Tag Archives: family

Counting pennies

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When life throws you a bit of a speed bump the only thing you can do is gear down and take it slow. I am trying to live a simple life with the least impact on my wallet. Visiting friends and family is a great option to save some cash. However, if you have to go the distance you need to drive your car which means gas. There are other options I suppose: host family and friends at your place, take the bus, or asked to get picked up. I try to plan things close to my hood so that I can walk, but that does not always seem to work.

When you are invited over it is common courtesy to bring something whether it is wine, food, or even flowers. No matter which way you swing it you are spending money on something.

I’ve been lucky. I have great friends and family that understand my situation and have treated me to fabulous dinners and nights out. I am so appreciative for that! They know I will return the favour. In fact, this time around it is them returning the favour to me.

A few years ago I claimed my childhood piggy banks from my parents. Rather than continuing the collection I smashed those suckers opened with a hammer and a mighty swing. It was freeing. I was excited to count my fortune. But alas, those times of collecting pennies was just that. Those piggy banks were started and finished way before the beloved loonie and toonie arrived on the scene. Boooo….pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters, OH MY! I sorted and packed them in bags and tucked it all away in my storage unit for a rainy, desperate day.

Guess what!? That rainy, desperate day has arrived! I bought some sleeves to roll my coins. I decided to leave the huge task for when my husband arrives. I thought maybe a nice romantic night with wine and a fire would be optimal conditions for rolling coins.

I did manage to find and collect some loose change I have around my house. It did not look like much. After counting I realized I was sitting on a nice little nest egg of $20! Amazing! That’s many meals at IKEA!

Money is money. We need it to a certain extent. It can be found in bottom of purses, in cars, pockets and most of all it can be found in the graciousness of friends and family!

I might declare Sunday’s as Counting Pennies Day!

All you need is love

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Ah the realities of life. Flying off to the corners of the world to find love and romance can only last for so long. Disappearing from everyday realities like work, bills, and other commitments soon catch up with you. You can run, but you certainly cannot hide! Out of sight, out of mind. Not so much. Sooner or later you have to pull up those socks, reconnect, engage, and get back on the grid.

Over the length of 15 months I have only been back in Canada for four months. It has been challenging to find work when you have such little time to commit. The bills keep coming in but the good old paycheck is nowhere to be found. So you get creative.

You cash in on your karma points. Friends and family extend a helping hand. Lunches, coffees, dinners, etc. So nourishment is covered. But I cannot very well ask those same people to help out with the mortgage and the other bills.

When I was absent I was able to sublet my place. Thank goodness! That at least took care of the mortgage and other bills. So I suppose a few months of scary reality and no coin is a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things. Soon this single income household will be a double income family. AND, we will be contributing to the karma bucket by paying back those that have helped us out, a.k.a mom and dad.

That’s how this world works. You have to give a little to get a little. To keep those scales from tipping the fortunate help out the less fortunate. If we did a little more of that then the world scales would be a bit more balanced. I believe that those who are more fortunate and don’t share the wealth a bit have a very empty karma bucket and when they face times of struggle, they will be left to their own devices. Survival of the givers!

So rather than being sad, disappointed and filled with anxiety I am going to try to be grateful and show my gratitude the only way I know how and that is with a whole lotta LOVE. It’s free. It’s in abundance. And you don’t have to gift wrap it!

Thank you to ALL our friends and family who have jumped to the pump for us! We are so ever grateful for all your help and will always carry your love around in our front pocket. Times like these really reveal true colours and we are so blessed to have many, many, colourful souls in our lives!

Remember to fill your karma bucket and know that it is there for a reason! Be authentic. Be grateful. Be love!

To be continued

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June 13, 2010, our last night in our flat in Alex. Tomorrow we awake and make our way back to the family in Elisha. It is  only a two hour drive, so no big deal, and no stress. For someone who loves excitement and craves for a different scene constantly, change can be difficult for me sometimes. I grow attached to places, and people and things quickly and quite intensely. So tonight we relax, do a little packing, watch our last movie here and try to sleep.

Sometimes when you find yourself in a situation where you feel helpless and hopeless it is hard to see the good things. As we prepare to leave I find I am scrambling to make peace with myself and our departure.

This means I am that much closer to coming home to Canada and saying, “see you later” to my husband. We never say goodbye because we never are truly leaving each other. I remain in his heart and he in mine.

I will have no access to internet for the next two weeks, but I certainly will have pen and paper. Once I arrive back home in Canada I will continue with this blog. You see, although I will not physically be in Egypt, it will always be in my heart. When I married my husband I also invited his country, culture and traditions to come hang out with mine. The melding of two worlds has begun, and it will continue, for the rest of our lives together.

I will always be living a big, fat, Egyptian life but now will be adding a little bit of Canadian bacon to it ;)

The top 10 cool things about Egypt is not over! I still have some time left here to gather a few more of those experiences.

I am looking forward to returning home to Elisha to see the MANY children!  Although only two hours away, the last time we saw each other was over two months ago!

So, stay tuned. The next episode will soon be airing!