I've done it.
I've booked myself onto the Trans-Siberian express classic rail tour for 2011. It leaves a few days after my 40th birthday. What a present!
Oh.
My.
God.
Birmingham to Vladivostok in 18 days via 5 trains. Including twelve days on Russia's version of the Orient Express, the Golden Eagle. One third of the way round the earth, on luxury trains! Via Warsaw and Moscow.
:::speechless with excitement:::
Now all I have to do is save up for it!
Tuesday 16 March 2010
Sunday 28 February 2010
44%!
Well...the Rainy Day fund's looking rather good. I'm up to 44% of six month's wages now. Hopefully I'll never need it in anger, but it's a nice thing to know that if it all goes pear-shaped I can survive 'til something comes along.
The no-alcohol-for-Lent thing has failed miserably. Ho hum, I'll pick something more realistic next time... :)
I've spent today moving furniture and going to the tip with bags of rubbish. My landlord has got around to ordering the new laminate flooring for the two bedrooms. He did the rest of the flat well over a year ago. So, I'm taking advantage of this to redecorate the spare room - which is currently a fetching shade of lime green.
I've chopped six inches off the edge of the carpet all round the room so that I can gloss the woodwork - which is now done and tomorrow evening I will be tackling the once white ceiling. I've got some "magic paint" left over from redoing the lounge. Amazing stuff - goes on pink (!!?!*?!) but dries white - I assume through reacting with the oxygen in the air. It's brill - you can see exactly where you've painted and you don't end up doing the same area 4 times...it *is* something of a shock though, when you paint the first pink stripe. I was better once it had dried and had indeed gone white :)
Listy thing updated over there ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
The no-alcohol-for-Lent thing has failed miserably. Ho hum, I'll pick something more realistic next time... :)
I've spent today moving furniture and going to the tip with bags of rubbish. My landlord has got around to ordering the new laminate flooring for the two bedrooms. He did the rest of the flat well over a year ago. So, I'm taking advantage of this to redecorate the spare room - which is currently a fetching shade of lime green.
I've chopped six inches off the edge of the carpet all round the room so that I can gloss the woodwork - which is now done and tomorrow evening I will be tackling the once white ceiling. I've got some "magic paint" left over from redoing the lounge. Amazing stuff - goes on pink (!!?!*?!) but dries white - I assume through reacting with the oxygen in the air. It's brill - you can see exactly where you've painted and you don't end up doing the same area 4 times...it *is* something of a shock though, when you paint the first pink stripe. I was better once it had dried and had indeed gone white :)
Listy thing updated over there ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
Monday 15 February 2010
Time for an update!
Life's been....frantic!
Work is approaching the end-of-year frenzy when I try to get all the things done I said I would (as well as all the others things that have been dumped upon me from a great height). It's better than being bored. Marginally.
Finances are going well - up to 39% of my rainy day fund (6 month's net wages) and I have £158 in £2 coins in the terramundi.
Not read a book recently, and hardly taken a photo - bad me!
Lent starts on Wednesday so I'm giving up booze until Good Friday. Bit of self denial is good for the soul. Or summat.
Baking - inspired by a colleague's new kitchen (put in by her OH during eight months of evenings and weekends' work) I dug out my old battered bread machine. First loaf was delicious and lasted well. I seem to recall losing faith in the machine the best part of four years ago when the resulting product went stale faster than I could eat it. Maybe I'm making smaller loaves now? Anyway - Allison's strong wholewheat and added seeds flour makes marvellous bread. Nom nom nom.
Getting back from work tonight I decided to try an old packet of cheese'n'onion bread mix that had been sitting in the cupboard for a while. When I say "a while"....is twelve months past its Use By Date shameful? Meh! Anyway...12 month out of date yeast is apparently unrevivable. There is now a warm, cheese flavoured brick sitting in my bin...it honestly wasn't good enough even to give to the birds. Unless we've got a local woodpecker with an industrial drill for a beak and the stomach of a cast iron elephant...
So, another loaf is now waiting to be made - but I've been adventurous and put it on overnight timer. Last time I tried this I lived in a different flat and the whirrings, rumblings and occasional beepings kept me up all night. This time there are two rooms and three doors between us, so I'm hoping for a peaceful night and an aromatic awakening :)
Work is approaching the end-of-year frenzy when I try to get all the things done I said I would (as well as all the others things that have been dumped upon me from a great height). It's better than being bored. Marginally.
Finances are going well - up to 39% of my rainy day fund (6 month's net wages) and I have £158 in £2 coins in the terramundi.
Not read a book recently, and hardly taken a photo - bad me!
Lent starts on Wednesday so I'm giving up booze until Good Friday. Bit of self denial is good for the soul. Or summat.
Baking - inspired by a colleague's new kitchen (put in by her OH during eight months of evenings and weekends' work) I dug out my old battered bread machine. First loaf was delicious and lasted well. I seem to recall losing faith in the machine the best part of four years ago when the resulting product went stale faster than I could eat it. Maybe I'm making smaller loaves now? Anyway - Allison's strong wholewheat and added seeds flour makes marvellous bread. Nom nom nom.
Getting back from work tonight I decided to try an old packet of cheese'n'onion bread mix that had been sitting in the cupboard for a while. When I say "a while"....is twelve months past its Use By Date shameful? Meh! Anyway...12 month out of date yeast is apparently unrevivable. There is now a warm, cheese flavoured brick sitting in my bin...it honestly wasn't good enough even to give to the birds. Unless we've got a local woodpecker with an industrial drill for a beak and the stomach of a cast iron elephant...
So, another loaf is now waiting to be made - but I've been adventurous and put it on overnight timer. Last time I tried this I lived in a different flat and the whirrings, rumblings and occasional beepings kept me up all night. This time there are two rooms and three doors between us, so I'm hoping for a peaceful night and an aromatic awakening :)
Sunday 24 January 2010
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.
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.
Sunday 10 January 2010
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!)
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!)
Sunday 3 January 2010
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
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
Thursday 24 December 2009
101 in 1001 : 63 Coming in to land
I'm back from Dublin, none the worse for the weather (although it was blinkin' freezing there was no snow until I got back over here. The NW looked especially white as we flew back over it.)
Had a fab time being a tourist. The hotel was exceedingly posh - but about a mile outside the city centre which did my pedometer step count no end of good. (That is, until I discovered the local bus services...).
The economic recession has really hit home in Dublin. It's always been an expensive place but it's obvious now that people are struggling. Everywhere you look in the tourist areas there are people begging and hustling just to stay alive. Lots of homeless people, too. Instead of feeling guilty about it, it's prodded me into making a donation to the Salvation Army who do such a good job helping people whose only place is out on the streets. I've paid for a soup run - I hope it helps just a bit.
So - for an update on the listy thing:
4. Had a brief swim at the hotel (6 lengths, I said it was brief!) but I was really only there for the sauna :)
7. Step count is now 91,644/202,000
14. Done! I happened to get to Christchurch Cathedral just at the start of a service so I crept in and sat at the back.
24. £150 now in the terramundi!
25-28 and 44-45. Steady progress on all these. The budget is looking really good considering it's Christmas and considering I've just been to one of the most overpriced places in Europe! Mind you, I haven't had to buy any food as I'm only back here until lunchtime today when I go off to my parents for the rest of Christmas.
35. I can highly recommend Fan's Cantonese resturant, Dame Street Dublin. I had their "Early Bird" set special and it was delicious :)
63. Done!
77. Done!
96. So that's another three things complete.
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