Last years goals

Is ti too late to still be wittering on about goals?

I went back to look at my postings for last New Year and found I was somewhat vague and also somewhat predictable.

I said I wanted to be more in control of my money, less indented etc - I am . I we less than ever before and its decreased a fair bit. I also sorted out paying Greek tax, which had been a mystery to me. I have a budget and I stick to it. We had a load of money to take to the Greek house this year and we got quite a bit don't with it. So this is a pass 9 as opposed to a fail)

I also wanted to exercise more, eat more healthily and lose a bit of weight. I exercised on average 3 times each week (more than I had for some years) although i did cause myself so inflammation in my joints by forgetting I was 52 not 25. That is mostly under control now. I ended the year 8kg down and my doctor was happy and asked for more of the same.  Today my shopping trolley over flows with veggies and we mostly avoid carbs except the veggy ones (corn on the cob good, nice slice of toast not so much)


Not so bad. This year more of the same plus a whole load of more specific ones. I have the power!!

2015 Goals

I guess it is not a good sign that in my book I wrote 'Goals 20104'


Anyway a bit of a mixture:

Reduce mortgage capital by over £10k - this is the minimum but not sure how much it was be in over-payments as the interest rate is potentially changing

Commence legalization of the Crete house - going to take years and cost a ton but if I start it then I will be closer to finishing it

Lose a further 20kg with my new healthier liftstyle -  I am not saying I have lost 8kg so far as that belongs to 2014 and the slightly lighter me is now real me. So the current weight is my new base.

Devise a new income plan -  Some additional income, maybe for now, or maybe for something to do during retirement/early retirement.   ( I am a massive MMM fan so retirement means doing what you like not doing nothing)

Make sure to cycle at least weekly and preferably more. - This may lead to cycle to work unless working at a different location or needing the car to carry stuff. Not sure yet.

Enjoy my house - Continuing with simplifying and de-cluttering until what is left is all we need. This is really simple but its making so much difference to me.

Speak a little Greek to my neighbours - I can understand quite a lot now but I really need to work on speaking back. My neighbours are adorable and would love to chat more.

Import and sell a batch of Olive Oil - one of my lovely neighbours is having some trouble selling their oil, which is their main livelihood,  Or I guess they all are but only one has told me. I would like to buy some from him and ship it home to sell to friends.

Dancing - I love dancing and its good for me. Lets get it onto the calendar

Visit Newcastle - My son is in his second year at Uni and I have been up to visit him and see the place

Plan a cruise - Maybe not in the year as I have a lot of other holiday things planned but maybe set the wheels in motion

Cats fully trained - Can cats be trained? Well anyway I want them to understand the cat flap, how to sneak through windows, what is and what isn't a litter try and the  sofa is not the place to sharpen your claws.

Car - We are sharing a car. Its okay but not convenient at all. Sort this in the year.

Clear my overdraft - I tend to forget I have an overdraft because it is free but I would be happier without it so every time I get any money (i.e. pay day or expenses day) I plan to reduce it by £100.

Sleep well - I was sleeping well previously after my NLP anchoring thing. I need to get back to that.

Have a better hair cut - I am thinking have a visit to a fancy salon to get some advice and an initial cut. I cant believe its not possible for my hair to look better than it does right now!

Poker in Vegas - Fahed has two really good wins at poker over Christmas. So I struck whilst the kettle was hot (is that a saying) and said 'why don't we put all your winnings in a pot and when we have enough we can go to Vegas. You can play poker and I can do whatever else they have'. I have never been to Vegas and I think this would be fun. The pot might take a while to get full enough though.

All new underwear - Okay this is a funny one but I am thinking measured for bras. And whilst I am at it then some fancy pants too!

Kayaking - Just have a go. Looks fun and maybe I would like it.

Super club - I really fancy the idea of something like a pop up restaurant at our house or somewhere where you are, for one evening, a restaurant. I obviously delegate the cooking to Fahed but all the same, its a goal for me.

I am inspired now to look back at last years goals and see how I did.

Saturday and spring is in the air!

Not the weather. Its warm and raining, in January. Whoever heard of such a thing. Something like 14 degrees. I am working up such a sweat on my face (nice!) as I work. Maybe its hot flushes but I am blaming the weather.

So today grocery shopping and pick up prescriptions from two different pharmacies and home to start leaning before 9. Shopping was put away before 9.30. See, still on fire.

So the cleaning is a little more than usual, not quite a spring clean but a definite post Christmas spruce up, so mirrors and window cleaning not just a quite swish round. :) And some furniture move arounds. I need a cupboard near my chair because I think I now need a lamp near me when I read or sew. Even the new glasses are not enough on their own..

And laundry of course.

There may be upholstery sewing, of a poor quality, to make the sofa covers last a while longer, if I can be brave. Also a velvet throw thing is coming apart at the seams.

Shortening jeans.

At some point we do the last bit of wardrobe cleansing which somehow we didn't remember to include. Jackets and footwear. I don't have much of either but the old fella has a ton of both.

Sort out my bedding. We don't like our new duvet cover. Some bits are shiny and its all about chasing it around the bed. I may have to be a bit creative.

And my goals. Must get back to my goals.

Well that went remarkably well

All of my refunds were authorised. (Whoop, whoop)

I also dropped all those clothes and china etc to the charity shop, plus a further nine items. I dont have my book handy at the moment but based on a plan of 3 per day I think I am about in March by now.

I have another £10 amazon vouchers in its way from my postal survey.

I bought cat food online and 50% of the cost

I also bought my son a halogen heater for his flat which should keep him warm without breaking the bank, for the next three months. Because I waited until after Christmas before ordering as he was home with us, it had a brilliant discount of £18 leaving me only £13 to pay! Which is about what he pays for gas each week at th moment

I  think I might be starting to feel better :)

How long is it until payday again?

Nah, I have enough but I would like to add more cash to the car fund if i can so i thought a fluffy of activity was the way to go.

I have a travel DVD player to return to ASDA and no receipt. I was told I need to say the day I bought it and the total value of my payment. Last time I tried this they said they would call me back. I checked this by phone today and am going to try it again tomorrow. £60

I also have a set of DVDs which my son bought for his brother but which we found he already has. I will do my best to return this as well. £10

Then I remember some jeans I also bought which look frightful, so they go in the back as well. £10 (should have been suspicious when jeans were £10 - they do look awful but I suspect better on other people)

Wish me luck!

I returned the boots which I had for Christmas as they broke with 30 minutes of wearing them. Still awaiting the refund of £55. I have bought some on ebay now which arrived today, are discounted by about 80% and which look even more cool (studded biker boots - eek!)

I returned a CD audio book which Fahed didn't like and there is a £20 refund on its way for that.

Not 100% certain but I don't think I have any else to go.

I need much luck!!

I am on fire!

Well de-cluttering fire.

62 items today!

Fahed and I went through our wardrobes and our under-bed storage. We were ruthless! Now we can find our clothes again.

62 includes 13 Christmas decorations and a handful of ornaments and glasses.

To complete the wardrobe revamp I have to dye three items and shorten some jeans.

My sewing machine is staying out all week this week.  I have shortened 2 karate outfits. I am also determined to finish the sleeves on my dress (my excuse, its really hard!) that I have had in the basket for a couple of years. Lastly a bit of patching of the sofa covers. New ones are needed but they have to wait until the kittens are older and less inclined to wreck everything in sight!

Still haven't done my goals list. I blame my sicklyness.

New year - more thoughts and things

De-cluttering - is there a more inspiring word for this?

Anyway I am up to 13th January in my disposals. And I haven't yet started on my wardrobe and under bed storage containers. So much potential.

Small money habits

Set up a change bottle for the bits and bobs (doesnt everyone?)
Another bottle for euro bits and bobities
A jar to save £1 a day so that next Christmas is free!
Also set up a standing order of £40 per month to Fahed's bank account which he doesnt use. This will replace the £1 a day jar when I forget to do it (i.e. before end of January - if history teaches us anything)

Goals
Still working on this. My list is too dull and restrained at present

I so love a new beginning

Something new for us

Tomorrow Jamal flies back up to university for 4 months.
Ahdel is pretty much living with his girlfriend now.
We are going to be home alone! I am not jubilant at this obviously but with Jamal's career plans he is out of the country for 8 or more months each year so I hope he doesn't think it is worth loving out for the remaining four months and he might as well stay with the oldies!  This looks like happening now as he is re painting and carpeting his room, changing the bed and electrics, so I think he plans to stay a while. Phew from me, I am not ready for an empty nest!

So to keep myself feeling positive I am definitely trying to talk up the plus sides.

Less electricity usage (ha, thats if the old fella ever starts to switch lights off)
Far less gas usage (Jamal only has a shower unit at uni and at sea, so loads of baths when he is home)
The big one surely must be grocery savings. After tomorrow there are just the two of us to feed. On top of that we are practicing healthy eating and portion size. Finally we can go down a long way with this. The store cupboard and freezer are full. We can manage for ages if we aren't worried about how odd our meals are. Lets see what are appetite for this is :)

Way more to de-cluttering than just getting rid of stuff

The thought of getting rid of another 1000 items from the house makes me feel quite free and excited. There is certainly way more to the whole de-cluttering thing than just idying up. As more goes you can actually see what is left. Then I have the fight internally baout keeping stuff which may come in useful v having so much stuff you can never find what you need anyway.

So far I am already approaching 6th January with my discards and all bar a couple of items ahve gone to new homes where they will be used;

01/01 - Candle arch/Cherry Brnady/Jacket
02/01 - Coatjangers/ Glass and carafe (still boxed)/vcr player
03/01 - potato peeler/headphones receiveer thingybobit/black sports bag
04/01 - cd printer/headphones/phone charger
05/01 - 3 brass items - dish, plate and jug

Also the old fella says we will enter the attic today with enthusiasm to empty it.

I have more goals, just finding this rather exciting at the moment

The talk is of de-cluttering - it must be new year

3 items a day. I did it in 2012 ( i think, might have been 2011).
I can do it again
I will keep a register to start with until it becomes a habit.

Day one;
Old and broken candle arch to the bin
Cherry Brandy to my dad
Unworn his viz jacket to the salvation army

I am encouraging my youngest along a similar route but more blitzing and less creeping along.

I really like the house now I can tell the difference.