A Journey of Many Pounds Starts With a Single Penny

Watty1

Such a sense of achievement when the tax bill is paid I find

LadyGnome

Yes indeed.  Relief and achievement especially when the money is sitting ready for the bill.

LadyGnome

Money shuffling all done.  I've paid off some big bills of my CC - I had the money I just put the payment through the CC for the rewards.  I have a 0% balance on 2 of them relating to the dental work but I am paying them off gradually as they aren't costing me anything.

(Note - I am studiously not mentioning the rather expensive test match ticket from the Lords' ballot that I've just paid for - nothing to see here; move along please.)

Everything is back on track and ticking over nicely.  I will have to do some spreadsheet wrangling over the weekend as I am a bit out of date which is practically an MSE crime.

I am delighted to say that we now have a great spotted woodpecker as a regular visitor to the bird feeders - it has a real thing for fat balls.  Not only that but the snowdrops are out too.  If I was ever to become a plant obsessive I think snowdrops would be high on the list (perhaps I am a closet galanthophile).

South_coast

Ooh, I've learned a new word 🤣!

Good luck with the spreadsheet, I don't use them at all - now there's a real MSE crime 😮!

(I won't mention it either, but the cricket sounds great 🤣!)

themadvix

Spreadsheets are not regularly used here either (by me). 

*whispers * Cricket sounds great! 😊🤫

Suffolk_lass

🙊🙊 shh. Love cricket...🤐🤐🤫🤫

LadyGnome

It's a lovely morning here.  The GSW has already visited the garden.  The last few days have focussed on niggly admin and I feel about 10 years younger having gotten it out of the way.  I set up a better diary / bullet journal to keep track of everything and it's definitely helping.  

I am managing my time a bit better because of it.  I've set goals for my coursework - I'm doing a writing course so I need to read more and write more.  I did get a sonnet written this weekend (very rough and not sure about it) and managed to sit and read for pleasure.  I have the opening of a play that I want to develop more fully too.  

The other thing the journal is doing is holding me to account for my crappy sleep habits.  I am a bit of a night owl by instinct but I can't catch up in the mornings because of work.  The reality is that often late in the evenings I am just faffing and I may as well go to bed as there is no reason to be up.  I have been in bed before/around midnight for over a week now and do feel better for it.  This is compared to my usual 1am or later.  I am gradually moving sleep wake time forwards so hopefully in a few weeks I can get up and do some writing in the mornings before work when my head is clear.

I've also got back into batch cooking as I need to loose some weight and it's too tempting at home if the food isn't ready.  I have 1 dinner in the fridge and 4 in the freezer, along with 2 breakfasts (lowish carb pancakes), and plenty of stuff for lunch.  Often I cook what I am going to eat the next day but do a couple of extra portions and gradually build up a stash.  I have a busy weekend so I want everything ready, that way I can grab and go.

My spreadsheets are all wrangled back into shape and all the other accountancy / finance type stuff is sorted for now so no particular MSE news.

LadyGnome

I've busy weekend this weekend as I was studying most of today and tomorrow I am going to Kew Gardens.  I have annual membership of Kew so its a free trip.  

The more diligent planning is starting to pay off as cooked a double portion of food last night for dinner as I don't get back until after 7 on days I study.  I also took my lunch with me to avoid the temptation of the coffee shops.  Not only that but I cooked double of that too - a large frittata (using up odds and sods in the fridge) so I have something to take to Kew tomorrow.  I am about to plan my meals for next week so I can pick up any shopping I need on the way back from Kew.

My sleep is definitely better now that I have started to focus on my sleep habits.  I wanted to read more so I've started going to bed earlier to read.  So more sleep and I am on my third book in two weeks.

ERNIE kindly sent me £25 this month which was gratefully received.  I am going to top it up slightly and then send £5 to each of my pots.

LadyGnome

The Orchids at Kew were wonderful.  I'm in the pre-money shuffling lull at the moment.  I've just put in a meter reading so I am waiting for the bad news on the bills.  I've bought a waterproof clock and timer for the bathroom as DS2 was spending an inordinate amount of time in the shower - not great with fuel bills going up and our imminent shift on to a water meter.

The bullet journal is still keeping me honest.  I realised that I was struggling to motivate myself to write in the evenings after work so I've switched to getting up earlier and doing something before I start work.  I definitely find it better.

Suffolk_lass

I remember finding my 12 year old son sitting on the tray of the shower, playing, while the hot water formed little puddles round him. He had been in there for 45 minutes, at least.