Alphabet Salad

(Note: This post was written by Laurel Regan and originally published in a separate blog called “Why Windsor…”, which was later merged with Alphabet Salad.)

From WalletPop Canada, with thanks to a Facebook friend who posted these links on his profile:

Of the top ten Most Expensive Places to Live in Canada, Victoria, BC (my former city) is the fourth most expensive.

Of the top ten Least Expensive Places to Live in Canada, Windsor-Essex, ON (my new city!) is the fifth least expensive.

Obviously finances and cost of living aren’t the only considerations when the possibility of a big move is on the table, but I’d say they’re a pretty significant part of the decision. Statistics such as those presented in the above links definitely factored into our own decision-making process, and helped to push Windsor into top place on our checklist of must-haves.

Last night I participated in the first of four classes that are part of an online course called Profitable Blogging for Beginners, taught by Tanya from Blogelina.

I originally started to blog because I love writing and enjoy having a public outlet for my work, not because I ever hoped to make money from blogging. That said, the course sounded interesting and I figured that even though I’ve never actually given any thought to the idea of problogging, I’d probably be able to pick up some good instruction from the course regardless.

I was correct! I really enjoyed the session, and am looking forward to the next three classes. I’m still not sure whether or not I want to be (or even can be) a problogger, but I can already tell that taking the course is going to help me become more focused and goal-oriented when it comes to my blogging, and that can only be a good thing.

One more step towards becoming a better writer!

I think I’m coming down with something. I’ve had a sinus headache for two days, I have zero energy, and I feel weak, wimpy, and tired. All I want to do is alternate between sitting in front of the television with a mug of hot tea and a soft blanket, and sleeping in my cosy bed.

So why am I thinking about things I want to do in 2012? Partly because thinking of them is easier than actually doing them (and right about now I barely have the energy to think), but also because I’ve been mulling them over for awhile now and don’t want to lose track of them – I figure if I put them down in writing I’m less likely to forget.

So, in no particular order, here are a few of the things I’d like to do this year.

• Rekindle my desire to learn Italian. Right now all of my resources are packed (we left our bookshelves back in Victoria!), but they shouldn’t be too difficult to unearth… and now that we’ve settled in to our new city, I’d like to look into taking some lessons in beginner Italian. From what I understand there’s a good Italian community in Windsor, so hopefully I’ll be able to find something that suits me.
• Get out of my head a bit, and get back into working with my hands. It’s getting colder now – the perfect time to bring out the crochet hooks and yarn and make something cosy… or warm up by needle felting (hey, don’t laugh until you try it… you really do expend a lot of energy working that needle!) I’d love to find a group of people here in Windsor who meet up to work on craft or fibre arts projects, or maybe take a crochet or knitting class.
  

• Meet some new friends. I have a few ideas as to how I might do this – Italian classes and crochet groups, for a start! I’m also hoping to get involved with The Windsor Book Club (hopefully I’ll be able to attend for the first time this month) – sounds like a good group of people.

OK, I’m tired just thinking of all that. Time for a nap.

(Note: This post was written by Laurel Regan and originally published in a separate blog called “Why Windsor…”, which was later merged with Alphabet Salad.)

Just wanted to say that my second column has now been posted in the Windsor Square, here:

First Impressions

In other non-related news, I also wanted to let you know that I’m blogging daily throughout the month of January for NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month). (For my reason why, check out this post.)

If you’d like to follow my progress on NaBloPoMo, I invite you to visit (and subscribe, if you wish!) my other blog, “Alphabet Salad”.

Thus ends this round of shameless self-promotion! 🙂

Image courtesy of jbcurio on Flickr

The other day I experienced one of those wonderful moments when something I had been struggling to write suddenly gelled into relative perfection, and the resulting onrush of joy prompted me to exclaim loudly and impulsively, “I LOVE WRITING!” My husband, who had heard me but didn’t say anything much at the time, must have remembered and been thinking about it, as he asked me today, curious, what it was I loved so much about writing. Without a moment of hesitation, I was able to answer.

I love the ability to take a handful of words that might on their own be neutral or meaningless, and craft them together with other seemingly neutral or meaningless words into something beautiful, thought-provoking, meaningful.

I love the satisfaction of creating a sentence or turn of phrase that pleases me, a gem that I can later roll around in my mind and savour the different layers of taste and meaning.

I love the feeling of struggling, being frustrated, persevering, and then surrendering as something bigger than me takes over and puts the words together the way they should be.

I love it when even one other person is moved, amused, blessed, motivated, by something I’ve written.

I love (and fear, if truth be told) the awesome power and responsibility that comes parceled up with the gift of writing.

I love it all. And this is why I write.

It’s January 1st (Happy Birthday to me!), and my goal to become a better writer in 2012 is certainly off to an auspicious start. When I opened my birthday gift from my parents this morning, I was delighted to receive two 24-lecture courses from The Great Courses:

• Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer’s Craft
• Analysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write about Anything

This thrills my soul in so many ways – first off, having parents who are so supportive and encouraging of my interest in writing… secondly, I love continuing education!… and, not least of all, the serendipity of resolving to become a better writer and almost immediately being presented with positive reinforcement is just too wonderful.

Between the training offered in these courses, the discipline of participating in NaBloPoMo, and the stimulation of writing a weekly column, I’d say that yes, I am definitely off to a great start.

Watch out, world!

Last year at this time, I wrote…

Where 2010 was waiting for life to happen,
may 2011 be consciously living it.

May it be.

So, what happened in 2011?

• January and February: We cleaned and tidied and fixed and packed, readying our house to be listed for sale.
• March to September: We put our house on the market; we worked and waited, hoped and feared, cried and raged with frustration before we finally found a buyer.
• September: We flew across the country to a city we’d never even visited; we shopped for and offered on and inspected and finalized the deal on a house, all in the space of a whirlwind week.
• September to October: We packed and packed and packed; we hired movers; we put our car on the train; we said goodbye to family and friends; we worried about traveling with our elder kitty; we successfully flew across the country to live in our new home.
• November to December: We settled into our new home and city; my husband had a health scare that turned out to be a wakeup call for both of us; I was invited to write a weekly column for an online news site; we celebrated our first Christmas in our new home with a new friend; my first column was published.

You know what? I think I got what I’d hoped for, and so very much more.

Now, on to 2012!

It’s not quite 2012 yet, but as the year winds to a close I’m starting to think the usual year-end resolution-type thoughts – you know, deciding where and who I want to be at this time next year, and coming up with concrete things I can do (and, conversely, things I most definitely do NOT want to do!) to help me get there.

One of my goals for the year is to become a better writer. By “better” I’m not necessarily referring to quality (though improving in that area is always a goal!), but rather consistency. To be quite honest, these days I write if and when I feel like it, or inspiration happens to strike, or I can be bothered to get up and turn off the TV or internet distractions. Sadly, that means that my output is pretty sparse, and when the act of writing happens so infrequently, my chances for improvement are narrow. At the end of this year, though, I’d like to be able to look back and see that I’ve changed and grown in terms of discipline in this area – that I don’t just write if and when I “feel” like it, but that writing is a regular part of my day-to-day life.

The first step I’ve taken is to sign up for January’s NaBloPoMo on BlogHer. I’ve done NaBloPoMo in the past, and found that the requirement to post daily blog entries really helped me in the area of discipline. While not every post turned out to be a gem, it definitely helped me to develop my skills as a writer, and to break past the inevitable writer’s block (in my case, also known as the “I can’t be bothereds”).

If you’d like to keep up with my efforts, watch this space! (If you’d like, you can also subscribe to my blog – the sign up form is right below the banner photo on the right-hand side of the page.)

Anyone else want to give NaBloPoMo a shot with me? If you do, please link me to your blog and we can encourage each other!

(Note: This post was written by Laurel Regan and originally published in a separate blog called “Why Windsor…”, which was later merged with Alphabet Salad.)

I‘m pleased to announce that my first column has now been posted in the Windsor Square:

So, I’m here. Now what?

I also want to take a minute to thank the editorial team at The Square for inviting me to join them. I’m really looking forward to being a part of what they’re doing here in Windsor!

Image courtesy of jodelli on Flickr

(Note: This post was written by Laurel Regan and originally published in a separate blog called “Why Windsor…”, which was later merged with Alphabet Salad.)

It’s Christmas morning, and since it’s far too early to call my family in Victoria for our planned Christmas morning Skype, and since my husband is catching another hour’s worth of sleep before he has to put the turkey in the oven, I decide to [continue reading…]

(Note: This post was written by Laurel Regan and originally published in a separate blog called “Why Windsor…”, which was later merged with Alphabet Salad.)

Cross-posted from my old blog!

I’m really chuffed to be able to announce yet another move, and even more chuffed to say that this time it doesn’t involve any cardboard boxes!

I figured that since I now have my own new home [continue reading…]

(Note: This post was written by Laurel Regan and originally published in a separate blog called “Why Windsor…”, which was later merged with Alphabet Salad.)

Well, I now have (and live in!) a house in Windsor, I carry an Ontario driver’s licence (albeit temporary) and drive a car with Ontario plates, and I’ve signed up for OHIP. I guess it’s official – I am now a Windsorite!

The past few months have been a whirlwind of [continue reading…]

(Note: This post was written by Laurel Regan and originally published in a separate blog called “Why Windsor…”, which was later merged with Alphabet Salad.)

Dashing in to post a quick point-form update, as I really should be packing instead of sitting at the computer!

• We’ve sold our bedroom suite, given away my desk, have someone lined up to take away our sofabed, are planning to post our bookshelves for sale, and need to find a way to get rid of our mattress and box spring. Even after the stuff we’re actually keeping arrives at our new-old place, it looks as though we’ll be rattling around in a relatively empty house until we can afford to replace all the stuff we’re giving away!
• Our current home is a disaster of packed boxes, as-yet-unfilled boxes, packing paper, tape guns, and the like. I must confess that I truly despise this part of the process, am in major avoidance mode, and will be overjoyed when it’s complete. Call me crazy, but the unpacking stage is the fun part for me!
• So, Air Canada has been given a strike notice by CUPE confirming the union’s intention to begin a strike at 00:01 a.m. ET Thursday October 13, 2011. I’ll give you two guesses as to which airline we booked to take the three of us to Windsor at the end of the month (hint: it’s not WestJet). What, me anxious? Naaah…
• Work developments: the situation at my office in Victoria has changed unexpectedly, so now the plan for me when we move to Windsor is that, for the first while at least, I’ll be working the equivalent of four days a week instead of three. Good news for my financial bottom line, but it does mean that I’ll have less free time on my hands. Though it’s not exactly what I’d planned when we started crafting this lifestyle change, overall I think it’s going to work out well and will enable us to recover a little more quickly after what’s turning out to be a fairly expensive move.
• After considering the combination of lease buyout and shipping costs for our vehicle, we decided to turn it in before we leave Victoria and get a different one when we arrive in Windsor. Not that we want to go car shopping on top of all the other things involved in this move, but it just makes more financial sense to do things this way.

Now I must drag myself away from the computer and fill a few more boxes. Sigh… anyone want to help?!

(Note: This post was written by Laurel Regan and originally published in a separate blog called “Why Windsor…”, which was later merged with Alphabet Salad.)

A huge set of decisions has been looming over our heads ever since we decided to move: that is, how to get me, my husband, our cat Spider (the prime concern), and our car from Victoria to Windsor. This weekend, thanks to the pressure of a limited-time offer (15% off both WestJet and Air Canada flights taken within our window of travel dates), we’ve made some plans [continue reading…]

(Note: This post was written by Laurel Regan and originally published in a separate blog called “Why Windsor…”, which was later merged with Alphabet Salad.)

Well, my husband and I are now back in Victoria after spending a week in Windsor searching for a home and getting an introduction to our new city. We had a fabulous visit, and the week simply flew by! While the vast majority of our time was by necessity spent on the home buying process, we were also able to do a bit of exploring while we were there [continue reading…]

(Note: This post was written by Laurel Regan and originally published in a separate blog called “Why Windsor…”, which was later merged with Alphabet Salad.)

Because I have an announcement to make!

After six months, 17 Open Houses, 35 private showings, three price reductions, one offer that collapsed due to financing, and countless days of frustration and discouragement, we finally have an accepted, [continue reading…]