lionheartedgirl promises to let it shine :)

lionheartedgirl

thanks all - if it does come off, I will need major style help and shoe consultation!

been into the west end for work this morning and seen a couple of gorgeous things in monsoon, but it's tricky as embellished still seems to be the thing, and I daren't wear anything that might scratch the harp jewellery is out too.

Flamboyant hair stuff and mega shoes will have to do :rotfl:

lionheartedgirl

bit of a mehhhh day today. not much going on.

I texted barman at the weekend to say I was in London on Monday, not heard anything at all so never mind, it was a nice feeling while it lasted

saw counselling lady last night. things are going well, it is always good to see her. I was going to cut down to one session a month rather than one a fortnight, but am very wary that just when you think you are managing, that's often when you are really not :rotfl:

It's a funny old week. I am a real one for anniversaries (often for daft things), and Sunday would have been my first wedding anniversary had the wedding gone ahead. Lots of mixed emotions.

I started getting an idea for a song about the whole thing this morning (funny and upbeat not miserable!) which rather took me by surprise as I have never written a song before, but then I am reading the Keith Richards book at the moment so my head is filled with all things musical :cool:

I have a lovely long weekend booked, got a wedding to get through on Saturday which will be a bit of a pain logistically (playing in the church then moving to the reception venue, hopefully I can get parked somewhere sensible and be out of the church quickly), but then on Sunday I am off to a fantastic spa with one of my friends.

So. I need to have something nice to do on Saturday night and something nice for Sunday morning. Saturday I think will just be jammies/DVD as I will be shattered from the wedding. Sunday morning I foresee something nice for breakfast and then a bike ride, nice and early hopefully before all the Sunday drivers come out :rotfl:

best get stuck into work, loads to do

Wordsmith

Even more good and exciting news re the gig. Things are going from strength to strength, and who needs a barman when there's so much else going on? When you are famous he will put your card on eBay and say, "That famous woman once gave me her telephone number and I was too busy to follow it up." But by then you will have forgotten him because you will have oodles of gorgeous young men falling at your feet.

Great news on getting inspiration for writing a song - maybe that is something else you could develop. There are just so many opportunities at the moment. It all sounds very exciting, especially to those of us who are tone deaf and talentless!

Keep smiling, lionheartedgirl.

lionheartedgirl

afternoon all, not much to report here.

I realised I haven't been talking very much about debts on here lately, rather the changes in life. but of course, they are all very much linked together, as had I not started on the debt free mission, several other things would not have happened and I wouldn't have ended up where I am now

Total debt currently stands at £27,056. There is also a bit sat on a card for my new bike, but this will be paid off very soon when I get the money from my granny, which is due any time according to my mum. I'm not including this in the debt figure, although I suppose really it is credit card debt.

I think there will be many, many tears of relief when the money comes. Some guilt because some of it is going towards debt, but also a lovely feeling of having been given a wonderful gift which will really allow me to change my life and change my fortunes for the better.

If I look at what I spent to get into that level of debt, the value of concrete things/assets is now greater than the debt figure, so this is brilliant as far as I am concerned.

If I exclude the value of the harp, my debt is significantly less than the £27k above. It was a very expensive purchase, no question, but it will last for many years, and even if I change it, the value will stay approximately the same.

Having really thought about it, I am not as worried about repaying this in such a hurry as I was before, and am more focussed on getting rid of the credit card merry go round because that is really, really getting me down.

I may even completely re-finance the balance of the harp in the form of a loan, and then that's that, done, and I can keep it all separate, which will be much easier from a business point of view.

My plans for granny's money are for things that are either beautiful, bring joy, or will bring future financial security. I think I have a good balance of all three, and I have enjoyed dreaming and planning so that I make the best use of it, and remembering her while I do this.

Firstly, and most importantly, I will be getting new windows across most of the house. This should massively reduce my oil bill through the winter, and will make the house look much better from the outside.

Secondly I will be replacing my Stairs of Death :eek: - the old couple who owned my house previously decided that a steep, polished teak, open staircase was a fine addition to their house, and I have NO idea what they were thinking. Going downstairs in just socks is taking your life into your hands!!

I have some minor damp to get fixed, and then can skim the walls and replace the flooring downstairs. Then the great shifting around can take place, and I can create/redecorate my harp room and a new living room.

The rest should act as a good emergency stash, which in the short term will help me feel more secure, and more long term will allow me to cover bills as I head towards the life of a professional musician, be it part time or full time....

What a nice granny I had even if she was a real cow to my mum and dad at times! :rotfl:

feeling a bit weepy as the weekend approaches, but spoke to my friend last night who is coming with me to the spa, and can't wait to see her.

Wordsmith

What a lovely granny indeed! My granny was also a right cow to my mum and dad (hmm, maybe that's where my right-cowness comes from - although it skipped a generation) ... but she didn't leave me any money! I did love her, though, cos she was always very grannyish to me.

lionheartedgirl

She wasn't very grannyish in lots of ways, but she did have white hair and taught me embroidery so I suppose that's grannyish

She was an incredibly feisty woman who was a long, long way ahead of her time. She went to university long before it became socially acceptable/normal for women, and was one of the first women to be awarded a Masters degree from her college back in the day :cool: and she worked as a headmistress in schools in areas where no-one wanted to go, and heartily believed in the power of education.

Stubborn with bells on....hmmm, wonder where I get it from? Except it comes from both sides as my grandad on my dad's side was a stubborn sod as well so dad got a double dose of it :rotfl:

So. That has lifted my mood a little, I feel better!

Woke up feeling OK but then sat on the bed looking out of the window and nearly got back in again, couldn't move and felt really really low. I haven't had a day like that in a long time. The coming weekend is weighing heavy, I just can't shift it and wasn't really expecting it to feel as it does.

On the plus side, I had a great time with my singer friend last night. We aren't really rehearsing much at the moment, just swapping ideas and messing about, but it's important and we are having a whale of a time doing it. I managed to get my electric harp working through XH's effects box, so we had some wonderful sounds coming out which inspired us more. I felt a little sad, as I know he would have loved working on all this with us.

But, he has a new baby to contend with now so I have persuaded him all his synth/electronics kit will be very well looked after and carefully used at my house - meaning I can experiment without laying out a fortune on all that equipment

A quiet night in is planned for tonight catching up on some soaps, and some practice. Also some more tidying/decluttering/pottering as I really want/need to make my home more homely and less messy. It was a complete mess of wires and lyric sheets last night, which makes me feel very creative and rockstar-ish, but it's still messy! :rotfl:

Oh....and we didn't get the gig, a little too unknown at the moment and we don't have any demos recorded. But this is probably a good thing as it would have been incredibly stressful preparing for that and my recital at the same time. So now we can just have fun experimenting, get some ideas together and then try again in a few months

Wordsmith

I think what I learned most from my granny was never live next door to your mother or your in-laws! A good lesson I've always heeded! And she used to make me pink sauce (I didn't like white sauce, so she put tomato ketchup in it for me - much more palatable).

Enjoy your evening and push those morose thoughts away - you have a much more rounded and fun life now than you would have had you been married for this past year. Maybe you would have got a bit more horizontal exercising in, but you can always make up for that when you find a good 'un!

redsquirrel80

Sorry to hear you didn't get the gig, but sounds like you have some amazing things 'brewing' there

Hope the down feeling lifts soon, try and get some of that stubborness to tell it where to go x

LittleBoots

Just caught up, loving the harp progression. Shane about the gig but you're getting there
Xx

lionheartedgirl

so. the cheque is here. I was already a bit of a mess this morning but am going to struggle to get through much work today, that's for sure!

I have a wedding tomorrow, and it's all a bit confusing with their requests as they don't seem to know what they want and are asking me to play in a bizarre place before the ceremony starts, then move during the service - moving 6 feet plus/40kgs of harp plus music stand and gig bag and stool etc is not a quiet/subtle process. The mother of the bride is organising the music and it's all a bit vague. Normally I am fine to go with the flow on the day, but am dreading this one! Argh! I'm sure it will be fine and dandy, I will be utterly professional - which reminds me, need to get my frock in the wash :eek:

my stomach is in knots, this doesn't normally happen apart from when I am very unsettled. At least I am sleeping though. Have run out of gin and haven't bought/been given any wine lately so have been alcohol free the last few days, a good thing in the circumstances I think. I might give in later though :cool: think it will be gin as I seem to be able to control my intake of this a bit easier than wine! :rotfl:

Best get back to work....