Week of Money: Where we get ready to leave

DAY ONE

??:?? — Wake up tired. I am annoyed from the fight last week with my partner, and I debating letting it go or saying something.

8:50 a.m. — He insists on coming along if I take Little Bun out, so we go out and I am fuming in the car. You know how you have to lance a boil so it can heal? I am lancing the boil and I tell him how I feel. He’s quiet. Brooding I am sure. I buy some vegetables for the lunch tomorrow. $5.18

9:59 a.m. — We pick up the chicken (we plan on making skewers). $58.98

10:25 a.m. — Boil lanced. He is talking now. Needed time to stew.

11:15 a.m. — We are home! Little Bun threw a conniption in the car, and I am sure it is because of our fighting he started getting agitated and screaming. I try NOT to fight but this stuff is just stupid and petty, and he is expecting perfection (he does it of himself as well), and he needs to LOOSEN UP. But how can you get someone just to loosen up and let things go? This is what a partnership is like, and a relationship is give and take, he is just very black and white in views, and people are shades of grey (no pun intended).

11:28 a.m. — Little Bun gets swooped away by my mother, and he is calm now. Intervention. I go through my budget and sort out my expenses in my huge excel sheet. I use TheBudgetingTool.com and am proud to say I have donated all of the net profits from my sales to various charities I believe in. I think this year, I’d like to donate to an environmental cause. I feel so strongly about climate change, and I think it is starting to gain awareness and traction in the zeitgeist of our culture right now.

1:08 p.m. — I drop by a vegan restaurant and LOVE the chocolate beet brownies …..

2:21 p.m. — Little Bun down for his nap. I hope.

2:40 p.m. — I eat two fortune cookies and some chocolate.

3:48 p.m. — I am watching Keeping up with the Kardashians because I like brainless reality TV to relax sometimes. Plus they’re pretty smart to have kept this whole empire going and everyone getting rich off a single sex tape that started it all. What I actually like the most, is how much love the family and sisters have for each other. That is so great to watch. Plus all the outfits.

5:15 p.m. — We take Little Bun to the park.

8:32 p.m. — Dinner, playing.. he mostly plays pianos, makes cake with his grandmother if there isn’t any left, and plays with blocks, puzzle pieces, etc.

9:56 p.m. — Bedtime.

Spent: $64.16

DAY TWO

??:?? — “Mommy, I don’t want to eat short beans and be short. I want to only eat LONG BEANS and be TALL.” …. this is my wakeup.

9:06 a.m. — At home, Little Bun is watching baking videos with his grandmother. He wants to see how cakes are frosted, baked.. he is VERY eager.

10:15 a.m. — I head out and run errands. The train driver is making me so nauseous with his/her stop/start jerking of the train that I have to get off at the next stop and take the next train.

10:22 a.m. — Why do people yell for taxis? Use an app like a civilized human.

11:15 a.m. — I pick up 10 new buttons in plastic for my dress to replace the coconut bark that was staining everything when I washed it. $5

11:20 a.m. — The only thing I don’t love about hats is that if you wear it for a long time you get this hat line/crease in your forehead that you have to wait until it sort of goes back to normal. :-S

12:05 p.m. — OMG. Are bicycle shorts a thing now!? Why is everyone in spandex SHORTS?

12:50 p.m. — Pedicure done. I am not pleased with the service or the place, and won’t be coming back. What a shame, I know they switched owners.. $60

1:24 p.m. — And this mushroom burger was also disappointing. $20

1:15 p.m. — Acupuncture on my knee. It really seems to be helping. $86

2:20 p.m. — I accidentally break my vintage pearl circle necklace. Great. Another thing to have to fix or figure out. Ugh.

5:20 p.m. — Little Bun makes me call my brother and says: I want you to bring Uncle back here to play with me Mommy. … It sort of makes me sad that I am so far and we are missing out on these family moments.

7:11 p.m. — “Mommy! LOOK at your little toes!“… Little Bun is loving my new nailpolish colour for my toes. And he squeals in excitement.

10:11 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $171

DAY THREE

??:?? —

??:?? —

6:00 a.m. —

8:53 a.m. — Out on an errand again. Long nails gross me out. I hate the way they look, the clicking… *shudder*

9:08 a.m. — My meeting gets moved (a new side hustle client, we will see how this works out), and I end up running errands instead.

9:08 a.m. — Oooo! I pick up two new amazing dresses, in a bright deep red and blue, and another in a floral kind of zebra-esque print. $220

11:55 a.m. — I drop my dress off to be tailored. $56

11:37 a.m. — I am thirsty and it is hot, but I am flat out refusing to pay $10 for some juice. TEN DOLLARS? TEN DOLLARS!?!?!? NO. Just NO. I’d rather just go home and drink free cold water.

12:08 p.m. — Small salad lunch. Not bad. $20

1:50 p.m. — I take the streetcar to my meeting but then some beer soaked drunkard gets on and makes me kind of uncomfortable. I quickly flee the streetcar and stumble upon a consignment shop and end up trying out a whole bunch of items but leave with nothing.

2:30 p.m. — I go to my meeting. YAY! I won a new client! Let’s see if she pays.. Talk is cheap. It isn’t big money (under $1000) but it is more of a side hustle / hobby while I am not working and

5:25 p.m. — I meet my friend for a spa date but my masseuse was terrible. More talking than massaging, and she didn’t get right into the muscles and knots. I mean it was quite painful in some areas, and then when she used her elbow, she didn’t really hit every single knot on my muscle on my back, which I know they can do because I have had excellent Swedish massages before! I am so disappointed. $183.23

7:21 p.m. — We have a dinner at a Thai/Italian place, and it was okay. Very filling, good quantity, but it wasn’t special. I am not sold on coming back. I will come back and eat if I have to, but I wouldn’t crave or choose this place. $24

9:40 p.m. — I head home. Little Bun has been making little animals out of paper with my mother, and making fake muffins to feed them.

10:21 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $503.23

DAY FOUR

6:30 a.m. — IT IS SO EARLY! I decide immediately today is SUBWAY DAY.

7:09 a.m. — I take Little Bun out alone on Subway Day. We head off on the line and basically ride it the whole morning.

8:08 a.m. — I am explaining to Little Bun if he ever gets lost or stuck without us, he needs to either wait on the subway platform, OR if he is on the train, get off at the next stop and wait for us. We will come and get him, he needs to stay where he is and not move or go with anyone. He nods

8:11 a.m. — He starts to cry a little: But if I am on the train and lost, then I will be all alone and I won’t have Mommy!!… I very very quickly talk, and soothe him. I tell him he is alone but just for a little bit, and I will come and get him. He just needs to wait on the platform, or get off at the next stop and I will come for him. I will never ever leave my baby alone, I tell him. I hug and kiss him and tell him not to cry, that he is alone for just a VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF TIME if he ever gets lost because I will find him again.

8:20 a.m. — He stops sniffling. I am talking a lot about how it is a short amount of time and it is not going to be too long, he just has to follow our instructions and wait on the platform or if he is on the train and we are separated, he gets off at the next stop. He nods.

9:08 a.m. — Little Bun puts a foot up on a seat: My foot deserves a seat!  … I sternly tell him: “No it doesn’t, foot down.”

12:20 p.m. — Home. He is exhausted. We rode about 80 stations. Yep. He eats a bit of his lunch, and then regains energy and refuses to nap until I get him down again.

1:29 p.m. — Time for a break for me. I sit down on the couch and just power through receipts and organizing everything else I have to get done before we go.

3:11 p.m. — He’s up and his grandmother takes him to go bake a cake. This kid is getting a cake like 4 times a week now.

9:15 p.m. — Dinner, nonsense, bedtime.

Spent: $

DAY FIVE

??:?? — Tired. Can’t sleep. It is so dang hot here because we are on the upper floors, and facing the side that gets the MOST sun which warms the entire room no matter what you do. We have a dinky little A/C in the window but my parents are so cheap/irrational that they will spend thousands on lottery tickets but not what it takes to install a great central air A/C which is about $10K and would infinitely improve everyone’s lives.

6:30 a.m. — Little Bun (and therefore I as well) am up. Interestingly enough, he gets his milk then grabs his father to trot downstairs leaving me to snooze. Not complaining.

6:38 a.m. — Well that was short-lived. I feel his little boy face up close to mine, breathing heavily, and he says – Mommy? Mommy? Time to wake up. Let’s go downstairs.

6:42 a.m. — Ohhhhhhh he wakes my partner up because he gets a daily piece of CAKE with him. I get it now. I make a tea.

9:59 a.m. — I have done two loads of dishes, laundry, and am ready to head out to see my friend for the last time before we leave.

9:59 a.m. — I buy a few glass straws because I am committed to not touching a plastic straw ever again, and I pick up a drink and a bag to make nut milk. I use it immediately on the drink I bought: $35.38

11:01 a.m. — It says it opens at 11, and the doors aren’t open. I call the place and she tells me she will open in 20 minutes. If you open at 11:30 why don’t you bloody put that instead of 11?

12:05 p.m. — Very VERY unhappy with this meal. What a waste of $25. Terrible soup, mediocre rice and salad with chickpeas, all in plastic disposable ware. This is not worth what we paid. They don’t even have a bathroom here and it is hot as hell inside. I am never coming back here and will Yelp review it down as low as possible. $12.50

1:15 p.m. — We are sweating so much that we renew our SPF with the Coola Makeup Setting Spray at a spa, and then pick up a mini version of this activated charcoal deodorant each. $11.30

1:30 p.m. — At the Bata Shoe museum, we examine everything. This is a nice place to come and to cool down, and to look at the history of shoes from various cultures over time. It is also a small and therefore manageable museum that doesn’t take a whole day and bore you to tears. $14

A fur onesie for kids..

Look how small these bound feed were!! 3cm…

Gorgeous woven gold sandals from the 1930s.

 

During the Great Depression…

Japanese geta sandals.. gorgeous gold brocade.

Increase in cloth/skirts = showing wealth and luxury

They really took care of their shoes back then.

For walking in a spa… to keep your feet off the ground and dry.

Thigh high fur boots! These looked very warm and cosy.

Fun, gorgeous studded heels from Zanotti…

Louboutin flats, studded and pretty..

Want, indeed!

So if gold is inert, it means putting it in face masques and skincare makes no sense at all, as it won’t react to anything and therefore won’t do anything.

Loved this graph.

3:00 p.m. — I go with my friend to her microblading appointment. Before we head in (we are early), we pick up THE BEST chocolate soft serve ice cream I have ever had. $5

3:59 p.m. — We drop by a cafe as it starts to pour and take a break. I grab a ginger lemonade, and love the spiciness. $5

This glass straw is paying for itself LOL..

6:14 p.m. — I want to convince my parents to plant lavender so I can have dried lavender sachets. Maybe next year. We walk down to a Thai restaurant.

7:08 p.m. — THIS FOOD IS AMAZING. I am so happy we found it, it is definitely highly recommended by me. We had fried chicken wings, Tom Kha Gai (chicken curry soup) and a chicken flat noodle dish, ending with a mango sticky rice dessert. ALL GOOD. $27.50

8:04 p.m. — I sadly hug my friend good-bye. When she comes up to Montreal we’ll have another good time again but it has been a great vacation / break for me especially.

9:40 p.m. — There were NO BUSES FOR A FULL DANG HOUR. I took another bus that brings me about 15 minutes from the house, and I speedwalk home, annoyed. As I reach the home, I call out to Little Bun who is sitting on the front porch with my mother, talking. This is the cutest thing ever – they sit every night on the porch and chat. She tells me how much she will miss him.

10:34 p.m. — Bedtime. My partner has loaded the entire car FULL. He closed the door and had to wind down the window to pack in more stuff because it was just too much. We are literally packed to the brim with stuff.

Spent: $100.38

DAY SIX

??:?? — Can’t sleep. Little Bun is wiggling around and whining, and we can’t sleep. We NEED SLEEP TO LEAVE AND DRIVE 6 HOURS TOMORROW. I lose it.

7:30 a.m. — We’re up. I feed him Gravol, and he tells my parents: Today I am leaving but I will come back in August to drive you to my cousin’s house so we can make muffins together, okay? — WHAT? Who is this child making plans to drive them LOL…. He is very very cute, and gets hugged a ton before leaving.

7:59 a.m. — On the road.

9:10 a.m. — He is conked out. That’s why it’s so quiet. My partner and I chat.

12:08 p.m. — We stop for a little break and to take another spoonful of Gravol so he doesn’t throw up. He has been whining in the car about how fast it is and he wants to Park the car and stop, which is my signal to drug him, so I do.

2:50 p.m. — We are home. Little Bun was getting a little antsy near the end, but the thought of cake (Banana Bread) waiting for him and a HUGE slice at that, and he clammed up and kept it together until he got a piece.

4:14 p.m. — Savouring banana cake. We are all so hungry. I am starting to feel a bit dizzy, I haven’t eaten all day, and this won’t tide me over. I remove my Transderm patch (for motion sickness) and feel sick enough that I lie down and just nap while my partner hustles Little Bun out of the house to take him grocery shopping so I can sleep and to give me some peace.

5:49 p.m. — I unpack everything and take Before and After pictures of all my cuffs…

BEFORE

AFTER

10:26 p.m. — We unpacked everything. An entire carful of stuff. We are one of THOSE people who come back from vacation and unpack within the next day.

Spent: $0

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — Wake up .. a still tired actually.

10:05 a.m. — After lunch of bread and cheese, I head out to run errands and pick up new dishwashing gloves, and vegetables because I need to start changing my diet. $35.78

11:22 a.m. — I pick up some nuts for nut milk later – cashew, almond… $20

1:59 p.m. — Home.

4:00 p.m. — Watching more of this Kardashian reality show. They do make a good show and suck you in… It is a good watch.

7:08 p.m. — I don’t know what’s going on, but my stomach is all rumbly after I eat or drink anything.

12:28 p.m. — I am going to the bathroom about 9 times a day and feeling this ache in my stomach. I probably have gastritis and it will go away. Everyone else seems fine though. How odd. We have all been eating the same things!!!

10:28 p.m. — I play with Little Bun, we do math, we chat, we read, and then I get into bed early and he does too, because he likes to sleep at the same time with Mommy, and we fall asleep while my partner is still out there watching French TV until he realizes it is too quiet and we are asleep.

Spent: $55.78

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