Progress is...

rtandon27

@redofromstart & @Cheery_Daff & @Baileys_Babe & @earthgirl2 - thanks you so much for the Birthday wishes - it was overall a very restful 5 day celebration & I made a point of focusing on enjoyment!  We've just finished the last of the PYO strawberries - some of the best we've had in years.

@foxgloves Et al. - thank you for your wishes in regard to our dear friends, their daughters are understandably shaken and having know them since their teenage years, I just want to put my arms around them and let them sob - so very hard across the miles even with wotsup for talking and sharing.  Good news is that the wife of the couple has now been moved to the same hospital as her husband, sister & b-i-l.  For compassionate reasons, they have now transferred her so that she and her eldest can be with the rest of the family.

rtandon27

So now back to regularly scheduled programming...

HEALTH & WELLBEING
* I'm loving the new F*tb*t !  As I got back almost all of the cost through my healthcare plan, it was a mere 3.95 out of my pocket.  I ended up purchasing a metal flexi strap rather than a leather one, which will do for now.  I managed to hit my goal steps of 7000 on 3 days last week, and averaged over 5000 over the 7 days so confirmation that I'm slowly getting back to being active and fit.  As Foxgloves says, I'm NOT sedentary and that is an achievement after 3 years of neuro & sports phsyio!
* I pushed back directly to Ms Micro-manager twice this week, which I get the feeling she's not thrilled with, but result is space for me to think and work, my needs being more important than her preferences at this point.

WEALTH
* Weekly money shuffle has happened & B-day excess accounted for.  Does it really count as excess when it's budgeted for??? 🤣🤣🤣
*  More money to the solicitor in OH's never ending Saga - I'm now resenting these payments as I think of how many mortgage payments the fees could have made!  SIGH!
* Pension Administrator - STILL Grrrr - even less to say than the last update!
* Next month I'll be doing the annual savings shuffle once the fixed terms expire - still getting my head around SIPPs and have half an eye on ISA changes
* No win in this week's lottery, but then again OH bought the ticket and the fates do not count him in the lucky numbers!  I've bought this week's for the Tuesday draw - let's see what Wednesday brings
*  4th installment of the planned mortgage overpayments will be done today, and we are now at a projected payoff date of June 2040 instead of August 2041!  14 months reduction - HOORAY - My plan is to bring this date down to lower than my projected retirement ASAP
*  Paperwork still in a pile and needs putting away - STILL...

GRATITUDES
* B-day fun was had & relaxation prioritized!
* Only another 5 days until my next long weekend!  I always take off time for C@n@d@ Day, as it makes me feel connected to those at home!  May go to the PYO again and/or have a BBQ!
* Only 1 pound put on from the unrestricted eating over the past week.  I don't have a sweet tooth so cake did not feature
* The sun is shining again, the backyard baby blackbird came to say hello and brought me a stone, and the potatoes have taken off!

So a small to-do list for the weekend...
💡 finish blue badge reapplication currently half complete
💡 do bus pass application
❗ get on with activating my tablet and start using it! 
❗  file the dang paperwork (did some of this!)
❗  new trellis needs to go up for the climbing rose in the front - OH STILL needs to get some hardware for this
✅ catch up on laundry!  while it's warm and dry
✅ order groceries
✅ meal plan for the week
✅ Sunday surveys & contests
✅ make 4th mortgage overpayment
✅ supplements into weekly dispensers
* follow-up on specialist recommendation from OT
* follow-up on eye specialist (forgot about this one!)
* rebook hospital eye test - very irritating when the dr's office staff books an inconvenient appt!

garden things...
✅ another round to hill up potatoes that are growing in bags
* source a pot for my baby lilac tree
* source a pot for the baby birch
* source a pot for the baby sycamore
* get gutters cleaned and order new drain guards
* trim down and rehome butterfly bush which seems to be in a plastic bag of all things!
* tame climbing jasmine & add more supports for it to grown on
* start getting quotes for new felt for flat roof & summer house & shed

Ta-da!
✅ OH has vacuumed throughout, cleaned bathroom & washed several sinks of dishes & put them away
✅ deadheaded spent pot of mums
✅ watered patio plants in pots, lavendar, hostas & jasmine
✅ tidied patio area & removed all the various bits of dead moss that keep falling off the roof!
✅ ordered groceries - delivery on Tuesday
✅ finished meal plan & upped our iron intake as I'm anemic atm
✅ made lunch plans for the week - it's a busy week & I'll need to minimize decision fatigue
✅ 2 large loads of laundry done & hung up in the warmth of outside to dry - 1 fully dry & away
✅ 3rd large load washed and hung up in the summer house
✅ dettol wiped kitchen counters & stove top as yesterday's dinner prep was messy!
✅ helped OH to set up some of the unused settings on his F*tb*t app
✅ breakfast & lunch & dinner cobbled together from the stores & leftovers!
✅ hanging dehumidifier packs replaced in cupboards
✅ moth repellant pads replaced in drawers and cupboards
✅ 4th of 10 mortgage overpayments made - 14 months knocked off repayment schedule in total
✅ credit score up by 12 points - they are now basing it on April instead of March (paid off train fare on c/c)
✅ Sunday surveys (not much there tbh) & lots of contests! while listening to a podcast or two
✅ 4 or 5 potato pots hilled up - ran out of soil & the new bag is currently behind the cloths airer out of reach!
✅ have had a look through various apps for free bday treats - some food discounts & free cake to be had
✅ bedroom & spare room tidied - we had a rare instance of floordrobe in both rooms (but on chairs)
✅ have managed 2L+ of liquid - mostly water
✅ supplements into weekly dispensers (almost forgot this one!)

new things...
hmmm - do I really need these when I've got so much outstanding?

rtandon27

A little tidy up of the list as I'm wfh tomorrow so will have a bit of extra time as no commute time!

looming tasks...
💡 finish blue badge reapplication currently half complete (by june 25th)
💡 do bus pass application
❗ renew passports - one is expired - the other will expire soon
❗ get on with activating my tablet and start using it! 
❗  file the dang paperwork (did some of this!)

medical follow-ups...
* follow-up on specialist recommendation from OT
* follow-up on eye specialist (forgot about this one!)
* have a look at nutritionist through healthcare
✅ rebook hospital eye test - now in July

garden things...
❗  new trellis needs to go up for the climbing rose in the front - OH STILL needs to get some hardware for this
* start deadheading roses - prime blooming time is just about over
* source a pot for my baby lilac tree
* source a pot for the baby birch
* source a pot for the baby sycamore
* get gutters cleaned and order new drain guards
* trim down and rehome butterfly bush which seems to be in a plastic bag of all things!
* tame climbing jasmine & add more supports for it to grown on
* start getting quotes for new felt for flat roof & summer house & shed

rtandon27

Wednesday morning arrived & with it an e-mail from the lottery 😉

I had better luck than OH but only marginally!  We are a whole 3.80 richer than we were when we went to bed!  The fates forgot to add more zeros to the number & shift the decimal place many places to the right!  Obviously the fates failed arithmetic in school! 

beanielou

Don’t spend it all in one place now! 

Cherryfudge

If you invest it at 4% you'll have £3.95 this time next year.

rtandon27

@beanielou & @Cherryfudge - decisions decisions decisions...😂😂😂

...a little update on the work situation to remind myself to take the bull by the horns and stop agonizing!

I had a huge & emotionally charged response that I needed to get to HR by today - it took simply HOURS but i managed to keep it professional and above board, enlisting the help of Mr.GPT for some of the bits I was finding harder.  I think that I'm now ready to go into my weekly bilat with MsMicroManager, feeling empowered and justified that I'm not wrong but only have to get up the courage to advocate for myself. (I may feel differently tomorrow after she has a go at me, but for now I'm feeling grown up and not cowering in a corner.)

The most amazing bit is that I also finished something I'd been procrastinating about immediately afterwards because the heavy burden had been lfited!  It took me under 20 minutes!

(Yes I'm still working at 10pm, but by choice really, as I was too hot during the day to concentrate properly and had a very heavy meeting to attend in the afternoon which took all I had.)

Cherryfudge

Well done for powering through! And what a good idea to use MrGPT to help keep it professional. Keep you head held high and don't let her undermine you.

KajiKita

Good luck for today. Your boss really needs to learn this lesson …

KK

rtandon27

@Cherryfudge & @KajiKita - thank-you so much for your buoying words!  I read them moments before the dreaded bilat.

The atmosphere in the air was palpable, but I got through it, I'm guessing my reply might have hit a nerve.  What I did note is that her supposed 'day' in the office next to me turned into 2 hours, and I will be noting how long is spent there going forward as it is not in keeping with the message she sent to HR about inclusion and co-working.

Guess being assertive (i.e. a bit of a biotch) has it's uses even though it's not in keeping with my own morals/ethics/beliefs.  OH's comment about all of this was that he learned a long time ago that while my fuse is long and slow burning, the explosion at the end of it is ginormous!  Not sure if that was a compliment or not!