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Archive for February, 2011

exam results! wedding party, uni etc.

February 28th, 2011 at 09:42 am

We have started handing out the invitations to our wedding party. SIL screwed up her nose at the idea of it not being a 'sit-down' event. I don't think she gets the 'party' bit. She still thinks it's a wedding. Um, no. That's why it says party on the invitation.

DH just didn't want people to be sitting around tables all night - we remember all the weddings we have been to and you end up just talking to the person next to you and missing out on everyone else. Or it's awkward if you take someone's chair for a while to talk to someone else and they come back...

Of course there are chairs, we are just not encouraging everyone to be sitting around all night.

DH's uncle has offered to source, pay for and bring already chilled, champagne for the toasts, around 12 bottles. That is a weight off my mind. Not only buying them (the cost) but also picking one that's nice for not a lot of money, and yes, cooling them.

Uni started today and my textbook arrived just in time. I had to buy it new ($132) because it is a new edition. I plan to only use post-it notes on it and pencil, and then re-sell it. As it is a new edition, I should be able to hopefully get around $80 for it. Yay. Might start looking for next semesters books too.

And lastly, the best news EVER.

I recieved my marks for my last two subjects on Friday. These are the two I did horribly at, stuffed all the answers on the exams, and generally just hated because of the lack of organisation from the lecturers.

For the ACC subject, I got an A.
And for the MGT, a B.

Big Grin

Somehow I managed over 75% in the exams... and the marks from various other tests and assignments helped (my Accounting assignment got 93%).

Such a load off my mind, and gives me more confidence to keep going, knowing that I CAN apply myself. And I am so glad to have realised early on that I don't like psychology subjects, as study material. It would have been something I wondered about for years, to do a management psychology subject early on makes me realise I could never do it in life. I don't think, anyway.

And on a completely random note, DH and I will have been married for an entire two weeks tomorrow Big Grin

updates, wedding party, work blues etc

February 24th, 2011 at 07:00 am

Thanks everyone for all the congratulatory messages on my last post Big Grin At the moment, I should be writing out invitations to our post-wedding party, but I thought I should do a quick update post.

We decided in the end to get someone in to do the food. We are still saving a lot of money compared to what other people do for their weddings (well, some people). I'm not thrilled about the expense, but I began to realise it would be far too difficult to co-ordinate food for 80 people. Hiring some sort of heating equipment (and getting it there, then cleaning and getting it back), buying ingredients and making the food would probably come close to what it is costing us in the end anyway, for someone else to do it.

We also decided on something a little different from the usual 'wedding fare' meals too (seeing as technically, it's not a wedding at all..):

PAELLA!

I am excited because it's also slightly entertaining to watch it being made as well. DF's never heard of it, and even though he's not a huge fan of rice meals (he doesn't hate rice, he would just rather eat pasta or noodles), he agreed to it and I think he's relieved we don't have to organise so much food now. Who knows, this might be the rice dish I can cook in the future that he actually wants to eat... I think because the meat paella has four types of meat in it, he's happy Big Grin. (chorizo, beef, lamb & chicken). The vegan one has artichokes, olives, beans, zucchini etc etc.

Total cost for the catered main meal is $1320 - for the max amount of guests. It will probably be a bit less once we get all the rsvp's in.

I have offers from friends and family already in regards to the nibblies/fingerfood side of things - YAY. It looks like in the end, we will only have to pay for the main meal, hall rental, and some champagne (unless my dad pays for it, which he probably will).

There's only one tricky part: My mum and DF's dad want to go halves in paying for the catering. I already know neither of them can afford it - I know it's three months away, but they are terrible with money, and we will probably never hear the end of it. I only just yesterday had a heated conversation with my mother over the fact that she couldn't afford to buy my sister (the one that lives with us) school shoes! She proceeded to rattle off the bills she had to pay and the money she earns. I was probably being rude, but I cut her off mid-sentance. Partly because I'm sick of hearing about how she doesn't have any money all the time (mostly being her own fault - cigarettes, booze & gambling will strip your wallet, it has been shown) and partly because I had just paid $2k worth of our own household bills (lots of the annual ones come in february) and was annoyed to hear my mum have to whine about paying a $40 phone bill. Sigh!

Anyway. So even though DF and I don't have a lot of money at the moment as DF hasn't been working a lot (tradesmen typically have the slowest months in Jan & Feb) and I would love to take them up on the offer, I just don't think I can.

In the end, our invitations have a small part that says gifts are not essential, but if guests think it is neccessary, we would have a wishing well to donate to our future family fund. We are planning to put all the money away for next year when we intend to (hopefully) start a family. Smile

My best friend is making the cake for us Smile All in all, I am happy that this has been a very lower-cost event. On the other end of the spectrum, a friend of a friend just got engaged. By the third day of engagement, she had booked the venue, decided on the menu, colour scheme, month and date, decorations, invitations, and is actually looking for a dress today. Just crazy. She has booked out an entire venue. Originally it was for only 40 people - and then suddenly 'for only a few thousand more, we could book the whole place', so that's what they did. Or, I should say... SHE did. The groom has very little input. :S

This is also rather awkward, because of the 80 guests we have invited, she is not one of them. We simply do not have the space - the hall takes 70 comfortably, and we are inviting 80. We are waiting for a few 'No' rsvp's from relatives who live in other states, and then will decide to send out a few extra invitations to others. Is that rude? As long as they don't know, I thought it should be alright? The first batch of invitations are being sent this week - with rsvp date by 7th April. The second batch of invitations will be sent hopefully before the start of April. There are only about 10 extras. They are not expecially close, it is just the polite thing to do I guess (my boss and his wife and kids, that girl I mentioned previously and her fiance, and another two couples we know who we only see occasionally).

And lastly, all I can say on this subject is, how do people find wedding planning fun? Honestly. I am not even having a proper wedding, it has none of the fluff that a normal wedding has, and I find it especially tedious and stressful.

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And now to go onto more interesting topics.

We are selling a couple of books on ebay. I hope to list them tonight, and am hoping to get ~$40 each for them. DF also wants to sell two watches he has. Not sure how much we'll get for those. Anything is fine really. It's about decluttering really.

I get my results TOMORROW for my first go at university. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I also start again on Monday, I am doing Business Law. Only one subject this semester.

Next week I plan to hand out my resume at local businesses. I am just looking for part-time work, afternoons or weekends. My hours were cut at my cake-decorating job again. Only half an hour a day, but that is 2 hours a week - a bit over $40. Adds up, especially when you're the only one earning a wage!
I was fine about it when my boss told me, until he started to whine about how they were struggling, and how they were going to have to 'take out another loan'. Which is when I flipped a little (in my head - not actually at him). His first loan that he was talking about? Was for his BOAT! Excuse me, I do not care about your money troubles if you are going to make unwise decisions at a bad time financially for your business! So, I just said 'Yep, that's fine. I'm going to get another job on the weekends anyway, because DH only works one or two days a week at the maximum now. We have this party thing to pay for, as well as my text books and materials for uni, and a mortgage and all the bills that come with that.' He then starts apologising to me, and lo and behold I get a call that afternoon from his wife, offering me a Saturday shift next week (just one, I might add) as another colleague is going away. If I hadn't said anything, I doubt I would have gotten it. And it also annoys me how they play these psychological games - take something away then give a little back so that you have to show that you're grateful, and that they really ARE looking out for you. Pssht. Yeah right.

Anyway! That is my life in a nutshell at the moment. I am sure there is more stuff but that's all I can think of for now. Big Grin And I sure have written enough anyway...

I'm a Mrs!

February 18th, 2011 at 07:36 am

DF and I got married on Tuesday!

We decided to tell most of our friends and close family before the day rolled around, and ended up having a great day. In the end, no one muscled their way into the ceremony part and it was still our two friends as witnesses and no more, just like we wanted.

After the ceremony, we got anchor tattoos. It is something that we said we would do when we got married, several years ago. Just didn't think we would do it on the actual day. DF and I were talking yesterday and we both said we were glad to have done what we wanted to, and not what other people wanted us to do.

We have sent off for an official certificate and once that's back I'll be able to change my name and do all that exciting stuff (including ringing banks and all that... sigh).

No honeymoon for us, though we did have Wednesday off and went out for lunch, and went op-shopping.

Our tattooist bought us a huge bunch of white roses and told us not to worry, he and his wife went on their honeymoon two years ago and they've been married for 20! Makes me feel a little better!



ground beef recall

February 6th, 2011 at 05:38 am

While procrastinating from my studies, I found this news article when browsing, about recalled meat with a possibility of E Coli poisoning. I immediately thought of my fellow SA'ers because, being frugal, a lot of you buy bulk and freeze meat products. Hopefully it has recieved wide media exposure, but if not, here is the article:

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/02/05/california.beef.recall/index.html?eref=rss_latest&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_latest+%28RSS%3A+Most+Recent%29#

I only post it because, well, Food Inc is still fresh in my memory and it IS centred on the American meat industry. It had so many heart wrenching stories on that documentary, it is difficult to forget - one being about a young girl who died from E. Coli poisoning. What they do to the meat before sale is disturbing, to say the least...

Anyway, consider this my community service announcement for the day!

Now I'm off to study again. This time tomorrow my exams will be officially OVER for the semester - yay!

Ratios, communication, power, conflict models, ratios, balance sheets, CVP analysis, ratios, ethics, trend analysis, income statements, oh... did I mention RATIOS?! *sigh*

R.I.P White Stripes :(

February 4th, 2011 at 06:06 am

There's probably not many of you who are interested, but my most favourite band in the ENTIRE WORLD announced their split yesterday. I was devastated, but count myself lucky that I was able to see them live in 2005 (even if I can't remember much of it...)

On a positive note, I just transferred $388.05 into my car loan account, which is the total amount owing! Very exciting. I have been meaning to do that for months but kept putting it off. Slowly it worked itself down to a chunk that I don't mind parting with in one go, so I did it. Took the money out of our bills account, which had a bit of a surplus, so we won't even miss it.

That's $37 a week we won't have to spend now. (Rather, it's $37 we'll be saving for a new car in a few years...)

I got marks back for my first assignment ever. I got 62%. Not particularly happy, but there's nothing I can really do about it. The marker was not really helpful either, only writing two or three notes that had minor suggestions, so I guess this is a wakeup call that things will be tough for the next couple of years. Would be nice to have a few more suggestions on what to do better though.... I need to get 19% on my test to pass this subject (the exam and assignment are equally weighted at 50%). This subject is not an accounting subject, but it IS a core subject (management - organisational behaviour) so I have to pass it, or do it again.

Have not gotten marks back for my accounting subject assignment. It was a group assignment, but I think we did REALLY well. I am afraid I am getting my hopes up - but I think we did well enough to get 90% on the assignment. It accounts for 25% of marks, the exam is 50% and I have done three online tests, one was worth 5% (I got 81% for this), and two were 10% of total marks (I got 80% for one and 20% for another - I was not prepared for the last as they changed the test date). I think I have a high chance of passing, but am really going to spend the weekend studying like a fiend so that I have the best chance possible. I do not want to spend money doing a subject again.

Monday are my exams, Tuesday I am catching up with a friend in the afternoon. Wednesday I am going to the BEACH! because it is disgustingly hot and I haven't been to the beach in about a year, even though I work five minutes away from it and live 20 minutes away. I have a lot planned for the couple of weeks break between semesters, but am looking forward to it nonetheless.

We have a friends birthday next weekend, then giving blood monday, getting married tuesday, seeing a friend before she moves the following saturday, staying at DF's sisters Saturday night to spend time with our new niece.

I also want to:
- organise my desk for Semester 1
- do some gardening
- sort out our life insurance, organise car insurance
- spring clean the house
- mail out post-wedding party invitations

Also, I have to do up a business plan, and research what DF and I have to do. We are starting a floor sanding business this year. We already have business assets available to apply for a loan for cash flow, advertising, apprentice wages for startup costs etc.
Anyone have any tips on starting a business? I have been through all of this before with my family (the startup of a business), but now it's just us, any additional information is always welcome and appreciated. Smile

Haven't been here for a while

February 2nd, 2011 at 02:24 am

Life just seems busy at the moment.
My exams are less than a week away. I am hoping I get my results back for my assignments before I head into the tests, knowing where I stand will give me more focus. I think I have done reasonably well on both of them - but then again, this is my first time at uni so I am not sure of the standard. What I think to be good, could be just passable to them. But I am hoping that the assignment marks contribute a lot to my overall marks. It will take the pressure off the exam, anyways.

Getting married in less than two weeks. We have booked the hall for the post-celebration party (on May 2st) and will be sending out invitations in the next week or two. We have had offers from friends to contribute food-wise, which is great. I would not ask for contributions, but if they offer, we will accept Smile.

I have decided to take only one subject for the next semester. The wedding/marriage celebration party/whatever you want to call it will take up some time, but also DF and I are meant to be organising a plan to start our own business through February. It is mainly all on DF, workwise - there is not a great deal I can do other than bookwork or customer service, but the financial side of things will take some preparation and planning, and I am sure it will take up a lot of time in the next few months.

We finally traded in our rewards points for our credit card and got 2 x $200 GC's. DF is saving his for a PS3. I will be buying neccesity clothes for the year, in the hope that I don't have to buy anything else until the next GC roll around.

DF hasn't had a lot of work lately, so our bank balance buffer is getting low. It's worrying, but there's not a lot we can do. Because he works for his dad, any spare days he *could* be working somewhere else, he is doing quotes, servicing machinery etc, stuff that he doesn't get paid for.

On the positive note, Aldi is definately saving a lot on our grocery bills which is nice. In a weeks time I will be making a time to see my bank about switching our life insurance to a different policy, which will save us money but not impact our cover.

I'm also going to make an appointment to give blood in the next two weeks, which is something I've never done before. Kind of exciting!