Spring list wrap up

It’s the last weekend before the official first day of summer so I’m writing the final update of my Spring activity list and wrapping it up with a pretty peony as shown in the picture above :)

I have 20 items on my Spring activity list, mostly under the categories of Fitness, Family, Friends, and Fun. Let’s see how I did:

1. Exercise in the gym three times per week - Yes! I’ve been working out in the gym consistently on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
2. Practice yoga twice per week. Yes! I do gentle yoga on Tuesdays and Thursdays, mainly to relax and restore from my workouts in the gym.

3. Go for a long walk outdoors once per week. Yes! I mix long walks with 5K runs depending on the weather and how I feel the morning of. Look at the two pictures below...Perfect weather for being outdoors.

April 2017

May 2017

4. Learn Spanish online fifteen minutes daily. Yes and am still doing this. I plan to use what I’ve learned when I’m in Costa Rica and Spain this summer.
5. Sign up early for a 5K running race in September. Deferred due to the flooding on Centre Island where the race is to be held. At time of writing, the island closure is extended until July 31. I’ll stay tuned, and if the race is on, I’ll sign up for it.
 6. Co-ordinate my parents' move to their new home. Yes all went smoothly just before Good Friday.
 7. Meet up with my sister from out of town. Yes. We had so much fun chatting while window shopping in the 1st week of May.
 8. Enjoy a family weekend getaway. Yes! This getaway in April now seems so long ago. We have a trip coming up soon.
 9. Celebrate two family birthdays. Yes! I remembered to take picture of the red velvet cake.

 10. Share some decadent chocolate with my family. Yes as posted here.
 11. Call to chat with my friend on her birthday. Yes as posted here.
 12. Go for coffee with a friend. Yes at Dineen Coffee and Boxcar Social. Which cappuccino art do you prefer?

Cappuccino at Dineen Coffee Co.

Cappuccino at Boxcar Social

13. Write to my friends overseas. Yes as posted here, and by writing to my friends, I reconnected with a former classmate who now lives in Germany.
14. Complete bookings for our trip to Costa Rica in June-July. Yes, it was my first travel plan for 2017. We’re leaving in about ten days. The count down begins!
15. Start booking a second trip for the summer. Yes! I booked our trip to Spain and Gibraltar.
16. Read about my summer travel destinations. Yes and am still doing it as needed.
17. Post once a week on my blog. Yes, I actually posted more than once per week, and am enjoying it. Thank you, my readers, and to everyone who has left comments :)
18. Get a haircut before going to Costa Rica. Yes as posted here.
19. Declutter my closet. Yes as posted on March 26. I haven’t bought new clothes since January so no new clutter (yay!).
20. Donate twenty unused items. Yes. I do reduce, reuse and recycle.

I’m super pleased that I completed nineteen out of twenty items. Item #5 is deferred but I have been running 5K on Sundays this spring so I give myself a “Pass”.

As the weather improved, and feeling energetic, I added a few more activities:

- Swimming laps on Saturdays: I started with 36 laps on April 9. Small increments of 2 laps per week and here I am at 54 laps.

- Completing my condo refresh project which started on April 28 and ended on May 30. The project took a big chunk of my time and tested my patience. I was glad to get it done.

- Cooking easy and yummy recipes such as Chicken Sausage Skillet, Sausage and Asparagus Bowl, Beef with Broccoli, and Chicken with Snow Peas. My family approved them all.

- Attending more arts and entertainment like A visit to the AGO, Visual arts at Harbourfront, a Piano and violin recital at St. Andrew’s church, Farmers’ market and music, and a Movie with popcorn. The sweet smell of ripe strawberries at the farmers' market made me look forward to the summer even more.

I hope you’ve had an enjoyable spring. I’ll be posting my Summer fun list on June 21, and linking up with several fabulous bloggers so please check back and join in on the fun.

Spring list update #2

On April 27, 2017, I posted update #1 of my Spring activity list, with nine items checked off, six in progress, and five to do. Today I’m joining several bloggers to post update #2 on my remaining eleven items:

1. Exercise in the gym three times per week. Yes for April and May! This is one of my ongoing activities. I asked a friend to join me at one of my workouts in the 2nd week of May and it was great!

2. Practice yoga twice per week. Yes for April and May! What can I say? I find focusing on my breathing and movements calms my mind.

3. Go for a long walk outdoors once per week. Yes! In April and May, I've done either 5K walk or 5K run on Sundays. Truly enjoy the greenery and flowers in my neighbourhood at this time of the year!

4. Learn Spanish online fifteen minutes daily. Yes for April and May!  This activity is my brainteasers every morning. 

5. Sign up early for a 5K running race in September. Not yet. This race is to take place on Centre Island. Unfortunately, the island has been flooded by the heavy rainfall that we’ve had this Spring. It is currently closed to visitors. All events on the island in June have been cancelled. Even though the race date is in September and things should get back to normal by then, since the registration fee is non-refundable, I’m thinking I should wait closer to September to register, just in case the race gets cancelled.

6. Meet up with my sister from out of town. Yes! She was here in the 1st week of May. We had fun catching up, going for coffee, and window shopping.

7. Celebrate two family birthdays. May birthday (Yes!). June birthday (Coming up).

8. Start booking a second trip for the summer. In progress. More to come...

9. Read about my summer travel destinations. In progress. I’ll continue reading until after the trips.

10. Post once a week on my blog. Yes! I actually posted twice per week in April and May.

11. Get a haircut before going to Costa Rica. Not yet. I’ll get it done in June.

I also added a few new activities that were not on my Spring activity list:

- Swimming on Saturday morning: I started with 30 laps on April 9, then increased by two laps per week, with a big jump to 50 laps in the 3rd week of May. 

- Refreshing my rental condo: I started this project at the end of April, and should finish at the end of May. I experienced a delay with the carpeting which is now scheduled for May 30. Can't wait!

- Cooking easy and yummy recipes: Chicken Sausage Skillet, and Sausage and Asparagus Bowl, both from Sheila's Making the Most of Every Day blog. Thanks, Sheila!

- Attending more arts and entertainment in May: A visit to the AGO, cappuccino and visual arts at Harbourfront, and a piano and violin recital at St. Andrew’s church. Simply wonderful and enriching!

I have until June 20 to check off all items on my Spring list. I’ve started thinking about my Summer list which will be revealed on June 21st! Now let’s hop over to the following blogs for more fun spring list updates:

My Retirement Project

Once Upon A Time & Happily Ever After

OutandBack
Family Love Inspiration Education

 Enjoy!

My 3rd week of May

The third week of May just zoomed right by for me. We had Victoria Day long weekend, May 20 to 22, full of activities. More social outings are also happening now that we start having nicer weather.

Happy I’ve accomplished the following this past week:

Fitness:

• Continued to learn Spanish, 15 minutes a day.
• Exercised at the gym 3x, did yoga 2x.
• Swam 50 laps on Saturday. In the last ten minutes of my swim, I had the pool by myself and decided to keep going until lap 50. Swimming in calm water is so enjoyable!

Family:

• Kept up with my family routine.
• For our Victoria Day long weekend, I savoured time at home with my family. We also went out for a 45-minute walk and dinner with friends at a casual, all-you-can-eat place. On the menu were two choices of soup, salads, garlic bread, spaghetti bolognese, penne with grilled vegetables, cookies, ice cream, and soft drinks. Cost was CAD$10 for youths and CAD$15 for adults, taxes included - quite reasonable and good food, too.

Friends:

• Met up with a friend for cappuccino and visual arts at Harbourfront. We had a nice time chatting and strolling along the lake front.
• Reconnected via email with a former classmate who now lives in Germany. Happy messaging!

Fun:

• Attended an uplifting piano and violin recital at beautiful St. Andrew’s church.
• Blogged about ten home organization tips that have helped me stay organized.

Finance:

• Experienced a delay in the carpet installation for my condo refresh project. I had hoped to get the new carpet in on May 17 or 18 but no such thing. The work is now scheduled for May 30.

Plans for the last week of May:

• Keep up with daily family and fitness activities.
• Get new carpet installed in the condo.
• Explore a local art or entertainment event.
• Search and compare air fares to Europe.

I hope you had a good 3rd week of May. How did it go for you?

My 2nd week of May

The condo refresh project took a chunk of my time this past week. When I started going through my calendar, I felt better that I actually accomplished my other personal goals as well. 

Happy that I’ve accomplished the following this past week:

Fitness:
- Continued to learn Spanish, 15 minutes a day.
- Exercised at the gym 3x, did yoga 2x. I changed up my gym routine this past week by asking a positive-minded friend to join me in one workout session. It’s amazing how long a small dose of humour can last. I’m still smiling when I think about our fun chitchats. I’d encourage you to ask a positive friend to join you in your exercise routine now and then.
- Swam 42 laps on Saturday, and ran 5K on Sunday. 👍👍

Family:
- Kept up with my family routine.
- Enjoyed a BBQ for my mother with extended family on Sunday - Happy Mother’s day. 

Friends:
- Emailed my friends who live in the USA to touch base. Glad to hear they are well.
- Shared positive energy and laughed with my friend who joined me at the gym. 

Fun:
- Made a visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) on Wednesday evening. It was nice to view art at leisure. I’ll be back to explore different sections in the AGO.
- Tried another easy recipe Sausage and Asparagus Bowl, as the ingredients were on sale at my grocery store. I used shallots, and sweet chili sauce which I had on hand, in lieu of onions and jalapeno. My family ate everything on their plates, and agreed they would have it again - Success!

Finance/ Condo refresh project:
- Plumbing: Hired a plumber to change the parts in the toilet tank to fix the toilet leak. It was the first time I called in a plumber for the condo unit. He completed his work and prepared the electronic invoice on his tablet within 90 minutes. I was pleased to see the total cost for parts and labour was reasonable.
- Do-It-Myself: The plumber diagnosed the weak water flow in the shower stall was caused by debris caught in the shower head. He suggested that since I had successfully changed the shower head in the bath tub, I should change the shower head in the shower stall to solve the problem and save money from paying him to do it. So off I went to the local Home Depot. Yep, I bought another Moen handheld shower head that was easy to install. This one has 3 settings with chrome finish. You may not be excited but I was when I finished installing and both shower heads now work beautifully!

Moen handheld 7-settings shower head

Moen handheld 3-settings shower head

- Painting: Hired a painter to paint the entire condo, including removal of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, and the fixed desk in the den. It took him three days to complete the job. The condo looks fresh and cohesive with neutral grey/ white palette. Benjamin Moore paint codes used: Gray Owl (OC-52) for the walls, Storm Grey (AF-700) for the bottom cupboard doors, and Decorator’s White (CC-20) for the upper cupboard doors, trim, and doors.
- Carpeting: Received two quotes and carpet samples.  One of the quotes was from Home Depot. Decision to be made early next week. I was impressed that the Home Depot worker who came to the condo took measurements of the carpeted areas with a laser tool, and keyed in all details in his tablet. I was able to view the plan and estimates on his tablet right away.

Plans for this upcoming week:
- Keep up with daily family and fitness activities.
- Book contractor to install new carpet in the condo.
- Attend a free or low cost art and entertainment event. Finding one is part of the fun!
- Have dinner with friends on Saturday.

I hope you had a good 2nd week of May. Your turn to tell me about your week!

My 1st week of May

We had a lot of rain this past week, especially on Thursday and Friday. Lake Ontario has risen nearly 25 centimetres (or close to 10 inches) since May 1. It was still lovely in that my sister visited us for a week. She just left yesterday morning. Due to the heavy downpour, we spent more time indoors than outdoors.

Lake Ontario high water level

Happy that I’ve accomplished the following this past week:

Fitness:

• Continued with Spanish lessons, 15 minutes a day.
• Exercised at the gym 3x, did yoga 2x.
• Swam 40 laps on Saturday, and ran 5K on Sunday.

Finance/ Condo refresh project:

• Finished cleaning all rooms and the five appliances in the condo.
• Met and received quotes from two different contractors.
• Chose new carpet and paint colours (greys and whites).
• Replaced the shower head in the bath tub with a new Moen handheld shower head. It has seven settings, grey/ chrome finish, and was very easy to install. It was on sale for 20% off regular price.
• Added two light bulbs that were missing in the bathroom. The new LED light bulbs were frugal wins in that they were on a special sale for $1.94 each, or 65% off regular price.

Family:

• Had lunch and dinner with my sis and our parents on Sunday.
• Took my sister out for coffee and indoor shopping twice.
• Kept up with my own family’s routine and chores.

Fun:

• Posted my first April in a sentence a day and read other participants’ blogs.
• Window-shopped with my sister. We went to two different shopping malls that I haven’t been to for a while so they were kind of new to me, too. I think we were doing more talking than shopping!
• Tried Sheila’s easy chicken sausage skillet recipe. I served the chicken sausage and kale with a small amount of steamed rice, and got thumbs up from my family (thanks, Sheila).

Plans for the upcoming week:

• Keep up with daily family and fitness activities.
• Touch base with my friends who live in the USA.
• Book contractors for my condo refresh project.
• Visit the Art Gallery of Ontario.

I hope you had a good first week of May. Tell me about your week!

Condo refresh project

I have a rental condo in downtown Toronto that will be vacant in May. It is a one bedroom plus den unit that can house two people comfortably. I’m planning to refresh it with new flooring, new paint, and some minor repairs.

The condo building is about twelve years old. The hallway carpet, walls, lighting, and door handles in the common areas of the building were just refreshed last year.

My condo unit has hardwood floor in the living room, carpet in the bedroom and den, and tile floors in the kitchen and bathroom. The carpet is due to be replaced. A new coat of paint will freshen up the rooms.

I attached two pictures that I took before renting out my condo unit several years ago. One is the open concept kitchen and the other is the living and dining rooms, just to give you an idea. The living room walks out to a balcony with a view of lake Ontario and the islands.

Kitchen

Living and Dining rooms

Preliminary thoughts and potential work:

• paint the whole unit, about 825 square feet.
• paint all kitchen cupboard doors and drawers.
• paint two bathroom cupboard doors below the sink.
• put in new carpet for bedroom and den, or replace all existing flooring with new hardwood floor.
• remove the fixed desk in the den area for more flexibility with furnishings.
• remove the small medicine cabinet in the bathroom for a more spacious look.
• change the shower head in the bath tub to a nicer handheld shower head.
• change the curtain for the window in the bedroom to blinds.

Since the hardwood floor in the living room is still in good condition, I think I’ll keep it and just put in new carpet in the bedroom and the den. The condo has strict rules and regulations for hardwood flooring for noise control reasons, and hardwood floor would likely cost more than new carpet. I’d like to keep costs down where possible, without compromising the overall results. For paint colours, I think I’ll go for a neutral colour palette of greys and whites to appeal to potential renters or buyers.

Now onward to find a contractor for the project, and to shop around for paint, carpet, blinds, and shower heads! My sister knew a contractor who had finished her basement and she was satisfied with his work so I’ll start with him. I have a feeling May is going to be a busy month LOL.

If this was your investment/ rental condo, would you replace all existing flooring with new hardwood floor? What colour would you choose for the new hardwood floor, and the paint colour palette for the condo? Would your choices be different if you were to sell the unit, as opposed to rent it out?

Saturday thoughts 2017/04/22

A Saturday morning post as we’re heading for our weekend getaway, returning home late on Sunday evening. The above floral arrangement was a rushed job and was easy to make.

I had a busy week and got a few mini pop up projects at home that require me to do extra thinking and planning. I’m looking forward to enjoying our family getaway this weekend.

Happy I’ve accomplished the following this past week:

Fitness:

• Exercised each weekday morning (gym three times and yoga twice).
• Continued indoor swimming on Saturday and increased the number of laps from thirty four last week to thirty six this morning. Feeling invigorated after my swim!
• Learned Spanish fifteen minutes daily, currently learning new nouns and verbs, present, past and future tenses.

Family:

• Recycled or disposed some of the furniture that my parents no longer wanted to keep. I had to hire movers to do this so it was a mini project.
• Kept up with my own family routine: grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning up, laundry, and general home maintenance.

Frugal win:

• Saved money by completing my 2016 income tax return myself. I have never paid someone else to do it so I am unsure how much I save but I’m sure I saved.

Fun:

• Tried a new casual eating place called Alexandro's World Famous Gyros. The chicken gyros on a pita was fresh, tasty and filling for under CAD$7 (US$5). The gyros we had in Athens were better and bigger though.

What I look forward to this coming week:

• Making it another productive week.
• Jazz on Friday evening!

How was your week? What do you look forward to this coming week?

Sunday thoughts 2017/04/02

I started writing about what I accomplished last week, then went on to think about the month of March, and the first quarter of the year so this post will be a wrap up of my first quarter of 2017, with some highlights of what I’ve accomplished this past week.

Fitness:

• Happy I got my daily exercise in through the winter months from January to March. During the week, I usually workout in the gym three times, and do yoga twice, an hour each time. On weekends, I do brisk walks on Saturday and Sunday, 4 km (2.5 miles) or longer depending on the weather. Yesterday I walked about 5 km (3.2 miles) and today 7 km (4.4 miles). I like the feelings of being alive and warm after each workout.
• Happy to learn Spanish online, fifteen minutes daily, and to read about various topics, to give my brain its dose of learning something new on a regular basis.

Finance:

• Happy all is in good order. Other than housing and food expenses, I paid for our tickets to Costa Rica in June, and hardly spent on anything else.

Family and Friends:

• Happy my own family is healthy.
• I had concerns for my parents’ health in February, and am coordinating their move to their new home. I’m grateful for having a close knit family, and a good health care system.
• I wrote to two of my dear friends overseas this past week to share our life updates. Happy to hear all has been well with them. We used to write letters but have moved onto use email. I’m grateful to have close friends even though some of them have moved away.

Fun:

• I saw a few movies on DVD, and a few art exhibits this winter. All were either free or low cost entertainment.
• I just realized I’ve been maintaining this blog for about six months. It’s a fun creative outlet for me, 19 posts written in 2016 and 17 posts in 2017 so far, including this one. It’s so nice to receive positive comments from other bloggers. I hope my posts and pictures bring some fun to your day 😊
• This past week, I sorted my photos and wrote a post on my visit to Athens. This task brought back nice memories and took my mind back to Greece. I love to visit ancient sites. Travel is still one activity that I’m passionate about. I can’t think of any other activity that engages all my five senses like travel. So I will continue to read about places, dream, and make some of my travel dreams come true.
• I entered the Bird Cookies (Hato Sabure) giveaway on Laura’s The Occasional Nomads blog. Visit her blog to read about her recent trip to Japan, and remember to enter the giveaway to win. I receive one additional entry for mentioning her blog here.

Not so fun but necessary:

• I decluttered my closet (yay!) and donated more than twenty clothing items. This past week I put away my dark winter clothes and brought my lighter spring clothes to the forefront in my closet. The seasonal clothes are now more accessible and I see more colours on display.
• I added a recurring note in my calendar to “curate” my closet quarterly, starting this March so the next round will be at the end of June, then September, and so on. The quarterly curate should make the task much smaller and quick to do.
• I spent time doing my regular house chores: grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, cleaning, recycling, etc.

What I’m looking forward to next week:

• Making next week another productive week.
• Calling my friend to wish her a happy birthday and catching up. This is another friend that I treasure. We always have so much to talk about.

Now your turn...How was your week? Any big plan for Spring?

Sunday thoughts 2017/03/26

I had a productive week by staying focused and positive. There were tasks that I prefer not to do but I’ve talked myself into finishing them. Disciplined 1, Lazy 0 :-)

Happy I accomplished this past week:

• I completed my one-hour exercise every weekday (workouts in the gym on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and yoga on Tuesday and Thursday).
• I walked briskly for 4 km (2.5 miles) on Saturday and another 4 km today even though it was rainy and soggy on Saturday, and grey and windy this morning.
• I learned Spanish online fifteen minutes every day. I actually did more than fifteen minutes on some days.
• I saved more than I spent. My biggest discretionary expense will be travel! I look forward to travelling again soon.
• I’m checking off my “to do” list for my parents’ move next month. I ordered moving supplies and booked movers for them. I also arranged for health care and utility services at their new address.
• I got my regular house chores done (e.g. laundry, groceries, cleaning, cooking, etc.). A vacation from all of this is welcome!
• I decluttered my closet while listening to music to make the task less tedious. The closet is now neater and has empty space.
• I donated clothing items to the Salvation Army.
• I made a Spring activity list, and changed the display theme of my blog, from white background to charcoal background. I like the contrast but is it too much? Please let me know what you think.

Good things that happened this weekend:

• My DH baked home made cookies. The aroma and freshly baked cookies are simply wonderful. Our coffee chat time is fun and priceless.
• I had a frugal win at the local grocery store: A $8.19 refund and a free 16-pack yogurt due to a scan code error. Glad I checked my receipt before leaving the store.
• Warm family time at home on a Sunday afternoon while the wind is gusting outside.

What I’m looking forward to next week:

• Making next week another productive week.
• Taking time out to visit a contemporary art gallery.
• Reflecting on the first quarter of 2017 and planning for the next quarter.
• Putting some creative ideas that have been dancing in my mind into words and pictures (e.g. Write about my visit to Athens or Lisbon, and post some pictures.)

How was your week?

Mid-March 2017 review

I made chicken fried rice for dinner on Monday night and remembered to take a picture of my work. My family loves this dish and everyone eats it all up every time I make it. It has protein, carbs and veggies and is easy to prepare.

Natalie's chicken fried rice

I had a busy schedule in the first two weeks of March. So far this month is an improvement and is looking better than last month for me. I’m thankful for having a close knit family and a good health care system. I focused hard to complete my personal goals and did some fun activities.

Fitness: I got my exercises in and learned Spanish every day. The time spent on these fitness activities is my time to strengthen my mind and body. It is also very good for stress management.

Finance:

• I’m on track with my savings target.
• I dined out once with my sister at a Korean restaurant. Our talk time together was priceless as we’ve both been very busy.
• I made reservations for a family weekend getaway next month.
• I booked our tickets to go to Costa Rica this summer. We’ve got group rate for our air fares, and saved about $175 per person. This saving will go back into my Travel budget.

Fun:

• I’m on track with posting weekly on this blog.
• I enjoyed watching the movie “Crazy, Stupid Love” on DVD.
• I tried a new Korean restaurant when I went out with my sister. The restaurant has been around for a number of years and I was a new customer. It was packed when we arrived. This is a good sign! We had to take a number but didn’t have to wait too long. Our dinner was tasty with big portions.
• I’m reading about various travel destinations, partly to plan for our upcoming trips, and partly because I like to read about places.

We had an extreme cold alert and a snow storm this week. This is also March break week for school children and teachers in Toronto so the airport is typically busy with family travel on the Friday before and the weekend after the break. I just read on the news that many flights were cancelled due to the snow storm. So glad I’m not on one of those flights.

I’m looking forward to warmer temperatures and nicer Spring weather. In the next two weeks, I should be able to wrap up the accommodation bookings for our trip to Costa Rica. Then I’ll move on to planning for a second trip.

Hope March has been good to you. How are you doing with your goals?

February 2017 review

Old City Hall, Toronto

At the start of February, I intended to continue what I was doing in January.  February turned out to be a stressful month due to a number of elder care activities that I had to take on. I’m thankful that I have a close knit family, and that we have a good health care system.

Without going into the details to maintain privacy for my family members, I’ll just say that I hope for a much more stable and peaceful time in the coming weeks.

When I reflect on my own goals, I realize that I’ve accomplished quite a few in February even though I had to try harder to stay focused. Here’s my list:

Fitness:

• For the mind: Learn Spanish 15 minutes daily - Check!
• For the body: Exercise one hour daily - Check!
• I feel that I need to take good care of myself before I can take care of others.

Finance:

• Stay within budget - Check!
• Meet saving target - Check!
• Bonus: I received cash back rewards and points for purchases made in February.

Fun:

• Post on this blog once a week: Check! I posted four times in February. Writing about my trips to Quebec and Prince Edward Island brought back nice memories.
• Go for free or low cost entertainment: Check! I re-watched a few movies on DVD. I walked on the Great Trail and saw free public art installations.
• Start planning for trips this summer: In progress!
• Declutter my paper stuff: In progress! I met my target in February. I’ll need to keep it up in March.

I hope February has been good to you. How are you doing with your goals?

Mid-February 2017 review

Happy Valentine’s day!

Muskoka chairs on a sunny day

It’s mid-February so I’m reflecting on my personal goals and events in the past two weeks to see how I am doing. I feel that in the Fitness, Finance and Fun categories, I’m doing well. Here’s the list of goals that I accomplished in the last two weeks:

Fitness:

• I exercised one hour per day. I alternated walking, working out in the gym, and yoga.

Finance:

• I met my savings target by sticking to mandatory expenses only. I prepared all meals at home. I stayed away from stores, except for grocery shopping, and only took part in out-of-home fun activities that are free.
• I start reading travel information online to plan for my upcoming trips and family vacation. Aside from preparing myself for the trips, this also motivates me to keep saving. 

Fun:

• I am learning Spanish every day. I’ve done mostly more than 15 minutes per day and have not missed any day since February 1.
• I am posting on this blog weekly. I posted about Quebec last week.
• I re-watched two action movies from my own DVD collection.
• I organized my paper records. I filed the records I need to keep, and shredded or recycled those that I no longer need. This requires regular maintenance so it is work but the result is satisfying. I watch every paper document that comes in and deal with it as soon as possible.
• I walked part of the Great Trail and went to see the free Ice Breakers public art installations which are on until February 26. The picture below shows Leeward Fleet, one of the five installations. 

Leeward Fleet

I hope February has been good to you. How are you doing with your goals?

Mid-January 2017 review

I received a Tim Horton’s gift card at New Year’s and plan to use it when I meet up with my friends for coffee. Tim Horton’s is a Canadian food service brand known for its coffee and doughnuts.

Tim Horton's gift card holder

Reflecting on the first two weeks of 2017, I’m happy that I was able to accomplish some of my goals and enjoy some fun activities.

Fitness:

• I exercised one hour daily. This month I alternated working out in the gym with yoga sessions to give myself variety.
• I also walked about an hour daily. We had some cold days these past two weeks. I just dressed in layers and kept moving at a brisk pace. The weather forecast calls for above freezing temperatures with some rain in the next two weeks. I’ll look out for sunny moments and try to go for my walk during those times.

Finance:

• No unexpected expense so far.
• My savings are on target.

Family:

• I did my share of the usual laundry, grocery shopping, cooking and housework.
• All of us spent most of our free time at home and we love it! When it’s cold outside and everything we need is inside, we stay inside :-)

Fun:

• I wrote on this blog about my solo trip to New Orleans. It took some time for me to decide on which photos to post and to edit my writing but I got it done and got to re-live my favourite experiences in New Orleans.
• I also edited my New Year’s Day post to add a picture of the greeting card that I received from my dear family.
• I resumed my Spanish lessons on Duolingo. I had not done this for a while. I may be traveling to a Spanish-speaking country this year so it’s time to review the basics.

Grocery shopping is actually an activity that meets my goals for keeping fit, saving money, and caring for my family. I walk to the grocery stores and carry the groceries home. I pay attention to what’s on sale and buy what we consume when they go on sale. I try to prepare balanced meals so we can stay healthy. Bonus: I have fun browsing and comparing the store products.

How are you doing with your goals?

New Year's Day 2017

It's New Year's Day of 2017!

A clear, sunny day in Toronto with the following weather data (exactly nine hours of daylight):

• Sunrise: 7:51 AM
• Sunset: 4:51 PM
• Chance of snow: 10%
• Humidity: 50%
• Wind: SW 16 km/hr
• High will be 3C
• Low will be -2C

Similar to previous years, I've set a number of SMART goals for myself for 2017. My goals continue to focus on three categories: (1) Fitness, (2) Finance, (3) Family and Friends. Having just the top 3 is easy to remember and manageable for me. If I add any new category during the year, it's a bonus!

I consider today a great day: I've done my workout in the gym this morning. I've walked outdoors to enjoy the sunshine. I've put some savings in my bank account. I've enjoyed breakfast, lunch and soon dinner with my family. Bonus: Now I'm writing this post to mark a new day in a new year.

Wishing all my family, friends and readers a Healthy and Happy New Year!

Weekend reflections

I took this picture at Harbourfront in Toronto, looking towards Centre Island. Something about the blue sky, the water, the trees and sailboats that are attractive to me.

Toronto harbour

Reflecting on this past week, I’m happy that I was able to accomplish a few things.

Fitness:

• I went for a walk three times per day, usually one in the morning, one at mid-day and one in the afternoon. Total about 1.5 hours each day. It gets dark by 5 PM in Toronto at this time of the year so I want to be outside before sunset. It feels good to get some fresh air and keep moving.
• I went to the pool to swim once this week, and exercised in the gym three times, one hour each time.

Finance:

• No unexpected expense. I got several items on sale on my grocery runs.
• My savings are on target.

Family and Friends:

• Our family all pitched in to do the usual laundry, grocery shopping, cooking and housework.
• I had lunch with two of my friends on different days and we caught up with what’s been going on in our lives. We all agreed to plan another meet-up before the holidays.

Fun (for me):

• I sorted out the pictures from my trip to Argentina and finished posting three articles on my visits to Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls and Bariloche.
• I started thinking about my travel plan for 2017. I’m flexible with the destinations at this point. My passport will be up for renewal soon. I think I’ll go for the 10-year renewal option.

That’s about it from me. Here’s wishing you all a nice weekend and a great week next week.