There is ALWAYS too much month left at the end of the money......

Yet again I find myself trying to stretch out the last of my dosh before the arrival of payday.  Which is always like a life raft to a drowning man.  I overspend.  It is no secret.  I like stuff.  I buy stuff.  And I have bugger all stuff to show for my love of overspending.  Since my well known financial meltdown a couple of years ago, and my new, debt-free existence, I am constantly amazed at the speed with money leaves my bank/purse/grubby little mitts.  Of course, my money is not to be confused with the family budget - I am responsible with my salary, for covering the food bill, my stuff and Oliver's activities.  Everything else is paid for, so hold fire on the pity (if you had any) for my plight.  This morning I sold £25 worth of scrapbooking materials, half an hour later I was writing out a cheque at the dentist for £17.  Easy come easy go.  That was fast, even for me.

Next Friday is payday - I will get my NHS salary, and the money I earned doing polling station duties earlier this month.  A nice sum to come....  I have mentally spent the surplus a million times over.  Here is my current list of extra wants:

- haircut (outrageous charge for what it is)
- Project Life kit
- trip to Paignton Zoo
- cross stitch kit

No, not a huge list I grant you, but over a hundred quid, easily.   Meanwhile I am limping down to the 27th with a meagre few pounds in hand, determined not to overdraw just before the money comes in.....

I found out, after my enthusiastic Project Life kit post, that it is not available in the UK.  Worse, you can't even get the bloody thing shipped here from the US.  It has suddenly become an item of supreme value, now that I can't get it.  It seems that it will be available from June on Amazon over here - so for the first time in recorded history, I am having to wait to buy something I really want, and I will have the money to pay for it.  Sacre bleu.  What is the world coming to I ask myself.

Getting a new cross stitch kit is very exciting for me.  Last year at some craft fair, I decided I would give cross stitching a go (again) as I remember it as being a quite soothingly repetitive occupation.  I plumped for a Celtic design, can't be doing with twee-ness.  (sorry if you are a twee fan).  I have, unbelievably, nearly finished it.

I have my eye on this one:

Gorgeous, isn't it?  I am slightly troubled by the fact this is billed as an 'advanced' kit, but, buoyed up with confidence and enthusiasm with my near-success with the Celtic piece, I am up for the challenge.  Watch this space.

I have, in a fit of unnatural helpfulness and sudden rush of improving oneself, volunteered to cover the front desk at the hospital when necessary.  Weirdly,  such a necessary occasion has come up within 48 hours..... I find myself agreeing to go in later today to sit like a chump on the general enquiries desk to face a barrage of doubtless stupid, unanswerable questions and deal with the local nutters who wander in for a chat.  Is this worth the money, I ask myself.  We'll see.

updates and rants. Ooh goody.

hmmmm, what has been going on chez nous since my last post...?  We have slipped back into a bit of a routine with home edding, which has been a relief after the extended Easter/bank hols to tell you the truth.  I feel all out of sorts with too many weird holidays.  Oliver does a picture crossword every day, as his spelling is not great, but think that's down to me pushing him to read by word recognition rather than phonically.  Hence he can read pretty well, but he just would not be able to sit down and write a passage of - well - writing. His actual writing (when he thinks about it) is really well formed.  So the picture crosswords are helping a lot with his confidence in spelling and understanding the general rules of bonkers English.  Maths is still excellent, the Saxon maths book is working really well for him and he is confident of his ability with numbers, which helps.  Still going with the Story Of The World 2 (Susan Wise Bauer), what's not to like? And Oliver is really enjoying Science and Spanish lessons at the hut on a weekly basis.  Physical efforts are taken care of with Judo and Swimming.  He has just attained his first orange bar in Judo, and thrashes his way up and down the pool quite impressively with various swimming strokes and seems he will move up to level 6 soon.  But, best of all these things - he likes people.  He enjoys all his clubs because he likes being with people - all sorts of people.  And I love that.  I feel intensely proud that he doesn't judge people (like I do) and that he seems able to tolerate and accept people's funny little ways (like I don't) and that he doesn't seek to criticise (like I do).  He doesn't seem to have that 'mean streak' that kids pick up from being at school, that little touch of playground savvy that keeps you OK in the dog eat dog world of state education.  I keep telling him to be aware that not all kids will be nice to him, some kids will be out and out mean.  Don't expect it, but don't be surprised by it.  Recognise it, but don't accept it as your responsibility or fault.  And if it makes you feel bad - shun it.  If it's really too bad - come and see me and I'll kick some ass.  Ha ha.

But, I won't always be able to steam in and make it better for him. I read in a Jodi Picoult book once about the feeling of helplessness about protecting your child.  It was something like,  it seems impossible that two people (ie parents) can protect a child from all the dangers in the world.  As they get older, the hazards just change - they don't get any less....  Something to look forward to there, then. 

Talking of books, I have been buying a few old favourites (which I must have ditched over the years) from Amazon:

- Under The Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes.  Makes me want to up sticks and move to Italy immediately.
- A Short Walk From Harrods by Dirk Bogarde.  I love his books - used to have them all - and this was my favourite.
- Past Caring by Robert Goddard.  He is a brilliant storyteller - this was the first one I ever read of his, and love how he weaves in historical events with the tale.
- The Fifth Summer by Titia Sutherland.  Based around a family holiday in Italy - great.

Now to ranting.  I used to read Judy Astley (Muddy Waters, Just For The Summer - brilliant) but she just got 'got', I think, by her publishers to churn out more similar stuff - and it got shit.  Her latest reads are flimsy, frothy, girly shite - and, I hate this genre - CHICK LIT.  Chick lit is shit.  And that's a fact.  I am sick to death of row upon row of books at the library about females in their 20s/30's behaving like bimbos about getting the handsome and sexy man.  The female leads are all, without exception, pretty, scatty and looking for Mr Right.  Or - the other current favourite is a group of unconnected people all co-incidentally meeting up at a holiday villa/dilapidated pile in the Scotland/evening class for dullards.  Irritating and lightweight.  Shame on you ladies.  Even the great Joanna Trollope, Queen of the Aga Saga, has fallen foul of the pink and fluffy paragraph with some of her latest offerings.  Tsk tsk. 

More talking of books, I found out that one of Oliver's friends is reading his way through Harry Potter.  His Mum was lamenting yesterday about waiting for the next one to come in at the library.  I said that I had them all and she was welcome to borrow them, and her delight made me feel a bit small.  I completely take it for granted that if I want a book - I can just go and buy it.  The financial demands of one kid is completely different to those of several children, and waiting for a book to become available at the library is something I have had not needed to experience.  As I was at work, I left the books for her to collect when she dropped Oliver off last night, along with a note urging her to keep them as long as necessary.  She text to say her boy was thrilled, had run all the way home (it's not far away!) with the next book and was now head deep into the Goblet Of Fire.  I felt quite moved to have been able to spread such pleasure in such an easy way, and humbled by the recognition of my own, very fortunate circumstances.

So to baking.  Had a go at the great P&B book a couple of days ago - carrot and coconut fairy cakes with cream cheese frosting.  Well - I didn't have enough carrots, so I chucked in a courgette, and they came out like very robust muffins - nothing fairy about my cakes, let me tell you.  Anyhow, they were greatly improved by a generous topping of heart-stopping butter, cream cheese and a box of icing sugar.  Yesterday they were whisked off to the Scouts coffee morning and book sale along with a banana cake and ubiquitous cream cheese topping.  The banana cake was the first sale of the day - the whole cake for £4.50!!! I am so chuffed, it is embarrassing.  Now, where did I put that WI application.....

Eureka!

As my four year love affair with traditional scrapbooking draws to a sad end, I have been poking about trying to A) find another 'do-able' craft, and B) find a solution to my need to record/document our lives in a pleasing/easy way.  I am crap at knitting and sewing, but wish I wasn't, and can't crochet, but wish I could.  (Actually, I am hopeful of some tuition coming my way in the very near future :)  I have to resign myself to the fact that I think papercrafting is my thing despite my yearning to weave jumpers from ethnic wools and yarns.

I have sold a large chunk of my trad scrap stuff, and I am battling to close the door on it (can't ever let go without a struggle) and during a recent random blog hop, I have stumbled across Project Life.  Now, rocket science it is not, but it has sparked a Eureka moment for me.  It seems to combine visual appeal with speed and simplicity, and finally I think I have found the perfect way to record events/moments using pics, journalling and memorabillia effectively.  Oh happy days. 

There is a competition on this blog: (Ella Publishing) to win the Project Life kit, so here is my entry for it:

The theme is hidden journalling.  This layout tells the tale of how I have turned out to not be a pink and fluffy girly, but I might have liked the opportunity to.....hence the title 'Lady In Waiting.'