whitestripe

DH doesn't have a lot of work lined up for the next two weeks (and has already had a week off, save for a small 6 hour job), so for the first time ever he's actually been extremely motivated to hold the garage sale we've talked about having since we moved in (two years ago...).

My DH is a bit of a hoarder. He reckons he's not, but his motto is 'if I can use it at some stage, some day, possibly... then we should keep it, we have room after all!'
Yeah, right. That 'room' we had (the entire basement) is full of crap. I'm sorry, I meant useful stuff *cough*. I have a few items to sell as well.

DH wants to sell our coffee table though. He made it about five years ago and I love it. It's solid hardwood with a parquetry top that you can play chess on. When he said he wants to sell it and use another one he has (that's in the basement somewhere) I said I wanted to keep it because everyone always comments on it when they enter our house, it looks nice, and also he MADE it. He says he doesn't want it BECAUSE he made it.

Oh well. I guess we have to learn to let go. And I suppose I shouldn't be trying to make him keep it - after all he does have a bit of a problem with that anyway! Why am I discouraging him!?

I remember when my dad & stepmum had a garage sale years and years ago. I was about 13. My stepmum gently suggested my dad sell a few of his records (he has... oh... a few thousand...). After much thought and sorting he emerged with an entire milk crate, with about 20 he was willing to let go.
He told me later, that when someone flicked through the crate and picked up a record for a closer look, my dad felt his stomach clench when he realised he just wasn't that ready to let it go. At that exact moment, the mans daughter threw a tantrum, distracting him. My dad whisked the milk crate away and put it back in the house

I just checked my account and my tax refund has been cleared. Yay! That means DH's will go through tomorrow.

(I had done mine and looked at the pile of reciepts for DH's and decided to post-pone it to the next night. And thank goodness, it took me nearly an hour!)

I have been inspired again reading Ceejays blog to start a short and sweet health kick regime. Even though we *are* much healthier right now than a month ago (and even then - we were much healthier than a lot of people we know!) I have found I haven't budged any weight that I wanted to. I blame winter, studying, lack of energy etc etc. But, I only have about five weeks until TTC and even though some would think it's pointless (seeing as, well, I'll probably be putting on a lot more weight in the 9 months after...!) I still want to be as fit and healthy as I possibly can before pregnancy.

My aim is to take the dogs for a longer than usual walk/run (around an hour) on a different walking track. This one has a few hilly areas and gives me a bit of a workout. I'm hoping to do that five days a week, one day of rest and one day of yoga. Also hoping to slip a few sessions of boxing in there too, but that's only a maybe, depends on the time.

Diet-wise, I have cut out drinking coffee during the week, and only drink one or two cups on the weekend. This is for a few reasons: firstly sometimes I get weird heart palpitations, sweats and shakes when I have a cup of coffee (I haven't gotten them since I stopped, a few months ago). Also, because obviously I won't be drinking coffee while I'm pregnant, so this is me weaning . And lastly, because DH had to give up drinking, I figured I'd do something too.

You should have seen us the first night! Sitting down to dinner, It went something like this:
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DH: Can't I just start this tomorrow? I've had a long hard day working with dad and I want a glass of wine.

Me: What! No! If you do that, then tomorrow you'll say the same thing, then the next day, and the next, then there won't be any point at all. And besides, I haven't had a coffee all day and my head feels like it's about to implode. So you CAN'T have a wine.

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Continuing on the diet discussion, I haven't quite figured it out actually. But I'm thinking along the lines of a few weeks eating steamed vegetables, brown rice, soups etc. Might have one day in there to relax a little and eat something naughty. But for the most part I want to eat fresh unprocessed organic food, mostly vegetables. Minimal dairy. Extremely reduced sugar intake (probably only my 'free' day). Etc Etc. We'll see how I go. It's so difficult trying to study though, with low energy levels. I find my concentration wanes a lot. Now I understand why my old flatmate used to eat 1kg of lollies every week - the sugar keeps you UP. lol.

We are thinking of going to Greazefest on Sunday ( www.greazefest.com ). It is a 1950's car/fashion/style/hotrod/music themed festival that we've wanted to go to for a few years and finally we have the weekend spare when it's on! Exciting. But, we are still deciding, because the day will probably cost $100+ ($25 each entry, petrol to get there, food etc). And DH is just about to spend a bit of money on some screenprinting paint and a bulk lot of blank tshirts. We have a friend who operates an art studio who has offered to sell some of DH's designs.

Even though we're about to embark on running the flooring business ourselves with less input from DH's dad, I think DH wants to find a way to make money without having to do physically draining work, use chemicals, and deal with pedantic clients. (Unfortunately the clients can't be helped, DH's dad runs a premium flooring business that is unlike the subcontracted ones you hire out from a carpet shop who do a usually sub-par job.)

It's been over a month since I last posted, sorry everyone. I have missed SA, and I find I think about a lot of you sometimes. Even though I've never met any of you, you all feel like my extended family. I've tried explaining this to DH once before, and he doesn't really understand. (I suppose, we do use the 'imagine-everyone-you-don't-know-on-the-internet-is-a-huge-fat-guy-sitting-in-his-underwear' example with my little sister when she decides to not use her brain and adds strangers on facebook, myspace, etc).

I see there are lots of newbies here too, welcome! (I was, once upon a time, a 'regular', however it seems I don't get time to scratch let alone write a blog post, and when I do, I find I don't have much content, so I delete it! I'm determined to post this one though.

So, for about a year now I've completely stopped recording our expenditure/earnings etc. The organisational freak in me sometimes has a spin-out and panics a little bit. I did think, about six months ago, that I felt like I had no idea where we were with our savings and expenditure. I feel like I'm walking on a tightrope very high with no safety harness. However, the bank account begs to differ. It seems that once we relaxed a bit with our financial situation, it did the world of good. Perhaps recording everything isn't for us; maybe doing that meant we had more binges and blowouts because we both always felt like we were pinching pennies. Whatever the reason, our bank balance is almost at where it was when we first bought our house and had a bonza of additional funds from settlement. Basically, the EF I've always stressed about having, is actually there for once.

We just submitted our tax returns for the 10-11 financial year too, and are getting a nice $2300 back. Where is it going? Savings, of course.

I passed my last subject, LAW1101. I'm now about to start my third week of STA2300 (data analysis) and CIS1000 (business information system concepts). I'm actually liking them a lot! Having been met with looks of horror and pity when telling people one of my next subjects was data analysis, I think I'm now shocking people even more by telling them I'm enjoying it. But... someone has to right? And if I didn't like it a tiny bit, then why the heck would I be studying accounting anyway?

I've been applying for a couple of jobs a week. So far, no luck, but I'm waiting on three recent applications I submitted. Fingers crossed!

On the current job front, well, things are still the same level of frustrating. Atleast ALL the staff are frustrated, and at the same person (our boss, and his wife). In some way, that makes it bearable. We are able to joke an whine to each other about it, and pretty much everyone is in some stage of looking for a new job.
Our boss seems to be doing a whole lot more lying lately, and is intent on talking himself (and his wife) up on the social status ladder. He goes through stages of doing annoying things. Lately it's this.
I am not the type of person that cares about what someone earns, how big their boat is, what car they drive, how prestigious their house location is, etc. But, I have to listen to my boss talk about his friends in this way. It actually makes me a little sad, as I've realised lately that I don't know his friends names, what they're like, what they do in their spare time (other than sail their yacht around), how well they get along with their spouse, if they're funny, or a little weird, or their quirks etc. When I talk about my friends, that is what I talk about. I talk about THEM. I've also caught him lying outright (to a customer he didn't even know, who happened to have a bank uniform on) about how his wife is a bank manager. First of all, she hasn't worked at a bank in about two years. Secondly, she approved loans, she was never a manager.
Little things like this, EVERY DAY, begin to drive a person insane.

That, and the wife still hasn't apologised for yelling at me after I told her my sister couldn't work because she was in hospital. So, I'm not really a happy chappy at work right now.

In other income-related news, DH's dad is partly handing his business over to us in a few months while he moves interstate to help his parents (DH's grandparents) fix up their house. Before that happens, I am working with our accountant to turn it into a company. I think eventually DH's dad will retire and hand the business over to us. Things are actually going alright in that section of our lives, for once. Normally it is all sorts of hell with the family's business, but not right now.

My little sister was diagnosed with PCOS last week. I am not really sure how they picked it up because she does not exhibit any appearance related signs (hirsutism, obesity, acne etc) but atleast she knows at a young age and can learn to cope with it now.

Tomorrow will be DH's third week of not drinking alcohol. He has struggled with it, but it is for a good cause. We decided long ago that when we wanted to conceive we would stop all drinking and unhealthy habits, for atleast two months before initially trying. So that is another bit of exciting news: we hope that by the end of the year we'll be pregnant. I'm hopeful, anyway. We're both relatively young and so we hope it shouldn't be too difficult, but have known people who have struggled, so at the same time we're not overly confident that it will be something that happens straight away. We'll see.
My sister having PCOS has made me worry a little bit. I'm not sure if it's something that is genetic? Should I be checked for something like that?

What else? Our dogs are well. I actually took them for their yearly check up and was told they are too fat! So, I have begun to feed them slightly less dry food and take them for walks more often. I did slack a bit with the walks during my exam preparation in June. They seem to have lost a little already (it's been a bit over a month).

I think that is all of my news. I have not had much time to scroll through everyone's regular blogs - so feel free to leave me a little update of what's been happening in your life lately in the comments section!

I am not dead, I have just not had the time or energy (or motivation) to blog, or think about money.

Things seem to be going well and our bank account is looking healthier than it has in about six months. Which is nice.

I finished my Law subject last week and had the final exam. I think I actually did well. I hope I am not being overconfident with this one, as last time I thought I did terribly and recieved a Credit for one, and a Distinction for another. Still am not sure how I managed that.

I enrolled in my next two subjects, starting 20th July. They are: Data Analysis & Business Information Concepts. Data Anaylis, ick. But, I am kind of looking forward to the BIC subject. I think it may help me get a job, more so than now anyway. I have to shell out around $350 for textbooks and supplies in the next few weeks. Better start looking for things to sell on Ebay!!! Unfortunately I have already looked, and there is no way I can buy these used or second hand, as they come with computer programs I need. To buy the programs separately, it is nearly the same price! Pfft. What a rip.

I heard back from three out of the four jobs I applied for a month or two ago. Didn't even get an interview for any of them. The one I haven't heard from, well, I'm assuming they just aren't letting people know they were unsuccesful.

I applied for two more the other day. Already heard back about one (no interview) and still waiting on another. *Sigh*. There are SO many people looking for jobs. Oh well. Atleast I am in the position of actually HAVING a job as I am looking for one. That is a luxury I am sure not many job-seekers out there have at the moment.

I heard that a woman who advertised for a receptionist, recieved 410 applications. Just for a little office in town. So, that gives me some idea of what I'm competing against!

As I mentioned in my previous post, we had a lot of help with our wedding party. Mainly family but also a few friends contributed too. They were happy to, but I also wanted to get a few thankyou gifts. One couple are notoriously hard to buy for as they have everything they could possibly ever want. For that reason, I was thinking of going with a nice bag of freshly ground organic coffee. For others I was going to go along the lines of chocolate, more coffee and for a few who are mothers, a natural bath soak concoction. I am running out of ideas though, and DH is never the one to ask about these things, he just shrugs his shoulders and says he doesn't know. Any ideas??

Our 'Wedding Party' is over, done and dusted! It turned out to be a very fabulous night and 70-ish guests all said they enjoyed themselves greatly.

My dad, stepmum and little sister boarded their plane back to Victoria today and now I'm sitting at home by myself, waiting for DH to get home so we can make dinner.

There were a few stressful moments leading up to do with family, but in the end everyone behaved themselves and got along, which we were very thankful for.

It rained during the night but was misty and grey for the photogrpahs. I can't wait to see them, I think they are going to look amazing. It suits DH and I as we love that grey, rainy, wintery weather, so we are SOOO pleased that the day was like that, and the backdrop to our outside photographs will have gorgeous mountain ranges with misty air!

And so now it's time to tally up our costs. Probably the only place where people are interested in the money we *saved* on an event like this, is here!

Costs:
Spanish Paella: $1225.00
Other Food: $80.00
Drinks: $82.63
Hall Hire: $150.00
My clothes: $175.90
Accessories: $34.40
DH Clothes: $172.40
Wedding Favours: $14.50
Tableware: $87.69
Canvas: $24.95
Total Cost: $2047.47

We had friends & family chip in/provide for free some items:
- cake
- honeymoon stay (2 nights hotel accomodation & breakfast)
- hair styling
- hall decorations
- champagne
- photography

and recieved $2000 in cash & $100 in GC's. I'm depositing it in the bank tomorrow. Of course money isn't the reason we decided to throw a party - but money WAS the reason we decided to have a party INSTEAD of a fully blown wedding, so in a way I am really relieved at the outcome. We do have the money to cover the costs (otherwise, we would not have organised it!) but it is nice to know that money can now be absorbed and/or go into savings.

June will mark the start of a ruthless savings plan! We need two new cars and want to start organising some failry major renovations to our house, so it means hard work & not much play. Or at least, cheap play!

My exam is June 16th, I have a lot of study to do over the next three and a half weeks! Then a bit of a break before I am back into it again. Eeep. Would love to have the summer semester off, but I think I will do an extra subject over the break to make myself feel better for only doing one this semester.

From my dads side for our wedding present, we were given a Stephanie Alexander gardening/cookbook which is about 2000 pages of gardening tips and instructions, and recipes for once the produce has been grown, and is *amazing*, as well a piece of artwork my late grandfather completed in 1951, a sketch of the Irish countryside he made when he was travelling with my late grandmother. It is something that not only has huge financial value but is most importantly a piece of my grandfather that I will never let go and treasure for our lives. I think DH also feels as though this was a huge welcome to the family gesture. We are going to get it framed shortly.

In other news, I have discovered some paypal/credit card fraud. Only around $120 worth, in five small payments (so weird!), but it makes me feel uneasy. I have deleted my details from paypal, which will be a pain in the future but makes me feel better. I have changed all passwords and security details for paypal, emails and banks. Argh.

I don't think I could have enjoyed working at my current place any less, but it has happened. I now officially *hate* my workplace. Wow. What a week!

First of all, I went into work with my friend (who also works there) so that she could drop something off, on a day when I was not working (it was a public holiday, I am too expensive to pay to work on those days, so I don't get any hours, and no pay either). My boss & his wife were there. While I was standing there, minding my own business, boss's wife came up to me and starting raving on about two plastic plates that were in a drawer out the front of the shop. Apparently, she had put them out the back, and they had been moved back out the front. She requested that I please inform all the staff members that if she finds them, or any other 'useless crap' out there, that she will throw it out. Why *I* am required to do this is beyond me, and to be talking to me on my day off? Uh, I don't get paid enough to deal with that kind of BS. (excuse me).

So then on Friday I have to call her to tell her my little sister could not work her shift the next day. At the time, I am giving her 24 hours notice exactly. My sister by this time, has been in hospital for two days. I do not want to discuss why, but she nearly died. So yes, I am not in the mood for anyone else's problems. My sister is 15 and works a 5 hour shift. She's a casual junior and has NO obligation to her employers for ANYTHING, technically speaking. She does not get holiday or sick pay etc, so does not have to divulge why she cannot work on certain days, etc.

So I call this woman to tell her my sister cannot work tomorrow. 'Why?!' She says. 'I can't discuss that with you.' I say. 'Well! I need to know why!' She says again. Again, I tell her I can't discuss it with her. 'Well, I'm GOING to need to KNOW WHY, this has really put ME in a lurch, you know. You are giving me NO notice...' she raves on. 'She's in hospital. If you want to call to make sure, that's fine.' I tell her. All of a sudden, she starts yelling at me. 'You don't have to get SHIRTY with me, you know, she could want to go to a PARTY or something. That's all you needed to say, that she was in hospital.' (seriously? wtf? My sister has NEVER taken time off to go to a party, never been late, never been hungover on the job or ill-fit to work for any reason. She has actually never even had a day off). I tell her that I did not want to, or need to, tell her or discuss it with her, that it was personal information and she did not require that knowledge. She carried on shouting for a moment, then says that's fine. She will work something out, somehow. (Like I care? NOT my problem?!)

She then has the gall to ask if I'm ok! By this stage, I have nearly hung up on her twice. I'm ready to throw my phone, or scream, or resign. I am nearly crying. I tell her I am quite fine, and terminate the conversation.

The next day, she sends me a text message. It reads:

' Hi Whitestripe. Feel bad about our conversation yesterday. Let me know if (my sister) needs any more time off or if there is anything I can do to help. '


I am with my friend/colleague at the time, and she reads it too. We are both gobsmacked at the fact that this is clearly meant to be some kind of apology, with the absence of anything that resembles 'I'm sorry'. It does not even say *I* feel bad. It just says 'feel bad'.

My sister quit yesterday (Partly due to the fact she will not be able to work for a few weeks, but also partly because my boss's wife scares her, and she hates working there). Can't say I blame her!

I feel as though she will call me at some stage. I did not reply to her text message.
On one hand, I know I should be careful of what I say. I do need a job to pay the bills. I suppose we would be alight for a few months if I were to get fired, but I don't want that. On the other hand, I feel as though I should say *something*. I do not believe the way she spoke to me was acceptable. I am not a student at school. She is not my mother. I am sure somewhere it states that it is not technically legal to talk to someone like that? Surely? She spoke to me as though I was a child that needed discipline. I just don't really get how someone can think it is appropriate behaviour. She seems to think she is the greatest person on Earth, because she owns a bakery. Sigh.

Anyway, that is the end of my rant.

In other news, I have heard back from two places - did not get an interview for both. But am still waiting to hear back from two more. I would be happy with working for either, so keep fingers crossed for me. I fear I may just explode in a fiery ball of rage very soon at work. It is just almost too much to take sometimes.

I mean, who YELLS at someone after they tell them their sister is in hospital? It's not like I said she was at Disneyland! Urgh.

- for those that were wondering, my sister is doing alright. Will be able to return to school next week. Scared the hell out of everyone. She is now living back with her mum too.

I have been trying to sell some things on eBay lately. Have made a little money, but everytime I sell on there, something goes wrong. Why are my customers always the fussy ones that expect their parcel to have arrived last week? Excuse me, it's Easter! You must be mad if you expect your item to arrive on time!

I bought a skirt which *hopefully* goes with the rest of the outfit I have planned for the wedding party. We just have to find something for DH now. Fingers crossed my items arrive in time. (and that they FIT!)

I have lost a little weight. Really, it is just losing weight that I had gained over the past few months. My teenage sister being around eating all the time means that somehow I will find myself eating when I probably shouldn't be!

So, now the hard part begins where I lose the weight I actually want to lose, not the extra weight I shouldn't have put on in the first place! Gah!

I have finally finally finally done all the paperwork to change our superannuation funds over. Will now be saving $65 a month in insurance costs, and hopefully making more money on our superannuation (retirement) as well, as this fund has better rates.

We have done a bit of de-cluttering lately. I seem to be in the mood for it. Sorted through all my clothes and got rid of about four shopping bags full. Have a few to sell on eBay, but DH will use the unsellable (read: trashed) clothes as rags. Also got rid of appliances that don't work, a whole heap of junky craft items that I will never use, and an assortment of other stuff that basically was taking over my office space. Feels so good to get rid of clutter! Our house is slowly forming into something that can be called 'adult family' rather than 'bunch of twentysomething room-mates sharing a house'.

We have DH's aunt & uncle staying with us for a weekend, end of April. This will definately spur us into more cleaning as well. DH has a lot to do. I know we're married & have been together for 8 years, etc etc, but I still believe he should put away his own clothes & sort out his own paperwork! NOT my job! Alas, he will have to get a move on, because the spare room is covered in boxes of his paperwork and knick-knacks.

I have five days off in a row this weekend (Friday through to Tuesday). So will hopefully get in a few full days of study, one or two of tidying, and maybe one to just hang out with friends and relax!

Oh, and of course, job search! Now that I am able to and have willing referees, I seem to be stalling myself. I don't know why. I guess now there's nothing holding me back except, well, ME. It's my own fault if I can't find another decent job, and my own fault if I don't even try. *sigh*. And I'm scared! Working at the same place for 5 years makes you very comfortable. Time to step out of my comfort zone, I guess...

Though, in preparation I *did* buy some nice interview/office-job shirts. So I guess that's something. Bought one on sale for $10 and another with a gift card. Sheesh, looking at corporate-wear makes me realise what I miss out on. I love corporate wear, but I only have one day a week where I can wear it - and I don't really even have to. I could wear my pajamas and my boss wouldn't bat an eyelid. Sooo many cute shirts...! Anyway. Won't get ahead of myself. Don't have a job yet to wear them to, let alone pay for the shirts, and will probably be provided with my own uniform. Sigh.

Time for an update.

We have been getting most of our RSVP's for our wedding party. It looks like the ones we expected not to come, aren't coming (which is actually a relief because we invited too many).

We also got our first contribution to our wishing well, from my aunt and uncle who cannot make it. They sent us a $100 check.

Today I plan to buy some thankyou cards, and send them one today. Thankfully the stationery we used for the invitations have a matching thankyou card, so that will be easy.

What is the etiquette on check-cashing? This amount will be going to our baby fund... but do I wait, and deposit it, say, the day after our wedding party?

I have done away with the idea of a dress, and ordered myself a new steel-boned corset:



which I'm hoping to find either a black/red 50's style swing skirt to wear with, or a plain dress to go underneath. I already have shoes & jewellery so in the end it's a lot cheaper to do it this way. All I really need other than a skirt is some stockings. My only issue is whether it gets here in time, as it is being shipped from the uk. :S My other option is to buy one from a store in the city. It is a LOT more expensive that way. DH is opting for a waistcoat instead of a traditional suit.

I have my 3rd online test for my law subject due this week. after that, one more online test and the exam!

I have worked out, if I do another 3 subjects this year I will have done 6. If I can keep that up, I can achieve my degree in 4 years instead of 6. I think it's possible even with adding children into the equasion. We will see.

I talked to my boss & his wife about job searching. I don't have any past references any more, as the last two places closed down. So, I had to ask. They were rather shocked at the possibility of my leaving (I did say I was looking for part-time work outside of my normal working hours - but if I was unable to find this, then my qualifications lay in office administration, so that would be where my search would end up if all else fails. They have brains, and realised office admin equals 9-5 work, which doesn't suit what I'm doing now without changes.)

Basically they told me they are thinking of letting go of another staff member (one that I, and others, have had problems before with. she does not make it easy for herself, let's put it that way). And that if they could get a commitment from me for 12 months, they would look into doing that, and giving myself and other staff members more hours. I of course, did NOT give my commitment.

So, now I REALLY need to find another job. I do not want to be responsible for someone else losing their job. Thoughts?

I did get permission to use them as a reference. They think it is for part-time work, but she also did mention, very early on in the conversation, before any talk of firing other staff, that she understands if I find something that fits in with my studies, career-wise. So, that is a load off my mind and gives me a bit more confidence in my resume. I have begun scoping the adverts already.

I started looking in earnest for jobs on the weekend - and not just low level customer service jobs. I decided to look at government jobs, council jobs, hospital administration, banking etc etc. I figured there must be some sort of entry level job I'm qualified for (I have several administration certifications...).
There are heaps!

And now I am in a bit of a dilemma. I've found one that sounds like it was made for me:

Financial Planners Assistant at (Big 4) Bank, part-time, must be database & word processer proficient. Suited to someone studying finance (their exact words) or looking for an entry level banking job.

Anyway. So the dilemma is, that is a job that I would LOVE. It would allow me to work my way up and help me on some levels with my studies.

However, we've decided to have a baby next year. I can't with good conscience start a job as an assistant to someone if I knew I would be leaving next year. And it would rule out my chances of working for the copany again, methinks. I don't really want to put off starting a family either - if I start a new job like this, I won't want to leave it after one or two years, so that rules that out.

Anyway. I guess I just have to hope that a position makes itself available when I'm ready to go back to work in two years time or so.

There are others out there, but this one seemed to sing a song to me, lol.

My second dilemma is... Well. It's not really a dilemma. It is just making me nervous, so I have been putting it off for a few days.

I have realised that it's probably fair to tell my employers I'm looking for a job. But I also realised I could give them a chance to offer me something, if they think I'm valuable enough. Either that, or it will help them focus on their OTHER staff members, all of whom feel as though they are being treated like crap at the moment. I figure this conversation can only have good outcomes, no matter how ugly it will be.

What I intend to do first, is ask them if I can use them as a reference. She will then ask 'You're not leaving are you?' (Which is what she said when I told her I had started studying). I then plan to tell her that I honestly don't know, it depends what I can find. Depending on how that goes, I planned to tell her that of what I've looked at, there are a lot of office jobs. I also intend to slip in a few things about pay (seeing as I am underpaid for the work I do). I expect that she will probably shoot back about how they have 'given me' more hours when I 'needed it', of which I will remind her that the only reason I was 'given' those hours were because another staff member left and that if they had not, I would not have been 'given' the extra hours.

That is all I can think of at this stage. I am one of the only staff members that does not mind talking to her - she is extremely blunt and has no people skills. I can be very honest, and don't really care what people think of me, so we manage to have a good conversation where another might be bawling

The biggest problem I have with her is that she always has to remind us staff of how 'good' they are to us - when most of the time, it is only when it suits them. And the psychological mind-games annoy me as well - they will cut your hours, and then 'give you' one extra shift two weeks later, and stand there waiting for you to jump up and down and say thankyou.

Sigh!

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In other news, I fell asleep on the couch listening to my Law lecture on my iPhone yesterday! :S

The 50's housewife themed babyshower was great. I went yesterday. I love it when there is a dress up theme for a party and everyone actually goes to the lengths to dress up for it! I have been to a few babyshowers in my time and it was definately THE best I have been to. I can't stand the really terrible games like eating baby-food blindfolded, etc. I get that these events have to have those types of things (mostly) but please! No one wants pureed corn & pear on their dress!!!

DH and I are thinking of starting a family soon, and these things make me even more clucky. I have always wanted to have children, and being around people with kids, kids birthday parties, babyshowers, pregnant people, etc has always made me go 'awwh... one day'. But now that it's a decision we've made for the very near future, it seems the cluckiness bubbles over sometimes (and even DH said the same thing - nice to know it's not just me. & I think that is a sign we are both ready for the next stage!). Still annoys me when people ask the baby question though - none of your goddam business!

Wedding party updates:

Only 6-7 weeks away now and I have typically done NOTHING organisation wise. I know, I'm fantastic.

However, we have these things sorted out:
- Hall booked ($150)
- Main meal booked, deposit paid ($246 paid, $1056 to pay)
- Alcohol organised & paid for (FREE thanks to DH's uncle & auntie)
- Entree partially organised (various friends & family bringing so far: bruschetta, toasted turkish pide & dips, homemade vegetarian samosas, salmon & cream cheese/spinach & ricotta pastry twirls, mini quiche, cupcakes).
- Cake organised (FREE thanks to my best friend)
- Music organised (iPod playlists)
- Hair (FREE thanks to a friend who is doing it in return for posting pictures on her vintage hairstyling blog)
- Some decorations (MIL is preparing succulent plants in terracota bowls for tables instead of flowers)
- Photography (we have several friends with amazing photography skills & hugely expensive equipment - why bother paying someone else?)
- post-wedding 'honeymoon' (DH's uncle owns a hotel)

When I say I have these things organised, what I really mean is that people have come to us and offered their services/money etc. I had no part in sourcing any of this So when people look at all the things that are going into this party, it appears to be a lot. It is a lot more than I would have planned myself, but then again, I didn't plan any of it. Unlike many other brides, I have taken a backseat in all of this. I don't really mind what happens - it is after all, NOT a wedding. We are already married. It is just a party to celebrate it - a very, very post reception, I guess.

Only things I have to organise now are table cloths & chair coverings (Do I even need chaircoverings? what a waste of money...) and our clothes. No, I don't have a dress. I like the idea of dressing up for events, but when the time comes, I can't be bothered. DH loves dressing up for things. So, I am trying to put in the effort of finding something unique to us. I hope to wear the dress again. I have so far come up with these (which I can wear again to conventions):





What do you think?

I got results back for my first two tests for my law subject - 70% and 80%. So far, so good. Could have done better... but I am passing with a credit so far, which is good! I have two more online tests and the final exam to do.

I have tickets to see the Dalai Lama which is smack bang in the middle of the exam period - seeing as I only have one subject to do an exam for, and the exam period is two weeks, I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is NOT on this day. I also have a booking on the last day of the exam period too! Why! Anyway, with luck, it will all work out.

DH and I have made the decision to go back to buying organically grown fruit and veg - where possible. It is just something that we both feel strongly about. We decided to also begin reducing our portion sizes of meals too - so in the end, it will probably work out to be comparative in price anyway. Only thing is I get immediately tired at the thought of going to the market, lugging around heavy bags of produce. So instead I'm trialling a health food store that's local. It has been around for years, and a family member actually worked there a while ago. I have not been there in 10 years - but it's pretty much the same.

To be honest, most of the prices are very much the same that we would pay in a supermarket (that I have been paying, anyway - prices have been ridiculous since the floods...). $3.50 for a head of lettuce, 90c for a bundle of green beans, $1.50 for a bag of carrots. etc etc. Actually, some produce is cheaper because it is local, and much fresher. Produce prices have risen tremendously in the past few months - bananas are $12.99 a kilogram right now. Have not eaten one in about a month!

On the weekend I'm going to a babyshower for a friend. We are supposed to dress up as 50's housewives. I have put together some of my own clothes and think I can get by without having to purcahse anything. I have a black dress that flares from the hips & a polka dot shirt that I was going to wear over it & tie at the waist, and a headscarf. Any other ideas???

Yesterday I applied online for a supermarket chain, check-out operator job. It was just a general application - I do not know if there are any positions available, but I pretty much put that I am available for any work (full-time, part-time, casual). I can work out the kinks later, if I do happen to get a call. They are supposed to call if there is anything fitting in with what I'm applying for. I guess I should probably start looking at office-ey type jobs too. I have had a break from those types of jobs since school (save for my book-keeping job) and I guess it might be time to change back. We'll see.

The hard part is... do I tell my current boss that I'm looking? Do I ask them to be referees? (The last two places I worked before this, five years ago, have gone out of business). I don't think I would get fired straight away if they were to know I intend on leaving... but you never know. And what if I can't find anything, then they'll know I want to leave. Argh. How annoying. I hate job hunting.

I've never had to have this conversation before in the past. Each time I've left a workplace, I've had another job lined up, and had only been employed on a casual basis, with the knowledge that I wasn't a hugely integral part of the business anyway (that they could get by quite fine without me).

Not that I don't think my current place wouldn't survive without me - it's just that my boss flips out when anything happens regarding shortages of staff, such as someone being sick or two staff going on holidays at the same time. He freaks out and gets emotional, saying things like 'Oh my god, I don't know how we'll cope' etc etc. I can just imagine it will be like that - and I feel like that should NOT be my problem, and I shouldn't have to hear about it either. (*if* I was a mean person, I would probably say something like 'well, I guess now you'll have to hire a qualified person to do my job - looks like it's going to cost you about $5 extra an hour...' - but I'm not, and I won't. I don't need to say it for them to have to think it.)

Anyway. Sorry about my rambling! What are others experiences with leaving jobs/getting new jobs etc? How have things gone when you've told a long-term boss that you're leaving? What did you say? What did they say?

I did my first pamphlet drop this morning. I actually got up at 5.30 and DH wanted to help me. We drove to the area and started at 6.10am, finished by 7.20am (304 houses) I think we would have been done quicker if it had not been for a couple of double lapping of streets. Next time I will start earlier - it was overcast, but still hot, we were both dripping by the time we finished due to winter not quite starting. The folding took me about 45 minutes and I actually enjoy that part so I don't look at it as the work part. Everyone has been telling me it would take HOURS but really did not think it took as long as I thought. Anyway, only got $30 for it as there were only 3 types of pamphlets, you get more when there is more, obviously. The walk was GREAT though, up a lot of hills, we both got our heart rates up a bit. I am happy to do this purely for exercise with the added bonus of a few extra bucks (would not do it solely for the money, as I can get more elsewhere, for less effort). But for me sometimes with exercise that is a little strenuous I need to HAVE to do it, and this will help. I love yoga, pilates, spin, boxing could do that stuff for hours, but my motivation for more intense forms of exercise wanes after a half hour or so (or less).

Anyway, we cancelled out our good efforts and money earning by having breakfast out this morning

With my sister living with us, we have started to have breakfast out on the weekend when she is at mums. Paying for an extra person to have dinner out or takeaway really adds up, so we tend to have homecooked dinners completely during the week. She spends all of her weekly pay on McDonalds and junk food anyway (like an average teenager - even though I tell her every week not to) so I don't see why we should have to pay for her to have a takeaway meal as well!

It is nice to do stuff with DH on the weekends, we have started going to markets, galleries, community gatherings etc. I think DH appreciates the slow weekends now, because we normally have something on for three out of four.

Well, that's all my news for now. I submitted my first online test for my law subject. Time to get some studying out of the way this weekend. I feel like tidying our house up a bit, so I want to get the studying out of the way first!

I just got a call from the pamphlet delivery company, they have a fill in job for this weekend, and it is just down the road from me. She warned me that I won't get much from this job (probably about $30-$40)as there are only a few pamphlets per house to deliver, but I don't really mind. I don't expect much in the first few rounds because I know it's probably something you have to show that you're interested in it first before you get any good jobs. I also walk around the area anyway - it is like I am getting paid to do what I do anyway, except lug around a bag and maybe take an extra hour. *shrug* It's money that I wouldn't have earned anyway, so I'm happy!
I am debating whether to take Banjo or not. I would not take two dogs as it would be a hassle, and Banjo I can pick up if there is an aggresive dog nearby. I think maybe I might do this one drop by myself to check out the streets, and if I think it's safe I'll take him next time.

Anyway, kind of excited! The lady even drops the stuff off at my house for me, and the payment goes directly into our account. And the pamphlets get dropped off Thursdays, so I can get DH and my sister to help fold them I plan to try and do the drop at 5am, so it won't be full sun and there won't be many people out and about. A walk is always a good thing to start the morning with too.

DH and I were invited to a friends' going away party. She's really a friend of a friend as I don't know her well, but she's a lovely person. On her invitation, she wrote to bring a plate of food to share.

We took a plate of olives, artichoke hearts, cubed greek feta, some basil & cashew dip & a box of water crackers. (It was all I had in the fridge at the time, because we'd planned another outing for the next day and I didn't want to use up all the goodies for that day).

Another friend of a friend (who I've actually written about before, she's quite infuriating) contributed two packets of chocolate coated biscuits. She also bought along three kids. Wha...?

It just makes me annoyed on so many levels! You don't bring two packets of biscuits and FOUR people! Atleast this is pretty much all her kids ate, I guess that's something?

Which is another annoyance in itself, really. She then complains about how her two youngest don't sleep until 11pm-2am every night. Perhaps *gasp* you're feeding them a little too much sugar?

The youngest also threw several tantrums in the space of three hours. I know kids do this when they're young, of course, but all that sugar can't have helped either.

*sigh*

I'm in my second week of Commercial Law - my god it is SO boring at the moment. I feel like I am falling asleep reading about 1780's English Law! However, I've flipped ahead and it does get more interesting. And luckily none of the boring stuff is actually tested in the exam - only the online exams which are 10 questions, multiple choice, so, easy for me to get through atleast.

Over the past three or so months my skin seemed to get really bad and hasn't cleared up lately. Annoying really because it's always been pretty good to me. After a few months of trying a host of things to help (different skincare products, cutting things out of my diet, exercising, etc etc) I decided a trip to the doctor might help and she prescribed me with a course of antibiotics (doxycicline). I've never taken antibiotics before IN MY LIFE, so decided this one time it should be fine. I would never take them otherwise - don't quite agree with the idea that you should take them for everything, all the time. Doctors in Australia dish them out like lollies.
They have to be taken with food - third day of taking them I mistakenly thought a grapefruit was food enough, began feeling nauseous and had to go home three hours early! Was nice to be home early on a Friday, but sucks about less pay!

Today DH and I went to a local market in the arts centre of the area, and went to a new local gallery as well. Always good to see new art - it gets you thinking creatively and inspires you! Right now I should be studying, but feel like painting or drawing, darn it.

Went to breakfast out, and am hoping DH will come with me to check out a Sunday afternoon local music gig that is organised in the park every second week. The weathers not too great and our friends have piked on us though, so it doesn't look good.

DH and I were going to hold a garage sale soon, to sell some things we don't need that someone else might have a use for. I can almost SMELL the decluttering! Hoping to make a few bucks too, that would be nice.

In other money-making ventures, I have listed interest in delivering pamphlets to letterboxes in my local area. I can get between $50-$150 a week depending on the amount & drops I do, and the best part is I will be getting fit too. For starters I will be doing fill-in work, for when other walkers go away. They say generally you do 300 houses in a drop. I don't expect it to be easy, and for a small amount of pay, but I don't mind it too much if it means we are earning a little extra and I can fit it around other commitments. $50 a week is $2600 a year - $150 a week is $7800 a year. Either way, it's a little extra that can go towards textbooks, a new tv series on dvd, a book Ive been eyeing off etc etc. (but most likely, will just go to the mortgage! haha).

Went to the bank yesterday to change my name, and transfer my super fund, so that we can get our life insurance deducted from it and save us $60 a month in outgoings. This apparently means that you are asking to be berated about your lack of several types of insurance. *sigh*

She was not going to take no for an answer, so I let her print out some quotes. Apparently, the things we are insured against, which are pretty standard, are no longer enough. Currently we have:

Home & Contents Insurance
Life & TPD Insurance
CTP & Comprehensive Car Insuarance.

This roughly costs us $2500 a year. We're considering health insurance (for the extras & dental benefits) which will require we fork out another $800-$1200 a year.

That's approximately $3700 a year that we are shelling out on the idea of something maybe happening, at some stage, in our life. (If we saved what we spent on insurance, and considering the price increases each year, we'd have close to $40k in ten years. Wouldn't that be enough to cover most emergencies, anyway? Our health system is quite good)

But you see, we're underinsured. According to this woman, anyway. We should have Mortgage Insurance. And also Accident Insurance. If we don't, we have rocks in our heads. Lets not get into how I feel about insurance. What I found most amusing about the hour I spent in the bank with this woman, was the conversation we had and her realisation that *gasp* I don't rely on Hubby to pay the bills. She was typing away, looking at the screen, calculating a quote for me.

Her: 'So we'll do $300 000'.

Me: 'But we only owe less than $290 000, and I'd be perfectly fine with half that anyway. In the event we take out this insurance, and in the event that something happened to either of us, we'd be perfectly capable of paying for half or more.'

Her: 'Yes, but this is for your mortgage'

Me, confused, obviously? 'Errm.... I know?'

She dismisses me: 'So anyway, we'll do $300 000'.

So she calculates the quote. It's the cheapest insurance, she tells me, and the most worthwhile. $84 a month, for the both of us. Well, actually, that's the most expensive insurance we would have, if we were to get it...

I try to explain: 'Well, you see, the reason we're changing our super funds to here, is so that we can get our life insurance taken out of it, thereby reducing our monthly outgoing expenses. Getting another insurance policy that costs more, is not what I had in mind today'.

'Ok, well we'll reduce the amount from $300 000 to $250 000. You really should have this insurance, what if something happened, heaven forbid, to your new Hubby, how would you pay the mortgage? Maybe you should just insure Hubby then?'

'Well, actually, he's not working a lot right now. Actually he hasn't really worked for the past... hmmm... six months? So that would be a bit redundant, seeing as I am the main income earner at this stage.'

Shocked, she looks rather taken aback: 'Why not?!'

'He's a tradesman, it's typically slow this time of year, even more slower due to the economic climate. And in the event that we're both working, each of us earns enough, or can earn enough - in the event I can't work, DH has several opportunities to work outside his specialised trade, that can cover the mortgage and bills if need be. That's why I'm not really sure we need this at all, really.'

Now it's her turn to look confused. I am sure she is thinking How Odd! She pauses for a moment before looking slightly smug with herself: 'But what about when you have a family? Hubby will definately be the main income worker then.'

'Well, no, not neccesarily.'

'What?' Again, utterly shocked. I beging to tire of the conversation. I'm not getting anywhere, I've been here for an hour, all I want is to change my name!

'Nevermind. Sure, just give me the quotes and we'll think about it.'

Dear god, does this woman not realise it's no longer 1952? There was even a segment on television the other day about the increasing amount of SAHD's. It is NOT a foreign concept here, believe me!

Anyway, I was thinking about MonkeyMama for the whole last half of my visit to the bank.

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.



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

Thanks everyone for all the congratulatory messages on my last post 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 . (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.

My best friend is making the cake for us 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.

------------------

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. And I sure have written enough anyway...

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!

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*

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.

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 .

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!

Everyone has gone crazy panic buying. There is no fuel at any service stations, except reserves for emergency vehicles. There was word that trucks might have been delayed with the flood (they either were for a few hours, or had half-stock deliveries which wasn't too bad), so it seems like everyone has decided they need to go and fill their houses with food for some irrational reason. I have enough petrol to last me til Sunday or Monday, I filled up my tank yesterday but unfortunately with three trips to work and back, it will use all that up pretty swiftly (My tank is small, obviously).
(Note: I would have a different opinion had I been living in some of the worser off parts of Queensland, but I live in a part that was only very minimally hit, therefore there is NO reason for people to be behaving like this!).
My best friend said she saw a lady buying 20 loaves of bread at the supermarket yesterday. TWENTY. I must be strange, because if it so happened that the truck didn't make it and I couldn't get bread for a few days, I'd just sort something else out. I'd eat a wrap, use rice-cakes. Goodness, if it were carbs I was seriously after, I'd boil some pasta if I was desperate!

There were people stocking up on tinned food at Aldi, trolleys full. Seriously! Again, I'd understand if we were in a part that had been hit bad by flooding, but we're not! These people are going to open their pantries next week, look in and go 'Why the HELL did I buy fifteen tins of fruit salad and pumpkin soup?'.

I just don't get it. People make the situation worse when they do this, it makes possible shortages a reality, not because the food can't make it here, but because people don't think rationally.

The only thing I can hope for is that SOME of that food was indeed being bought for donations to be sent to the parts that actually need food - now THAT would make me happier!

I am hoping that the farmers market will be up and running on Saturday but I have my doubts. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

On a completely different note, DF and I finally bought a 2011 wall-calender. I think it's pretty funky. It's a DIY decoration one. It's black card, which means you have to write on it with those metallic gel pens (which we already had) and each month has a space where you can put photos or drawings.

And I bought a new diary for 2011. I like to be organised, but it took me a couple of weeks to find one that I liked. This one has on the cover 'Keep Calm & Stop Carrying On' in bold letters. It's very 'me'.

And, finally, our wedding rings are ready to pick up. I told them I would pick them up tomorrow, but I might leave them until next week. So odd: I was waiting for their call, as they told me they would call when they arrived. They also told me they would take 10-14 days. Well, a month later I decided to call, just to check what was going on. At first they couldn't find any record of my name or my order, but then they obviously found it and told me the rings had been at the shop for a couple of weeks. Nice of them to call and let me know!!!

Now off to do some studying. What a change!

A couple of pictures of what it is like in my town at the moment. This was after some of the water had subsided. We were hit no-where near as bad as what other towns were, so my pictures don't really do the flood justice. Basically, just imagine an extra 6 feet of water on top of what is in this picture, at least! and that is what most of the state is like at the moment.


This path leads to a walkway underneath the bridge that is in the background, it is where I walk my dogs sometimes. Normally the river is about 15 feet below the level it is at now.


This is at the bottom of our street. To the right of this frame, there is a convenience store with an attached house where the owners live. Their hills-hoist clothesline in their backyard was submerged save for the very top of it poking out of the water. Murky brown water crept up to the verandah of their house, which is two storeys tall!


Local supermarket (carpark underneath)


View from inside the supermarket - stairwell that used to lead to the carpark!

Hi everyone. It's about time for my weekly update I don't get much time these days.

Only 3 weeks until my exams! Scary stuff! I feel like I'm not 100% on all of my learning objectives, but I guess I have a few weeks to really revise everything so that's good at least. I guess it's just scary because it's the first time at doing this, so I don't know what to expect.

Next semester I am doing Data Analysis and Business Law.

But! I am thinking maybe I should downgrade to just one subject for the next semester. I have a lot going on in the next few months, is all. But then again, I don't want to appear to be 'precious'. I am, after all, only doing this part-time. People study full time AND work full time (some even have kids to look after too!).

I just don't want to look back and go 'I could have done an extra subject, now look, you've got another five months of studying to do that you could have already done!'

But, I don't know... We are getting married in a little over a month, then having a party to celebrate it three months later which, while no-where near what a wedding would take, requires some planning and preparation.

On the other hand, the next semester has more weeks in it than the one I am currently completing (yet still have to do the same amount of work) so therefore I might actually have some more free time.

*sigh* just one of those things I guess I have to decide on, and soon.

Normally I am fine, but this week I have just been thinking about some things I would like to be doing with my time. Then I think 'oh, but I should be doing uni work'. (like painting, drawing, gardening, exercising etc) Not that I'd probably do a LOT of it, but it'd be nice to have the time to choose to if I wanted! Lately my time seems to be spent working, studying, sleeping and an hour sitting with DF and my little sister watching tv and eating dinner! And any time left over is trying to get more sleep (I actually have a nap nearly every day now - not sure why, I am just so tired) and the tiny bit of left over time I try to spend with my best friend.

My little sis seems to be doing alright. I am letting her get away with some things because she is on holidays until the end of January. She paid off all her debts She also picked up extra shifts at work over the holidays which was good. WHile I am making it a point to mention that she will have to save once she goes back to school, and reminding her that there are things that I will not buy for her (conditioner, razors, deodorant, makeup etc... my reason is: I had to buy these things for myself when I was her age, so she should too) I am also allowing her to make her own choices. She has bought herself a few pairs of new shoes and a lot of clothes. Probably things she won't be able to buy once she goes back to school and stops getting extra shifts, so I am letting it slide.

I have worked out (after much frustration) that she is one of 'those' people that needs prompting to do chores. She is willing to do them - she just needs to be told. I am ok with it now - it was just frustrating to come home to my place being a mess when she could have clearly helped out instead of sitting on the computer on facebook all day. :S As I said, it's holidays, so I am letting it slide. She doesn't get angry or annoyed when we ask her to do things, so atleast we are lucky in that perspective.

She also has a boyfriend It's kind of cute - even though she has had a couple, it is the first she has asked us to meet. We let her invite him over to watch movies and play xbox. DF and I (and actually, my parents and his parents too) are fairly liberal in that area. I know some people have problems with their children dating etc but have never really had that problem with my parents. Sometimes, having a problem with that sort of thing can *create* problems. But each to their own. Personally respect and honesty have always been key with my parents, and is something I will teach my kids (and currently, my sister).

Not sure if news travels very far over in the US, but my state is experiencing extreme flooding at the moment. Thankfully not hugely around my immediate area, but I do know people who have been evacuated because their homes are literally under water - up to their roof, or over.
I haven't experienced any major problems, apart from that I had to drive home from work today a different way (added 30 minutes onto my 25 minute trip) because one of the main roads was covered in 4 feet of water (and I had driven that road 8 hours previous where it was only covered with 1 foot of water and I was able to get through!).

Our doggies are well, getting a little fat from not being walked with all this rain. They snuggle in one kennel together most of the time because the wind and rain scares them a bit I think. Pretty cute - but I can never get a photo of it.

I stopped drinking coffee and now only drink it on the weekends, or socially with friends. (Technically, that's not stopping, but it's an improvement). It's a money saver, better for my health, and saves time in the morning too! I can now get up and get ready for work in 10 minutes. Heh heh.

DF suggested we make this our 'get fit & healthy' year. DF wants to start surfing (I wouldn't mind learning either) and running more often. And going to the beach more often. We have not been for over a year and only live 20 minutes away.
Foodwise we are probably better off than some families, but one of my main aims is to reduce our consumption of processed food. Seeing as it's probably lower than average anyway, it's going to take some work. But overall, can only be good for our health and the environment.

DF and I finally decided, after much umming and aahing, to go to the Soundwave concert I mentioned in other entries. Tickets are $160 each. So, I go to the website to buy them, and find that they have finally sold out, only three days prior! Argh! And a look on eBay shows that we can buy tickets for $255 each at the cheapest. SIGH.

Things have been going alright here. I am pretty much halfway or a little further through in my two uni subjects. I just finished part of a group assignment (thankfully all other 4 members are willing to do the work too!) and recieved kudos from them all for achieving my portion by the due date, which was the day after boxing day. I also completed a major essay for my other subject with 12 days to spare. Whew.

I actually completed a goal this year that I did not expect to: I saw a naturopath! Technically I cheated as he is a family friend who is staying at DF's dads house. The best part was that the session, and one for DF, were FREE as a courtesy for DF's dad giving him a room for a few months (due to relationship breakdown...)

He gave us a copy of a dvd to watch called Food Inc. Has anyone here seen it? Has some pretty interesting info on it.

I think I am now very determined to find a new job in 2011. My best friend (whom I also work with) also has this as her New Years Resolution. Except that her resolution is 'to find an amazing new job' whereas mine is 'to find a new job'. It is not that I don't want an AMAZING job, but really I would prefer one that is low stress and fairly monotonous, so that I can focus on study. I think I really want a supermarket cashier job, or some kind of factory linework job... another idea is Aldi, but as DF's mum works there she has said to me 'DONT get a job at aldi.' The rewards are good and they are good to work for, but you really work HARD and they expect you to work a lot of hours. But then again, whatever hours they give her, she works. So it could be different if I said no once in a while. My other thought is mail sorting at the post office. I always thought that would be fun

ANyway. Those are my thoughts on the job situation. My best friend has this idea in her head that we are sticking together. She keeps saying she is going wherever I go. Which is silly, because she's a qualified baker and pastry chef. I am not. Therefore, she should be reaping the benefits of all the apprentice wage hours she put in, not getting a cashier job after all that hard work!

When I started getting ready to study for uni, I was looking for blogs about people studying and couldn't find many. Now I know why - they are all too busy to blog!
I have downloaded a Wordpress app which I might use to start up a blog there. Though, I've never used wordpress and it looks a bit foreign. Has anyone ever used it here?

Things are hectic here and I'm a bit stressed. To say the least.

I will be glad when Christmas and the New Year is over. All it ever does is seem to put strain on the everyday hustle and bustle and make everything seem so much more stressful and rushed. People are crazy this time of year - driving, shopping etc. Just crazy, rude, unthoughtful...

Study is ... ok. Some days I like it. Some days I hate it. Sometimes I see myself achieving the things I set out to do in terms of study & career... then other days I really just don't.
So, I'm not sure how it will work out. At this stage, I am just taking it day by day, week by week, course by course. I refuse to pay $1000+ per course and FAIL due to slackness or lack of motivation, so I am obviously studying and working my butt off. And I have enrolled in my next two courses for February.
But there are days where I just don't get the grasp of what I am studying and it just seems to make everything hard and difficult and stressful. Of course, THOSE are the days where I want to quit! The days where I am doing fine and picking up the theory - are the days where I imagine myself completing the degree and getting a job. Of course!

Work seems to be getting worse and worse. In the new year, I think I will begin looking for a new job. I am just not sure what is out there, or if I will be any good at a new place. My heart is just not in my current work any more. Well - not in the PLACE - I do like the actual work. It is just the boss really, and his wife, and the way they run things. I just can't stand it any more and my mood goes from relatively balanced to unhappy each time I step in the door in the morning to start work.

I do have some goals for the new year, so hopefully I will get some time over the next week to post them.

All the weight (4kgs) I lost last summer and kept off over winter has returned! So I currently feel fat and unhealthy. I blame my sister living with us - she is a teenager and eats like a horse. When I see her eating suddenly I feel like eating - so that has to stop! (it has, already... but there is a long road ahead of losing those kilos I gained, and further losing the kilos I had planned to lose this year and haven't). Grr.

Aldi has opened last week, closer to us than the other one I used to go to. I won't be going there until the new year, but I am looking forward to the savings.

That's all my updates for now. Whew.

As some of you know, DF and I have been looking at buying a new television for a very long time. We have gone through three of the older tube-style tv's this year (one was DF's, one was mine, and one we were given). So finally, on Saturday, we bought ourselves the one that we have been looking to buy since the beginning of the year, it's a 40" Sony Bravia LCD tv. They have come down a lot in price in the past few months, what with all the LED's and 3D TV's coming out. And even though we *could have* spent a few hundred more and got one of those, we didn't.

DF is always hard to convince about these things - he doesn't look at it as saving $300 by buying an LCD, instead he looks at it as 'We could get an LED for what we would have spent on an LCD three months ago.'

Me? I'm not interested in always having the latest and greatest. It is something I think DF and I will never agree on. He likes STUFF. I am happy with the basics, pretty much. I don't need a new computer, therefore, I don't want one.

In total we spent $990, with a 5 year warranty. The tv itself was $861 - ticket price on that day was $1126.00 - I think we did well at bargaining it down.
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In other news, we got our new mobile broadband starter pack with a mini wi-fi modem - and (after much hassle - I think I was nearly ready to kill something) IT WORKS! And it works good, which is the main thing. We have to invest in a wi-fi adaptor for DF's computer ($42) but from then o... it's all savings baby!

Old Plan (24 month contract - expired)
Home Phone: $29.95
5gb ADSL Internet: $44.95
Total: $74.90 + approx $5 in monthly calls

New Plan (12 month contract)
4gb Peak, 8gb Off-Peak Mobile Broadband: $29.95

So, we are saving between $45 and $50 a month! It means though, we will not have a landline phone. We do not use it anyhow, TBH it is mainly to order pizza , which we can do online. With the old plan, you could not have internet by itself, it had to have a phone line, and that was the cheapest I could find.

We both have generous mobile cap plans, so if we have relatives that want to talk to us for a while for a catchup, we can just call them.

Next in line is our life insurance and superannuation. I am looking forward to this saving as well, it will be roughly $50-$60 a month in savings PLUS linking our superannuation to our online banking so that we can actually see how much we have in there (it does not allow us to withdraw from it though, in case you are wondering).

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And finally, Aldi is opening locally in TEN DAYS! I am sooooo excited.

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I think that is all my updates for now. Oh! DF has put in a quote for a large job that needs to be completed before christmas, and he will probably be getting a large sum for it. We were talking about putting it towards our wedding rings and Soundwave concert tickets we were eyeing off.

Is it really *that* unconventional to go to a heavy metal music festival for your honeymoon...?


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And to end the post, here is a cute pic of Banjo: