How Many Winters?

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How Many Winters?

As snowflake clusters fall softly to the ground this morning, I watch, coffee in hand. I appreciate the spectacle and wonder: "How many winters do I have in my future?”

I say it not to be morose but to ensure I cherish this one. This day. This snowfall. This moment. I want to soak in what this experience offers me. I've written before that memories are my most prized possessions, but I think the ability to stop and spend time in the now—doing what feels right in the moment—as often as possible is even more precious.

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Because I Want To - Learning for Learning’s Sake

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Because I Want To - Learning for Learning’s Sake

“Why bother?” is a question that saddens me every time I hear it. It’s usually in response to another person sharing their efforts in learning a process, task or about a subject that interests them.

The question is rooted in a belief that has permeated our society like a cancer. That belief is that the only reason we should do something is in order to reach a desired outcome, something "worthwhile". And, that for some reason the process we use to get there is irrelevant, the only relevant measure being whether or not it can be achieved efficiently.

By thinking this way, WE MISS THE WHOLE POINT OF LEARNING!

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A Secret Happiness Principle - Try New Things….And Then Quit Them

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A Secret Happiness Principle - Try New Things….And Then Quit Them

There’s a lot of talk about happiness these days. The happiness industry is booming with seminars, books, courses and all sorts of work and leisure “systems” to help us all be happier.

I’ve come to understand that happiness, for me at least, comes from learning about myself and what makes me tick (some might call it “doing the work”). It also comes from ensuring I have the freedom to make time and listen to what it is that I really want to do and be in all aspects of life: relationships, professional pursuits, personal experiences.

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Are You Sure About That? - How to Cure Ignorance

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Are You Sure About That? - How to Cure Ignorance

I'm ignorant, and I'm OK with that. But it doesn't mean that I don't try to be a little less so every day.

Our knowledge, skills, abilities and experience are tested all day long, with every decision we make and in every conversation we have with others. Well, they are tested, unless we tend to do the same things every day/week/month, thereby exposing ourselves to the same type of information and the same types of conversations over and over again with the same people (like the movie Groundhog Day, which I’ve written about here).

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The Unexpected Power of Putting Your Best Foot Forward

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The Unexpected Power of Putting Your Best Foot Forward

A hair stylist once told me “You’re not a high-maintenance woman, are you?”. Others have been more polite, with statements such as “You’d be best with something that’s easy to style and maintain.” and others less so: “No. I’m not going to do that type of colour on you because you won’t maintain it.”

OUCH! Suffice it to say that most people would not peg me as someone who invests a lot in her looks, unless I absolutely have to. Truth is, if I don’t have a corporate gig to go to or a theatre production to prep for, you’ll find me in cargo pants, a t-shirt and a zip-up hoodie as opposed to more professional-looking options. Yup, that’s how I roll 90+% of the time, especially now that I work my magic at home.

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Ten Days in Paradise for Less Than $1000

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Ten Days in Paradise for Less Than $1000

In a little over 100-days’ time, we’re going on a 10-day vacation to Costa Rica, our longest vacation together in over five years.

What prompted my research on the potential for us to go there was an invitation from my girlfriend Michelle (with whom I went on safari in 2014) to join her and her husband there this coming January. Unfortunately, our schedules didn’t align and we had to pass on their invitation, but all is not lost: we’ll be going about a month later.

I bring this trip up for a half-dozen reasons that I think might be worthy of discussion...

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We Accumulated $429 of Stupid Tax In Just Three Days

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We Accumulated $429 of Stupid Tax In Just Three Days

The online Personal Finance community talks a great deal about the cost of payday loan operations—especially now that they’re popping up on every corner and seem more pervasive than McDonald’s. We also talk about our out-of-control consumerism that leads us towards spiralling levels of debt, especially credit card debt and HELOCs. But there’s one thing we don’t talk about enough when it comes to what can put a dent into our finances: fines & traffic violations.

Mr. F2P and I were painfully reminded of this fact last week. He and I had a lot on our plate and a scarcity mindset [in this case a lack of time] created by our respective preoccupations left us a distracted mess.

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When Ideas Have Sex

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When Ideas Have Sex

I was away at a conference last week (the first of a few trips I alluded to in this post) and the experience was overwhelming to say the least.

Not because of the number of people—though 1,200 is a lot—but because of the number of opportunities that presented themselves. I have never had so many great conversations in a short four days, and I mean never.

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