Thursday 31 January 2013

3 Good Things - Thurs 31st

1. Chatting on the bus on the journey home
2. The prospect of something different for lunch tomorrow
3. Chips for tea tomorrow

Wednesday 30 January 2013

3 Good Things - 30th Jan

1. Getting a huge lump of my favourite salted peanut and crunchie rocky road in the post!
2. Talking to my bestest friend
3. Being over half way through the week!

Tuesday 29 January 2013

3 Good Things - Tues 28th

1. A good book
2. The anticipation of a parcel waiting to be collected
3. Arranging dinner out in a couple of weeks

Monday 28 January 2013

3 Good Things - Mon 28th

1. Chocolate chip cookie with a cup of tea mid afternoon
2. Last weeks flowers still looking lovely
3. Raiding the landlords library (with their permission!)

3 Good Things - Sun 27th

1. A home cooked roast dinner (Thank you T, K & D)
2. Reading the 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' to a gorgeous two year old
3. The response my 'Let Go' post got - thank you friends xx

Sunday 27 January 2013

Let go...

I'm dreadful at letting go. I stew. I write conversations in my head with perfect  come backs and put downs. I draft letters. But I never actually DO anything.

I've been stewing lately.

I was treated badly at the end of my last job. This isn't just my opinion I know others agree with it. So I'm justified in my hurt/annoyance etc. I wanted to say something to the boss, to say 'Oi, this wasn't right' but I didn't. I took my leaving gift, packed my bags and left. I've thought about writing a letter. But I haven't. What good would it do? What it make her behave any differently? I very much doubt it. Would it make me feel better? Probably not, I'd agonise over what to say and how to say it, then panic once I'd sent it that it would be mis-interpreted etc etc.

So what should I do?

I need to let go. It's past. It happened, I survived, move on.  I have a new job. I'm learning new skills, and meeting new people but it leaves a bad taste.

I need to make peace with it and move on.

Let go...

Saturday 26 January 2013

3 Good Things - Sat 26th

1. Sunshine
2. Watching The Big Bang Theory panels from previous ComicCons
3. Fresh clean bedding

Three weeks in...

Three weeks and I'm still in one piece!!!

A few more purchases of the non consumable type...

80p on a bowl, a long handled teaspoon and a glass for work
10p on another spoon for the flat
£2.10 on three books (I've read the others!)
£4.00 on the softest jumper ever
£2.99 on another black long sleeved top
£1.00 on one of the belt clip things with the extendable loop on it so I can wear my passes at work (I bought a lanyard with me but they just clunk on the desk all the time!)
99p on a really really long earring that I am going to make into a hair accessory with the bobby pins I got for 79p (I saw the earring earlier in the day and decided one earring was pointless, then I saw someone wearing something similar in their hair. I was going to have a coffee at Starbucks but the queue was really long so I decided as I hadn't spent the coffee money I could get the clips and earring instead!)
I reckon it'll look lovely hanging from a hair grip...
I did the food shopping with a meal plan in mind so hopefully I won't need to get much in the way of food during the week.  I'm off for a roast dinner at a friends tomorrow which I am REALLY looking forward to. Talking of food, about time I thought about dinner...

Friday 25 January 2013

3 Good Things - Fri 25th

1. Friday
2. Finishing work at four
3. Listening to the rain on the window

Thursday 24 January 2013

3 Good Things - Thurs 24th

1. Cinnamon danish for breakfast (again!)
2. Burger pasta for tea!
3. Tomorrows dinner being all prepped and in the slow cooker crock pot so all I have to do it put it on in the morning

Wednesday 23 January 2013

3 Good Things - Weds 23rd

1. Not getting locked in by the landlords!
2. Cinnamon Danish for breakfast
3. Steamed chocolate pud with choc sauce.

Tuesday 22 January 2013

3 Good Things - Tues 22nd

1. Catching up over dinner
2. Not quite missing the bus
3. Walking through an eerily quiet Exeter in the snow

Monday 21 January 2013

3 Good Things - Mon 21st

1. Lewis on itvplayer so it doesn't matter that ITV cut it in half
2. Sunday roast with friends to look forward to
3. Notification that the book I ordered is on its way

Sunday 20 January 2013

3 Good Things - Sun 20th

1. Long lie in
2. Lots of reading
3. The DVD drive on my computer deciding it would read the film I wanted to watch!

Saturday 19 January 2013

3 Good Things - Sat 19th

1. Pretty flowers
2. Bacon sandwich for breakfast
3. Sherlock on DVD

Two weeks in...

So I've been back two weeks - how is it going?

I bought a few more bits this week to help things along...

£1.49 for a plain black long sleeved top. Yes I already have one at home but it would have cost that to have it posted!! This top will mean I can wear a couple of my short sleeve tops in this weather thus expanding my cold weather wardrobe!!
£3 on a lovely bunch of flowers to brighten up my room. No vase, no problem. Pint glasses make great vases!


£1 for a pair of over the knee socks. I bought a couple of pairs with me but with the cold weather I want to wear my knee high boots more often
£4.84 on a king size sheet. I didn't realise the bed in the flat was a king size so my sheet needs a HUGE amount of persuasion to fit. This will make life easier. (Fortunately it's only a double duvet)
£15 on two tubes of hand cream from the Body Shop. This is a BIG extravagance but I decided to treat myself and use some of my Christmas money!

Friday 18 January 2013

3 Good Things - Fri 18th

1. Not having to commute to London
2. It's Friday
3. Realising I haven't spent all my Christmas money yet!

Thursday 17 January 2013

3 Good Things - Thurs 17th

1. A lovely new nail varnish colour
2. Tea and biscuits
3. Having warm feet (finally!)

Wednesday 16 January 2013

3 Good Things - Weds 16th

1. The spider on the bathroom ceiling keeping to his half whilst I was in the shower!
2. Having tomorrows lunch and dinner already made/prepped
3. Getting a lovely thank you card from an unexpected source

Tuesday 15 January 2013

3 Good Things - Tues 15th

1. Payday!
2. Learning a new skill
3. Smiling sweetly at the landlord and getting some space in the freezer (no more eating the same thing 4 nights in a row!!)

3 Good Things - Mon 14th

1. Meeting the person I will be working with
2. The boiler being fixed
3. Going to bed early and actually falling asleep!

Sunday 13 January 2013

3 Good Things - Sun 13th

1. Walking past Exeter cathedral on a beautiful cold crisp sunny day
2. Having a slow cooker - BBQ chicken for dinner
3. Getting some tips on how to make my computer run better and managing to do them when I got home!

Saturday 12 January 2013

When a bargain isn't a bargain

I love a bargain (who doesn't), I love box sets of DVDs, I love ER, I was in heaven when I spotted a load of series of ER on DVD in a local charity shop.  Now the me of a couple of years ago (maybe even the me of a couple of months ago) would have grabbed the lot, but the me of today took a step back and did some research...

There are 15 series of ER, the shop had 8 series (and not all consecutive) at £3 each - £24.  If I bought them then I would have had to get the missing series. When I got home I jumped on the computer. Amazon list a box set of all 15 series for £83.  They also do sets of each separate series.  If I'd bought the 8 in the charity shop and then used Amazon to fill the gaps it would total £115!! Suddenly it's not a bargain at all.

The real stroke of genius though was remembering I have a LoveFilm subscription as part of my bank account and that is free. All 15 series added at a cost of £0!!  I get to see them all and not have them take up any space or any money - now that really is a bargain!

3 Good Things - Sat 12th

1. Making the right choice by not buying a set of three tumblers for £1 in the £1 shop, but getting two much nicer glasses in a charity shop for 10p each.
2. Getting a parcel of loveliness from a friend far away
3. Not buying 8 of the 15 series of ER from the charity shop but adding all 15 series to my LoveFilm rentals list instead!

The experiment so far

So I've been back in Devon a week and so far most of what I have bought has been consumable (either edible of use upable)

Things that didn't fall into that category are...

£3 set of coasters (the furniture came with the flat and I don't want to have to pay coz there are water/heat marks on it!!)
£5.68 for two greetings cards - stupidly I completely forgot that I had bought some card making kit with me!!
£1 for two non spill tupperwares, the ones I bought with me are fine for storing stuff flat in the fridge but useless if I want to take something with liquid in it to work.
50p for a mug to take to work
20p on two glasses so I don't have to drink my Baileys out of bright pink plastic measuring cup!

50p on a Lord of the Rings book that I will keep
£1.20 on three, yes THREE, other books that I will read and then take back to the charity shop
£2.99 on a small frying pan (frying in a saucepan really doesn't quite do the trick!)
£1.25 on a sink tidy so the cutlery can drain rather than sitting in it's own water!

On shopping for the above stuff I went into many charity shops and didn't succumb to the rails of clothes or the many many many books (4 was very good for me!)  These things are what had occured to me during the week would make life easier and at a total cost of £10.64 (not including the greetings cards) I don't think that's bad.

It will be payday on Tuesday and I intend to account for every penny I spend until next payday!

Friday 11 January 2013

3 Good Things - Fri 11th

1. Bumping into someone I was going to be working with on the bus so I didn't have to work out where to get off.
2. Having a voucher for 40% off dinner
3. Spending a couple of hours in great company with yummy food whilst it chucked it down outside!

Thursday 10 January 2013

3 Good Things - Thursday 10th

1. Finishing work, doing some shopping, having a drink and catch up with a friend, sitting down to dinner - all by just after 7!
2. Being told I looked like I was in my 20's (ego boost or what!)
3. Getting a lift to and from a meeting so I didn't have to try different buses!

Wednesday 9 January 2013

3 Good Things - Weds 9th

1. Getting the wrong bus, but knowing where I was so it didn't matter!
2. Managing to get my phone and computer to agree my new login details!
3. Drinking Baileys out of a 1/2 cup measuring spoon thing!!

3 Good Things - Tues 8th

1. Getting given something productive to do
2. Having sausage casserole waiting for me when I got home
3. Arrival of my two ring camping hob so I could do some mash to go with the sausage casserole!

Monday 7 January 2013

3 good things

Mon 7th Jan

1. Getting a lie in (compared to last week at my old job!)
2. Surviving the day
3. Prepping a crock pot sausage casserole tonight so I can put it on on the morning and have a yummy HOT dinner when I get home.

Sunday 6 January 2013

A minimalist experiment

As you know over the past couple of years I have been clearing out my stuff. Ebaying, freecycling and charity shopping bags and bags of stuff. Recycling folders of old Uni course work etc etc.

Well with my latest house move I have an opportunity to try some extreme minimalism!!  I could only bring what would fit in my sisters small car along with three adults, my sister and Mums overnight stuff and a picnic lunch!!

The flat I have moved into gives me a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.  The landlords have supplied a bed with duvet and pillows, chest of drawers, bedside tables, computer desk, a couple of chairs, small bookshelf and built in wardrobes. I am using their washing machine, a fridge down in the basement and have no cooker.

So what to pack - originally I was going to be moving by train and would only have been able to manage a suitcase and rucksack - fortunately sister came to the rescue!!

A rough idea of what I packed...

For the kitchen I've brought two each of the following, dinner plate, small plate, bowl, mugs, glasses, knife, fork, spoon, teaspoon.  Wooden spoon, slotted spoon, scissors, masher, sieve, peeler, tin opener, grater. A few tupperware containers for storing leftovers, lunch box. My slow cooker (simplybeingmum will be proud!), my health grill, a travel kettle and a couple of saucepans. I have ordered a two ring electric camping hob thing!

For the bathroom the necessary toiletries, bath mat, towels, robe

For the bedroom, one set of bedding (there is a launderette across the road and I can therefore wash and tumble dry it in a day). I haven't brought a TV and don't intend to acquire one although this may prove tough and I will see how things go (I have signed up to freecycle so it may be an option). To keep myself occupied in the absence of the gogglebox I have brought a couple of books that once read will go to the charity shop where I can pick up some more, my landlords also have a huge number of books and I asked if I could borrow them which is fine!! I put in some DVDs that I can watch on my computer. As part of my bank account deal I have a lovefilm membership that allows me one DVD at a time and a maximum of four a month. At one a week that should be OK. There is also a Blockbuster just down the road and again I could pick up a couple in the charity shops.  I also have my laptop and the landlords are letting me use their wi-fi.  If the crafty mood should take me I also brought some stuff to make greetings cards.  I brought my leaving cards and a couple of memento's from home to make it more 'my' space.

Clothes - many of you will know that even though I have got rid of a lot of clothes i still have waaaay too many. This will be a really interesting aspect.  I have brought with me...

3 x trousers
4 x jeans
2 x trackies
2 x leggings
2 x skirts
4 x dresses
1 x shirt
3 x long tops
9 x tops
3 x jumpers/hoodies
4 x t-shirts
3 x nightwear
1 x swimming costume
Underwear / socks / tights
1 x coat
2 x pairs boots
1 x pair trainers
3 x pairs shoes

Written out like that it seems like a lot...I've got out of the habit of 'office attire' as I've been wearing uniform for six months.

I am hoping to get in some swimming and I have been thinking of starting to go out for a run. With more time on my hands it might happen!

Anyway - it'll prove interesting if nothing else...



Plan H (maybe I, or even J)

So, the eagle eyed amongst you will have spotted this picture over on Facebook...



...and maybe you are wondering what it means. Well, I'm back in Exeter for a potentially limited run!!

Before Christmas I got an offer on my flat so made plans to head back to Exeter as there were a couple of jobs on offer. One would be a stop gap until the other were ready to take me on. I can't afford to pay out on my Maidstone flat and pay a 'commercial' rate of rent on somewhere down in devon, nor was I willing to sign a 6 month tenancy agreement knowing the sale could fall through.  I contacted my old landlords and they agreed to take me back in my old flat at a very very low rent for a period of about 6 weeks to 3 months depending on the flat and some other issues.

The long and short of it is that the buyer pulled out on Thursday!!

After some quick sums it works out that financially I'm better off in Exeter as at least I'll have some money coming in.

So here I am, back in a flat I left 6 years ago, with no cooker, a fridge in the basement and use of the landlords washing machine!!! I start back at Devon and Cornwall Police HQ tomorrow morning but don't yet know what I'll be doing (making tea most likely!)

The flat is back on the market and hopefully a new buyer will come forward as I have dropped the price a few grand. In the meantime it's probably back to looking for a job in Maidstone!!!

Wish me luck!!

Good things

Well after Fridays post for three good things I then promptly failed to post yesterday - I blame moving house!!

So a combined weekend 3 good things

1. Managing to fit all the stuff I wanted to take with me into the car
2. My lovely landlords letting me use their wi-fi
3. The start of a new chapter in my life...

Friday 4 January 2013

3 Things

Several of my friends and fellow bloggers have taken to doing 'gratitude' posts. A 'thing of beauty' or 'three good things' for the day, and I've decided to join in. I might not always do three things, and I may mix in some things of beauty, but I will try and post at least one thing daily!!!

I know it's gone midnight but Fridays good things are...

1. My best friends little boy taking my hand as we walked down a busy Whitehall
2. Getting my Olympics medal (no not one of those, one to show recognition of the contribution to delivering a safe and secure games)
3. Having left my job today, knowing I don't have to work with some of those people again!!!