Yesterday I hit the 150-day mark of sobriety, and at this point it just felt like any other day. In some ways my sobriety feels new and fragile, something to be protected, but in others it just feels like a part of my life now. It's only been five months and yet feels like a… Continue reading 150 Days of Change
Author: Secondhand Thoughts
A 30-something teacher trying to be an adult in Vancouver, Canada.
My Personal 2021 Savings Challenge
Last month I sat down for a couple of hours and pored through my credit card statements for the past few months. I created a chart to show the trends of my spending and, as per a suggestion from Your Money or Your Life, I also charted my earnings. Up until the end of January… Continue reading My Personal 2021 Savings Challenge
Feeling Good Without Spending
A month and a half ago I read the book Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas. It was an excellent read, not because I was unaware of what went on in the fashion world but because it gave me the push I needed to make my protest of the industry's practices heard through keeping my dollars firmly… Continue reading Feeling Good Without Spending
Not Buying Something Has Become the Treat
A few days ago I hit my 60th day of sobriety, and I was super excited about it. So much so that I decided to buy myself a little something to celebrate. It couldn't be food related, because I already buy extremely high quality meat and am not eating pastries and stuff right now (which… Continue reading Not Buying Something Has Become the Treat
Changes Add Up Surprisingly Quickly
Today I was struck by how different my daily life looks compared to less than two months ago. Then, I would be driving home from work, picking up a bottle or can of something from the liquor store, have no energy to cook something healthy, maybe drag my ass to the gym without much enthusiasm,… Continue reading Changes Add Up Surprisingly Quickly
Waking Up with a Clear Head: Eight Weeks of Sobriety
This morning is apparently winter's last hurrah in our little part of the world. The snow falling is really fine and dainty, but it's being whipped into a frenzy by strong winds and temperatures are hovering around -4 (a very big deal for us who don't know how to have a proper winter). As such… Continue reading Waking Up with a Clear Head: Eight Weeks of Sobriety
50 Days of Challenges
Right before New Year's Eve my husband and I went to a beautiful hotel in a town on the coast of Vancouver Island. It was about an hour and a half away but felt super decadent because we hadn't left our little area due to Covid restrictions. It had a glorious old clawfoot tub that… Continue reading 50 Days of Challenges
Confidence through Weightlifting
The other day I was starting my work out, stretched out, mask on, barbell set on the squat rack with my warm up weight. While I wasn't particularly excited about working out that day, I knew I would feel pretty good once I was finished. I got under the bar, and quickly squatted through my… Continue reading Confidence through Weightlifting
So Little Spending, So Much More Time
As of this credit card cycle, I have only spent $860 this month. I look at that number, and then log in to my banking app and double check that that is correct. I have never spent less than $1000 per month, not in recent memory, anyway. Every month it was an average of $1300… Continue reading So Little Spending, So Much More Time
2020: I Hated It, but I Learned a Lot
*Warning: this is an extremely self-indulgent post and was only intended as an online journal entry, essentially! Now that I've had time to digest the fact that 2020 is over, that 2021 started as a shit show, and that we are resilient beasts, I decided to go over a few things from 2020 for "fun".… Continue reading 2020: I Hated It, but I Learned a Lot
Secondhand Thoughts 