I'm not doing it but at least I found the place I can grumble all that's not getting done - some days progress is extra slow!

Since we're not going back for CNY this year (no flights and even less time) I've started planning or thinking about what we'll be doing here. I had a brilliant idea... along with all the other new, clean, fresh ideas that we normally have for CNY I'm tying in the newly organised and spiffed up kids' rooms. Since we'll be saving on flights anyway I thought it wouldn't harm to splurge a little on bedding and accessories, and organising tools. I found the teen version of Julia Morgenstern's book that she wrote with her daughter, and whilst my DD is still only 10 I think more of it applies than doesn't. She's not a little kid any more and although she acts babyish her powers of reason are quite considerable, when she cares to exercise them.

I have yet to figure out what on earth I can cook for Reunion dinner, an I'm thinking of inviting my parents out (or maybe here) for dinner on the first day - can't be for Reunion dinner really because the whole idea for that is communal eating and my father hates the whole idea. That said, we must avoid conflict, punishing children or raised voices in the first days of the new year so maybe seeing my father isn't a good plan!

my painful payroll issues have been vastly relieved by outsourcing this to a company linked to my accountant. They will also be getting our backdated accounts up to speed and sorting us out some new tidy systems for future accounts so that we can draw up all the complicated reports we want at the touch of a button. This is a huge amount of pressure off for me (payroll and DH (accounts) so hopefully we can concentrate on some of the other important things that have been neglected. My priority must be more staff. DH has been doing much better recently because he put up an ad in the shop window. We had an asylum seeker DH wanted to hire, but he couldn't come up with the paperwork we needed to see so he hasn't come back. If he has the right paperwork I think DH would still offer him a job and considering this poor guy has been an asylum seeker for 12yrs I think he probably deserves a break... if he's kosher (excuse the mixed metaphors - he's definitely not Jewish!).

time for an early night since DH isn't around again tonight. Yesterday we had another container to unload and today I sliced my finger on one of the plastic straps round one of our larger products, so it's time to rest and recuperate I reckon... before the weekend!

Kerri.