BC Hydro Smart Meter Issues

Delving back into my days as a consultant and digging around to see what I can find on the Smart Meters newly installed by BC Hydro.  Our meter was installed October 2011.  The first bill after the install seemed ok, but the following two bills have been abnormally high.  In four months my hydro has exceeded what I consumed all of last year.

I contacted the building manager to look at my meter and he informed me that at least 20 other tenants in our complex have reported the same problems.  This seems to be a widespread complaint in BC.

Hoping to find some info on the Itron C12SOD.

Sleep...

The clock says 8:36pm, but it feels like 1:36am.  My almost 7-month old son had a restless day and is finally sleeping soundly.  I was just as exhausted as he was over an hour ago when I put him in his crib, yet here I am still awake.

Why, when I'm as tired as I am, refuse to sleep as soon as my baby goes to bed? I guess I want to feel as though I've had my own time during the day.  That, and I'm too tired to go and brush my teeth.  This battle of brushing my teeth happens every night.  In fact, my husband constantly makes fun of me over it. The 3 minutes it takes to brush my teeth before bed seems like such a chore by the time I want to go to bed.  I think I wait too long in the evening to brush my teeth.  The problem is also worsened with late night snacking.

So, I guess the obvious solution would be to not snack at night so I can brush my teeth early and then be able to plop into bed right when I'm ready to fall asleep.  No late night snacking also has the added bonus of fewer late night calories.  Hmmm...sounds simple enough.

Here, declared as of my first post since December 17, 2010 (wow, well over a year now)...I will curb my late night snacking to brush my teeth early and go to bed happy.

Oh, and as of my own "me" time, spending a little time on my neglected blog counts :)

P.S. As for the 1-hr of TV per day thing...I think I average about 2-3 hrs now...thank goodness for PVRs though!

My Extra 3 Hours...

Yesterday was my first day of watching only 1 hour of TV.  Given that we have a PVR and I can skip through commercials, that means I actually can watch 1.5 hours worth of TV in only 1 hour...is that cheating?  I ended up watching 3 episodes of Big Bang Theory which made for good laughs.

Instead of watching TV while making dinner I turned on the radio.  I guess if I had the TV on while I was making dinner you could consider that time excluded from my 1 hour, but I still tend to watch the TV from the kitchen when I cook.  With only the radio, I can listen with my ears no matter what direction my eyes are pointed.

With my extra 3 hours I:

1. Bought groceries and made dinner
2. Went online to research books to help me improve my business skills and looked them up in our local library catalogue (will be picking them up today)
3. Went to bed early and read a book

Not too shabby!  And by going to bed early, I feel refreshed for today...bonus!

The Honeymoon Ain't Over! Let's Begin a New Chapter...

So, it's been about a month since we flew home from New Zealand...home of our fantastic honeymoon adventure.  Hubby says he really misses their yogurt...LOL.

What's in store for Project Esposa now?  Well, now I'm on a quest to find ways to better manage my time and become more efficient.  Two reasons:

1. I want a happy family
2. I want to be happy in my own career and accomplishments

I figure the less rushed and stressed I am the happier I am and the happier my husband will be and our future kids.  To me it all boils down to being organized and prepared.  It also means limiting how much time I spend on things which don't affect me positively.

In my first step to increasing my efficiency, I've decided to cut-off TV to 1 hour per day.  I figure I spend about 4 hours on TV everyday.  At just 1 hour of TV a day, imagine what I could do in 3 hours?!  When I think about it, does TV really mean a lot to me?  Not really.  I would rather learn to be a better cook, take a dance class, or even improve my guitar skills than that.  What would be more valuable to me after a year?  Would keeping up with Grey's Anatomy change my life more than eating healthier and being more active and fit?  Hmmm...put it that way and the decision seems pretty easy.

Today marks Day 1 of TV at just 1 hour a day.    Thank goodness for PVRs.  At least I can choose what show I'm in the mood for watching when I allow myself that 1 hour.

Project Honeymoon - Day 20: Fly back to Auckland and catch The Rocky Horror Show

Packing - My packing skills are put to the test getting the wine in snuggly and securely.  Hubby and I fell in love with a brand of instant soup and they made for good padding.

Packing the Wine with Soup

Flying Over New Zealand - Our domestic flight only requires a small plane.  I get to sit by the window this time since Hubby got the window seat on our international flight.  I got a good shot of Queenstown from above including the gondola we rode the day before.  I hoped to get a good shot of the islands, but there were too many clouds...oh well.

Our Plane

Queenstown (with Gondola)

Over New Zealand

The Rocky Horrow Show - I haven't seen the movie (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) yet, but when we saw the Civic Centre was playing a live theatre version, we had to go.   The concierge at our hotel told us the show is pretty interactive.  I didn't know what she meant.  Hubby explained to me that not only do people dress up, but they also bring props like rice, lights, etc. and there are also lines people can shout out to the actors.  We were in for quite the show.  People totally got glammed up...it was awesome!  The show was so much fun and we all got up and danced at the end to the encore of "Let's Do the Time Warp Again".  What a blast...and such a perfect way to spend our last night in Auckland.  Note: Photos of Hubby and I have been altered to protect our identities...LOL.

The Rocky Horror Show at The Civic Centre

Me with Glammed up Doorman...er, Doorwoman

Hubby with enthusiastic theatre goers

Project Honeymoon - Day 19: Downtown Queenstown

Gondola Ride - The thing to do in downtown Queenstown (other than shop) is take the gondola ride up the mountain.  This ride is much smaller than the one at Grouse Mountain, but the view is just as nice.  One thing we definitely don't have at the Grouse gondola are sheep...only in NZ.

Sheep under the Gondola

Paragliding - You can tandem paraglide off the mountain.  A viewing deck at the top lets you see people as they run and take off.  Now that looks like a lot of fun compared to bungy jumping.  Maybe Hubby and I will give it a try back home; as Hubby said, our mountains are bigger.

Paragliders in the distance

Luge - For $15 more you can add two luge rides to your gondola ticket.  A ski lift takes you and the carts up to the start of the tracks.  Everyone must do the scenic track first before going on the advanced track.  Hubby seemed skeptical about how fast we'd be able to go which would directly relate to how much fun he would have.  Fortunately, the ride was not disappointing,  You can actually go pretty fast and if you're not careful around the sharp turns you could totally wipe out on the boards.  The advanced track has cool drops which really allow you to gain speed.  Hmmm, if only we had millions of dollars to open one of these back home...LOL.  They actually already have one in Montreal.

Ski lift carrying people and luge carts

Luge

Devil Burger - Reception at our accomodation was not lying about how huge the burgers are at Devil Burger.  In hindsight, Hubby and I should have just shared one burger between the two of us...oh well, we're on vacation.

Big burger!

Project Honeymoon - Day 18 - Arrowtown & Bungy Jumping

Hot, Sunny Day - Finally, I can wear the summer dress that I packed!  The majority of the weather on our trip has been cool and I've been wearing long pants and my wind-proof fleece almost every day.  At last, I can wear a dress on our honeymoon.

Arrowtown - Reception at  our accomodation recommended this cute little place just a  10 minute drive west of Queenstown.  It's reminiscent of Steveston Village back home, but smaller.  The buildings are historical and have been made into boutique shops and cafes.

Arrowtown Post Office

Chinese Village - Just a short walk away from central Arrowtown is Chinese Village.  In the late 1800s, Chinese moved here in hopes to make a living panning for gold and send money home to their families.  They built themselves small houses just big enough for them to sleep.  The area is now a heritage site which the NZ goverment maintains.

Hubby in front of a house in the Chinese Village

Bungy Bridge - Queenstown, NZ was the birthplace of bungy jumping.  Neither Hubby nor I are interested in bungy jumping, but we're game for taking pictures of people who are.  The viewing deck at the bungy bridge made for the perfect place to take photos.  At $185 a jump and getting jumpers through every 15 minutes or so, Hubby and I realised these guys must be making a lot of money.  Hmmm, if only we could run our own bungy jumping business, LOL.

Guy jumping feet first...yikes!

Bathroom signs at the Bungy Bridge