Keeping up appearances.......

Dolphin1

Sorry I didn't get on here yesterday, I am feeling pretty rough to be honest. A couple of ongoing health problems was bad enough but now I have come down with a stinker of a cold.

So targets for November, I only have one so far...

1) To have all Christmas cards written and Christmas presents purchased/wrapped by the end of November - We are meeting some family early in December so it will save on postage if I can get it all done before then.

I need to come up with some more targets for the rest of November but at the moment I can't think about it.

HappyNow

milann wrote: »

Liking the new targets. Especially the bird one. Next door used to have a big bush near the fence. The sparrows sheltered in there and came to our table. I still put food out but the new neighbours chopped the bush down and we get very few birds now.
My targets are pretty much the same
3 NSDs
Use gym membership twice
Not gain weight
I want to make Christmas cakes this week

Aww, such a shame to chop a bush down. We have a massive laurel in our back garden, so big it's taking too much light from the greenhouse. It really needs reducing but it's always full of birds so we'll have to keep it to a light trim .

Home made Christmas cakes are the best. I've not made one for about thirty years but I can still recall the smell in the kitchen when my mum used to make them.

Dolphin1 wrote: »

Sorry I didn't get on here yesterday, I am feeling pretty rough to be honest. A couple of ongoing health problems was bad enough but now I have come down with a stinker of a cold.

So targets for November, I only have one so far...

1) To have all Christmas cards written and Christmas presents purchased/wrapped by the end of November - We are meeting some family early in December so it will save on postage if I can get it all done before then.

I need to come up with some more targets for the rest of November but at the moment I can't think about it.

Oh no, hope you're feeling better now Dolphin. If you get all your cards and pressies sorted this month that's MORE than enough for November.

HappyNow

Friday at last. It's been a mad week. The builders are almost finished although they've struggled with the wet weather. The inside bits are completed though so we've only to paint the utility room and then we can start putting things back where they belong. This should be the FINAL shuffle after three years of moving the same stuff round and round the house.

Payday today so I've updated my sig. All our unsecured debt is split between two Barclaycards. Their offers are very good, but the repayments are 2.25% of the balance each month which is a bit eye-watering - minimums are £586 this month. It does mean the balance reduces quite quickly though so all good.

A couple of months ago I set a target of being pro-active with bringing in extra money. I signed up for Prolific Academic and I actually enjoy doing their surveys, they're so varied and you never get screened out. Earnings to date are £64.38.

Updates below on my new targets. I've been quite good at keeping to them, but less good at posting them or even remembering them!

1) Be Fabulous Pedicure done. Not the salon type of pedicure with nail varnish and stuff, just an attempt to scrape off some hard skin and wipe a bit of foot cream round. They do look better though. Finger nails are coming along nicely - even one thumb - although the skin around them is still taking a hammering. I've stopped using the nasty tasting stuff because it tastes nasty
2) Be even more money-savvy I ordered the Tessie prepayment card from my employers new scheme and it arrived today. I'll top it up with £200 as a starter which will give £8 cashback. That along with the Tesco Clubcard Plus should mean the supermarket bills are a bit lower now.
3) Be more Green I spent an hour googling plants to attract and feed birds - apparently holly and ivy are really good and we've already got loads of that. I've made a list of some others to pick up at the right time of year (I haven't checked that bit yet!) so hopefully we'll be able to reduce the birdseed bill next year. My other win was making home-made pumpkin soup using the halloween pumpkin that Master H and his girlfriend never got round to carving. Dead easy, just pumpkin, red lentils, stock and some onions that we'd been given plus a few dried herbs. It's a strange and unpleasant colour so best eaten with eyes closed or in the dark, but it tastes great. Eight portions in the freezer so cheap and green.

Dolphin1

HappyNow wrote: »

Oh no, hope you're feeling better now Dolphin. If you get all your cards and pressies sorted this month that's MORE than enough for November.

Almost better now, there were a couple of really rough days in the middle though. Poor OH has it now, I like to share!

I haven't done any cards yet but half of the presents are bought and wrapped and a few more are on their way. I will have to take a trip to our local city for a couple though which is a bit of a pain but it will get me out of the house for a few hours.

Dolphin1

HappyNow wrote: »

Friday at last. It's been a mad week. The builders are almost finished although they've struggled with the wet weather. The inside bits are completed though so we've only to paint the utility room and then we can start putting things back where they belong. This should be the FINAL shuffle after three years of moving the same stuff round and round the house.

That's great news, perhaps it will be all done and dusted by Christmas!

Payday today so I've updated my sig. All our unsecured debt is split between two Barclaycards. Their offers are very good, but the repayments are 2.25% of the balance each month which is a bit eye-watering - minimums are £586 this month. It does mean the balance reduces quite quickly though so all good.

Ouch to those minimums but it's true, as long as you can maintain the payments, it will be paid off a lot quicker.

A couple of months ago I set a target of being pro-active with bringing in extra money. I signed up for Prolific Academic and I actually enjoy doing their surveys, they're so varied and you never get screened out. Earnings to date are £64.38.

I think I should have a look at that. I have done surveys in the past but the screening out used to annoy me so much. In fact, I was rarely screened in.

Updates below on my new targets. I've been quite good at keeping to them, but less good at posting them or even remembering them!

1) Be Fabulous Pedicure done. Not the salon type of pedicure with nail varnish and stuff, just an attempt to scrape off some hard skin and wipe a bit of foot cream round. They do look better though. Finger nails are coming along nicely - even one thumb - although the skin around them is still taking a hammering. I've stopped using the nasty tasting stuff because it tastes nasty

Well done on maintaining the fingernails. I must admit to biting the skin round mine too. For me, I've noticed it's a nervous habit.

2) Be even more money-savvy I ordered the Tessie prepayment card from my employers new scheme and it arrived today. I'll top it up with £200 as a starter which will give £8 cashback. That along with the Tesco Clubcard Plus should mean the supermarket bills are a bit lower now.

Excellent! :T

3) Be more Green I spent an hour googling plants to attract and feed birds - apparently holly and ivy are really good and we've already got loads of that. I've made a list of some others to pick up at the right time of year (I haven't checked that bit yet!) so hopefully we'll be able to reduce the birdseed bill next year. My other win was making home-made pumpkin soup using the halloween pumpkin that Master H and his girlfriend never got round to carving. Dead easy, just pumpkin, red lentils, stock and some onions that we'd been given plus a few dried herbs. It's a strange and unpleasant colour so best eaten with eyes closed or in the dark, but it tastes great. Eight portions in the freezer so cheap and green.

Homemade soup is so lovely and ridiculously easy so I have no idea why I don't make some more often. Way too flipping lazy probably!

10 characters

milann

I managed some of my targets last week, the Christmas cakes are make although they crept into this week. I managed 2 NSDs and 1 swim. But I’m happy with a nod to last weeks targets as I’d heard some sad news which shook me a bit.
This week
2 NSDs
2 gym membership usage
Finish cardigans for gks which need sewing and a rib finishing
Enjoy some craft sessions instead of I pad time

HappyNow

Dolphin1 wrote: »

Almost better now, there were a couple of really rough days in the middle though. Poor OH has it now, I like to share!

I haven't done any cards yet but half of the presents are bought and wrapped and a few more are on their way. I will have to take a trip to our local city for a couple though which is a bit of a pain but it will get me out of the house for a few hours.

Well I'm pleased you're feeling better and hopefully well enough to care for your OH - assuming he did the same for you when you had it. If not, he's on his own

I'm starting to get that familiar panic about leaving Christmas until the last minute and you are REALLY not helping, Mrs Organised! I need to get onto it this week because I've done literally nothing so far. My mum, both kids and their OHs will all be here for Christmas Day, but they're all up for helping cook etc and are used to my hit-and-miss culinary skills. It's the shopping/pressie choosing that I struggle with.

milann wrote: »

I managed some of my targets last week, the Christmas cakes are make although they crept into this week. I managed 2 NSDs and 1 swim. But I’m happy with a nod to last weeks targets as I’d heard some sad news which shook me a bit.
This week
2 NSDs
2 gym membership usage
Finish cardigans for gks which need sewing and a rib finishing
Enjoy some craft sessions instead of I pad time

Sorry to hear about your sad news, and I hope your friend's results are OK (I had a little read of your diary). News like that does knock you off target so I think you've done very well considering.

HappyNow

Dolphin - the work will defiitely be finished by Christmas. Hopefully the builders will be gone by the end of this week and we hope to get it painted and stuff moved in within two weeks max. Note the word 'hope'!

Definitely if you're considering any survey site Prolific is the one to go for. There are a lot of screening questions when you sign up, but that means that if you see a survey, you ARE eligible. They get posted onto their site as they come through but they disappear really quickly, so you have to be sharp. I just always have the tab open while I'm doing anything online and pounce as soon as I see one.

Again I've not kept proper track, but to the best of my memory:

1) Be Fabulous Hair now coloured so the roots are gone. I now have a problem in that our utility room where I colour it is quite posh and has white tiles around the sink. I'm scared of splashing/staining them with dye so I might have to start having it done professionally. Obviously more expensive so still under consideration.It would be Fabulous though.....
More foot cream applied, and my eyebrows are plucked and trimmed. I don't know if it's just part of the aging process, but I'm sure my eyebrows never used to grow in length. They do now!

2) Be even more money-savvy I was very organised and did a 'big shop' at the weekend (payday was Friday) so that I got the maximum value from my Clubcard Plus. I still shopped wisely, but bought at least two weeks worth of non-perishables, cleaning products and toiletries, so top up shops will be just bread, milk, fruit and veg. I also converted my Topcashback to Tesco vouchers because they give a bonus, so that was £32 off the bill. It still came to £84 though because we were out of absolutely everything.
3) Be more Green I'm enjoying this. And being green and being frugal are usually linked so it's a double win. I've researched home composting and learned all about the 'green and brown' stuff needed to make ideal garden compost, so next year's compost bill should be lower and it will also benefit our fruit and veg growing. In the meantime I am adopting a zero waste policy for our food. I'm being even more careful to eat our food in date order, but if anything DOES occasionally get missed it will either be frozen, composted here or fed to the appropriate animals (wild or pet).

Dolphin1

milann wrote: »

I managed some of my targets last week, the Christmas cakes are make although they crept into this week. I managed 2 NSDs and 1 swim. But I’m happy with a nod to last weeks targets as I’d heard some sad news which shook me a bit.
This week
2 NSDs
2 gym membership usage
Finish cardigans for gks which need sewing and a rib finishing
Enjoy some craft sessions instead of I pad time

Sorry to hear you've had some sad news milann. When you get sad news, it does tend to give you a different perspective on things.

Dolphin1

HappyNow wrote: »

Well I'm pleased you're feeling better and hopefully well enough to care for your OH - assuming he did the same for you when you had it. If not, he's on his own

I'm not 100% but I'm getting there whereas OH is still quite poorly. He says it's mutated in to man-flu since I had it which is clearly much worse. He looked after me quite well (reluctantly) so I am looking after him.

I'm starting to get that familiar panic about leaving Christmas until the last minute and you are REALLY not helping, Mrs Organised! I need to get onto it this week because I've done literally nothing so far. My mum, both kids and their OHs will all be here for Christmas Day, but they're all up for helping cook etc and are used to my hit-and-miss culinary skills. It's the shopping/pressie choosing that I struggle with.

I always like to get the cards done by the end of November so that they are sent during the first week of December and out of the way but I only do about 15-20 anyway. As for pressies, I think I am a bit more organised than usual as I have a deadline. It's always such a relief when they are finished though. I managed to get in to our local city yesterday so apart from the things I am waiting for in the post, I have everything now.

Get yourself on t'internet and get some ideas if you are struggling to think of things. Think about what the person likes doing/eating/wearing etc. If in doubt, you really can't go wrong with Amazon vouchers.

10 characters