i love it when i’m right

please pardon the more-than-slightly obnoxious title for today’s post. but it’s an entirely true and accurate statement for today’s main story!

remember back here when i gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to the new redesign of the runner’s world shoe finder? i loved how the new yes/no q & a chart suggests a wider range of running shoe options:

(you can now find that flowchart online here, at the runner’s world website; at the time of my initial mention, the chart was not available online).

back in february i posed the question of whether the store would follow suit and revamp our colour-coded shoe wall:

an example of our old shoe tags - yellow tags defined our neutral/cushioned shoe category (blue was for stability shoes and red tags indicated motion control shoes)

honestly, i had an inkling [which i expressed to manager paul - i have a witness!] that at some point in the near future, we would be seeing a shoe wall overhaul.

on friday, i was proven RIGHT!! we received brand new tags for our shoe wall…

all tags are now BLACK!

i absolutely am 100% thrilled with this shoe wall redesign! the all-black tags make the wall look clean and more professional:

the view from afar!

here’s a close-up of a new tag:

we'll put the spotlight on the women's mizuno wave inspire 8!

under the old system, this shoe would have had a blue (stability) tag. if you take a peak at the right hand side, above the price (U.S. friends, i am betting this shoe costs a lot less for you) you will see three blurry words:

• cushioning
• stability
• weight

each shoe receives a rating of 1-5 for each of those categories:

for cushioning, a 1 would be a shoe with very little cushioning (like track spikes or vibrams) while a 5 would be the ultimate in softness and comfort (like an asics nimbus or a nike vomero).

for stability, a neutral (yellow tag) shoe is a 1 or 2, while a 3 or 4 indicates a stability (blue tag) shoe, and a 5 designates a motion control (red tag) shoe.

for weight, our resident experts weighed a men’s size 9 shoe; if the shoe was over 11 ounces, it’s got a ranking of 5, 10-11 ounces is a ranking of 4, 9-10 ounces equals a 3, 7-9 ounces is a 2, and less than 7 ounces is a 1.[glad they figured that out for us!].

let's look at the saucony triumph 9 - the upper-end neutral shoe from saucony

in this example, you can see that the triumph 9 gets a rating of FIVE for cushioning (as a more expensive shoe, you are getting more cushioning, better quality cushioning, so the five rating makes total sense), ONE for stability (it is a neutral shoe so there is no reinforcement through the arch, at all). and FOUR for weight (saucony shoes are not known for their lightness).

compare the triumph 9 to the nike free!…

ah, the nike free run 2...can you believe i still do not own you, beautiful shoe that you are with those fantastically awesome colours!!!

look how much less cushioned (only a TWO rating) and LIGHT it is! that’s a minimalist shoe for you!

so, like i said, i am totally pumped to work with this new system. and i am thumping my chest that i saw it coming!

~*~*~*~*~

here’s another thing i was right about: the impactful effect of starbucks coffee on my system. it’s now been ten days since my last cup of starbucks via coffee, and i have had not one moment of where the WHEEEEEEE!!! feeling of a coffee jolt has turned into more of an EEEEEKK over-the-top case of the jitters and/or anxiety. taster’s choice instant, i am sticking with you. starbucks, i will enjoy you in-store – as a decaf! – but via pacs, you are not coming home with me any more!

~*~*~*~*~

remember when i went to carrie’s book launch for the juliet stories? the toronto globe and mail reviewed her novel-in-stories (here is that review) in this past saturday’s newspaper. national exposure like this is a major achievement! way to go, carrie! (acclaim for a neighbourhood + mennonite author – we like that).

~*~*~*~*~

how did you choose your current pair of running shoes? of course, i am hoping you will say you shopped at a specialty running store…and i will grin even more widely if it was a certain running store!

canadians: have you won a coffee yet at tim horton’s for roll up the rim? i am 1/1 but i have yet to cash in my free coffee – timmie’s is not as convenient as s’bux for me to get to!

did you remember to turn your clocks ahead? yes – i sprung ahead early saturday eve (i am always paranoid i will forget). so, i went to bed an hour earlier than usual…and could not fall asleep. so i lost an hour sleep, anyway!

pick your holiday!

yesterday, it was…

• family day in ontario [the fact that we have this holiday slays me as it is a day off made up by the provincial government a few years ago. so, stores, schools, banks, private industry, and municipal/provincial employees are all off...but federal services are still running (so, i can't go grocery shopping, but my mail is delivered!). makes no sense! and there is no real reason for the holiday except to break up the span of time between christmas and easter!].
• louis riel day in manitoba [thanks, gina, for that fyi!]
• islander day on prince edward island [thanks, mom, for that tip!]
• presidents’ day in the states [i was ignorant about the very existence of president's day until going to aruba. my american friends warned never EVER to travel to aruba for president's week because paradise the island is jam-packed with families. the only GOOD thing about all the swarms of people is that is the bingo pots are sky high - haha!].
• also, did you know that february is: national grapefruit month; national snack food month, national sweet potato month, national cherry month, and national canned food month? ’tis true. i found out here! [would it not make more sense to declare february national chocolate month, thanks to ♥ lovey-dovey day ♥ on the 14th??].

anyway, to get back to yesterday – all i did the whole entire day was be social and drink hot beverages! it was fantastic!

in the morning, i went out to sarah’s house. sarah gave me a tour around their lovely, new home…

notice zoe the kittie peaking out from upstairs?!

…and then we went out for coffee to tim hortons. it is now roll up the rim season…and, surprise, surprise, i won a coffee!

i will be cashing that rim in for the LARGEST size possible!

in the afternoon, i met mom and dad at our uptown starbucks:

what's one more coffee in a day??!

i had to see family on family day, for sure!

in the evening, i got together with my neighbourhood + blog friend, tricia! third coffee shop of the day ->we met up at coffee culture:

tricia and i realized we have the exact same cameras!!

i was actually feeling a bit “coffee’d out,” (what a surprise, eh?!) and switched to decaf tea. it was wonderful to chat with tricia – our schedules are such that they conflict completely, normally, so it was really fun to be able to meet up – all thanks to family day!

~*~*~*~*~

which national food would you be most likely to celebrate? me = canned food – yes! i love all manner of tinned seafood; mushrooms; and many varieties of beans!

what was the theme of your day, yesterday? ummm, coffee?!

and sunshine! check out the spectacular day we enjoyed!

...and no wind, temps above zero

the rink in the uptown square was packed!

today it is back to reality…and less coffee!

i love it when a plan comes together

yesterday was such a thoroughly productive day!

~ i worked at theOTHERstore from 9-5, and it was just a really pleasant shift.

~ i went over to fairview park mall after work because i am putting together a surprise for dad (it’s ok for me to say that, he knows i am working on something top secret). my plan is going to be able to come to fruition beautifully! i’ll be able to share exactly what i am organizing by next weekend, most likely. i am giddy in anticipation, already, as this idea has been years in the making!

- i also stopped at the lancôme counter at the bay, because on the website mrsjanuary, i found a coupon for a free sample:

"eclat miracle," serum of light complexion illuminator

my canadian friends, if you are not familiar with this website, bookmark it! you’ll find coupons, steals and deals, daily! [shhh, but i printed off more than one coupon as i will be back at the bay before the coupon expires on february 21st, and i'd like another sample!].

~ i then stopped in at food basics for groceries. my bill came to $23.31. i figured out that my total would have been at least $40.00, had i purchased the same items at valumart. i ♥ saving money!

~ i decided, after four mugs, that i really, really don’t like that s’bux “veranda” blend. as i was reflecting on how disappointing this blonde roast is to my taste buds, i had a brainwave! starbucks is so good at customer service, that i wondered: if i returned the eight unused/unopened pacs, (plus, i had my receipt) i bet they would swap out a roast that i really do like. since there’s no harm in asking, that’s what i did. and i was right! with no issue whatsoever, i was able to choose a 12 pac of french roast.

thanks, a.y., for your excellent customer service...and for agreeing to pose for the blog!

i had to laugh when i got up to the counter at s’bux because look at the sign that was by the til:

i beg to differ with this caitlin!

~ i went back to friday night knitting club. ok, you would not believe the topics of discussion that arose as we sat around the tables. if you think knitting club is uptight and prim, you are sorely mistaken. i won’t divulge, but let’s just say there was not a dull moment, and i had to focus on not letting my eyes become as big as saucers.

look what they have at "shall we knit?!" KNITTING TATTOOS!!! mom!!! stocking stuffer!!! please!!

i now have nine squares done for the log cabin blanket! the colourway that i am working with right now may well indeed by my favourite:

objects in photo are less pink-y than they appear!

and lastly…

~ i didn’t freak out over a computer issue! this is huge!

yesterday morning, i went to open up my gratitude excel spreadsheet and i got the spinny wheel of death for like, two minutes, then a *gong* bonk sound, and the message that there was an extreme error and my spreadsheet was unavailable and i should seek help, or some stupid thing. i tried other excel and word docs – same message. i had to go to work, so i couldn’t figure out the solution. normally, i would stew and fret all day long over something like this…what if i have lost all my documents? what if i can’t fix this issue? what if, what if??… but, i really was unconcerned all day long, and decided i’d mess around with finding a solution at the end of my day.

so i got home (after all those errands) and decided to start with shutting down and rebooting the computer. well, if that did not solve the problem! hooray! i have no clue as to what caused the friday morning computer crankies…i’m just thankful all is now well and good.

happy saturday! it’s a long weekend in ontario – family day is monday!

~*~*~*~*~

did you ever watch the a team on tv?

(source)

(that’s where today’s title comes from). the brother and i were allowed to watch the a team. and here’s the funny story as to why; my grade eight home room/core teacher was mrs r. i loved mrs r, but she was definitely on the wacky side a free spirit. one day, she gave a whole spiel about the benefits of watching the a team. well, i went home and recounted her reasons to my parents, and they agreed to let the brother and me watch this show every week! the a team was a bit on the violent side, if you recall, and i sincerely doubt that we would have been allowed to watch it, had it not been for mrs r’s vote of confidence!

rate your friday the 17th on a scale of 1-10. i say 8.75!

i won’t go blonde again + r.a.o.k.#1!

i’ve had a couple of chances, now, to try the new starbucks via blend that i picked up last week. menh, i’m not so impressed with its rather bland personality.

the "veranda" blend, aka blonde roast

it’s not bad, but it’s not very flavourfully strong like the other vias i enjoy. i’ll finish up the pacs i have, but in future, i will remain faithful to:

the colombia and italian roasts (i also really like the french)

it was worth a try to give the blonde a shot – now i know! [sidenote: it IS on my life bucket list to dye my hair platinum blond, some day. maybe before i go to see madonna in concert would be a good time, yes?].

~*~*~*~*~

now is the time that we get to the part of the blog post about which i am really excited! i had a chance to perform my first random act of kindness (r.a.o.k.) for the 12 days of kiki! and it happened completely as i had hoped these little gestures of niceness would – totally unplanned, and not grandiose in the least. here’s the story!

on monday, i had a couple of minutes to scoot into food basics before i started my shift at theOTHERstore. i was in line at the checkout with my few items (taster’s choice coffee -> $7.99 instead of $10.99 at valu! broccoli for $0.99! cereal for $3.99!) and there were a couple of people ahead of me. the guy right in front of me had a little girl, maybe two years old, with him. truth be told, i was getting a little antsy as i kept glancing at my watch because i had timed my trip a little close for comfort to the start of my shift, and was really hoping to pay asap, and get out of there (plus, for some reason, the store REEKED of cigarette smoke. i do not know if this is a regular thing for food basics or what, but man, was the stench strong).

well, wouldn’t you know it, the guy with the little girl had a small container of cream with no sku/bar code on it. he told the checkout clerk that it had been in the clearance bin. of course, she had to call her supervisor to see what to do about the price. so, she scanned the guy’s other items and had him pay for those – he paid with his debit card – while she awaited her supervisor’s arrival. i am standing there with my blood pressure mounting – i’ve told you how patience is not a virtue is a work in progress! finally the supervisor arrives and advises the checkout clerk to just charge the guy $2.49 for the cream. the guy reaches in his pocket and pulls out his cash and says, “oh, i only have $2.25.” bingo! i here was my chance at a r.a.o.k!!! i piped right up and said, “i’ll spot you the quarter!” well, i actually only had a loonie, but it filled the need. the guy was very grateful, and thanked me a couple of times.

to be perfectly honest, i was happy to help out…but, please also realize that i was feeling testy and couldn’t bear the thought of waiting for buddy to yet again haul out his debit card and do that whole transaction thing again. so, i guess, this r.a.o.k. was a bit self-serving…but it was still a nice thing to do! (right?!).

fyi – i did make it to work with time to spare!

i have a couple r.o.a.k.s in mind that involve planning, but i also want to be open to opportunities like this that present themselves with no warning. i generally don’t think fast on my feet, so this here! have-a-coin! scenario was a good opening opportunity!

~*~*~*~*~

not really related questions, but i am interested to know…

what’s the most amount of money you’ve ever found on the sidewalk/on the ground? i think mine is $5. or $20. i can’t remember!

will you stop and pick up a penny, if you see one? i will not. dad will. at my parents’ old house, dad kept a mason jar in the garage with all his “road find” money. that jar was pretty full! dad ->whatever happened to that cash?!

starbucks – yes, movie – no

...on the twenty-eighth day of december...

backtracking to wrestling boxing day!

we had the busiest boxing day of my career at the store! it was a fun work day – zero returns (just easy exchanges), money card redemptions, and shoe sales! the day sped by and before i knew it, it was time to go to…

starbucks!

…and meet up with dad for our december outing of the month.

here we are!

we got to the buck just after 4:30 p.m. the place was packed! just as we were thinking we’d have to stand squooshed in a corner, a guy left a table, and we nabbed it lickety-split.

except, there were no available chairs anywhere! so dad and i both had to squeeeeeeze onto the banquette. my backrest was a tower of boxes!

see?!

good thing dad and i get along! our conversation time was just as great as always. i can’t believe this outing concludes all of my coupon-of-the-month projects for 2011!

~*~*~*~*~

i got four votes via blog comments, and mom telephone-voted in regards to whether i should un-decorate (de-decorate?) the condo casa or watch the time traveler’s wife boxing day evening – it was a unanimous decision in favour of the movie night. i was only too happy to go along with that decision. however…(long story short) when i tried to play nicole‘s dvd, i couldn’t because i needed a security code to play it via itunes, (insert much messaging with nicole here), then the security code would not work, then i got the message the offer had expired!  [the good news is that nicole has access to a regular dvd version, and will lend that to me, asap!].

“someone up there” was sending me a message, i would say – i guess i was meant to keep up my christmas dis-mantling tradition, after all! so i put on some christmas tunes (last chance!) and got to work…

i like putting stuff OUT a lot more than putting it all AWAY! what a downer of a task.

see you next year wise men/snowmen/jingle bell! (and it will not be before november 11th!)

when will you/did you de-christmasize this year? i realize not everyone does it on exactly the same date every year! like some of us.

last time you were at starbucks? our uptown location was even open christmas day!

i swear this is not a repeat post!

let’s see…

outing of the month – check! √

with dad! check! √

meet-up at the very busy uptown waterloo starbucks! check! √

a perrier for the coffee-still-stinks kiki? check! √

cheers!

[dad and i have established a comfortable routine, here! september = starbucks! october = starbucks! november = starbucks! any guesses on what we'll do in december?!]

now, hold your horses right there! because saturday afternoon’s after-work outing with dad included a special, surprise guest!…

KAREN!

group shot!

yes! this would be the very karen who won the 500th blog post giveaway!

now, i’ll back up a bit: our friendship with karen goes way back to the early-mid ’90′s – karen and the brother were bf/gf for a few years. then we lost touch, and it’s been a good fifteen years since we last saw each other. it was only this summer that karen and i reconnected! thanks to six degrees of separation + the blogworld (me -> tricia -> marnie -> karen) karen found me, and we have been corresponding ever since, leaving comments on each other’s blogs, emailing from time to time – and we are friends on facebook!

i swear it is complete coincidence that karen won the giveaway – you saw how it was conducted with scrupulous attention to fairness – but i was so tickled because i knew that karen would be in town this weekend (visiting from ottawa with her hubby and three kidlets) and that we hoped to meet up. karen could receive her prizes in person! [and we could capture the exchange for the blog!].

the official handing over of the tshirt and s'bux gift card!

[haha, how perfect - i just now clued in that karen got her s'bux card IN starbucks - how wonderfully appropriate!].

anyway, karen had generously offered to take me out for *coffee* when she found out she won, but dad would have none of that and treated us to our drinks. thanks, dad!

karen's drink: chai tea latte? tea chai latte?; dad's drink: it was frothy and pretty, i know that!

we had such a good time catching up! karen has a warm and bubbly personality, and is an excellent conversationalist. and i had forgotten how very funny she is! the three of us had a really wonderful visit. then, karen had to leave to get back to her family, so dad and i stayed on and chatted some more.

and – hey hey – did you note that saturday was ONLY november 19th!! no eleventh hour outing of the month this month? well, actually…you know that i am a big planner, and earlier this week i had looked at the rest of november, and realized that unless dad and i went out on saturday, an outing just wasn’t going to happen, given both our schedules. [plus, there is the little matter of dad's 70th bday this coming weekend - special celebrations await!].

thanks, karen, for fitting in our reunion meet-up! now it’s back to fb and blog visits – until your next trip to waterloo!

have you ever won a giveaway? family joke: dad has won a contest ONCE (golf tourney giveaways where everyone wins eventually don’t count), and this was back when we were kids. he won a door. we have never let him forget that. i, on the other hand, won a fabulous gift basket of cosmetics from my close and personal friend jeanne beker, herself. i will share the full story another day!

~*~*~*~*~

november thankfulness:

(for sunday november 20): yesterday i was thankful that my grandma (dad’s mom) and i enjoy a weekly phone visit every single sunday. this was a new year’s resolution about eight years ago – and it’s still going strong!

blog post #500 celebration giveaway contest!

(source)

hello there!

wow, eh?! blog entry #500…the day is here!

i knew eons ago that i wanted to host a giveaway when i reached post #500 on the blog. i have only hosted one giveaway before: that was wayyyy back when i had blogged one hundred times! for that contest, i gave away a batch of homemade cookies, and eight people entered. [i hope we surpass that number with this contest? the prize pack is better, haha!].

since the blog is less than two years old (i started blogging in january 1020), i am happy to have reached this milestone already. it helps when you blog every day! (the last time i have a date with no blog entry is december 30th of last year).

so, i have thought long and hard over many months about what i wanted to give away to celebrate today:

• it had to be something i would want to win
• it had to include themes i talk about a lot (running, the store, coffee shops, uptown waterloo…)
• it had to be kiki-quirky fun

imagine my joy when just last week, i opened a box of new stock at the store, and knew i had found the perfect prize.

we received long sleeve tshirts (they feel like cotton but wick away perspiration) featuring eight unique slogans – four for women, four for men. [click here to see an example of the women's shirt; the men's is very similar in design]. here they are:

women’s four:

men’s four:

the winner of today’s giveaway can pick one of the eight tshirt designs. the sizes available are:

women: small, medium, large, x-large

men: medium, large, x-large

AS WELL!…

i am going to include a $10 gift card for starbucks.

how to enter:

please leave a comment telling about a new experience YOU have enjoyed in 2011. it can be little (i tried a new cereal!), it can be big (i ran a marathon!) or anything in between.

rules (because i ♥ rules):

~ the contest is entirely funded by the 1970 kiki project foundation. aka yours truly.

~ one comment per person, please.

~ this contest is open to anyone living in canada or the united states.

~ by entering, you agree that i can post your name on the blog and the tshirt design you choose, if you win.

~ the contest is open until saturday, november 12 at 1:14 p.m. e.s.t. (get it?! 11-12-13-14 – haha!).

~ i will announce the winner on the blog on sunday morning. the method for choosing the winner will be my reproduction of stephanie‘s random number generator. if you are stephanie, you know what i mean. if not, you will find out on sunday.

lastly, thank you for reading. i am very appreciative of how the blog has allowed me to keep in touch with personal friends and family, and make new “blends” (blogger friends). i truly enjoy this creative hobby, and look forward to continued happy blogging moments.

[the next contest will not be until blog post #1, 000 so you may wish to enter while you can!!]

~*~*~*~*~

november thankfulness:

(for wednesday november 9): yesterday i was thankful for wordpress. it’s amazing what you can do with this blogging system, even by keeping to the “bare bones” offerings!

like father, like daughter

dad and i squeezed in our outing of the month just in the nick of time [<- never did see that movie - did you? - which is too bad because i ♥ johnny depp].

we had left our plans for our outing kind of loosey goosey, and only confirmed our decision saturday evening. dad chose to go with our plan a, as in an afternoon dessert outing. that was just fine with me. i do hope we get a chance to do plan b in november or december, though, because it will make me laugh!

dad also chose the location for our break – that’s only fair since he was paying! dad opted for starbucks. again, fine by me! this was the same spot we ventured to wayyyy back in february for that month’s get-together! (although that was a morning break).

official october outing-of-the-month photo!

dad has a new jacket! new to me, at least. he won it in a golf tournament late this summer. i made him stop in the lobby and pose like he was a model for the sears catalogue:

dapper dad

dad is a good sport.

then we walked the five minutes over to starbucks. we barely got seats! luckily, my neighbours were at the neighbouring table, so they watched our table for us while we got our treats.

i knew exactly what i wanted. there were no pumpkin scones left, however [this location usually sells out of scones early in the day, i have noticed. next time, dad and i are going to have to make our starbucks date for 6 a.m.]. dad had a tougher time choosing. i went with my second choice, the blueberry bar [i really order it just for the base layer and the crumb topping - at least the blueberries are not too plentiful]. dad chose the butter tart and this espresso cupcake-lollipop thing on a stick.

spidey says nom, nom, nom (yes, i was in a silly mood!)

we tasted a bite of each baked good, but then stuck with our own choices.

i made dad rotate the cake-lolly to just the right angle for the photo - did i mention dad is a good sport?!

what a satisfying visit! over the 1.5 hours we were together, dad and i covered a lot of ground: i got my fill of talking sports (my leafs are in second place!); dad brought me up to date on the stock market; we also solved the woes of the world, discussed family and personal matters, and – of course! – talked about running (a passion we share).

thank you for being our photographer, random stranger at the next table!

yes – notice that dad and i are each enjoying a PERRIER. i am STILL finding coffee disgusting distastefully icky, and dad is mindful of his caffeine/java intake.

we also enjoyed watching the steady stream of people coming into and exiting out of s’bux while we were there. it was non-stop! at times, the line-up was out the door. starbucks has got a good thing going in uptown waterloo.

thanks for the great outing, dad! [and i will be following tim connolly's impact with the leafs].

why do you think starbucks is so popular? imo, they have perfectly marketed a desired ambiance, image, and culture. it’s not thanks to their coffee that they are so wildly popular.

if that question is too deep, what’s your favourite starbucks treat or specialty drink? the chocolate oat bar would be my third sweets option. i have never had a mocha-frappa-latte-cino!

How I Spent My $40

Thank you to those of you who weighed in with an answer last week when I solicited opinions on how to spend my $40 gift card.

I took one suggestion to heart, and followed it to the letter. While many of you opined that a pedi(mani) was the way to go – and I do think that’s a grand idea, it will be a New Experience at some point – necessity spoke and I decided that

Nicole

had the winning – not to mention practical – comment. She wrote:

“Hmmm…. I think you need a new backpack. I think you should find a cheaper one and then treat yourself to a coffee at Starbucks– or to some of those instant coffee packets that you like so much.”

Nicole, I wish I had a prize to give you! Hopefully a sincere THANK YOU will suffice?!?!

The other deciding factor: on Monday, I paid for groceries and couldn’t locate my keys. After poking through all the knapsack pockets, they were nowhere. What a PITA, thought I (surprisingly, I didn’t feel panicky, just ticked off). As a last-ditch idea, I looked into the very back slim pocket – there they were.

No more messing around. Within the hour, I was standing in front of:

fondly nicknamed "crappy tire"

See, I remembered that my last knapsack was a “Roots” brand that I picked up here for a very good price. It also proved to be extremely durable.

straight to the knapsack aisle

I methodically began my search. Anything over $29.99 was ruled out (I wanted $ left for Starbucks!!).

found some "roots" brand, but they didn't grab me...

...ESPECIALLY not this one - i dislike red

sorry, but the brand "obusforme" just makes me think of old people. out.

the sale price (and colour!) were great on this one (40% off), but i wasn't fond of those bungee laces, and i needed a second big interior pocket

So, it came down to two:

"red rock" (never heard of it) for $14.99...

or

"broadstone" (new name to me) for $24.99

I’ll tell you in a minute which one came home with me.

Part two of Nicole’s idea took me directly across the parking lot:

i kid not when i say "across the parking lot!"

this is just about the cutest s'bux i've ever seen!

a fine selection...but no "tribute" here, either. bummer. i did snap up a pack of decaf (i am fully stashed with regular colombian and italian roasts)

So, to wrap up our adventure/spending spree, here’s what we have:

this backpack!

I went with the “Red Rock” because while it was only $14.99, the quality is actually that of a $29.99 product – 50% sale, thank you! And if it breaks within 90 days, I can return it to CT for a replacement. That’s good value!

the final haul, L to R: new backpack; my fave decaf (plus free samples!); $10.11 still left on the gift card!

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?!!…

(source)

I still had one final trip to make:

bye-bye, plaid knapsack! you did a fine job.

◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

In more money news, I trimmed up my bangs:

oh! and i had a coffee outing with lisa (on monday). see lisa! see the shorter bangs!

They were starting to drift into my eyeballs, and I hate that feeling. I also dislike trying to peer through distracting spikes of hair in my eyes.

I can’t justify spending $20 (Magicuts price) for a 1/2 inch trim to three inches of hair across my forehead, so grabbed scissors and completed the job myself.

I was trying to decide if I should keep the bangs or grow them out again – I guess they’re sticking around, now. (I think I’ll keep them at least for the summer; the feather-i-ness goes with the hot temps).

◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

What type of purse do you carry? I have one bohemian-influenced shoulder bag that I can use if I must; otherwise the backpack is my constant companion.

How much are you willing to spend on your hair? I have to admit: it’s next to nil for me. I’ve gone over a year without a haircut, in the past. Don’t be surprised should “no haircut” show up as a 1970 Kiki Project item for 2012!

Let’s Chat!

My mom and I talk on the phone every. single. day. (the only day we miss is the once-a-week day they are in TO looking after Baby C). And when we miss our phone chat, we email. Some days – ok, a lot of days – we do both. Dad always shakes his head, “how can you visit by phone, hang up, and immediately think of something more to say?” Mom and I just look at each other, laugh, shrug…and start another conversation.

in person meet-ups are even better than telephone gabfests!

So, in random Mama-chat style, here’s what’s on my mind this Monday morning…

~ The price of gas:

yes, that would be the price PER LITRE for fuel!

Are you for real??? I remember thinking that $1.00 or more per litre was exhorbitant. This is simply ridiculous. I’m so glad that I rarely drive…I make my weekly round-trip to Toronto to visit The Brother, SIL Ana, Little E and Baby C, and that’s really about it. Thanks to living in Uptown Waterloo, I do groceries and errands on foot, and I walk (across the road!) to work. I really feel badly for people who commute long distances…how much is it costing just to drive to work?

~ On Saturday eve when Michelle and I went to see The Lincoln Lawyer, we were inundated with previews for upcoming summer movie releases. Ick and ugh. Sci-fi, mindless action adventures, and sequels to movies that did not interest me the first time around are all on the horizon. Oh well. I guess that means more mindless TV viewing is in my future!

~ One of my neighbours left this magazine in our recycling room – slash – lending library area:

april 2011 issue of oprah magazine - score!

I haven’t cracked it open yet since I just picked it up this morning, but I’ll be interested to see what Oprah suggests in “Optimism 101″ and how we’re going to achieve “Eating Fabulously on $40 A Week.” I’ll do a recap once I am informed!

~ Guess what my new favourite coffee is…

starbucks instant coffees are wayyy better than the instore brews!

I recently bought the new Via Tribute instant coffee sachets and they are my favourite of the Starbucks blends that I’ve tried to date! I might very well be forsaking all other Via options in favour of Tribute!

~ A’s sweater has gone from this…

…to this:

…while the silk skeins have gone from this…

…to this:

The silk balls are being shelved, though, til the Celtic Sweater is (once again) complete.

~ For over a year, B has been involved in helping to co-ordinate a training exercise involving local emergency services plus the college. This mock scenario drill was the top local news story last evening!

Here‘s the article in this morning’s K-W Record. And click here for the clip on CKCO News! According to all reports (and B’s personal observations), everything went off without a hitch!

And that’s what’s happening on this snowy – yes, white stuff fell last eve and overnight – Monday!

You just know that as soon as I hit “publish” I’m going to think of something else to I could say!…

And now I’m off to call Mom!

Have a good one!

Is there anyone you talk to on a daily basis? I am not really a huge fan of the phone. I communicate via email with many people daily, but Mom is my only regular telephone partner.

Phone, email, texting, Skype…what’s your favourite mode of keeping in touch?