9 minute mile May 31, 2010
Posted by gmbmfb in : fitness , 2commentsSo yesterday at the gym, I ran 4 miles in 36 minutes. I was running at a pace where I know I could have run the last 2 miles, but since I was at the gym and was already over the allotted time on the treadmill, I had to get off. I was probably going at about 80% effort – a comfortable pace, never getting too fatigued or cramped up. That’s a 54 min-10km pace. Not great. Not bad, but not great.
I set my “rest” pace at 6.0 (since that means I would at least be running at a 60 min. 10km pace), and then alternated speeds between 6.5-7.5, going to my “rest” pace for 1 minute out of every 5.
I’m confident that I can run a full 10km in under 60 min, but I have to make up about 4-6 minutes overall to reach my target of a < 50 min. 10km. I’m going to keep running on the treadmill for all of June, and then alternate and start running outside for July.

Spending Recap: May 24-30, 2010 May 31, 2010
Posted by gmbmfb in : spending , add a commentMonday 24th
$18.04 A&W (my treat since BF bought lunch on the ferry on Friday)
$73.20 ferry
– $35 BF (for his half of ferry)
Tuesday 25th
$110.54 Superstore (bought BF’s share of groceries too)
Wednesday 16th
No spend day!
Thursday 27th
No spend day!
Friday 28th
No spend day!
Saturday 29th
$130.46 car dealership (6-month check-up)
$10.79 groceries
Sunday 30th
$33.10 beer store (for the BBQ we didn’t end up going to)
TOTAL: $341.13
A bit out of the ordinary because I took my car in for his 6-month service. That $$ will come out of my Car Fund. Also, the $110.54 in groceries was also out of the ordinary – I bought BF’s groceries too. So BF bought all the groceries last night for this week’s food. Works out to be the same. :)

June 2010 Monthly Goals May 31, 2010
Posted by gmbmfb in : monthly goals , 1 comment so farNothing out of the ordinary with this month’s budget. I’ve decreased my Food and Entertainment categories to account for the fact that I’ll be in Mexico for the last 5 days of the month. I’ve increased my Clothing budget, and added some money into my Travel fund because I’ll be going to my hometown for one weekend, and BF and I will be going to see a Mariners game with a couple of my friends this coming weekend.
Note that this budget DOES NOT include spending money for Mexico. That will come out of my Travel Fund, and right now I’m planning on about $300 US. It will probably be too much, but I can always save that $$ for another trip this year.
June Goals:
- $600 into Retirement Portfolio (RRSP & TFSA)
- $200 into Emergency Fund
- Make an extra $100
- Work out 4-5x/week (even when in Mexico)

May 2010 Goals: My Review May 29, 2010
Posted by gmbmfb in : monthly goals , 6commentsI didn’t end up doing too badly this month. Yes I did go over my budget by -$192.35, but I also brought in an additional $337.15 through my side business and through this blog.

Notes:
- Food – The sad thing is, the overage doesn’t even include the camping food that we bought. Or any going out to eat. That was straight up just groceries. Granted, I did take on more of the grocery costs than normal because BF is in school right now.
- Miscellaneous – This includes BF’s birthday present, which I completely forgot to budget for. Whoops!
May Goals:
- $600 into Retirement Portfolio (RRSP & TFSA). CHECK! I deposited $500 into my RRSPs and $100 into my TFSA.
- $300 into Future Home Fund (half of the amount would be from BF). CHECK! We each deposited $150.
- Make an extra $100. CHECK! I made $337.15.
- Read at least 1 book. CHECK! I read Shanghai Girls
and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
.
- Work out 3-4x/week. CHECK! I worked out 14 of 31 days (I included the 3 day hike), which works out to 3.5x/week.

Tentative trip to Calgary May 28, 2010
Posted by gmbmfb in : travel , add a commentSo BF and I are now planning on a trip to Calgary in February. Why? Because it was just announced that my Calgary Flames and his Montreal Canadiens are playing against each other in the Winter Classic (happens every year, an NHL game played outdoors in a football stadium). Brrrr!! It’s going to be cold, but so much fun.
Tickets probably won’t go on sale until regular season tickets go on sale later this year. We’ll be able to stay with his brother’s family, and we do try to make it out to Alberta at least once a year (since BF’s parents live out there as well), so this trip really isn’t out of the ordinary.
It’s a long ways away, so I won’t worry about it until the fall when we buy our tickets to the game and start to look at flights, but glad that I have it on my radar.

Summer is almost here! May 28, 2010
Posted by gmbmfb in : entertainment , 4commentsI’m planning on going to see Sex and the City 2 with a friend on Monday night, and I am so excited! I don’t care about all the bad reviews or that 99% of Phil Villarreal‘s tweets have been about how much he loves the movie over the past few days, it’s going to be great. And do you want to know why? Because it’s friggin’ SATC2. That’s why.
The movie will cost $12 and I also think we’re going to grab some dinner beforehand, so perhaps $15 for that? All in all, the evening should cost less than $30. Expensive! But I only do something social with friends a few times a month, or when I go home, so I don’t feel too bad.
Also, this coming weekend BF and I have been invited to one of his friends house for dinner. I think we’ll have to bring some food and a 6-pack of beer.
You can tell that summer is approaching, because social events are popping up left and right. It’s times like these where I wish we had a bigger place and a BBQ so that we could entertain. Our place is barely big enough for the two of us, and our visitors are few and far between. :)

BF’s birthday is next week! May 28, 2010
Posted by gmbmfb in : relationship, spending , 1 comment so farOkay, so BF’s birthday is coming up fast (next week!). I bought him his present (can’t say how much or what it is – although I did mention on Twitter). I’m kind of kicking myself because if I had planned it better, I could have purchased it cheaper online or even during my last trip across the border. But I waited until the last minute, and that’ll generally kill it every time.
We are also going for all-you-can-eat sushi (our go-to dinner when we’re celebrating something – about $45 after tax/tip for the both of us). And then after that, we’re going to a late show of MacGruber. No joke. The skits on SNL don’t seem that funny and I thought the movie looked kind of dumb in previews. But now, all my friends have seen it and think it’s the most hilarious movie they’ve seen since Anchorman (which is our holy grail of funny movies). And it’s also gotten decent reviews online, so now we’re both curious. Has anyone else seen MacGruber? Thoughts?

Thursday this and that May 27, 2010
Posted by gmbmfb in : miscellaneous , 10comments- I’m reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
right now. Usually I’m not one for mystery novels, but this one is really good! I can’t wait to read the other 2 books in this series.
- One month from now, I’m going to be relaxing on a beach in Mexico. Bliss!
- I’ve been perusing part-time job postings on Craigslist for the past few weeks. A few have caught my eye, but I have yet to apply for anything.
- My ‘work-out buddy’ has bailed on me 4 times in a row. Guess I should have seen that coming, as she is the same friend who consistently bails on me b/c of lack of funds – even when we plan things months in advance. Sigh.
- One of my 2010 Goals was to take a trip by myself. My original thought was Oregon, but that was a little too far for me to drive for just a weekend trip, and expensive! So when we were hiking the Juan de Fuca trail over the weekend, across the water was the Olympic Peninsula. And it reminded me of the time my family took a camping trip there when I was a child to Neah Bay. So I’ve decided that’s where I’ll go for a weekend by myself. Probably near the end of the year – more of a chance for storm watching. :) I’ve already scouted out the perfect place to stay right on the beach, and only $60/night.
- The student promo with Apple Canada has started! :) A free 8GB iPod Touch with the purchase of a computer. I’ll be taking advantage of this sometime in the summer I think.
- After my computer purchase, I’m seriously considering buying a super compact digital camera for taking pictures while hiking (probably not until the Boxing Day sales at the end of the year, if at all). I’d like something I can just strap to my hip belt (like BF has). My current camera is AMAZING (Canon G-10), but it’s just a little too bulky to carry on me while we’re hiking so I find that I’m only taking pictures during the camping portion of our hikes. I’ll have to do a ton of research though, as I’m really particular with cameras.
- Also speaking of cameras, I’ve been lusting after a couple Pentax K-1000 cameras (plus accessories) on eBay. They’re not expensive, but I don’t really have a use for it, except that they’re awesome. I just can’t justify buying it for so many different reasons.





