in the area last week, and it was amazing! Like a veggie paradise! I can't get over how close everything is when you live downtown. I probably won't even need the car that much, unless we're buying house stuff or going for a big round of groceries. I also walked over to Kensington with the boy this weekend. Such a fun area with so many cute little boutique stores, needless to say - I can see myself doing a lot of shopping over there in the near future.

Last but not least, I got myself a gym membership. Its quite a bit more pricey than what I paid in London - and there is not nearly as many group classes - which is a bit of a piss off, but what can you do? I guess that's how they do it out here. It'll be good for me though, and give me a much needed distraction from job applications. I went for a 2 mile run on Saturday morning and it was ROUGH! That's what I get for barely exercising over the past month. I got in a hell of a workout today though - 30 minutes on the elliptical, 40 minutes of weights and abs, and 20 minutes on the bike - I was exhausted. I think I'm slowly getting my workout mojo back though. I'll keep you posted.

What workouts do you feel the best about afterwards?

Successful Move

Sorry for the delay in posting - but I figured since everyone is back at work today, I better get back to it as well. :)

So... I'm officially a West Coaster *yay*. I left for Calgary, last Tuesday, and have spent the better part of last week unpacking and getting my bearings around here. New Years was a lot of fun, my cousin's husband's family is from Calgary so we went over to their place and I got to meet some locals (always a good thing) and see my cousin. They also somehow talked us into going hot-tubbing at midnight in -22 degree weather. Crazy Calgarians! My hair froze, but other than that it was loads of fun.

Now I'm officially back on the job hunt - I was telling the boy last night, that I haven't been "unemployed" since like high school - and I'm one of those people that needs to be busy to be happy. I find it very hard to relax and go with the flow - so this will be an interesting test for me. I made an appointment at a local gym to get a tour and a 7 day pass for tomorrow - I figure even though I'm not making money at the moment, I can justify a gym membership because it will keep me sane/give me something to do aside from job applications all day.

The movers will most likely show up this week - and I can't WAIT for that! The boy has been living off of paper plates since he left, and I honestly don't know how he's survived this long... I'm desperate for our furniture/kitchen stuff to get here. My car should arrive next week as well - its also being shipped (the idea of driving across the Canadian Prairies in the winter freaks me out, to say the least), so I'm going to have to get snow tires put on ASAP once it arrives. I'm not a very confident winter driver - but I guess I will have to learn.

Today, I'm going to attempt meal planning for the week (gotta save money where you can), hit the grocery store nearby, and apply for a few jobs.

Thats about all that's new with me, I'll keep you posted on what happens as I try and figure out this new city.

How did you spend your New Years?

Year in Review (Part III)

Goal Setting:

I’m a huge believer in goal setting, and I’m one of those people who feels 1000% better about my life when I cross things off my ‘to-do’ list. Some might say I’m an organizational/planning freakazoid. Anyways, here are my goals for 2010 – based on the areas I want to improve in from Part II of the year in review.

Savings:

• Put $200 a month into a joint savings account, once I get a job, up this to $500.
• Shop for sales, use foods creatively, and only get groceries once a week.
• Before buying items for the new place, check kijiji/etsy etc for better prices and reconsider whether you really “need” it.

Fitness:

• Workout at least 3-4 times a week.
• Find an affordable gym in Calgary and try some new group classes.
• Run a 10K race by the middle of 2010.
• Build endurance up to half marathon mileage by end of 2010.

Managing My Stress:

• Have at least one “me day” a month where I do something to pamper myself (ie. Haircut, nails, massage etc).
• Read a book for at least 3 hours a week
• Have a date night with the boy at least once a week

Eating Properly:

• Try new healthy recipes (at least one a week)
• Eat vegetarian or pescatarian a minimum of 3 days a week.
• Always eat breakfast
• Limit sweets, pop, junk food to small portions.
• Eat healthier snacks.

Keeping in Touch:

• At least once a month, send a surprise letter/gift/card to one of my friends back home.
• Make an effort to consistently reply to Facebook/Twitter/texts from friends.
• Send out joint Christmas Cards in 2010.

Giving Back:

• Volunteer at least once a month with an organization that you believe in.

Career

• Join a professional organization (IABC/CPRS) and attend networking events regularly.
• Join Toastmasters to improve my public speaking skills.
• Make an effort to get involved and volunteer on committees at work.

So that's it for now, wish me luck in achieving all these goals in 2010. I may get online periodically with some updates, but until the 29th - I'll probably be mostly MIA. See ya'll in the new year. Happy Holidays!

Year in Review (Part II)

Welcome to the 2nd installment of my year in review :)

What needs work:


Savings: Now that the boy has a fancy new job, and I’m facing the reality of being unemployed for at least the first little while out West, we are really going to need to get into a better pattern for saving. If there is one thing living on my own for the past two months has shown me, it’s that we can live on less (less food, less stuff, less everything). I’m sure I will get a job eventually, and then we’ll be in good shape – it’ll just be important to continue saving at that point for things like a house and travelling that we would like to do down the road.

Fitness: I find it hard to stick with exercise plans when other ‘life-stressors’ (ie. Moving and the Holidays, most recently) come up. This just makes me discouraged and I am going to focus on making it a priority in 2010.

Managing My Stress: Ask anyone who knows me; I am notoriously bad at managing stress. I cry, I get angry, and I take it out on the people who are trying to help me. It’s not good. I need to find a better way of recognizing situations that will stress me out, and doing things to avoid/manage them better than I have.

Eating Properly: I started this in 2009 but I would like to improve on it. I have considered going vegetarian or pescatarian, but I never actually follow through with it. I’d like to at least try and head a little more in that direction in 2009.

Keeping in Touch: In the past I haven’t been SUPER great at keeping in touch with friends from high school/university when I left. I really will need to make an effort this year to do so, since we will be so far away. Besides, I’d like to have people want to come and visit every now and then :)

Giving Back: In the past few years I haven’t spent that much time volunteering and I would really like to get back into it. I have always enjoyed it and have met wonderful people through it.

That’s it for today, stay tuned for Part III – The 2010 Goals - tomorrow.

Year in Review (Part I)

So since I figure I probably will not be posting very much over the next two weeks between the move and Christmas, I figured I should do this while I still had some free time. I’ve noticed some other bloggers doing something similar to this, and I think the end of the year is a great time to reflect on what you have done right and wrong – and where you can improve. So without further ado, here is my goods and bads of 2009 and my goals for the new year.

What I’m Most Proud Of:

- Finishing School(for now, I think): In April I graduated from the local college with a diploma in PR/Communications. Getting this diploma, in addition to my B.A., has made me feel like I will have an extra edge when applying for jobs in this area, and has provided me with some great skills.

- Getting a Job That I Love: As part of my PR program, we had to do an internship – and that is how I found myself back on my university stomping grounds helping out with a major event they host each year. Following this, they asked me to stay on as an employee and cover a mat leave. I was thrilled, I have never had a job that has been so rewarding, treated me so well, and given me the right balance of responsibility and direction – I’m going to be pretty sad to leave next week.

- Realizing What a True Friend Is: This year has shown me the difference between an acquaintance and a true friend. A true friend is someone who can make you laugh through your tears, it’s about someone who will help you (and recruit friends) when you’re in a bind, and it’s someone who will share in and suggest crazy ideas to support your passions. I have a few wonderful friends in London and Toronto who I will miss terribly once I leave. They will be lifelong friends I’m sure.

- My Relationship with My Sister: My sister and I haven’t always been close; in fact, in highschool we basically irritated each other 24/7. But I have to say how happy I am that we have grown closer this year. I think we understand each other a lot better, and have grown from things like my trip to Paris to visit her (where she was basically stuck with me for 10 days) so I suppose she had to learn to like me, and when she came down to visit me on the weekend in London once the boy left, so I wouldn’t be lonely.

- Learning To Focus on My Health & Wellness: I suppose this is an important one, since it is the focus of the blog. I have really learned to value and appreciate my health this year, and have taken some simple steps to improve it. I am eating better (ie. Rarely drinking sodapop anymore – HUGE DEAL), and I’m trying to step up my workouts to the point that I don’t have to think about them its just a routine – its still a work in progress though.

- Taking a Risk & Moving out West: I would probably say this is my biggest accomplishment of the year (even though its not completely finished yet), I’m generally kind of resistant to change but something about this move – just felt right. I think it was a combination of the ability for the boy and I to have an adventure in a new place, and take the next step in our relationship – and the fact that we’re both getting a bit tired of London.

- Not Letting the Boy Get Away: So this happened prior to when I started the blog, but the boy and I split briefly for about 2 weeks back in May of this year. We were just frustrated with each other and were taking each other for granted. As you might say, we were in a “funk” and weren’t sure if we were right for each other. Trying to live without each other around for a few weeks showed us what we would be giving up – and in the end this break made us stronger. And now… I’m moving across the country to be with him – big steps folks.

Alright, well that’s it for installment one. I’ll post Part II and III in the next couple of days!

Christmas = Best Time to be at Work

So I’m down to my last two weeks of my contract at work right now, and I gotta say – finishing around Christmas might be the best thing ever. Everyone is cheery and happy, and no one is in too big of a rush to get things done, so its been a bit more relaxing than usual. Also, with Christmas – comes Christmas parties! I swear I won’t need to bring lunch much more between now and when I finish because there are so many events happening around the campus.

On Wednesday, the staff in my department and our board members went out to dinner at Michael’s on the Thames in London. I’ve heard LOADS of great things about this place, but also that it was pricy… so I’d never gotten there. Thanks to work – two weeks before I leave town – I made it. Now I’m really mad I never went before actually, because the food was freaking phenomenal. One of the best meals I've ever had, hands down. The boy has never tried it, but I figure it’ll just give us an excuse to come back for Homecoming sometime down the road. It was such a nice dinner, and great atmosphere. The maitre’d is amazing, he was passing out jingle bells to the whole group and we all sang Christmas Carols – I think everyone had a great time.

Today, we have a group lunch planned for noon at another place I’ve never gotten too downtown, Blue Ginger. Seems like an Asian fusion type of restaurant and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been told there will be martini’s!

This is why I love my job; I’m going to be so sad to leave next week. I don’t know, its just hard for me to imagine finding another job that is as awesome as this one. My coworkers are fantastic, my boss is super nice, and approachable – gah, okay I’ll stop my whining, I’m moving on with my life – I should be excited right? …well, I am excited, I’m just going to miss my job.

Haha, in other news, I went and bought -40 Sorel Boots last night (see picture) – and aside from having flashbacks to my childhood ski boots - they are pretty warm. I hope they will do the trick out West.

Calgary!

Sorry for the delay, I have been meaning to post this for awhile! So as some of you may know, I spent last weekend in Calgary (AKA my future place of residence). My parents kindly donated some air miles my way so I could take a first round of summer clothes (among other things) out ahead of time, and so I could see the boy for the first time in about a month. See… aren’t they awesome people?!? Love the parents.

Anywho, got up bright and early at 5 am on Friday to make sure I’d be able to catch my 7:20 flight in time. Fortunately, because I’m traveling from London – the airport is Tiiiny … so I was checked in like about 5 minutes. Flight over was good – I was on WestJet (love them… you’ll see why later). The funniest part was when we were landing and we got through the clouds all you could see was white – London has gotten maybe an inch of snow so far this year – CLEARLY Calgary was a different story. I found it amusing to look around at everyone’s shocked/concerned faces on the plane as they realized we were clearly heading into a big blizzard. Then the WestJet steward came on and was like “in case you haven’t noticed already it’s a TAD colder in Calgary than in Ontario… but that is okay – because we’re from Calgary, and we love Calgary --- *woooo*" – it was super cute and distracted everyone from looking out the window for awhile. Once we landed, the baggage arrived pretty quick and I caught a shuttle bus downtown. It was only me and a really nice Australian girl who was headed to Banff on the shuttle, so we got to talking with the driver. I think they both found it pretty awesome that my first impression of my future home is a crazy blizzard.
Way to be Calgary, way to be.
Well at least now I can say I’ve seen the worst of it, right? Dear god, I hope that’s the worst of it.

Anyways, the boy met me at the drop-off point for the shuttle and we walked a block or two to our new apartment. It’s smaller than our one in London, but its right downtown which is handy. It will be fine for the first little while. I also don’t have a job lined up out there yet – so we didn’t want to go overboard with living expenses since we’ll only have one income – at least initially. Anyways, we quickly grabbed some lunch and then he had to head back to work for the afternoon – and I toured around 17th Avenue in the blizzard (not to worry, I stopped for Starbucks and a cupcake – so it wasn’t awful). Once the boy got home from work, we went to a cute little Italian place nearby for dinner called Gnocchi’s. It was delish, and not very busy due to the weather. The MIML took me by some of the grocery stores/liquor stores on the way home. I bought some wine and he bought some beer and we headed back and watched Christmas Vacation on TV. That was it for Friday.

Saturday we got up and went for breakfast at a diner down the road… gotta say, breakfast prices = slightly unreasonable. I feel like I will be making breakfast at home from now on. I just thought it was strange because my dinner entrée the night before was around $17 and fairly reasonable, and then I got eggs benny (I splurged) at this diner and it was like $13.50 and wasn’t even that great. After breakfast, the boy took me by where his new office is and then we grabbed a coffee at Starbucks – because it was still pretty frigid outside. Then we decided to hit Chinook Mall, we took the C-Train (its like an outdoor monorail – but I suspect I’ll always call it the subway because I’m wired to think like a Torontonian). It was enjoyable and pretty speedy as well. I saw like FOUR people wearing cowboy hats in DECEMBER, which I think is just awesome (although I bet their ears were freezing). People in my neck of the woods wear cowboy hats ONLY on Halloween or to the bar, so I find it so crazy that people wear them just because out West. Love it. The mall was good, lots of stuff to see. We found the boy some winter boots and I got some stuff from Bath and Body Works (obviously). Then we went to a nearby sushi place for dinner. The boy also bought the Planet Earth DVD set when we were out so we went home afterward and watched that on his fancy new TV, it was pretty awesome (both the TV and the DVD’s).

Sunday, I had to catch my flight back at around 2:30, so I grabbed a shuttle by about noon. Didn’t give me a lot of time in the morning, so we just ate a quick breakfast at home and said our goodbyes :( So sad! Oh well – only a few more weeks. I booked my ‘official’ moving flight – I’ll be a resident of Alberta by December 29th, woo exciting!

Guess that’s about it – that was an EPIC update. I’ll try and post more regularly so they aren’t always so long. Thanks for reading – if you’ve made it this far! As you can probably tell, getting in a workout wasn't my highest priority that weekend. I'll try to get back on the wagon shortly though. Sorry I don't have any pictures to share, I realized my camera was out of battery when I arrived there - fiddlesticks. I'll be sure to take lots when I move "for real". :)