My journey to a debt free life

Willowtree222

I;m dreading Christmas too. My mum and sister are arguing and my sister has now said she isn't going on Christmas day. I am dropping my little girl at 4pm at her dads and so will be retuning home to a very quiet house and a very quiet evening. It just seems so strange x

Onebrokelady

Cherryfudge wrote: »

Perhaps a mini care package for your DD on Christmas morning? An edible treat, bath bomb, fuzzy socks... so she knows you're with her in thought. Or she may have plans: if the weather is nice she could go for a walk, or if not, ring some friends. She might even get ahead with prepping Christmas food!

Thanks Cherry that's a brilliant idea, she did say she is going to try and have a lie in but even though she is 32 she has trouble sleeping on Christmas Eve so gets up early :rotfl: she will also have to take the dog out so will go for a walk and she has offered to do our lunch so will be doing that, she makes the most amazing roast potatoes so I'm looking forward to them

Im also off on Christmas Eve so I'm thinking of making that day a bit more special than we normally do,I'm normally running round doing last minute things but I'm planning on getting it all finished before then so we can have a nice day then as well

Onebrokelady

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

What about her sister or your Mum, could she pop in to visit one of them on Christmas morning? Anyway I'm sure she'll be fine. What about a care package as Cherry said plus a Christmas DVD to watch until you get home? She's got the dog for company too. And the hamster .



I've only got one present so far and feel completely unprepared, so I know what you mean but actually we do still have plenty of time. There still about a week and a half of November left plus all of December. So we shouldn't feel stressed about it really. Especially if you're have a more simple and pared down Christmas. Good food and good company is the most important .

Her sister is going to her in laws on Christmas Day so won't be there,DD 2 can't drive so wouldn't be able to get there anyway,we are seeing them on Boxing Day, my Mum and Dad are going to Derby for Christmas to stay with my sister so won't be around either
I'm definitely going to surprise her with a care package because she loves anything like that, I'm sure she will be fine it's not like she is a child or anything,it's just me being silly,but you know what we are like with our children, we worry when perhaps we don't need to,she is probably feeling bad because I've got to go to work knowing her :rotfl:
And she has the dog, her cat, two hamsters ( she owns one as well ) and the chickens to keep her company:rotfl:

As for feeling unprepared I've realised I need a good list,lists have always been my friend in a panicky situation,so long as I've got it on a list I feel much calmer, I've got a date in mind for when I'm starting my shopping so I'm feeling a bit calmer now

Onebrokelady

Nicnak wrote: »

I;m dreading Christmas too. My mum and sister are arguing and my sister has now said she isn't going on Christmas day. I am dropping my little girl at 4pm at her dads and so will be retuning home to a very quiet house and a very quiet evening. It just seems so strange x

Awwww Nicnak I really feel for you,I remember the christmases where my ex partner had the children and I hated it, luckily for me he emigrated in the end so it didn't last long,can you not go back to your mums after you have dropped her off,or can't he come and pick her up so you can stay at your mums house

If you do have to go home maybe make it a nice relaxing evening with some treats for yourself to enjoy

Onebrokelady

So I've remembered that lists are my friends, I have a terrible memory and I often walk around thinking of things I need to do but if I don't write it down it's gone again usually until bedtime when I can't do anything about whatever it was, I then toss and turn while thinking about the thing I forgot to do yet again,so last night I wrote a long list of jobs with the intention of doing as many of them as i could today,i wasnt pressuring myself to do them all today because it will be a rolling list so anything that doesn't get done will get done on my next day off

Wow what a game changer it turned out to be,I woke up this morning feeling enthusiastic to get on with the stuff on my list and I managed to do everything on it except for two jobs which I've rolled over for tomorrow

So today it was a lovely windy day so I stripped my bed and washed my bedding got it dried and back on the bed

I needed to pick up the dogs meds, so I used her morning walk as an excuse to stroll to the vets and pick them up,it was cold and windy but I had my scarf and gloves on and really enjoyed it, I also walked back instead of catching the bus so got a good amount of exercise in

DD1 surprised me with a visit so while we were chatting I did all my ironing

I made all the phone calls I have been procrastinating about for a couple of weeks and cleaned out the chickens

Tomorrow I'm taking some stuff to the charity shop that's been in my spare room for a few months now and after that I'm getting the bus to our big Sainsbury's to get some bits of shopping I need and to look to see if they have any cheap thick jumpers,I could do with one or two as I'm short of winter woolies,I would knit one but the last time I did that it cost me nearly £50 for the wool

I'm also looking in my craft stash tomorrow for embroidery supplies,I have found a lovely cross stitch chart to make a picture for my friend for Christmas but I need to see if I have the material and thread to make it,I could buy the kit for £22 but the chart is only £8.50 so if I've got enough supplies to make it myself I can save quite a bit of money

I worked an early yesterday which was really nice and when I got home I hoovered everywhere so all my housework is done which means tomorrow I haven't got to anything in the house apart from the two jobs I missed today,one of those is to bung the shower curtain into wash and to clean the bathroom which takes about 10 minutes, so most of the day is mine to do as I please

I've also made plans to go to Ikea next Thursday to pick up dgs1s Christmas present and have plans to get some of the bits for my DDs,I have the week off leading up to Christmas and my plan every year is to get all presents bought and wrapped before my holiday,I've only ever managed it once I think ....will this year be the year I manage it again.....watch this space :eek:

Cherryfudge

Fabulous list of achievements OBL! I think you should have a block of To Do lists for Christmas, they are obviously your thing.

Onebrokelady

Cherryfudge wrote: »

Fabulous list of achievements OBL! I think you should have a block of To Do lists for Christmas, they are obviously your thing.

They definitely are Cherry,I have the mindset that once it's on a list it has to be done at some point,I normally set a date if I can as well,I also get great satisfaction from ticking things off

I'm going to sit down and compose my Christmas lists over the weekend when I've fully decided what I'm getting people,I will then have a timescale to work to

Onebrokelady

So I've changed my plans slightly today, the horrible rain has come back and the weather is like Armageddon so I'm not going to the big Sainsbury's to look for a jumper, I'm not desperate so I'm going to wait until next week to have a look

I'm still going to the charity shop but I'm going to my local one near my local shopping centre ,I'm also going get my bits of food shopping there instead of Sainsbury's,I have to get two buses and walk a bit to go to the big Sainsbury's and I don't fancy doing that in the rain ,it's just one bus to my local shops so much quicker and I won't get so wet

I took the dog out and it was horrible so I came home and sat having a cup of coffee to see if it would stop,I've got all day so I'm not in a hurry,I'm just waiting for the shower curtain to finish in the machine then I'm going to go out

I've spent a pleasant half hour updating my wish list on amazon because DD2 wants to buy me a book for Christmas and while there i discovered one of the books I want on kindle has been reduced to £1.98 so I snapped that up,it was nearly £9 before:j:j

HairyHandofDartmoor

We've had heavy rain all day too. I got soaked walking home and had to avoid being splashed by cars :eek:. All my outdoor clothes are drying on the radiator now.

I hope you get some of the things done that you wanted to today.

I think Christmas with a dog, cat, two hamsters and chickens sounds lovely. DD2 won't feel lonely with that lot to keep her company .

Onebrokelady

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

We've had heavy rain all day too. I got soaked walking home and had to avoid being splashed by cars :eek:. All my outdoor clothes are drying on the radiator now.

I hope you get some of the things done that you wanted to today.

I think Christmas with a dog, cat, two hamsters and chickens sounds lovely. DD2 won't feel lonely with that lot to keep her company .

It's got worse as the day went on,I'm hoping it calms down before I have to take the dog out again or I'm going to get soaked, we are also planning on going to the garden center this Saturday after we got rained off last time so I'm hoping it stops then at least