New Year, Old Me.

January 17, 2016January 19, 2016 | ilovevaluevillage

ML dressed Nora last Sunday in this top and pant. I thought it was too much pattern for one outfit but kept that criticism to myself. I loved that the pants were only $1.49, that’s cheaper than a small coffee at Tim Hortons.

Bottom: Tangerine $1.49

Top: Carters $2.99

I usually don’t make new year resolutions. I have 4 goals that I try to work on every year.

1. Be more productive. This to me means going to bed at 10 pm and wake up at 5 am each and every day. I usually accomplish this goal between March to November. But the winter months are a struggle every year. Some day, I will be able to do this all year round.

2. Learn new things. The year I was on mat leave I took George Brown’s Baking Arts 1. I loved it so much. The Year before that I took their Culinary Arts Class. Years before that I took an Adult Sewing Class at Sew Be It Studio. I am a social learner. I need to be in a classroom and interact with people. Now with a second baby on the way, I am resigned to the fact that it will be 3 to 4 years before I can go back to the classroom. This means I have to look at online options. Do you have any recommendations?

3. Stay in shape. This has been a nagging goal since I was a teenager. I remember getting a gym membership with my friend in high school at a local community centre and feeling so good about myself. I thought I was so cool for having a gym membership at 16. I have had personal trainers and my best experience has been Hour Glass Workout (HGW). Last year, I was adamant about getting my pre-baby waistline back that I did HGW, ran the Nike 15K and focused on eating a healthy diet. I did get my pre-baby waist back. Staying in shape has different meanings to different people. To me, it makes me feel like am I am the @hit! I should not be so dependent on a superficial idea but it works for me.

4. Nurture relationships. I’ve experienced great joy and great sadness. I know life would be unbearable without amazing friends and family to share it with. Even though I am a true loner at heart, I try to see friends and family as often as possible.

This year will be like any other year, I will continually to try to achieve all 4, at different times of course. It’s hard to kill it at all 4 all the time, which is fine by me.

#1 Goal – My mid year resolution

July 8, 2015July 8, 2015 | ilovevaluevillage

Let’s get the house keeping item out of the way. Below is a top and bottom that I bought for my daughter. They were both 30% off with my Value Village stamp card. The top was $4.49 and bottom was $3.99 before the discount. I love seeing her chubby arms in tank tops.

In 2011, I managed to develop the habit of waking up between 5am-5:30am to work out. This habit lasted about two years and I was really happy during this time. On the days that I did not work out, waking up early allowed me to prepare my meals and it gave me a competitive edge at work.

Since having a baby and returning to work, it has be come extra hard to try and wake up that early but I think I can do it this year by slowly making small changes. For the month of July, my small change will be to be in bed by 10pm on week nights, regardless of what is happening. I will be in bed at 10pm, even if there’s laundry to be done, or meals to be cooked or work to be done.

I want to start working out at 5:45am again instead of 7pm currently, I want to have a few days a week where I start my work day at 6am and think strategically instead of reacting to things. I want to use this time to meditate and reflect on the day’s goals. This one habit of being up at 5am will have a positive effect in all areas of my life. This one habit will be a game changer towards achieving better health and happiness. Wish me luck!

Blogging again…

March 20, 2015March 20, 2015 | ilovevaluevillage

It’s been a long hiatus. For the sake of brevity, I’ll just share that I had a baby and live in the burbs. And on most days, I live a happy, content and peaceful life, filled with love and laughter.

I won’t be strictly blogging about my Value Village and Goodwill finds and will blog just about anything and everything. The majority of entries will still be about buying used goods. I love the idea of making use of something that is useless to someone else. It’s my way of saying we’re all all useful/valued to someone, even of someone else may have no use for us.

My goal is to blog once a week and not just on this blog. But another blog I started with my sister two years ago, before we both had our babies. I’m probably being overly ambitious but that’s just how I am. Maybe someday, I’ll learn.

Now on with our regular programming….I found this little romper for Nora at Value Village. It was too big for her at the time (June 2014) but by August 2014, she had grown into it nicely.