Wake-up Call Challenge

elantan

sounds to me like this home work is getting a few people thinking ... and that is great ... sometimes we think we are thinking but in reality we are just plodding along (other times we are thinking ... sometimes even too much ) ...

being honest with oursleves is one of the best things we can do (next to loving ourselves) .... the thing with being honest i have noticed here is that some of you have recognised how you can be too hard on yourselves that is very important to keep a wee check on.... when you achieve what you want to achieve you dont want to be thinking i couldve got here earlier or i didnt do it exactly right ... you want to be thinking along the lines of wow i did good

suja1983

Hiya,

I'm relatively new to this site, and very new to challenges, but I need a kick up the backside too, so thought I'd gatecrash your party!

My story so far...
Lived in Essex in mortgaged home for 5 years till last yr when I got burgled twice in the space of 4 months. Moved out immediately 30 miles out into rented accomodation in Hertfordshire, and got my oldest son enrolled into a great school here.

OH's grocery shop is in London so he commutes 5 days out of 7. I am a SAHM although I work a 12 hour shift on Saturdays for some 'pocket' money. On paper our shop is doing very well, so not entitled to tax credits (or technically we are, but we were overpaid!). In reality, the money we get from the shop is going on our debts. Me and OH did not manage to get a business loan for the shop so we're about 60k in debt (I think!) :mad: At the height of the property boom, my OH remotgaged the house and I'm pretty sure we're in negative equity now so can't sell up and buy another house where we are now.

I'm meant to start my initial teacher training course in September, but even once I qualify I figured that after taxes and childcare etc, I'll still only be getting about £6,000 a year. :think:

On top of this, since I've moved here, I have gained about a stone. I know it might not sound like much compared to some of the others, but it is getting me down.

So goals for this challenge :
1) Lose the stone
2) Get childcare organised for September and get younger son settled at daycare
3) Sort out debts - although have no idea how we're meant to manage this
4) Change house mortgage to repayment, and possibly overpay to get rid of the negative equity. (Maybe I should get an estate agent to value it first?)

My OH is the kind to just bury his head in the clouds which is why I really need this forum to keep me on track for a better life for me and the kids.

Thanks for reading. :j

birdlady

Hi suja, it doesn't feel much like a party just yet, more like the planning for one! Be prepared to find yourself thinking long and hard about the homework from Elantan

Cath x

boredofbeingathome

elantan wrote: »

hi ... am on the p.c for a wee while so thought i would send this out while i had the time ...

birdlady that is fantastic that you are now thinking more positively about the way your life currently is ... i think you might benefit from doing this type of thing (wheel of life) maybe once every three months or so ... just to keep a good eye on where you are and how good things are for you

bob ...well yes fun and getting more healthy does go hand in hand i said so ... so it is law lol ... look at you already though ... you are planning on doing the whw ... that aint a walk in the park mrs .. but it is in fact an excellent goal to work towards that will help you achieve what you want ????

tmv i noticed that you are a good distance away from your family and friends... would it help to make new friends as well as keeping in touch with your old ones? i like the way you have split your relationships down into individuals rather than as a collective

It probably will El..i consider walking to be fun - possibly i am a tad mental on that one.:D:rotfl:
I did on a whim, apply to be put on the list for the marathon next year:eek: Now that would be a challenge - i got carried away with everyone saying they were doing it..and i would love to. So that will be part of my fitness regime, i used to jog a lot and miss it- so hopefully i can waddle away and have another goal:D If it is too much for me, i will stick to walking..but i am going to try.

You won't be surprised to hear that i put a low mark for a lot of stuff- funnily enough when i thought about money though- that was about a 5- which surprised me.

Krisp_3

I could never do a marathon - doctor's orders, literally! I had two herniated discs at the end of last year and whilst I am better now, I'm not allowed to run (oh what a shame....!). Anyhoo, I did a local version of the London to Brighton bike ride last June - 60 miles round trip starting in Brighton (Hove, actually!) and ending there. All round the South Downs and Sussex countryside. It was fabulous, but hard work (although much less than running, I think!). A year before, I would never have signed myself up for it, but I'm bl00dy-minded and was given great support by friends, OH and colleagues.

They do a shorter one too - Coast to Coast is the event. And there are others too, of course.

Just a thought....

suja1983

birdlady wrote: »

Hi suja, it doesn't feel much like a party just yet, more like the planning for one! Be prepared to find yourself thinking long and hard about the homework from Elantan

Cath x

I have heard about the homework. Have had a look and will get back later with the figures! Looks scary though but I'm all for self improvement and self analysis!

The_Dragon

Home/physical environment - 9

This scored highly for a number of reasons, we moved here 2.5 (ish) years ago and at that point even with crutches I could barely walk 10 metres - now I can manage about 100 metres (again with crutches - I can’t walk without them), the house is small so I can get around it easily (although it is rather filled with “stuff” but that is being sorted and got rid off as necessary - hence not a 10!), we also now have a small dog and this is companionship for me during the day - so again a plus point. In the village I can walk to the Post Office, the Village Shop, the Pub, the Hairdressers and with a breather the Opticians so again I feel I can do more.

Partner, Love, Relationship - 9

Again a 9 - I was lucky to have met a wonderful man nearly 9 years ago and in November this year we will have been married for 8 years. He knew when we met that I was seriously obese (could hardly hide it!), that I have a nut allergy (now anaphylactic but before we got married and he could have called it off), and that I was becoming more and more disabled (and a couple of years after we were married the ankle gave up the ghost hence the crutches), he always says if you can’t kiss and cuddle then anything else is meaningless - I would however like a more physical relationship again but for that to occur three things need to happen 1. It needs to be cooler (he feels the heat and would be physically sick), 2. My ulcerated leg needs to have healed (nearly there) 3. I need to have shifted SOME poundage (and hopefully now the thyroid problem has been sorted out that will happen)

Health/Fitness - 2

As you can tell from the above my health is not exactly the best, the Thyroid problems are newly diagnosed but it seems to be a point from which a lot of other things hang - I am therefore hopeful that with that under control (and I hope that will be sooner rather than later) the weight will start to diminish, as the weight goes down there will be less pressure on my joints (right ankle in particular), WHEN the weight goes down my self esteem will go up and I will want to do more. So with all this in mind this got a 2.

Growth/Learning - 7

Being stuck at home most of the time I want to do more in this field, not for job prospects but for me! So I have a few things in the pipeline I want to learn, I have the kit to do it, just a case of getting started - so the loss of three points here is for my procrastination (in my defence the SAD and CFS meant I only had the energy for getting out of bed some days - but it is in hand.)

Career/Business/Work - 5

This may seem strange as I don’t actually work, nor indeed can I work at the moment BUT I am “working” through the day on my stitching and I hope to get back to writing the book I started and so I am classing those two items as my work, because they are not work in the usual sense AND because I have only just started back at them they only get a 5.

Money/Finance - 5

I was originally going to give this a 1 but then I thought about it and realised that although I have a chunk of debt to pay (in proportion to my money in), I have got a handle on it and it IS getting cleared (albeit slowly), at the moment at least I am not spending half as much as I used to and I feel happier about the situation (granted I would feel happier still if it was all gone but hey!), I have a small pension building up and things are not too bad.

Family/Friends/Social Relationships - 7

This is a strange one for me, both our families live in the North West of England, we live in East Anglia (about 200 miles away), I do phone my parents regularly (and we see both families about three times a year), my 18 year old niece (my late sister’s only child) I do NOT get on with, I have tried but she lies, is manipulative, and seems to be turning into a smoker and drinker like her mother (don’t get me wrong I enjoy a glass of wine or pint of cider, even a nice Plymouth Gin and Tonic! But my later sister drank a bottle of brandy a day or a wine box over 2 nights WITH other alcohol, she didn’t so much have a gin and tonic as a tonic and gin). Friends, well I have a few good ones but they either work (and so getting together is tricky) or live away from here (ditto), but phone calls and emails abound and we see each other when we can. Social relationships, well I can strike up a conversation easily and can chat with people even with my low self esteem - so this is why this gets a 7.

Community - 6

I am getting more involved in this, I am the neighbourhood watch co-ordinator for our section of road and I hope to be on the memorial hall committee. Also various charity events we attend and enjoy as and when we can.

Fun - 8

Okay this is an odd one because the fun things have been covered elsewhere, playing with the dog, stitching, writing the book - but on top of these I enjoy watching TV or a DVD with my OH, I play computer games, I like chatting on MSE when I can and reading books - fun is where you find it I think.

Spirituality - 8

Okay this is another odd one, my Spirituality is in every part of my life really, I am a Pagan and try and live with the world without damaging it. The only reason this doesn’t score higher is because I have slipped in a couple of areas (meditation being a major one)

The_Dragon

Suja1983 - good to see you and I have added you to the opening post list - this will get you thinking (thanks Elantan!), but in a good way overall

elantan

ahhh good old meditation ... time flies by so fast and before we know it another week has went by and no meditation done .... that is deff something i miss too dragon ... although i do try and do it as often as i can .

elantan

so dragon ... now you have done part one of your homework are you ready to tackle part two?