Address Unknown

Call me old fashioned, but I prefer a paper credit card statement.   I love getting mail, even if it's just a credit card bill, it's just so satisfying opening up the mailbox and seeing something there waiting for me! A paper credit card statement  is the perfect kick-in-the-pants reminder I need to pay that bill.  I know, electronic statements are more eco-friendly, but I end up having to print a copy anyway, so I can tick off all the entries and make sure it all adds up.  And emails can get lost in my inbox too easily.

A few months ago I realized I had not been receiving my statements for the credit card from the bank that we do all our banking at.  It hadn't been a problem, because sometimes I pay the card off early because my accounting software warns me that a payment is coming due, but I wanted to figure out what was going on.

I called the bank, they said, "call the credit card people."

I called the credit card people, they said, "On our end we can see that you are getting the paper statements, so you should be getting them, but in the meantime we can send you a copy. Maybe that will kickstart the statements getting sent."

A week later I received the copy of the statement.  Now it's been over a month, still no statement. 

So, today I called the credit card people.  They said, "We show that we have sent the statements out every month. Call the mail people."

I called the mail people. They said, "what's your mailing address?"

I gave them my mailing address. It's not a pretty address, it looks like this:

Box 4, Site 5, RR 6 

Cool Town, AB 

A1B 2C3 (that's the postal code)

They rattled it back to me and said, "PO box ...."

I said, "No, it's a community mailbox. Not a PO Box."

They asked for my physical address...

Here's where it gets tricky. I live in a subdivision created when a farmer sold a chunk of his land decades ago. So there are about 30 houses with the same address, and then a house number.  Similar to this:

12345 Hwy 67

#89

Cool Town, AB

A1B 2C3 (notice it's the same town and postal code)

But about 6 years ago, they built a new highway a little bit South of us, so now our highway is:

Hwy 67A.  But if you look on google maps, or any other GPS system, our new address doesn't exist. So what we have done for parcel deliveries is googled my house, and it gives a pretty random address based on the town 2 km West of us.

89 Random st

Neat Town, AB

A4D6N2 (very random)

But I have been told by the county people that the google address is NOT the address I should give if there's an emergency at my house.  I need to give the updated address with "Hwy 67A".

I told the mail guy my physical address, and he couldn't find it in his system (no big surprise there).

Then the mail guy said to me, "First we have to deal with your problem with your address before we can deal with the credit card statement problem.  I have entered a ticket into the system that we have to figure out your correct physical address.  You will be contacted by October 11."

I am eagerly awaiting  the official correct address of where I live!

Moving Onwards and Upwards (North)

Time for another update!  It seems like my posts are getting fewer & farther between, but I think I have a solution to that problem.  It must be time to move!

Our church has been going through some restructuring over the past year, & as part of that process, decided to reduce to one full-time pastor.  So, Chad has received a job offer at a church in Lacombe, Alberta, & we decided it sounded like a pretty good move for our family.  We are ready to give up the city life & try our hand at country living for awhile!

The kids are really excited to have more room to explore, & trees to climb. They are already trying to talk us into buying ATVs for them. We're moving farther away from my parents again, but they had 4 years, & they like to travel, so we're just giving them the opportunity to explore a new area!  We'll be about 4 hours from Chad's family, so it'll be nice for the kids to be closer to their cousins too.

Now comes the stressful part.  Getting the house ready to sell, going to look for a new house, getting the kids registered at the new school, getting moving quotes (I'll tell you what company we're NOT using!), & figuring out all the logistics!  Our goal is to be there by Christmas, but how we'll manage that is yet to be seen.  I foresee a busy few months ahead, but it will be worth it!  I really enjoy setting up our home when we move, it's just getting to that point that isn't always fun.  Especially once the house is for sale & you have to keep cleaning all the things!

Back to Canada!

We drove up from the Grand Coulee Dam to British Columbia.

We opted to drive the Princeton-Hope highway, which was pretty, but very twisty.

Now we can say we've done it, but unless I'm on a motorcycle, I wouldn't have to drive it again.

We struggled through a few bouts of car sickness, & got stuck behind a slow moving RV in a line 35 vehicles long!

Grandpa had talked about donuts quite a bit on the trip, but they never actually materialized.  At Hope I had had enough, so I directed Grandpa to Tim Horton's so we could stop talking about donuts that didn't exist!

We had a great 3 weeks with my parents & the trip was a lot of fun!  Maybe we'll have to do it again next year!

Couponing the Easy Way

Couponing was all the rage in the States a few years ago, but it has never been as easy to save using coupons in Canada.  There are a few reasons for this...

1. There just aren't as many coupons available
2. Most stores don't allow you to use more than one coupon per item
3. Unlike the States, there are no "Double Coupon Days"

Recently, however there have been a few apps that have coupons you can use after you have shopped.  You simply buy whatever product they have listed, take a picture of your receipt, & choose which coupons you qualify for.  Once you   Since you are getting paid after the shopping trip, with multiple apps, it is possible to save more than what you spend on certain items if they have coupons on multiple apps!

Without further ado, here are the coupon apps I use, & how they work, listed in order of what I use most.  (In all cases, you must view the app before you shop so you know which products are listed.  Though sometime I have lucked out & unknowingly purchased an item I could get cashback for)

"PC Plus" - Superstores have a free loyalty card which you scan each time you shop.  Register your card online, & make sure you 'Load Your Offers' each week (agree to the weekly email to remind you to do this!).  The store has points offers every week, but your offers are specifically tailored to what you buy.  1000 points = $1.00.  When you have saved a minimum of 20,000 points you can redeem them towards your purchase.  Save them throughout the year & you can have free groceries at Christmastime!

"Coupgon" - This is an app that lets you save at the checkout.  You choose which coupons you are using today, then scan the QR Code at the checkout.  So far only certain stores are participating, but Atlantic Superstore (where I get most of my groceries) is one of them, check to see if one of your local stores participates.

"Checkout 51" - After you shop, take a photo of your receipt, & select the coupons which you qualify for.  After you have saved $20, you can cash out at anytime.  They will send you a check for your balance.

"Zweet" - After you shop, take a photo of your receipt, & select the coupons which you qualify for.  After you have saved $20, you can cash out at anytime.  You also collect points, & they have offers available you can use your points for like gift cards to Starbucks, Amazon, Tim Horton's, etc  They will send you a check for your balance.  What I like about Zweet, is they often have offers for "Any Milk", or "Eggs", so it's not a specific brand, but something I buy every week anyway.

"Snap by Groupon" - After you shop, take a photo of your receipt, & select the coupons which you qualify for.  After you have saved $20, you can cash out at anytime.  They will send you a check for your balance.

"Save.ca" -  After you shop, take a photo of your receipt, & select the coupons which you qualify for.  After you have saved $5, you can cash out at anytime.  They will send you a check for your balance.

"CartSmart" - I don't know how much you need to have saved before you can cash out, but you can get paid through PayPal, or a check.

**************************************************************************

"EBates.ca" - For online shopping, you can find coupon codes on the EBates site, as well as earning cashback on all purchases that you make with the stores on the site.  All you need to do is go to ebates.ca then look for the online retailer you want to buy from (ex. Old Navy).  Any valid coupon codes will be listed.  Then click the link to go to that site & you will be redirected to Old Navy.  Once you check out on Old Navy's site, eBates will let you know how much you have earned.  Once you have earned $5.01, every 3 months they send you either a check, or pay you via PayPal!

Good luck, & happy savings!

Oh Yeah, We're Moving!

I realized after my last post that I had not mentioned on the blog that we are moving!  In the last month there has been a lot going on!  PChad received a job offer from a church in British Columbia, & after a lot of prayer & consideration, we decided that is where God is calling us to be.  An added perk of moving is that we will be closer to both of our families, & only about an hour from my extended family!  I can see it now, dropping the kids off at Grandpa & Grandma's house, & saying, "Good luck, we'll see you in a week!"

So, we are busy getting moving quotes, getting our house cleaned up & put on the market, entertaining the kids now that school is over, singing the kids up for their new school in BC, etc, etc.  We are planning on leaving in about a month, & driving across the States, visiting family along the way.  We want to make it a fun vacation for the family, & make lots of memories.  Hopefully those memories will be good ones, not ones filled with arguing about legroom & who touched whom!

So, please pray for us in this next couple of weeks/months that we get all the things done that need to be done, & that we also have a chance to enjoy a bit of summer here in PEI before we leave.

We Have a Long Way To Go

I took some pictures to commemorate the First Day of Spring!  Can you feel it?  The warmth of summer that’s just around the corner?  The feeling of sand between your toes as you read a book at the beach?  Nope, neither can I!

I put together a few before & afters.  Will we get from this to the nice green, need to mow your lawn stage by the end of June?

Snow

I don’t know what else to call this post.  I just decided to take pictures of the snow at it’s worst.

This is the side of our garage.  Under all that snow on the right side is my strawberry patch.  It will be interesting to see how my plants fared.  Hopefully we’ll have really big, juicy strawberries from all the extra moisture!

This is the front walkway

 

Peeking from behind all that snow is the top of our front door!

The view of the house across the street from the front door

 

The sidewalk to the back deck.  The tree that the kids climb in is just to the left of the path.  The snow is currently 6 feet up on the tree.

Travel Trials

I took a quick trip to Michigan last week for a planning meeting.  When I travel to the States, bad things usually happen with my flights (like this, & that, & don’t forget this!) & this trip was not exempt.

I had heard that the US had eased their regulations on flying with small pocket knives, so I opted to bring my ever present  small Swiss Army Knife.  In Charlottetown, I put the knife in the x-ray bucket & it was returned to me, no problem.

I had a nice itinerary, a 6 am start, followed by a 9:30 flight landing at 11.  My meeting started at 5, so that gave me plenty of time to do a little Stateside shopping first.  When I was given my boarding passes, I noticed that my second flight was a 17:55 departure.  I brought it to the gate agent’s attention, she said the 9:30 flight had been taken off the schedule & that was the only one from Toronto to Grand Rapids.  I’d have to check in Toronto for an earlier flight through another hub.

Toronto’s security took my knife away.  I asked about the new regulations, but they said that only applied to flights within the US, not international flights.  When I told them that it hadn’t been a problem in Charlottetown, they couldn’t verify other airports’ policies, but for Toronto, knives are not ok…  Good to know.

In Toronto I was given a flight to Chicago, & was told there were 2 flights to Grand Rapids.  One at 11:30, & one at 14:00.  The 11:30 flight was full, but they told me to try for standby.  I would land around 10:45, so it would be cutting it close.  We started the flight by sitting on the runway for 30 minutes for our turn to take-off.

During this flight I was told that since I was flying so many miles in one day I qualified for a free snack item!  I had never had that before, so I was quite pleased to get my free bag of trail mix.  I ended up not eating it since I was full, but PChad & the kids seem to really enjoy it!

Of course when I landed in Chicago, it was in a different terminal & I had to wait for a shuttle to take me b/w terminals.  Once I arrived in the right terminal, & found the gate for the 11:30 flight, the plane was just backing away from the gate.  I just missed it by minutes!

I walked around choosing the best lunch option…  An Auntie Anne’s pretzel & Dr Pepper.  It helped soothe my wounded spirit.

I arrived in Grand Rapids around 5 & met another member of the team at the airport who had been on the same flight.  At least I wasn’t the only one arriving late!  We made it to the hotel only about 25 minutes late, & it wasn’t a problem, but I sure missed all the shopping time I had planned on!  After the meeting wrapped up that night I did have a chance to nip out to the grocery store next door & grab a few essentials like Pay Days & Milky Way Midnights!


Day 2 was full meeting day…  and I got the stomach flu.  It was joyous.  One of the perks of the trip was a Chinese meal at one of the best restaurants in Grand Rapids, but instead of going, I went to bed as soon as the meeting was over & slept 14 hours straight.  I awoke in the morning feeling a bit better & wondering what my travelling day home would end up entailing.

In Grand Rapids I was treated to a full body scan & they found the penny I had neglected to remove from my pocket.  The flight was on time with no problems to Cleveland.

I got a message from PChad’s cousin, who was also at the meeting, that her flight from Grand Rapids had been cancelled & she had 3 hours to kill.  I guess I must have passed on my bad luck to her!

Cleveland to Montreal, no problems!  But surely I’d be held up in the long lines at customs & miss my next flight…  Boy, was I surprised to find that our flight was the only flight in customs, & my little detour to the washroom meant that everyone ahead of me had already cleared out & I had a choice of which lane I could go through!

The Montreal to Charlottetown flight was super exciting, as we got to fly on a propeller plane, which is something I do not enjoy in the least.  It’s bumpy & noisy, but it was on time.  I also sat next to a fairly famous DJ, & despite having a conversation with her, in which she told me her name was DJ Kiss, & that she was coming to Charlottetown to spin at one of our top clubs, I had no idea just how famous she was until I saw in the newspaper that she’s quite the celebrity!  Well, I hope she enjoyed the anonymity I afforded her as I treated her as just another gal!

I AM CANADIAN!

Well, after 13 years of trying, I have finally completed all the forms, paid all the fees, & passed all the tests!  I am a Canadian Citizen!

 

Watch out, Cuba, here I come!

Cabot Trail… The End of The Trip!

On our way back home from Newfoundland, we decided to take the Cabot Trail.  PChad had been on it a few times on his motorcycle, but the rest of us had never been!

The first stop we made was at Mary Ann Falls,

where there was a  lot of jumping & sliding to be done.

 

 

We explored down the river a bit too, & the water was a little chilly!

 

Once again, we did quite a bit of driving, leading to some sleepy travellers.

 

We headed up to Meat Cove for a scenic lunch, but the restaurant was closed, so we had lunch from a food stand instead.

 

We did a few small hikes with the kids along the trail.  Definitely a place to come back to when the kids are a bit older & ready for some longer hikes as well!

Last Day on Newfoundland

On our last morning in Newfoundland, our ferry ended up being delayed 4 hours.  Since we had some time to kill, we headed out to the boardwalk along the beach.

The kids enjoyed ‘working out’ at all the different stations along the way.

 

We watched the waves come into this little inlet, & Asher insisted that I take a picture of it.

 

And the brave ones hit the waves.  It was pretty cold out in the water, so Chancery & I stayed dry.

 

There was a short forest that the kids enjoyed roaming around in as well.

 

We finally made it onto the ferry for the long ride back to Nova Scotia!

 

The kids enjoyed having the playroom almost entirely to themselves, and it had a TV, which made the 6 hour ride a little more bearable.

L’Anse aux Meadows to Port aux Basque

We started out the morning knowing we had a long drive ahead of us to go from the Northern tip to the Southern port, but we had to get to the Viking settlement before we left.  It was the whole reason we had come up this far!

 

We had to wait a bit before the buildings were opened, so the kids got busy climbing on & around anything they could.

 

They had some period costumes for the kids, along with toys the children of the Norse would have played with.

 

The older kids got to see what it would have been like for an apprentice.  They pumped the billows to help the fire while the blacksmith made nails.

 

One last photo before we head out!

 

If you look in the distance you can see Labrador.  We didn’t make it there this trip.  We just ran out of time!

 

The kids passed the time with books…

 

sleep…

 

and other tomfoolery!

 

We finally made it to Port aux Basque in time for a quick dinner & some running around!

 

Notice the big kid in the middle had some excess energy to burn off too!

Port au Choix & L’Anse aux Meadows

Newfoundland trip, Day 5 took us from Gros Morne National Park up to the Northern tip of the island to see where the Vikings landed.

We stopped at Port au Choix first, thinking there might be something exciting to see. What we found was a lighthouse & lots of wind…

 

But we also found a visitor center with some friendly staff who walked the kids through some of the history of the place.

 

And they had a one-footed hopping competition.

 

After the visitor center, we had a bit of lunch & hit the road again!

 

We arrived a bit late in L’Anse aux Meadows, so we only had time to visit Norstead that evening.

 

We took a little hike up to the top of a nearby hill overlooking the ocean.

 

 

Asher tried to pull Owen in the wagon, but it was a bit too tough for him.

 

So, he got a little help, & all the kids had a tiny ride!

 

Chancery showing us how she’s like Atlas.

 

We just had enough time to stop by the L’Anse aux Meadows visitor center before it closed for the night.  We’d have to return the next day…

Traumatic Event

On this little island, there are quite a few foods that we can’t get.  I am used to it a bit, since moving from the States, & having lived in England for awhile, there are certain foods that we have grown attached to, but are simply not available in Canada.  However, there are numerous things that we have discovered which seem to be in other parts of Canada, just not on PEI.

 

My friend Natasha told me earlier in the week that she had found Golden Grahams at one of the grocery stores, so after dropping Asher off at school, Chancery & I stopped to pick up a box, since it is one of PChad’s favourite cereals.

 

I parked the car, & got out.  I opened Chancery’s door, & started to unbuckle her seatbelt when she started yelling at me, “No, I don’t want to go in there!  This is the store with the yucky food!”

 

A few months ago, I had bought a package of pitas which had a huge mouldy spot on them, & apparently Chancery remembered the incident, & thought all the food in the store was of the same quality.

 

“We are just here to get some cereal,” I told her.  “The cereal here is good!  They have Golden Grahams!”

 

“Just the bread is yucky?” she asked.

 

I don’t think she will ever be willing to buy a loaf of bread from that particular store…