Alpine Village Family September 29th, 2007
A friend of mine lost her job a few months ago. I assume she received a package of some sort because, instead of finding a job right away, she decided to take some courses instead. Great idea in my opinion. Funny how sometimes when we feel like life is going all wrong, a blessing can pop out of it.
She shared that one day she would like to get into real estate but as a single mom, needs to wait until her daughter is older. What she is doing now, and maybe instead of the real estate idea, is to start her own Home Staging company.
I have to say, I did know what a home stager did but didn’t realize there was a market for it here in London - though clearly I was wrong. A home stager comes into a home to be sold and pretties it up and makes it appealing to buyers. Pretty cool eh? Think of how many homes just show horribly and how much quicker they would have sold had someone like her come in to make it appealing 
Alpine Village Family September 29th, 2007
Hubby just sent an email letting me know all is well at the cottage :). The kids are having a blast and right now they are on a hike with Hubby’s sister - while Hubby is “chillin’” as he put it LOL. I guess I don’t have to feel too bad that he is working too hard without me around - phew. Guilt is never fun…
Alpine Village Family September 29th, 2007
Well, I set out to have a relaxing weekend doing nothing but working online and watching movies BUT, a friend has invited me out to play beach volleyball tonight so… what the heck!? I’ll give it a go - or at least I’ll go there and have a drink and some nachos 
It is a fun sport to watch too. Imagine watching topless, sweaty, guys who are built like they could be playing Penn State football as a day job 
run around playing beach volleyball. Yah, I think I’ll drop by 
It’s been a lonnnnnnngg time since Mommy played beach volleyball!
Alpine Village Family September 28th, 2007
It’s been a long time coming but I’ve finally gotten over a hurdle and I can now call the kids’ former toy-room my “office”. It feels pretty good too :) I think a huge step in making the name change has been my ability to finally earn a decent wage from home. Whatever the reason though, I’m happy to be sitting in my office
Now that I’ve made that change, it’s time to think about making it the most functional space it can be. I need a desk still and a spot for filing and I’d also like some new lighting. Not a desk lamp though, they usually bother my eyes, but this floor lamp would be nice for those times I sit back and read newspapers etc. to get my blogging ideas. What do you think?
Alpine Village Family September 28th, 2007
I do love food, it’s true :) Every now and then I play a little game of “if I could eat anything”. It’s usually when I’m hungry and usually when it’s too late to go out to eat so that I really can’t get whatever I want
So, I just burst out and ask whichever group of friends I’m with, what they would eat right now if they could have anything they wanted - calories, cost and availability are irrelevant
So, if I could eat anything right now I would eat Extra Loaded Pirogies from Prince Albert’s Diner her in London, Ontario. They’re loaded with fried onions, bacon and lots of cheese and served with fries mmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
Okay so, if you’d like to play along, leave a comment and share what you would eat right now if you could eat anything
Alpine Village Family September 28th, 2007
I’ve been thinking about money a lot lately. Just because both kids are now in school full time and I’m pondering getting a job outside the house. Naturally that leads to me wondering how much of a wage I want to earn and to figure that out I need to know what my family expenses are.
It wasn’t too tough to figure out. I just took into consideration the mortgage, property tax, utility bills, phone and cable bills, transportation, food and entertainment… then it dawned on me that I have to include insurance.
There’s really no way around it, though it’s a fair chunk of money out the door, it’s necessary for peace of mind. 7 years ago our van was stolen and man was I glad we had car insurance!
The other insurance that is necessary is home insurance - though it never ceases to amaze me when I see articles in the newspaper telling of families who’ve lost their homes in a fire and had no insurance. I know it may seem less necessary than food on the table but why roll the dice if you possibly can afford not to??
Last one I thought of was life insurance and this one is the one that I see the most controversy over. The decision between Term and Life is a tough decision but whatever one you go with, I really think it’s necessary to have “just in case”. Why add to a tragedy with money worries??
All told… well, lets just say my calculations shed a light on just how expensive it is to live
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Alpine Village Family September 28th, 2007
I’ve had a weird morning. I was so happy - still am - about my weekend alone when I woke up this morning. Then I realized I still had to finish packing the kids’ clothes ;) I got around and did all of that no problem and then it hit me. That, “oh, but I’ll miss them” feeling.
I really had to push it down because I knew if I gave in to it and went away with them I’d be passing up some alone time that I very much need. PHEW…
They left just after 8am this morning and I’m feeling fine again. I know Hubby will have lots of fun with them and his family is up there too so, it’s all good :) Now, which movie should I watch first??
Alpine Village Family September 28th, 2007
Hubby and I celebrated out 11th wedding anniversary on the 7th of this month. We don’t normally get each other gifts other than a card and maybe a dinner out. I really don’t need more than that, for the record, I’m no material girl
This year though he surprised me with a digital camera with two extra memory cards and a case too. It was sweet of him He said that he really wanted me to have a nice camera and that he felt bad for all the times I had complained that I would have taken a photo of “whatever…”, if only I had a good camera.
When I think about it, I realize that a camera is a very appropriate gift for wedding, anniversaries and the birth of children - capture the memories ahead …gosh, I think I’m having a Hallmark moment LOL.
Alpine Village Family September 28th, 2007
I’ve wondered about this for a while now. Some families have Taco Tuesday or Pizza Day Friday and I’m thinking it sounds like a fun idea :) I was just reading online that Jennifer Garner has homemade bread Saturday and I really like that idea too
It gets me wondering whether I’m the only mom out there who hasn’t created theme days for her family… have YOU done that?? I’d love to hear what other families do as a weekly tradition.
Alpine Village Family September 25th, 2007
I had heard of online book exchanges - last week actually - but I had never heard of an online video game exchange until today. It’s a pretty interesting idea for anyone who, either likes playing video games, or has kids who do Games can get pretty expensive, so any way that gets new-to-you games into your house, and I’m-so-done-with-that games out of your house is pretty cool
The process isn’t complicated but they do have a patent pending on it - you can check it out for yourself. Basically you get credits for games you send in and pay credits (and a very small fee) for games that get sent to you. As playerchain.com explains it, you:
“can freely participate in trading without the restriction of a game-for-a-game trade and, most importantly, without the money loss of the trade-in for “store credit” method”
The way I see it, if you like to buy used video games, this is for you - and membership is free
