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It was a regular Thursday morning. I got in my car to start heading to my local Toastmasters Club meeting. I closed the door and could still hear the outside world as opposed to the usual quiet nothing that results. How weird, I thought.
Read MoreMr. F2P and I don't exchange birthday or Christmas gifts anymore. In large part, it's because we do things for each other and because when we want or need something, we just buy it...and we don't tend to want or need very much.
This year has been a bit different. Well, just by a smidgen.
Read MoreI came across this image on Social Media (see top right) while attending FinCon16 in SanDiego this past September. I mentioned it to my roommate and long-time friend Michelle and we had a good discussion at that time about the power of having a Gratitude (aka "Happiness") Jar, including her sharing with me her personal experience with the daily exercise.
That discussion stayed with me and, upon my return to Winnipeg, I went on the hunt for my very own Gratitude Jar (see bottom right). Unfortunately, my interest quickly faded and I did not maintain the activity past the first few weeks.
It was a talk I gave at a Christmas party in mid-December that reawakened my interest in it.
Read MoreThe F2P clan hasn't exchanged Christmas gifts with each other and with others for many years now. If we’re invited somewhere—which we feel privileged to say is common place for us during the Holidays—we bring something the hosting party needs for the evening, and we ask what that might be ahead of time. It never fails because there’s always something.
And it’s no different when we play host. We prefer not to receive gifts and, when we do, we’re delighted that people bring food stuffs and not consumer goods that adds to the clutter we would prefer not to have in the first place.
How, then, do we celebrate during the Holidays?
Read MoreI purchased an iPhone this past September, an iPhone SE to be exact. (Here’s the post, if you want some background.)
This past Tuesday, I went out with some girlfriends and all was good, until the ride home. Two of us were lucky enough to get a ride home. We made our first stop to drop off friend #1.
And that’s when it happened.
Read MoreI think you’ll enjoy this story of my SAA flight from Johannesburg to New York on my way back from a South African Safari nearly two years ago.
It was August 27, 2014 and my good friend and I were home bound after a glorious 12-day safari.
Read MoreSince my early childhood, the most important possession was having a house I could call home for a long time. Having moved 8 times by the time I was 14 years old, having a living space that I could call my own over the long term was important to me. I wanted a place that we could afford, in an area we would find comfortable indefinitely. And we found that place.
Read MoreYesterday, I reached out and thanked two people who’ve been influencial—beyond measure—in my life over the last four years. The exercise was harder and evoked more emotion in me than I ever thought it would. And I hope I do it again.
Read MoreIt’s official, Free to Pursue is a toddler, though some might call it a teenager, given the short lifespan for blogs in general.
Read More"T’was the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a..." blogger?
OK. Yes. I’ve stirred this morning, but only to start a fire to warm up our home and to make myself a coffee to warm up and wake up this body of mine.
Christmas’s Eve, or la veille de Noël as I said growing up, is a special time. It’s full of anticipation but that’s not the reason it's so special. It’s the quiet.
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