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

SecondStar

Hello everyone, I can’t believe we’re almost into October already! September has been kind, only a couple of days of heavy rain, and still double figures for temperature.

Tomorrow we will be getting our pay up lift & back pay amount. Back pay will be around £180 after dedications, uplift will be around £60 / month. P

The back pay is going towards my dental hygiene appointment next week, and a Halloween horror night out for my partner and I - bit of fun, and a bit of adulting! The uplift will go into my car repair fund, which was depleted down to nil with the recent servicing & new tyres.

We get a bit of an uplift each year, both from the minimum wage increase and then a civil service increase, and it’s interesting to look back on my previous budgets and see where the money goes to. Lifestyle creep is something I’m always aware of, and balancing that regular uplift amount between spending and saving.

My first budget sheets are from when I began living alone, and my monthly income was just over £1.5k, and I’ve no idea how I managed it! My income will now be up to £1,873, and I’m thankful that I’m able to save 30% of that towards my emergency fund, holidays, presents, and local trips and occasions.

SecondStar

Still here! I’ve been laid up for nearly 2 weeks with lower back pain, after I over twisted without realising the limitations of my hyper mobility.

Self certified from work for the first 7 days, then got an extension from my GP till the 24th. Spent the first week in bed as I couldn’t move, and on lots of strong prescribed pain killers. Unfortunately those same pain killers then ruined my stomach, except that the pain presented as possible appendicitis and so I was whisked off to a&e where my partner and I sat for 17 hours overnight…I do not have appendicitis though!

That was on Monday night through till Tuesday, and I’ve been resting since then. The pain is down to a dull ache in my back, and a swollen and very sore tailbone, but it’s getting a bit better each day. Not taking any pain meds right now, as don’t want to upset my stomach again.

I am missing work though! Not the task, but definitely to social aspect, and having my day structured around an external force. I re-downloaded fb and ig, and have spent days just scrolling to pass the time, as I wasn’t able to do much else, and I can feel the brain rot setting in. It’s so difficult when I haven’t had the strength or energy to get up and do things, and then that takes a toll on your brain as well. I’m trying to tell myself that I am injured and in need of time to recover, and I shouldn’t be feeling the need to fill all of my time ‘being productive’ - it’s enough to heal!

My partner has been wonderful through all of this, it would’ve been infinitely harder without him.



I spent a lot of time curating my favourites on Vinted, and I’ve ordered my outfits for my friend’s haldi, mehndi & Sangeet functions, for the wedding in Delhi next year. I’ve narrowed down my options for the main ceremony too, and just waiting for info on sizing before ordering. It feels good to get the clothing sorted, and will need to do accessories & partner’s outfits next.

Humdinger1

Ooh ouchy! Get well soon @SecondStar.  Making good use of an apparently fallow period; you're as impressive as ever.   Love Humdinger xx 

SecondStar

Apologies for being absent, but it’s been a bad few weeks.

I spent 3 weeks off with my injured lower back until 24th Oct, then on the Saturday before I returned to work I managed to aggravate an old shoulder injury, which had me in further pain for another 2 weeks.

On top of that, one of my Pekins Delphine has developed a mystery illness which started on 1st Nov. She was wobbly on her legs, and so I’ve isolated her indoors and she saw the vet on Monday 3rd with a rough diagnosis of either a vitamin deficiency, or a contagious, fatal, incurable disease. Bloody hell!

I’m on a phased return to the office, so for 12 days I’ve sat in my bedroom floor with her and my laptop. She’s being stuffed full of every type of vitamin and supplement to see if that works, but she’s declined in her mobility. She’s still bright and alert, eating p, drinking & preening, but she’s unable to weight bear.

I’m not sure that I see I positive outcome for her to be honest, and it’s breaking my heart. Not knowing the cause is just compounding how difficult this is, I feel so powerless to help her.

For one reason or another, I’ve been house bound for 6 weeks, without seeing any of my colleagues or friends. The lack of human connection is really getting to me.

in_need_of_direction

you poor thing and especially when the weather's also gloomy.  the absolute flip side of having pets is when they are poorly.  hopefully things will get resolved, take care

Humdinger1

Sending love @SecondStar.  Gosh pets eh? But how can we be without them? Keep us posted and on your health too.  You need a treat to look forward to.   Humdinger xx 

peb

So sorry you've been through it.  Hopefully the transition back to normality is smooth