I seem to have fallen off the Blogwagon. I've updated our Mini Holiday side bar and I'm pleased to report that we have saved $467 for our little mini getaway! That is 63% of our goal. Really, I am just super pleased that we were able to save anything for this trip. We have never saved for a weekend away before. This is has been a super experience for us thus far. The $740 was an estimate for the fanciest of fancy weekends away, we will do just fine with 467 bucks! The only thing getting me through this week is knowing that come Friday I will be relaxing in a nice hotel with a beverage in my hand lazily watching TV.

I have started to take a new medication that has 'drowsiness' listed as a side effect. & it for sure makes me sleepy. I've been going to sleep every night at 9 or 10 PM or even earlier. I've been sleeping right through to the morning. Sleeping this much has not left me much time for blogging or the internet (or cleaning or personal admin stuff). I have an appt with my doctor on Wednesday and I am going to be mentioning the drowsiness to him and hoping there is something we can do about this, because I don't want to be sleeping this much all the time.

We have signed the commitment for the refinancing of the mortgage. Now we are just waiting for it all to go through and to meet with the lawyer to sign the papers. I can't wait for it all to go through. It will cover paying the Car Loan, and our misc cc debt and about half of the Consolidation Loan. With what we are saving in monthly payments we will be able to aggressively tackle the Consolidation Loan and the LOC and if all goes according to plan be consumer debt free in 1 year. After that we are going to concentrate heavily on EF saving and planned spending saving while also throwing money on the mortgage.

Tomorrow I'm going to do the interview that Nic left for me in my last comments. I'm already starting to think of answers. Cheers, I'm off to sleep now...

Does anyone else watch the Dragons Den on CBC? Dragons Den is a Canadian show that has 5 successful businesspeople that entertain pitches from struggling entrepreneurs needing money to start up or continue or expand their business. If the Dragons like what they see and hear they will put their own money up for a share in the business.

Me and S really like this show. Conveniently CBC Newsworld runs repeats of the show at 8 AM on Saturday mornings (the one morning we have to ourselves because Andrew has usually spent the night at Grandma and Grandpas the night before). I find myself waking up at 8 AM just so I can watch it. :P (Although, the last 2 weeks it has not been on and it's made me sad. Very sad)

I am absolutely fascinated and enamored with the lone female Dragon, Arlene Dickinson. This is what the CBC website says about her business savvy, "Early in her marketing career, Arlene Dickinson skillfully turned the glass ceiling into a floor. Today, she is one of Canada's most renowned independent marketing communications entrepreneurs, having grown her company, Venture Communications, into a strategic and creative powerhouse for a blue-chip client list, including Western Canada Lotteries, Toyota (Prairies), Unilever, Encana and Forzani Group Ltd." She is so well spoken and has such a presence!

I love the CBC.

PS. S has found a torrent for a Dragons Den UK. We're downloading it right now. I'm quite excited.

I just want to wish everyone a wonderful Valentine's Day however you are spending it.

My husband got me a lovely card and a totally cool looking Wii game. I can't wait to try it out. I feel guilty because I didn't get him anything as we had agreed on no gifts because of the trip to Gimli in 2 weeks....but as usual, he continues to spoil me.

I've got Ribs cooking in the oven right now (I've never made Ribs before--I hope they are good), potatoes for mashing and mushrooms for frying. I was even contemplating making garlic cheese toast. One of S's friends is coming over tonight and we are going to play some games. It is going to be fun tonight!

I was going to post a generic internet picture of 2 people kissing in honour of Valentines Day..but then I decided that it would a better idea to put a picture of me and S on our vow renewal day. This is my favorite picture of the day.

Cheers!

Alrighty folks, time to out yourselves...

I hope everyone has a great day today

I think he's outgrown these pyjamas...

Oops...the funniest part is that he didn't want to take them off and was quite content to wear them like that.

I'm still working on the Round Ripple. It's great and I'm loving how it's turning out.

I have the official deets finally. I feel better having the paper in my hands, rather then just being verbally told. It's 3.75% for 3 years, amortized over 35 years. We would do accelerated biweekly payments so that would bring it down to amortized over 29 years.

If we do this we will still be left with about 8 200 in debt...which if we apply what we are saving by refinancing (about 420/month) we could be rid of the 8 200 in 19 months (? I hope my mathing is correct on this one?--maybe even shorter because we would still be making our regular monthly payments--so maybe even 9.5 months?)

We would also have to pay lawyer fees again, which I'm estimating on the high end to be about 2K. That would take away from repayments as well.

My concern surrounding all this is that we are not fully paying off all the debt. Initially when I was going through all the numbers in my head I was not factoring in that there is no such thing as Zero Down Financing anymore. That's where I went wrong in my initial figuring.

The commitment says we can do:

1. pay up to 20% of the original mortgage amount each anniversary year, without a penalty. minimum 1K.
2. increase regular payments by up to 20% of the original P and I portion per year, without penalty
3. partial prepayment options used in any combination may not exceed the 20% yearly prepayment maximum.

which all seem pretty standard?

I keep saying over and over again in my head..."If we do this we NEVER acquire any new debt and we make extra payments against the mortgage"

Winnipeg Transit has had this ad campaign going on forever and a decade now. It's called Busology and is 14 cartoons about bus ridership. This is their explanation of the ad campaign:

A humorous look at public transit! Mounds of bags in the aisle, the symphony of heavy metal music, passengers not moving to the back of the bus and the gentle aroma of food and beverages – these are the reasons for Busology. Busology provides a good natured, humorous look at common situations that can make our public transit system unpleasant for travelers. It’s hard to establish enforceable rules for many of these situations, because most really come down to a matter of common courtesy. We sincerely hope you enjoy the Busology and that it results in a more pleasant ride for you and all passengers.


I've looked at these ads for years now and while I think they are lame I've never really paid much attention to them. Except for this one. This one really gets on my nerves everytime I see it. In fact I can't believe that people haven't complained and had it removed.

Some people make an obstacle course out of the aisle with strollers, and packages. Please keep your belongings out of the way of other passengers.

It's the stroller part that makes me irate. I've been a bus rider with a child in a stroller before. There's NOWHERE to put a stroller. The aisles aren't wide enough. The old buses which aren't even accesible with a stroller and the aisles are even more narrower then the new buses. People won't give up the priority seating, they look at you and glare. It doesn't matter what size your stroller is too. Big or small none of them fit. Even if you fold them up they can't fit in the seat with you on the ground. & fuck, you've got to get to daycare or get home from daycare. What do they expect parents/caregivers to do? Stay at home? If I could afford it I would not be taking the crappy bus (& actually not bus--but 5 buses...that's right if I have to do the daycare pick up it takes me 5 buses to get from work to daycare and then back home--5 buses) I would be driving in my car. Gah.

This is what the broker came back with yesterday.

mortgage for 140K
3.75% for 3 years
35 year mortgage
the biweekly payments would be about $298

i don't know all the deets yet, i'm waiting for the broker to email me the agreement (i wish she would hurry up with it already!) so i can see the fine print.

depending on how much we have to pay out in fees (penalty to break the mortgage, lawyers fees, etc) this would eliminate about 75% of our debt. we would still have the LOC and part of our consolidation loan. the plan would be too add $100 dollars to every payment we make, put $300/month into savings (for house repairs, car repairs, travel, etc), and throw the rest onto the remaining debt.

thoughts?

we have been tossing around adding some (or all) of our car loan, consolidation loan, and LOC into our mortgage. i have been reading what gail has to say about the subject and yes we understand that we would have to make extra payments and that WE ACQUIRE NO NEW DEBT.

i spoke with our mortgage broker this evening on the phone and she verbally quoted me 4.39% for 5 years fixed amortized for 35 years. right now we are 5.24% on a 5 year fixed over 40 years.

she is going to send the application off and get back to me when it is returned. a large part of this depends on what CMHC values our home at.

i did some calculations from this mortgage calculator and have come up with these possibilities:

possibility 1 - add in all of the debt
mortgage - 145K with accelerated bi-weekly payments of $336.42
if the mortgage was 145K that would wipe out all of our debt allowing us to make extra payments.
total interest paid when loan is finished 29.41 years later -112K

possibility 2 - add in practically all of the debt
mortgage - 140K with accelerated bi-weekly payments of $324.82
if the mortgage was 140K we would just be left with the LOC still allowing us to make extra payments.
total interest paid when loan is finished 29.41 years later - 108K

possibility 3 - add in about half of the debt
mortgage - 130K with accelerated bi-weekly payments of $301.62
if the mortgage was 130K we would still have 1 of our large loans left to pay (consolidation loan i'm thinking because it has the lower interest rate)
total interest paid when loan is finished 29.41 years later - 100K

possibility 4 - stay the same as we are now
mortgage - started at 103700 with bi-weekly payments of 236.64
debt repayments of about 800/month
total interest paid in *gulp* 40 years - 141K

we also have to consider paying lawyers fees...again and paying CMHC fees...again. & there is the 3 months interest penalty. is there anything else you need to pay for? S thinks we will have to pay more because we initially did 100% financing on the house...anyone know if this is true?

what is everyone's take on refinancing and adding debt into your mortgage? be brutally honest.

& also FIXED vs VARIABLE. i'm so terribly confused about this.

Country Joe & The Fish -- Feel Like I'm Fixing To Die
1990? I think, round about the time I was 11 or 12 or 13 years old anyways.

I remember watching the documentary made about Woodstock when I was a young'un. I remember the scene that resonated the most with me and still does to this day is this one with Country Joe & The Fish. Now, I didn't know who Country Joe & The Fish were at the time and to be perfectly honest, I still don't know who they are...but I know every single word to this song and I still feel welling in my eyes & soul when EVERYONE stands up during this song and brings all their voices together to do something perfectly impossible like STOP the war.

I think it was the first protest song I ever learned.

Listen People I don't know how you expect to ever stop the war if you can't sing any better then that. There's about 300,000 of you you fuckers out there I want you to start singing.

My story is up there! Total shameless bragging on my part even though I know Gail posts all the ones she receives, but I still feel special.

I updated my side bars. I'm pleased with the progress. Slow but steady. I made .33 cents interest in my EF fund this month! Woot for me. lol. I think there should be more in the Mini-Holiday fund but because the money is in 3 different places now I'm getting confused. Have I mention I confuse easily. :P

& the Gods must be smiling down on us right now for some reason because Sears actually reimbursed the delivery charges for the delay in the arrival of our fridge like they said they would. Something actually went right and I didn't have to phone anyone to complain or raise shit. Praise Be. Praise be indeed. :P

On the Church Front, I received an email from the Chair of M&P (the committee that looks after church employees) in response to my resignation email. This is all it said:

OK. Please ensure XXXXX receives all binders/information.etc you have in your possession regarding Children's Church at YYYY Church prior to your last day. Thanks.

So, while I know I did the right thing for me I'm feeling a little icky about how they're dealing with the situation. The minister has still not responded to my email that I sent last Thursday. But I'm going to move on and try to find a church home that meets my needs and works well within my framework.

My husband has a job interview tomorrow. It's at a company that he has already interviewed at for another job so I think that it is a great sign that they have called him back to go for an interview for a different job. Wish the guy LUCK!

I've had a flurry of creativeness and have actually been working on 'scheduled posts' for days when I'm feeling not so creative. I've got upcoming ones planned about music, public transit, the Dragons Den, and mortgages. Yay me!

Cheers everyone.

Last month's goals didn't work out so good for me, so I've been spending a lot of time thinking about what to include for February. I know my goals for January were good...I just lacked follow through for whatever reason. FD wisely suggested that I have some of the same ones for February again...and I think I will. :)

1. Set a Bill Paying Guide as per Gails Instructions.

I know this one must be REALLY important because it's the one I've been ignoring the most!

2. No crafty purchases this month!!

I need to continue to de-stash. :)

3. Exercise 500 minutes this month.

For real this time!!

4. Find a Part-Time Job.

Since I've resigned from the job at the church I need to find a way to bring in a few extra bucks every month....

5. Investigate and Make a Decision Regarding Refinancing Mortgage.

Last night I resigned from the Children's Ministry Coordinator Position at my church. It wasn't going well as there was a big disconnect between what I believe and what I was comfortable teaching/sharing with the kids and what the Churches expectations were for Children's Church. I think I always knew deep down it wasn't working out and that I felt that I was changing who I was and that I still wasn't meeting their expectations, but I was trying to ignore it.

I don't want to dwell on this subject for very long because I don't think it is really all that interesting to my devoted readers, but I do want to reflect on the subject for a few paragraphs.

While I have a degree in Religious Studies and have been feeling some kind of call to Ministry I still continue to struggle every day with my strange brand of faith and I struggle with attempting to reconcile it all into a formalized religion. In the end I was hesitant to take the job exactly because of this reason but they seemed quite eager to have me and they never really talked specifics about theology and style and the like. I had a co-coordinator and together we seemed to be muddling along okay considering how we had no one to report to and the minister never seemed all that interested in what we were doing downstairs.

My view of Children's Church was to keep it very simple. A short prayer or short scripture reading, a craft, a short closing, and perhaps a game if there was time. And I guess that was where it all fell apart. We were called to a meeting on short notice with the M&P team (Ministry & Personnel--the committee that manages church employees in the United Church) wherein we were told we were not structured enough, that we weren't providing a school-like setting, we were letting them play games, we weren't teaching them music, we weren't making effective use of our time, we weren't doing x and y and z and on and on and on....It was awful. I felt awful and upset and angry and sad and mad and confused and hurt all at the same time. What hurt me most is that many things that were given as examples of what not to do were almost DIRECT quotes of things I have said to that I do and have done in the past

My co-hort and the minister exchanged some emails the next day and I sent an email talking about how I struggling with everything that is going on in my life (working full time, part time, being a Chair for a Non-Profit Organization, tyring to start my own business, being a wife and a mother) and that I wasn't really dealing well with all the stress and that my OCD/anxiety has flared up again (which it has...and I have been hesitant to talk about it because I don't want to make it worse or even acknowledge that I am having issues again), and that I was hurt and angry and upset and that I wasn't sure if I was going to continue but that I would make a decision by Saturday. I got a very nice reply from my co-hort and NOTHING from my minister. This has really hurt me. I feel like I bared a bit of my soul in that email and brought up some very difficut topics...and nothing.

I sent my resignation letter late last night. My co-hort was the only one that checked their email and received it and she filled the Chair of M&P and I'm assuming the minister too. No one made any attempt to talk to me about it (which is fine, I guess?) and now no one has sent me any emails or attempted to contact me by phone. While I'm feeling quite realived about resigning, I'm feeling quite....I don't know....like....'helped out the door'....like they almost wanted me to quit?

This week I am really feeling like the fat kid in the corner that no one likes.

I think after I serve my notice at this church I am going to go hang out with the Unitarians for a few weeks.