Accountant, Educator, Mom

It is 4 a.m. and I am sitting in bed in my hotel room in Toronto, replaying in my head the past 24 hours.  It has been a whirlwind, but so full of life lessons and examples of the kindness of others that I feel like I must write it down now, before I forget any of the details of what might have been the most amazing night of my life.  If any of you are feeling like the world is lacking kindness,…

New on the blog today - enjoy.

For those of you who are followers of the blog, you know that I was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in January 2022. If you are new to the blog, first of all, welcome. And feel free to take a look at Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: The Biggest Life Lesson of Them All for more information about my lymphoma journey. Cancer is eye-opening in so many ways.  One of them is how it really makes clear…

This blog post is a follow-up to my April 2022 post “How Do You Like Them Apples?” which discussed the rising inflation and interest rates that were experienced in Canada in early 2022. In an effort to reduce inflation, The Bank of Canada (the Bank) started increasing its benchmark interest rate on March 2, 2022. Over eight consecutive meetings, the Bank increased the overnight lending rate by…

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma:  The Biggest Life Lesson of Them All

In January 2022, I was diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  I had gone to my family doctor in December 2021 with symptoms that weren’t “worrisome” at the time, but triggered a series of tests which led to the eventual diagnosis of lymphoma.  It was a complete shock.  I didn’t have any of the risk factors for lymphoma, but somehow the universe decided that I needed a significant challenge…

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Ok, there are no lions and tigers, but there are bears – a bear market, that is!  The US Securities and Exchange Commission defines a bear market as a “time when stock prices are declining and market sentiment is pessimistic. Generally, a bear market occurs when a broad market index falls by 20% or more over at least a two-month period.” We are officially in bear market territory.  As of July…

Today’s post is a follow up to my May 10th post “Dear Sirs:  Why I Didn’t Buy A Car From You” which described the negative experience that I had at my local Honda dealership when trying to purchase a Honda CRV in 2018.  Due to my experience at that dealership, I walked out of the sale transaction, never to return to that dealership.  I did, however, still wish to purchase a Honda CRV at the…