Always Pass on What You Have Learned

wishus

I decided not to go to work today... I don't get paid if I don't go in, so that's how poorly I am.


I have drunk a swimming pool of hot drinks, had spoons of yucky syrup and rather lovely honey (from a work colleague's beehive). I am dosed up on paracetemol... I learned on this forum not to bother with Lemsip as it's not a full dose of paracetemol, and that's the best thing for combatting the pains and temperature. I've also had soup, some roast chicken and OH has been out and got some chocolate for me too. I am tiger-balmed up to my temples, and combatting the cold with cosy socks, badger slippers, sheep onesie, a hot water bottle and a blankie. We will watch Masterchef, and then I'll probably go beddy-byes.


OH had an interview today with a view to starting a course in plumbing. It will be an extra expense, but with one loan paid off, it will just replace the same expense. And could lead to him being much, much less stressed and happier. Fingers crossed... :T

mothernerd

I hope you have a good night's sleep.

Good luck with the course for OH. I was a bit too old by the time the short courses came along. Spent many years working out how things worked and patching them up until I could afford to have them sorted by a professional.

wishus

Thanks, Mothernerd.

Back at work now, still feeling icky, but my boss is being very understanding.

As for the course, we think it was a bit dodgy. Thanks to MSE we found some complaints about the course offerers, and I added my insights today. OH is feeling very sad now.

wishus

Just a quick update, as work is keeping me very busy. Also, I can't believe I'm still ill!


Currently getting better with the help of biscuits.


I fell asleep on the train this morning though - almost missed my stop! :eek:


Dayjob is peeing me off a little. A little office politics today really did my nut in. I wouldn't mind, but if people want to play silly games, can't they just wait until after the annual reviews are done and dusted? Oh, it's exasperating! Still, bread and butter. If I could cut that income stream and just live on the rest, I would. Love my job... just don't like how childish grown people can be sometimes. People not far off flipping retirement, at that!


Freelancing has its cons, of course. But at least you're your own boss!


Decluttering continues. This weekend I filled three bin bags with old post. OH got a little stressed as he saw I had shredded some old mortgage statements. People who work in mortgage redemptions have told him you need 6 years' worth - and the summary won't do. Ah well, still got loads of them. Whoops!

wishus

About time I did an update - and I am still ill.

Christmas shopping is all done, bar one present.Amazingly enough, it's not the gifts that have been hitting the budget hard... but running around saying yes to everyone and everything has left me feeling tired and unhealthy as I've been more reliant on takeaways and convenience food.

OH is also feeling the pressure. He has to return to work in a few days, and his anxiety is only building. He sounds half like a tie-fighter, half like Chewie as he primal screams/grunts his emotions out - a way he copes. So, he doesn't have to tell me he's stressed - I can hear it.

The Christmas decorations still aren't up. Rushing out and about has left me less organised so I have mainly being cleaning and clearing. OH isn't really up to housework of any sort. He did cook dinner the other night, and he has been giving me lifts places.

We also got treated to some tickets to see Star Wars when it opened for a friend's birthday - lucky aren't we? I really liked it - it would have been perfect if it didn't rely so heavily on famous tropes. New stars are pretty awesome. We didn't get home until 3 in the morning - I'm amazed I didn't claw my face off trying to stay awake. Some gitbag in our row was tweeting spoilers as the credits rolled. Sheesh, some people!

A night in tonight. Got work to do, might just relax. Do Christmas stuff.

Happy Solstice everyone!

:xmastree:

wishus

I have more Christmas decorations on my office desk than I do at home! :rotfl:

No, the tree still isn't down from the loft. I think this will now happen tomorrow night or Christmas Eve as I'm out later. Pfft!

All presents now bought! A trip to Morrison's when my train was delayed yielded an awesome shopping haul - my final gift of some honey bourbon, which sounds lush, and I picked up a few yellow sticker goodies: bananas 9p, 2 avocados 9p, a bag of organic onions 9p, a beef roast, enough for 2 - £2, pesto houmous 49p, loaf of bread 36p, Ardennes pate 69p and a big stollen 19p and a fruit panettone 19p. Awesome! I have pesto houmous and avocado sandwiches for lunch today. Best sandwiches ever! Feel that cholesterol melt! :j

I won a hamper at work full of biscuits and chocolate goodies, but OH found he needed a quick emergency present and had to use it. But he has said he will replace it with a 'hamper' of whatever goodies I like!

It's a bit windy and dull today, but more like a spring or autumn day than Christmas - the Metro is saying temperatures in some parts of the country will match those of the summer Solstice - 17 degrees C! :eek: Well it's only 14 round here, but crikey, that's too warm! :undecided:easter:

I know I had my jumper on and a coat when I went shopping at the weekend, but had to go back out for my click and collects, and left my coat at home as I was sweating cobs. :eek:

Still work is nice and peaceful. Listening to Paramore on Deezer between bits of Radio 4.

wishus

Happy New Year everyone. Just done a not very MSE thing and had a restaurant meal out, but we stayed in for NYE watching Hootenanny. Don't know if anyone saw that? What a bunch of maudlin acts! I had great fun disparaging them with my mates across Facebook.

Today, OH and I started a healthy new year by going for a walk around a lake (a bit muddy! )

I also bought a charity sale book for 50p. Gravity by Tess Gerritson.

Now in my Jim jams waiting for Sherlock.

We are also now one day into a month of being booze-free. Wish us luck!

wishus

What a horrible shock today's news was. I mean, Lemmy was bad enough, but Bowie! I think most of my friends are feeling pretty devastated for the loss of this icon. My sister named her child after a Bowie connection, and another one of my nephews - aged 7 - will only listen to his music. Or James Bond themes. He's very particular. Apparently school discos are a nightmare.

And yet there was one lad in the office this morning who went, "Who...?" Cue everyone around turning to him and going "!!!!!!???!!!" :eek:

If David Bowie's passing is making you feel blue, then apart from all the fantastic music that is his legacy, only one thing can cheer me now... and that's the brilliant, freaky comedic tribute to him from Flight of the Conchords.

January is filled with other blues. Having carefully planned out all my social things for the month in order to save a bit of dosh, I found myself having to go out for some unplanned dinners. And an opportunity came up for which I need to look my best, so a spend on a haircut and makeup was needed (I don't really wear any, and I haven't had my hair cut in a year, so it was long and witchy). Might lead to some good earnings, so it was an investment. I made use of voucher deals for the makeup.

Long story short, things have gone a bit haywire with spending, so I've got to get back on board. And fitness too - whew am I fat all of a sudden! :eek:

OH's birthday pressies are already purchased though, one thing on pre-order and the other was a cheapo version of the Fitbit, on sale at Aldi this week. Seriously, does everything the Charge does, but only £25! :j

Right... off to the train I go.

wishus

Hello everyone.

OH is now back at work full time. This does not mean he is better... it means he has no choice.

His occupational heath therapist told him last week that he would advise him to find work elsewhere, as the changes his employer have brought about are not enough to quell the anxieties he has.

On the surface, though, he is doing fine. You ask him, he's all fine, fine, fine... but that's because his emotional memory is incredibly brief... he has forgotten how this weekend he almost missed out on a wedding due to feeling he couldn't cope with it. And how that was because he had been out a couple of nights before and had stayed out later than he would have liked and the idea that he might not cope subsequently made it difficult to rest. And how I had to go out with him, after midnight, dressed in a onesie because he was afraid he had dropped his keys somewhere and just wanted to be sure no one had broken into his friend's garage as a result. The garage was safe and we found the keys as soon as we got home... in his trouser pocket.

But every night, I say goodnight and fall asleep to the sound of him sighing. He watches crap on TV, reads the news on his phone. I've told him, stuff on screens doesn't help the brain switch off, but he will use these and only comes to bed when he feels exhausted. I come home from work and he's either half-asleep in front of the TV, or asleep in bed fully clothed.

We've both put on weight. When I'm at work I crave sweet things, and I can resist some of the time, but I am bored and tired. I walk everywhere. My Fitbit scores are through the roof, mind! This probably helps... I don't look as heavy as I am. Or, at least I don't feel heavy. I do wince when I see my reflection. Mostly it's my boobs - they are enormous! :eek: But the rest of me looks quite lean... I am getting some twinges in my back and my knees though so I can't get any worse. It's all the weight I lost at Weight Watchers, and maybe a couple of pounds more. I need to lose 2 stone to get to a healthy BMI. Two stone!!! :eek::embarasse:cry:

Spending wise... okay. Not brilliant. I'm not going to make my January target, but I'll get by. Plus, I have work coming in, and a pay rise from the day job in Feb. I'm proud of myself for turning down unpaid work today as I say yes to too many things.

Weight Watchers is offering a 'lose ten pounds in 8 weeks' and get your money back deal... I'm tempted. But I know it will be just like last time. I will get locked in. I won't be able to sustain the positive results without constant external motivation, that I WILL have to pay for.

I know I've already paid enough... I should have all the tips and tools at my disposal... but I'm usually the one motivating other people and right now, that doesn't feel like me. I'm so demotivated.

How can I get my oomph back? How?

wishus

I don't know what the blue blazes I have done, but I am in soooo much pain.

I was having a bath the other night (nice, soothing, relaxing bath.... ah!) when I flexed my toe and something went crunch. I flexed it again, and it didn't uncrunch. :eek: I couldn't walk, I couldn't get my shoe on... I ended up getting a taxi to work which went the wrong way and I missed my train. More taxi troubles this morning, and I am the laughing stock of the office with my stick and hobbling gait... plus the bags under my eyes from no sleep.

I have been frantically googling symptoms to see what might be causing this. I've ruled out gout and rheumatoid arthritis, but osteoarthritis stands a chance though I'm freakishly young for it. Boss reckons it might be something to do with tendons, as I was recently complaining about a twingey knee. I don't know what it is, to be frank.... but I will only bother the doc if it doesn't go away by the weekend. I've not even properly got rid of the cold I've had since September, it's just at a lower level of grot since I got some meds.

So yesterday, I had one last hurrah of double choccie bars, and cider and pizza while I felt sorry for myself, and though I still feel very sorry for myself, I am going to make myself feel better by being very, very good... besides if it is gout, the pizza, chocolate and cider would be even worse for me. It's not gout though... a bit of me thinks I probably deserve gout, but it isn't.

Serves me right for making plans to do more cycling, which I was. I am thinking of using my house pot to subsidize my travel, and then pay what I would have spent back into that pot. If I buy an annual season rail ticket, I could save £281... then I thought, if I only traveled to the station before what would that be.... a saving of £504... which would be more than enough to buy a decent folding bike for the 20 minute cycle. I was seriously thinking about it!

So maybe, I won't get a folding bike. If I'm going to be occasionally disabled again over the next year (with all these twinges, and a prolapsed disc that may flare up thanks to these twinges, I'd say that's likely), then I should stick to the train for my whole journey, and if absolutely necessary, I can bike to my station (and trust in Odin, Zeus and the Guardian with of the Nene to imbue my bike lock with all the magical extras it will need to keep my bike safe there).

But I should do the annual pass thing, though...I live in a Gold area, so I can get a Gold card for free, so I won't need to renew my Network rail card - another £30 saving. :T

Now in non-twinge news, OH is having a bad week... it looks as though his team are not very understanding of his condition, and have been complaining about his tics. :mad:
And then he has been underpaid, too, and apparently there is nothing can be done about it he has to wait until next month for the shortfall.

So... my money-saving season ticket purchase will have to wait a bit. It's not the end of the world, but we could do with rescuing OH soon, too. He needs all his oomph to get on with a new venture... trouble is, he has none left.

Proud of myself, though... I have turned down TWO work for nothing requests this week, and as a result I will have time to do a project I got asked about yesterday - a proper paid one! :beer:

Not going to sign up to a slimming plan... going to apply the principles of food optimizing learned long ago, but I will not be dishing out more money to a business concern. I have to be healthy on my own terms. Instead, I will assess how I have done sticking to my plan (success based on feels not on scales) and if, after a month I feel like :A then I will treat myself to something like a Lush bath bomb. And maybe set a long-term goal? If I were to pay £4.95 a week to a class, what would that add up to in time? 41 weeks until my birthday... that's £202.95 :eek: With that, I could pretty much take my whole family to Harry Potter...

Sounds like a plan...:T

Anyway, useful list here and guide here. So, today I've gone for:

As 250ml semi-skimmed milk; Bs 35g Aldi Mini wheats (breakfast)
lunch: spicy rice with veggies
snacks: apple, banana
dinner: monkfish (from Aldi!), cous cous, peppers, mushrooms, red onion and carrots.

Wish me luck!