Splurging

 

This was my lovely tree before the windy thunderstorm blew most of the blossoms off :(

I went for an interview last Friday. I didn't really want to apply for the job because it involves some traveling in the form of highway driving - especially not fun when it's Winter! Not only that but I'm overqualified and the pay would be a cut compared to what I could get anywhere else. So why did I apply? Minimal overtime, the job itself seems interesting, good benefits - including pension! And the job environment seems to be good and not overly stressful. Plus it would be easy for me to drive to since it's not in Downtown and it sort of has flex hours. Oh and free parking. I didn't prepare for the interview since I'm still indecisive about going back to work but definitely felt nervous when I walked in to three interviewers staring at me. I think the interview went pretty well seeing as I have to go back for a test and a second interview. A test? I don't know what to expect but I'm really really hoping that both sons will let me have a good night's rest or else these potential employers might question my resume and maybe even the validity of my CA designation ha ha...

Even though I'm still undecided, I think I'm leaning towards returning to work. Especially if I can land a job that has good hours so that I can come home, not be stressed/exhausted, and just be able to spend some quality time with my family. 

I don't want to think that this is another reason why I'm returning to work but my trusty old 1999 VW Jetta died a few weeks ago. It's not really dead but needs some work done. It actually needs a lot of work done if you want to include the body of the car but I think the starter went. If it's only the starter, then it wouldn't be too bad but I have a feeling there's more - plus more to come for sure. It has over 220,000 km. I purchased it at around 90,000 km and have not replaced the clutch yet. So I've been spending a lot of time trying to research used cars. I think I will be going with a 2010 Subaru Outback 3.6R. I was going to go with the more fuel efficient 2.5 engine, but after test driving both, I made my choice. It's a bit more than I want to spend on a car right now but I want something safe and reliable...

Oh and I bought a Blendtec blender. I've been wanting to buy a Vitamix for the longest time but then I saw a Blendtec at Costco last week for $360. I quickly picked it up and bought it so that I could research first and then return it (unopened!) after; I knew at that price it would sell out quickly! So I did a lot of research that made me even more undecided. Finally, I just decided to keep it. I mean, it has an 8 year warranty so it should be okay. So anyway, I made my first smoothie this morning which consisted of: spinach, milk, kiwi, frozen mixed fruit, Greek yogurt, chia seeds, and a banana. It was so smooth and thick, just how I like it! I liked the fact that I didn't have to tamp it down or stay there to control the speed, like I would for a Vitamix. The Blendtec has buttons and has a digital display. Do I think it will last as long as a Vitamix? Probably not, but it should last at least 8 years under the warranty and by then, I would have definitely got my money's worth. No buyer's remorse here!

Decisions

 

I did it. I purchased two more packs of Cookinotti. That's FOUR jars. I was cookie naughty :( I'm planning to give them away though so I put them in the basement where I won't see them.

I haven't been to the gym this week because of a sore wrist. I went to see my doctor and it turns out that I have a ganglion. If it was bigger, I might have needed surgery to remove it, but it's not too big. It's really annoying and it feels like a bad bruise when I press it and a bad strain when I don't. I have to pick up Son #2 with my right hand and gently support with my left. Sometimes I just grab his sleep sack with my right hand and lift him out, crane style, complete with machine sound effects. I HAVE been going out on longer walks with the boys to kind of make up for the absence of intense physical activity.

I was really tempted to ask Husband to pick up some pizza on the way home from Son #1's swimming lessons today but then I decided to try this recipe from one of my favourite food blogs, Week of Menus. I didn't have any tofu so I just served the spicy kale salad with some pan-seared salmon and brown rice. It was really yummy! The creaminess of the avocado balanced the spicy dressing and crunchy kale so well. Yay for healthy eating!

On another note, I've been casually applying for jobs. By casual I mean, if I see a job posting that I really like, I'll submit my mediocre resume along with a half-hearted cover letter. I'm still not sure if I want/need to return to work after my maternity leave is over but I thought that I should keep an eye out so I'm not scrambling to find one in case I have to!

Unclean Eating

So I was checking out unadvertised Costco Canada deals when I noticed two jars of Cookinotti on clearance for $4.97. Cookinotti? What's that? Could it finally be that we could purchase something that might be like Trader Joe's Cookie Butter? I gave a list to Husband of things to buy. When he brought it home, I immediately opened the jar and ate a spoonful. Mmmm just like I remembered. Then I remembered that I still had a jar of Trader Joe's Cookie Butter in my cupboard with only a little bit left. I think I was trying to ration it in case I had a Cookie Butter emergency. I had purchased it in December and forgot about it. Luckily it wasn't expired. Who am I kidding though? I would have still ate it if it was expired. I had to do a taste test. One spoon of Cookinotti followed by a spoon of Cookie Butter. I couldn't tell the difference. I mean, I'm not a Speculoos cookie connoisseur or anything but it tasted the same to me. I can't remember how much I paid for the Cookie Butter from the Trader Joe's in Seattle, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't two jars for $4.97.

Now I'm trying to fight the urge and stock up. I'm already thinking that I should give the other jar away. If you Google Trader Joe's Cookie Butter, you can read all sorts of things about how addicting it is. To be honest, I didn't even think it was THAT great the first time I ate it. I still think it's just okay but for some reason it's so addicting. I tried it on ice cream and on bread, but I think the best way to have it is straight up on a spoon. I even had it spread on a Speculoos cookie. Speculoos with Speculoos Cookie Butter. Why? I don't know, I thought the Butter needed some crunch?

So now I'm going to Costco tomorrow to buy some other things that I missed and will have to fight the urge to buy more Cookinotti for myself and for my cousin who is just as addicted as I am but doesn't think I should buy it either.

On a side note, Husband and I went on our first date in a looooong time and I noticed that some of my clothes were a bit looser thanks to the two spin classes and one Group Power (weights) class that I took in the last week. Oh and the weather has finally warmed up so we've been going on a few evening walks. Okay, no Cookinotti. Maybe.

Clean Eating

It seems like everyone is into clean eating these days. There's even something called the Paleo Diet that I haven't really looked into but can kind of guess what it's about. I saw this recipe for ricotta cheese, chia seeds, fresh papaya chunks, and agave nectar drizzle and thought that it would make a really nice, healthy breakfast. So I made it this morning before we took the boys to their swimming lessons. I've only had ricotta in baked pasta dishes and assumed it would be similar to cottage cheese when eaten cold. I took one bite and frowned. Maybe I can overcome the gritty saltiness. Another bite. Nope. Scoop off the papaya and whatever I could of the chia seeds and the rest got thrown away. What a waste. Son #1 is pretty open to new and different foods but he didn't like the grittiness and refused to eat it. I would definitely replace the ricotta for Greek yogurt or cottage cheese next time. Even better for me would have been if I had time this morning to make some steel cut oats and sprinkle that with the chia and papaya. I love my sweets but I can do without the agave or any other sweetener when it comes to oatmeal, as long as there's some fruit.

Speaking of healthy eating... has anyone tried Caffarel chocolates? The Lindt chocolate outlet was having a 50% off sale and I bought a bag of these expensive beauties. It seems like they were bought out by Lindt a while ago and thank goodness for that, otherwise I would have never tried them. Even at 50% off they are quite expensive, but one piece of chocolate goes a long way. If you love chocolate and hazelnuts, especially whole hazelnuts, you have to try Caffarel's Nocciolotto chocolate. It's sooo smooth and delicious with crunchy hazelnuts. I gave a small bag of them to my parents to try and my mom told me that my dad ate all of them but left one for my mom, presumably out of guilt. Like father, like daughter.

I don't think I will be doing a complete clean eating makeover, but I will definitely try to tidy up my diet. I need to drastically reduce my sugar intake, especially since several of my uncles have Type II diabetes and also reduce refined carbs and trans fats. Time to whip this body back into shape. Wa-pish! (Whipping noise, in case you were wondering.)

T-shirt in the Swimming Pool

image credit 

Today was the first time that I did a spin class in over 15 months. According to my watch, my heart rate went up to 192, averaging at 176, and I burned 646 calories in 52 minutes. I wasn't even pushing myself super hard so that kind of gives you an idea how out of shape I am. Due to potential complications and some pregnancy scares early on in my second pregnancy, I decided to skip the gym and just do light exercises like walking. My friend who is due to give birth in two days just went to spin class last Saturday. I texted her and told her that she was intense.


After Son #1 was born, I hit the gym as soon as I could and by this time, I had already lost all of my pregnancy weight. Not so much this time.

We registered both sons in swimming lessons and tomorrow is the first day. I will be taking Son #2 and Husband will be with Son #1 in his class. I was hoping to have lost enough weight to be able to wear a one piece swimsuit, but looks like I will have to be one of those people who wear t-shirts in the pool. I'm aware that the t-shirt will cling to my body in the most unflattering way, but I think it will be my security blanket in my time of insecurity.

The swimming lessons are actually coming at a good time. Tomorrow is April 30th and is when personal tax payments and most returns are due in Canada (unless you are self-employed, deceased, etc. etc.) so that means that I have an excuse to not go into the office and help. Not that I need an excuse. I'm on maternity leave, people! I actually went in today after my spin class (and shower!!) and it wasn't too busy so I don't feel too bad about not coming in tomorrow.

As an aside: why the picture of the accountant cake? Because I noticed that some people find my page by Google searching for a birthday cakes for accountants and I hate to disappoint ;)

CA/CGA/CMA = CPA?

The other day I received an e-mail from the Alberta Institute of Chartered Accountants regarding the amalgamation of the CA, CMA, and CGA designations in Alberta into the newly formed CPA designation. That was surprising because the last I heard, the Alberta CAs had opted out of discussions to join into one designation. Not that I was closely keeping up-to-date on the situation or anything. From what I understand, this decision is now in the voting stage and aside from Quebec, Alberta will be one of the first provinces to implement the unification strategy.

Do I agree? I'm not sure. I think CASB was pretty torturous and would have found the CGA program a lot more manageable. I hate group projects because you always have the one slacker/freeloader in the group who never does any work and that's what I heard the CMA program involves (group projects, not slackers/freeloaders) so that wouldn't have been appealing to me anyway. Not that I'm saying that CGAs are any less qualified than CAs, but since I already had a University degree, I would have only needed to take a few more courses in order to obtain that designation. Granted, I will be given the option to still add "CA" after my name for 10 years once the unification goes into effect. I'm not sure how that affects how CAs will be linked to other CA organizations in the world either. Obviously I have some more researching to do.

Another thing that mildly annoys me is the acronym that they chose: CPA, which stands for Chartered Professional Accountant. Wait, doesn't CPA stand for Certified Public Accountant? No, silly. That's CPAs in the United States! Couldn't we have selected one that was different?

In the end, I guess we are all accountants and not everyone knows or cares about the difference anyway. Here's to hoping for lower professional fees and lower costs for continuing education courses!!

Work vs Stay-At-Home

 image from here

Tax season. Ugh. I'm so glad that my maternity leave lets me bypass tax season this year. Crazy me, though, had to offer to help out for a few hours a day since I felt bad. Today was my first day back at work and it was only for about four hours. I think I will only come in for four hours a day until the end of April since I'm still nursing Baby #2 and he doesn't really like the bottle. I want to help out as much as I can, but I don't want to make Baby #2 have to sacrifice his comfort and nutrition! I also thought that going back to work would make realize how horrible it feels to return to work and then be warned to never return once my maternity leave ends. But it was nice to see my coworkers again and of course it wasn't bad since it was my first day back and for only four hours! If I could only work four hours a day, I wouldn't mind :) We'll see how the rest of the month goes. One thing I forgot was how tiring it is to wake up early and go to work, especially after the baby was up numerous times throughout the night.

It's actually been a while since I've only been assigned to do personal tax returns. I'm usually working on audits at around this time of the year or other corporate tax files so it's a nice change of pace. I find that a lot of people have personal tax questions once they find out that I'm an accountant so it's good to keep up-to-date on this kind of stuff so I don't seem like a complete idiot. Or maybe it's bad because then I can't use the excuse that I haven't done personal tax in a long time...

Any other parents or parents-to-be out there in accounting? I would like to stay at home after my maternity leave/pay comes to an end, but sometimes I worry about finances. I don't really want to work from home because we don't have an ideal space where I could set up an office and it's hard for me to get any work done at home anyway. Plus I would have to pay extra professional fees, software, access to accounting info, etc. And if I wanted to stay in public practice, I would prefer to work with another partner. But that's not where I'm at right now. Working in a small firm, I know how stressful it can be and the huge amounts of overtime that have to be worked. I want to be there for my kids and for my husband. I enjoy being at home and cooking, (sometimes) cleaning, and spending time with my family.

If I go back to work, it would be nice to be able to work part time or at least somewhere that doesn't require large amounts of overtime (i.e. government job). It's not that I'm lazy, but I really want to maximize the amount of time that I can spend with my sons while they're still young! I think that this is a really important time for me to be there for them so I will try really hard to make sure that I can as much as possible :)