It's amazing how much my sweetie and I got done because the workers were coming to install the woodstove. We cleared out the living room, putting useless knick knacks in a box to give away and cleaning up. He was worried that the workers would think we were messy which is why he wanted to start cleaning. haha! 

Also with the new day bed and tv we acquired for the guest room, i'm getting rid of the 1980's tv & old dvd player that were in there taking up a lot of space. It's a small guest room and now it looks much better. I've found someone to come and pick up the electronics (they were too old to sell) tonight so it'll be out of our way! My partner will hang a small shelf on the wall where he can put the tv.

Sadly I haven't received my paycheck yet, was supposed to get that yesterday but it is being sent from the main government department in another city. I guess some paperwork got done late too. This isn't good because i've been without pay for almost 3 weeks now. In one sense, I'll get a big chunk of money in a few weeks (2 paychecks at one time) but on the other hand it's been tough as lots of payments are coming out soon. I counted on getting paid yesterday. I've had to move money from a loan which I didn't want to do. I'm being pretty forceful with trying to get this all sorted but we all know how things are when dealing with government; leaving messages on voicemails, unanswered emails and people not taking responsibilty. You'd think in these hard times that people who give out paychecks would be a little bit more "on the ball". *sigh* I might have held off on buying the used daybed had I known I wasn't getting paid. So much for relying on things these days!

That being said, we're staying in tonight and using up some foods that need to be eaten. I have sweet potatoes and tofu in the fridge that need to be used, so scrambled tofu and baked sweet potatoes it is! We'll also watch Slumdog Millionaire which we downloaded, and cuddle in front of the woodstove, I can't wait!

I managed to score some free pita at the Lebanese Bakery again. Haven't done that in awhile. They used to leave it in packages on the side for people to take but I see that they've been forced by the city again to take them out of the plastic bags. The bakery, knowing that many of us rely on their free pita supply, has been very good at still making it accessible. They've placed the pita in empty flour bags so it's easy to take. There were at least 10-15 gigantic bags full of pita to feed an army of people. I dug in one bag and pulled out a small stack (maybe 15 large pitas). Technically they are supposed to throw it in the compost but we all know how gross and dirty that can be. I love these guys. When my friend had no money at all, he said that bakery kept him alive. A lot of local people rely on it and it's food being used, not wasted. I will turn the bread into pita chips and make some hummus to dip them into :) I also heard that if there is no pita outside for the taking and you go there in the late evening when they are baking, you can knock on the door and they will give you a bag. I love my neighbourhood, most of us are pretty laid back and bohemian :)

Sunday I'll make my way over to Food Not Bombs and see what produce I can get. I love this organization and it's nice that they are all over the world feeding people with food that would have otherwise gone to waste. Sometimes I get tofu from there too. The weather is getting better so it's easier to sit outside now and eat what they've cooked up and look through the boxes for free food. North Americans are the biggest offenders for Food Waste, nice to see people have done something good with our horribly bad habits.

FYI: I will try and post more recipes soon, i need to get rid of some cherrios and marshmallows so if anyone has good recipes using these two items I'd love to have some. Thanks!

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My friend was over this weekend, we hadn't seen each other since November which means we did our Yule gift exchange. I always love her choices for my gifts as she knows me very well!

One thing she placed in my gift bag, was a bag of SoapNuts. Apparently these are nuts from a tree in Nepal and India. The nuts come in a muslin bag which holds about 6 of them. You throw the bag in the laundry and can use it for about 5 loads! This is an eco friendly way to do laundry and they are not expensive to buy. It is supposed to be great for people with allergies or any kind of skin condition where laundry detergent can be harmful to them.  I looked at the website and found out a bag of $40 worth will do about 400 loads! Not bad for eco friendly stuff! In case you are interested in reading about it, here is the website: www.buysoapnuts.com I read that you don't even need to use fabric softener with these things!

She also purchased an eco scrubie for me from the same website which is made of coconut coils, bound with a non toxic glue. I used it last night and LOVED it. They are supposed to last several months and are biodegradable/compostable. I went on the site and purchased more as this might be a cheaper alternative then to keep replacing mine every week or two!. :)

I was so extatic of this discovery, that i bought two samples of the soapnut bags for 1 penny each to give to my mom and another friend of mine. I have to wash my bedding tonight and will try them out. Can't wait!

I wish I could purchase the nuts now, but Saturday I ran some errands and picked up enough laundry soap (which was on sale for dirt cheap) for the entire year!  (paid $15 for enough laundry soap for the YEAR!) I might sell the soap to my friend (he could use it as he's on a student budget) and purchase the nuts. See how it goes!

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