My 5 Year Plan to a better life!

MuffinTops

Thanks AC.  I do have all of those after watching others drill but it's always good to have it confirmed and in writing.  Ooh, that must have really made you jump when everything fell on you. It did make me smile.  It's the initial fear more than the pain, I think.  Then you realise what you've done!

MuffinTops

The shelving is still waiting to be installed!  I did manage to put together a small desk and ergonomic chair for me to work more comfortably with my office job though, so that's something.

I have just 2 people to buy Christmas gifts for now but I have no ideas at all for what to get them both.  One is staying with a friend so I can't really buy too much that will just clutter up another person's home.  I am considering a day out, but not sure what that would be either.

This weekend was great as I had a little trip away to a spa hotel.  Great company, great food and a lovely hotel.  It was also the first time I've seen her in 2 years.

Things at home are going ok.  I've got the TV repair people arriving tomorrow to look at my newish (bought in July) TV which isn't working.  The sound is ok but the screen is just horizontal coloured lines.  I'm hoping they'll either be able to fix it tomorrow or replace it. I don't watch the TV much but I do love a soppy Christmas Hallmark film in December.  I still need to find a free weekend to get the lounge painted, but I think I've already said that a few times.

To save these feelings of overwhelm anxiety I've decided to not book any outings in January for any reason.  That way I can just stay home and get things done.  I may also book a few days off work to really smash through the To Do list and get my house more homely.  I feel a bit guilty for being so antisocial, but January is such a cold and murky month that I doubt I'll be missed much if arrangements are planned.

I hope everyone is feeling festive and within budget for all that food, drink and gifts! 🙈🎄

RosaBernicia

Would food or drink work for your friend - nothing to clutter once gone, and can be shared? 

Total empathy with house stuff overwhelm - I have just put off a delivery til the new year, as I just can't get everything needed done by this weekend.  Easy does it 

RB xx

MuffinTops

Thnaks Rosa.  I did manage to think of something plus something edible.  I really appreciate your suggestion.

So I guess we're both back on the house stuff again after a little break?

MuffinTops

Happy New Year to everyone.  I hope 2022 is a great year for everyone.

December was a pretty good month, but it was also pretty busy with Christmas arrangements and then work really picked up too.  My other little sideline became busy for Christmas orders which was a lot of fun, but has ground to a halt now.  I still have a lot to learn, so that's a priority for me now.

Christmas was lovely.  It's the first in my new home, although I did spend it with my Mum at her house for a few days.  Normally I'd have driven here on Christmas Eve and we would have tried to pack lots in to make the most of me being here and also because I don't mind longer drives to help her stock up etc.  As I now live here and we can do all those things anytime we were able to relax with no pressure on what we should be doing.  We watched lots of Christmas films and ate lots of Christmas rubbish and it was lovely.  Just before Christmas we went on a steam train that had been made very festive, and on Boxing Day we went to see a pantomime (oh yes we did!!!) I didn't want it to end.  I hope Christmas was special for you all.

I've had a message from the sofa company that my sofas are delayed, which is understandable.  Delivery has been pushed back around 2 weeks, so not too bad.

The shelves are up!!!!  Well, 2 of them are.  I bought the stud finder, but it's faulty and it shows electricity constantly.  To properly test that I'm not living in a pylon I tested it on a door, and apparently that's also electrified. So that stud finder is going back.  I'd like to put one more shelf up, but I don't want to risk it.  I have a friend visiting next month so I'll ask him to bring a stud finder if he has one, so I can find somewhere for that last shelf.

So I mentioned my TV was broken, and Amazon have now refunded me for it, as it was only 5 months old.  I've been waiting for the Boxing Day sales, but I'm oddly overwhelmed with the options.  Well I had a chat with friends today and happened to mention that I need a new TV and they said they have one they no longer want as they've recently bought a new one.  I'm not sure of the where's and whyfors with it (size, smart status etc) but as I rarely watch TV I think that it should be fine.

My decision on YNAB is to stay for another year as I just haven't found an alternative I'm comfortable with and really don't want to go through the pain of learning something else right now.  So I've cleaned it all up today and can keep moving forward with it.

I feel like I've started this year quite organised with admin.  It's a good feeling.

Next step is back to the healthy eating.  After that trip to my friend in November and the build up to Christmas, I completely lost focus.  Got to get back onto that now as a priority.  I also know for certain that coffee and tea is off limits for me.  I can have herbal teas, and they do much nicer ones now, but standard caffeinated or decaf coffee or tea has a bad effect on me.

I think I'll go back to writing monthly goals for myself to keep the focus I need.  I'll do my food shopping in the morning and also need to paint my lounge, starting with a primer first as they're freshly plastered walls.  I have a very long to do list.

Happy and Healthy 2022

MuffinTops

January seemed to be a bit of a write off.  We lost a family member, and then I had Covid.  Hopefully the bad stuff is over for this year now.

While I had covid I did manage to paint my lounge, so that's looking fresh.  I have some paint on the floor now though that I need to scrape off.  I've bought some plastic scrapers to see how they go in getting the splashes off the floorboards.

I've contacted the bathroom guy to see if I can get that scheduled in and also today need to get in touch with the guy to do the skirting boards and door in the lounge.  My sofas are due to arrive the beginning of March hopefully.

I have updated everything in YNAB but have this nagging feeling I've forgotten something.  I'll have to just keep an eye on it.  I know I have some subscribe and save products coming from Amazon, but they're part of my grocery and personal budget so they should be accounted for.  I've decided to keep it for another year and see if it keeps me on track.  I've diarised when it renews next year.

My house is very disorganised again!  I've put away the obvious things, but want to have a really good disinfectant cleanse this weekend.  It's disorganised due to moving things around to paint, but now that's done I can get cleared away and properly clean.

As January was a write off I've cleared my calendar for February and have made a huge investment for my future.  So I need to learn that and start creating products to add to my shop asap.  So February is my month to really focus and progress.

I've also won an award at work, which is given as a voucher for lots of places, which I'm really chuffed about.  I never feel like I contribute enough, even though I get decent feedback, so I should let myself feel some confidence from this.

Ooh, also, if you top up Amazon with £50 they'll give you an extra £6 on top.  I was just about to place an order for a few things and saw that, so bought a voucher instead and got the £6 extra.  (This is on 2nd Feb 2022).

I know I need more focus on home and finances so I'll be here more regularly now.  I hope everyone has had a good start to 2022 and are all feeling good.

MT xx

another_casualty

Sorry to hear about family member and Covid 😷 MT 

White spirit and an abrasive  kitchen sponge 🧽may get that paint removed . Possibly very light gauge sandpaper .
Congratulations on the award .

RosaBernicia

Sorry for your loss MT, and I hope you are recovering well and taking things slow. 

Congrats on the award, I hope you are going to get yourself something special. 

RB xx

MuffinTops

another_casualty said:

Sorry to hear about family member and Covid 😷 MT 

White spirit and an abrasive  kitchen sponge 🧽may get that paint removed . Possibly very light gauge sandpaper .
Congratulations on the award .

Thank you AC.  I've added white spirit to my shopping list.  I have the scrapers and some abrasive kitchen sponges home already.

I hope all is well with you?

MuffinTops

RosaBernicia said:

Sorry for your loss MT, and I hope you are recovering well and taking things slow. 

Congrats on the award, I hope you are going to get yourself something special. 

RB xx

Thank you Rosa.  He'd been poorly for a long time, but it was still a bit unexpected.

I'm not sure what to get with the award voucher.  But yes, I think it needs to be something special.

I hope you're doing well.  MT xx