Sunday, January 27, 2013

On a Serious Note: West Coast Living.

I can't sleep. It is cold, and I swear my bones are aching from the wet weather. I have basically lived in Vancouver my entire life, but somehow the dampness still manages to make even the born-and-raised west coast resident frustrated.

I can't imagine living anywhere else though. Life on the west coast is one of those things that you hate, but you love to hate it. We have so many amazing things here, which come at a cost of course, but it's sometimes a little too much and not enough all at the same time.

If you have never been to the beautiful city I am so priviledged to reside in (Vancouver, BC) I beg you to travel here and experience all that our wonderful city and province have to offer. The pacific north west is really unlike any other place you can go to, and in Vancouver we really have it all.

.... and yet, I am bored of it. I love to live here, but I want to leave so badly. I search the internet for vacations to hot, sunny places because I am so tired of the foggy, the cloudy, the rainy... the sunless days. I live in a place where it feels like it is raining 8 months of the year (even if it doesn't), and even on the beautiful winter days that we get occasionally, they are always forgotten rather quickly as they never seem to last as long as you hope they would.

Unfortunately, I have adopted a career that does not give me a lot of flexibility to explore the world the way I wish I could. I love doing hair, it has consumed my life in every amazing way I could want - but with a client based career comes responsibility to always be there when people need you. Unless I win the lottery, I will never be able to get away for extended periods of time to enjoy the beautiful world we live in.

I do not regret my choices to be young and rooted in a career, and yet I wish sometimes I had debts from experiences in foreign lands rather than from a half-assed attempt at a useless degree and scissors and shoes full of hair. I live vicariously through my clients who tell me of exotic places - and I am nothing but envious of their opportunities to leave this place I call home and see somewhere else.

But I have nothing but time. I am only 21 living in what I know is one of the most amazing places on earth. I dream of being imersed in the history of Europe.. the history of my ancestors, and yet I haven't seen everything my own homeland has to offer. There is so much left to see, and so much left to do in my own back yard, but none of it excites me... and that makes me sad. I need to get away to appreciate all that I am surrounded by... but I know a few days under the sun won't give me what I'm looking for. I don't even know what I'm looking for.

I am tired of this damn rain.

I am tired of being in Vancouver.

I never want to leave.

K.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Paper Organization and a New Journal!

I am horrible at organizing things. If you've read some of my previous posts, you will have seen that one of my New Year goals was to start getting myself more organized. I have done a few things which have made a big help in my daily life, but lately I have been trying to organize the bigger picture... namely all my paperwork.

I have a LOT of paperwork, from going to university to hairdressing school, all of my tax forms and various warranties and receipts... let's just say that I needed a better way to get everything into one place. My papers are always in various envelopes strewn between several rooms... it's not good. So, a few weeks ago I decided to try and collect up all of my paper work and put it into one super folder.


This is my super folder. I went to Staples and I found a 16 section accordion file folder. 16 sections might sound like a lot, but when you actually start to break down all the different sorts of paper you accumulate, you'll end up closer to 16 than you think! I love it because it's purple, firstly, and because it can expand quite large so I shouldn't have to upgrade to a bigger one for quite a while!


Inside, as you can see, I have everything divided up. I keep everything separate so that when I need that warranty receipt or phone bill, or when I cant remember when my next car insurance payment will come out, I have it all in a spot where I can find it without having to dig around hundreds of random things to find what I'm looking for!

This has already been useful and I only did it a couple of weeks ago! Not to mention how much tidier my room looks not having a bunch of envelopes and papers stacked up on my desk and dresser! It's awesome to know that everything in there is something I need too. I shredded everything that I knew wasn't important, so I actually got a little bit of spring cleaning done as well!

Along with my new super folder, I have also started a new special journal. Because I have decided that I need to be more organized, I have started to write things down more... and not in a fun blog/journal way, but in a personal way to try and keep myself on track and accountable to the goals I have set. Along with trying to get more organized, I've set some monetary goals to try and get myself out of debt. Going to school over the past 4 years basically non-stop has really given me a chunk of debt that I need to work on. So, I have started a debt journal!

I find it's the best way to keep myself accountable for my credit cards and my payments, and since I started it on January 1st, I'm happy to say that I have actually made HUGE progress on my debt. I write down every payment and charge made to my credit cards so that I can keep track of my spending habits, and know how much (or how little) I have paid down on my debt each month. It has been beyond helpful to write out a budget and set a goal to get that paid off. Every time I pay a little bit of money down onto my debt, I can breathe a little easier, and over the past few years that has been a very stressful part of my life. 

I hope that this new year has given you an opportunity to make some goals, and maybe you're starting to make some progress like I am! And if not, that's okay too. I don't believe in resolutions really, but in setting up a plan to make your life a little better day by day! It's so much easier to see the short term than the long term! =)

Blog, and be happy!

Kyleigh.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Hope chest: New Dishes.

Recently, my mom has been purchasing a few new things here and there around the house, such as pots and pans and cutlery and asking me if I would like to keep the older stuff for my future home to save me some money when i first manage to move out. While I'm not exactly close to finding a new place to live, I have decided that starting a hope chest is something I really need to think about, as coming up with a lot of things like dishes and other things for the home cost quite a bit of money if you don't gradually accumulate it over time.

So, today while at ikea I saw these 12 piece dish sets for only 20$. They are a cute minty green, and really, for 20 bucks, it's something down the road I won't have to worry about right away even if its only a small starter set. So, I randomly splurged on them (if you can consider spending 20$ splurging!). I'm actually a little bit excited about them, even though I won't use them right away, but the idea that my hope chest is actually accumulating a little bit of stuff makes me feel happy!

Now, all I need to do is make more money so I can move out..... I guess my hope chest has a little more time to grow!

Blog, and be happy!

Kyleigh.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Hello, 2013!

Wow, I can't believe that 2012 is actually over! What a crazy year. I'm sure everyone feels that way looking back on 12 months of life. I'm always so excited when a new year comes along - it's like a new chapter, a chance to start over, or at the very least a time to attempt to move on from the things that hurt you the year before and try to give yourself a fresh perspective.

I found this picture on Pinterest, and I think that it's something we can all aspire to do a little better! There are definitely things I would like to work on this year, I would like to eat healthier, feel better about myself, get more organized... but I think that this pledge covers more than just a resolution to do physical things... it's a pledge to change your state of mind, which is something I could really use!




I think I'm going to try and make this pledge my motto for 2013. I need to stress less, embrace the joy in my life and really take the time to enjoy every moment. 

I am lucky to live my life. I have a wonderful, loving boyfriend, an awesome family, fantastic friends, a job that I love and a life I am lucky to live. I have a roof over my head, food on my plate and spare change in my purse and if you have even half of the things that I have, I hope you feel just as lucky as I do. 2013 is going to be a wonderful year, and I am so excited to share it with you! =)

Blog, and be happy!

Kyleigh.