Lang may yer lum reek! (Live long and healthily)

Wow! What a party! Two days later and when words come out of my mouth, they are still being filtered through a Scottish accent. The Proclaimers lyrics are constantly running through my head!

Here are the highlights:

Such impressive attire!

No shit Sherlock!



This...

was used for this (hourly whisky toasts!)

The Address to the Haggis...



And haggis is served!

What would the evening be without some highland fling?

WHEN YOU'RE GIVING 'TALK LIKE A SCOT!' LESSONS, IT'S REALLY HARD NOT TO BE HIGHLY ANIMATED AND SHOUT LIKE A BLOODY HOOLIGAN!

It's Angus, the Multi-tartan'd Moose.

Henh, henh.

Reviewing the clan poster.



See you again next year Bonnie Lads & Lassies!

Cheeky, I know...

Time to get my humble abode decked out for Saturday's Robbie Burns Day Party.

Some clipart and crayons, and voila! An Andy Warhol inspired art piece!

Glad to be Plaid

That's my sister Shirley on the left, and me on the right. My mom made these outfits. Even as a 4 year old, I remember feeling like I was born to rock this outfit!

I went searching through my wardrobe the other day to see what I could wear for this Saturday's Robbie Burns Party. Seeing as I strongly suggested to my guests that they show up decked out in plaid or tartan, I figured I better make sure I would be dressed as authentically as possible.

To my surprise, there was no tartan to be found in my closet! I set off to Frenchy's and picked up two long skirts - one with a blue multicoloured checked tartan pattern (made in Cambodia oddly enough) and the other various shades of grey and blue (made in Moldova...what's up with that?). I still have to decide which skirt I'll be wearing, but I'll be happy with either. I'll also have some Scottish 'embellishments' to complete my outfit (guests will have to wait until Saturday to see what they are).

I picked up a few extra items at Frenchy's, so don't worry if you can't find any plaid in your closet, I will get you all decked out when you get here!

Here's tae us! Wha's like us? Damn few, an' they're a' deid! (Cheers! There's no one like the Scots!).

Week 4: Host a Robbie Burns Day Party

Time to start a new challenge after the excitement of last week in which I exceeded my goal of earning $200 extra dollars in revenue, thanks to my windfall of winning a car. Which actually ties in nicely to this week's theme. My win was part of a fundraiser for the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts and my winning ticket was drawn at the College's Robbie Burns Day festivities.

I'll be hosting my own Burns Celebration at my home this Saturday evening. For those unfamiliar with Burns, he was the son of a peasant farmer who took to writing poetry as an alternative to working in the fields. He is considered 'Scotland's National Poet'. Burns Day parties are held annually on January 25 (his birthday) and typically celebrated with a traditional Scottish meal, drinking whisky, reading poems, singing songs, and a toast to the lassies.

I've been talking about having a Robbie Burns Day party for a few years now, but the timing was never right. But this Saturday twenty or so of my closest friends will jam themselves into my wee little home, have some drink and eat my mother's homemade Scotch cookies. When I think about my cultural identity, I most connect with being Scottish (after being a Canadian of course). My mom's father immigrated to Canada as a teenager and Mom always corresponded with distant relatives from his homeland who would send tea towels for her and plaid clad dolls for my sister and I.

When hosting Robbie Burns festivities, there's a whole protocol to the event. My party will have some of those traditional elements, such as the Address to the Haggis (Will it be a real haggis? My guests will just have to wait and see, wink wink). But we'll also be listening to the Proclaimers and introducing a 'Talk in a Scottish Accent' Hour.

Aye, we'll be smilin' like a bylt haddie (full of the joys of life). Can't wait!

Ride Sally Ride

Well, just when I thought this week's experiment of earning an extra $200 in revenue was about to be chalked up as a dismal failure, my luck changed rather abruptly late yesterday.

But before I get to that, I'd like to tell you what I've been doing this week in an attempt to earn some extra coin ('attempt' being the key word). I've been posting like a maniac to UsedPEI.com with hardly a speck of interest (except for the woman who wondered if I could drive a $10 item to Charlottetown...um, no). I've noticed things on the site seem to be pretty quiet, so my guess is that this is not time of year that people have extra money to spend / want to venture out in the cold to check out other peoples' stuff. I'm going to keep using this website, as I think it's a great concept and that eventually I'll have some success with it.

Trying to sell my craft wares didn't work either. And after assessing the state of my recycling, I realized there wasn't enough to bother delivering to the recycling depot. I could have taken on an extra shift at the pool where I teach an exercise class, but quite frankly, the motivation just wasn't there. I did redeem some Air Miles points and will soon be receiving in the mail a $25 gift card from Staples as well as a $10 card from Starbucks. That was my only real success this week, and even that's a stretch.

Yup, my vision was that this was going to be an experiment where, at the end of the week, I would be found smugly counting dollar bills in my living room. Instead, I was left feeling disappointed and frustrated. Until last night when I got the call.

I won a 2011 FORD MUSTANG CONVERTIBLE! Talk about divine intervention! It was only earlier in the day (4:30 pm to be exact) that I had stopped in to the College of Piping to buy a ticket on their car lottery, which was to be drawn for later in the evening. Tickets were $100 each (no small potatoes!) and I hesitated a bit in the afternoon before finally going down to pick up a ticket. I like to think I'm a person with strong intuition, and something was telling me to take the risk.

Since I bought a new (to me) car just before Christmas, and a mustang convertible is not exactly practical for my life, I'll be taking the cash equivalent of the car. I don't exactly know what that number is yet, but boy do I have plans for how it's going to be spent (all in a responsible fashion, of course)!

So yes - this win has pulled me out of the fire, however I do still think it's possible to earn some extra cash now and then if you put your mind to it. It's important to be creative and persistent in your goal of increasing your revenue. Either hard work or, in my case karma, will step in and pay off.

Here's a little audio clip for your enjoyment...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxc8Sm0nXpE

A long way from $200

I was hoping by now I would be bragging about how close I was to reaching my goal of earning $200 extra dollars in income this week. Sadly, I am far from it.

For the first time ever, I've been using UsedPEI.com to try and sell my things. I've posted numerous items - clothes, dishes, a rocking chair. The only thing I've had interest in so far has been some $10 plates...and they are not officially sold yet. I'd be curious in hearing other people's experiences with this website. Maybe this is a bad time of year to be selling things? Maybe I just need to be more patient?

So yesterday while I was in Value Foods, I was struck by what was posted on the dry erase board on the wall. Last week's winner of the store's 50/50 had a take-home pay of $1,200!! Cha ching! I'm sure I blinked dollar signs. The cashier told me that the weekly payout is normally only $200 (only?). I am in the vicinity of the grocery store on a regular basis, so I figured it would be a good idea to sign up and make the commitment to stop in weekly and sign in. Will I win $200 this week? Probably not. But one of these weeks, opportunity will be mine.

Week 3: Add an extra $200 to my income this week

I think this week is going to be interesting. Like everyone, I could always use some extra cash, and I'm willing to get creative about how I earn it (before you over think that statement, let me share that I don't mean in a Pretty Woman kind of way).

I've got some items sitting around from my Week 1 decluttering purge that I would be happy to put on the market. Since I need an actual market from which to sell these articles, I've joined the UsedPEI.com revolution and am happy to report that I've already posted 3 items. I am waiting with anticipation for inquiries about my wares to roll in. I've never sold anything off of this site before, so I really don't know what to expect. I may be thinking selling my stuff is going to be easier than it actually will be. I guess I'll soon find out!

I've got some other resourceful revenue generating ideas up my sleeve. I look forward to sharing my progress this week. Here's hoping I'm $200 wealthier by week's conclusion!