Week of Money: Where I dump $50K into the stock market

DAY ONE

??:?? — I feel so rested. What’s going on?

7:16 a.m. — Wow. He slept well. I am so happy. I feel rested… I make a tea, drink it (HOT) and in relative peace while I whisper to Little Bun he has to behave until it is time to get ready. He plays nicely by himself.

7:59 a.m. — We get ready and head out to the playgroup. As I am there, I quickly check on an IG Poll I did and am shocked:

9:15 a.m. — I buy 3 bagel sandwiches. I have a doctor’s appointment and I want Little Bun full and not grumpy at all. $15.55

9:15 a.m. — At the playgroup, I sit and gossip (let’s face it that’s what I do) with the other mothers. We always chat about things going on, give each other help – it is nice!

11:45 a.m. — We leave. What am I going to do for 2 hours before the appointment? I decide to head home. We will hang out a bit and then get ready to go out again.

12:18 p.m. — Home, he eats a banana, quietly watches a few videos, and then we get ready to go back out.

1:26 p.m. — I pay for parking and head up to the doctor’s office. $2.00

1:33 p.m. — I get there and she gives me a surprised look. I start to have a doubt that the appointment is today. She then informs me that she called already and the doctor is sick today. Inwardly I groan. I know doctors get sick but I didn’t get the call. I ask her to switch it to my new number (I can see on the list of patients a LOT of “No Response” from the patients she had scheduled today. I wasn’t the only one…)

1:35 p.m. — Well. What are we going to do? I want to head over to the eco-friendly store and buy more activated charcoal toothpaste for my work kit. I get there, and then realize it is closed today. FML. I walk Little Bun back through the streets, looking for puddles to jump in.

1:26 p.m. — We head home after doing some grocery shopping. $9.56

3:03 p.m. — I get started on making some roasted chicken wings, zucchini medallions and roasted fingerling potatoes.  They taste pretty amazing. I actually forgot that I enjoy cooking a little bit.

5:27 p.m. — My partner gets home and is annoyed I am cooking and ‘splattering oil’ everywhere. I hold my tongue, but if this comes up again, I am going to lose my #$*@ and tell him – If you don’t want me to cook, then MAKE REAL MEALS. I can’t survive on what you’re making here – pasta with just a few tomatoes? WTF? You need to COOK if you don’t want me to. <— this has become a sore point for me just in recent months because ever since he started school he is just consumed in it 100%. He is constantly studying, reading, and basically slacking off on the cooking department AND the Little Bun care department. It is fine for me to take over for now, but once I start work, things are going to have to change.

6:20 p.m. — It just seems like my partner is annoyed with everything today. Taking the metro for an hour and a half can really make you angry at anything so I am giving him the benefit of the doubt, but we are going to have a talk when he is in a better mood so that we don’t end up screaming at each other. I am getting tired of taking on the workload for Little Bun Care.

7:13 p.m. — I send another $25,000 into my investing account. Brings up my total to $50K this month, but I may be adding another $15K before the end of the month. Maybe I’ll do it tomorrow as well.

8:26 p.m. — At night, tucked into bed beside me, he whispers to me that his favourite part of the day today was jumping in so many puddles. Note to self – Let him jump in more puddles. Normally he doesn’t have boots on so I don’t let him but maybe if I can find puddles tomorrow, we can go out and have fun although it may all be dry by then.

Spent: $17.55

DAY TWO

??:?? — Little Bun is screaming – his nose is bleeding and my partner is screaming back at him, really effing angry. So angry, I am screaming at my partner that it isn’t his fault his nose is bleeding and if he doesn’t want to help, DON’T F#*$#ING HELP.

??:?? — We all fall back asleep, exhausted.

7:12 a.m. — Even with the nose bleeding episode, Little Bun slept well! He didn’t nap yesterday, and I could tell he was fine, so he didn’t need to nap. I have to take it day by day, some days, he needs to go down but today he is going to be fine.

8:15 a.m. — We head out to playgroup a tiny bit late. Little Bun is eating pasta for breakfast. I pick out some badass rings to wear and enjoy the mix:

9:05 a.m. — At playgroup, I drop him off, grab all my receipts and head downstairs. I just spend the next 3 hours scanning, renaming, moving files (a year’s worth of receipts), and organizing. I even call the revenue agency to make sure I paid my prepaid taxes for the year, and I am up to date.

9:20 a.m. — I buy some file folders. I am determined not to make a mess of my receipts again, and have been putting this off for a while. $9.09

11:30 a.m. — Playgroup over, I grab Little Bun and head home. I have lunch, and start laundry. He plays on his Colouring app (it is for adults but he enjoys it, and it soothes him), and tells me: I am colouring a love picture for Mommy!

1:04 p.m. — He eats a banana, watches a few videos, and very sweetly goes and puts himself down for a nap/Quiet Time in the bedroom.

1:22 p.m. — I quickly go through my To Do list for today – I need to do some blogging administrative tasks (this will take a few hours), and then I plan on taking him to the park as it is so beautiful today. We can do an autumn walk and check out the different leaves, and he can play in the park without any kids around (with bigger kids around I am scared with how rough they can be..)

1:37 p.m. — Oh, my partner is home. I guess his class was cancelled. Turns out the professor sent the email JUST as he left for the bus, and it must have been an emergency – he went for no reason. He is home, a bit annoyed. He goes down to nap, and Little Bun squeals because apparently “Daddy has woken him up and now he cannot nap any more” which is a lie, as he was awake and not napping but he did disrupt our routine.

2:45 p.m. — We end up having a bit of a heated discussion. I am really annoyed that he is still trying to force Little Bun to nap daily, because I can tell when he doesn’t nap, he is in bed by 8 p.m. and up at 7 a.m. The nap is screwing it all up. He however, thinks he is helping him by forcing him down for a nap so his brain can grow and naps are where he really is going to get his brain fully developed. OR SO HE SAYS. I am just frustrated with the forcing, and more loose about these things – which is where we very strongly diverge.

3:37 p.m. — I go into the bedroom and sit with Little Bun in silence, and partly angry and sad, and Little Bun slowly curls around my leg and body, and drifts off to sleep. My whole bottom is numb, I try to shift and feel prickly pain as the blood rushes back. I finally get back up and go into the living room.

4:15 p.m. — I basically tell him he has been a jackass for the past month or so. Ever since he started school, he has been on edge, tense, it has been so unhappy (for me) and stressful in the household. I tell him he SAID he would spend time with Little Bun and that retiring, meant he would spend more time with Little Bun.

4:16 p.m. — Half school, Half Bun is what he promised, and right now it is 100% school. School in the morning, commute to school, go to school, commute back, school at night… there has been zero Little Bun time when I am at home, because he has just let Little Bun play with me because I am the ONLY ONE WHO WILL. I am frustrated to say the least.

4:18 p.m. — Also, he sets an early bedtime like 8 a.m. for Little Bun one night, but the next night it is not until 9 that he comes to bed? WTF? We all sleep together as a family because if not, Little Bun can’t sleep if he sees a light on in the living room and knows someone is awake. I really give it to him for that – he has to be consistent with all of us and with everything, not just when it is convenient for him.

4:29 p.m. — We finally talk it out, I am teary-eyed, and he unloads the frustration he feels on his side, and admits it is likely he is bringing home all of that tension from having started something new – school – which he hasn’t done for 25 years, having to re-learn how to properly write and formally structure sentences in perfect French at an academic level, the commute, and his unhappiness with his teachers (he isn’t the only one, everyone in his classes are all upset and annoyed at the faculty as well.).

4:30 p.m. — He tells me he is not unwilling to help. It isn’t that he doesn’t want to, but he has to read all of these thick books with technical jargon and he can’t help. I side eye him — I tell him that taking a break half an hour here and there is not something that will kill him. He doesn’t need to be perfect, I don’t buy it, and taking breaks is GOOD for learning. I tell him he has to work on this perfectionism.

4:32 p.m. — I tell him he is bringing all of this tension home, and screaming at Little Bun last night, was the last straw for me – it wasn’t his fault his nose bled. … and he explained he hasn’t slept in 4 days (he is a light sleeper), due to the construction, and he was JUST about to sleep when Little Bun woke him up by screaming.

4:33 p.m. — I understand that, as a fellow sleep-deprived parent, but this is life. I told him to not take it out on him or us, he has to learn how to cope or let go, but his problem is he is so Type A, Alpha Student, that he wants perfect marks in everything and feels a handicap in not having the memory he once had when he was younger, so he is unable to memorize things like the younger students. He feels the stress to succeed and make it, at least passing his exams with good marks, otherwise he is putting his career and moneymaking on hold for something he could fail at – either he does it or he gives up. I understand the pressure and stress but I don’t see the point – this was meant to be fun, not like this. I am VERY VERY unhappy, I tell him.

4:38 p.m. — Little Bun is up. I grab his milk, then I tell him to get ready, to go to the park like I promised. I bundle up like a Canadian yeti swathed in cashmere. This White and Warren Travel Wrap (I own it in 3 colours), is my go-to snuggly blanket for everything and the leather jacket is vegan leather from BlankNYC called Meant to be Moto and only $100-ish Canadian with cute rose gold hardware.

5:06 p.m. — We do a “woodland walk” (LOL) and I point out all the changing colours of the leaves, the caterpillars, the way it feels so chilly in the shade because of the lack of the sun, the tree roots pushing up under the sidewalk and making the sidewalks crack… And he responds back with questions.

5:34 p.m. — We manage to watch a bird fly and come in for a landing in the water – I explain how the bird glides down, lets its feet down and then just plops into the water for a landing, like an airplane.

6:35 p.m. — He plays, and once the sun goes down, it is CHILLY. I put on a cashmere cap, dress him with mittens and a double hoodie and we walk back. I see some parents are letting their kids outside in this weather with just a flannel shirt and no mittens or a hat. It is truly TRULY COLD. I am not judging them at first, but I do, when they sit down for a ‘picnic’ in the grass when the sun is gone, and it is f*#ing cold, and don’t even have a blanket or anything to wrap the kids in to keep them warm as they eat chips and dip. I’m shivering as we leave the park.

7:03 p.m. — Little Bun explores everything and has so many questions. I finally get him home but am starting to feel grumpy as I am hungry and longing for hot noodles. I get his father to feed him soup, and he takes the break, while I make noodles quietly. THIS is the kind of shared caring I am pushing for. It can’t just be 100% about him reaching his goals, I have my own goals too for my  career and I cannot be taking care of his needs and mine, and Little Bun’s. This is BS. My needs are valid too, and I need time to myself, and I need him to take charge of these duties too. I am not shouldering the burden for his precious goal of schooling. If he can’t hack it, so be it. Get back to work.

8:45 p.m. — Little Bun eagerly demands Tom and Jerry, so I set him up, and take a break to go through my own notes and things – I have to deposit this cheque and my bank isn’t nearby, I have to drive 15 minutes to it, get organized to get there, etc.

8:57 p.m. — LOL this is my life.

9:13 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $9.09

DAY THREE

5:16 a.m. — Yep. He is up early, because he napped yesterday.

5:18 a.m. — He loves the Weather app on the phone, so I am always having to answer questions about “40% chance of snow“, or “what is a flurry“, or “what is this symbol (arrow)”?’

6:24 a.m. — I make tea, put dishes away, and answer questions about the sunrise, why it looks like a rainbow….

7:01 a.m. — I finally sit him in front of Tom and Jerry to keep him quiet so his father can sleep in a bit. I’ll try and do little things like this but I need to see progress on his father’s end too. I also plan on leaving for a bit so that’s a break for me. I think I may even take Little Bun to the playgroup this afternoon depending on how sleepy he is around 11 a.m. or so. They have this big gym that kids run around in. That’ll tire him out, and if it rains today, we can stay in for the afternoon.

7:03 a.m. — I am flip flopping. I think I will keep my $15K as an emergency fund and not put it into stocks until I see what happens in January if there IS a need for my skills for beyond just these tasks, if I do enjoy the client and if I can handle the occasional longer trip here and there. Once I see what is happening, I’ll feel better about releasing more of my emergency fund into the market ($50K is nothing to sneeze at though!), rather than hoarding it, but I’d rather be conservative.

8:08 a.m. — How BEAUTIFUL are these metallic folios from Poppin? I need 4 folders to start keeping my receipts wrangled (having to scan them all yesterday for 3 hours was hell), and I need a CUTE way to do it so I can keep up on it. 😛

12:08 p.m. — His father goes off to school, and I basically get him ready to go to an afternoon playgroup.

12:21 p.m. — At the playgroup. He is LOVING it, running around like crazy. I hope it wears him out. He woke up early today too, and we are skipping a nap, so he will be ready by 7:30 to sleep at 8 tonight. I practice my Handstands.

2:48 p.m. — Time to head home. We head home, and he bursts into tears. He wants to keep the Frisbee but really he is just overtired and hungry, and wants to go home and should probably have napped. :-\

3:50 p.m. — Home, after a banana and some oatmeal, he is fine, I lay him down in the bedroom with some videos.

4:01 p.m. — I eat some potatoes, enter in a few receipts, package up a sale, and ask him if he would like to come with me now, or wait until Daddy is home and I’ll go out alone? He eagerly gets up and wants to come with me now.

4:22 p.m. — We drop off the package! YAY! MONEY COMING!

4:59 p.m. — I pick up a 6-month refill of my birth control pills. My partner pays half of this, so my half is really only $51.62

5:40 p.m. — Home, my partner is home as well. Little Bun is starting to show signs of fatigue. I pop him in front of a few videos after playing with him a little so I can organize my receipts and finish up my notes, etc. I also finally get the location of where I need to go. UGH. OUTDOOR PARKING IS THE WORST, especially in winter. I am not looking forward to this nonsense. I hate scraping snow and crap off my car.

6:10 p.m. — I drink some cashew milk – it helps drop my sugar cravings. While I drink it, I am almost spitting it out, I am laughing so hard at this passage in Ramit’s – I will Teach you to be Rich book. I am someone who cleans that wing like there is no tomorrow. You can’t get anything off it after I am done.

6:40 p.m. — I lie down to read a little. My partner is trying to figure out the papers from France for Little Bun and is getting royally ticked off. Example: One paper is valid only for 3 months; we got it in July, so we need to register it before 3 months, but only got the OTHER paper that we need, in the mail today, we only have a month left to get this done, literally weeks. So he is trying to book an appointment online. He can’t book an appointment online because he doesn’t have his new ID yet, and that new ID is hinging on another paper…… you get the gist of it. The frustration is real.

6:43 p.m. — Little Bun hears my phone vibrate — “Mommy! I thought it was a bee!”

7:02 p.m. — “Mommy. What is TWICE?“.. and I explain it is two times. He nods and tells me: “It is more than once.”

7:30 p.m. — He is too tired, and falls asleep immediately. I quietly put everything away and go to sleep with him. My poor baby. He is burning up, I think he is sick.

Spent: $51.62

DAY FOUR

??:?? — “Mommy. MOMMY… “My baby is feverishly hot, and awake. I take him to the bathroom, and he runs back to bed. I ask him if he is awake, he tells me yes.

00:47 a.m. — I check the clock when I go get his milk (as a parent, time doesn’t exist or matter until the clock says so), and he is MOST DEFINITELY NOT AWAKE. I go back without the milk and tell him he has to sleep more, it is midnight.

??:?? — “Mommy. MOMMY… ” I take him again to the bathroom. As I am there, WTF? Huge spider in the bathroom. I’m in no mood to trap and release it, Little Bun is screaming. I kill it. I take him back to the bedroom, ask him if he is awake, he nods.

2:15 a.m. — NOPE. NOT AWAKE AGAIN. I go back and tell him he must nap at least 4 more hours. He is burning up, I have to get fever medication, he already went through his last bottle.

??:?? — Awake again.

5:47 a.m. — Okay, he’s allowed to be awake. LOL

6:00 a.m. — After his milk, I take him out with his Teddy, and he clings to me like a koala –“Mommy.. Can I get used to the light?“.. and I pull him into my arms and onto my lap and hold him while he squints and blinks and gets used to the light.

6:12 a.m. — I set him up with videos while I make tea. He is not going to be super active today. My partner is sleeping in. I give him a banana and he only eats half and tells me he isn’t feeling well.

6:30 a.m. — I take the Empower Money Personality Quiz, and get Conqueror….which is half true. I don’t overwork, I spend more time with my family than most people I’d say, but I definitely am on an eternal quest to get MORE. I take great pride in how I earned and achieve things.

6:54 a.m. — “Mommy… “, he is reaching for me. He wants to sit on my lap and watch videos, to get cuddled and be entertained. I awkwardly have him in my lap, his head is up to my nose, with his hair tickling my face, and I hold him in my arms, while typing and blogging. Poor little thing. I also learned to not give him cold fluids because it brings his inner temp down and it makes the germs / body ramp up the heat even more as the feverish heat is what burns off the sickness. If you cool them down too much, they’ll just get hotter. Same with putting cold things on their skin – it doesn’t help them.

7:10 a.m. — He coughs.. and then I sense he is about to go farther, and sure enough he projectile vomits all over the desk, chairs, floors, and I RUSH HIM with a napkin to “hold” it in to the kitchen garbage can, where he hurls up everything from this morning including his half eaten banana.

7:34 a.m. — I spend the next while cleaning everything, wiping, washing, soaping down …. the stink of vomit is everywhere. Oh well. This is life. And parenting. My partner is up, clearly not well rested, and I give him Little Bun to clean up. He removes everything, then tosses the vomit-covered clothes onto my CLEAN LAUNDRY BASKET.. WTF….. *stress headache*… and doesn’t seem to be ‘with it’, and in a sleep daze. He lets Little Bun wander around in his underwear until I pointedly say: AND MAYBE YOU COULD GET DRESSED? …. while I am wiping up chunks of banana/milk regurgitated vomit.

7:40 a.m. — I set him up in the bedroom, and we read books together. I ask him how he feels – he is a little less feverish but still under the weather.

8:10 a.m. — My partner leaves for his doctor’s appointment, I cut Little Bun’s nails and my own, then proceed to vacuum the entire apartment. I need some control over something today.

8:18 a.m. — My Kijiji buyer for an MP3 player bails on me. *sigh*….. Was hoping for an easy $60 sale today.

8:32 a.m. — I take out the garbage with the vomit inside (the stench!!), and then try to clean up my desk a little, and I make little labels with cute letters for my folders, because that’s how I am. These folders are the cutest ones I could find, and from 5-Star Mead.

9:02 a.m. — I call and find out the price of some fridge separators for our fridge (the hack we did with the plastic lids is driving me INSANE), and I will ask my partner how many he wants to buy. They’re only $5 USD each.

10:56 a.m. — My partner is home, and I ask him how many he wants to buy. He tells me 8 and says he never even considered you could buy extra parts for the fridge, he had no idea it was a thing.

11:22 a.m. — I buy 8 bottle dividers for my fancy fridge. I have such a fancy fridge *eye roll*.. It was the only one that could fit in this awkward space, as it is European-sized and smaller than the massive North American fridges. $50 USD

11:27 a.m. — Some woman comes up to me, shocked that I read my credit card number out loud with the expiration date and so on. I shrug at her. She must think I am beyond stupid for doing so, but honestly, I’ve learned over the years that it is so unlikely, it isn’t THAT big of a deal – I go into the reasons why your credit card number is not a super secret big deal like your social security.

12:15 p.m. — I pick up my cheque for $400 for two pairs of boots sold. +$400

12:30 p.m. — I head over to some shops but am not interested in shopping. Consignment prices are too high, and I am not really into spending money on clothes, I’d rather use my shopping credits, and wait for them to build up before I ‘splurge’. It actually is more fun than buying something with money and a challenge as I have to wait until I have enough credits to buy something.

1:15 p.m. — I wander into a paper store and am shocked to find Semikolon, a brand I LOVE but never seems to be properly stocked anywhere. I immediately snap up all of the portfolios (there were only 2) for $10 each. A steal, as I paid $25 for them each off eBay once. O_o. I could be cheap and NOT buy them as I don’t technically need them, but they are so hard to find, I hoard every folio I can find. I use them so often, as they are a harder backed cardboard, with an elastic snap, in CUTE COLOURS. Holy Grail. The other brand I like for office supplies is Poppin for their fun fresh colours and things. $22.95

 

1:30 p.m. — I buy some lemon squares and a brownie as a treat, and sit in my car to eat them to help myself get through the day (two words — PROJECTILE VOMITING). $7.50

2:06 p.m. — “Mommy, the moon rise is the sun set…. and the moon set is the sun rise..” <– breaking my brain with Little Bun-isms. LOL

2:40 p.m. — He seems to be feeling better. He had a little “Quiet Time” in the bedroom, not napping at all today, but just lying there and resting. My partner must have heard through my screaming, and realized that he should not be a crazy, forceful father because he didn’t scream and force Little Bun to nap today. He just let him lie there and rest, calmly in the dark room, not napping. He says it is not as good as napping, but it at least lets you refresh your brain. OMG. HE HEARD ME. Why do I have to scream for him to hear me? *eye roll* I am not an idiot, clearly, and sometimes you need to be flexible with children and things like this. Life isn’t black and white.

5:10 p.m. — I make a light dinner and try to eat it before 6 p.m. because I want to have a solid 12-hour “fast” where I stop eating at 6, and when I wake up, I eat at 6 a.m. (well, drink my morning matcha latte), and have zero to very little calories. I have been following Dr. Hyman and I have been reading studies on light fasting and how it can help reset your body. Worth a shot. The best fast is 18 hours, but that means I can’t eat anything until 10 a.m. if I stop eating at 6 p.m. the night before. That’s less doable for me, without effort.

5:10 p.m. — I read and explain the Ultimate Book of Cities to Little Bun. He loves this pop-up book, and is more interested when I explain to him how electricity gets generated etc. He can read it, but doesn’t understand it as well as if I explain it and answer questions. It has lots of flaps, and teaches kids some basics of how a city runs. Unsurprisingly, he loves the subway the best.

8:00 p.m. — In bed, on time. My partner is still up, that’s his problem. Bedtime is 8 p.m. now that I will be going back to work and need a solid schedule, not something wonky. Bedtime at 8, wake up at 6 a.m. That gives me time to stretch, relax, and get ready for work without stress, and then be at work for 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. with my 20-minute commute.

Earned: $400

Spent: $50 USD + $30.45 CAD

DAY FIVE

??:?? — “Mommy. I’m awake.” — he says, as he rolls on top of me, all 45 of his solid Little Bun pounds. I give him a small bottle of milk, as he vomited yesterday and I want to keep things easy and cool. He’ll get the bigger bottle in the afternoon instead.

6:13 a.m. — He is feeling MUCH better. We slept solidly last night, and he woke up this morning with no fever. Thank goodness. This means I can take him to playgroup and drop him off to go get stuff done, as my partner is going to the French embassy this afternoon by bus to register his identification card (?? This all sounds like a lot of administrative run around to be honest with you). That could take a while.

6:13 a.m. — “Mommy doesn’t want to go to the Yukon, it’s showering there now…” … Umm Little Bun? Mommy NEVER wants to go to the Yukon at this moment.

7:09 a.m. — My partner leaves for school, and Little Bun eats a big bowl of pasta – his appetite is back! I ask him if he wants me to bring a banana when I come get him at 13:00. He nods, and then says in a little worried boy voice: “But Mommy you’ll be hungry too. You should bring TWO bananas so we can both eat and not be hungry, okay?” … ;_; … I’m not crying, you’re crying. <3

8:05 a.m. — We leave for playgroup and I go to return a sweater up town.

10:02 a.m. — UGH. They won’t do a refund. Store credit only. I end up buying a backup stuffed toy, and a little washcloth. $6.40

10:55 a.m. — I pick up some Princess Essence mascara. I have recommended it before, and one person said she wasn’t impressed, but for me, for $4, it is well worth the money. The thing is to buy the right one. I bought the purple Essence mascara and hated it, the only good one is the green one called the Princess Essence False Lash Effect Mascara.

10:59 a.m. — I am trying the “fancy” essence false lashes mascara, that is $5.49 instead of $4. I will see if they are marginally better for $1.50 more. I like quality. $12.06

11:14 a.m. — I head to a bakery, and pick up a few focaccia breads. $10.05

12:16 p.m. — I drop by the playgroup, and feed Little Bun artichoke and black olive bread one, and a mushroom and bacon one. He basically eats one whole one by himself. O_o

1:07 p.m. — We get ready to go after we help clean up a little.

2:19 p.m. — Home, and he is down for his Quiet Time / Nap. I had a great break, but I need to rest my mind. I am DYING for the season finale of Why Women Kill.

2:28 p.m. — He isn’t napping. He is playing quietly with his City Book and his stuffed animals, and that’s good enough for me. I leave him until 3:00 because I need time without him.

3:00 p.m. — Little Bun knocks from the inside of the bedroom door (politely) at 3:00 sharp, and I tell him he can come out now. I grab his milk and give it to him. He is well rested, in a good mood and was quiet. I’m pretty happy.

4:56 p.m. — I try to go out to vote, but apparently my area is full of idle people because I stand for 45 minutes and end up leaving early because I knew it would be another 45 minutes, based on how slow things were going. THIS IS WHY PEOPLE DO NOT VOTE. It takes so damn long, you stand the whole time… who do you think wants to do this, unless they’re really excited about voting? Make voting EASIER and we would get MORE people involved.

5:18 p.m. — I am rushing home because my partner wants to take Little Bun out to soccer. I am not going to fk this up. I want him to take him out and have a good time, and I’ll vote another day when I can stand for 2 hours at a time, or be there super early.

5:30 p.m. — My partner is gone, I had to kind of shoo them out the door, and I cleaned all of my leather boots, suede boots, bags, and shoes. I will spray my suede boots tomorrow with a repellent. I don’t wear these things out in the rain, but it is always good to keep them in good shape JUST IN CASE a drop of water gets on them.

6:35 p.m. — Little Bun I am sure is on the way home, it is getting dark. By about 6:45, it is pitch black. It goes fast. I look outside and it is BLACK. I always get a solid hour and a half when they go out to play soccer.

6:46 p.m. — I eat all of the little potatoes. I like the recipe so much I will make more for this week for my lunches.

7:18 p.m. — “Mommy, meat is made from animals.” I am slowly teaching Little Bun that animals die so we can eat them. They don’t come packaged, and what you are eating, was originally a pig, cow, fish, that was alive and breathing. He has to learn early on what it is really like, or else he’ll grow up ignorant and think all meat comes in packages. I want him to understand where the life he is eating has come from.

6:45 p.m. — “Mommy, do birds eat worms?” …. I respond “Yes, they do.” … and then he follows up with: “But not Lou right?“… I realize he is connecting a book on birds and worms we are reading, with another book called Noodle and Lou, where Noodle is a worm and Lou is a bird, they’re friends, ergo, Lou the bird is a vegetarian and won’t eat Noodle, his worm friend. It is a good book about friendship and self-esteem.

7:46 p.m. — I build a little theatre out of blocks for Little Bun and then the words ‘movie theatre’ because he insisted there was a sign so that they would know it is a theatre.. I finish doing all the dishes. Little Bun is playing nicely by himself.

8:45 p.m. — We get ready and go to bed.

Spent: $28.51

DAY SIX

??:?? — I am definitely sick. My throat is raw, and scratchy. I pop a Daytime Tylenol Cold Pill.  I basically buy packs of this stuff during winter, and especially if Little Bun is mostly at a preschool/daycare. It is the only thing stopping my throat from feeling raw and crappy. I can’t help the fatigue though.

5:57 a.m. — I grab his milk, and then close the door and let Little Bun play out in the living room quietly while my partner sleeps. I am sure he is sick too. But he has to cook for the week today while caring for a sick child, so he gets to sleep in.

6:45 a.m. — I drink my tea tiredly, as Little Bun (who is also a bit sick) demands to see the Weather app. He is obsessed with White Horse and the Yukon right now.

7:55 a.m. — I get dressed and head off to my yoga session. I hope it is better this week.

9:15 a.m. — OMG SHE WAS SO GOOD. I did a pre-warmup before class, and then during class, did as many binds as I could and advanced poses. I am going to pay for it tomorrow but I feel GREAT.

9:50 a.m. — I go and vote after picking up a Starbucks breakfast sandwich as a treat. $5.11

11:40 a.m. — I head home and my partner is making a surprise pizza for lunch. YUM!

12:21 p.m. — He heads out to run errands.

1:00 p.m. — I get Little Bun down for a nap. He is coughing a lot, and needs his rest.

2:56 p.m. — My partner is home and I head out.

3:15 p.m. — I go by a thrift store, just to browse and end up finding a few things, and pick up 2 brooches, and a few dresses. $20

This looked like an Anthro blazer, but no label. Not my style though.

I have been vibing for a lace skirt, but I need it in my size (small / 4 or 6), and in black with a scalloped / interesting hem like this one, not a straight one.

Almost got this Forever 21 pleather skirt with the see through panels but they wanted $13 for it. It is likely that price at RETAIL. Forget it.

 

Two lovely brooches. One signed by an artisan, another a super cute typewriter.

The days for these dresses have long past. 😛 …. Too short for me.

Loved the colours in this, but only in the skirt, not the top. If it were just a skirt, I’d have taken it.

Surprisingly into this. A polo dress? Never tried it before, and I love the pop of red.

A cool space-ship-y dress with pockets. An independent label called Juna and Hope from the U.S. You can’t see it but the neck is a tight crew neck, and not my thing.

I honestly picked up this Karen Ritter dress on a complete whim. On the rack, I could see it was MONEY.

A cashmere/wool blend by the looks of it, cool sleeves that are knitted and look like 3/4 sleeves with a ribbed cuff… POCKETS in the front, a cool sort of hanging detail on the sides.. and zipped back.

I took it home and realized even the SHOULDER PADS were covered in the same fabric. This must have cost at least $500 at retail, this dress. No one takes the time to put in that kind of quality and workmanship into a cheap $50 dress.

This dress screams money and I love the style and workmanship so much, I don’t mind too much how beige-y it is, when I am more of a bright coloured person.

5:48 p.m. — Home. Dinner of BBQ thighs, and I ‘build’ a garden out of blocks with Little Bun on the floor after I do the dishes and dry them.

7:30 p.m. — Little Bun comes and asks very sweetly for books. Lots of books. I oblige, and pick out 10, and go to read them in the bedroom with him.

8:34 p.m. — Bedtime. I pop a night time pill for cold and flu so I can sleep.

Spent: $25.11

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — My cold is killing me. My throat is so painful right now..

6:00 a.m. — I take a daytime pill and lie on the floor, resting. I don’t even know what happens in the morning.

1:16 p.m. — I head out for a short break after lunch. Not to do anything, just to drive around… drop off a letter. Pick up more pills.

1:34 p.m. — Wearing a bunch of stacked rings today.

2:15 p.m. — Cricket chocolate? Really? I’m intrigued.

3:11 p.m. — I try out this drink because I see ‘sorrel’ but don’t really taste it over the sugar and cranberry.

3:20 p.m. — I am loving this zero waste store! I pick up a small bottle of toothpaste (refillable). $5

4:16 p.m. — Home, I play with Little Bun after I get undressed and into home clothes.

5:15 p.m. — Little Bun watches videos, while I veg on the bed. I end up taking a short little snooze. My partner is redoing the apartment again – he fixed his original mistake of using dark grey filler instead of white. *face palm*….

6:45 p.m. — I book a bunch of gastronomic restaurants for when my friend comes up next month. She is the only one who eats like this, and has free money to drop $100+ a night on a meal, so when she is in town, I take advantage. It is going to be a $1000 weekend for sure.

7:33 p.m. — We are reading books but I am so tired. I just want to go to sleep. I pop a nighttime cold pill.

8:06 p.m. — Bedtime.

Spent: $5

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