Keeping up appearances.......

Dolphin1

Oh yes, those 'what if' moments, I have had a lot of those :mad:. I think that you are right to focus on the present and the things that you can control and try not to think too far ahead. I know that's easier said than done though.

HappyNow

Hello and thanks for the encouraging comments .
Mr H is officially self-employed from next week! We're not going to be rich for quite some little while, but we're used to that . I'm learning all sorts of new book keeping-type tricks, and I've taken to watching the HMRC webinars instead of Coronation Street. What I haven't been doing, is eating healthily, getting loads of exercise, and sleeping well. Let's gloss over that!

Honey - that all sounds very draining. Look after yourself & OH & Kelpie, and the rest can sort themselves out. How is pupster doing now?

Joey - wow, it's all happening at your end, and you don't sound at all enthusiastic. Is OH's job change out of his hands or is it something he's choosing? If it's a choice, then it sounds to me like you might need a good long chat with him......

Dolphin - ooh, another holiday coming up. Excellent incentive to keep to your targets and you are doing so well. Keep it up, rah rah rah!

Dolphin1

:hello: HappyNow, Coronation Street is way overrated anyway, I'm sure the HMRC webinars are far more exciting :rotfl:. Hope the self employment goes well for Mr HappyNow. Don't forget us poor people when you are rolling in money !

We are actually planning our first holiday abroad for 6 years, since then we have only holidayed in the UK. We haven't actually booked it yet as I need to pull my finger out and find travel insurance which was so much easier when we were young before pre-existing conditions became an issue. Maybe that will be one of my targets for August then I can ignore it for another week or so because I hate looking for any type of insurance .

Update for yesterday...

1) To have 14 NCDs - That pesky chocolate craving won out again so still on 7 NCDs for July.
2) To walk an average of 10,000 steps per day over each week (so 70,000 total for each week) - Just over 12,000 steps.
3) To put my light out by 11pm every night including weekends - Light out at 11.00pm.

joeyjimbles

Ooh how lovely Dolphin - do let us know where - and have you sorted passports as they get really busy at this time of year?

Its not really a choice Happy - he works in the public sector and they have reorgainisations every 5 minutes, having survived the last few more or less unscathed though typically with more work and no more pay, this last one has impacted on his role about 6 months down the line. So he's pre-empting the change and looking for something else which is good and much better from a psychological point of view rather than waiting for something to happen to you. But wherever it is it will mean changes as it won't be nearby, quite how far and how many changes are yet to be established.
We've been here before and it will be fine - just in limbo for a little while whilst decisions and opportunities work themselves out. Its not what I would choose, but I'll get on board with it when I know what 'it' is.
Hello Honey - hope you're ok?

Honey_Bear

Dolphin1 wrote: »

Without knowing all the details, can I advise that perhaps you could share some of the load with your 'unexpected visitors', they can really make a lot of extra work otherwise.

A cousin I'd never met got in touch with me via Facebook, at the behest of one of her sisters who I had met about 45 years ago - big family, half of which is spread right the way across the Americas. I wouldn't have missed meeting her, her daughter and grandson for the world, but I really felt it important to spruce the place up before they arrived. Turns out it was in a much scruffier condition I'd realised. *cof* And they did help pull lunch together and it was worth spending a day digging around in the attic finding multi-generational photographs. I found a pair of photos that were the great great grandparents of the grandson and a copy of the family tree linking them together. How cool is that? So, yes, lots of extra work but totally worth it. Most guests pay their way, so I'm not complaining, just wilting a bit.

Thanks for your confidence in me but I'm not sure that I deserve it as the sugar cravings returned yesterday so the chocolate came out. We are hoping to go on holiday in September and I was really hoping to lose a few lbs before then, not for a beach bod (that would be impossible) but just to feel like I can do a bit more. I will persevere with my targets and see if I can get in the zone.

And I may join you on that journey, having put a total of 8lbs on over the past year and I feel fat. Besides which my lovely new dress, bought for a wedding in September that looking fabulous when I was skinnier, is now a tad squeezy around the middle bit.

Anyway, update for yesterday...

1) To have 14 NCDs - Chocolate eaten so still on 6 NCDs for July. My target of 14 NCDs is starting to look very challenging indeed.

Nothing wrong with aiming high. I'll be joining you next month with NCDs so we can cheer each other on.

2) To walk an average of 10,000 steps per day over each week (so 70,000 total for each week) - Despite the ridiculous heat, I managed just over 11,000 steps.

Yay!

3) To put my light out by 11pm every night including weekends - Light out at 10.50pm.

Yay! See - two out of three is brilliant, considering the lack of support you received earlier in the month from us.

joeyjimbles wrote: »

Its lovely when we come on here and cheer each other on, but we do live in Real Life and it has a habit of provoking us when we least expect it. And then we have to deal with it until the next 'new normal' comes along.

I like this perspective. New normals being established here all the time. That Chinese curse, 'May you live in interesting times' seems to be happening here.

Personally, I'm not sure what is going to happen next in Real Life. OH is probably about to make a job change and that will necessarily impact on where we live, how we live, DSs etc. Can't say I'm looking forward to it, but its going to happen regardless so I will have to deal with it. Right now I am playing Cookie Jam on FB however.

In times of stress Solitaire and Mahjong Titans keep me sane. Good luck with your OH's job change, and I hope if you have to make a transition that it goes smoothly and passes quickly before your new normal is established.

Honey_Bear

HappyNow wrote: »

Hello and thanks for the encouraging comments .
Mr H is officially self-employed from next week! We're not going to be rich for quite some little while, but we're used to that . I'm learning all sorts of new book keeping-type tricks, and I've taken to watching the HMRC webinars instead of Coronation Street. What I haven't been doing, is eating healthily, getting loads of exercise, and sleeping well. Let's gloss over that!

Interesting times, and all that, as above. I find doing accounts rather soothing and calming - it's all that balancing and stuff, I suppose - it's either right or wrong and if it's wrong, the mistake's on the page so I can hunt it down and fix it. Coronation Street, on the other hand, drives me into a frenzy because I feel helpless watching people dig themselves into a situation that can only get worse and end in tears. My first point when sorting out a muddle - fill in the accounts spreadsheets and file the receipts. Then I feel a bit more in control. Good luck to both Mr H and you, and I hope you both find it rewarding.

Honey - that all sounds very draining. Look after yourself & OH & Kelpie, and the rest can sort themselves out. How is pupster doing now?

Hydrotherapy was .... I was so proud of him. Actually, I nearly bubbled. He was so frightened, shaking like a leaf on the ramp going up and then down into the water, but Tracy took her time and we were all giving him treats and encouraging him and then, just like magic, he launched himself into the deep end. He looked a bit panicky actually swimming but Tracy says he's going to be just fine, and thinks he'll be one of the dogs who eventually races up the ramp they're so keen to get in the pool. She says big dogs find it much more worrying, most small dogs just fling themselves into it without a second thought. Tracy's on holiday next week, so his next appointment is a week on Monday. A success, I think.

He's much more accepting of being on his own downstairs now, to the point when I can come up to my office for a couple of hours at a time, so we're dealing with the separation anxiety and making real progress, I think. I've been doing some research on how other people manage this situation and I've found a harness that means OH and I can carry him upstairs, which will mean I can give up sleeping on the sitting room floor, which will be a bit improvement. It should arrive next week.

Dolphin1

joeyjimbles wrote: »

Ooh how lovely Dolphin - do let us know where - and have you sorted passports as they get really busy at this time of year?

Hopefully, a european lakes and mountain holiday, not sure which country yet. Thankfully, passports still ok for a couple more years yet.

Dolphin1

Honey Bear, nice to see that Kelpie seems to be a bit happier and I hope he really does take to the hydrotherapy if it is going to help.

Update for yesterday...

1) To have 14 NCDs - None eaten so now on 8 NCDs for July :j.
2) To walk an average of 10,000 steps per day over each week (so 70,000 total for each week) - Just over 13,000 steps :j.
3) To put my light out by 11pm every night including weekends - Light out at 11.35pm .

Dolphin1

Update for yesterday...

1) To have 14 NCDs - None eaten so now on 9 NCDs for July :j. I'm going to be closer than I thought hopefully.
2) To walk an average of 10,000 steps per day over each week (so 70,000 total for each week) - I only managed just over 3,000 so my target for the week is going to be a struggle now .
3) To put my light out by 11pm every night including weekends - Light out at 11.25pm .

Honey_Bear

Dolphin1 wrote: »

Update for yesterday...

1) To have 14 NCDs - None eaten so now on 9 NCDs for July :j. I'm going to be closer than I thought hopefully.

The secret to success, I am absolutely sure, is to never give up. Almost there is a much better place to be than nowhere. Well done for sticking with it.

2) To walk an average of 10,000 steps per day over each week (so 70,000 total for each week) - I only managed just over 3,000 so my target for the week is going to be a struggle now .

But just think how many days overall this month you've cracked it completely! And I think you've done more than the basc 10,000 some days, so on balance you may have, overall, pretty much reached where you should be. Carry on carrying on, and you'll do it.

3) To put my light out by 11pm every night including weekends - Light out at 11.25pm .

There. One fully achieved with a decent margin for error, and you're doing it without other people remembering to chcer you on every single day, or keeping you company by setting their own goals and admitting slight hiccups along the way. Go Girl!

:wave: Happy! How's Happy Pop these days?