108 spiders are a girl's best friends

[Deleted User]

Good luck with the interview!
Steady weight loss is the way forward - slow and steady makes it more likely that it will stay off

savingholmes

Hope the interview goes well. The bulbs sound lovely. I have some narcissi about to flower..

Msmoneyspider

Thank you all, the interview was at a local University and is for a specialist, professional course that has a £10,000k a year bursary attached to it and no tuition fees, as there is a nationwide shortage of persons with these skills. There is a guaranteed (well paid) job at the end of the three year course and part time work available all through it.

I naively expected that there would be a lot of mature students applying and when I turned up for the interview, the receptionist asked me whether I was the one doing the interviewing, which I thought was odd! I walked into a large room, completely filled with persons in there late teens, early twenties and felt like an extinct dinasour. Fortunately, there was one woman, within a decade of me, so I sat down beside her, relieved ……. only to be informed that we were allowed to take our mother's to this event and she was just there to accompany her nervous, young daughter …… It made me giggle, thinking of the impression I would have made if I had brought my mother along too, RIP x.

It looks like a fantastic course and I may get a conditional offer, I will know in two weeks, but I would need to complete the equivalent of a biology 'A' level and a scientific maths course before September ….. I am hopeful of getting in as the outlying, diversity, wild card though lol…..

My generation is likely to live into our nineties and a lot of us are worn out already and bored/stressed with our jobs, which we could be in for another 20 years … It is time to reclaim our health and joie de vivre, I am starting to fly that flag!

I am filling up on diesel, taking out £200.00 to last me until month end, for food and miscellaneous spends and hiding my cards. The store cupboard challenge hunt yielded the following:-

24 bottles of first class red wine

3 packets of large scallops (10 in each)
4 packets of sea bream
2 packets of cod
2 packets of haddock
4 packets of smoked makerel
3 packets of squid …. yuk, but DH loves this …

Packet of rump steak
Packed of minced beef
Quick fry steak
Large chicken
Chorizo
Large bag of frozen pomegranate seeds!
Large bag of frozen mixed berries

3 tins of tuna
3 tins of peaches
8 tins of various beans, mainly chick peas
2 tins tomatoes
2 tins of coconut milk

Eggs
Yoghurt
6 pints of milk
Packet of mixed nuts
Packet of mixed seeds.

Loads of pasta, rice, quinoa, noodles, cous cous, flour of various descriptions and every herb, spice, oil and seasoning you could think of and pitta bread.

Carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, butternut squash, onions, potatoes, beetroot and cabbage.

Stir fry beef with noodles for tea tonight and I will start planning the months menus around the above … have a great day. 3/29 AF.

Msmoneyspider

Yesterday was a very draining day at work, I am going to be much more mindful of my triggers, guarding my emotional energy very carefully.

I came home and before I new what was happening I had ripped open a packet of cheese and was cutting myself a huge slice. Thankfully, I saw it for what it was, comfort eating and put it straight back in the fridge, uneaten …… I poured myself a large cherry/soda water with ice and mint, ate my beef stir fry and saved the day!

Today, I am going for a walk at 8.00 am with runner friend, art class, then I will visit the earthship, I intend to eat well and mindfully, Tonight's tea will be Tuna, rice and vegetables for DH and I and cod for DS.

AF 4/29 - money left from £200.00 is £200.00.:)

doingitanyway

Sorry to hear yesterday was draining. Your plans for today sound great.

Msmoneyspider

Thanks DIA, yesterday was a lovely day. I have been accepted on to the course, with the bursary, so I am absolutely delighted about that!! It is a conditional offer, so I will need to finish my HND in Health and Social Care Leadership and Management, complete equivalent of a biology 'A' level and do an HNC in maths for science.

I did do an honours degree in a health related subject (Major (Applied Psychology)/ Minor (Literature), over 30 years ago, but it did not count for much … they were looking for evidence of recent study and experience.

I am glad that I have been letting go of a lot of things, that were nolonger working for me, as it is making room for the new shoots to grow.

AF 5/29 / Money left from £200.00 is £186.48 / Weight this morning is 181 lb (7lb loss since 28th December 2020).

doingitanyway

The new course sounds amazing. Well done for finding a new way forward.
Your story about sitting with a fellow student's mother made me laugh

savingholmes

I nearly choked laughing at the idea of taking your mum... and then the addition of the RIP (sorry) - it added to the whole visual imagery thing. So glad you got on the course. £10K for studying sounds amazing. Perhaps DH and I should look into bursaries to study as part of our FIRE journey. We were thinking we might study as part of maintaining our mental fitness - wouldn't really want the job at the end though... May be worth a look into whether there are any research / bursary opportunities in things we want to study in areas we'd like to live. Something to explore.

Glad that you are finding things that will hopefully be lower stress for you - that meet your overall goals. How does £10K fit in with your overall budget? Will you be okay or will you need a job on top?

Msmoneyspider

I have been thinking a lot about the finances SH.  To be comfortably off and enable DH to stay part time, I need to bring in around £1,500.00 a month.  I had long discussions with DH yesterday, as I had another approach to sell the business and was tempted, but we have decided to keep running it in a very controlled manner, with just two clients from April.  One of which is a very large package of care, for a youngish person, with complex needs and I have an extremely capable supervisor, working there.  I also really enjoy working with this client and her primary care-giver and they appreciate what I do, which means a lot.  The other is an incredible gentleman, who is nearly 100 and again he is supported by an amazing, live-in employee and has a very devoted son, this package is a joy too.  

Cutting overheads, to the bone, I should make around £1,000 profit, so with the bursary, I will be OK and will not need to access pensions.   The right person, could make a very successful business out of the company, so I will visualise them coming along, but the timing doesn't feel quite right yet.  

I need to have laser like focus though, over the next 6 months, to get the studying done, but I enjoy that, so it is distractions I really need to watch.  I have also made the decision not to get further involved in the 'earthship' project charity, as there is loads to do there and it is a diversion I can't afford to take.  Instead 'charity will continue to begin at home'.  I have a very neglected herb garden and I am going to nourish it back to life, as my earth project.  I have treated myself to the book "Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide: 33 Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use ".

A good weekend to all - AF days 7/29.

doingitanyway

I've been having similar conflicts about charity work. I also decided to concentrate on getting myself in a good position first. I am also interested in herbs and I also have a much neglected herb garden. I also have a red Russian kale that miraculously survived the Winter and remains uneaten by slugs. 

Have a great Sunday