Women and cats will do as they please! :)

TheMagician

We are back home and I'm so grateful :j It's always nice to go away and just as nice to come back.

The travel back was a little stressful, the queue at the boarder was insane :eek: But overall, we did ok

Got home, went food shopping, unpacked everything and got my my nails done including toes. Beach always does such damage but it's worth it Had a long long bath, got my beauty regiment done and I feel amazing again

Had another offer of an interview for another job. Not sure on this one, will probably be a no, the company is huge but making losses and I don't want that on my CV. People that don't work in finance might not even be aware how their company is doing but for anyone interested you can find the info on the Company's House. Very important to be clued up! :cool: And get out before the boat sinks... :rotfl:

Back to the above post about life's purpose. Well, I'm still not sure :rotfl: BUT I've got a plan for the next 12 months that will definitely help me achieve some of my huge goals and will keep me out of trouble. I want the next year to be amazing in so many ways and I will note down the exact steps to achieve it :T Bring it on!

TheMagician

Had another interview on Friday, went well. Will find out more next week.

Did a lot of house stuff today. Cleaned out the hammies, defrosted the freezer, the laundry basket is empty and I did a big shop.

I then made the most delicious veg stew My first time making it and I did add onto the recipe but the end result was beautiful. If anyone is interested, I fried off an onion, some garlic and a chilli pepper, added a lot of veg (courgette, fine beans, baby sweetcorn, pepper and an aubergine), a tin of chopped tomatoes, smoked paprika, pepper, two stock cubes, a tin of kidney beans and 100g of creamed coconut (not the same as coconut milk, it comes in a block), topped up with water. Perfect for autumn :beer:

Food in Croatia wasn't the best, they eat a lot of baked produce and pizza/pasta/burgers. So I'm really enjoying getting back to my Harcombe diet way of eating, it's bliss. I'm going to be on zero sugar for a while.

Feeling a bit lazy tonight, fancy a hot bath and an early night.

TheMagician

Haven't posted in ages, been so busy.

The main thing that was keeping me busy was all these interviews. Since I became qualified, I decided to give finance another go and boy am I glad I did! I wasn't feeling it with any of the jobs or companies, had a couple of offers I declined. And then all of a sudden this opportunity came along... and it's everything I didn't know I wanted :rotfl:

When I was considering jobs I was mostly looking in the same area I'd been in before but something didn't sit right with me. And then this company got in touch and asked me to meet them. I told them I wasn't interested (nor experienced) in that particular job but I'd have a chat, why not. Well... Me and the CFO hit it off, we talked about my experience and what I wanted to do going forward and then he literally created a job role for me! A few days later we had another meeting and he offered me the role there and then as well as agreed to my outrageous asking salary :beer: + bonus :rotfl:

So I accepted, how could I not And I'm starting in just over a week. I've been joking that I gave birth to this as it will have been exactly 40 weeks between my jobs :rotfl: My second baby :rotfl:

I'm over the moon, been busy preparing. Got a new mug, notebook, stocked up on 100% chocolate and sorted out other arrangements. I've still got a few other things to sort next week but I'm getting there.

Life has funny twists and turns. I've got a feeling this is just the very beginning of a brand new journey. I can be the CFO in 2yrs' time For sure.

I've also been super organised with Christmas and I'm almost done. Got the panto booked, most presents sorted, advent calendar bought and Santa letter ordered. I just have to come up with one more present for DS. All of this will be very helpful when I'm busy in my new role Nov/Dec.

I am now just really looking forward to starting to save again. It won't take me long to go back to where I was at the beginning of the year, 6 months max and then we're ready to buy our house. Looking forward to that!

TheMagician

What an amazingly productive Saturday it's been :T

Did my usual morning workout, made a few phone calls, did the weekly shop, got the laundry done, cleaned out the fridge, defrosted the freezer, hovered up, changed the hammies and took the rubbish out. Phew! :beer: I then ordered the last few Christmas presents. I am now officially done. The only thing left to get is chocolates but I am NOT buying those until the last minute because somehow they always get eaten :rotfl:

I also ordered myself 3 pairs of new shoes for work - stilettos, flats and ankle boots.
I still need dresses, skirts and shirts/blouses but that's tomorrow's job.

Then I drove me, DS and my bestie to the bonfire. We had such a great time, the bonfire was absolutely humongous and the fireworks were fantastic. Afterwards we went to his grandparents to fetch a fridge he needed to take to his apartment. Only just fit into my car.
He's also giving me his bike, will need to pick that up next week.

Home now. Bath, book, yoga, meditation and bed. Time for some rest :A
New day tomorrow :A

TheMagician

What a day! Got so much done.

Had to call back to decline a job... That's never nice but the offer came in late and I'd already agreed to the other one. The CEO wants to call me to try and change my mind :rotfl: They're always stubborn But all things considered, I've made the right decision and my new job offers me experience I could have only dreamed of.

I then went for lunch for my friend. Went back to his to pick up the bike. Whilst there, I noticed a handheld hover and told him DS has been after one for ages, he's a clean freak. So he gave that to me as well. I cycled home :j So much fun. Got his kryptonite lock as well so the bike will be safe. The reason he's getting rid of stuff is because he's moving for work for a little while so I'll look after it for him.

I then managed to finally sort out the fobs for the apartment building for DS. It's been a nightmare but I finally got there by using the tactic of 'you'll get sick of hearing from me so just give me what I need' :rotfl:

And then I went on an ASOS shopping spree :eek: Dresses, skirts, jeans and tops, arriving later on this week so I can decide what to keep and what to send back. 10% student discount too :T

I'm now attempting to wash my winter coat The label said it was fine to go into the washing machine so we'll see. I'm getting as ready as I can be for my new job, everything either new or cleaned.

Finally, for any bookworms like me out there. Got a great book suggestion - The Biology of Belief. Blows my mind... Well worth a read.

TheMagician

It's been ages but I wanted to log on as it's New Year's Eve and it always stands for a new start to me.

I've been on holiday with my family for a week and still have another week to go. Been very busy but had some time for reflection, especially today.

2018 was an incredible year. I quit my job, ended my relationship, qualified as a chartered accountant, interviewed like crazy and accepted a new job. Unfortunately, my grandad also passed away three days after my birthday, I've still not come to terms with it.

It has been life changing, it has been hard, it has been very rewarding.

I am welcoming 2019 with open arms. I know it'll also be challenging, I have many goals and aspirations which I'll post at some point. But I'm looking forward to it. I believe, 2018 and 2019 combined will be the building blocks for the rest of my life.

Happy New Year's Everyone

TheMagician

It's been a while again, I don't seem to be updating this diary often currently as there is just so much going on.

I've been in my new job for almost 3 months now. I am absolutely blessed because my director and CFO are both the nicest people you could ever meet. We have an amazing relationship and I feel free to always share how I feel, how I'm getting on and any issues I'm facing. I also get on great with many of my other colleagues as well as people across the business. Employees here really are fantastic. I get to work from home and they are flexible with my hours. I feel so grateful for how I'm being treated knowing from past experiences that it's not always like that.

So that's the good. The tough is that my job is very busy and very challenging. I am still learning loads as the position is all new to me. There are a number of projects where I'm leading from the finance point of view are there are many requests from the execs. But my growth has been incredible and I'm already seeing a huge difference in comparison to where I was.

Back to the very good :rotfl: Managed to save almost £3k in Jan and will save £2-2.5k from thereon depending on annual bills and other commitments. We'll definitely be buying the house this year and I have picked out the area. I will start looking around April time, I'd like to buy by Sept.

Due to the above, we're keeping our holidays lowkey this year. Got a week booked in the Lake district and a week to see a friend in Austria. Will keep it as cheap as possible. My mind has absolutely been on my money, constantly. Will make this house purchase happen.

Home has also been very busy. Loads going on with DS, school and my mum as well. I sometimes (often) feel like I am being dragged in two different directions. For eg. I was working from home yesterday, had a conference till 11am, meeting at DS's school at 11.10am and then another conference at 11.30am. Good job I live across the street from school but that is literally my life right now :rotfl:

I feel like all I have to do is ride this out. There are so many positives, I just need to focus on those and get my head down and do loads and loads of work. It's all about work this year. Everything else will come later.

TheMagician

Have had a fantastic week at work. Taxing but very rewarding. Learning so much every single day. I'm starting to see loads of progress which is great :T

On the money front, I've set myself a little spreadsheet. I've got a set amount of savings that I want to achieve in the month, that gives me the budget for everything that's not bills and I'm tracking that. I've added all the things I want to do and buy in Feb and that's left me with about £100 which should be enough. I already track all of my spending so this is just to make sure I keep within the budget.

I've also realised that I have a kids' savings account that pays 2% on £5,000. That'll do me for a couple of months as I've been looking at accounts that pay interest and there's not that much going around.

Have had a really productive Saturday. Picked up a few parcels, DS had a playdate, caught up with a friend over the phone and got the weekly food shopping delivered. Practiced my German - been re-learning that since the NY as I used to be fluent and we're going to Austria in April. Got dinner to cook and yoga to do, a few videos to watch as well.

Tomorrow we're going pottery painting - it'll be so much fun and it's in the budget

submarine76

I'm having a catch-up after a long absence, glad to hear things are all going so well for you - especially with qualifying and the new job, well done!

TheMagician

Thank you submarine76 much appreciated