Week of Money: Where my friend visits and I am beyond happy

DAY ONE

??:?? — I wake up and can’t fall back asleep. I hear my partner start coffee… and I am dozing in and out.

??:?? — I give up. I turn on my Kobo e-reader and start reading some more.

5:38 a.m. — Little Bun is up. I grab the milk bottle and hustle him back to the bedroom after a bathroom run. He drinks his milk and then squeals: MAAAAHHH—-MEEEEE!!!!…. and I go to him, kiss and cuddle. I have to stay home today to work.

5:51 a.m. — We finish off the Broyé biscuit.. Mmm.. Little Bun is so happy.

6:45 a.m. — I dial in to the call. I don’t bother going into the office early — what is the point? I CAN stay at home so I am going to. And I will be home most of this week because my partner has training to give and Little Bun isn’t going to preschool any more at least until end of January.

6:59 a.m. — I make tea and listen to people talk on the call.

7:42 a.m. — It is foggy out and the roads look okay though. It is raining and a over zero, so things are melting and I am sure they salted the hell out of the roads. I want to go out for lunch, sell an iPhone case and then come back. Tomorrow will be 25cm of snow, I may not make it in.

8:00 a.m. — Working..

12:08 p.m. — OH NO!!.. I love the colour of this Marc Jacobs lipstick in Plum N Get It but Little Bun was playing with it, didn’t know and twisted the cap all the way up until the lipstick broke off inside the cap and is stuck there. O_o …. Damn it.

12:28 p.m. — I’m there, and I sell the case. Sweet! $30

12:31 p.m. — I deposit $500 from all the sales I have been making lately, slowly getting rid of items.

12:42 p.m. — I pick up a treat  for Little Bun and I to share. I wanted to buy raspberries but they have mould on them, so I decide to not buy them. Little Bun’s lower lip trembles and he is about to throw a tantrum. I look at him and warn him: Stop your whining. He’s quiet. I steer him into the yoghurt aisle and pick up some greek yoghurt instead, letting him choose the flavour (strawberry + banana)… $3.33

1:09 p.m. — Back and working.

2:37 p.m. — I make some noodles.

3:26 p.m. — I unsubscribe from these mailing lists I was on (like Sentaler) in hopes of snagging a sale. Better not to be tempted at all.

4:00 p.m. — Time for some Money Moron off Slice TV… I don’t actually have a TV at all, so I can only watch episodes online via things like Amazon Video, NetFlix or through sites like FoodTV or Slice.ca …. even HGTV! I like watching these when I am getting myself back on a focused money track (even if I am not that far gone and actually not worried about my financial future right now)… it just sort of puts me in the mood and makes me want to focus on my money more.

4:49 p.m. — The thing I sort of hate about these shows is that the spouse (normally the wife), has no clue what and where the money is going. What, you can’t check mortgage statements? Figure this stuff out on your own? Bam some numbers in their face and implement a change? The blame is not maybe 50% on the spouse, but it is at least 20%. You can’t keep harping and saying: “Oh we need to make a change to our lifestyle and get out of debt” and then not do anything to help or to take initiative to learn about WHAT TO DO.

5:01 p.m. — How do I feel hungry right now? I JUST ATE.

7:15 p.m. — Little Bun passes out from having woken up at 5 a.m., skipped his nap, and then couldn’t take it any more and just curled up beside my head on my pillow, looked too darn cute. I take pictures because I am that type of mother.

Earned: $30

Spent: $3.33

DAY TWO

??:?? — He wakes up at 2 a.m. for a bathroom run. We usually do bathroom + brushing, but he skipped all that, having fallen asleep earlier. I hustle him back to bed. We go back to sleep and then wake up at our usual 5:30 a.m. time…

??:?? — I get up, grab his milk, start making myself a nice tea…

5:41 a.m. — …and he runs out after his milk, and starts asking me to stay at home with him. I explain that today Mommies have to go to work and Daddies stay at home (he’s spoiled, really)…

6:22 a.m. — He whines and whines until his father gets up and waves two oranges in his face (signalling the entrance of freshly squeezed orange juice!). He stops whining and then grins when he sees the dough rising to make bread today with his father.

6:30 a.m. — I start getting ready, and nix the ivory wrap I was going to wear with a magenta wool (thrifted!) skirt, and this cobalt and black striped camisole. I decide on a cobalt blue jacket instead, it looks much better and is slightly cropped which is better for higher-waisted items.

6:55 a.m. — I am almost out the door and he stands at the doorway, waving at me. “Bye bye Mommy…” He is a bit sad but the lure of orange juice is too strong right now.

7:18 a.m. — I get into work, and start working. Luckily I have a bit of a break this week and next, so I am taking advantage of relaxing a bit. I feel like everyone moves like molasses at the start, and then it isn’t until they realize they’re late and going to miss everything that they start screaming and scrambling to “make the deadline”. What’s the point? Plan your time, start tasks early, be organized and efficient.

11:36 a.m. — I have lunch early, and then go and sit by myself to think. I’m reviewing stocks I am thinking of buying, but then re-considering them, doubting myself.. should I wait for the crash? Is there going to be a crash? Is there a bear market? Are we just making stuff up? UGH.

1:00 p.m. — After lunch, I come back to my desk and have two meetings. Why is this so hard for people to do? Stop complaining. You are wasting time bitching and moaning and it could just get done in the same amount of time.

2:28 p.m. — I have to pick up stuff at the pharmacy before I go home as well.

3:56 p.m. — Time to go.

4:15 p.m. — I pick up the pills from the pharmacy, and then head home. $55.58

6:25 p.m. — We eat some cheese and bread, and discuss what I am going to bring to the Christmas potluck. I hate these things sometimes…

7:11 p.m. — I spend the next hour playing this new game with Little Bun called “Rescue Chase Car Train”…. where we just run these cars over the bedding, pretend they fall into holes, and have the Rescue Train come and save them.

8:20 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $55.58

DAY THREE

??:?? — Early. SO EARLY.

??:?? — Little Bun is up. I’m half dozing still.

5:32 a.m. — I am going to make him nap today.. I need a break.

5:59 a.m. — Logged in and working. I order suitcases for my partner off Amazon, he loves this TravelPro brand and is incredibly impressed by their quality for the price.

6:13 a.m. — For fun, I try on the Kat Von D Everlasting lipstick from the set I got, and am AMAZED at how long lasting it is…. Not as incredible as the Maybelline Matte Ink of course, but I put it on, it dried, I kissed the back of my hand and no transference. The only thing is the Kat Von D one is 4X the price of Maybelline. 🙂

8:41 a.m. — First call of the day. While I am on it, I am doodling on a notepad with ideas for saving money.

9:22 a.m. — I make noodles.

11:03 a.m. — Little Bun insisted on a treat. I gave him two options as requested — croissant, or sushi? He took sushi. Smart boy. He also gets a free balloon on the way out. The helium is dying in it, which is why he gave it to us for free I suspect.

12:08 p.m. — This article — Now that I am divorced I am never cooking for a man again — seems very wry and flippant, but it obviously covers up a lot of resentment in being asked to basically be Everything Else Outside of Work. I have been there at some point and done that. It’s exhausting. The constant burden of cooking — my partner remarks on that sometimes feeling the burden of giving up all of his Saturday mornings to do groceries and errands, and Sunday mornings to cook for the week, and I tell him flat out — just take a break then. I don’t mind. I’ll eat whatever. Don’t do it unless you enjoy it.

12:28 p.m. — Little Bun informs me: “T-Rex is my favourite dinosaur…. But you can also call him Tyrannosaurus Rex, Mommy.”

12:50 p.m. — I drop $30,000 into the market. Have been eying a few stocks waiting for the right time and it seems to have hit its bottom (not the market bottom I suspect)….

1:24 p.m. — Friend sent me this (it is a little gross, I won’t lie)  and the secret to weight loss I wrote back is:

(#Truth…. Took me about 2 years to lose the weight, then I put it back on when I stayed at home with Baby Bun again and am now slowly trying to lose it again sort of…. by taking the stairs instead of the elevator).

1:28 p.m. — Not really sure why thrift stores are not more featured on money shows. I mean with $200 you can buy a lot of stuff in a thrift store especially like things for a baby room that doesn’t need to be new. Just a thought. If I were heavily in debt, that is what I would (and have) done. Even now, without debt, I still enjoy thrifting, but the stores here in Montreal are really not that great. Honestly speaking, I have never found much worth buying .. or maybe I am going to the wrong places.

3:04 p.m. — My partner and I are discussing countries to visit that we haven’t been to before, at least together, and places that are different — Russia, Germany and Japan. I’m adding Turkey to the list, I heard a lot about it. I am not so certain about Germany but he feels like it is his spirit country, the way Japan is mine.. but I think I have convinced him that we should definitely go to Japan as the big “retirement trip”…. I hope he has it in his budget LOL.

4:33 p.m. — I give up. I log off. I can’t do this. They want to go this way, I see what is coming. Go ahead.

5:24 p.m. — I play with Little Bun and the new balloon he got.

6:03 p.m. — I dermaroll my skin.

6:20 p.m. — LOL. So true. I am sort of super lucky I have a partner with whom I do not have to worry about money with. I mean in the sense that we have great incomes, but also that he is way way way more frugal than I am. Also, I find that basic math is a problem for a lot of people —  addition, subtraction, percentages, division, multiplication.

7:08 p.m. — My partner is home, and we chat a bit, while I play with Little Bun and the balloon, batting it around. We also play with the trucks running them over the bedsheets over and over again.

7:33 p.m. — Time for bed. He passes out almost instantly not having had a nap.

Spent: $

DAY FOUR

??:?? — I wake up and Little Bun wakes up too. We actually slept.

5:57 a.m. — I grab his milk, and then start making a tea.

6:23 a.m. — He insists on math. I grab the “Math Pad” (just a note pad), and we chart out colours on a graph and I ask him about probabilities, do a bit of division, addition..

7:00 a.m. — My partner leaves for work, and I log in to start working.

7:30 a.m. — I have such a craving for a breakfast. I feel like taking Little Bun out for some sausages and eggs or something.

8:46 a.m. — First call of the day. I feel my skin is still healing from the dermarolling I did last night. I will say that it SEEMS like my skin feels tighter or at least firmer, but maybe it is just because it is winter and it is a bit drier. I remain skeptical until end of December to see any actual results.

9:04 a.m. — I make a Maple Syrup Oolong tea. DAMN it smells good. I hope it lives up to its promise.

9:37 a.m. — In the background I am playing The First Monday in May…. all about the Met Ball and how fashion qualifies as art. It is so rich in eye candy, and I would watch this over and over again just to drink in all of the beautiful works of art. Also, Anna Wintour is a BOSS. If I were in her position, I’d be just like her.

11:47 a.m. — I head out with Little Bun for lunch. We actually end up getting this delicious vegan wrap (LOVE the Dragon sauce), and two pints of organic berries on sale. Little Bun is so happy he will eat berries, he is freaking out. $8.57

1:08 p.m. — Back home and working.

4:27 p.m. — Mmmm.. I freaking LOVE THESE THINGS. Tomato Pretz.

6:28 p.m. — Loved this so much.

7:05 p.m. — I make noodles, and then my partner comes home with armfuls of food to prep for this weekend’s guest.

8:12 p.m. — Bedtime.

Spent: $

DAY FIVE

??:?? — Little Bun is crying out.

??:?? — Crying out again. I pat his bum sleepily.

??:?? — Now giggling like a banshee.

??:?? — Crying again. I pull him on top of me and shush him until he falls back asleep. He puts his massively oversized little boy head on my left thigh while curling up and hugging my entire leg like a body pillow, and effectively pins me on my back (if I move he will wake up!!!) and my whole left leg starts to go numb….

??:?? — I manage to doze back to sleep even with my left half slowly losing any feeling. It’s okay. Totally worth it.

7:00 a.m. — He wakes up, my partner gets up and OMG!!! It is so late! We slept until the time it usually is for me to leave for work.

7:20 a.m. — I skip the green tea and get ready — 20 minutes later he has successfully pestered his father for fresh orange juice and waves goodbye to me from the counter. Not even a hug and kiss. Apparently orange juice takes priority over your OWN MOTHER. He also informs me that today he saw eggs, butter and flour which means Daddy is going to bake a cake and he doesn’t budge from his stool, fully expecting this cake to appear immediately.

7:38 a.m. — My friend who is like a sister is visiting so I am SUPER EXCITED. I have so much to do and yet nothing to do at all with her — it is like I want to cram all the time of not having spent it lazing around with her into these very few days to replicate it and then savour it when she leaves. With great friends, your soul is fed by their presence — it is so true.

8:12 a.m. — I end up at work. Someone is sick so I’m covering for them, no biggie.

11:15 a.m. — I eat my lunch early, add some chipotle hot sauce to it for spice and then head out to the lobby to just relax.

11:21 a.m. — If you’re a parent, you will love these Motherhood around the World stories. I love reading about what it is like in other countries through the eyes of ex-pats because they observe and comment on what is different to North Americans that seems very normal there.

11:45 a.m. — A Director taps me on the shoulder and tells me he hasn’t heard from me in a while and I’m being super quiet… I mock joke back that I have no idea what he is talking about, I never have an opinion about anything.

12:38 p.m. — I get back to work. I’m obsessing over a supersized white chunky ribbed turtleneck now but cannot justify it because I don’t NEED IT. Maybe if I try it on my lust will disappear. (Yeah right.)

3:59 p.m. — 3 fires out and adios! I head home.

4:45 p.m. — Chat with a neighbour, I go and grab packages. YAY! My Glider Gloves for touchscreen capabilities came in and the small fits perfectly. I plan on using them, and if it gets SUPER cold, putting my sheepskin mittens over them and then removing the mittens if I do need to use my phone. I will try them out and let y’all know.

5:08 p.m. — My partner heads out to buy more food. We are having sushi tonight and he made this massive almond cake…. Little Bun is VERY EXCITED for this cake.

5:40 p.m. — My partner brings home a treat. YAY! MACARONS!

5:54 p.m. — “I don’t need to buy any more apps Mommy. I have enough. I already have a lot of apps!” … where did he learn this? I say this all the time but out of the blue he says this? I wonder what my partner told him today. Maybe he said firmly that Little Bun has a lot to play with and we are not getting more. But Little Bun only asks ME for apps because he sees me find and install them…. Odd. Maybe what I am saying is sinking into his little impressionable brain.

6:40 p.m. — We eat a dinner of sushi and snacks, and Little Bun is very full and happy.

8:20 p.m. — We head to bed. My friend is coming very late so she’ll cab. My partner drank a whole bottle of wine so he is conked out and snoring.

11:33 p.m. — I wake up sleepily and go downstairs to get her. YAY!

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

??:?? — I can’t seem to sleep.

??:?? — It is EARLY.

5:35 a.m. — Little Bun is up and refusing to sleep. So I get up and make green tea with him and prep him to be a ‘brave little boy’ because Mommy will be out this weekend.

5:55 a.m. — These celebrity skincare routines are hogwash. “Priyanka likes to use homemade coconut oil facials with turmeric and looks great!“… what kind of crap are we selling here? She is obviously doing vampire facials à la Kim Kardashian but not as obvious about it. It is such a load of #%&#%( that they just wash their face with water, some rosewater toner and their skin is glowing like a 4-year old’s (yes, I am envious of my baby boy’s skin.. he looks like he has had a facial on the daily). Liars. All of them. Even I do more than that.

9:08 a.m. — My friend gets up. Oh, to be childless…. 😛 … and my partner had an almond tart ready for her, and I make a green tea latte for her.

11:45 a.m. — Creamy mushroom pasta for lunch, and then we are out the door to walk around and hang out!

12:10 p.m. — I return a bunch of stuff at Sephora. I am late on one return (LIFE!) so I only get a credit. -$124.18

2:06 p.m. — OH! The restaurant we wanted to go to for snacks is closed between lunch and dinner to get a break. I forgot about that. We end up in a café instead and eat a steak tartare and a french toast (we shared). $27.60 – my half only

4:05 p.m. — We head home and Little Bun greets us as the door, squealing.

5:17 p.m. — We chat all night. About everything. I help her with finances, chat about food, etc.

8:26 p.m. — Time for bed.

Returned: $124.18

Spent: $27.60

DAY SEVEN

6:12 a.m. — Little Bun is up. Which means I am up.

8:01 a.m. — My friend wakes up. We wanted to hit a yoga class together in the morning (I would love to have a friend to go to yoga with all the time like this, so I am taking advantage of this).

9:22 a.m. — Forgot my mat at the office. Should just leave it in the car.. I pay for the drop-in and the mat. $25

10:38 a.m. — That yoga class was GOOD. I felt good, strong, I stretched.. I even did the one legged jumpback for chaturanga (standing to plank) … and didn’t feel weak at all.

11:00 a.m. — She drops by a toy store and picks up toys as gifts.

12:08 p.m. — Lunch! Pizza this time, two cheeses and black olives.

1:03 p.m. — Little Bun gets hustled into the bedroom by his father to go down for a nap. My partner packs rice pudding for her to take back on the train, and I say goodbye to Little Bun and remind him I am going to be back after I drop her off at the train.

2:34 p.m. — She leaves 🙁 I wish we had more time together, like a WEEK or more because we talk more as the days go on …

3:17 p.m. — I go and pick up gift cards that are 10% off for my favourite spa. I basically buy all my pedicures for 2019 including the tip for the most part. No more laser stuff for next year or expensive treatments. I am sticking to just pedicures and deep tissue massages. $650

4:30 p.m. — I am back. Little Bun is SO happy. I eat my rice pudding, and it is so good.

8:22 p.m. — Time for bed. I am so full. We ate SO WELL this weekend, my partner was SO great cooking and hosting.. <3 This is the best. He knew I needed this time with my friend.

Spent: $675

———-

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