Where there's muck there's brass

RubySewSew

I haven't had any fruit or veg for 2 weeks because of shopping situation - it's all bean pasta and beans! Back on track now or at least getting there. Think it's first few weeks back at school combined with stress, diet and poor sleep. Let's hope and hope and hope that I have done enough to make sure that this week is different.

RubySewSew

Nope! Off work today. Sore throat turned into feverish, achey cough thing

Did make an attempt on the paperwork but spent the day catching up on sleep instead.

Have made small inroads on the housework though. Need a strict decluttering!

RubySewSew

I've just been given a circus school! Whoop! Whoop! Circus/fairy training starts immediately and as soon as I'm fully trained up I can take over the school. Currently running at a loss but am absolutely certain I can promote the hell out of it and get it running a profit. Am so excited to have the opportunity to earn some money doing something I love! Hopefully with the dual benefit of getting into shape and looking lovely and slinky. So excited!!

Eager_Elephant

RubySewSew wrote: »

I've just been given a circus school! Whoop! Whoop! Circus/fairy training starts immediately and as soon as I'm fully trained up I can take over the school. Currently running at a loss but am absolutely certain I can promote the hell out of it and get it running a profit. Am so excited to have the opportunity to earn some money doing something I love! Hopefully with the dual benefit of getting into shape and looking lovely and slinky. So excited!!

How brilliant for you - I have every faith that you can turn this around :j:T:j

RubySewSew

Thanks Eager. It's really odd because the very next day my headteacher asked me if I would consider applying for the GTP (teacher training) this year. I don't think I would have considered it this year anyway because I think the kids are too young and I need to do a lot more work to get myself, my health, my finances and my life back into shape but it puts a slightly different weight on it to be asked. My instinct is to go with the circus - that is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I know I would regret turning down and actually it really, really isn't about the money. It's about having a chance to spend time doing something I love and to make my kids feel proud and involved. It offers a unique set of life skills that would carry forward into any profession I may or may not choose to take up in the future. I also know from this life coaching project that has been bubbling away in the background that I would be much happier in a creative/physical role rather than an intellectual/caring role. The latter means I exist far too much in my head - I overthink things, I dream about work, I worry and I stress. The former gives me head space and it grounds me, dealing with the antsy side of my nature and freeing me up to by myself the rest of the time. I know that the reality won't be that simplistic but I know enough about myself by now to start making my life work for me.

On the financial side, I have had a couple of worrying letters I need to deal with urgently. Additionally my cousin is coming this week to help me with the paperwork and financial stuff. And I am absolutely determined to get a dmp in place so that I don't have to keep dealing with these stupid letters and debts passing from company to company.

Very excited about what is going on in the present and what the future holds at the moment.

chevalier

Wow to being trained as a fairy AND being slinky at the end of it. Sounds like a win win to me. Hope it all works out. Good luck with the DMP. You know these forums too well for me to need to tell you to not go with a fee charging company!
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Eager_Elephant

RubySewSew wrote: »

On the financial side, I have had a couple of worrying letters I need to deal with urgently. Additionally my cousin is coming this week to help me with the paperwork and financial stuff. And I am absolutely determined to get a dmp in place so that I don't have to keep dealing with these stupid letters and debts passing from company to company.

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Just wondered if you have managed to sort this yet.

The minimum a normal company will take for a DMP is £50 and that is with Payplan, CCCS used to require £100 but that may have reduced now.

If you can only afford token payments then you can't have a DMP in the true sense of the word although you might be able to find a little independent advice place who will take on the hassle of the letters even though you pay token payments.
(This is what my organisation does but we only cover our town and no further)

Hope this circus/fairy job goes brilliantly for you :T

RubySewSew

I've got a bit of a dilemma. I have been paying for the boys to have school dinners. This isn't cheap - £126 a month (£2.10 each a day) but in terms of lifestyle the difference is amazing - I don't have to worry about meal planning, cooking or washing up after a long day at work and it saves me so much time in the morning not having to make up lunches. The problem is the boys hate them and hardly eat anything. they're coming home hungry and grumpy. The lunches are hit and miss and I have to be honest the veggie ones are often horrible. The bigger boys have secretly been ordering sandwiches instead which is not only poor value for money but means they are missing out on a hot meal. I don't want to go back to packed lunches because the difference to me is lifechanging. But I don't want to be spending loads of money on food that is going to waste.

What do you think?

Lemon_Tree

sounds like the decision my sister had to make. she ended up saving so much more money by sending them with packed lunches which they actually ate. can you not think of doing the pack ups before you go to bed? not easy i know as i'm terrible for it but it's a complete waste of money if they're not eating and it won't help them grow up big and strong in the long run

chevalier

Ok random thoughts. Yes it is a waste of money if they aren't eating it. So a) can you explain to them why having a hot meal at school is so important? Or are they too young to understand about nutrition yet? What about going into the school and trying to see why the meals are so bad? If it really can't be fixed, then you will have to revert to packed lunches again. Sorry. But then it is a case of managing the end of the day. Sorry if I speak out of turn, but sometimes (and I am guilty of this), we try to hard with meals! It doesn't HAVE to be meat and two veg EVERY day. Beans on toast or scrambled egg is ok some days, or soup and bread. But you know that the most important thing is to batch cook and get ahead of yourself somehow. Even if it means peeling the potatoes the night before. I am sure you have meal planned before, so the trick is to work out why that didn't work last time so that you felt stressed about it all.

If the boys are old enough can you sit down with them and explain that they need to help you out more in the evenings?

Hope some of this helps and not somethings you have thought of before
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