About Me
My name is Miss T and I was born and raised in Manitoba, Canada, where my husband and I still live today. I have seen a lot challenge in my life – I was bullied as a kid, I was sick as a kid, had a sick mother growing up, had families that lost homes in a flood, etc. – but I have been able to be resilient and get though all of these difficulties. I guess I always saw the need to go on and persevere. Giving up just wasn’t an option. People in my life and my future self relied on me to keep plugging along. Growing up my mother nicknamed me the “little engine that could” because I would always find a way to get past each road block and keep going.
I grew up in a very close family, one that invested their time, energy, and love into one another. My parents have always been very supportive in any opportunity I have pursued. They taught me to work hard and treat others with respect. Sometimes I think they took the working hard thing a bit too far but hey, they tried their best.
I love everything. To list the things I have an interest in would take pages and pages but here is a brief idea. I love photography. I love the ability to freeze a moment in time; a precious memory that you can see and be reminded of time and time again.
I also love family and children. From the time I could walk I think, I have been helping people out and caring for others, including other’s children. In fact when my relatives lost their homes in the flood, I took a break from school to raise two newborn babies. I was just so natural at it and I felt great being able to help. To this day, having a family is one of my top goals. Being a mother is something I meant to do. The current plan is starting a family within two years.
I am also very passionate about health care. I currently work in the health care industry and I find it very rewarding. Being able to help those sick in need gives my life some purpose and conviction.
When I first graduated high school I didn’t go directly to University. I had a plan to attend a local college but there was a two year waiting list to get into my desired program. So in the meantime I continued working at my family’s business. I had been working there all through high school so the job wasn’t new. It was great. It was a stable income that I could count on. However, working with family can have it’s challenges. You end up taking work home with you and when there was an issue at work it became an issue at home. Eventually I felt the need to go out and work somewhere else. My mother encouraged me to apply at our local hospital to cover vacation relief as a physician assistant since I liked medicine, so I did. I ended up getting a job there that unknown to me at the time, would pave the way for my future career success. Each job led to another, and with each job I got a bit of a raise or more responsibility. Eventually I got to the point where I would need to take some courses to get any farther. So I enrolled in university and started doing courses in the evening while I worked full time. In the past 6 years I have completed three diploma programs and am close to finishing my degree. All of this has been done while working full time. I guess it is that hard working attitude that my parents taught me that is paying off. As I have completed programs, new jobs have presented themselves and I am now in a job that I love. In fact, my schooling now is just a formality because I don’t plan on leaving my current role anytime soon.
My ultimate goal in life is simple: to live a full and rewarding life; one that I can look back on and smile at. I don’t ever want to pass up an opportunity to do something that I might later regret. I want to be all I can be and experience all the world has to offer with my husband. Together we will continue to live a happy and fulfilling life.
About Prairie Eco-Thrifter
Prairie Eco-Thrifter just kind of happened. It was a creative experiment I started in the spring of 2010. My husband had been subscribing to some blogs for a few years and after reading a few of his emails I too started to read and subscribe to some blogs. I found out soon after how valuable they are. I loved reading the stories about what people had learned about a certain topic and how I could learn the same stuff.
At this point I started to think about blogging myself. I thought “I wonder if I could share some things I have learned and if people would actually read them.” So, one day on a whim I started Prairie Eco-Thrifter. I originally started it in Blogger but soon realized that WordPress was the way to go. I transferred my domain over and created a new template for the site.
It took a really long time to get any readers. In fact, I would go a week or two with only getting a couple more. Plus I never got comments. I couldn’t seem to get any discussion going. I was really discouraged. I thought my experiment was a flop and I should just give up. But then I discovered Yakezie.
I signed up for the Yakezie challenge on June 9/10. At this point my Alexa ranking was 1,722,015. After joining the challenge my blog started to gain momentum and readers. As happy as I was with the growth, it wasn’t quite the rate I was expecting. In fact, I still haven’t technically hit the 200,000 mark, unlike many of my co-challengers. My current ranking is 231,574. Despite this I have decided to not give up on blogging. There are days when I am tired and can’t think of things to write but I want to keep blogging.
I have seen so many personal benefits from it in the year that I have been doing it. I have been able to expand my knowledge in topics that I didn’t even have an interest in before- like personal finance, lol! I have always been more into self improvement, being healthy, and looking after the environment. I guess that’s why along with personal finance, I blog about living green and healthy.
I have also challenged my brain. I have always written for work or school but never just for kicks. Writing posts has given my brain a new stimulating workout. I love knowing that I am using it.
I have also made a huge amount of friends on the Yakezie network. The network is full of such amazing people; people who are caring, supportive, helpful, and inspiring. People that I thought were hard to find in this day and age. I think this is what has kept me going on the longest. If I stopped blogging I would lose these great new friends that I have made.
Well, there you have it everyone. This is how I got started blogging. I hope you have learned a bit more about me today and what makes me tick and I hope to continue to learn more about all of you. Thank you everyone for allowing me to be part of this amazing community. It has been an absolute honour. I hope to continue to add valuable knowledge to the blogging world of personal finance and simple living and I look forward to continue working with all of you.
Cheers!
Miss T
Yayy Miss T! Glad to see you become an official member! I always enjoy your posts and can’t wait for your insights in the future.
Thanks Derek. I enjoy reading your posts too. Maybe we can collaborate on something in the future.
Good to know a little bit about yourself Miss T! I love your blog name, very unique! Congrats on becoming an official member!
Thanks. When I came up with the blog name it was for my experiment. I didn’t give it too much thought other than I wanted it to represent where I was from and what I stood for. I have thought about changing it in the past but at this point I think I am going to just stick with it.
WOW, so inspiring. I was touched by your story. I can’t wait to get to know you and your site more!
I am looking forward to getting to know you better too.
Wow, what a story! Your blog name is definitely unique!, looking forward to getting to know you and hearing more about you.
Thanks, I am glad you like it. I was starting to wonder if my blog name worked or not. I too am looking forward to getting to know you better.
Hi, Miss T. It is great to hear your story; you are right, you have learned a lot from your parents about having a strong work ethic; getting a degree while working full-time and blogging is no easy feat. I enjoy reading your blog and am glad to hear about your life “behind” the blog.
Thanks Melissa. As much as my family has had their challenges and ups and downs over the years we have somehow been able to preserve our relationships with each other, even when there were issues in the way. I think I have only gotten closer to my parents over the years and I continue to value their knowledge.
I’ve always wondered where the name came from, and now I know. I visit your site because I love the “green” theme that you have attached to everything. I feel like there is no reason why finance and “green” can’t go hand-in-hand but I’ve struggled with getting these seemingly divergent topics together. Glad to see you doing it so well. Don’t be discouraged…and if you ever think of quitting go read my post on Problogger, “Is It Time To Quit Blogging”.
Thanks Sandy. I am sure that post will come in helpful. Thanks for visiting my site too. I am glad to hear you agree that finance and green go hand in hand.
Good to know a little more about the anonymous Miss T!
Thanks for sharing your story. It is an inspiration for others to know you can be successful even with the many challenges life has put in front of you. It sounds like your parents taught you many important lessons.
Nurturers many times forget to nurture themselves so eco can also mean taking care of yourself in addition to the earth.
Would love to hear more about your health care job, for obvious reasons!
Thanks Dean. You make a very good point. Yes, we can definitely talk “med speak” one day.
I loved reading your post, MIss T! You sound like a very caring and motivated person.I haven’t been able to visit your blog much, but I subscribed a while back just because I loved the name! I’ll make a point to visit more in the future.
Julie
Thanks Julie. I look forward to hearing more from you in the future too.
Congrats on making it official! It is great to learn your story!
Miss T – what a great introductory post! You have a really good story, and I like how you shared the obstacles that you had to deal with and persevere through. I’m glad that you’re onboard with the rest of us, and happy to be your teammate here! By the way – I share that ultimate goal as well.
Thanks. I really do feel that living your life to the fullest is important. There are so many great things out there for us just waiting to be found and explored.
Cool! Miss T you and I have a lot in common, I think (other than the fact that we’re both canadian and yakezies!). It was great reading about your story, and how you started blogging.
I think we do too. I am excited to get to know some other Canadian bloggers better.
Hey Miss T, nice to learn more about you. Inspiring story. Don’t get discouraged because in the end, you are ultimately doing it for yourself. :)
You’re right. Good reminder. I will remember this when I am feeling glum.
Thanks for sharing your background. It’s always good to hear about how hard work can get you where you want to go. Congrats on becoming a member!
Miss T, thanks for sharing your root. It’s always so interesting to read about where people comes from. I also made a lot of friends in Yakezie, it’s such a great supportive community. I bet you’ll hit 200k by April. :)
Thanks for the hope. I am hoping I hit 200 in April too. Ya, aren’t the people in this network amazing!!
I meant I bet you’ll hit 200k by April 1st!!! :)
Hopefully you’re right.
Welcome Miss T! You didn’t tell me this was up! Woo Hoo!
Thanks SPF. Sorry, didn’t think to draw attention to myself.
Way to go Miss T. It was great to learn a little bit about your background and what motivates you.
Thanks John. It feels nice to be official.
It’s great to learn more about your story, Miss T! I didn’t have the greatest childhood either, but in one sense sometimes I feel that it gives me an extra push to move forward. I think it’s pretty neat that in spite of the hardships you’ve grown to be a warm and caring person who devotes time to caring for others and giving back. Welcome to the Yakezie! :)
What a nice thing to say. Thank you so much. I too have been able to find resilience through difficulties.
Glad to have you a member now, Miss T. Great job working on your education while working full time. That’s how I got my degree.
Thanks. I am glad to hear there are others like me who have managed to work and do school at the same time. Very encouraging. Looking forward to working with you.
Miss T, it’s great to read about how you pushed through various levels of adversity in order to end up in this position. Working full-time while going to school was definitely a challenge for me as well.
I love that you are so willing and eager to give to others and show love to them! Thanks for sharing your story!
Thanks. I guess I just care about others a lot that’s all. Sometimes it gets the better of me but so be it.
Welcome Miss T! It’s been fun reading your blog and getting to know you better. I especially like the money psychology articles.
Thanks Amanda. It feels great to be officially part of the group.
I loved reading your story, Miss T! Your blog is great and I’m so glad we connected – I am a HUGE fan.
Thanks Eliza. I am really glad we connected too. I have enjoyed working with you this last month.
Hello and welcome, Miss T! It sounds like you’ve had more than your share of challenges in your life, but that you’ve come out of them all the stronger for it. Here’s hoping that your blog continues to grow and develop, as I can certainly relate to the difficulty in staying motivated when you’re getting no response.
P.S. That is one very interesting little logo you have.
Welcome Miss T. I am sure many will find inspiration from your words as you continue to mesh your own experiences in your writing.
Wishing you all the best in your endeavors.
Nice post Miss T. I like your attitude about persevering and not giving up when faced with difficult situations. That’s great there are so many things you like to do too. I’m the same way and totally agree how amazing photography is and how it can capture so many things in a single snap.
Great story, Miss T! You are such a hardworking person, finishing your degrees while working full time. Wow, that’s amazing! Good job! :)