Warrior 2 Pose to BE Present

A quick, wonderful energetic wake-up!

Fast fashion alternatives. Take care of your stuff, regardless of its cost.

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Happy New year, everyone! Payday was yesterday, so I did a little shopping today. The Dollar Tree on Marhsall road in Abbotsford had a fair selection of t-shirts! Not a lot of size or colour choices, either. But still a great deal $1.25 plus tax = $1.40

They were made in Guatemala, some were polyester. But the 2 I bought are both 100% cotton.

I know a lot of the fashionistas on YouTube say we should buy quality & not "fast fashion". But I am skeptical that the quality issues are all about cost. I went through my dresser recently & well over 50% of my clothing is more than 10 years old. The jeans in this photo are a recent purchase, the first pair of jeans that I have bought since I moved to Abbotsford in 2005, that cost more than $10.

Safe, free music online

Saturday, December 22, 2018

There are some really awesome places to get free music online. I've been posting this online for the last month on Facebook, along with my Youtube Christmas videos, for people who don't have cable. I realized that I'd forgotten to share my music sites on here.

First, several free Christmas music sites:
https://feelslikechristmas.com/

http://www.freexmasmp3.com/

https://www.christmasgifts.com/free-christmas-music?fbclid=IwAR0QM0yGs28Vbbju1Tyz2PEiLmPVqADNKELW6912Tbs4NXb9D_Cl4uXdfQY

Interested in a free Christmas album? They have 3 here:   https://heyitschristmas.bandcamp.com/

Do you really love some of the theme songs from your favorite TV shows? Here's 2 terrific sites: 
http://www.melaman2.com/tvshows/?fbclid=IwAR1Fh0YWQtkZXzfng35NN3BTU7rJb8lv2xQVfk8kJCMpMQo7Xb7DHfiJ2dE

& http://www.televisiontunes.com/

http://gamethemesongs.com/

http://tvadsongs.com/

I did a little research via Google & found some places you can download nature tracks, since my favourite DIY site, is no more. Here's my list so far:

https://www.freesoundeffects.com/

https://mixkit.co/

https://www.partnersinrhyme.com/

https://www.zapsplat.com/

Happy listening, everyone!

ps - EDIT (June 11, 2020) I forgot to add my personal SoundCloud page, where I share some of my own work.  https://soundcloud.com/michaelann-dahlman

UPDATE: August 26, 2022: I've noticed that if you like a musician's page on Facebook, or if you download free music that comes up in your newsfeed, you will suddenly find a lot more musicians offering you free tracks. It also works with ebooks.

2 vlog posts for today

Friday, August 24, 2018

A double treat for Friday, 2 vlogs (video blogs) from my YouTube channel. One on the recycling of shampoo & other personal care product containers. And one on headphone wiring safety.

Summer time shopping.

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Summertime is here & it's getting hot! I stopped by the Dollar Tree on Marshall road the other day & they had a nice selection of t-shirts, tank tops & even a few kids swimsuits. All $1.25 (plus tax, for a total of $1.40).

I stopped at the Dollar Tree on Essendene today & they had a lot of t-shirts & tank tops.

Spring time, shopping, budgeting & saving money.

May 01, 2018

Happy Spring, everyone. The weather has been pretty crazy this year, but its finally starting to warm up here in BC, everything is turning green & sprouting, flowers all over the place, even the trees. So of course my allergies are going crazy & I am still recovering from a broken arm I got on January 12th, the same day Mission & Sumas WA had that crazy ice storm.

This was taken outside of my apartment building in Mission.

Like most people, I enjoy saving money. Last summer, I picked up some tank tops &  a light long sleeved top, for $1.25 each, at Dollar Tree Canada!

They had lots of t-shirts & tank tops to choose from. I bought this one last summer.

Here's a photo of the long sleeve shirt I got here in August.

I was going to get some new tank tops today, but they were mostly out & this colour is just all wrong for me: 

Dollarama even carry slippers, underwear in 3 packs, socks & pantyhose!

I almost forgot Mother's day was coming soon. But luckily I saw something while I was doing some shopping at Dollarama, before coming across the border to visit my husband.

Speaking of saving money, have you ever considered giving up cable? I did & it ain't that bad. If you are Canada, CBC, CTV & Global all have shows online that you can watch for free the day after they come out on TV.  https://www.globaltv.com/shows/

https://www.ctv.ca/shows/all-shows#/

CTV also has a selection of movies, as well as older TV series: https://www.ctv.ca/Movies

https://www.ctv.ca/throwback

In the US, CBS, NBC & FOX also do this. ABC has something similar, but you have to wait a week after the broadcast date. Netflix is still under $10 a month I think, & in the US, Hulu is $7.99 a month & it also has a free trial & optional add-ons for HBO, Showtime & Cinemax (at an extra cost, of course). You can also watch Crackle online, but unfortunately is no longer available in Canada.  Plus there's a lot of interesting content available on YouTube.  I even have a channel there:   https://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelannDahlman/videos

There are even free online websites to watch TV, such as https://pluto.tv/ca/live-tv

and https://tubitv.com/home Unfortunately, like Netflix, there are fewer shows available in Canada.

Now that prices have finally started to come down, I am even buying some seasons of some of my favourite shows. And I bought a VHS-to-USB device to allow me to copy my old VHS tapes, into a digital format, that I can play on my computer! 

Soundtrack of my life

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Have you ever noticed how a specific song will immediately take you back to the 1st time you heard it? Or remind you of a concert or a specific person? I was thinking of that the other day, in relation to how many special people we've lost this past year. David Bowie, Gord Downie & David Cassidy, to mention just a few.

 One of the sad facts of growing older is that we lose more people, friends, acquaintances, family, favourite actors or musicians.

Do you have a song that personifies you, or perhaps different ones from different times in your life? Here's mine, the soundtrack of my life, so far:

"Who I am" by Jessica Andrews  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSA-rjH-1Xo
EDIT> An interesting coincidence, my paternal grandmother's name was Rose.

 #2 would have to be Valdy's Landscapes (I spend part of my teen years living on the Island):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8LJQaWzVuY
 

#3  I was just recently introduced to this song, but it definitely reminds me of me in my late teens:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc5iTNVEOAg&list=PLCAKB2kFnBEvpsZMJmQ8V818yiPsU-oUB&index=477

#4 would probably be Orianthi's "according to you":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu1aQvm5MrU

#5  is Phil Oakley's Together in electric dreams:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE1lzqJCeJ0

#6 would be John Parr's St. Elmo's fire:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSsanVx6Tjg

#7 would have to be Madonna's "I'll remember" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubTtANekn4g

"Today" by Joshua Radin, was the song I had played when my husband & I got married in Las Vegas in January 2012.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpdZa_Cam9k

I came across this video not long after I binge watched all 7 seasons of the West Wing, this song so reminds me of my wonderful husband: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvCKMuet6pA&t=1s

EDIT>  July 15, 2020 update: Okay, I recently came across 2 new songs (new to me, anyway) that I totally love, they are now a part of my life playlist.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_uM0nZRt7E&t=1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvSzjPee89w&list=PLCAKB2kFnBEvpsZMJmQ8V818yiPsU-oUB&index=299&t=0s I first heard this version of this song, on the season finale of 9-1-1. Totally awesome!!

What songs speak to your heart? What songs personify "YOU"?