Prosperous & Creative Soul Year 4

jwil

Glad the garage door is good.  Lovely photos!

savingholmes

Thanks DIA, Sandy and Jwil

This week has been full on! The work change I'd been dreading has happened. Been a few tears and a fair amount of turmoil and mess this week. There's collective grieving going on about it as the change feels so substantial and we had a lovely culture before (read between the lines)..... I even skipped art group as I was too overloaded. I need to catch up an hour or two at the weekend as I've struggled to focus... - at least that way there shouldn't be interruptions.

Still not told the doctor's I've adjusted my meds!! My eating is worse and my impulse control - so I need to revisit that decision. I have a counselling appointment Monday. However the meds I was on frequently disrupted my sleep and left me bone tired. The new alarm clock aids getting up but isn't the cure all I hoped for. I've also bought a SAD lamp but not tried that yet. I mostly feel happier off those meds but going in the office the other day and work politics really sapped my energy. 

Examples of poor impulse control: I was fixated on the idea of doing a mural recently and bought loads of paint which I need to return plus some clothes. I've also been over-spending on food... I've bought loads of art related materials - whether they are all justified remains to be seen. It all reflects my overwhelm & work related issues. 

In better news:

I've gone past the pension year end of year - so hopefully my pension has gone up a minimum of £1.2K a year (assuming I don't draw it until age 67). Assuming I get to draw that for at least 20 years - that is worth the equivalent of £24K net worth increase. Really pleased with that. Better yet - the new organisation is offering a shared cost AVC so I should get some NI savings on my AVCs in future. I've put a form in for that. It should mean I can increase my pension by at least £20 a month without any extra cost to me. My S&S isa and AVC pot and SIPP are all still suffering thanks to the various loons making headlines.

Still thrilled with the garage door. The cleaner came back a second week. She is also neurodiverse. She's not as good or fast as my previous 'ace' cleaner - but I like her personality which matters a lot if someone is in your home. It does mean I now need to spend around £200 a month on a cleaner and the agency which isn't fun... She did get my WFH space usable again. I'd retreated downstairs in the last week or two as it had got too overwhelmed with clutter. 

I met up with DD at the weekend and we did an Alice themed crazy golf which was fun. I treated her to that. She bought me lunch for the first time ever... She and DS gave me a twin stemmed lemon and pink patterned orchid. DS is having the time of his life on a road trip abroad so not sure when I'll next see him.

I edited 2 videos on Monday but still haven't uploaded them. I've recorded more video of me doing art ready to share. I bought the art course which was a real deep breath moment and I've also bought loads of materials including a projector. The weather has been lovely, but mostly stuck inside. I bought the new art course which is a long held dream. I'm already learning and I'm only 5 lessons in. They also have a community feature and I've found some other artists that live near by - including one who lives 3.5 miles away. Sounds promising - With it being an American course I wasn't really expecting that... 

I've paid for my June Italy holiday which I'm really looking forward to. That was £840 from savings. I'm postponing any joinery work indefinitely - and will try and polyfill the walls. Still need to set aside money for holiday spends and see what my new salary is going to be now I'm spreading out the cost of my annual leave purchase over 12 months instead of  6, the shared cost avc etc.

Hope it's nice and bright where you all are. 

beanielou

Sorry to hear about your work changes. Hope it works out better than you think. 

Enjoy your weekend. 

Blackcats

I hope work settles down soon.  The run up to a big change and the time straight after the change is always challenging.
glad the cleaner is working out well for you.

jwil

Sorry about the work changes, as you know I feel your pain on that one.  Great news about the shared costs though, I have that too, which bumps up my relatively low contributions.

Glad the art course is going well and the cleaner seems to be working out.

Watty1

Glad the cleaner is working out. Mine is a similar cost and honestly makes such a difference mentally to have someone help (although in my case WattyDog quickly messes the place up again)

doingitanyway

The cleaner sounds like a good fit and will be helpful in other ways too.

You are enjoying your art class, another big plus...

savingholmes

Thanks Beanie, Blackcats, Jwil, Watty and DIA 

Now at hairdressers.  Just returned close to £100 of paint which is a result.

lucielle

Hugs for the work upheaval. Well done on returning the paint. Not long until your holiday. 

L

KajiKita

I hope that now the work change has happened things will settle into a new pattern quickly even if it isn’t as warm and friendly as before. I can understand your impulse control going a bit wonky when all that was going on, but to be fair the results don’t sound too bad and recoverable. 

The meds thing sounds frustrating. Weren’t you fairly stable before? Have you had to change meds for some reason I’ve missed? Maybe it could be worth asking for a specialist appointment? 

The pension progress sounds really solid and I hear you on the effects of the loons … 🙄

Whoo hoo for DD buying YOU lunch 😊👏❤️ She must be doing well in her life these days? 

The art course and the Italian holiday both sound good 😊 Are you still learning Italian? 

KK