friday fin de la semaine... well almost

Had M to mind today. OK ish. Boys fighting a wee bit. Minging day so made biscuits in the afternoon which really passed the time enjoyably, although I do feel a tad sick after eating so many of them....

I spent £3 at playgroup, which was kind of necessary with 2 boys and a rainy day. So it comes off the £42 I earnt making the spend nothing and the earnings £39.

S did not come and pick up the pictures, so the income from them has to wait until another week. Its getting kind of necessary to get a job and its rather depressing to keep getting rejections from things I so could easily do. I don't really know how to up my chances. I still seem to have so little time to do the job hunt thing. I want to get out there and go ask people, I just feel a little face to face combat might generate more interest than a CV sent online.

Please, universe, can I have a 3 days supergroup before Christmas please?

oops

My lovely friend J came to visit today. And as a consequence, though I really can' blame it on her, I spanked £15 on lunch and coffees etc. Bums. That blew the no spend budget. Must think this visitor mallarky through more, before setting off to meet someone at the station.

Bub has been off colour for a while. Perhaps we all have. I am all mixed up slightly with motivation. I think I need some motivation mojo. Hub says I could do with a bit more positive energy. I feel slightly deflated at the lack of time I seem to have to do stuff. Actually, and here I am writing my blog. HA HA. Message number 2 from the Universe. I do know that people have built empires in the evenings after their wee ones have gone to bed. Goodness they manage well. I don't quite know how they do it. Mind you people have run marathons and all sorts and I can't imagine how they get that sorted neither.

But, I do have stuff to do.... here's a lovely Get STuff Done list

finish Bub's birthday thank you cards (is there perhaps an easier way of doing birthdays?)
make some cards for sale in a shop
oh finish our book keeping. YUCK why is book keeping for no money so hard to get around to doing?
My lovely art poster idea. I am planning to do this on SUnday when I have some Bub free time.

kerching and art all in one.

I just sold two portraits. I am very chuffed. That's £150 which will bring my weekly total up to um £275. Not at all bad. And again, realising that the art thing is not just wafty wafty pumpkin head nonsense.

I have these ideas for slogan posters, but done in collage and fabrics. I really think that they will work. I want so much to do them.

xx

I dunno. Perhaps this space really doesn't lend itself to being so very practical. I preferred the open hearted reaching and questing that it had become. And all the pictures and that. BUt you know, its all circular. It goes around and it comes around again, but different and further up and further along. Sometimes I feel I am wandering too far from my dreams, sometimes I feel I am losing touch with the ground and reality, but it just comes around again. I feel the stirrings of dreams and a real tangible quality to them. THings are changing. I can feel it. My 2 best friends contacted me this week. Both want to come and visit. I am making interesting life choices. And art is not disappearing.

here comes life. here we go again. wooo hoooo!

no spend november day 3

Well yesterday was a personal zero spend for both hub and myself. Hub spent £11.50 on food. Today is going strong on zero spend and I also got £35 from playgroup today. Marvellous and I am hoping to sell a portrait this afternoon. fingers crossed.

I applied for 2 jobs and contacted an accountancy employment agency. Hub had a diabetic issue yesterday afternoon, so I managed to avoid a trip to the job centre.....

I guess I am still hoping for something marvellous to just appear out of thin air....

Art Retreats

I just had a lovely chat with Cindy O Leary who runs the Artful Journey retreats in the US. What a really nice lady. It was inspiring talking to her and also interesting to realise how she got to where she is now took her such a long time. Working with the bigger retreats, getting to know the artists she liked, and wanted to work with, that are the really good teachers. Again it seems that to know how the whole artists retreat thing works, is to go on lots of retreats.... which all seem to happen in America... I am not sure how to progress. I feel I do have the right skills to do it, but I certainly do not yet have the contacts... However, the idea of starting up as a group of friends maybe with a tutor or two to give some creative shape to the proceedings....

So inspiring and informative a chat. And she is so lovely. Made me just want to go on her retreat immediately. Dang. And made me think that organising a creative retreat really is something I want to do.


No Spend November - at the end of day one - I spent £3.26 on milk and £18.96 on postage. Postage was work / ebay so covered and the milk, kind of sort of necessary.... bit annoyed as could have used the soya. Am still on normal mode. Earnt £27 baby sitting. No other spending. WEll done me.

November No Spend day 1

Does it count that we are only half way through day one? WEll, its all going very well so far. WE went to a party yesterday and spent £10.35 because of it. But I did take 2 things back to the shop which I might not have bothered with other wise, so I got £4.29 and £2.50 returned so it wasn't too much of a stretch and in fact we still have 4 cans of guiness, a pack of Doritos and some salsa dip left over - as they weren't used.

Its nice to have Hub on board with this mission. We are a team. Which is just the best thing ever. WE are also both on an earn money quest too. This week I am doing some babysitting which will bring in £75. Playgroup will bring in something - probably about £20 ish.

We all went to a friends house last night to a halloween trick or treat street. We dressed up, we frightened children who came to our door and doled out 288 mini mars bars. Bub had a ball dressed as a dalmation and roaring at trick or treaters. And it was so nice to socialise as a couple, nay, as a family! Hurrah!