Building The Burrow!

jeanangeo

Pearla*Merle wrote: »

advent calendars with pictures! I bought a delightfully glittery old fashioned one when I was in Florence last year (it has all sorts of woodland creatures enjoying a Christmas carnival on it) - today's picture appeared to be a beetle (random!), but I've had bells, angels, an elephant, a ring, a gingerbread man. Love it.

I used to have advent calendars like that when I was a kid. The fun was about finding the day and seeing the nice picture. And the glitter! Not all this chocolate malarky that you get now....

Good luck with MFiT .

apple_muncher

Oooh, MFiT-T4 eh? I've been mulling that over too! But dh looks set to be made redundant so I'm holding off (for now)... I know you can set your own targets but I soooo want to pay it off in the next 3 years that anything less is a letdown at the mo...

Good luck to you and Mr Merle xx

Pearla*Merle

Thank you jeanangeo and apple

Apple - so sorry to hear about the possible redundancy, what a time of year for them to think about doing it. Really hoping, praying and sending you all the best of luck vibes for things to resolve themselves as best they can soon. xxx

Pearla*Merle

Wow, posted at midnight on the dot, how neat and orderly of moi.

I'm very awake as I didn't get to sleep till 4am last night and then of course slept in. Feeling much better from last week but still at the tail end of things. Confused all my tiredness earlier today with the actual malaise so had a mini-meltdown re: how I was ever going to get back to work this week (and some other things) but by 6pm I'd come round a bit so feeling more settled about getting back at the end of the week.

I'll only have two days there though then I'm off for a week over Christmas (office closes the entire week - works for me, lol - but shall be annoyed when I'm paid a pittance in January! Oh well).

Christmas tree is up! Literally don't know how as Mr M injured himself over the weekend and I still can't lift or bend much. Thankfully it's a small tree...! Feeling rather Christmassy now, especially as the festive mugs have been put into circulation too.

Have perused the Radio Times and really not impressed with the fare on offer on Christmas Day. A two-star (opera? ballet? film?) on BBC2 in the afternoon - not quite up to their usual standards?! And of course have seen Brave a zillion times. It's just not like the old days. I always curse the cheapness of DVDs/streaming services at this time of year. Shall have to put my thinking cap on as do love watching a good film on Christmas day. Think we'll mostly end up playing board games though.

:www: MFW Wonderment: MFiF-T4 has quite seriously altered my thinking on moving things forward. It's funny how a long-term challenge can bring such clarity. General self-employment plans are going to be put into action but I've decided to tackle a couple of big projects in a different way which will hopefully bring better results (quality-wise as well as, with any luck, money-wise).

Mr M has found some interesting-looking jobs for me. I didn't want to start looking right now but I shall take a closer look at them just in case any of them are goers.

Agreed to go back to work this week. Though it's going to quite literally cost me as that means I'll have to show my face at the xmas do this week...

:coffee:Simple Pleasures: wonderful, chatty emails. I've been catching up with friends and received some super news from one of them today! So feeling very chipper about that.

Oh, I cleared up my huge pot of spring bulbs (currently shooting up towards the moon. Winter-flowering tulips - still can't believe my eyes). I fashioned a web-like trellis using bamboo canes and string for my sweet peas and tied them on. Looks much neater and lovely out there. Not looking forward to seeing everything die when we get blitzed by snow in January...

:heartsmil Burrow Building: We have a square patch of living room which runs under the TV table, around the tree, over to the sofa and around to a chair (including a coffee table) which is COMPLETELY clutter free! If I sit in the chair (and ignore a small pile of Mr M's bits that are living behind the arm of the sofa) it looks like I'm living in an Actual Tidy House! I've now enacted a two-week Ban On Things Being Left in said square-of-tidiness.

We also had a talk about some future money plans. Or rather, Mr M reminded me of what is really the best course of action considering his career/insane house prices around here when I had a little meltdown about where we were headed.

(Basically it boils down to wanting a house to decorate and a cat to live in it. :rotfl: Next time we move I'm just going to convince the landlord to let us decorate, even if I do have to put it back the way I found it when we leave. It'd just be nice to see something other than white walls for a change. In fact, I might then also invest in nice - by which I mean find secondhand and paint up - pieces of furniture to make things a bit more homely. And some nice curtains... might make them myself. Right - that's it, Operation Homemade Home needs to start now! I bet there's loads of little things I could be doing that'd make me feel happier. Shall do a bit of brainstorming and report back... at some point).

Pearla*Merle

It didn't take me 45 mins to write the above, got distracted by other things.

Plus - note to self: should really think up some actual money news to report at some point.

Pearla*Merle

Got the travel insurance! :j

Three hundred and fifty blinking quid, but at least that's for both of us and covers us for the next year. :T

Christmas cards almost all written and halfway through wrapping stuff. Getting there...

Mr M has annoyingly looked for jobs on my behalf and found one that looks very interesting. Which is all very well but it closes on Friday with interviews next week. Could really do without a mad dash trying to write an application. Wish people just accepted CVs

:www: MFW Wonderment: walked back from doctors (in mad, torrential rain) as I'd be home by the time the bus arrived, so that's a fare saved. Leftover rice with one of my pasta sauces from the freezer for tea. Used up random bits of bread and bits in the fridge to make packed lunch for tomorrow.

:coffee: Simple Pleasures: actually, walking about in the dark and rain was rather lovely. I enjoyed skipping around all the puddles (didn't have the foresight to put wellies on).

:heartsmil Burrow Building: nice lazy afternoon hanging out with Mr M doing Christmassy bits and bobs. Tidied a few more things away into forever homes as well, space is really starting to be used more efficiently.

Pearla*Merle

Long day. Work just made me more enthusiastic about searching for another job. Shall be working on an application and doing some groundwork for it tomorrow.

Cracked after work and met Mr M for a cheery, festive hot chocolate - well, I had mulled grape juice but it was wonderful. Chose the smallest sized cup though. :money:

:www: MFW Wonderment: decided to definitely search out better prospects job-wise asap. With any luck it'll be mean loads of extra pennies.

:coffee: Simple Pleasures: putting on work clothes and realising they're looser than before. Peeling clementines; cosy bed; the thud of a big wad of cards going in the postbox (they didn't fall very far though, lol).

Pearla*Merle

Serious rantage forthcoming....

My pro-FOUND hatred of job vancancies that require you to fill in application forms rather than send your already carefully worded CV is endless.... endless...

It's taken me around nine or ten hours to put this thing together. Seriously. Which sounds ridiculous as I was just copying and pasting and editing, editing, editing for most of it (oh yeah, and then there's the ridiculous supporting statement that practically forces you into inanely repeating things you've already mentioned in the previous employment section but you have to write in case you're classed as not covering 'essentials') but yet it's still taken forever.

How many man-hours get lost in stuff like this?! Application forms should be banned. Forcing people to make really shoe-horned statements that fit 'essential requirements' instead of employers just reading their CV and having the common sense to work out that they can do stuff (especially basic parts of the job!) surely isn't that hard?!

I've spent all evening wanting to bite my hand off. _pale_ Got to get up tomorrow and reread it, tweak and write cover letter before noon. _pale_ SAVE ME.

I'm sure there are people out there that love receiving regimented applications from potential employees but I don't think I'd ever be one of them.

:www: MFW Wonderment: In better news, bought some printing paper so I can finally send parcels via cheaper courier and get my Music Magpie stuff sent off. Also means I can get some other business stuff going.

:coffee: Simple Pleasures: my hair sitting nicely in braids. Literally that's the only lovely thing from today.

Pearla*Merle

Well, finished my application in time and a few hours later got offered an interview. :T

I'm still on a rollercoaster of 'oh I don't want to work full time' and then 'oh but it sounds like a great job so it'd probably be fun and therefore manageable' and then 'oh god, maybe it'd be ridiculously high pressured, can I cope?'.... :rotfl: Don't think my mind is going to settle down any time soon.

I do think that this is the last full time thing I'll apply for; if I need to keep looking then it'll be part time and Stick To My Original Plan(!).

Popped into town to get cash out for tonight (shall be drinking tap water though!!), bought some cards so I can get started on Mr M's birthday treats and went searching for a foldaway bag I really wanted from Cath K (out of stock online) but apparently all foldaway bags have sold out! (And that seems to be the case elsewhere as well when I started paying attention!). Stocking filler madness according to the sales assistant. So we'll all be three foldaway bags richer come Boxing Day, sorry if I've ruined Christmas for you.

:www: MFW Wonderment: remembered not to go and spend my £5 Debs voucher and save for post-Christmas sale. Did some prep work for interview (job would mean very serious pay rise!).

:coffee: Simple Pleasures: finding a big wad of envelopes in our postbox.

apple_muncher

Pearla, you've got me all worried about the future work/life balance if you take the new job!!!! Have you done a pros/cons spreadsheet for it?

And, was there anything in the envelopes?

xx