#off topic but apples with peanut butter is so good honestly
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Here is my pfp redrawn!! Just because. :))
And I just wanted to show it off to you guys :)) cause I think you're all pretty neat!
#artists on tumblr#digital art#original art#illustration#i'll be on break again btw#for another#3 daysssss#i want to work on another illustration that i'm not even halfway done with lmao#I need some time to do it#i'll catch up to you guys later :))#also i'd be more than happy to answer some stuff while i'm working so don't be afraid to ask some questions!#off topic but apples with peanut butter is so good honestly#lumin sketch
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Survey #423
“i won’t think about you when i’m older / ‘cuz we never really had our closure”
Are you better at cooking dinners or making cakes/biscuits/sweets? Neither.
Have you ever cut someone else’s hair? No.
Who was the last guest in your house and what were they staying for? My late grandmother's husband stayed overnight when he was driving from New York to Florida or the other way around, idr.
How many long term relationships have you been in? Two.
Do you sleep with all the lights out, or do you leave a lamp or even the television on? My snake's heat lamp stays on.
Who is one person you have forgiven, but still have not “forgotten” what they have done? My dad.
Are you a fan of Lana Del Rey? I don't think I've even heard one of her songs.
Do you know your blood type? A-.
Do you know your mother’s birthday? Yes.
Have you got your period at the moment? I haven't had my period since I started TMS. It's honestly so fucking frustrating that it obviously had an effect on my body, but not my depression. I've officially finished TMS as of a few days ago and now I just feel so void of hope.
Have you ever been pregnant? No.
How old were you when you first went on a plane? Idr, I was a little kid.
Have you ever had to take out a loan for anything? Not me personally, but my parents have for my education that I threw away.
Are both of your blood parents still in your life? Yes. I don't see my dad a lot, but he's still in my life regardless.
When was the last time you went apple picking? I’ve never been.
Someone asked you what you wanted, what would you say? Happiness.
Have you ever been drunk at school or work? I have not.
How many bedrooms are in your house? Three.
Are you smart about computers? Not really, no.
Have you ever played Just Dance for Wii? Yes. My sister loved them, so we have a few.
Do you own a Xbox 360? No. I'm a PlayStation girl.
Would you ever do a sex tape for a million dollars? No. I'd be mortified.
So, do you need a nap? I really should take one. I slept like... maybe three hours last night. I was up most of the night having a fucking life crisis.
What would you rather be doing? Something fun.
What sport are you the best at? I haven't touched any sort of sport since I was a teenager.
Do you have a little sister? What’s her name? Yeah, Nicole.
Do you complain a lot? Kind of, but I generally try to keep it in surveys nowadays. I'm just tired of shit.
Would you rather go to an authentic haunted house or an ancient temple? Ohhh, tough pick, but I've gotta say the ancient temple.
Do you like fruity or minty gum? Both, really.
Are you looking forward to any day of this month? Well July is practically over, so I'll answer for August. I'm looking forward to my nephew's birthday.
Have you ever gotten detention? A few times for getting too many morning tardies in high school.
Is there a traumatic event that you’ve experienced that’s changed your life? Definitely.
Do you buy a majority of your clothes from a certain store, or do you just pick out items of clothing you could see yourself wearing, not caring about the store it came from? The latter.
Have any of the artists you’re fond of released new albums recently? Powerwolf did recently.
Would you ever keep your favorite animal as a pet? I could write a college-length essay on why meerkats do not make good pets whatsoever. Do fucking not get one. I can barely fathom how it's legal in some countries.
Ever cried so much you threw up? No, but I've gagged.
Who is your best guy friend? Girt.
What do you two do when you hang out? Mostly just watch TV and play board games.
What is a movie that you thought you would hate but you ended up loving? I dunno, really.
Do you even like horror movies? I love horror movies.
Do you live in the country? I wish I still did. :/ Me and Mom hate hate hate living in these suburbs.
What is your favorite accent? British.
Have you ever had a boyfriend your parents didn’t like? No.
Do you drink Pepsi or Coke? Coke. Pepsi is gross.
What do you plan to do on your 21st birthday? I was literally in the psych hospital for my 21st birthday lmao. It's kind of a painful memory, but I also won't forget the love and kindness people showed me. I especially remember the friend I made there getting the lunch lady to literally go and buy me a slice of cake. Everyone also sang happy birthday to me and gaaaah I'm getting emotional.
Do you have any person in your family with an addiction to beer? That was my dad's drink of choice when he drank.
Do you take a lot of pictures? Unless I have my camera and am somewhere pretty, no.
What kind of face wash do you use? Water, lol.
Does drama always seem to follow you? Nah.
Does anybody in your family race? No.
Are you closer to your mom or dad? My mom.
How much money did you used to get from the ”tooth fairy?” Uhhh... I want to say $2 or something? I might be way off, idr.
How long do you want to live with your parents? I WISH I could have moved out with an s/o already, but that's just not how life's worked out.
Do you have a laptop or desktop? I have a laptop.
Do you like your parents? I love them.
Do you secretly like someone? It's not a secret, no.
Would you ever date your best male friend? Tried that once and it didn't work out. I liked him more as like a brother.
What are you currently listening to? "Better Than Me" by Hinder. I really need to turn it off, but I can't make myself.
Do you want to be single? I really wish I had a partner to love and motivate me to strive to do better, but I know it's better I'm single right now. I'd just relive the Jason situation, I'm sure. I'd just drag the person down and lose them.
Did you go out or stay in last night? I'm almost always at my fucking house not doing shit, so.
Have you pretended to like someone? No, that sounds pretty stupid...
How is your heart lately? Hurting. A lot.
Are you wearing socks? I hate wearing socks and I'm in bed anyway, so no.
What do people call you? Britt, mostly.
Do you get stressed out easily? VERY.
Have you ever been taken to the emergency room in an ambulance? No.
What is wrong with you right now? Where the hell to begin.
Do you own something from Hot Topic? A lot.
Would you rather sleep with someone else or alone? With someone, so long as the bed is big enough to comfortably fit two of us.
Do you still talk to the person you last made out with? No. I'm certain he wants nothing to do with me.
Have you ever seen your best friend cry? Sadly.
Did you get any compliments today? Definitely not. I look and feel like a wreck right about now. There's nothing to praise me about.
Have you ever gone to a beach? Many times.
What would you say if someone asked you to get high right now? Unless it was an edible, no. I'd do almost anything to try and make me feel better right now, even if just for a little while, but I'm unwilling to smoke anything.
Do you believe that everything happens for a reason? HELL no.
Have you ever done volunteer work just because you wanted to? Honestly, no.
Do you have long nails? No; I never do because I have an awful habit of picking at them.
Do you like the gender you are? I don't like or dislike it, honestly. I'm just neutral.
Do you generally look nice in photos? HA.
Have you ever had a stick insect as a pet? No.
What colour are your father’s eyes? They're dark brown.
If I handed you a concert ticket right now, who would you want to be the performer? Ozzy, duh.
Name three facts about your family? We're very, very spread out geographically, some of us (in other words, me) are emotionally distant, and uh... idk.
Would you ever get into a long distance relationship? Only if it was a certain person, our lives were more on track, and we were making plans for either of us to move soon.
What’s the most thoughtful present you’ve ever received? Probably this really long letter my mom wrote for me on my bday a couple years ago.
What’s your favorite hot beverage? Hot chocolate.
Did you ever play an instrument? If so what? I played the flute for many years, all through middle school and through much of high school.
Would you rather carve pumpkins or wrap presents? Carve pumpkins, for sure.
Do you think you’re important? I don't fucking know. Probably not.
What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received? Idk.
Have you been diagnosed with any mental disorders? *hands over thick book*
Have you ever moved to another state or country? If so, how did it feel to be new? No.
Do you know how to properly eat food with chopsticks? No. My hands are way, way too shaky to ever accomplish that.
Are you more of a leader or a follower? Definitely a follower, but I can step up in certain situations.
What was the first thing you ate today? Well, I was seriously depression-eating last night, way past midnight, and had a peanut butter sandwich.
If you could spend the day, doing absolutely anything, with anyone, anywhere, what would it be like? LET'S NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT RIGHT NOW.
If I were to ask you how you are doing, and you were only able to answer completely honestly, what would come out? "Falling apart." I've lost direction, motivation, strength, hope, just everything.
What is the one thing that you have been avoiding that you should do? I need a fucking shower so bad that it's embarrassing. I just can't move. I have no energy, emotionally or physically. I just can't make myself do it.
Is there anything that you wish you could take back? So, so badly.
What, in your mind, could make you truly happy? Actually reaching goals. Losing weight. Healing my legs. Knowing with certainty that I wasn't emotionally abusive to Jason. Moving out of this town and back into the country. Financial stability. A job I thoroughly enjoy. I could go on, but let's not.
If you could change one conversation in your life, what would you say differently? Would it have REALLY made any difference? God, let me take back shit I said in that fucking letter to you-know-who. It's so hard to believe I once thought it perfectly justified and realistic.
When is the next time you’ll change your hairstyle? Will you color it? I don't have any plans of changing the style in the foreseeable future. I want to color it BADLY. To just SOMETHING.
Do people normally say you’re a fast typist, or are you rather slow? I'm like, a lightning-fast typist.
Have you ever been considered the ‘smartest person in school?’ No; my best friend in HS was, though. Her GPA was fucking insane. I was in the top percentile, though, so I was up there. What the hell happened to that girl.
How many drugs are in your system? If we're including prescriptions, a whole hell of a lot.
What’s on your schedule for tomorrow? Jack shit. Like usual.
Do you currently have any bite marks/hickeys on your body? No.
Do you call anyone baby? Excluding my pets, no.
What’s your current mood? lol if you've gotten this far reading, you can make an educated guess.
Do you think you are a good person? Bro I just don't know.
What were you doing before filling out this survey? I was playing WoW.
How late did you stay up last night? Like, 4:30 or so.
When was the last time you cried really hard? I wanna say like a week ago?
Is your hair longer than your shoulders? No. It still badly needs a trim, though.
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Cybernetics- Cyberpunk!Sonic AU- Chapter 8
Amy Rose has been working tirelessly at her broken down booth for as long as she can imagine. Ever since Tails left their work to join forces with the revered hero of Mobius, ‘The Blue Blur’, she’s grown lonely and desperate to make her life exciting. A strange customer comes in one day asking her to fix his cyborg arm, what she didn’t know was that he would be the catalyst for a brand new life.
AO3 Tags:
Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Amy Rose/Shadow the Hedgehog, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Amy Rose (Sonic the Hedgehog), Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles “Tails” Prower, Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik, Rouge the Bat, Whisper the Wolf, Cream the Rabbit, Knuckles the Echidna, Badnik (Sonic the Hedgehog), E-123 Omega, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Angst, Slow Burn, Partners in Crime
AO3 Link
Previous/Next
Bugs buzzed monotonously by her ear, body truly screaming at her to stop moving and lay down now.
“We’re almost there.” He’d promised quite a few times.
She’d at one point exasperatedly asked how he made this trek. He pointed out that he had the chip, and that also when he chose not to use the chip, he had the shoes. Amy supposed she’d have to figure something out. But until then, she was stuck feeling like death while the sun slowly left them less and less light. Her feet felt about ready to fall off, and at this point she wouldn’t be opposed to it, then she would have to lay down and take a break until her feet got replaced by cyborg parts. Unfortunately, unless there was a saw around here, she got the feeling that though they hurt, her feet were firmly attached to the rest of her for many years to come. She stopped when she bumped her head on Shadow’s shoulder blade on accident, not realizing that he had stopped. She looked up and saw him glancing back at her, silently pointing to the building ahead of them. The outside looked just as old as the rest of the buildings, vines and moss grew up the side, but the difference would be that this building had no cracks, no holes, and even had glass in the windows. The thick vines had been pushed away to grow around the doorway, which held a black, steel door.
“This is it?” She whispered. Shadow nodded and beckoned her to follow once more, stepping up to the door and opening up the scanner attached to it, allowing it to scan his face. Once it had, she heard the soft clicking of the mechanism allowing it to unlock, and soon she was following him inside.
The inside was clean, fixed up just like he’d said. The floor was tiled and a round, maroon carpet sat in the middle of it. To the right was a couch with two love seats and a coffee table, as well as a large ProjScreen attached to the wall, the furniture sat on top of a rectangle rug that was the same color as the round one. To the left there was kitchen, complete with an island and any appliances one would need to cook as well as a fridge- she had no idea how they got any power out here, but she’d ask about that later. Lights dotted the ceiling to make up for the lack of windows on the first floor, and in the middle of the back wall there was a staircase leading up. Amy looked over to see Shadow had taken off his cloak and hung it on a hook on the wall.
“Shadow! Watch out!” A voice cried from the steps, and Amy found herself being tackled and pinned to the ground. She cried out in pain, she wasn’t sure how much more of a beating her body was to take today, but she hoped it wasn’t much more as clenched her teeth and squinted in pain.
“Rouge! She’s no danger- get off.” He demanded exasperatedly.
‘Rouge’s weight left her and she opened her eyes, taking Shadows hand that he offered and allowing herself to be pulled up. Then, she looked over to see who exactly ‘Rouge’ was.
She was... an Android. White metal, bright blue, glowing eyes. Equipped with fake lashes and makeup. Two wings protruded from her back and her ears gave away that she was modeled to look like a bat mobian. She currently wore a robe- it looked soft, and it was pink, matching slippers she wore on her feet. Aside from all that, she was much curvier than your typical Android would be, at least from what Amy had seen before.
“Rouge, this is Amy. She’s coming on board as our mechanic.” Shadow introduced her. Amy held out a hand.
“It’s nice to meet you...” She spoke softly, and cautiously, not wanting to incite any more anger from the Android woman. Rouge was silent, studying her up and down. Judging her. Amy couldn’t tell what the Android was thinking- it was strange, Androids tended to be easier to read because they weren’t actually mobians.
“I like your pants.” She said suddenly, crouching down to grasp one of the straps. “They’re practical and yet, very stylish.” Rouge observed before standing back up to look at Amy. Her facial expression didn’t give much away, but her body language told Amy that for now, Rouge would leave her be.
Amy let out a breath of relief as Rouge turned to look at Shadow.
“Does that mean Omega can finally be fixed...?” She asked hopefully.
“I do believe so.” He replied.
“Omega?” Amy wondered aloud.
“Don’t worry about it for now, you need to rest up, you’ve been smacked around a bit more than I think you’re used to today.” Shadow nodded to Rouge, and the bat android stepped forward and lifted Amy’s bag from her shoulder.
“I’ll take this to your room and get everything ready for you.” She explained before turning and spreading her wings, flying up the stairs. Shadow chuckled.
“What’s funny?” Amy asked.
“I think she’s excited to have another girl in the house.”
She ‘ooh’ed quietly, following Shadow as he walked over to the kitchen.
“Sit.” He gestured to one of the stools that sat at the island. Amy sat down gingerly and put her hands in her lap, watching him open the fridge and stare at it absentmindedly. She couldn’t imagine it was easy to get food out here, but then she remembered his teleporting trick and supposed that it was quite possible that he... went grocery shopping? That would be a funny sight to see. He shut the fridge door and leaned down to the freezer door, pulling it open and selecting something from it before tossing it on the table. He pulled out a toaster from next to the fridge and plugged it in before getting to work on unwrapping the food while beginning to speak to her once more.
“The room won’t be great, but you can start to get your own stuff to put in there once you... adjust to our living style.” He explained, popping what she now saw were frozen waffles into the toaster. “ProjScreen- on.” He called, louder than he had been talking to her previously, and she shifted slightly to turn and watch the ProjScreen as he continued to shuffle around in the kitchen. What she saw made her stomach turn.
“-from what we can see, this woman and her partner made a complete fool of the Blue Blur.” The female cat gossip show anchor chided.
“While we up here in the neon city aren’t exactly big fans of any criminal, watching these two lay waste to the Blue Blur is exceptionally funny.” The male deer replied, partially to the camera. The woman laughed.
“As part of our ‘down with the Blue Blur’ campaign, I just want to play that absolutely humiliating clip again!” She cried joyfully, clapping her hands together before turning in her chair to watch the screen behind them.
The screen showed a projection from the angle of what seemed to be a surveillance camera. It was a slow-mo shot of her rolling and shoving herself off the Blue Blur, immediately followed by Shadow’s cyborg hand appearing on screen and hitting the Blue Blur square in the back, sending him tumbling forward and scraping on the ground. Thank god the camera panned towards the blue hedgehog instead of her and Shadow, or else there’d be video proof of them just disappearing. But instead it zoomed in on the Blue Blur, who struggled to get up before collapsing. The video cut off just as Tail’s feet came in frame.
“Now that is just too funny!” The cat woman cried again, smile wide on her face.
“I have to agree with you there- but now we have to get to the more interesting topic- who was that woman?” He asked enthusiastically as a grainy, zoomed in projection of her face from when she was falling came up behind them.
“Now, thanks to some intelligence we do know she ran a shop in the outer ring, but the real question is how did she get wrapped up in all this drama? I mean, Mobius’ most famous vigilante scooping her up and trying to take her away from the mystery cyborg man- what do you think happened?” She questioned her cohost.
Amy grimaced, they were making it out to be some sort of romantic triangle from what she could tell, and before she could hear what the deer had to say, Shadow cut in.
“ProjScreen- off.” He called out. “Sorry, I don’t know why Rouge watches that crap. It was probably uncomfortable to see your face like that.” He apologized gruffly as she turned back around, watching him slide a plate across to her.
“It’s fine.” She reassured, “It was honestly kind of interesting to see how they talked about me- us. They... liked that we knocked down the Blue Blur.”
“Of course they did.” He snorted. “Inner ring folk hate him.” Amy shrugged in response, not knowing what more to say on the topic.
“So, what have you made for me, chef?”
“Toaster waffles with peanut butter on them for protein, plus some apple slices for some good sugar and vitamin intake. Just something to get you through the night, there’ll be something better in the morning.”
“Thank you.” She smiled slightly, glad to be digging in to the food. The waffles were a bit stale and the apples were a bit mushy, but it was better than what she usually ate, so she continued to munch on it happily as Shadow walked over to the living room half of the bottom floor. By the time she was finishing up, she heard Rouge land on the tile at the bottom of the stairs.
“Your room is ready.”
Amy looked over with a tired smile, standing and putting the plate by the sink she had spotted earlier before walking over to Rouge.
“Thank you... for all this.” She turned back to Shadow before stepping up the stairs. “I know this is weird... for both of us, but thank you for giving me this chance and keeping me from getting arrested.” He merely grunted in response and Amy assumed that was the best she was going to get and followed Rouge up the stairs.
They went up two floors before stepping out of the stairs and into a hallway, Rouge passed one door on the left before coming to one slightly past it on the right and pushing it open.
“Here you go, call me if you need anything- I’m a floor down.” She explained as Amy stepped in the room, closing the door behind the pink hedgehog. Amy could hear her slippered feet walking away.
Too tired to care about what the room looked like, Amy leaned against the wall and unlaced her boots, kicking them off before walking over to and collapsing in the bed. She let out a deep sigh before almost immediately falling asleep, too exhausted physically and mentally to even consider what her day had been.
#cybernetics#my writing#sonic#sonic the hedgehog#shadow the hedgehog#Amy Rose#sonic fanfiction#Shadamy
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January, 4th, 2021
Dear Diary,
My head aches. It feels like it’s splitting in two, like someone has shot me straight through, the sides of my skull throb like they’ve been displaced and I need to press down as hard as I can to stop my head from splitting open.
My mom peeks her head in and the throbbing seems to go down. The breaks are being fixed, that’s good.
We’re both up early, it seems like we can’t sleep in if we tried. We talk, watch some Try Guys - Without A Recipe and laugh, for a moment the world turns.
But the tinging of a metal bowl moving brings us back, my sweet girl stares into her bowl, she’s hungry but her body won’t let her eat, the world continues to turn but now I wish it would stop, I wish it would go back.
My other cat isn’t eating now either and the topic we’ve been avoiding since last night comes up, whatever this is it’s contagious and now my sweet senior cat can’t eat either. She stares at her bowl and meows at it, she howls at her treats, she doesn’t understand why her body won’t let her eat food when she loves it so much.
We try and bring them comfort, pay attention to them, mutter soft sorry’s into their fur. They aren’t in pain but they just don’t understand.
We decided we want to try and get their foot prints, we got my dogs from the vet, it’s on a little gold plaque that leans against his jar of ashes. It was expensive and we don’t have the money so we try it ourselves. I know see why it’s expensive. We plan to try again tomorrow with beet root juice, something that can’t hurt them if they lick it. I hope it works, I want it to work.
My mom leaves to get the car and I sit in our quiet apartment, there’s no noise of playing...I think they’re starting to get tired, I think the lack of food in their system is starting to make them reserved. I wish my cat would howl like she usually does, I hate the noise but now I miss it.
Ironic. I hate Alanis Morissette.
Hours seem to drag even when my mom gets back, we talk honestly about the options, about the money we have left. We could run more tests and chance not having the money to put them down if they begin to feel pain or we can try and wait this out and make sure if they do become painful we can stop that. The latter is our choice. I can’t let them be in pain. That’s too much pain for such little bodies.
They are so little. Even though their full grown their bodies are just so little. My sweet girls head fits in the palm of my hand, she lets the weight of her face rest against it as I give her tiny nose skritches and chin pets. She gives me tiny kisses, even her tongue is tiny.
My sweet senior cat is a little less tiny but compared to the world she is small, she puts a small paw to my stomach and I lean back dropping my phone and conversation to let her crawl on top and get comfortable for a bit, as she sits on my chest loud purrs make their way out of her tiny mouth and big eyes happily look at me.
For a moment I forget she’s dying and instead it’s just like any day, we’re sitting and I think when she gets off I’ll have to make sure she doesn’t eat the other cats food on the way out...I’d give anything right now to have her steal the other cats food.
My headache is back.
A friend reaches out, she’s unable to send money but wants to get me something, she wants to help. I say no because I want her to start a new life and that requires money she tells me yes and now I have two gifts for my birthday. I’m thankful to be wrong.
She tells me to pick whatever I want, I think of the cat trees I’ve been trying to get my cats for months now but reality looms, they probably won’t live to see it and when it arrives all that will sit on it is my grief, still I try to convince myself of maybe’s, maybe they’ll live to see it, maybe it’ll get here in time, I could always take off the carpet and make it a place to put plants. Everyone softly tells me no, my mom, my friend and even myself softly utter no. I’m getting a milk foamer and a plant light, those are things I’ve wanted for a long time. This is good.
I wish good feelings would last. I wish I could feel thankful longer but sadness eats me up with a ravenous hunger I wish my cats had.
My mom asked me to eat some apples before she left, I haven’t had it in me to eat much, I’ve been living on energy drinks, Mr. Noodles and the little bit of alcohol left over from New Years. Everything that makes me feel full without having to eat. But she asked so I get a few from the fridge and I cut them up, I stare at the knife and my hand and wonder if it would hurt worse to to stab myself than my headache does right now. My headache is pulsing it’s way down my neck, my entire face hurts, my skull buzzes like static in my skin. Suddenly I’m crying I don’t know if its from the pain or my mind has broken but I sob and I’m able to stop. My mind is blank and I can barely ask myself what exactly I’m crying about, I can’t make myself stop so I bring my apples and sit and eat them. I think about the scene in End Game where people laughed for Natasha eating a peanut butter sandwich while crying, they said it’s unrealistic. I agree she should’ve been eating apples, clearly.
I don’t know when my sobbing stops but I’ve finished my apples, they were nice. I grab a tissue and brace myself for the pain of blowing your nose when you have a headache but when I blow there’s no pain, my headache is gone. For a moment I’m relieved and I laugh, it makes sense my bodies mad I haven’t eaten any quality food and then my heart drops...do my cats feel like this? I’m crying again.
Dinner time comes and there are two full bowls staring up at me, mocking me. I empty them none the less and get out a can of fresh food, they deserve fresh food, they wait at my feet excited and I even pop in tiny treats to try and encourage them to eat. They rush over to their dishes to eat and my heart breaks to watch their tails fall because they can’t.
I think I figured out how my senior cat got sick...it’s my fault. My senior cat is a vacuum of a cat so to save on pet food whatever my other cat didn’t eat I’d put into her bowl, I just wanted to save a little money on food because of the expensive vet bills and now I might’ve doomed my cat to death. I wonder if the saliva from my other cat that might’ve gotten in when she tried to eat made my other cat sick.
I don’t want to tell my mom, I don’t want her to feel like it’s her fault, this feels awful, she doesn’t deserve to feel awful.
I find myself sitting next to myself having a conversation with friends. I’m telling my estranged sister about makeup, I’m joking with my good friend but the words don’t feel like they’ve come from my mouth, they’re my words but I haven’t said them, it’s my voice but I’m not making the noises.
My mom called my best friend earlier to tell her to text me, she doesn’t know what’s been going on, we’re going to have a call soon...I don’t know if she’ll really be talking to me.
I feel like I’m playing a waiting game with Death, they look at me and they tell me their coming but they won’t give me the time, they tell me they have a key to my door so no lock will stop them. I know I can’t bargain but I beg, please don’t make it hurt, they’re too little to hurt like that.
I think I wanna die. Man, is my therapist gonna have a bag of Hell to deal with when she gets back from vacation.
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Welfare Food Challenge: Day Two (18/01/2020)
Here we are at day two! I woke up this morning with next to no hunger, which is not what I expected at all! It was a pretty relaxing day for a Saturday. I got up and did some schoolwork for a few hours and then had some breakfast. Breakfast today consisted of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a small container of apple sauce (a.k.a. the boiled and mashed apples).
I honestly tried to do as little as possible today. I wanted to stay home and try to conserve energy so that I wouldn’t end up eating as much food! I figured that as long as I am not walking lots or doing anything that requires a whole lot of energy, that I would be saving a little more food to eat later on, such as for days like Tuesday and Wednesday when I have clinical! However, the only complaint I have thus far is about coffee. I. Miss. Coffee (it has been literally one day). If I were to be going about my day like any other, I probably have an average of 4 coffees. So, to say the least, I am just thankful I didn’t develop a headache early on this morning or afternoon. I got thinking about something this afternoon though, and it had to do around vitamins and minerals again. I can probably attribute this thought to the discussion post I have to do for my global health class on the topic of poverty and nutrition. Anyways, I started to think about what kind of an impact my diet may have on my body if I were to be doing this long-term. For example, I didn’t have enough money to buy milk this week, because I was worried that I wouldn’t have enough food to get me through the seven days. For instance, “Milk products contain up to 16 nutrients that are essential for health. Calcium, vitamin D and protein are some of the nutrients in milk products that keep the body functioning properly and could help reduce the risk of certain diseases” (Nutrition, n.d.). Now, let’s not be naïve, I do realise that there are other sources of food that will supply these nutrients. However, we also need to consider that individuals who do not have money to buy such foods, will not be getting sufficient amounts. If we are to consider that the vast majority of people who live on this type of a budget, these individuals are at higher risk of developing illnesses and disease later on in life. For instance, a diet that is deficient in calcium may put you at risk for osteoporosis as “A lifelong lack of calcium plays a role in the development of osteoporosis. Low calcium intake contributes to diminished bone density, early bone loss and an increased risk of fractures” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2019). I think it important that we look at the bigger picture here and realise that the implications of a $21.00 budget are much larger than what we may expect… On a lighter note, here is my lunch!
Dinner tonight was decently yummy (despite the wieners). I made enough for two portions so I will probably have the leftovers tomorrow for lunch. Essentially, I cut up a hot dog, and boiled it with the pasta then poured some of the tomato and basil sauce on top. I can guarantee you that the limited options I have for my three meals are going to get old very quickly! However, on that note, I conclude day two. I think we are off to a good start. I think tomorrow I will use the same strategy which includes staying inside and doing… Nothing! Anyways, day three tomorrow!!!
Resources
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2019, June 19). Osteoporosis - Symptoms and causes. Retrieved January 18, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/osteoporosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351968
Nutrition, D. (n.d.). Nutrients in milk products. Retrieved from https://www.dairynutrition.ca/nutrients-in-milk-products
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First Weekend of 2019
The first weekend of 2019 is in the books and it was a cozy, family-oriented one. We stuck close to home all weekend which was our goal for the past few days since we were dying to get our house a little more organized and fully unpack after holiday travels. We checked a lot of random little household-related to-dos off our list and it felt great!
Oh and since I know many of you are likely just emerging from the holiday fog and stopping by the blog this morning for the first time in a while, here are a couple of posts from the past two weeks you may have missed:
Christmas 2018 (A recap of our family’s Christmas in Florida)
Top Recipes of 2018
Top Blog Posts of 2018 (Includes personal posts, topical posts and fitness-related content)
A Peek into Our Living Room Refresh + Our Fireplace DIY Project
Saturday
Saturday morning our crew was up bright and early! Ryder was up right around 6 a.m. and Chase woke up about an hour later so we had no trouble getting dressed and out the door in time to arrive at Discovery Place in the city when the doors opened at 9 a.m.
As usual, we spent most of our time in the children’s area where Chase ran around and had a blast and Ryder was able to play in the bucket seats at the water table for the first time.
Ryder was also lovin’ his reflection in the floor mirror and it was just too cute!
Apparently he gets as big of a kick out of his crazy hair as we all do these days! Ryder’s newborn mohawk has morphed into some kind of fluffy baby comb-over while the hair on the sides of his head are now wispy and thin so it’s quite the ‘do!
We made it back home to our place around lunchtime and lunch looked like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with carrots and apple slices for everyone… Yep, me and Ryan, too. We don’t shy away from a good pb&j and, honestly, there wasn’t much else to eat because our fridge and pantry were b-a-r-e.
After lunch, Ryan took care of putting Chase down for a nap while I nursed Ryder and set him on a blanket with some toys to play with as I did a little meal planning for the week ahead.
Chase spent a solid hour in his crib and while none of the 60 minutes he spent in his room involved sleeping, a least he seemed to enjoy his “quiet time” with his stuffed animals and books. When he was officially over his crib time, I brought him into Ryder’s room with me and Ryder to do some puzzles while I boxed up some of the clothes Ryder’s already outgrown to put up in the attic.
Once Chase realized Ryan was outside taking down Christmas lights, he thought that sounded like way more fun and peaced out of Ryder’s room to help Dad.
Eventually Ryder and I joined Ryan, Sadie and Chase outside and we all agreed the weather was too perfect not to enjoy a family walk around the neighborhood.
Don’t let Ryan’s shorts and short sleeves fool you — it wasn’t that warm, but apparently you can take the boy out of Florida but you can’t take the Florida out of the boy.
Once we were back home, we put the boys directly from their seats in the stroller into their car seats and headed off to the grocery store for food for the week ahead. I grabbed my grocery list and we left with lots of good stuff, including everything we needed to make burgers on the grill for dinner.
We promised Chase a family movie night earlier in the day, so our Saturday night looked like Funfetti cake on the couch (an impulse buy at the grocery store) along with The Lion King. We fast forwarded through a few parts (let’s be honest nobody wants to see the stampede scene) and also replayed a few parts that Chase loved like the Timon and Pumbaa hula scene. “Are ya achin’… yum, yum, yum… for some bacon… yum, yum, yum.” I seriously love reliving some of my childhood favorites with my kids. Such an underrated perk of mom life!
Sunday
Sunday morning began like most Sundays do around here with breakfast (baked steel cut oatmeal) followed by the early morning service at our church. I had some errands I wanted to run after church so I dropped Ryan off at home with Chase so they could play outside and took a fast-asleep Ryder along with me to do some holiday returns and exchanges.
Ryder and I arrived home to find Chase, Ryan and Sadie running around and Chase testing out his Strider bike.
He’s still trying to get the hang of his bike, but he’s definitely determined to learn how to balance on it!
Eventually we made our way inside and I started what I thought was going to be dinner prep but it ended up being our lunch because it was too good to resist!
I made the Instant Pot Chinese Chicken and Broccoli from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen and it was fantastic!!! I even doubled the amount of broccoli for more veggies (the broccoli cooks down and the recipe is rather saucy) and we loved it over brown rice. Add this one to your must-make list ASAP. You won’t regret it!
The rest of our Sunday included laundry, cleaning up the house and another family walk to round out the evening.
As for today, Chase is back at preschool and Ryder has his 6-month pediatric visit so I’m off to get things moving this morning. I hope you all have a fantastic week!
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https://www.pbfingers.com/first-weekend-of-2019/
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Get to Know Me...the oddball edition.
So, I was scrolling through my dash, (and had a little time on my hands), when I saw this posting. I changed it up a little from the original and I forgot who posted it first so I’m saying sorry for not tagging you in advance. I put my spin on it since most of us out in Tumblr-land have answered this or similar questions in the past.
I have only two rules: You are to tag one person and you must answer these questions honestly, sort of...
Just a warning though, there are 100 questions below the keep reading so if you don’t want to do that many, you won’t be wasting your time scrolling through the questionnaire forever.
@tardisspeedsterfanfiction ....I choose you!
1. What is your middle name? Something I am embarrassed about when said with my first name. Makes me sound like a hillbilly from the sticks.
2. How old are you? How dare you ask a lady such a question?! And the answer is older than I care to admit.
3. What is your birthday? In the first month of the year...and every year after that...on the same day.
4. What is your zodiac sign? A stupid song….EVERYONE SINGS when they find out my star sign.
5. What is your favorite color? Mostly dark colors. Heaven forbid you get me something pastel pink!
6. What’s your lucky number? Anything printed on money in my wallet works for me...
7. Do you have any pets? Does family count?....then no.
8. Where are you from? My parents.
9. How tall are you? Average for a person of my age.
10. What shoe size are you? Too big to find a decent pair of fancy shoes.
11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? Five-ish. Slippers count, right?
12. What was your last dream about? Making enough money to take an actual vacation instead of two days off in a row.
13. What talents do you have? I try not to kill stupid people at work and so far…..SUCCESS!
14. Are you psychic in any way? I knew you were gonna ask that….
15. Favorite song? Whatever is currently an earworm from the radio that plays continuously in my head most days.
16. Favorite movie? Do I have to pick just one? FINE! It’s….none right now cause I have no time to watch anything since picking up a second job. Adulting is hard.
17. Who would be your ideal partner? One who pays their own way instead of putting the weight of their emotional and monetary issues onto me.
18. Do you want children? Most days...YES! Those with little to no sleep…..I don’t even want to take care of myself let alone a child.
19. Do you want a church wedding? EMPHATICALLY NO!
20. Are you religious? I’m more of a spiritualist. I believe that everyone had the right to their own beliefs and practices but don’t try to force me to conform to your ideals because “My deity” believes you should be like me.
21. Have you ever been to the hospital? Unfortunately.
22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? Not so much.
23. Have you ever met any celebrities? Met personally, yes cause of convention OPS.
24. Baths or showers? Why not both? Start in one and finish in another...
25. What color socks are you wearing? Flesh colored because they invisible for my sandals...
26. Have you ever been famous? Not something I wish for so no….
27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? Pay-grade...yes. Notoriety, paparazzi, stalkers, taxes, fake friends and family….no thanks.
28. What type of music do you like? Not much.
29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? Does taking a bath in a giant Jacuzzi count? Then no….
30. How many pillows do you sleep with? Three..so far but I am always willing to add more!
31. What position do you usually sleep in? I’m a roller so no one solid position for long.
32. How big is your house? No house, just apartment.
33. What do you typically have for breakfast? A nice big bowl of air.
34. Have you ever fired a gun? No and don’t wanna start either.
35. Have you ever tried archery? For shits and giggles at the Renaissance Fair.
36. Favorite clean word? Balls.
37. Favorite swear word? Shit.
38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep? 39 hours.
39. Do you have any scars? Too many for such a young life.
40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? Nope and it feels stalker-ish if I did have one...or was one.
41. Are you a good liar? Most days, with enough sleep...people believe I’m a kind and caring person every day.
42. Are you a good judge of character? Eh...could go either way most days.
43. Can you do any other accents other than your own? Yea and it annoys the fuck out of my friends when I refuse to use my “normal” voice.
44. Do you have a strong accent? Not so much.
45. What is your favorite accent? Irish/Scottish but I can do Jersey in a heartbeat if you cross me.
46. What is your personality type? My own unique style.
47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing? Forty dollar shoes count, right?
48. Can you curl your tongue? No. Why would I want to?
49. Are you an innie or an outie? I like to stay indoors. I burn easily.
50. Left or right handed? Both if I’m super hungry.
51. Are you scared of spiders? FUCK YEA! I’ve been chased by the little bastards.
52. Favorite food? Anything involving cheese is a good start.
53. Favorite foreign food? Thai noodles. Hands down, you have a bowl for me...I’m yours for life.
54. Are you a clean or messy person? Clean at work (OCD kicks in HARD) and an organized mess at home.
55. Most used phrase? Son of a biscuit eater! (I usually hang around my 5-year old nephew).
56. Most used word? Fuck.
57. How long does it take for you to get ready? Most days, about 30 minutes. Special occasion...I start getting ready the night before.
58. Do you have much of an ego? Only in one aspect of my life. The rest, I’m a timid mouse with no voice.
59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? Neither. They kind suck. (ha ha ha...suck)
60. Do you talk to yourself? Most days, yes. When I answer back….RUN!
61. Do you sing to yourself? Always when at home or in the car. Shower’s a good place too.
62. Are you a good singer? No idea but no complaints from my car yet so YEA!
63. Biggest Fear? Fears are something I try not to think about cause I will likely overload and break down….in the middle of work...during rush hour.
64. Are you a gossip? I try not to be. Or so multiple people tell me.
65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen? Beetlejuice. What?! You die in the eighties and try having a weird family with a goth kid re-decorate your house and see how you like it!
66. Do you like long or short hair? Depends on the activity? You nasty people! I mean work or chilling at home...weirdos.
67. Can you name all 50 states of America? Yep and thanks to the song from elementary school, it’s in alphabetical order too!
68. Favorite school subject? Recess cause food and friends man.
69. Extrovert or Introvert? A little of both, depends on the group I’m in at the time.
70. Have you ever been scuba diving? Not for me man.
71. What makes you nervous? Stupid decisions. Most of the time, I back out of fully committing them.
72. Are you scared of the dark? No...are you?
73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? At work, yes. I ain’t got time for that shit. Off the clock...hell no. It’s entertaining as fuck.
74. Are you ticklish? Come here and find out. Just kidding. Don’t cause then I’ll have to punch you.
75. Have you ever started a rumor? Hasn’t everyone?
76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? Multiple times and let me tell you...adulting is hard.
77. Have you ever drank underage? Once on accident. I was 9. Thanks for the learning experience Grandpa.
78. Have you ever done drugs? Prescribed...yes. Other...HELL NO!
79. Who was your first real crush? A celebrity probably. I was young...heartache to heartache. Sorry, got off topic for a sec.
80. How many piercings do you have? Too many according to my mother.
81. Can you roll your Rs? Yea and it pisses my mom off when I do it randomly in a conversation.
82. How fast can you type? Faster than most, slower than the speedsters of literature.
83. How fast can you run? I only run for the ice cream truck.
84. What color is your hair? Currently...too many to count. I need to fix it soon.
85. What color is your eyes? Depends on my wardrobe but not black or violet.
86. What are you allergic to? Stupid people and their unending belief that they are doing just fine as they are.
87. Do you keep a journal? Does Tumblr count...then no.
88. What do your parents do? Be parents. What kind of question is that?
89. Do you like your age? No cause age is just the odometer of your life span.
90. What makes you angry? *See the above allergy answer*
91. Do you like your own name? Mostly unless someone is yelling it in my face.
92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? Cute ones but not weird like Apple or North. Why people!? Why?!
93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child? One of each mostly so they can be raised as equals in the game of life.
94. What are your strengths? Bad judgement calls and poor money handling skills.
95. What are your weaknesses? Peanut butter...thy mortal nemesis of my thighs.
96. How did you get your name? Parents named me it cause you know….reasons.
97. Were your ancestors royalty? Stubborn, thinks they are always right no matter what, lords power over everyone in family, SO MUCH DRAMA…..maybe.
98. Do you have any scars? Already answered this my dude.#39. Look it up.
99. Color of your bedspread? Dark...like my soul!
100. Color of your room? Like every other apartment...white as hell.
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How to Wake Up Early at 4:30am Everyday and Like it!
New Post has been published on http://jobsinthefuture.com/index.php/2017/12/06/how-to-wake-up-early-at-430am-everyday-and-like-it/
How to Wake Up Early at 4:30am Everyday and Like it!
Updated December 6, 2017
Since I started my waking up early routine I constantly have friends and family asking me, “How do you wake up that early, six days a week? I could never do that!” They often just assume I am this weird morning person who pops out of bed with tenacious energy ready to go on a 100 cycling journey, or do backflips down the street.
I don’t wake up early because I am inherently a morning person. I wake up early because I want to maximize creativity, efficiency, and honestly I just take awhile to get going in the mornings. So, if I woke up at say 7:15am when I have to be to work by 8am, I probably would be late A LOT! I have developed a early morning routine to take control of my day!
Today I am going to let you in on my top 5 secrets to waking up early six days a week!
1 ) Go to Bed Early/On Time
Now you might be thinking, “of course Ben. I could have figured that one out”. But how many times have you found yourself either bingeing on Netflix, social media, or my favorite past time Call of Duty. People crack jokes about these habits all the time, but it is NOT funny. You are wasting extremely valuable time that you will NEVER get back.
I like to get to bed before 10pm each day. Now if I am extra tired I try to hit the 9:30pm mark, or if my wife and I are out late with friends it lands around 10:30pm. You may be thinking “well that’s lame!”. But let me tell you, there is nothing lame about taking control of your day and accomplishing at least 2 hours of work and daily readings before anyone else even hits snooze. I like to get around 6 hours of sleep each night, so in order to do so I try and hit the 9:30 – 10:00pm mark!
2 ) Look Forward to the Reason You are Waking Up
Often when I hear someone saying they want to start developing a morning routine they say something to the effect of, “I am gonna get up at 4:30am, run 40 miles, and drink a gallon of strait carrot juice!”. Honestly that sounds AWFUL! I hate to run and I would never wake up at 4:30am to do so, that is grounds for disaster for me! Although I really enjoy riding my bicycle, but I would never do so at 4:30am. That is just not my jam!
Ok, to be fair, maybe this is what you would really really enjoy doing with your morning. My point is that you want to be sure you can sustain this morning routine. The best way to do this is by waking up and doing something you like to do.
I wake up each day and read the Bible, post a new article onto my Jobs in the Future, and prepare new articles and brain storm topics for the following day. It truly pulls me out of bed each morning because I LIKE TO DO SO!
My morning Routine:
Wake up by 4:30am
Brush Teeth
Stretch for 2-3 minutes (Very Important! gets my blood moving)
Drink 2 Cups of water from 4:30am – 6:30am (Big Berkey Water Filter)
Work on Jobs in the Future
Read the Bible (KJV – the old school on I use)
Eat a Solid Breakfast with my wife: Egg and a Bowl of Oatmeal
Half Cup of Oats (Best Organic Oats)
One Banana
Half an Apple
3 Spoons fulls of Protein Powder (Best Protein Powder EVER Click Here!)
Some salt and cinnamon
Take my Vitamins! (Garden of Life Mens Code)
Off to work at the office…
NOTE: I actually don’t drink any caffeine till about 8:15am when I sit down at my desk at the office. (Proof that it is all about a solid routine not loads and loads of caffeine)
3 ) Exercise Daily
This is something I heard a lot and I honestly did not want to do until I found a time that worked really well for me and I began to enjoy my daily exercise.
Each weekday I take 25 minutes before I go to lunch and I do a moderate fitness routine in my office. I lift 15 pound dumbbells, perform some strengthening exercises and stretch. All I am trying to do is re-energize my body, keep my strength up, and stay healthy! I am not looking to become the next Arnold Schwarzenegger, I just want to start alert and healthy!
My Workout Setup:
Nike Free Rn
Athletic Shorts
Random T-Shirt
Yoga Mat
15 LB Dumbbells
On the Weekends I go Cycling ( Brooks Leather Saddle )
4 ) Take a Day of Rest
Now this is absolutely the crucial aspect helping me to sustain a 4:30am daily wake up routine. I take one day off every week! Taking a day of rest not only is something I do in order to re-energize, but it is a part of my faith as a believer in Christ and the creator God. We have been instructed to work 6 days and rest the 7th and so I have decided to follow this command seriously and it has been very rewarding. I have energy, strength and inspiration on the days I wake up early!
On my day of rest, I TRULY REST! I sleep in till about 8am (which if you wake up at 4:30am daily this is sleeping in), I spend time with my family, attend our local church, take a bike ride occasionally, and almost always snag an hour nap (I never nap during the week).
#4 is very simple, yet highly effective! Many people might argue, You are wasting a WHOLE day of work and productivity, but I will argue that you have already got that time back by waking up early and working HARD the other six days! Take some rest!
Best books I have ever read on working hard:
Every Good Endeavor, by Tim Keller
So Good They Can’t Ignore You, by Cal Newport
5 ) Wake Up Early in 15 Minute Increments
This is the #1 most beneficial thing I have ever done. This is how I have been able to sustain waking early, consistently, for over 6 years. Say you want to wake up at 6:00am, but right now you sleep till 9:30am. You don’t want to just wake up at 6:00am for a couple of days, BURN OUT and then go back to your normal routine. That is why I recommend setting your alarm 15 minutes earlier each week to gradually reach your goal! I use to wake up around 9:30am everyday when I was in college and by the time I graduated I was waking up at 5:45am daily. I have now worked my way to 4:30am. sustainable consistency is the pathway to successfully rising early six days a week!
By doing this you will also program your body to wake up earlier naturally. I have found that over the years I usually wake up before my alarm even goes off. I end up using my alarm clock as a back up!
I Don’t rely on my phone! I use a super simple old school alarm clock just in case I don’t wake up a few minutes before my scheduled time:
RCA Digital Alarm Clock
Now if you want to get really high tech I would check out the Philips Wake Up Light. I have been wanting one of these for years!
Phillips Wake Up Light
So there you have it! If you have ever wondered how some of your friends get so much accomplished in a day, you now know it is all about the early morning routine!
Now that You are awake early it is time to maximize your productivity.
How to increase your income with one hour of skill development per day!
Final Notes:
It is really important to maintain a healthy diet to have sustainable energy throughout the day. I eat a lot organic fruits, sweet potatoes, peanut butter, unprocessed whole grain breads, drink about a gallon or more of water per day, and enjoy organic teas (Earl Grey is My favorite)
Please let me know if there is anything you do that helps you wake up early! I would love to hear your feedback!
Until next time.
-Ben Kaiser
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How Does Your Street Name Affect Home Values?
TorontoRealtyBlog
We’ve touched on this topic a few times over the years, and often had fun with some silly street names.
But there’s one street name, right here in Ontario, that’s not so funny.
Residents in rural Puslinch, Ontario are fighting to change the name of a particular “offensive” street name in their township right now, and meeting a little resistance along the way.
Let’s discuss, and then perhaps look at some of the more bizarre street names here in Toronto…
I sold a house last week on Runnymede Road in Bloor West Village, and the name of the street actually helped my clients secure the property.
Runnmede Road, as you probably know, is a busy street.
Busy streets, as you also know, affect the value of a home.
Apples to apples, nobody would choose to live on a busy street! And thus an identical house on a busy street, compared to a quiet street, would undoubtedly sell for less on the open market.
Runnymede Road is a busy street, but moreso north of Bloor Street.
The property my clients purchased is located just south of Bloor, and as Runnymede only begins one block south at Morningside Avenue, there is far, far less traffic on the street than on the section of Runnymede located north of Bloor.
I figured there were likely a lot of buyers, and perhaps buyer agents, who didn’t stop to check whether this house was south of Bloor, and simply assumed it was on the “really busy” stretch of road that takes you up to Dundas Street.
In the end, we figure the negative conotation of “Runnymede Road” may have saves us a bit of money, and probably saved us competing for the house.
I have all kinds of stories about street names in Toronto, some good, some bad.
You may have heard this one before – but years and years ago, I had a client who refused to look at a house on Gooch.
My clients were looking in Bloor West Village, and the proverbial “perfect home” came onto the market, and I sent them the listing.
The guy was all jazzed about the house, already asking about closing dates, and potential selling prices.
The girl, on the other hand, put her foot down.
“There’s absolutely no way in hell I’m living on a street called Gooch.”
I didn’t think she was serious at first; I figured it was that sort of “no way in hell” where maybe you’re just expressing your first impression, and then eventually you’ll warm to the idea.
But she explained, “The word ‘Gooch’ sounds like a combination of crotch, hooch, and one other I can’t even say out loud.”
She added that she feared what her grandmother might say when she told her the address.
So there’s a story about a bad street name, that you kind of have to laugh at.
If you read the papers over the weekend (raise your hand if you still get home delivery?), you probably read the story about the residents of a street in Puslinch, Ontario, who have petitioned the city to get the street name changed.
The street name in question?
Swastika Trail
The street was named back in the 1920’s, when the swastika was still a religious symbol, synonymous with good luck and prosperity.
As we all know, the Nazi Party in Germany eventually adopted the swastika as their dominant symbol, and the rest is history.
Swastika Trail has been in existence in this rural part of Ontario for nearly 100 years, but only now are residents trying to get the name changed.
There have been a half-dozen articles on this over the last few days, but the CBC article was the most complete. Check it out HERE.
I read that B’Nai Brith Canada was involved, and petitioning the Township of Puslinch to change the name, but it wasn’t until I read the CBC article that I became aware it was the residents themselves who reached out to B’Nai Brith Canada, and not the other way around.
Interestingly enough, there are residents who are against the name-change!
Who’d have thought?
Now is this the same thing as people being against the idea of changing the name, “Washington Redskins?”
Different? Same? Not the right topic for a real estate blog? Right.
Some interesting tid-bits from the CBC article include one resident on the street who encountered a seller on Ebay who wouldn’t honour her purchase, because the seller was Jewish and thought the resident was a white supremacist.
Another resident claims that a real estate agents have claimed people “didn’t have to use the street name Swastika Trail, they could substitute the rural route address.”
This proved to be false, of course. Imagine that – real estate agents being dishonest…
So I suppose the bigger question here is, “Should the street name be changed because it’s offensive?”
But as I said, then we get into a 2-part debate about whether the Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Washington Redskins, Kansas City Chiefs, Edmonton Eskimos, Florida State Seminoles, and a host of other teams need to change their names, as well as (and this is the more contentious part of the debate), which names and/or logos are offensive, and which aren’t.
The Cleveland Indians baseball team were established in 1901, and it was around 1932 that the team started using a characature of an indian as their primary logo.
The most well-known version of “Chief Wahoo,” which is a giant, smiling, red-faced indian cartoon, has appeared on the baseball team’s apparel since 1951, and is still in use today.
In recent years, there have been calls from all kinds of people, from all kinds of places, to cease using the “offensive” Chief Wahoo logo. The Washington Redskins took their battle to federal court. The Edmonton Eskimos are having their day in the court of public opinion as we speak.
So what do you make of the residents of Puslinch, Ontario, who don’t want the name “Swastika Trail” to be changed?
A pessmist would say, “They’re racist, or at the very least, insensitive.”
An optimist would say, “The swastika was made into an awful symbol, from what was formerly a great symbol. We want to make it great again; make it the symbol of prosperity and good fortune that it used to be.”
Some believe that the street name was established before the swastika logo was hijacked by evil. Now how does that compare with the idea that the Cleveland Indians logo or Washington Redskins’ name were created “in a different time,” that somehow shouldn’t be relevant today?
Are these situations the same? Different?
So that’s the part of the debate that we can’t solve, and forgive me for straying way off topic on what is (primarily…) a blog about real estate, but some context is necessary.
As for whether a street name can affect the value of homes in the area, well, I think that should be quite obvious at this point.
For the life of me, I don’t know who would buy a house on Swastika Trail. Even if the buyer doesn’t care about the name, they surely have to consider the implication it would have on resale value.
If I can tell the story of a buyer who wouldn’t buy on “Gooch Avenue,” then surely you can imaine the impact that “Swastika Trail” could have.
I wrote a blog back in 2015 where I talked about things other than the street name, such as the “half” street numbers, ie. 112 1/2 Main Street, the letters, ie. 97A Main Street and 97B Main Street, and the numbers of cultural significance, ie. the positive reaction to “8” and the negative reaction to “4.”
You can read that blog HERE if you’re curious.
And then there’s my 2013 video on funny street names in Toronto.
Have a look, and maybe even question why I decided to film this in the alleyway at my office, rather than just about any other place in the city that would have looked better…
youtube
Whether it’s the street name or the street number, they both can have a positive or negative affect on the valuation of the property.
I’ve seen home-owners who live on a corner lot go out of their way to change the address from one street to the other. “Sutherland” vs. “Bessborough,” for example. I recall a neighbour in Leaside undertaking to change the address of his/her house over a decade ago, and I honestly think it had a significant affect, maybe as much as 10%.
I often mock the idea of “luxury goods,” since I would derive zero added marginal utility from owning a Louis Vuitton bag, compared to one I bought at Sporting Life. But that’s me, and maybe I don’t represent the masses. If a majority of consumers do recognize an added utility and added value from a brand-name consumer good, then I can’t argue the value is real.
I’m no expert in consumer goods.
But I am an expert in real estate. So trust me when I say that the “brand name” of a particular street is a real thing.
Forget about Swastika Trail, or many of the ridiculous names you’ll find by Googling “funny street names” (most are related to male/female anatomy), but rather think about something more realistic in terms of your property search. Would you pay more, or less, for a different street name?
There are “brand name” streets in every neighbourhood.
Heward Avenue is often referred to as a “prime street” in Leslieville, so much so, in fact, that I believe there’s a premium placed on houses on that street, compared to, say, Winnifred Avenue, two streets over.
I mentioned “Bessborough Drive” above. That’s another great example of a real, identifiable premium for a street name.
So who, ultimately, creates that premium? Who decides on how much it is?
Buyers, of course.
So if you’re a buyer, the decision is yours.
Would you pay more, or less, for a given street name?
I’d love to hear about some real-life examples from the readers.
Oh – and weigh in on the Swastika Trail issue too, if you’re up for it…
The post How Does Your Street Name Affect Home Values? appeared first on Toronto Real Estate Property Sales & Investments | Toronto Realty Blog by David Fleming.
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If We Went on a Hike Today (+ a Call for Guest Posts!)
Hi friends! Once or twice a year, I like to share a list of general updates on my life and business. I used to call them our virtual coffee dates, but in line with the fact that I’ve been trying to get outside again more recently, I thought I’d take you on a virtual hike instead. :)
If I’m honest, I’ve felt a bit all over the map lately – ever since losing the girls. I’ll have a productive day followed by a day where I can’t seem to cross anything off my list; a happy day then a sad day. It comes in waves, like everyone said it would (and I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped walk me through this).
So, I’m writing this list for both of us. By giving you a glimpse at what’s been happening in my world, I hope to also get more clarity around what it is that I’m working towards. So many my ideas have been born on trails. I’m excited to share this virtual one with you.
If we were on a hike today:
I would pack a peanut butter sandwich, carrots, an apple and some trail mix, along with 1L of water with big slices of lemon and lime in it.
I would tell you the slow food experiment has been my favourite slow living experiment so far this year. I feel healthier and am sleeping better, and it’s also come with a number of non-health-related lessons. For example, cooking isn’t hard and it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. It takes trying a handful of new recipes to realize this, but it’s been so rewarding and now I feel genuinely excited to cook again. Oh, and compared to when I was a vegetarian in 2009-2013, it is so easy to switch to a vegan diet now! There are so many more options at grocery stores and restaurants. It’s been awesome to see. :)
I would offer to share a few of the recipes I’ve tried and enjoyed this month:
the Vietnamese rice noodle salad + ginger-sesame tofu from Thug Kitchen (borrowed from the library)
the sweet potato + avocado green salad from Minimalist Baker
this vegan alfredo sauce from Minimalist Baker, and
this smoothie bowl from Oh She Glows.
I would tell you that, aside from eating fish once, I’ve eaten a vegetarian (and often vegan) diet since June 30th – and I don’t see myself going back to eating meat anytime soon.
I would share that I’ve had to talk myself out of a lot of impulse purchases lately. I’m not entirely sure why I’ve been wanting to buy things, but I’m in a place where it’s easy to almost sell me on “needing” things. The good news is that even after submitting a couple orders, I’ve realized I don’t need those things and cancelled them. But I’m still journalling and trying to figure out what’s going on in my life that is making me want to shop at all. Stay tuned. I’ll write a post about it, once I figure it out.
Along that note, I would tell you I finally bought a desk! Or rather, I bought the base of an adjustable stand-up desk. This was definitely not an impulse purchase, as I’ve been living without a desk since March and was waiting until I found what I wanted. I’m still on the hunt for a tabletop but I have half a desk – which means I’m 50% closer to finally having an office at home! Hooray!
If we got on the subject, I would probably tell you I have finally started a more regular journalling practice. I currently have two going. The first is one I’ve modelled from the Five-Minute Journal, after Tammy told me how much gratitude it was bringing into her life. (Side note: I just wrote the prompts on the first page and follow them on regular lined paper after.) The other is just another regular journal that I’ve been writing some thoughts and observations in all year. It’s incredible how much this + therapy have helped me so far in 2017. It’s been a tough year, but I’m learning a lot about myself and can see how I’m changing every week.
I would rave about a podcast I just binge-listened to: Terrible, Thanks for Asking. The episodes are all interviews with people who have gone through tough things in life and who are willing to honestly answer the question: how are you? It’s hosted by Nora McInerny Purmort who is the author of It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too), which I am now listening to the audiobook version of. I would warn anyone who considers listening to the podcast that there could be some triggering language in it. I cried while listening to a few episodes. But it’s real. I can’t recommend them both enough.
Speaking of podcasts, I would also tell you about a few episodes of others that have been meaningful for me:
The Power of No with Oprah (Part 1 and Part 2) – Dear Sugar
Making Mindfulness Simple Again with Linda Esposito – The Slow Home Podcast
On Body Acceptance with Anna Guest-Jelley – Real Talk Radio
I might also remind you we’re halfway through the summer season of Budgets and Cents! ;)
On the business front, I would talk about how I’ve made a number of changes in mine. Aside from quitting freelancing in May, I also made the Mindful Budgeting Program FREE (it used to be $20). It feels odd to have intentionally removed two sources of income from my life, but the decision was exactly that: intentional.
For the rest of this year, I’ll be working on three big projects.
The book! The Year of Less comes out January 16th, and even though the actual writing and editing part is done, there’s a lot to do on the promotion side of things.
A program + community! Some people might call it a course, but I’m looking at this differently. There won’t be any quizzes or tests. Instead, there will be lessons and space/time for reflection. I’ll share more as I’m working on it, but look for this in October. I can’t wait. :)
A NEW podcast! Of all the things I’m working on, this is the one my friends have had to listen to me go on and on about. (I love you for listening, friends! And I will love YOU for listening when it comes out.) I’d love to launch this TODAY but am currently planning for it to start on January 2nd.
And finally, if we were on a hike, I would tell you I’m taking three days off this week while my adventure partner in crime and her two kids (my “niece” and “nephew”) visit me in Squamish! We plan to spend most of Tuesday up in Whistler, then will have a day in Squamish before they head back to Victoria. I can’t wait to see them all and explore more of my new home together. :)
What would you tell me if we were on a hike today?
A Call for Guest Posts: With so many fun projects in the works, I want to open up my digital home and invite pitches for guest posts. I’ll still be doing my slow living experiments and blogging 3-4 times/month, but would love to start sharing 1-2 stories written by other people in this community every month going forward. If you have an idea for a post you think would be fit here, email me! The only thing I ask is that it be a personal story with a lesson on any of the topics you normally read about here (money, shopping bans, minimalism, simple living, mindfulness, etc.) and that the final post be at least 1,000 words. This community is stronger because you’re in it. I can’t wait to see what you share with us!
If We Went on a Hike Today (+ a Call for Guest Posts!) posted first on cashforcarsperthblog.blogspot.com
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Survey #317
i’m tired as a motherfucker and don’t feel like thinking up some lyrics, so here, jus have the survey.
Have you volunteered in the past 6 months? No.
French fries or onion rings? French fries. I don't like onion rings.
Do you suffer from anxiety? Very badly.
Favorite healthy snack? "Apples and peanut butter are one of them." <<<< Same, actually. Good shit.
Favorite Disney movie? Forever and always The Lion King.
If you see a bee in your house.. are you going to kill it? I hate to say it, but I'm killing it.
Do you normally take a shower in the morning or at night? Morning.
Do you have a cat? Yeah.
What is your favorite animal? It will always be meerkats. Always.
Do you know what time you were born? 10:30 AM, I believe.
Do you like McDonalds? I'm gonna be real: I've never understood the McDonald's hate. I enjoy it perfectly fine. I mean it's certainly not gourmet, but I'll choose it over other fast food places sometimes. It's cheap and decent food, imo.
What's your favorite flower? Orchids.
Have you thought about joining the military? FUCK no.
Who is the person that has impacted your life the most? Given my PTSD, I think it's pretty obviously Jason.
Have you ever had a pet fish? Yeah, but not a lot. I never enjoyed them much.
Have you ever wanted to be on a game show? Not seriously, no. I wouldn't want to be on television.
Have you ever vaped? Nah.
Who was the last person to give you a hug? Either my niece or nephew.
Have you ever been on TV? I don't think so, no.
What's your favorite store in the mall? Hot Topic, ugggghhhhh take me there.
Has anyone ever told you that you have an accent? Yeah, especially when I was younger when I definitely did have a clear Southern accent.
Do you have any piercings? Yeah, six. I have been DYING for a new one lately...
How did your parents meet? Work.
What was your first word? "Dada."
Do you eat more healthy food or junk food? Somewhere in the middle, I'd say.
What do you spend too much money on? When it's my own money, tattoos. I think I'll be perfectly capable of doing it, but when I'm employed, I'm going to have to watch how much I invest into those.
What is a disturbing episode of an otherwise non-disturbing show? What is a disturbing show (or one you would describe as one) is enjoyable to you? Meeeh I don't watch enough for this.
What is the most memorable song in a movie? How about a show? Oh wow, I dunno. "Circle of Life" from TLK is a beauty, as is "Strangers Like Me" from Tarzan. There really are a lot. As for shows, "Carry On My Wayward Son" from Supernatural will immediately get fans screaming the lyrics, haha. However, I don't know if that song properly counts since it wasn't written just for the show, but whatever.
What is something you’re grateful for that humans have made/have continued to make exist? What about something that you wish that humans didn’t destroy? The Internet, whew. I wish humans would stop destroying the fucking environment. It's heartbreaking how many woods are wiped away here for construction, only to never be built on...
While evil men are commonly talked about, what woman would you consider the most evil? I don't know, but it would probably be a rapist or pedophile. Those are probably the people I abhor most.
Do you believe children can be evil? If so, what child from history do you believe to have been the most evil? I don't really think children are born evil, no. I've never heard of a diabolical baby or anything. I think the environment they are raised in molds them as they age. I don't know about the last question.
Name one way that music can be bad for humans. It can be depressing sometimes, actually dragging your mood down, especially if you already feel low.
What has been one of the most blatant advertising in a movie, show, or music video? Some of these questions are hard man, idfk lol.
What book have you read/listened to that “messed you up” (or made you have a lot of negative feelings afterward)? Johnny Got His Gun left me feeling so spiteful towards and disappointed in the world. It definitely made me feel down for a while.
If you have a pet, what is the best thing that you have for them (either a toy, a highly rated food, etc)? If you don’t have one but would like one, have you thought about what you would get your pet? We definitely don't have the money for "high quality" stuff. What works, works.
Did you ever know anyone who was (previously) a part of a cult? What cult? Were you ever a part of one? No.
What is something that is legal right now that really shouldn’t be? I'm stealing the previous person's answer by saying fireworks. They have a horrible effect on animals and PTSD victims and is just litter and a fire hazard.
What is a movie you consider successful/good that did not have high reviews? I'm not educated enough on movie rankings.
When you met the person you now like, what happened? We hugged and cried a bit lmao.
Did you realize anything today? No.
What do you want to do today? It'd be nice to get off my ass and get Emerson's birthday pictures into Lightroom so Ashley can finally have them...
Can you honestly say you’d risk your life for someone else? I know with certainty I would for some people.
Could you forgive a boyfriend or friend who physically hurt you? Ha, nope, byyyyeee~
What’s the cutest thing someone’s ever done for you? Ugh... So one night when I was lying down to go to bed but also texting Jason, I was being playful and joked for him to sing me to sleep. He sent me a video for "The Mortician's Daughter" by Black Veil Brides (one of his favorite bands) and just pasted the lyrics, and I thought it was the cutest fucking thing ever. I went to bed listening to it and just smiling. It's why I just don't listen to it anymore. I shouldn't have even talked about it, soooo next question.
What are the top five places you wish you could go before you die? Ummm South Africa, Yellowstone National Park, Germany, Alaska, and the Bahamas, maybe.
How many tattoos would you like to have? I'm gonna be a fuckin mural. I want tats pretty much everywhere.
What question do you hate to answer? "What do you like to do for fun?"
What's your favourite animated or cartoon program? Fullmetal Alchemist.
What do you think the greatest invention has been? Electricity.
What's your favourite movie quote? I dunno, I don't really have one.
Do you prefer digital or analogue clocks? Analogue clocks are way more elegant and can be beautifully decorated.
Who is your favorite foreign singer/musician? Do you translate his or her lyrics? If you exclude English-speaking foreign bands, like from the UK, Rammstein for sure. I can translate some of them.
Say something in a foreign language? "Liebe" means "love" in German.
What is a weather-type that you like that not many others do? Snow, for sure. I've never understood the "ew, snow" type of people. It's so pretty. Granted, it's rare here, so it's more of a treat down here, but still.
Who do you know personally that has a nice singing voice? Sara has a beautiful voice.
What was the last word you learned? I have no clue, given how bad my memory is becoming... It's hard for me to learn anything nowadays, because it doesn't stick.
What is your favorite culture? (that you find most interesting): I'll be honest, I'm not very well-informed on foreign cultures. Due to taking so many classes though, I do find German culture to be quite appealing. They are very serious about honesty (for example, telling someone you're okay when you're not is frowned upon in small talk, even), as well as manners. I would love to experience their lifestyle.
Have you ever watched anime porn? I've never watched porn to begin with.
If you got paid $3 million to smoke meth one time would you do it? Nope. I'm not risking addiction or death.
Are ladybugs cute? Yesssss.
Will you leave the house without fragrance on? Yeah, I usually do.
Do you make good money doing what you do? I'm unemployed. I've only ever worked minimum wage jobs.
What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries, yum. And kiwi.
What do you think of horses? I love them!
Are you doing something with your life that matters? Ugh, I don't feel like it.
Do you like gravy on your mashed potatoes? I hate gravy.
What is the dirtiest rap song you have ever heard? Nicole played "WAP" once when I was in the car and I wanted to die.
What about a dirty song in any other genre? "Bitches" by Hollywood Undead MIGHT be rap, but idk? What even is their genre???? But anyway, as much as I love the song, it's dirty as shit.
What is a genre of music you simply can't stand? Rap, generally.
What is, in your opinion, the best way of dealing with a break up? Lots and lots of self-care and focusing on loving yourself and realizing your worth lies in yourself and not another person.
What flavor of Doritos do you like best? Cool Ranch, of course.
Would you ever go to a comedy club? Yeah, sure.
Why is it that photography is becoming a trend? Because it's art, and people enjoy art????????
What is the funniest movie you have ever seen? White Chicks gets me way harder than it should lmao.
Would you ever consider dating someone who lived across the country? I guess, so long it was the plan that we'd eventually move in together, and effort was being made to achieve that once we got pretty serious.
Do you have a tattoo? If you do, describe the pain you went through when getting it done. Well, I have six, so I'll just talk about my first one, which was on my wrist. It really isn't bad, especially once you've adjusted to the pain. I think the best metaphor would be that it's like lightly pinching a cat scratch. Outlining is the worst part, imo.
What is your favorite bookstore? I don't have one.
Who was the last person to tell you that you were cute? I have no idea.
When was the last time you had a fever? How high did it go? Oh, I couldn't tell you. Those are very rare for me.
How many times do you think that you’ve truly been in love before? With who? Twice, with Jason and Sara.
Do you prefer French kissing, or regular kissing more, and why? I mean, this depends on the mood as well as how serious we are.
Have you ever been married before? How many times? No.
Who do you know that gives the best hugs? Summer has always been a big, strong hugger like I am.
Have you ever dated someone of the same gender before? Yeah.
Who do you consider to be your hero? My mom.
Who is your best friend? Tell us about them. Sara. She's a very caring, strong, creative, just overall amazing person who stands firmly for what she feels is right, and we can't forget about her incredible loyalty, nor her absolute adoration for animals, reptiles especially.
How much did your car cost? I don't have my own car.
What is the last picture you received on your phone of? Sara sent me a photo of Martha, her ball python.
Do you have any friends that actually model? No.
Do you keep condoms in your room? No, considering I have no reason to.
Do you follow any special diet? (dairy free, vegetarian, gluten free etc.) No, but I desperately want to return to being vegetarian. Vegan would be even better, but I know I'm absolutely not capable of that.
What is an appliance you don’t have, but would love to have? uhhhhh
Which keys on your keyboard are worn out the most? My "a," "s," and "d" from gaming.
If you could be any supervillain, which would you be? Ha, I could probably pull off Harley Quinn pretty easily. Though "super"villain sounds a bit strong for her.
What’s the most historic thing that has happened in your lifetime? Either Covid or 9/11, probably.
What’s the scariest non-horror movie? I personally think the idea behind Johnny Got His Gun is fucking terrifying.
What’s the most amazing true story you’ve heard? More beautiful than "amazing," but whatever. I can't think of anything else. Jason's mother actually left his father to go back home to New York when he cheated on her, but he followed her all the way there, and they wound up reconciling and were very happily married since. They were a spectacular couple, and I miss them a lot.
What brand are you most loyal to? I have no idea. It's hard to be loyal to any when you're not the one buying products.
Where are you not welcome anymore? Well, speaking of him, probably Jason's house, haha... I feel that if I just showed up there, his parents would honestly be super happy to see me and want to catch up, but Jason, not so much. I doubt Colleen would welcome me into her house, either.
What’s the most recent show you’ve binge-watched? Avatar: The Last Airbender w/ Sara.
What’s a common experience for many people that you’ve never experienced? Just... adult stuff. Paying bills. Having a stable job. Passing their driver's test.
What are some misconceptions about your hobby? We'll use forum roleplay here, in which case I know a very common misconception is that it's sexual in nature and is a kink. It's never been that for me. It's about building unique, complex characters in a vast universe of your creativity, meshing with other's. It's a beautiful thing to me.
What’s the dumbest thing someone has argued with you about? Oh, I'm sure something with Mom... because she is absolutely never wrong.
What’s the longest rabbit hole you’ve been down? Conspiracy theories on YouTube, aha...
What odd smell do you really enjoy? I really enjoy the smell of lilacs, though I know people who think they smell too strong and/or just stink.
If you had a HUD that showed three stats about any person you looked at, what three stats would you want it to show? Hm, interesting question. Maybe approachability, moral alignment, and mood.
What is your favorite flavor of pop tart? I really like the chocolate sundae ones.
Gum? I really like fruit-flavored gums, especially watermelon or strawberry.
Last song you sang along to? I sang a bit to "Second Chance" by Shinedown.
Are you fascinated by rivers? Yeah, sure. Streams, more specifically, because you can see the bottom and walk more safely in them. I love exploring those.
Do you live near a volcano? No, and I plan on keeping it that way, haha.
How big is the screen on your digital camera? I dunno, the normal size for a Canon?
Do you find train whistles comforting? No.
What bird is the cutest? Oh, that's so hard. I love the pastel-colored ones, and hummingbirds are like, universally cute.
Are you scared to look at your own organs on x-ray or ultrasound? No, that's actually really cool.
Do big eyes freak you out? On people? Generally, no. I tend to find them cute, actually, especially on girls, but I've definitely seen people with big eyes that instead look kinda creepy.
Have you ever walked on a frozen lake/river? Hm, I'm actually not sure. I don't believe so, though.
Have you ever held a real sword? No.
Have you ever seen a tree over 100 years old? Uh, realistically, probably? That's not that old in the grand scheme of trees, is it?
Do you feel uncomfortable at fancy restaurants? I can sometimes, yes. I feel very out-of-place.
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If We Went on a Hike Today (+ a Call for Guest Posts!)
Hi friends! Once or twice a year, I like to share a list of general updates on my life and business. I used to call them our virtual coffee dates, but in line with the fact that I’ve been trying to get outside again more recently, I thought I’d take you on a virtual hike instead. :)
If I’m honest, I’ve felt a bit all over the map lately – ever since losing the girls. I’ll have a productive day followed by a day where I can’t seem to cross anything off my list; a happy day then a sad day. It comes in waves, like everyone said it would (and I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped walk me through this).
So, I’m writing this list for both of us. By giving you a glimpse at what’s been happening in my world, I hope to also get more clarity around what it is that I’m working towards. So many my ideas have been born on trails. I’m excited to share this virtual one with you.
If we were on a hike today:
I would pack a peanut butter sandwich, carrots, an apple and some trail mix, along with 1L of water with big slices of lemon and lime in it.
I would tell you the slow food experiment has been my favourite slow living experiment so far this year. I feel healthier and am sleeping better, and it’s also come with a number of non-health-related lessons. For example, cooking isn’t hard and it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. It takes trying a handful of new recipes to realize this, but it’s been so rewarding and now I feel genuinely excited to cook again. Oh, and compared to when I was a vegetarian in 2009-2013, it is so easy to switch to a vegan diet now! There are so many more options at grocery stores and restaurants. It’s been awesome to see. :)
I would offer to share a few of the recipes I’ve tried and enjoyed this month:
the Vietnamese rice noodle salad + ginger-sesame tofu from Thug Kitchen (borrowed from the library)
the sweet potato + avocado green salad from Minimalist Baker
this vegan alfredo sauce from Minimalist Baker, and
this smoothie bowl from Oh She Glows.
I would tell you that, aside from eating fish once, I’ve eaten a vegetarian (and often vegan) diet since June 30th – and I don’t see myself going back to eating meat anytime soon.
I would share that I’ve had to talk myself out of a lot of impulse purchases lately. I’m not entirely sure why I’ve been wanting to buy things, but I’m in a place where it’s easy to almost sell me on “needing” things. The good news is that even after submitting a couple orders, I’ve realized I don’t need those things and cancelled them. But I’m still journalling and trying to figure out what’s going on in my life that is making me want to shop at all. Stay tuned. I’ll write a post about it, once I figure it out.
Along that note, I would tell you I finally bought a desk! Or rather, I bought the base of an adjustable stand-up desk. This was definitely not an impulse purchase, as I’ve been living without a desk since March and was waiting until I found what I wanted. I’m still on the hunt for a tabletop but I have half a desk – which means I’m 50% closer to finally having an office at home! Hooray!
If we got on the subject, I would probably tell you I have finally started a more regular journalling practice. I currently have two going. The first is one I’ve modelled from the Five-Minute Journal, after Tammy told me how much gratitude it was bringing into her life. (Side note: I just wrote the prompts on the first page and follow them on regular lined paper after.) The other is just another regular journal that I’ve been writing some thoughts and observations in all year. It’s incredible how much this + therapy have helped me so far in 2017. It’s been a tough year, but I’m learning a lot about myself and can see how I’m changing every week.
I would rave about a podcast I just binge-listened to: Terrible, Thanks for Asking. The episodes are all interviews with people who have gone through tough things in life and who are willing to honestly answer the question: how are you? It’s hosted by Nora McInerny Purmort who is the author of It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too), which I am now listening to the audiobook version of. I would warn anyone who considers listening to the podcast that there could be some triggering language in it. I cried while listening to a few episodes. But it’s real. I can’t recommend them both enough.
Speaking of podcasts, I would also tell you about a few episodes of others that have been meaningful for me:
The Power of No with Oprah (Part 1 and Part 2) – Dear Sugar
Making Mindfulness Simple Again with Linda Esposito – The Slow Home Podcast
On Body Acceptance with Anna Guest-Jelley – Real Talk Radio
I might also remind you we’re halfway through the summer season of Budgets and Cents! ;)
On the business front, I would talk about how I’ve made a number of changes in mine. Aside from quitting freelancing in May, I also made the Mindful Budgeting Program FREE (it used to be $20). It feels odd to have intentionally removed two sources of income from my life, but the decision was exactly that: intentional.
For the rest of this year, I’ll be working on three big projects.
The book! The Year of Less comes out January 16th, and even though the actual writing and editing part is done, there’s a lot to do on the promotion side of things.
A program + community! Some people might call it a course, but I’m looking at this differently. There won’t be any quizzes or tests. Instead, there will be lessons and space/time for reflection. I’ll share more as I’m working on it, but look for this in October. I can’t wait. :)
A NEW podcast! Of all the things I’m working on, this is the one my friends have had to listen to me go on and on about. (I love you for listening, friends! And I will love YOU for listening when it comes out.) I’d love to launch this TODAY but am currently planning for it to start on January 2nd.
And finally, if we were on a hike, I would tell you I’m taking three days off this week while my adventure partner in crime and her two kids (my “niece” and “nephew”) visit me in Squamish! We plan to spend most of Tuesday up in Whistler, then will have a day in Squamish before they head back to Victoria. I can’t wait to see them all and explore more of my new home together. :)
What would you tell me if we were on a hike today?
A Call for Guest Posts: With so many fun projects in the works, I want to open up my digital home and invite pitches for guest posts. I’ll still be doing my slow living experiments and blogging 3-4 times/month, but would love to start sharing 1-2 stories written by other people in this community every month going forward. If you have an idea for a post you think would be fit here, email me! The only thing I ask is that it be a personal story with a lesson on any of the topics you normally read about here (money, shopping bans, minimalism, simple living, mindfulness, etc.) and that the final post be at least 1,000 words. This community is stronger because you’re in it. I can’t wait to see what you share with us!
If We Went on a Hike Today (+ a Call for Guest Posts!) posted first on http://ift.tt/2lnwIdQ
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If We Went on a Hike Today (+ a Call for Guest Posts!)
Hi friends! Once or twice a year, I like to share a list of general updates on my life and business. I used to call them our virtual coffee dates, but in line with the fact that I’ve been trying to get outside again more recently, I thought I’d take you on a virtual hike instead. :)
If I’m honest, I’ve felt a bit all over the map lately – ever since losing the girls. I’ll have a productive day followed by a day where I can’t seem to cross anything off my list; a happy day then a sad day. It comes in waves, like everyone said it would (and I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped walk me through this).
So, I’m writing this list for both of us. By giving you a glimpse at what’s been happening in my world, I hope to also get more clarity around what it is that I’m working towards. So many my ideas have been born on trails. I’m excited to share this virtual one with you.
If we were on a hike today:
I would pack a peanut butter sandwich, carrots, an apple and some trail mix, along with 1L of water with big slices of lemon and lime in it.
I would tell you the slow food experiment has been my favourite slow living experiment so far this year. I feel healthier and am sleeping better, and it’s also come with a number of non-health-related lessons. For example, cooking isn’t hard and it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. It takes trying a handful of new recipes to realize this, but it’s been so rewarding and now I feel genuinely excited to cook again. Oh, and compared to when I was a vegetarian in 2009-2013, it is so easy to switch to a vegan diet now! There are so many more options at grocery stores and restaurants. It’s been awesome to see. :)
I would offer to share a few of the recipes I’ve tried and enjoyed this month:
the Vietnamese rice noodle salad + ginger-sesame tofu from Thug Kitchen (borrowed from the library)
the sweet potato + avocado green salad from Minimalist Baker
this vegan alfredo sauce from Minimalist Baker, and
this smoothie bowl from Oh She Glows.
I would tell you that, aside from eating fish once, I’ve eaten a vegetarian (and often vegan) diet since June 30th – and I don’t see myself going back to eating meat anytime soon.
I would share that I’ve had to talk myself out of a lot of impulse purchases lately. I’m not entirely sure why I’ve been wanting to buy things, but I’m in a place where it’s easy to almost sell me on “needing” things. The good news is that even after submitting a couple orders, I’ve realized I don’t need those things and cancelled them. But I’m still journalling and trying to figure out what’s going on in my life that is making me want to shop at all. Stay tuned. I’ll write a post about it, once I figure it out.
Along that note, I would tell you I finally bought a desk! Or rather, I bought the base of an adjustable stand-up desk. This was definitely not an impulse purchase, as I’ve been living without a desk since March and was waiting until I found what I wanted. I’m still on the hunt for a tabletop but I have half a desk – which means I’m 50% closer to finally having an office at home! Hooray!
If we got on the subject, I would probably tell you I have finally started a more regular journalling practice. I currently have two going. The first is one I’ve modelled from the Five-Minute Journal, after Tammy told me how much gratitude it was bringing into her life. (Side note: I just wrote the prompts on the first page and follow them on regular lined paper after.) The other is just another regular journal that I’ve been writing some thoughts and observations in all year. It’s incredible how much this + therapy have helped me so far in 2017. It’s been a tough year, but I’m learning a lot about myself and can see how I’m changing every week.
I would rave about a podcast I just binge-listened to: Terrible, Thanks for Asking. The episodes are all interviews with people who have gone through tough things in life and who are willing to honestly answer the question: how are you? It’s hosted by Nora McInerny Purmort who is the author of It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too), which I am now listening to the audiobook version of. I would warn anyone who considers listening to the podcast that there could be some triggering language in it. I cried while listening to a few episodes. But it’s real. I can’t recommend them both enough.
Speaking of podcasts, I would also tell you about a few episodes of others that have been meaningful for me:
The Power of No with Oprah (Part 1 and Part 2) – Dear Sugar
Making Mindfulness Simple Again with Linda Esposito – The Slow Home Podcast
On Body Acceptance with Anna Guest-Jelley – Real Talk Radio
I might also remind you we’re halfway through the summer season of Budgets and Cents! ;)
On the business front, I would talk about how I’ve made a number of changes in mine. Aside from quitting freelancing in May, I also made the Mindful Budgeting Program FREE (it used to be $20). It feels odd to have intentionally removed two sources of income from my life, but the decision was exactly that: intentional.
For the rest of this year, I’ll be working on three big projects.
The book! The Year of Less comes out January 16th, and even though the actual writing and editing part is done, there’s a lot to do on the promotion side of things.
A program + community! Some people might call it a course, but I’m looking at this differently. There won’t be any quizzes or tests. Instead, there will be lessons and space/time for reflection. I’ll share more as I’m working on it, but look for this in October. I can’t wait. :)
A NEW podcast! Of all the things I’m working on, this is the one my friends have had to listen to me go on and on about. (I love you for listening, friends! And I will love YOU for listening when it comes out.) I’d love to launch this TODAY but am currently planning for it to start on January 2nd.
And finally, if we were on a hike, I would tell you I’m taking three days off this week while my adventure partner in crime and her two kids (my “niece” and “nephew”) visit me in Squamish! We plan to spend most of Tuesday up in Whistler, then will have a day in Squamish before they head back to Victoria. I can’t wait to see them all and explore more of my new home together. :)
What would you tell me if we were on a hike today?
A Call for Guest Posts: With so many fun projects in the works, I want to open up my digital home and invite pitches for guest posts. I’ll still be doing my slow living experiments and blogging 3-4 times/month, but would love to start sharing 1-2 stories written by other people in this community every month going forward. If you have an idea for a post you think would be fit here, email me! The only thing I ask is that it be a personal story with a lesson on any of the topics you normally read about here (money, shopping bans, minimalism, simple living, mindfulness, etc.) and that the final post be at least 1,000 words. This community is stronger because you’re in it. I can’t wait to see what you share with us!
If We Went on a Hike Today (+ a Call for Guest Posts!) posted first on http://ift.tt/2sSbQiu
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How Does Your Street Name Affect Home Values?
TorontoRealtyBlog
We’ve touched on this topic a few times over the years, and often had fun with some silly street names.
But there’s one street name, right here in Ontario, that’s not so funny.
Residents in rural Puslinch, Ontario are fighting to change the name of a particular “offensive” street name in their township right now, and meeting a little resistance along the way.
Let’s discuss, and then perhaps look at some of the more bizarre street names here in Toronto…
I sold a house last week on Runnymede Road in Bloor West Village, and the name of the street actually helped my clients secure the property.
Runnmede Road, as you probably know, is a busy street.
Busy streets, as you also know, affect the value of a home.
Apples to apples, nobody would choose to live on a busy street! And thus an identical house on a busy street, compared to a quiet street, would undoubtedly sell for less on the open market.
Runnymede Road is a busy street, but moreso north of Bloor Street.
The property my clients purchased is located just south of Bloor, and as Runnymede only begins one block south at Morningside Avenue, there is far, far less traffic on the street than on the section of Runnymede located north of Bloor.
I figured there were likely a lot of buyers, and perhaps buyer agents, who didn’t stop to check whether this house was south of Bloor, and simply assumed it was on the “really busy” stretch of road that takes you up to Dundas Street.
In the end, we figure the negative conotation of “Runnymede Road” may have saves us a bit of money, and probably saved us competing for the house.
I have all kinds of stories about street names in Toronto, some good, some bad.
You may have heard this one before – but years and years ago, I had a client who refused to look at a house on Gooch.
My clients were looking in Bloor West Village, and the proverbial “perfect home” came onto the market, and I sent them the listing.
The guy was all jazzed about the house, already asking about closing dates, and potential selling prices.
The girl, on the other hand, put her foot down.
“There’s absolutely no way in hell I’m living on a street called Gooch.”
I didn’t think she was serious at first; I figured it was that sort of “no way in hell” where maybe you’re just expressing your first impression, and then eventually you’ll warm to the idea.
But she explained, “The word ‘Gooch’ sounds like a combination of crotch, hooch, and one other I can’t even say out loud.”
She added that she feared what her grandmother might say when she told her the address.
So there’s a story about a bad street name, that you kind of have to laugh at.
If you read the papers over the weekend (raise your hand if you still get home delivery?), you probably read the story about the residents of a street in Puslinch, Ontario, who have petitioned the city to get the street name changed.
The street name in question?
Swastika Trail
The street was named back in the 1920’s, when the swastika was still a religious symbol, synonymous with good luck and prosperity.
As we all know, the Nazi Party in Germany eventually adopted the swastika as their dominant symbol, and the rest is history.
Swastika Trail has been in existence in this rural part of Ontario for nearly 100 years, but only now are residents trying to get the name changed.
There have been a half-dozen articles on this over the last few days, but the CBC article was the most complete. Check it out HERE.
I read that B’Nai Brith Canada was involved, and petitioning the Township of Puslinch to change the name, but it wasn’t until I read the CBC article that I became aware it was the residents themselves who reached out to B’Nai Brith Canada, and not the other way around.
Interestingly enough, there are residents who are against the name-change!
Who’d have thought?
Now is this the same thing as people being against the idea of changing the name, “Washington Redskins?”
Different? Same? Not the right topic for a real estate blog? Right.
Some interesting tid-bits from the CBC article include one resident on the street who encountered a seller on Ebay who wouldn’t honour her purchase, because the seller was Jewish and thought the resident was a white supremacist.
Another resident claims that a real estate agents have claimed people “didn’t have to use the street name Swastika Trail, they could substitute the rural route address.”
This proved to be false, of course. Imagine that – real estate agents being dishonest…
So I suppose the bigger question here is, “Should the street name be changed because it’s offensive?”
But as I said, then we get into a 2-part debate about whether the Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Washington Redskins, Kansas City Chiefs, Edmonton Eskimos, Florida State Seminoles, and a host of other teams need to change their names, as well as (and this is the more contentious part of the debate), which names and/or logos are offensive, and which aren’t.
The Cleveland Indians baseball team were established in 1901, and it was around 1932 that the team started using a characature of an indian as their primary logo.
The most well-known version of “Chief Wahoo,” which is a giant, smiling, red-faced indian cartoon, has appeared on the baseball team’s apparel since 1951, and is still in use today.
In recent years, there have been calls from all kinds of people, from all kinds of places, to cease using the “offensive” Chief Wahoo logo. The Washington Redskins took their battle to federal court. The Edmonton Eskimos are having their day in the court of public opinion as we speak.
So what do you make of the residents of Puslinch, Ontario, who don’t want the name “Swastika Trail” to be changed?
A pessmist would say, “They’re racist, or at the very least, insensitive.”
An optimist would say, “The swastika was made into an awful symbol, from what was formerly a great symbol. We want to make it great again; make it the symbol of prosperity and good fortune that it used to be.”
Some believe that the street name was established before the swastika logo was hijacked by evil. Now how does that compare with the idea that the Cleveland Indians logo or Washington Redskins’ name were created “in a different time,” that somehow shouldn’t be relevant today?
Are these situations the same? Different?
So that’s the part of the debate that we can’t solve, and forgive me for straying way off topic on what is (primarily…) a blog about real estate, but some context is necessary.
As for whether a street name can affect the value of homes in the area, well, I think that should be quite obvious at this point.
For the life of me, I don’t know who would buy a house on Swastika Trail. Even if the buyer doesn’t care about the name, they surely have to consider the implication it would have on resale value.
If I can tell the story of a buyer who wouldn’t buy on “Gooch Avenue,” then surely you can imaine the impact that “Swastika Trail” could have.
I wrote a blog back in 2015 where I talked about things other than the street name, such as the “half” street numbers, ie. 112 1/2 Main Street, the letters, ie. 97A Main Street and 97B Main Street, and the numbers of cultural significance, ie. the positive reaction to “8” and the negative reaction to “4.”
You can read that blog HERE if you’re curious.
And then there’s my 2013 video on funny street names in Toronto.
Have a look, and maybe even question why I decided to film this in the alleyway at my office, rather than just about any other place in the city that would have looked better…
youtube
Whether it’s the street name or the street number, they both can have a positive or negative affect on the valuation of the property.
I’ve seen home-owners who live on a corner lot go out of their way to change the address from one street to the other. “Sutherland” vs. “Bessborough,” for example. I recall a neighbour in Leaside undertaking to change the address of his/her house over a decade ago, and I honestly think it had a significant affect, maybe as much as 10%.
I often mock the idea of “luxury goods,” since I would derive zero added marginal utility from owning a Louis Vuitton bag, compared to one I bought at Sporting Life. But that’s me, and maybe I don’t represent the masses. If a majority of consumers do recognize an added utility and added value from a brand-name consumer good, then I can’t argue the value is real.
I’m no expert in consumer goods.
But I am an expert in real estate. So trust me when I say that the “brand name” of a particular street is a real thing.
Forget about Swastika Trail, or many of the ridiculous names you’ll find by Googling “funny street names” (most are related to male/female anatomy), but rather think about something more realistic in terms of your property search. Would you pay more, or less, for a different street name?
There are “brand name” streets in every neighbourhood.
Heward Avenue is often referred to as a “prime street” in Leslieville, so much so, in fact, that I believe there’s a premium placed on houses on that street, compared to, say, Winnifred Avenue, two streets over.
I mentioned “Bessborough Drive” above. That’s another great example of a real, identifiable premium for a street name.
So who, ultimately, creates that premium? Who decides on how much it is?
Buyers, of course.
So if you’re a buyer, the decision is yours.
Would you pay more, or less, for a given street name?
I’d love to hear about some real-life examples from the readers.
Oh – and weigh in on the Swastika Trail issue too, if you’re up for it…
The post How Does Your Street Name Affect Home Values? appeared first on Toronto Real Estate Property Sales & Investments | Toronto Realty Blog by David Fleming.
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If We Went on a Hike Today (+ a Call for Guest Posts!)
Hi friends! Once or twice a year, I like to share a list of general updates on my life and business. I used to call them our virtual coffee dates, but in line with the fact that I’ve been trying to get outside again more recently, I thought I’d take you on a virtual hike instead. :)
If I’m honest, I’ve felt a bit all over the map lately – ever since losing the girls. I’ll have a productive day followed by a day where I can’t seem to cross anything off my list; a happy day then a sad day. It comes in waves, like everyone said it would (and I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped walk me through this).
So, I’m writing this list for both of us. By giving you a glimpse at what’s been happening in my world, I hope to also get more clarity around what it is that I’m working towards. So many my ideas have been born on trails. I’m excited to share this virtual one with you.
If we were on a hike today:
I would pack a peanut butter sandwich, carrots, an apple and some trail mix, along with 1L of water with big slices of lemon and lime in it.
I would tell you the slow food experiment has been my favourite slow living experiment so far this year. I feel healthier and am sleeping better, and it’s also come with a number of non-health-related lessons. For example, cooking isn’t hard and it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. It takes trying a handful of new recipes to realize this, but it’s been so rewarding and now I feel genuinely excited to cook again. Oh, and compared to when I was a vegetarian in 2009-2013, it is so easy to switch to a vegan diet now! There are so many more options at grocery stores and restaurants. It’s been awesome to see. :)
I would offer to share a few of the recipes I’ve tried and enjoyed this month:
the Vietnamese rice noodle salad + ginger-sesame tofu from Thug Kitchen (borrowed from the library)
the sweet potato + avocado green salad from Minimalist Baker
this vegan alfredo sauce from Minimalist Baker, and
this smoothie bowl from Oh She Glows.
I would tell you that, aside from eating fish once, I’ve eaten a vegetarian (and often vegan) diet since June 30th – and I don’t see myself going back to eating meat anytime soon.
I would share that I’ve had to talk myself out of a lot of impulse purchases lately. I’m not entirely sure why I’ve been wanting to buy things, but I’m in a place where it’s easy to almost sell me on “needing” things. The good news is that even after submitting a couple orders, I’ve realized I don’t need those things and cancelled them. But I’m still journalling and trying to figure out what’s going on in my life that is making me want to shop at all. Stay tuned. I’ll write a post about it, once I figure it out.
Along that note, I would tell you I finally bought a desk! Or rather, I bought the base of an adjustable stand-up desk. This was definitely not an impulse purchase, as I’ve been living without a desk since March and was waiting until I found what I wanted. I’m still on the hunt for a tabletop but I have half a desk – which means I’m 50% closer to finally having an office at home! Hooray!
If we got on the subject, I would probably tell you I have finally started a more regular journalling practice. I currently have two going. The first is one I’ve modelled from the Five-Minute Journal, after Tammy told me how much gratitude it was bringing into her life. (Side note: I just wrote the prompts on the first page and follow them on regular lined paper after.) The other is just another regular journal that I’ve been writing some thoughts and observations in all year. It’s incredible how much this + therapy have helped me so far in 2017. It’s been a tough year, but I’m learning a lot about myself and can see how I’m changing every week.
I would rave about a podcast I just binge-listened to: Terrible, Thanks for Asking. The episodes are all interviews with people who have gone through tough things in life and who are willing to honestly answer the question: how are you? It’s hosted by Nora McInerny Purmort who is the author of It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too), which I am now listening to the audiobook version of. I would warn anyone who considers listening to the podcast that there could be some triggering language in it. I cried while listening to a few episodes. But it’s real. I can’t recommend them both enough.
Speaking of podcasts, I would also tell you about a few episodes of others that have been meaningful for me:
The Power of No with Oprah (Part 1 and Part 2) – Dear Sugar
Making Mindfulness Simple Again with Linda Esposito – The Slow Home Podcast
On Body Acceptance with Anna Guest-Jelley – Real Talk Radio
I might also remind you we’re halfway through the summer season of Budgets and Cents! ;)
On the business front, I would talk about how I’ve made a number of changes in mine. Aside from quitting freelancing in May, I also made the Mindful Budgeting Program FREE (it used to be $20). It feels odd to have intentionally removed two sources of income from my life, but the decision was exactly that: intentional.
For the rest of this year, I’ll be working on three big projects.
The book! The Year of Less comes out January 16th, and even though the actual writing and editing part is done, there’s a lot to do on the promotion side of things.
A program + community! Some people might call it a course, but I’m looking at this differently. There won’t be any quizzes or tests. Instead, there will be lessons and space/time for reflection. I’ll share more as I’m working on it, but look for this in October. I can’t wait. :)
A NEW podcast! Of all the things I’m working on, this is the one my friends have had to listen to me go on and on about. (I love you for listening, friends! And I will love YOU for listening when it comes out.) I’d love to launch this TODAY but am currently planning for it to start on January 2nd.
And finally, if we were on a hike, I would tell you I’m taking three days off this week while my adventure partner in crime and her two kids (my “niece” and “nephew”) visit me in Squamish! We plan to spend most of Tuesday up in Whistler, then will have a day in Squamish before they head back to Victoria. I can’t wait to see them all and explore more of my new home together. :)
What would you tell me if we were on a hike today?
A Call for Guest Posts: With so many fun projects in the works, I want to open up my digital home and invite pitches for guest posts. I’ll still be doing my slow living experiments and blogging 3-4 times/month, but would love to start sharing 1-2 stories written by other people in this community every month going forward. If you have an idea for a post you think would be fit here, email me! The only thing I ask is that it be a personal story with a lesson on any of the topics you normally read about here (money, shopping bans, minimalism, simple living, mindfulness, etc.) and that the final post be at least 1,000 words. This community is stronger because you’re in it. I can’t wait to see what you share with us!
If We Went on a Hike Today (+ a Call for Guest Posts!) posted first on cashforcarsperthblog.blogspot.com
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If We Went on a Hike Today (+ a Call for Guest Posts!)
Hi friends! Once or twice a year, I like to share a list of general updates on my life and business. I used to call them our virtual coffee dates, but in line with the fact that I’ve been trying to get outside again more recently, I thought I’d take you on a virtual hike instead. :)
If I’m honest, I’ve felt a bit all over the map lately – ever since losing the girls. I’ll have a productive day followed by a day where I can’t seem to cross anything off my list; a happy day then a sad day. It comes in waves, like everyone said it would (and I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped walk me through this).
So, I’m writing this list for both of us. By giving you a glimpse at what’s been happening in my world, I hope to also get more clarity around what it is that I’m working towards. So many my ideas have been born on trails. I’m excited to share this virtual one with you.
If we were on a hike today:
I would pack a peanut butter sandwich, carrots, an apple and some trail mix, along with 1L of water with big slices of lemon and lime in it.
I would tell you the slow food experiment has been my favourite slow living experiment so far this year. I feel healthier and am sleeping better, and it’s also come with a number of non-health-related lessons. For example, cooking isn’t hard and it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. It takes trying a handful of new recipes to realize this, but it’s been so rewarding and now I feel genuinely excited to cook again. Oh, and compared to when I was a vegetarian in 2009-2013, it is so easy to switch to a vegan diet now! There are so many more options at grocery stores and restaurants. It’s been awesome to see. :)
I would offer to share a few of the recipes I’ve tried and enjoyed this month:
the Vietnamese rice noodle salad + ginger-sesame tofu from Thug Kitchen (borrowed from the library)
the sweet potato + avocado green salad from Minimalist Baker
this vegan alfredo sauce from Minimalist Baker, and
this smoothie bowl from Oh She Glows.
I would tell you that, aside from eating fish once, I’ve eaten a vegetarian (and often vegan) diet since June 30th – and I don’t see myself going back to eating meat anytime soon.
I would share that I’ve had to talk myself out of a lot of impulse purchases lately. I’m not entirely sure why I’ve been wanting to buy things, but I’m in a place where it’s easy to almost sell me on “needing” things. The good news is that even after submitting a couple orders, I’ve realized I don’t need those things and cancelled them. But I’m still journalling and trying to figure out what’s going on in my life that is making me want to shop at all. Stay tuned. I’ll write a post about it, once I figure it out.
Along that note, I would tell you I finally bought a desk! Or rather, I bought the base of an adjustable stand-up desk. This was definitely not an impulse purchase, as I’ve been living without a desk since March and was waiting until I found what I wanted. I’m still on the hunt for a tabletop but I have half a desk – which means I’m 50% closer to finally having an office at home! Hooray!
If we got on the subject, I would probably tell you I have finally started a more regular journalling practice. I currently have two going. The first is one I’ve modelled from the Five-Minute Journal, after Tammy told me how much gratitude it was bringing into her life. (Side note: I just wrote the prompts on the first page and follow them on regular lined paper after.) The other is just another regular journal that I’ve been writing some thoughts and observations in all year. It’s incredible how much this + therapy have helped me so far in 2017. It’s been a tough year, but I’m learning a lot about myself and can see how I’m changing every week.
I would rave about a podcast I just binge-listened to: Terrible, Thanks for Asking. The episodes are all interviews with people who have gone through tough things in life and who are willing to honestly answer the question: how are you? It’s hosted by Nora McInerny Purmort who is the author of It’s Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool Too), which I am now listening to the audiobook version of. I would warn anyone who considers listening to the podcast that there could be some triggering language in it. I cried while listening to a few episodes. But it’s real. I can’t recommend them both enough.
Speaking of podcasts, I would also tell you about a few episodes of others that have been meaningful for me:
The Power of No with Oprah (Part 1 and Part 2) – Dear Sugar
Making Mindfulness Simple Again with Linda Esposito – The Slow Home Podcast
On Body Acceptance with Anna Guest-Jelley – Real Talk Radio
I might also remind you we’re halfway through the summer season of Budgets and Cents! ;)
On the business front, I would talk about how I’ve made a number of changes in mine. Aside from quitting freelancing in May, I also made the Mindful Budgeting Program FREE (it used to be $20). It feels odd to have intentionally removed two sources of income from my life, but the decision was exactly that: intentional.
For the rest of this year, I’ll be working on three big projects.
The book! The Year of Less comes out January 16th, and even though the actual writing and editing part is done, there’s a lot to do on the promotion side of things.
A program + community! Some people might call it a course, but I’m looking at this differently. There won’t be any quizzes or tests. Instead, there will be lessons and space/time for reflection. I’ll share more as I’m working on it, but look for this in October. I can’t wait. :)
A NEW podcast! Of all the things I’m working on, this is the one my friends have had to listen to me go on and on about. (I love you for listening, friends! And I will love YOU for listening when it comes out.) I’d love to launch this TODAY but am currently planning for it to start on January 2nd.
And finally, if we were on a hike, I would tell you I’m taking three days off this week while my adventure partner in crime and her two kids (my “niece” and “nephew”) visit me in Squamish! We plan to spend most of Tuesday up in Whistler, then will have a day in Squamish before they head back to Victoria. I can’t wait to see them all and explore more of my new home together. :)
What would you tell me if we were on a hike today?
A Call for Guest Posts: With so many fun projects in the works, I want to open up my digital home and invite pitches for guest posts. I’ll still be doing my slow living experiments and blogging 3-4 times/month, but would love to start sharing 1-2 stories written by other people in this community every month going forward. If you have an idea for a post you think would be fit here, email me! The only thing I ask is that it be a personal story with a lesson on any of the topics you normally read about here (money, shopping bans, minimalism, simple living, mindfulness, etc.) and that the final post be at least 1,000 words. This community is stronger because you’re in it. I can’t wait to see what you share with us!
If We Went on a Hike Today (+ a Call for Guest Posts!) posted first on cashforcarsperthblog.blogspot.com
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