TAKING CHARGE 27 Mar 06

I sent out several emails late last night which cleverly ensured that I had other people scurrying around on Monday morning to give ME information, not the other way round.

I have another chaotic week in view - calling and emailing to arrange financial and tax stuff, warehousing and offices, websites, printing special stationery, computers and assorted electricals, office furniture, software... And this was just for today! I did pop out for a little while to get bread too - very mundane.

DH is away again this week so that simplifies things slightly - how sad is that! I need to arrange for us to have a second proper desk in here shortly after he gets home. But before that I need to call the phone company to check out our so-called extension lines that don't seem to work and maybe get them to install an upstairs line that does work. Our ordinary phone doesn't require it for upstairs, but the fax machine does and we need to find out where it will go before we worry about how to organise office furniture. I will also have to get quotes from them on setting up for the proper office when we get it, which will be in with the warehousing. We might want to be able to both work in this room, but we do know it isn't enough for storage, let alone our extra staff.

aren't I supposed to be a housewife?? I guess I'm not that any more, but I'm still a SAHM for now. Sort of! Anyway, I'm learning to cheat more frequently with fresh noodles and ready shredded veg, which is actually not a very expensive meal and shaves almost an hour off preparation compared to other meals.

Kerri.

I took the dog to the vet this morning, went to the Post Office, collected a parcel from the sorting office, went grocery shopping and got home at about 2pm.

Good start, eh? Unfortunately, I then spent the next three hours reading A funny thing is happening to me at the moment - in the past few days I have read four completely unrelated books, and every one of them had a character or a place called Winston! I'm beginning to think it's a sign, but I'm not sure of what!

I kept to my new very low grocery budget today again. That's the second week running (I need to do this for about four more weeks, in order to pay various bills etc).

I should be hearing in the next few days if I have an interview for the job I applied for, so fingers crossed. The interviews are next week, so I might dye my hair and get it cut this week just in case. It needs it anyhow.

This week I am going to sort out my bedroom. Again.

Well I got the hair dyed, but that doesn't really represent a day spent well, as it's 3.20pm and all I have done is the hair and a load of laundry. Yet again I am resolving not to leave my hair so long between colours - why do I always wait until I have an inch of grey? The whole idea is for people not to realise I am going grey!

I have more laundry to do today, and a film to watch (I love those corny afternoon films) and then I might just do some organising in my bedroom.

Where is our bold and fearless leader?

I just got asked if I can volunteer a different time for the school library and the short answer is no, which is a shame. I cover a year 6 literacy group and Yr6 have SATS now till nearly the end of May. But if I go another day that becomes a real nuisance, especially with me being so snowed under these days, and the only time I was offered on my usual day is the time I am volunteering in one of the classes, which is why I chose to volunteer for that time slot and day in the first place.

I don't feel that I've achieved much today either. I switched my web-based work emails over so they download into Outlook. Since I was rapidly running out of space since the account was set up a week ago that was very important. It took me a couple of hours though - I hate setting up internet settings or new email accounts because it always seems to take so much fiddling until you get exactly the right combination of information.

I've got a nagging sore spot which might be from sitting down all day, or it could be unrelieved intestinal issues or a kidney infection. I think if it goes on much longer I shall have to dose it up with paracetamol, which is a nuisance too. But hey, at least I know what I'm cooking for dinner, which is just as well because on Tuesdays we have to go back out to collect DD from judo and the time between that and dinner prep time just flies past.

Maybe the paracetamol should be next on the list!

Kerri.

I had a good 8hrs last night (other than DS waking me at 3am with damp pjs - the bed was dry though, thank goodness!) but I feel really rough again today. This doesn't bode well for my ability to work full-time. It is a good reason Honey for you to start small. If you don't get that library job, or if you can choose your hours start with just a few to get you back in the swing because I think we underestimate how much of a change it really is. I feel like I've been hit by a truck sometime in the last two days, and only co-codamol is letting me sit in relative comfort at the moment.

I didn't do nearly as well yesterday as I did on Monday. In spite of my list I didn't achieve much, and my main achievement (the email switch) wasn't even on my list! I really have to call the phone company this morning and arrange something. I do have a meeting tomorrow, but the guy's coming here (I'm already prepared to love him!) so at least I don't have to travel... just clear up and make sure my office or dining room is suitable, let alone my living room which is a disaster area. Maybe travelling wouldn't have been so bad after all!

Right, it's Wednesday... time to not waste the rest of the week!!

Kerri.

Back to the Community Action Team... I spoke to the headmaster yesterday who'd spoken to the police about this last Tuesday apparently. He managed to get an actual person instead of a machine so he urged me to call the police and ask to speak to a person on the Team. Actually, he asked if I was still interested in taking it further after all the trouble I'd had. That was after he told me that they loved my letter so much they'd considered photocopying it and sticking a copy in every classroom to cheer everyone up when they felt like nobody else was fighting on the same side!! This guy would have made a great salesman! So I called this morning and had to hang for grim death while I made everyone chase each round. I now have an incident number!!! HURRAH!! These kids, and more importantly their parents, are not gonna know what's hit them when I'm done but hopefully it will do them the power of good.

In about 25mins I have to go out and volunteer at the school, then I'm coming back to meet with a guy selling me insurance form our new business bank. I needed to get in touch with a telecoms engineer too, but don't have time now. I shall be making sure that the headmaster has the incident number too, so he can throw his weight at this because obviously the prospect of finally being able to do something with these boys before they leave his school in July is really getting him in a good mood. It may also send a message to a number of other known troublemakers which would obviously make things easier for him and his staff.

I also blitzed the downstairs last night in a coupleof hours. There's nothing like the prospect of a total stranger coming to your house to focus the mind on all the things that have needed attention for a while. It looks beautiful down there. I decided the dining room would be better than this office.

HAH! NOW I'm taking charge and woe betide anyone or anything that gets in my way!!

Kerri.

I almost feel sorry for those boys with you on their tail

I had a really productive Wednesday, did loads of sorting out in my bedroom. I also cleaned the bathroom top to bottom (I mean walls, paintwork, everything) and decluttered half a trash bag of unwanted stuff. I get bored with shampoos etc, so I'm always trying new ones but then if I don't like them I keep them anyway Well, now they're gone I've also being doing lots of laundry catch up, but I still have quite a way to go with that. I've a limited amount of drying space indoors, and the weather isn't really up to drying it outside yet - it keeps raining I find the tumble dryer shrinks things, so I mainly only use it for towels and bedding. Does anyone else have the problem with dryers?

This evening I am working on my room again - I am really on a mission now!

I meant to say this to you before but apparently I forgot... I had the same problem, but now I give things a damn good shake out when I take them out of the washing machine, get them back to a decent size before they go in the dryer. This especially applies to tops, t-shirts, pyjamas, sweatshirts, but also to some types of trousers and things. I'm not talking about wiggling them gently back and forth, but a really good snappy shake. It lengthens the body on tops which is where I was having problems. The washing machine starts the trouble but then the dryer locks it there because it dries it quick. When you put it on the line it has time and gravity to stretch it back out a bit.

It does worry me that I may end up with a whole load of parents on my back shortly, but I'm hoping that they might be just scared enough of what I will do to not do anything much to retaliate. If my house gets broken into or damaged while I'm away next month then it won't be hard to point the finger. You can bet I won't be letting the police or so-called Community Action Team (INACTION is more like it) sit on their bums and do nothing. The school si getting to see vastly different sides to me but in many ways they are both linked because both the bullying and the kids who can't read have the same thing in common - lousy parenting in 99% of cases. There are exceptions I agree but it covers the vast majority. And I do tend to get quite soap-boxy about the effects of bad parenting. But the kids I deal with in DS' year are all really nice to me, enthusiastic to tell me things, and the nicer kids I was talking to yesterday during the bullying incident (oh heck, I haven't mentioned that yet) were keen to trust me and involve me. I may even be 'cool'!

Last night after school, to really cut things short, there was a gang of bullying boys turned up on bikes, deliberately following DD and her mates to their new playing spot. I noticed them go past on their bikes so I followed and managed to break things up before anyone got in any more trouble or got hurt, and I stayed with the kids discussing the options for quite a few minutes. The bullies did hang around quite a while as I had to go back and forth to collect DS and then take him over to play. I've insisted that none of the kids wander round on their own now because they are just too vulnerable. I've already taken it back to DD's teacher this morning to follow up!

oh heck, I have to do some work!!!

Kerri.

There, that made you all check in to read this thread, I bet!!

I have been wearing the same ratty old unsupportive bras for ages and I now have three new ones, courtesy of the Avon catalogue If I had known I would be this skint by the time they arrived, I wouldn't have ordered them, but I am glad I did

Last night I worked in my room for five hours and it is almost finished. I will do some more this evening and also need to do laundry (again) and ironing.

Thanks for the dryer advice Kerri. I'm not convinced that's the answer - the last things I shrunk were a fleece top of mine which shrunk to 12 year old size and DS14's jeans which became too tight round the waist. Really, I prefer to hang everything (cheaper too) I just don't have the room

Roll on summer!

... you could use the dryer for things which you know are safe, so you have space enough for the rest. And if it's dry outside for a bit maybe you could plonk your indoor rack in a sunny spot outdoors for an hour or two, then you don't have to worry about it being on a wet clothesline, or having to transfer it whenever you see a few spots of rain. If you gave it a headstart you could still use the dryer and get your house back from the laundry, but you'd have saved money and shrinkage risk. I've not had problems with fleeces or jeans oddly enough. I'd think you could do anything to those.

And speaking of tumble dryers... I went to Lakeland Limited and bought dryer balls and the detergent-free washing ball. I've got the dryer balls going now with some bedding, so I'll let you know how they turn out. I also bought a cleaning cloth which claims not to need detergents to get almost anything clean. And I bought the sheet for keeping the bottom of the oven clean. Can you see a pattern here?? I'm spending all this money to hopefully get things clean without using tons of nasty chemicals. If nothing else I don't want to have my hands reacting. It's also part of my attempt to live our lives with a bit less impact on the environment. I know it's all gonna escalate in my lifetime so I'm trying to be a bit ahead of the game. It helped that I had a discount voucher!

gotta go... trying to have a Skype conversation with DH at the same time and we're both getting very bad tempered, so I'm not going to bring it here. I'm going to throw it squarely where it belongs - at DH! (not very dear right now)

Kerri.

...after a week of taking charge of primarily "relaxation" and "wine" It may take me a few days to get back into my regular life again!

I did come home to an "insider tip" about a job posting for a teaching position in my content area for next year...in a district that would be "o-kay" for me...following up on that will be high on the list for tomorrow!

I haven't read back postings yet....hopefully I'll get to that later this afternoon. Right now, I'm off to change a load of laundry and then to make a meal plan and grocery list for the week!

Hellos to all!
I missed you!
Blessings,
Lenora
"...if woman's work is never done, why bother about how much of it [isn't] getting done at any given moment?"
~ Claire Fraser in The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

How was your holiday Lenora?? Hope you had loads of fun and some good weather to go with it!

well I don't know about a comparison with plain water but I did have a single test piece in my laundry. I didn't have any stains or anything else obvious (it was a dark wash) but I did have one pair of extremely soggy, and very smelly pyjamas (courtesy of DS!) and they didn't smell at all when they came out. Haven't yet finished the drying because I've been doing it in small stages which just haven't been enough yet - the dryer never had time to get warm!

Tonight (it's heading towards half seven now) I have to get the kids fed and in bed (sausage rolls - we ate at my parents' house earlier), watch West Wing that I skipped on Friday, rewire a video player that had a moulded plug on that won't fit through the hole in my cabinet (the video player was a freebie from my parents), figure out how to record the Australian Grand Prix (my not-so-DS told me who won already!) then work out the structure and contents of a sub-franchise agreement! Oh and sleep if I get chance. But I have to squeeze in time for a bath.

Better go get the sausage rolls out before they go black...

Kerri.