Hmm..so much for refocusing...!

Never mind, eh? I've still got another two and a half years to go :)

Work is starting to get ever so slightly frantic now. There's a long running issue I've been involved in for a while which is just starting to kick off again. When it gets going properly it'll be 18 hour days for the best part of six months so I'm really looking forward to that. Honest.

This week, for instance - I'm in Derby Monday and Tuesday, Buxton on Wednesday and London on Thursday. Sheesh...

I have updated the couple of things I've done on the list over there ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>

Read another book - Elizabeth's women. I really enjoyed it - it describes the lives of the women who interacted with Elizabeth I. Lots of them are quite well known (e.g. Kat Ashley, Elizabeth's nurse) but there are many more lesser known figures.

I got my first £2 coin since mid-December the other day - I thought they'd taken the blinkin' things out of circulation it had been so long since I'd seen one! Thank goodness I got to £150 before the dry spell. I'd have been frantic had I been stuck at £148 for a month!

Must start thinking about the photo sets I've listed - numbers, A-Z of Birmingham and 7 deadly sins set.

But right now, I'm off to bed - need to be up early to get to Derby for 8am tomorrow.

Refocus required...

Christmas and its disrupted routine has left me a bit *fluffy* on the list-front. I know I've been keeping up to date with the ongoing things - but some things have been a trifle contrived. For instance - for the "Bake something once a month" - December's was twice-baked potatoes. Hardly going to make cordon bleu status with that, am I?

So. This week I need to refocus and start thinking :)

I was intending to make January "Shiny sink" month. I lasted 'til January 7th....not v.g.! I love the effect when it does happen, I just don't always want to put in the effort required. Maybe next month - but if that's only got 28 days that might be considered cheating...? Mind you, 28 would be a huge improvement on this month.

Some slightly more positive notes :

Rainy Day Fund is growing well - up to almost 33% now. In about May/June it will start shooting up as one financial commitment comes to an end. In an effort to get a bit more "free money" I've transferred my ISA to an account paying some interest - the old one seemed to be actually costing me. (Not really, but it might as well have been, the interest was so low!).

I'm halfway through the "Walk 101 miles" thing - over 101,000 steps now. Still nowhere near doing 10,000 steps a day and I intend to keep the pedometer challenge up when I've reached that target.

Read another book - Lacey Baldwin Smith's "Catherine Howard" which was interesting. Everyone has different views on whether she was a corrupted innocent used by her family or an out and out gold-digger after anything she could get. I certainly think she was supremely naive to think she could get away with loving anyone other than the King - but then she was (depending on who you believe) only a teenager when she was executed.

Back to London tomorrow - I was there on Friday and it took me four hours to get there and three to get back so hopefully it'll be a little smoother.

Hope you're all surviving the snow - we still have a lot lying about but the anticipated blizzards today haven't materialised. Yet. (Oh heck, I hope I don't open the curtains tomorrow morning and have to eat those badly chosen words....!)

(Note to self : take some photos, woman - you're slacking!)

New Year, same list :)

I'm actually looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. How sad is that? :)

Not much to report - the ongoing tasks are ticking along nicely - and I'm obssessed with my new spreadsheet that tracks spending and saving. It adds up, transfers, subtotals and almost makes the tea.

Better updates to follow when I've actually *done* something!

Happy New Year