Find the SecondStar and soar, and then straight on till the morning…

KajiKita

With the hair, just make sure it is clean, well conditioned and tidy. I have seen people come in to interviews with me with all kinds of hair colours over the years, and so long as it looks cared for and not unhygienic I don’t pay much attention to the colours. Tbh, I quite like it when it’s not ‘natural’ as it gives me a small sense of the person’s personality and that they might be a bit of a maverick and creative thinker, which I need - I work in quality in manufacturing - not somewhere that you would obviously think of as being needing that, but hey 🤷‍♀️😉😊

Re the ‘so, so scary’ - the only reason it wasn’t before was because you weren’t seeing it. Now you are owning it you are seeing the gaps. Please be proud of yourself for coming such a long way 😊

Huge good wishes for the interview. Remember, you are interviewing them too 😉 so I hope you enjoy it! 😊

KK

SecondStar

Thank you @kajikita , that’s made me feel a bit better! This job would just be for pocket money really, it’s only 20 days a year for goodness sake, but it would be fun to do I think.

I was out last night with a friend, to a meet up event which was a crafting evening! It was really good fun, and I’ll definitely go again. Did end up spending £7 on dinner though, which hadn’t been in the budget, but it was worth it to hang out with my friend and meet some nice new people.

I’ve also just had a second quote for my roof - half the price of the original quote! He says he can do all the same work for £250, and he can fit me in next week. I about bit his hand off. Didn’t mention the first quote, seems like the first guy was possibly chancing his luck with a woman on her own. I hat that it’s so difficult to know who to trust when it comes to trades. How can the same piece of work be quoted double the price?!

The first guy had said it’d take 2-3 workers 1-1.5 days; the second guy said it’d take 1 worker and 3 hours. Vast difference. Regardless, I’m far happier paying the £250, and it’s inspired me to shop around garages for the work on my car as well.

My partner’s car failed its MOT yesterday - £300 for the parts to sort it, and his brother will do the labour - which means I’ll likely be visiting him this weekend instead. I don’t mind, I’m still greatly looking forward to this coming week off work. No plans yet, will just be taking it as it comes.

SecondStar

The roofer has said he’d get to me this week, but no date confirmed yet.

I shopped around for the car repairs, and found somewhere to do the brakes for £30 less. He’ll take a look at the exhaust too, but if he can’t beat the first places then I’ll go back to them.

I’ve had a nice, relaxing couple of days off work so far. I’ve got lots of crafting done - up to 11 hats, 6 pairs of gloves, 4 pairs of socks, and 3 pouches - and I’ve planned out 3 more hats to use up the last of my yarn. I still need to make a sign for my stall, remind myself how to use my card machine, and plan how I’m going to lay it all out.

If I’m honest, I don’t expect to make much, if any, money at this first event. Maybe not any of our local events. The money really comes from the big away gigs, but I’m still of the mind that I can’t/wont be going. I’m going to ask my partner if he would be able to take some of my things down with him instead.

I picked out a dress and some shoes I already owned for my interview tomorrow, and called ahead to ask exactly where the building is located, so will just have to hope for the best! I’m telling myself there’s no need to be worried - I already have a full time job after all!

OH, and I fixed the disaster which was my hair! I stripped out all the well-intentioned but poorly executed red, and went over with a semi-permanent colour in a very dark brown. It seems to have done the trick, but the proof will be when I wash it for the first time this evening. It may be an emergency hair dye situation tonight, so I’m not interviewing with swampy hair tomorrow.



I’ve started to think about interiors again. After the green paint debacle at the start of the year, I’d put the idea firmly to one side, and have been living with a half-painted living room, and landlord special bedroom & bathroom.

I’m still keeping a very tight lid on it, so my ADHD impulse brain doesn’t rush out and start buying up things without thinking. Buuuut I might slowly get my Pinterest boards back out again, and start to narrow down some ideas. It’s tricky to balance the interest and the research against the spark it’ll create in me to DO IT NOW. But I deserve to have a home which makes me happy, and which I’m proud of. God knows I deserve it. It’s just trying to reach that point organically, and without overly stressing my finances unnecessarily. See, I’m finally growing up at the tender age of 33!

peb

Wishing you well for tomorrow.

KajiKita

Good luck for today! 😊🤞

KK

SecondStar

Thank you! I think the interview went alright - I definitely stuffed up 1 question, but I think the rest was OK! I spent the rest of yesterday deep cleaning the bathroom, and having Ideas about decorating it.

Got my brakes done today, to the tune of £210, and got advice about what else will need doing before the MOT - some of it my partner’s brother can do, and some of it I’ll bring it back to the mechanic. I’ve been quoted £288 for the exhaust and the additional MOT work, which is a bit leery, so I’ll see what can be done outside of the shop first.

I spent the morning that the car was in the garage going around the charity shops in town for targets of opportunity. And what opportunity!

I had about 4 hours to kill, so plenty of time to do a deep dive in all the shops. I came away with 2 pairs of coloured linen trousers which I’ll cut up and make into linings for hats, a small mirror for the stall so people can try items on, a small ceramic bowl & a basket for display, brown paper and string for wrapping purchases, and the best finds of the day…2 double-sized, pure wool brown blankets! And they were free!

The shop manager was sorting donations by the till, and out popped these gorgeous blankets. I slowly took my headphones off, did a quick sideways look to see if I had any competition, and sidled up to the counter - not wanting to look too pounce and eager, but also absolutely needing those blankets. There’s nothing more annoying than customers pawing through and trying to buy stock that you’ve not sorted through yet, so I felt super shifty, but she was very gracious about it. She said she’d be putting the blankets into the rag recycling scheme, as they’ve a little too much wear to be allowed to be sold, but I could take them if I wanted to make a donation towards them. So their change box got the shrapnel from my purse, and I came away 2 blankets richer - I definitely got the better deal! They’ll be used as blankets for sleeping at our first event, to add to the huge pile that my partner and I have accumulated between us, and then after that they’ll be made into hoods, hats, and possibly a heavy weight apron dress for myself.

I also think my partner is getting me a pair of tortoise brooches! He sent me a pic of several sets, and asked me to pick my favourite, which I did. I’ve put together 2 strings of beads for myself too - they’re not strictly authentic replicas of grave finds (that’s the goal, eventually!), but they’re period correct enough to be representational, and add a bit of bling to make me feel fancy and pretty! I’ve been in kit with the group a couple of times, but this will be the first official event, and the first event where my partner and I will be reenacting together now we’re a couple, so it’ll be pretty special I can’t wait to see everything all decked out, it really is magical to be surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of viking life!

The roofer is coming out tomorrow as well! I’ll be glad to not be worrying about drips coming through the ceiling any more, and can maybe even start to think about continuing the living room decorating, once the plaster has been repaired and dried.

It was pay day today - a day early, with it being the bank holiday tomorrow. It can sometimes feel like you’ve won the lottery to see the money sitting in the accounts again, and it’s important to keep remembering that it has to last - and that the vast majority is earmarked for bills anyway! However, since there’s no unanticipated spends this month (touch wood), bar the roof and the car which were coming from savings anyway, I’ve taken the opportunity to dole out the amount left after bills & expenses into some new sinking funds for the year - this is the first month I’ve been able to do this!

So I’ve started sinking funds towards my partner’s birthday in May, Christmas, future car repairs, clothing, and toiletries. The last 2 because my skincare and makeup all tends to run out at once which puts a big dent in that month’s spending; and clothing because it’s nice to have the opportunity of a kittle cash in hand, if I see something. Realistically though, I might change that to a decorating fund! That’s far more inspiring for me than clothes, if I’m honest!

I’m glad I’ve not been at work this week, but I’m also not feeling particularly rested. I’ve had to leave the house every day so far, for various errands or appointments, and while it’s been useful and necessary, it’s not been very restful. I plan on staying at home tomorrow and being quiet, though I suppose that’ll depend on how noisy the roof is going to be…

SecondStar

Mixed bag this morning.

To start, I didn’t sell a thing at the event this weekend. I’ve done craft fairs and markets before, years ago, under a different name and with different products, and so I know that they can often be disheartening and feel like a waste of time. I really did expect to sell at least one thing though, and so while I’m trying not to let it get me down too much, I am a bit upset.

The day after, my partner said he hoped I wasn’t too disappointed, and I breezily shrugged it off. I think perhaps I shouldn’t have. It’s still very difficult for me to let people see or help when I’m sad.

It’s been so much build up - all I’ve done for at least the last month, probably longer, is make stock. On my breaks from work in the day, all evening, any free weekend time - it’s been hours, and hours of work, to make sure I had enough variation of stock to offer. It doesn’t necessarily feel like a waste of time, but it certainly makes me feel very adrift as to what to do with myself now, since I currently have zero motivation to make any more pieces right now.



My ADHD brain is stuttering - it doesn’t want to ‘waste’ my last day off work today, but it also doesn’t know what to do. What it reeeeeally *wants* me to do, is go to Homebase, blindly pick a colour, and start painting my bathroom. With zero plan, zero prep, zero focus, zero inspiration, zero thought. Which I *know* is not only a recipe for a disaster which would need to be redone (I know this, because that’s what my kitchen looks like), but it would also mean spending money that I don’t have.

It’s so *hard*, because I know that running out and buying paint and slapping it on the wall would be a huge dopamine rush. Which is exactly what I need after being so disappointed this weekend, but I know that I simply can’t afford to pour money away like that.



I find myself stuck in a doom-loop when thinking about decorating, and I can’t seem to find my way out of it.

It would be a small, easy(ier) job to paint my tiny porch. But to do that, I’d have to bring everything out, take off all the hooks, prep the walls, paint, and then…not have any proper storage for all the stuff to go back in. I’ve an idea that I want a built in cupboard to hide shoes and hang bags and coats in, but I’ve no idea how to achieve that, and again no money to throw down the drain trying.

I want to keep going with my living room, but again the first thing I need is a cupboard built so that I can get things out of freestanding furniture, free up floor space, and decrease the visual clutter which hurts my brain. I also need to repair the ceiling before I can continue painting.

I want to change the kitchen colour to a lighter more cream-yellow, but it feels like a mistake to redo the only ‘finished’ room of the house, when all the rest is still landlord-special, grubby white.

I have no idea about the bedroom. Again, once the living room cupboard gets built, I may be able to decant things into there from the bedroom, but that’s really the last thing on the list.



The bathroom would be the most simple room to do - it doesn’t require any carpentry (though ideally I’d like wall panelling, and shelving put up), and could just be slapped with paint to ‘do’ for now. Would it make me happy? Perhaps it would make me *happier*, to see another room that’s not grubby-white. Even if I did end up repainting it down the line. Perhaps it would help me to feel better about myself right now - is that worth the money it would cost? Or am I just trying to talk myself into a quick dopamine fix, at the expense of my budget?

It’s days like this where I really miss my therapist. Someone who is paid to sit and listen, without changing the subject, or jumping in to try to help or otherwise; and I can just sit and free flow the thoughts and ideas and problems that are all tangled up in my brain, until they become separate and smooth. 

PennysIntoPounds

I'm sorry you didn't get sales at the event this time, it is disheartening and it's okay to feel a bit down about it. But you've got lots of stock ready to go for future events so you've saved yourself time for when they come up.
Do you have business cards people can take from your stall so if they're in two minds about something they can contact you after the event?

Maybe today you could give the bathroom a good clean and move some things you already own in or out or around to make it feel refreshed?
And what other nice things can you do today to lift your spirits? 
A stroll, prepping a meal for dinner, calling your boyfriend or a mate for a chat, sorting through your wardrobe for things you can wear now it's spring, a reading session with a candle lit and some gentle music? 
Hope you have a nice day off ☺

SecondStar

Thank you @pennysintopounds , you gave me a lot to think about yesterday! It wasn’t quite the pulled-together success I’d wanted, but it wasn’t a terrible day after all.

I’ve put together a new Pinterest board with the bathroom ideas I dreamt up yesterday, and have started costing things for as low price as possible, and will of course be looking to get things secondhand/free first!p, and saving up for it!

I’m picturing country cottage, powdery blue, Beatrix Potter vibes. Delicate florals, natural warm-tone wood, pretty ceramics, breezy textiles. I’m thinking of panelling the lower half of the walls and painting them, the skirting, door & frame, and sink & shower tiles in either the powdery blue I’m picturing, or a warm cream and then blue walls. Possibly either waterproof vinyl wallpaper with a small floral pattern, or maybe trying out a simple, hand painted motif.

I think I can get everything I’d like done for under £250. Under £200 if I skip the radiator cover, which I might. And it doesn’t all need to be done at once, it can be worked on slowly as I’m able to, and it’s all things I can do myself which is even nicer. It is wonderful to have a partner who is knowledgeable, handy and generous with his time, but there is a satisfaction when you can step back and know you’ve finished something all by yourself.



It was my first day back at work today, and I found out we’re getting a pay uplift! Since the minimum wage is increasing, and it looks bad when government employees are barely above that new threshold. It means a gross pay of 25k, increased from 24.2k - about £100 extra each month, after deductions, which is amazing. There will potentially be another uplift later in the year, but that’s not confirmed yet.

I got put on the reserve list for the part time job I applied for, but this uplift will be roughly the same amount of money I would’ve been earning if I’d got the job, which is great. That £100 is a very Big Deal, when I’m still worried about breaking even each month.

Fortune_Smiles

Such good news about the pay uplift SecondStar - so pleased to hear money will be less of a worry for you.

Fortune x