Niagara Food & Wine Expo 2014

The Niagara Food & Wine Expo was happening at the Niagara Convention Centre on the same weekend that I was down in Niagara on a girls weekend!

We went just after opening on Saturday, and stayed for 4 hours! From noon until 4pm.  None of us needed supper afterwards!

If you are looking for a fun afternoon or evening with some friends, this would be something to look into for next year.

Admission at the door was $15, but I scored us some tickets at $10 by using a discount code and buying them weeks ahead of time.

We each bought $20 of tickets to use within the show, so it cost us each a total of $30.

I think our favorite part of our time spent there was attending a wine tasting by Hernder Estate Winery.  The winemaker Lydia Tomek herself gave the presentation, and we tried 6 different wines.  The fact that she was a young, hip, woman was very cool in and of itself! It cost 4 coupons ($4) each to attend this tasting.

Wine tasting from Hernder Estate Winery at the Niagara Food & Wine Expo

My favorite was the one on the far left, which was a Sparkling Riesling.

Both friends agreed they loved the next one in, which was a Riesling.

I stopped by their booth after, and the Sparkling Riesling is the one in the opaque green bottle in the next picture.  

Hernder Estate Winery Selections at the Niagara Food & Wine Expo

We also attended an "All You Need is Cheese" cheese tasting put on by Dairy Farmers of Ontario. 

There were two cheeses that were amazing. The first was a very smooth ricotta, that was served with a dollop of honey.  

The second was a Maple Cheddar, that was so delicious that I had to buy a block to take home!

I had some delicious food too!  I had a lobster grilled cheese, (YUM!) and I experimented by trying something new.  Asian Fusion Rice Balls, by Me.N.U. Food Truck (who had a booth there, and not a truck.) and they were so delicious I ate them and forgot to take a picture! Both of my friends went to buy some, and the other four people that we didn't know at the table we had sat down at all thought my rice balls looked so good, that they all went to buy some as well.  Everybody loved them!

We sat at a table to eat while listening to music by Cory Cruise, and followed by Blair Franklin, who were both fabulous musicians!  

A fun afternoon!

Beginners Yoga Adventures

I recently started taking a weekly beginners yoga class at the local YMCA.  I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would.  I've never taken yoga before, and I wasn't quite sure what I was signing up for!

The movements are all done very slowly in this class, and you hold them for a seemingly long time.  It's probably not that long, but my muscles are weak and unused, and it feels like forever holding some of these positions!

The teacher said that she would be concentrating on different parts of the body each week, in order to give us a good balanced introduction.  She was right!  Every Wednesday, after my Tuesday night class, I am SORE!  The first week my back cracked, cracked, cracked during the session.  Last week, my legs were wobbly when I left class.  And today, my hips and upper arms are feeling it.

The first week of class had 6 women, but three of them seemingly disappeared after the first week.  I can't actually fathom paying for three months of classes and then not attending. What a waste of money!  Since the first class, one of the women has also had her father and brother sign up.  There is an intermediate yoga class offered as well, but I'm pretty sure based on the soreness factor that I may need to do the beginner class another session before contemplating going up in levels.

I did notice a tattoo on one of the class members the other night.  I knew I recognized the symbol, but wasn't quite sure from what.  I was intrigued enough that I did a google images search for "symbol with red M", and immediately the symbol popped up...it's the Ironman symbol.  I see a Red "M" with a dot on top, but I think you are supposed to see a person's head and torso.  And yes, I was familiar with it because I visited Mont Tremblant a couple years ago a few days before their Ironman competition, and the signs with this symbol were everywhere there!

Ironman Logo - Even Athletes Take Beginners Yoga!

So, I guess beginners yoga is for a wide variety of people, from unathletic people like myself, to past Ironman competitors!

The Search for A Summer Camp to Match Your Child

Oh, summer camp. I loved summer camp as a kid! Every summer from the age of 8 or so, I would head of to an overnight camp for a week or two, and then my grandparents would pick me up for two weeks before my parents should pick me back up.

I loved overnight camp so much that I even went back and counselled for a few weeks after my summer job ended one year. And on a side note, counselling at camp is hard hard work! It's exhausting!

My brother on the other hand, hated summer camp. He tried day camp a few times, and I'm not sure that he ever finished the week out. It just really wasn't for him. Fortunately for him, our mom was a stay at home mom, and he was able to live out his summers in peace, playing with kids in the neighborhood.

Fast forward 25 years. Times have changed. Most families are dual income, and don't have the luxury of a parent staying at home. Which means that kids can't stay home on their own until responsible enough. And even if they did stay home, there aren't other neighbourhood kids for them to play with, because they are either away at camp or on holidays.  Even for families that have a parent at home, sending the kids to camp for a week is a nice and well deserved break!

Once my daughter became school aged, summer vacation became a mishmash of childcare, piecing together days that worked.  Vacation days for parents, grandparents stepping in, and... Summer camp.

Over the years, we have tried many different types of daycamp within our city. Art camp, karate camp, YMCA day camp, soccer camp, camp at the local university...  Some were great, others not. Many of these are not full day, and so you still need to figure out drop off and pick up. The art camp ended at 3:30. Luckily for me, I finished work at 3 at the time, but many people work later! The YMCA had a program that I could schedule days of camp instead of by the week, which worked really well for my bizarre work schedule.

Here I am again, at the beginning of April, finalizing summer camp plans. Although our daughter is old enough to stay home on her own, and has even just begun babysitting, I don't want her home alone all summer. Last year, we did two weeks of sleepaway camp, two weeks of day camp, and four weeks at home. During the weeks at home I tried to adjust my schedule so I was home more.

The day camp she went to last year is one she has been attending for 5 years, but she doesn't want to go back this year as she feels too old for it. She's one year too young for the LIT leaders in training program at the YMCA. And so I'm back on the hunt again for daycamps that fit her personality, fit out schedule, are affordable, and that we can get to on public transit for the days my husband is called out of town with our one family vehicle. Sigh.

Here are my tips for finding a good day camp!

1) Ask friends, family, neighbors and acquaintances about camps!

We recently found out about a basketball camp through friends that our daughter plays basketball with! Unfortunately she is already booked that week for overnight camp, but I have written it down as a possibility for next year!

2) Check your local paper for camp advertisements.

It was from a paper ad that we find out about the art camp.

3) Check your local sports complexes, and the city/township.

Most YMCAs have programming, and often cities hire camp counselors to run programs as well.

4) Check your colleges and universities.

By looking into daycamps offered by our local educational institutions, I found a computer programming daycamp that I've registered our daughter into this summer.

5) Have your child go with a friend.

I'm still on the lookout for one more week of camp this summer, but I've let some of her friends and their parents know this.  I'm hoping that a camp comes along that might be a little bit out of her comfort zone that she'd be willing to attend if a friend went along with her.  By going with a friend, you can arrange carpooling too!

Take Transit & Get a Deduction on Your Income Taxes

This past summer, I increased my 11 year old daughters independence.  She attended a local daycamp at which my husband dropped her off in the morning, but then I had her independently take the city bus home from camp.  I got home from work around the same time that she got home from camp on the city bus.  She has taken the bus with me many times, and knows how the bus system works and knew the bus route ahead of time.  No transfers, just a direct route. 

She LOVED it.  She loved having the independence of doing it on her own.

In order to do this without having to find the correct amount of change every morning, I bought her a monthly bus pass for the month of July.  I had hoped that I would have time to teach her how to get to the library as well, but unfortunately I didn't have have a chance to teach her this route.

As a result of buying the bus pass, I can now claim that expense as a deduction on my taxes this year.

Does anyone in your household take the bus, train or ferry to work or school on a regular basis?

You can claim a deduction on your income tax for Public Transit Amount (line 364 on your income tax return) if you have any of :

1) a monthly pass
2) a series of shorter passes that show that you took public transportation for at least 20 days in any 28 day period
3) an electronic payment card (like Presto) used for at least 32 one way trips in any 31 day period

The passes can be for yourself, spouse or kids under 19 years of age.

Does your teen buy passes to get to their part time job? Do you take the GO Train to work?  Remember to keep your receipts to claim this fabulous deduction!

2013 Contest Winnings Totals

As a follow up to my post in July on my 2013 Contest Winnings at that point, I thought I should post the winnings for the rest of the year.

In July, I had won a total of $940 worth of prizes.

2013 Winnings (2nd Half of Year)

Google Nexus 7 Tablet x 2 (both my husband & I won one)  Kitkat Contest  Value $450
Google Play Codes from Kitkat Contest Value $30
$100 VISA Giftcard from Royal Bank Small Biz Twitter chat  Value $100
$100 Giftcard to Glamagirls from Tweenhood  Value $100
2 Books Muse & Secret Shared from @BookaliciousCA Value $30
$10 iTunes Giftcard from @PTPA  Value $10

2nd Half of Year Total: $710

Total for 2013: $1650

Crowdfunding: Canadian tax implications

Crowdfunding has become extremely popular over the last number of years.  Let the public know what you want to do, and if they believe in your project, they will contribute amounts that although small from one person, overall add up to significant amounts of money.

Crowdfunding has allowed many individuals and small companies to raise capital money for projects that they were unable to get loans or other financing deals for.

Unfortunately, the overall perception of crowdfunding money has been that it is "free" money to simply put towards the outlined project.

Canada Revenue Agency put out an interpretation bulletin this week stating that money that comes from crowdfunding is considered income, and therefore is taxable.

If crowdfunding is in your future, keep this in mind, and consult your local tax preparer or accountant to look at how this will financially affect your future project.

Financial Costs of Orthodontic Braces for Pre-Teen

Our daughter has very crowded teeth.  We've known she would need braces since her adult teeth started coming in at around age 4.  They didn't push out the baby teeth.  Instead, the grown teeth came in *Behind* the baby teeth.  She had two rows of teeth at the bottom as a result.  I think they call this "dragon teeth".  At the same time, her upper two baby teeth fell out, and it took a full year for the adult teeth there to grow in.  She liked pretending to be a vampire during this time period!

She is self conscious about her teeth.  She wants them "fixed".  She has a couple teeth that are still completely in behind the others.

My dentist offered to do them, but to be honest, I'm not comfortable with a dentist doing orthodontic work.  I'd rather go to someone who does them full time. An actual orthodontist.  It seems there are only two in our town, so I asked for advice from friends and about 80% recommended one and 20% recommended the other.

Although I have good medical benefits through my employer, it does not include orthodontic treatment at all.  Knowing braces would be in the thousands of dollars, I also knew that I wouldn't be able to afford them for the next couple of years.  My father has offered to pay for at least part of them though, so I booked a consult with the orthodontist that came highly recommended.

The consult was very reasonably priced, at $50.00, which included any needed x-rays.  We learned that not only are her teeth crowded, but that they don't align properly at all in the molars, and that she has an overbite.  Apparently we will start noticing the overbite more once the teeth start straightening.  She will need braces, and springs to go on the braces as well to correct all of this.

So...are you ready for the price?

$5800.00

(plus the $50.00 paid for the consult)

Payable as $300.00 for initial moldings, a $1500.00 downpayment, and then $200 per month for 20 months.

I'm thankful for proud grandfathers (my dad) who are willing to give generous gifts to their grandchildren to help pay for this!

Are orthodontic braces in the future for you or your teen?  How are the prices in your city?