Dirty's hoping it's not too late to mend her ways......

little_h_2

I am very jealous that you are 10 mins from the Baltic! (but yes I agree, 10 minutes round there isn't enough!)

Could you save your lunch breaks and take a slightly longer one once a week maybe?

I was born in Gateshead but moved away when I was about 4. I went on holiday to Northumberland (staying near Seahouses) with my ex hubby a few years back and we spent a wonderful day in Newcastle as I wanted to see a bit of the area plus see the Baltic and the bridges and the Sage too. The Sage was wonderful! I dream of playing there one day (had better do some mega practice first )

I worked in Salford Quays just outside Manchester for a while just as they were building the Lowry Centre and loved being by the water at lunchtime even if it was only for a few minutes. I loved to close my eyes and imagine all the things that went on where I was standing many years ago (probably not very nice things as it was the old Docks etc!). People probably thought I was mad - and they might be right :rotfl:

a photo diary is a wonderful idea. I am making more of a note of what i do each day in my little diary - very brief but enough to look back on i hope.

I am also hoping to get more photos up around my house as I don't have many personal touches at the moment (been there years but have tended to spend my energy and money on furniture/decorating rather than anything else)

To keeping happy then! :beer:

dirtyepic

little_h wrote: »

I am very jealous that you are 10 mins from the Baltic! (but yes I agree, 10 minutes round there isn't enough!)

Could you save your lunch breaks and take a slightly longer one once a week maybe?

I was born in Gateshead but moved away when I was about 4. I went on holiday to Northumberland (staying near Seahouses) with my ex hubby a few years back and we spent a wonderful day in Newcastle as I wanted to see a bit of the area plus see the Baltic and the bridges and the Sage too. The Sage was wonderful! I dream of playing there one day (had better do some mega practice first )

I worked in Salford Quays just outside Manchester for a while just as they were building the Lowry Centre and loved being by the water at lunchtime even if it was only for a few minutes. I loved to close my eyes and imagine all the things that went on where I was standing many years ago (probably not very nice things as it was the old Docks etc!). People probably thought I was mad - and they might be right :rotfl:

a photo diary is a wonderful idea. I am making more of a note of what i do each day in my little diary - very brief but enough to look back on i hope.

I am also hoping to get more photos up around my house as I don't have many personal touches at the moment (been there years but have tended to spend my energy and money on furniture/decorating rather than anything else)

To keeping happy then! :beer:

Hi Little_H

Blimey it's a small world! I was born in Gateshead too! The QE hospital.

I am going to upload my photos today to my laptop and have a good look through them. I am using my phone to take them and having a go at the brilliant photography apps at every opportunity.

I love it up the Northumberland coast. Seahouses - mmmmmm fish and chips springs to mind immediately. To celebrate a friends 40th birthday in May we are hiring a massive house at Newton by the Sea with all intentions of partying non-stop!! Well that's always the intentions but with the majority of us past the 40 years mark whether its possible or not who knows?!!

During the summer I make the effort to exercise during my half hour dinner break and walk along the Quayside and there are so many people relaxing with their sandwiches and books sitting in the sun. Just remember - summer really will be here before we know it!

In fact it's only 165 sleeps till we leave to head down to the Glastonbury Festival!

With regards the house and personal touches - I seem to have done the same as yourself. We haven't even got a single photo up in the house (but I have my little work room and have a few up in there). I had our wedding photos printed ready to frame and hang and they are still waiting!! We've been married 5 and a half years and in the house almost 5 years!! It's not really laziness more distraction methinks. Although there'll be miserable faces in the house when we do try and put the photos up cos both of us hate having our photos taken!!! A bit of a nightmare on our wedding day!

Well, I do hope one day I will be able to come and see you play at the Sage! Keep practising!

I am just going to potter for a few more minutes then get cracking with sorting out my photos and then playing 'designer' and design meself some dvd covers and labels!! Got to start somewhere.

Have a great weekend!

T
x

dirtyepic

My revised list for 2011
(week start 03.01.11)

The usual
NSD M/T/W/T
£5 a day W/T
check bank account T/W/T
check b/c Th/
check n/w Th/
update snowball T/Th
update signature
sealed pot
keep up with MG diary M/T/W/Th/F
keep up with Mike's diary M/T/W/Th/F
keep up with Dinah's diary M/T/W/Th/F
review my 50 day challenge
start a new challenge
keep up with my diary! T/W/Th/S
keep up with matrix T/
15mins M/Th/S
1 hour ebay M/T/W/F/S
ironing M/
make thank you cards (design already decided just get it toshed up on the mac)
[STRIKE]sort out new phone contract[/STRIKE]

daily do something nice -
M: go for couple of pints of lovely real ale in local pub
T:
W: meet friends at dinnertime instead of sitting in the office
Th: read Photography magazine for half an hour/relaxed in bath with bailey's hot chocolate! (made up for not doing anything onTuesday)
F: bought breakfast from Pret. Mmmmmm
S: beach, photos, nice hot bath!
S:

house things to complete -
check stair rods (when they arrive)
[STRIKE]chase carpet fitting date (on 07.01.11)[/STRIKE]
measure up for bookcase
clear out and declutter back bedroom (ongoing!!)
await delivery and fit of replacement front door

absolute shattered for no reason whatsoever, felt a bit down today but trying to remember how to pull myself out before getting deeper into it. So the relaxing bath awaits me and lets hope I am chirpier tomorrow.

Night night

T
x

dirtyepic

OOoh Sunday morning - lovely and bright with a light covering of snow.

Marty (aka Baldy) has started his walk to Asda (which is about 3 miles away). He enjoys the exercise, starts the shopping and gives me a ring to go and collect him in the car. How brilliant is that arrangement? I know, I am very spoilt!

I have started my daily iphone photo diary and have successfully uploaded my first week. I don't lead the most exciting of lives but it's going to be good to be able to look back and remember what I have done each day this year - lets hope i keep it up!

Not got too much to do today, house is tidy and maybe a quick dust of the bedroom will be all that's needed. Just the usual Sunday ebay mega listing session this afternoon.

I have even decided to give baking a go!! Blimey this is so not me! But am starting easy due to seeing someone posting the Millies Cookies recipe on another thread. Looks easy enough. I could eat one right now!!

My revised list for 2011
(week start 03.01.11)

The usual
NSD M/T/W/T/Su
£5 a day W/T/Su
check bank account T/W/T/Su
check b/c Th/
check n/w Th/
update snowball T/Th
update signature
sealed pot Sa/Su
keep up with MG diary M/T/W/Th/F/S/S
keep up with Mike's diary M/T/W/Th/F/S/S
keep up with Dinah's diary M/T/W/Th/F/S/S
review my 50 day challenge
start a new challenge
keep up with my diary! T/W/Th/S
keep up with matrix T/
15mins M/Th/S
1 hour ebay M/T/W/F/S/S
ironing M/
make thank you cards (design already decided just get it toshed up on the mac)
sort out new phone contract

daily do something nice -
M: go for couple of pints of lovely real ale in local pub
T:
W: meet friends at dinnertime instead of sitting in the office
Th: read Photography magazine for half an hour/relaxed in bath with bailey's hot chocolate! (made up for not doing anything onTuesday)
F: bought breakfast from Pret. Mmmmmm
S: beach, photos, nice hot bath!
S: make cookies!

house things to complete -
check stair rods (when they arrive)
chase carpet fitting date (on 07.01.11)
measure up for bookcase
clear out and declutter back bedroom (ongoing!!)
await delivery and fit of replacement front door


So there we go, I am just dragging myself out of bed now cos the house has now warmed up! Got a few things I want to do and because I have fired myself up I will strike while the iron's hot!

I also noticed that some people record the percentage of their debt successfully cleared on their signature. I might try and work that out for myself and this could be a bit of a positive thing to record and help me watching it increase.

You never know, I might even be able to relax at some point today!

Got to find something to take a photograph of that reflects my day today.

Righteo, till later probably.

Going to enjoy my day.

T
x

little_h_2

another QE baby right here and my brother too. we were 1978 (me) and 1980 (him).

sounds like you have had a good weekend, and i would say there is definitely a lightness of spirit in your posts since your good news

I like your list and the way you have listed your planned days next to each task. Photo diary sounds fab too.

hope you have a good week and can keep the positivity going this week too :T

i love that you go and pick 'him' up from the supermarket, that's great!

dirtyepic

Hi little_h,

Yeah, QE posse in the house!! Although I was there 1968 I am sure it's still supplying great little bundles of joy to the world!!

I do feel a lot happier these days and I think it's because I am a little more confident in handling certain situations, people, thoughts etc. Not 100% there yet but I have definitely felt an improvement in my mood. Although I do still feel uncomfortable in the company of people who I should feel very comfortable with but the suspicion of them being very sneaky and not completely honest with me still lingers. God I am 42 and I sound like a flippin sultry teenager! But never mind, hopefully not for long.

How are you? Did you have a good weekend?

I think I spent my whole weekend creating new lists and mini challenges.

Weather wasn't the best but what should we expect in the middle of January?!!

I am loving the challenge of the photo diary but it is a bit difficult trying to think of what picture to create when stuck in the miserable office all day!

Let's hope something happens on the way home tonight (although not as eventful as last week when someone exposed themselves on a really busy street - just wish I had my iphone at hand then!!! Only joking - it wasn't a nice sight!)

Keep smiling! T x


Hi Diary

Monday + Work + Quiet office = bad day
Easter/Spring bank holiday extended hols approved + Glastonbury hols approved + listening to great music on 6music through earphone = improved day!

I just have to get through today without any negative thought/feelings and the obvious reactions to those and I will be a happy girl on the Metro home tonight!

So far so good.

Today will be a NSD and my PAD will be £140 paid off a credit card and hopefully I will sell something on ebay so there's some ticks on my list today!

I have just worked out how much of my cc debt I have cleared since my lightbulb moment on 14 October 2010. I have had to check and double check and my lack of confidence in maths isn't the greatest and it's worked out at 13.71%!! I am over the moon about that! Just have to stick at it and get it up to 20% asap!!

Must remember to put that in me signature when I do my monthly update.

Monday is my ironing night! How sad is that? Gone are the 'going out on the lash' during the week! No, ironing and hours upon hours of soaps! I think I will be doing the whole 15 min bursts as that seems to be the most successful way of achieving tasks.

So the plan is - 15 mins ironing then put away, 15 mins do a bit of paperwork or something, 15 mins ironing, 15 mins internet! Oh yeah and now I am fitting in a very easy exercise regime which was given away with last Saturday's Guardian.

Last week was a good week after all. I managed to achieve tons of stuff on my lists and also introduced a 'daily do something nice' list which was quite successful!

This week I am starting a 'use the stairs' daily reminder to see if I really can make that effort to climb the five floors to my office (I think its around 100 stairs! Gulp!!)

So here goes: week 2 of 2011

(week start 10.01.11)

The usual
NSD M/
£5 a day
check bank account M/
check b/c M/
check n/w M/
update snowball M/
update signature
sealed pot
keep up with MG diary M/
keep up with Mike's diary M/
keep up with Dinah's diary M/
review my 50 day challenge
start a new challenge
keep up with my diary! M/
keep up with matrix
15mins
1 hour ebay
ironing
make thank you cards (design already decided just get it toshed up on the mac)

daily do something nice -
S: make cookies (unsuccessfully!), go out with pals taking photos and end up in pub with lush pint of guinness
M:
T:
W:
Th:
F:
S:

house things to complete -
[STRIKE]
check stair rods (when they arrive)
chase carpet fitting date (on 07.01.11)
[/STRIKE]measure up for bookcase
clear out and declutter back bedroom (ongoing!!)
await delivery and fit of replacement front door

daily health kick!
S: guardian daily exercise/walk for half hour/
M: 2 litres of water/use stairs at dinnertime/guardian daily exercise
T:
W:
T:
F:
S:

daily photo diary:
S: silhouette of Julie, Karl and Isaac with sunset behind (great shot I have to admit)
M:

Well that's day one of another mediocre week out of the way. Come on Tuesday, give it all you've got!!! Eaassy!!!

dirtyepic

Hi diary and anyone else out there!!

Just a really short note today, Tuesday 11011 (another binary day!) cos I am so tired. I could fall asleep right now but am still at work so really, not a good idea!

And also because I have been at work all day, doing boring old stuff so nowt to write home about!

But I have just done my PAD for this week and updated my % debt cleared again. (its like a new toy, every time I can use it I will!!) so today it stands at 13.77%. Yay! You know, for the first time ever, I feel like I am going to crack this. I have paid almost £1300 off my debt since my lbm on 14.10.10. (blimey that means I change my first sad face in my signature to a nice happy smiley face to signify £1000 done!) Ooh that little tinge of excitement was altogether squashed when I realised that it's still going to take me 24 months to rid myself of it at this rate. Although I have asked our Pensions section if I could stop paying my contributions for the time being and that could add approx £130 into the pot which would be a tremendous help in the short run then I can get back to contributing towards my pension with extra money due to nasty nasty credit card debt being gone!!!

So here goes....

(week start 10.01.11)

The usual
NSD M/T
£5 a day M/T
PAD M/T/W/T/F/S/S (bc this week)
check bank account M/T
check b/c M/T
check n/w M/T
update snowball M/T
update signature
sealed pot
keep up with MG diary M/T
keep up with Mike's diary M/T
keep up with Dinah's diary M/T
review my 50 day challenge
start a new challenge
keep up with my diary! M/T
keep up with matrix
15mins M/T
[STRIKE]
1 hour ebay
ironing
[/STRIKE]make thank you cards (design already decided just get it toshed up on the mac)

daily do something nice -
S: make cookies (unsuccessfully!), go out with pals taking photos and end up in pub with lush pint of guinness
M: went for a little walk, in the drizzle, took my daily photo whilst visiting dad and spending time with my cat!
T: hopefully going to play with new flash for lush camera (thanks Baldy for the best birthday present I have ever had!)
W:
Th:
F:
S:

house things to complete -
[STRIKE]
check stair rods (when they arrive)
chase carpet fitting date (on 07.01.11)
[/STRIKE]measure up for bookcase
clear out and declutter back bedroom (ongoing!!)
await delivery and fit of replacement front door

daily health kick!
S: guardian daily exercise/walk for half hour/
M: 2L water/use stairs/guardian daily exercise
T: 2L water/use stairs/guardian daily exercise
W:
T:
F:
S:

daily photo diary:
S: silhouette of Julie, Karl and Isaac with sunset behind (great shot I have to admit)
M: 1970's style photo of my cat looking very weird
T:

So till tomorrow diary. What will 24 hours bring?

T
x

jwil

Well done on the debt repayment, that's great that you've got a smiley face now!

dirtyepic

jwil wrote: »

Well done on the debt repayment, that's great that you've got a smiley face now!

Thanks jwil!

It's a good feeling, after all these years of not wanting to know and not believing that you can make a difference, little steps at a time.

I forgot all about the significance of the miserable faces on my signature! So once I realised that each one represented a certain amount of debt I just had to replace one misery guts with a smiley face to celebrate that amount of debt paid and gone! Better late than never! Hopefully during March another one will be happy happy happy!

T
x

Hi everyone!

Well today is a bit of a flat day!

Got nothing at all to report. Nothing.

Work is .... as ever. Just wish the Pensions people would reply to me to see if I can stop my pension scheme contributions (only until I have cleared my debt). Grrrrrr! I am so used to doing stuff asap when people request anything from me. I am getting a little impatient. Just suppose the next time they get in touch with me I could stall a little with any advice?? Hahahaha - no way there would be ructions!!!

Journey into work was okay, no problems. Took a photo that may be used in my daily photo diary but who knows?

Had a great time at home chilling last night, playing with my lush Nikon camera and a black feather boa and two champagne flutes as props!

I'm hopefully arranging a photography day in Newcastle on Saturday with a few pals, to finish off with a well deserved pint or two in a lovely refurbished old bar called The Central just off the Tyne Bridge on the Gateshead side.

Only I think it might be forecast for rain all day so maybe its a wet photography day. I am thinking nice black and white shots of well known landmarks and also not so well known ones and also street/building names/signs to create little collages to mount and frame and put on my little office/workshop wall to remind me.

Something cheap and cheerful to look forward to. Should only cost me £10 or so for liquid refreshments at the end of the day. I will eat before I leave the house, use my Metro card to travel into town and just walk the streets clicking away! So I think a £10 weekend should be very money saving!

Managed another NSD today, which I am currently finding quite easy. There's tons of stuff that I want/nearly need! But until I am desperate they can wait.

I have transferred my paypal money from ebay sales into my account. I tend to wait for every £50 made and then transfer over. Every little bit helps! I think another good weekend will hopefully get another £50 over again by the end of next week. Unless I buy a picture that I have seen and have been after for a few months. It's a really old kitsch 1960's picture called Saw Ohn Nyum by an artist called Gerald Kelly. I remember this picture in our house when we were little. My mam used to tell us that it was her! We always believed her due to my mams lovely dark hair and easily tanned skin. I ended up with light/gingerish (I prefer to call it African Sunset instead of Strawberry Blonde!) hair and very fair skin that burns immediately! Oh well you can't have it all can you?

So I would love this picture - hopefully to hang at the top of the stairs where I will be putting the bookshelves, once the flipping carpet has been laid. Oh the carpet - It's been on order since 26 November. I am currently in the process of drafting a letter expressing my disappointment in the lack of communication and customer service during the period of time it has taken - but that will end up another story no doubt! It's awful when we have saved and saved for this carpet and then, we are still waiting!

So I hope everyone is well or at least are plodding on in your own little way in MSE land. For someone who had nowt to say I have certainly managed to have a great little conversation with myself!


(week start 10.01.11)

The usual
NSD M/T/W/
£5 a day M/T/W/
PAD M/T/W/T/F/S/S (bc this week)
check bank account M/T/W/
check b/c M/T
check n/w M/T
update snowball M/T
update signature T/
sealed pot
keep up with MG diary M/T
keep up with Mike's diary M/T
keep up with Dinah's diary M/T/W
review my 50 day challenge
start a new challenge
keep up with my diary! M/T/W/
keep up with matrix
15mins M/T
[STRIKE]
1 hour ebay
ironing
[/STRIKE]make thank you cards (design already decided just get it toshed up on the mac)
Footy DVDS to copy and send
Design label and cover for aforementioned DVDS first

daily do something nice -
S: make cookies (unsuccessfully!), go out with pals taking photos and end up in pub with lush pint of guinness
M: went for a little walk, in the drizzle, took my daily photo whilst visiting dad and spending time with my cat!
T: Played with camera with new flash and tripod (thanks Baldy for the best birthday present I have ever had!)
W:
Th:
F:
S:

house things to complete -
[STRIKE]
check stair rods (when they arrive)
chase carpet fitting date (on 07.01.11)
[/STRIKE]measure up for bookcase
clear out and declutter back bedroom (ongoing!!)
await delivery and fit of replacement front door
letter to Fenwicks about carpet situation

daily health kick!
S: guardian daily exercise/walk for half hour/
M: 2L water/use stairs/guardian daily exercise
T: 2L water/use stairs/guardian daily exercise
W: 2L water/use stairs/guardian daily exercise
T:
F:
S:

daily photo diary:
S: silhouette of Julie, Karl and Isaac with sunset behind (great shot I have to admit)
M: 1970's style photo of my cat looking very weird
T: stunning sunset from my office window behind Newcastle Cathedral spire (or is it a steeple?)
W: interesting building on my miserable walk to work (dunno just yet!)

So, until tomorrow. Unless, of course, something absolutely amazing happens in the meantime!

T
x

jwil

Your weekend sounds like it will be lovely and frugal too!

I googled the picture, I like it!

It always surprises me how long some people take to respond to queries. When I get them I always do them straight away if I can, but at worst a day or two later. I emailed another department the other day and got an auto reply that they will get back to me in 10 working days!! How can that be acceptable? If I can't answer something straight away, I at least email the person and say I need to get more info, but I'll get back to them as soon as possible.