A Week of Money: Where deep sub-zero temperatures are forcing me to hibernate

DAY ONE

??:?? — Little Bun wakes up at 4 a.m. or thereabouts. I KNOW IT IS STILL NIGHT TIME. I force him back down to sleep amidst a lot of mumbling and wiggling, and finally he says: Mommy. Want another banket pease… (another blanket please). OMG is this child cold and it’s why he wakes up!? I will PILE ON THE BLANKETS if that is the case.

6:30 a.m. — Yep. He’s up. He felt me shift (he was gripping onto my hand and arm, wrapped around it like a koala teddy bear), and the warmth / Mommy arm movement woke him.

6:33 a.m. — I dress in my simple outfit (blazer, tank top, skinny pants, flats.. nothing to write home or ‘gram about) for work, and slap on makeup. My skin has been acting up lately, so I washed all my pillow cases just in case it’s a transference of grime (only one cheek is peppered with acne).

6:49 a.m. — My partner has a pain in his chest. He’s going to the hospital today to check it out. I hope it isn’t anything serious. I am happy he is a bit of a hypochondriac and will go at the SLIGHTEST pain, unlike a lot of guys I know who need to have an arm chopped off and bleeding before they go to see a doctor. This means, I have to take Little Bun to preschool because my partner isn’t working today, but has to go out.

7:18 a.m. — Finally, finally get Little Bun dressed, telling him it’s snow day at preschool.

7:48 a.m. — At work, I start working but can’t get back into the spirit. No one is in the office this week either, so it feels very dead.

8:00 a.m. — I cave and get a morning bagel with ham, cheese and egg. $4.05

9:15 a.m. — Everyone is wishing everyone a Happy New Year. I go in for the double kiss as is customary here in Quebec, and then we start talking about the number of cheek kisses and apparently 2 is the right number. I mention that in France I got caught when it was 4 (I thought it was 2!) and one guy laughs and says: NO! That’s just cuz he wanted to keep kissing your cheeks. 2 is the max.. 3 maybe, but I’ve NEVER heard of 4. He was just milking it…. I would have done the same. Oh. Well. 😛

11:02 a.m. — I break early for lunch.

1:12 p.m. — I get caught up in chatting with everyone and having a nice start to the year. Good thing people are off so no one is on my back about anything lately. I have to concentrate on some things anyway. I can’t do it with people around.

2:15 p.m. — My partner messages me that it’s just muscle pain in his chest. Thank goodness.

3:00 p.m. — I have to go to an appointment early; I was going to go alone later, but as I have Little Bun it is better that I go now so that I get it done and over with. This is going to be tricky with the snow, sub-zero weather, etc….

4:18 p.m. — I get to my appointment; luckily everyone is on vacation so the roads are pretty clear.

4:45 p.m. — Finally leave my appointment, and I head back home with Little Bun. He is loving the snow and he starts singing jingles in the car, his favourite being Jingle Bells.

5:38 p.m. — At home, I get undressed, organize myself and make a note to clean out the car. It is getting nasty in there.

6:00 p.m. — I start on my skincare regimen again. I need to get rid of these bumpy spots… as long as my skin texture is flat, I can cover it in makeup but bumps? No way.

8:00 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $4.05

DAY TWO

6:40 a.m. — Little Bun stays at home. I quietly sneak out and go to work early.

7:59 a.m. — Whoa. Major issue at work. People are all kerfuffling about something that is nothing at all. Mountain made out of a molehill…. and all that.

10:18 a.m. — It finally gets resolved. I want to go out and use my Starbucks rewards (earned completely just by playing Starbucks for Life!), but the snow is too heavy for me to even want to wander out there.

12:08 p.m. — Lunch time. Nomz.

1:12 p.m. — I’m tempted to drink some of the leftover soda from a party left in the fridge but I know the sugar and the crap will just make me feel worse and give me a headache. I decide against it.

5:17 p.m. — I head home a bit late, I got caught up in something and wanted to finish it, and then time slipped away.

5:43 p.m. — Nice. No one is on the roads. I get home in record time.

6:37 p.m. — I do all the dishes from the previous days, washed and dried, and love the look of a nice clean kitchen…

8:02 p.m. — Time for bed. I’m actually super tired…. I have been popping Cold pills to stop the sniffling and it has worked but I shouldn’t keep taking them because it will lose its effectiveness.

Spent: $0

DAY THREE

??:?? — Go to sleep damn it. GO TO SLEEP.

1:01 a.m. — WHY IS THIS KID AWAKE. He wants to pee, and then asks for milk. WTF. I don’t even know what time it is, what day it is.. I’m all messed up.

??:?? — Little Bun is awake again. I wrap him in another layer of blankets to keep him warm and pat him back to sleep.

6:20 a.m. — Hell. My night was hell. I am very tired. My back is now killing me, I can barely walk, sit, or stand. I need to lie down all day.

7:09 a.m. — I drop Little Bun off at preschool. My partner needs to go to work today, but I am going back home to lie down and work. I need to rest my back. Little Bun protested going to school but then raisins at preschool won him over. I spend the next hour trying to connect remotely.

8:08 a.m. — Oh shoot. My partner took the cellphone. I have a call today. I need to figure out how to do this. Maybe I can Skype this call. Let’s see… Yep. Seems to work. YAY FOR SKYPE.

9:18 a.m. — I finish off a whole baguette, a huge pat of almond butter and a banana. I was way too hungry.

10:32 a.m. — I nervously dial into my call with Skype. First time ever using this, I hope it works.

11:08 a.m. — Call over. Phew. I need to go pick up lunch though, we have nothing in the fridge. I’m not super hungry, so I just go for some sushi.

12:12 p.m. — My Grana package came in! YAY! Time to try on new things. I hope their items are pretty.

12:28 p.m. — Back home, I do all the dishes while watching videos and eat my lunch afterwards. I need to wash the car after I finish working. I wanted to rest my back today but I feel like I have so much I need to get done.

12:56 p.m. — My partner comes home early as well. YAY! We end up eating lunch together and chatting. It is really nice to talk about normal things like curtains and deciding on things without a little child screaming or wanting attention from either of us. I’ve missed this time together.

1:12 p.m. — I put away my Grana order. I love pretty much every piece that came in except for the linen dress ONLY because the cut of it turns me off (my shoulders are too wide for this)… the linen is gorgeous, thick, lined, the dress is amazing but the cut is too strange for my shape. Will review.

1:44 p.m. — I go and quickly say hi to a neighbour.

4:03 p.m. — I make a cup of tea, and my partner offers to go pick up Little Bun. YESS! I have the place to myself!! .. I lie down in bed and rest my back. First time all day. I have been working non-stop, answering emails, had a few conference calls…

5:07 p.m. — I love this time to myself. I want to organize my closet and wardrobe too, but that’s for maybe this weekend?

6:00 p.m. — Lying in bed, watching videos. THIS IS THE LIFE. Little Bun is being picked up by his father and super excited whenever Daddy comes to get him instead of Mommy (change of pace)…

6:12 p.m. — They come in the door, I quickly shut down and just lie there in the dark, savouring the last few minutes of silence and calm. I hear him talking to his father and it is incredibly sweet and rewarding to hear him pick up another language so easily. I just wish my partner would respond back and validate his words so that he learns even more and quickly.. I guess it’s what I do with Little Bun and the reason why his English is so strong.

6:15 p.m. — Little Bun runs to the living room to check for Mommy, and then realizes I’m in the bedroom and he comes and jumps on top of me.

7:15 p.m. — Dinner time. We eat, and chat about our day.

7:40 p.m. — I get Little Bun prepped for bed, and then we read books and go to sleep. I pop a cold pill so I can sleep and not have the sniffles… it knocks me out for a good night’s rest.

Spent: $0

DAY FOUR

6:20 a.m. — I decide to stay home today, but I will drop Little Bun off at preschool.

7:09 a.m. — Little Bun at preschool, I’m home and working, drinking my first cups of tea.

10:18 a.m. — I take a break for a cup of tea #2.

11:02 a.m. — WHOA. Why is everything coming in now? I have emergency meetings popping up on my calendar. Stop freakin’ out y’all.

12:28 p.m. — I take a break for lunch and ask my partner to please pick up Little Bun again today. I’m too tired and my back does hurt.

1:13 p.m. — Back to work. I’m concentrating so much I don’t even see the time fly by.

5:55 p.m. — Little Bun is home. He runs into my arms in the living room and we cuddle.

8:00 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $0

DAY FIVE

6:00 a.m. — Little Bun actually wants to go to school with me today instead of staying at home with Daddy. WHAT!? Exciting. I tell him he has to stay at home though because on Fridays the school is not open (we only pay for 4 days a week).

8:08 a.m. — At the office I am in meetings back to back.

10:18 a.m. — I come back to my desk just to grab my papers and my Team Lead says wistfully: “I felt like I was all alone here!“.. it is a “Snow Day” for most people (the buses and trains were all delayed) so mostly everyone is working from home.

11:02 a.m. — I finish my last meeting and decide to grab a vegetarian quesadilla and pick up a cheesecake on a whim. $20.70

12:08 p.m. — I eat my lunch and order this book for my mother (she’s really into reading up on Trump and this book apparently is super controversial and trying to be banned from sale in the U.S. which of course spikes book sales. $

1:12 p.m. — Back at my desk, I had to skip yoga today because an emergency meeting with a VP came up.

1:44 p.m. — I’m pretty sure this VP hates me. Oh well. At least MY VP likes me.

2:12 p.m. — At my desk, my team lead is freaking out so I’m helping him figure out stuff.

4:00 p.m. — I leave for the day after I buy a few things for my aunt she has requested. Tomorrow I have a huge list of winter and wool items to send to her as well. $39.45

4:45 p.m. — I am home early, and cuddling with Little Bun while my partner makes a yummy salad (his specialty these days).

5:47 p.m. — I leave the dishes for tomorrow.

6:37 p.m. — I putter around cleaning up, starting laundry, blowing my nose, playing with Little Bun who is super excited that I am home.

8:37 p.m. —  Whoa it is late. I log off and go to sleep.

Spent: $91.54

DAY SIX

??:?? — Squealing for some reason.

6:10 a.m. — I’m up with Little Bun. My partner and I chat about my workplace politics because now that I’ve been extended…

….things are getting kind of tense between me and other consultants who are leaving.

7:59 a.m. — I am really craving these vegan wings again today. I cannot believe how amazing they tasted and how GREAT they were. Pricey, but great.

Oh and to finish off with this of course:

8:08 a.m. — I do all the dishes, and dry them as I chat with my mom.

10:18 a.m. — Off the phone with my mom, I feed Little Bun his soup while I wait for my partner to come home. I start a load of laundry.

11:12 a.m. — My partner arrives home with all the groceries, and a new surprise to hang on the wall (a huge photo of Little Bun smiling in our kitchen so we can look at him all day. We’re obsessed with our kid, can you tell? LOL)…

12:08 p.m. — We eat lunch, and I get ready with my list of things to look for and buy today. I need to bundle up warm, pick up some thermal underwear and buy stuff for my aunt as well.

12:28 p.m. — I finish up, get bundled up and dressed (I am love love LOVING my Grana pima cotton tank top — 10% off referral code here. I am definitely buying more of these..) You can read my review of their silk and cashmere here.

12:56 p.m. — I head out, Little Bun screams and cries as usual and my partner picks him up and cuddles him away from the door.

12:59 p.m. — At the bus. $2.25

1:32 p.m. — Downtown, I beeline to look at some sports clothing, mostly thermal underwear. I come up empty, but stop for some crappy Thai curry red chicken because I feel a bit hungry but don’t want to spend a ton. I regret my decision later, I should have just purchased a few vegan chicken wings like I had planned. $6.99

1:44 p.m. — I grab a coconut water from the pharmacy and realize that I am 4000 Optimum points away from having a $60 credit. I spend the next hour looking for the CHEAPEST way to get 4000 points (e.g. buy two items get 2000 points) and settle on these 4 Nivea hand creams (small ones, perfect for the office, car or my bag) for about $20. $22.95

1:50 p.m. — Then I go around picking out $60 worth of goods, and end up with five Essence mascaras at $4 each (best mascara ever), a Palmer’s makeup cleansing oil (just to try, and it has rosehip oil in it), and two Complex 15 face creams recommended to me for my super dry winter skin (my skin is still dry and peeling, and yet full of acne… great.).. For all of that, I end up paying $36.49 for about $95 worth of stuff.

2:45 p.m. — The clerk tells me the plan is to convert these Optimum points and I get all confused, but end up spending my points anyway because I kind of need most of this stuff (mostly creams).

What they FAILED to mention originally in their pamphlets is that the original plan was 1 Optimum Point = 1 PC Point, but they recently revised it (based on the site) to be whatever the value of Optimum Points are = PC Points now.

This is because the old Optimum Points were on a tiered basis and the more you saved, the better the return on the points were for you. They’re doing away with that complicated system (now it’s 1 to 1), so they realized people were getting annoyed they were losing that extra bonus, so they just did the full value of Optimum = PC Points just for the conversion. You can check out their Optimum to PC Points online points converter here.

2:55 p.m. — I head over to Icebreaker Merino and find all the thermal underwear for my aunt and stock up on these new wool socks (made in the U.S.A.) because my old ones are getting threadbare. $639.49

3:52 p.m. — I drop by Aritzia because I can’t help myself and fall in love with these Geneva pants at $145, but they’re full price and I am not paying that. At their next sale, if it drops down below $100 I may consider them for work.

4:18 p.m. — I go to David’s Tea to pick up my free tea, and the clerk who is serving me is annoyed that I am choosing to speak in English today, and she foists me off on another clerk. I don’t know why I’m being ornery because I DO SPEAK FRENCH, but sometimes I just get into these moods where I don’t want to speak French.

4:45 p.m. — I start making my way home, and wait for the bus. $2.25

5:31 p.m. — At home, I pick up my new super heavily discounted Aquatalia boots from downstairs (YAY!) I finally find my snow skirt online from Skhoop which is EXACTLY WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR. I wanted a zip-on skirt I could wear OVER my clothes, pants and so on during freezing weather so that my legs and thighs are kept warm, because the rest of my body and my feet are fine, but my thighs and legs are always frozen….$183.96

5:47 p.m. — Little Bun does Starbucks for Life with me (he calls it the “shake shake”), and we win 125 bonus stars!! He is my lucky star.

6:15 p.m. — We end up spending most of the night unpacking and playing with my new socks (LOL). He arranges them in a row, matches them, and then wears a pair (he is SO CUTE IN THEM) they end up coming up to his knees and he looks adorable. He wants to wear socks like Mommy, and he ends up wearing them for the night to go to sleep. So. Dang. Cute.

6:37 p.m. — Time for dinner. Quick salad.

7:20 p.m. — I leave the dishes for tomorrow. Maybe it’s a bad idea but I’m tired.

Spent: $894.38 – Yikes!

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — Little Bun kicks me in the face.

6:00 a.m. — He’s up. I’m not sleeping any more. I could do with another hour or two but.. no dice. I grab his milk and pass out beside him.

6:20 a.m. — He asks me to get up. I try to go to the other bedroom to pass out on the bed but he makes me get up again.

7:09 a.m. — I manage to keep him quiet until now with some laundry to sort. He likes matching and sorting things, so I made him sort our laundry into piles and match things. I make and drink my teas.

8:08 a.m. — My partner gets up, and I’m going through all my things to do today — buy snowsuit and boots for my aunt, call a friend, check on a cordless steam mop for my mom.

8:18 a.m. — I “share” a banana with Little Bun (he eats most of it…), and then try to list more things for sale. Old things I’m getting rid of. I also start a load of laundry while he plays with watching online Christmas e-cards (his new thing).

8:28 a.m. — I buy 24 handkerchiefs from Eco-Freako. I love their organic handkerchiefs but I have been running out as of late with our colds and so on. I can’t take it any more. We need more handkerchiefs. $113.40 – but I only pay half of this.

9:02 a.m. — I bundle Little Bun up and take him out to the mall so I can call my friend. He plays with the toys in the store before conking out in the car on the way home about 10 minutes before we arrive (OF COURSE HE DOES).

11:08 a.m. — At home, we have a quick little vegetarian lunch of eggs and avocado with bread.

12:28 p.m. — I struggle to get Little Bun down for a nap. I threaten, I squeal… I’m actually half passed out beside him, already napping and dozing off.

1:32 p.m. — OMFG HE STILL ISN’T NAPPING!? I am jolted awake. He FINALLY goes down for his nap.

2:48 p.m. — I wake up super refreshed. I slept basically an hour and a half.. I’m a bit dizzy but my body needed the sleep and woke up at this time so I didn’t go back to sleep or try to force myself back down. My partner in the meantime made a delicious King’s Cake (from scratch at home)…. It smells ah-mazing in the house.

3:25 p.m. — Little Bun is up and has finished his milk. I let him play with Christmas cards online after I put in an order for all this winter gear. $298.97

4:15 p.m. — I do all the dishes, dry them and put them away while Little Bun explains to me what is happening to all the silly dogs and cats in the cards.

5:35 p.m. — We play silly games together on the bed (Mommy Mountain, where.. Mommy.. is.. a .. Mountain… and Little Bun is an explorer who goes around and on top and gets tickled), and we read books.

6:37 p.m. — We take a little shower together (he loves the bath now because of the bubbles and strips off to run to the bathroom whenever I say “shower”)

7:05 p.m. — Dinner time.

8:15 p.m. — Bedtime

Spent: $412.37

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Want more? Read all of my previous Week of Money Diaries.