Improving my life in 2011

vasseur

:T on your mum's medical. That should be a weight off both your minds and huge encouragement for her.

If it's any consolation my handbag is a mess of scraps of paper My sis is getting me a new handbag for xmas, red suede, not too big, not too small and I am determined to keep it looking nice and tidy. I might get some nice note books to use as my spending diary instead of my tatty cashbook I use at the moment.

Enjoy the birthday party

Kerry78

Mags30 wrote: »

I think it's because I feel that pretty notebooks should be used as journals for writing about significant things rather than a place to write "to-do" lists, shopping lists and budgets. This needs to change. Might as well just use the notebooks instead of leaving them there.

First, brilliant news about your mom! How is she doing now with the coming off the medication?? Hopefully passing the medical will have given her a bit of a boost.

Hope you're looking after yourself, especially as it's looking like the weather isn't going to improve any time soon. Went out to my car Tueday morning (or was it Monday) and it was frosted over!! Would be nice if the weather held up for Saturday, I'm heading up to Cork to do my Christmas shopping!

Had to quote the above as that's exactly what I'm like! Although I do start journals but then abandom them after a few weeks and never use the notebook again - total waste!

I still have one A4 note book I bought in BTs (Post Irish department store) that was €15 reduced from €60!!! Still haven't written in it cause nothing seems "important" enough. Was going to use it as a wedding planner but then it turned out there was nothing to plan really!

Any ideas welcome!

Mags30

@polesalot @kerry78 Thanks so much for the good wishes about my mother.

Kerry78 wrote: »

First, brilliant news about your mom! How is she doing now with the coming off the medication??

She's complaining loads, keeps saying she'd feel better if she could take some tablets. There's less of the lying in bed all the time, she's been going out to the supermarket/shops and going for walks a bit. Hopefully she will be coming to the birthday party with me.

I expect she'll be better when she can get back to work but I'm worried this will just push the problem a few years down the line. She'll have to retire in a few years and I'm not sure she'll cope any better then. I must get her to go for some counselling sessions.

Mags30

polesalot wrote: »

If it's any consolation my handbag is a mess of scraps of paper My sis is getting me a new handbag for xmas, red suede, not too big, not too small and I am determined to keep it looking nice and tidy. I might get some nice note books to use as my spending diary instead of my tatty cashbook I use at the moment.

Kerry78 wrote: »

I still have one A4 note book I bought in BTs (Post Irish department store) that was €15 reduced from €60!!! Still haven't written in it cause nothing seems "important" enough. Was going to use it as a wedding planner but then it turned out there was nothing to plan really!

Any ideas welcome!

You have to use the notebook. There will be other fabulous bargains. As it's A4 size it would be great for notes if you were studying anything or maybe as a fashion/style journal. Stick pictures of things you like or want from magazines into it. Lots of self-help books suggest keeping a journal for the tasks contained in them. Plan your new life in 2012 in it. Or just write to-do and grocery lists in it, at least you'd look posh in Tes*o :rotfl:

If you look on the no toiletries thread they talk about something called pink candle philosophy. Basically you need to use your nice things while you are able. It comes from a poem about somebody who died leaving her pretty pink candle unused. Bit morbid but true, we really should use our nice things while we can.

Mags30

Got the hair coloured, rather bad timing because of Christmas coming up sooner than my regular 6-8 week appointment but the salon owner said that if I wanted to get a haircut instead of a colour the week before Christmas they would do my hair-line roots for free. I though that was really nice of her so I took her up on it and made an appointment. I'd love one of her haircuts except they cost €58 :eek:
I've been loyal to this salon all year since I paid for the colour-stripping at the start of the year and I really appreciate her gesture to a loyal customer. It's nice that an upmarket city salon would do that a few days before Christmas when it's serious money grabbing season for hair salons. Made me feel happy that I've been supporting her small business instead of a big chain.

And yes I am well aware that this hair situation is not in any way MSE but my long hair is almost my trademark/signature look and like @shoegal and the nails I'm choosing to keep up the maintenance of it. D....l my hairdresser broke up with his boyfriend recently and I listened to the story of the break-up while he applied the colour. Noticed the customer near me smiling a lot as she listened in

Went from the posh hair salon to the charity shops where I spent €15. Probably shouldn't have as this week is so expensive. Got a CD rack, looks like it holds 100 CD's, a royal blue dress with a very wide black belt, still had tags on from ZARA (I :heart2: ZARA), A grey cardigan from Villa and a grey + balck dress from an unknown boutique brand that had a tag attached marked "Sale €80" Perfectly suited to my love of expensive stuff. It could be a great item for the 33 item capsule wardrobe.

Went to Curves where I recommended my hair salon to the curves owner

Did the phone shop mystery shop (report not done yet, that has to be carried forward to tomorrows ever growing to-do list.

Finished my day with another goody bag and some free wine and canapes :T It was Christmas shopping evening at a large salon that does laser hair removal so I went along. Had a consultation which I found interesting. Don't worry I didn't buy anything but if ever I could afford it I'd quite like to get it done. A customer I met there told me how she's doing it at the moment and actually told me that they are rubbish and to go somewhere else. I think she was right, a smaller owner run place would be better. The goody bag has 16 sachets of dermalogica face masks and exfoliators.

Didn't even look at the photo hanging, that also carries forward to tomorrow.

Mags30

• Photo hanging complete
• Full bin of recycling collected
• Did my first ever pinecone survey
• Yesterdays mystery shopping report complete
• Arms epilated

vasseur

Mags30 wrote: »

• Photo hanging complete
• Full bin of recycling collected
• Did my first ever pinecone survey
• Yesterdays mystery shopping report complete
• Arms epilated

:T:T:T:T:T great feeling - you can look forward to the weekend now.

Mags30

Didn't enjoy the birthday party at all It was such hard work, all night people were asking me to do things and sort things out. I was exhausted as I'm not used to late nights and I cried in the car on the way home. I didn't really like the people who attended, I encountered a lot of rude people and bad manners.

Someone abandoned a kitten in the car park too :mad: I found him outside, picked him up for a cuddle and brought him inside, he was so tame. I thought he might have belonged to a neighbour, although this place is fairly remote. Pub owner said he was still there the next day and he was pretty certain the kitten had been abandoned. Anyway happy ending for kitten because the regular barmaid took a liking to him and has taken him to live with her:A

This place is taking up a massive amount of my time at the moment. I don't even go there that often but I seem to be getting phone calls and texts about it every day. I do the PR and help in the bar when they have events on mostly because the owner is like a dad to me.

But there seems to be a huge community using this place as a base and all sorts of people seem to think I'm in charge of all sorts of random things when I'm not really. Of course I try to help anyway or at least put them in touch with the right person.

Just recently I've been making the photo displays, writing Christmas cards, organising food and buffets...tonight I've been asked to visit one of the regular customers who's in hospital. I'm very happy to help out sometimes but it's almost daily help required at the moment and I don't have the time or energy for it.

Spent almost all day Saturday in bed, needed to catch up on sleep.

I'm short 10p on onepoll for payout. Had been hoping to get to £40 on Friday but it didn't happen.

vasseur

Mags30 wrote: »

Didn't enjoy the birthday party at all It was such hard work, all night people were asking me to do things and sort things out. I was exhausted as I'm not used to late nights and I cried in the car on the way home. I didn't really like the people who attended, I encountered a lot of rude people and bad manners.


This place is taking up a massive amount of my time at the moment. I don't even go there that often but I seem to be getting phone calls and texts about it every day. I do the PR and help in the bar when they have events on mostly because the owner is like a dad to me.

But there seems to be a huge community using this place as a base and all sorts of people seem to think I'm in charge of all sorts of random things when I'm not really. Of course I try to help anyway or at least put them in touch with the right person.

Just recently I've been making the photo displays, writing Christmas cards, organising food and buffets...tonight I've been asked to visit one of the regular customers who's in hospital. I'm very happy to help out sometimes but it's almost daily help required at the moment and I don't have the time or energy for it.

Spent almost all day Saturday in bed, needed to catch up on sleep.

I'm short 10p on onepoll for payout. Had been hoping to get to £40 on Friday but it didn't happen.

Mags are they paying you for all the hard work you've put in?

I am 20p short on OnePoll...infuriating isn't it? I'm sure they are holding surevys back just to pee me off :cool:

Mags30

polesalot wrote: »

Mags are they paying you for all the hard work you've put in?

Sort of. The bar owner gives me gifts, things like expensive household appliances rather than perfume/vouchers (most recently a €60 kettle) which was very adequate for what I used to do. But I seem to be doing way more now. If I'm buying food for events he provides cash for everything that needs buying and I'll usually box up any leftover items I fancy for myself.

The guy I'm helping with the Christmas cards repays me for helping by bring me out for food. There are 1000 cards to be done :eek:, we sat for a few hours last week, he wrote cards and I wrote addresess on the envelopes. Then he bought me for lunch somewhere that's quite expensive.

The line between work/helping out friends is a bit blurred but nobody takes advantage either. The people I've been doing things for would pay me properly if I took on bigger jobs for them.