This post is completely unrelated to work, but I feel the urge to vent so this seems to be a good place!
I try and do my bit and whenever possible I walk to collect my daughter from school or son from playschool. It saves me petrol (bloody expensive now!) and keeps me fitter (eating chocolate while you walk doesn't count does it?).
Unfortunately my daughters school is on a very narrow road. The parking there is tricky to say the least which means some parents park on the zigzag lines, double yellow lines, half up on the pavement and double park. You can imagine how much fun negotiating all that is with a double pushchair.
Last wednesday I had walked up the school and my 3 year old was walking so I just had the two year old in the pushchair. As we came out of the school there was a HGV sitting at the side of the road, on the "wrong" side, engine turned off sitting on the zigzag lines. The driver was refusing to move and was trying to make the drivers of cars coming the other way back up so he could get where he wanted to go.
I basically ignored it all and was smugly thinking ha ha this is why I walk up! I walked on the pavement with the children alongside the lorry.
Unfortunately this is when my smugness got shattered. The lorry moved and as it swung back out to the right side of the road its tailgate bars swung out and caught my pushchair. This started to drag my pushchair (containing the 2 year old) backwards and towards the road.
I don't remember much - according to some of the other mothers I dragged the pushchair off the bars, shoved the 8yr and 3 yr old into the hedge alongside the pavement to get them out of harms way before shouting in not so polite terms at the driver.
The driver of the lorry seemed to think that since the children were unharmed and it was only me that had been clipped by the tailbars on my arm (as well as wrenching my muscles by dragging the pushchair away from the HGV) that all should be forgiven and ignored.
I am not so forgiving when it comes to situations like this - IF my 3 year old had been in the pushchair like he is normally those heavy metal tailbars would have hit him in his face doing god knows what kind of damage, if I hadn't have dragged the pushchair off the tail bars my 2 year old would have been dragged down the road in the pushchair. And due to this the police were called.
Have got to admit that the youngest two are having nightmares as am I at the moment.
Hopefully the parking situation will resolve its self soon but it has put me off walking up to school for the time being.
A down to earth look at the life of a self employed DEA who has 3 children and 4 dogs - multitasking here we come!
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label children. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
check, check and check again
I cannot believe it is only ten past 7! All 3 children are washed, fed and dressed and we don't have to leave for school until just after 8, the cleaning is done and my invoicing for my work today is already done. Am in super organised mode today.
I was outside a moment ago (letting the dogs down the garden) and its trying to snow?! I love the snow normally but after Decembers efforts - 3 inches of snow one day the entire country grinds to a stop, followed by no snow just ice and slush then a little bit more snow, I would prefer it to not snow at the moment.
A family friend rang me the other night to talk about renewable energy - and I admit it I learned something new. He works for a solar panel company and he wanted to see if my house was south facing, due to the Governments feed in tarriff the company he works for will install the solar panels on your roof for free. Being the cynical person I can be I wanted to know what the catch was. Apparently to get the solar panels for free your house (this applys to commercial buildings as well) needs to be south facing and must be able to accommodate at least a 3.5Kw system and must be willing to sign a lease agreement for the company to lease their roof for the next 25 years. The benefits of this is that although the company gets the feed in tarrif from the Government for all the energy going back into the grid the homeowner gets the rest of the free energy and therefore lowers their own personal heating bills. I am going to look into it further and see if my house is suitable - as far as I am concerned it would be a selling point for my property (if and when I sell) as who wouldn't want cheaper heating bills for their home!
Last night I was proved right in my obsession in double checking. I did a "tricky" property the other week, beautiful house but there were numerous improvements that the rdsap would not be able to calculate properly. So to make sure that my EPC was produced correctly and as accurately as possible I rang my accreditation company. This is my 4th year of being a DEA but I would rather ring and double, triple check than produce an incorrect EPC. After quite a bit of back and forth calls we came to a conclusion that would produce the most accurate EPC for the client. Last night made me very glad that I had done that as the client queried the result on the EPC - I managed to explain everything and because I had checked thoroughly I was confident and happy in my answers.
Off to get myself up and dressed ready for the walk to school (saving petrol and energy and hopefully working off a bit of the Christmas stodge!)
I was outside a moment ago (letting the dogs down the garden) and its trying to snow?! I love the snow normally but after Decembers efforts - 3 inches of snow one day the entire country grinds to a stop, followed by no snow just ice and slush then a little bit more snow, I would prefer it to not snow at the moment.
A family friend rang me the other night to talk about renewable energy - and I admit it I learned something new. He works for a solar panel company and he wanted to see if my house was south facing, due to the Governments feed in tarriff the company he works for will install the solar panels on your roof for free. Being the cynical person I can be I wanted to know what the catch was. Apparently to get the solar panels for free your house (this applys to commercial buildings as well) needs to be south facing and must be able to accommodate at least a 3.5Kw system and must be willing to sign a lease agreement for the company to lease their roof for the next 25 years. The benefits of this is that although the company gets the feed in tarrif from the Government for all the energy going back into the grid the homeowner gets the rest of the free energy and therefore lowers their own personal heating bills. I am going to look into it further and see if my house is suitable - as far as I am concerned it would be a selling point for my property (if and when I sell) as who wouldn't want cheaper heating bills for their home!
Last night I was proved right in my obsession in double checking. I did a "tricky" property the other week, beautiful house but there were numerous improvements that the rdsap would not be able to calculate properly. So to make sure that my EPC was produced correctly and as accurately as possible I rang my accreditation company. This is my 4th year of being a DEA but I would rather ring and double, triple check than produce an incorrect EPC. After quite a bit of back and forth calls we came to a conclusion that would produce the most accurate EPC for the client. Last night made me very glad that I had done that as the client queried the result on the EPC - I managed to explain everything and because I had checked thoroughly I was confident and happy in my answers.
Off to get myself up and dressed ready for the walk to school (saving petrol and energy and hopefully working off a bit of the Christmas stodge!)
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
More products?
Its a bitterly cold wednesday. Ice on the cars and on the roads. But I am in a happy place right now - I managed to get all 3 kids fed, washed and dressed before 8am without having to shout once! Normally I have turned into the fishwife from hell by 8am on a school day shouting at one or the other to hurry up, we will be late, get moving etc so to have not had to do that feels so good - don't want to jinx myself but maybe the kids are getting into the routine finally?
Work this week is quiet so I am concentrating on researching other products I can offer to my clients and (hopefully) potential clients. I already do EPCs, commercial EPCs, floorplans and inventories so other than check ins of tenants am not sure what else I can offer (any ideas let me know!). Have thought about videos of properties, a walk through of a property for sale - it would save time as potential buyers would be able to get a wonderful feel for the property but am not 100% on that at the moment. It would be similar to the 360 tours that were in fashion some time ago but it would incorportate all of the property so that idea needs some looking into.
The current situation with mortgages is worrying me at the moment, unless the Government does something then the market is going to continue on its current path. We need to see the lending "freeing" up so that more people can get on the market! If the Government wants more people in work it would certainly help alot of builders get back to work if the housing market started moving again and it would, with stamp duty etc, give more revenue for the Government and help the UK get out of debt.
Work this week is quiet so I am concentrating on researching other products I can offer to my clients and (hopefully) potential clients. I already do EPCs, commercial EPCs, floorplans and inventories so other than check ins of tenants am not sure what else I can offer (any ideas let me know!). Have thought about videos of properties, a walk through of a property for sale - it would save time as potential buyers would be able to get a wonderful feel for the property but am not 100% on that at the moment. It would be similar to the 360 tours that were in fashion some time ago but it would incorportate all of the property so that idea needs some looking into.
The current situation with mortgages is worrying me at the moment, unless the Government does something then the market is going to continue on its current path. We need to see the lending "freeing" up so that more people can get on the market! If the Government wants more people in work it would certainly help alot of builders get back to work if the housing market started moving again and it would, with stamp duty etc, give more revenue for the Government and help the UK get out of debt.
Friday, 17 December 2010
warm/cold front
Well the good news is that Warm Front grants will be back next year and concentrate first on elderly and poor households. http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Resources/Energy-saving-news/Energy-bills/Warm-Front-will-return-DECC-says/(energysavingtrust)/808901
I haven't written much over the past few weeks as I have been hit by a nasty bug - otherwise known as proper flu. I spent the majority of last week in bed and am still very run down with little energy. I can't believe that I caught this bug over my birthday as well as I had, for once, got a lovely birthday weekend planned.
The cold weather has once again returned to the UK after a week or so of warmer weather. It was snowing yesterday and its trying to snow again now. I must admit the weather reports are frustrating me though - it would be nice if for once they got it right. The midlands didn't get much of the snow last time but according to the current forecast we will be getting more this time. I don't mind too much though as all the Christmas shopping is done and my husband is on his way home later today and doesn't have to go back to work for another two weeks. It will be lovely to be able to spend some time with him and the kids love having him at home.
I haven't written much over the past few weeks as I have been hit by a nasty bug - otherwise known as proper flu. I spent the majority of last week in bed and am still very run down with little energy. I can't believe that I caught this bug over my birthday as well as I had, for once, got a lovely birthday weekend planned.
The cold weather has once again returned to the UK after a week or so of warmer weather. It was snowing yesterday and its trying to snow again now. I must admit the weather reports are frustrating me though - it would be nice if for once they got it right. The midlands didn't get much of the snow last time but according to the current forecast we will be getting more this time. I don't mind too much though as all the Christmas shopping is done and my husband is on his way home later today and doesn't have to go back to work for another two weeks. It will be lovely to be able to spend some time with him and the kids love having him at home.
Thursday, 2 December 2010
I can't
Its been a very different Thursday. It started off when I woke up feeling very very cold, checked thermostat and it was reading 10 degrees, felt radiators and they were icy cold. Then the panic set in - I have a combi condensing boiler (I practice what I preach) and no heating also means no hot water! 3 children to bath and washing to do, 3 children at home and no heating?????
So there I was 6am outside in the old toilet where the boiler lives, in pyjamas, dressing gown and wellies trying frantically to make the boiler work - I defrosted the external condensing pipe, did a restart, switched it off, everything that I could think of but still no boiler, no heat and the only thing turning the air blue was my language!
In the end I was talked through how to fix it by a kind friend who is a plumber but it still took the majority of the morning.
Its been snowing here now on and off for the past week, nothing substantial and not enough to close the schools so I have been carrying on going to work - just factoring in more time and being careful on the roads. I do wish that my area would just get some proper snow like everywhere else in the country seems to be getting so we knew what we were doing.
In light of the weather I am now with just over 24hrs to go still unsure if I am going to my husbands mess do tomorrow night - I don't want to drive down there if its bad and according to the other half at the moment there is over 6" of snow around him. It is a shame as I was really looking forward to the night out!
What is playing on my mind at the minute is some of the people I know. There is one of them that has been given the worst run of luck for the past 5 years, her father was very ill and passed away and now her grandma (who is her last relative) is very ill. She is slightly younger than me and is facing all these problems with a show of determination and bravery that makes me so proud to know her. Another friend is one of the "I can't" brigade - although she and all her family have their health, everything to her is a problem. Not a day goes by at the moment when she isn't sending 15 odd texts asking for help and advice on the silliest of things, she expects an awful lot of hand holding. I feel incredibly frustrated when I get one of these texts and am resisting the temptation to tell her some "home truths".
I suppose the whole morale of the above situation is that you never know what is going to come your way and there isn't a whole lot you can do to alter destiny/fate but what you CAN always do is manage the way you handle problems. There are lots of occasions when I want to sit on the floor and have a tantrum like my 3 year old would but I try to do something positive instead.
So there I was 6am outside in the old toilet where the boiler lives, in pyjamas, dressing gown and wellies trying frantically to make the boiler work - I defrosted the external condensing pipe, did a restart, switched it off, everything that I could think of but still no boiler, no heat and the only thing turning the air blue was my language!
In the end I was talked through how to fix it by a kind friend who is a plumber but it still took the majority of the morning.
Its been snowing here now on and off for the past week, nothing substantial and not enough to close the schools so I have been carrying on going to work - just factoring in more time and being careful on the roads. I do wish that my area would just get some proper snow like everywhere else in the country seems to be getting so we knew what we were doing.
In light of the weather I am now with just over 24hrs to go still unsure if I am going to my husbands mess do tomorrow night - I don't want to drive down there if its bad and according to the other half at the moment there is over 6" of snow around him. It is a shame as I was really looking forward to the night out!
What is playing on my mind at the minute is some of the people I know. There is one of them that has been given the worst run of luck for the past 5 years, her father was very ill and passed away and now her grandma (who is her last relative) is very ill. She is slightly younger than me and is facing all these problems with a show of determination and bravery that makes me so proud to know her. Another friend is one of the "I can't" brigade - although she and all her family have their health, everything to her is a problem. Not a day goes by at the moment when she isn't sending 15 odd texts asking for help and advice on the silliest of things, she expects an awful lot of hand holding. I feel incredibly frustrated when I get one of these texts and am resisting the temptation to tell her some "home truths".
I suppose the whole morale of the above situation is that you never know what is going to come your way and there isn't a whole lot you can do to alter destiny/fate but what you CAN always do is manage the way you handle problems. There are lots of occasions when I want to sit on the floor and have a tantrum like my 3 year old would but I try to do something positive instead.
Monday, 29 November 2010
To snow or not to snow?
So The bad weather started early last week and since then I have been glued to the weather reports and the websites such as the met office. It finally started snowing here overnight Friday and we woke up to 5cm or so of snow lying on top of the dreaded ice - the council gritters were no where in sight despite all the warnings of snow and the side roads were like an ice rink but I had appointments booked for Saturday morning so of to work I went.
I managed to do all my appointments and only fell over once or twice - injuring my pride rather than anything else!
We all went sledging in the afternoon and the kids loved it, it was the first time the boys (age 3 and 20 months) had been and they really did enjoy it.
But now we are in limbo - you get up every morning and rush to see if there is enough snow to shut the schools and if there is that much snow you then have to wait for the official announcement via the local radio that "yes the school is shut" or you risk life and limb by chucking all 3 kids in the car for a trip to school via the local skating rink (the roads closest to the school - the school is on a bus route but the gritters still don't go down there) and hope that a few of the teachers have arrived and the school is open. Depending on which website you go on we are in for lots of snow overnight and all day tomorrow or a little bit of snow tonight and none tomorrow - complete and utter limbo, definitely a wait and see situation.
I do miss the snow from my childhood (that makes me sound old - although it is my 33rd birthday in just over 10 days) when there was enough to literally stop the country for a couple of days rather than just enough to make it awkward and difficult for 2 weeks.
So while awaiting the news from Cancun I will be watching out my window for the snow........
I managed to do all my appointments and only fell over once or twice - injuring my pride rather than anything else!
We all went sledging in the afternoon and the kids loved it, it was the first time the boys (age 3 and 20 months) had been and they really did enjoy it.
But now we are in limbo - you get up every morning and rush to see if there is enough snow to shut the schools and if there is that much snow you then have to wait for the official announcement via the local radio that "yes the school is shut" or you risk life and limb by chucking all 3 kids in the car for a trip to school via the local skating rink (the roads closest to the school - the school is on a bus route but the gritters still don't go down there) and hope that a few of the teachers have arrived and the school is open. Depending on which website you go on we are in for lots of snow overnight and all day tomorrow or a little bit of snow tonight and none tomorrow - complete and utter limbo, definitely a wait and see situation.
I do miss the snow from my childhood (that makes me sound old - although it is my 33rd birthday in just over 10 days) when there was enough to literally stop the country for a couple of days rather than just enough to make it awkward and difficult for 2 weeks.
So while awaiting the news from Cancun I will be watching out my window for the snow........
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
General.
Am feeling quite positive today - the 3 year old is a playschool (where is finally starting to behave), 8 year old at school and I have now had 6 nights undisturbed sleep - might not sound like a lot but when you have not had more than one night undisturbed over the course of 3 years its fantastic!
Have got the day off work today and have been good and spent the morning getting organised, lodging new addresses with Landmark ready for work tomorrow and doing that dreaded task of chasing invoices. I like to get "ahead" of myself where possible - it means that the clients get a quick turnaround from access to a property to receipt of the EPC and that is very important to me. I am very glad that I have been able to continue with being a self employed DEA (although it has been and is a struggle sometimes) because I was talking to a gentleman yesterday who because of unpaid invoices and lack of work has had to quit being a DEA - he simply cannot afford to do the job anymore.
I have also arranged a babysitter (grandparents - thank you!) and am off to my husbands mess function next week - very excited have never been able to go before, although am now nervous about what to wear (can't believe I said that - but don't want to show the other half up and need to be correctly dressed). Any ideas? I don't think it is a ball gown kind of function but the men are in suits so need to be smart - definitely not a Saturday night out with the girls kind of outfit from what I can understand.
Its been so cold overnight that there is ice on all the cars and on all the roofs in my street - its one of those times when you can clearly see who has insulated their lofts - those that melt quickly that's your heat and money heading skywards!
Have got the day off work today and have been good and spent the morning getting organised, lodging new addresses with Landmark ready for work tomorrow and doing that dreaded task of chasing invoices. I like to get "ahead" of myself where possible - it means that the clients get a quick turnaround from access to a property to receipt of the EPC and that is very important to me. I am very glad that I have been able to continue with being a self employed DEA (although it has been and is a struggle sometimes) because I was talking to a gentleman yesterday who because of unpaid invoices and lack of work has had to quit being a DEA - he simply cannot afford to do the job anymore.
I have also arranged a babysitter (grandparents - thank you!) and am off to my husbands mess function next week - very excited have never been able to go before, although am now nervous about what to wear (can't believe I said that - but don't want to show the other half up and need to be correctly dressed). Any ideas? I don't think it is a ball gown kind of function but the men are in suits so need to be smart - definitely not a Saturday night out with the girls kind of outfit from what I can understand.
Its been so cold overnight that there is ice on all the cars and on all the roofs in my street - its one of those times when you can clearly see who has insulated their lofts - those that melt quickly that's your heat and money heading skywards!
Monday, 22 November 2010
Nothing of interest
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20101122/tsc-uk-climate-costs-011ccfa.html - worth reading. Its interesting to know that it will cost money if we don't work together to save energy and money!
Hope everyone had a good weekend. Work is picking up quiet a bit at the minute (fingers crossed and touch wood) so hopefully it will continue for a while. The evil creatures I live with (my children) have finally been sleeping through the night so I have been playing catch up on my sleep while I can.
Am eagerly awaiting the Cancun fortnight and whatever (hopefully lots) of decisions are made during that time, I haven't been writing as much lately as I think you will all get very bored with me during that fortnight as I get on my soapbox and rant about whatever is released in the press.
I am sad to say that there seems to be still alot of problems for some DEAs getting their money out of an EPC company - it is a shame and there are always two sides to every story but at the end of the day if you have done the work you deserve to be paid and in this current climate it is essential that you are paid and paid on time! There was another story about it today - follow this link http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=3738&type=news_features
Hope everyone had a good weekend. Work is picking up quiet a bit at the minute (fingers crossed and touch wood) so hopefully it will continue for a while. The evil creatures I live with (my children) have finally been sleeping through the night so I have been playing catch up on my sleep while I can.
Am eagerly awaiting the Cancun fortnight and whatever (hopefully lots) of decisions are made during that time, I haven't been writing as much lately as I think you will all get very bored with me during that fortnight as I get on my soapbox and rant about whatever is released in the press.
I am sad to say that there seems to be still alot of problems for some DEAs getting their money out of an EPC company - it is a shame and there are always two sides to every story but at the end of the day if you have done the work you deserve to be paid and in this current climate it is essential that you are paid and paid on time! There was another story about it today - follow this link http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=3738&type=news_features
Saturday, 20 November 2010
Situation normal
I haven't written much this week as 1. have not had much to say, 2. have been that tired. Unfortunately my youngest has decided that sleep is not an option and for the past 6 months he has been getting me up 3-4 times a night. I have been shattered, but on the plus side, it seems like we have finally turned the corner as I have had 3 whole nights of undisturbed sleep! I feel like a new person.
Alot of DEAs that I know are now diversifying - one has become an estate agent, 2 or 3 are now doing cavity wall insulation, another one is selling PVs and a few more are doing inventories.
I already do floor plans, write ups and photos and after Christmas will be including video tours of properties in the services that I offer. I am also considering inventories but I want to check into that more thoroughly before I get involved. I have previously carried out inventories (back in 2005) but I want to check and see what current legislation is and if there are any necessary qualifications/insurances that you need. Obviously I would be an unbias person to carry out the inventory but I like to double check everything first before I start doing anything. I think that it is very necessary to make sure that everything you do is very professional and done to the highest possible standard.
Am having a peaceful (can you call it that?) weekend at home with the children so its nice, I've heard all about the latest school gossip - who has had a red/yellow card etc and who has kissed who and my 3yr old has informed me he is going to marry his girlfriend (that's what I call forward planning).
Off to walk the dogs in the fog. Have a lovely weekend.
Alot of DEAs that I know are now diversifying - one has become an estate agent, 2 or 3 are now doing cavity wall insulation, another one is selling PVs and a few more are doing inventories.
I already do floor plans, write ups and photos and after Christmas will be including video tours of properties in the services that I offer. I am also considering inventories but I want to check into that more thoroughly before I get involved. I have previously carried out inventories (back in 2005) but I want to check and see what current legislation is and if there are any necessary qualifications/insurances that you need. Obviously I would be an unbias person to carry out the inventory but I like to double check everything first before I start doing anything. I think that it is very necessary to make sure that everything you do is very professional and done to the highest possible standard.
Am having a peaceful (can you call it that?) weekend at home with the children so its nice, I've heard all about the latest school gossip - who has had a red/yellow card etc and who has kissed who and my 3yr old has informed me he is going to marry his girlfriend (that's what I call forward planning).
Off to walk the dogs in the fog. Have a lovely weekend.
Monday, 15 November 2010
a little more personal
I have been reading up on what you are supposed to put on a blog, how to encourage comments on your writing etc and have got to admit I am confused so I am just going to carry on regardless and hope that people like it. I would love to see comments and I would love to have "followers" but I am new at this and if some of the energy advice/news I put up on here and then comment about helps someone then thats enough for me. For this post I thought I would put up something alittle more personal than energy related issues.
Its very quiet work wise at the moment, too quiet for me with Christmas looming it is an expensive time of year and I'd love some more work in so that I can have a really nice Christmas with my family. There are several reasons why Christmas is very important to me this year - all 3 of the children now understand what presents are and it is going to be incredible watching them open them, my husband is due to be at home on leave so we will get to spend some real family time together and to hopefully make it a better Christmas than we had last year.
In November of 2009 my mother in law was diagnosed with cancer. A week later she had the full diagnosis - it was small cell lung cancer with secondarys to the brain and liver. She was living alone in a bungalow at this time and wanted to come home from the hospital so that visitors could come to see her with ease. The following weeks with trying to organise care for her in her home and ending up doing alot of the caring myself, and watching a very strong, independant woman waste away were horrific. She died on the 27th of December, 4 weeks after getting her full diagnosis and a day after her birthday. I can only hope that where ever she is now that she is happy and that is pleased that we followed her wishes to the letter.
So after the Christmas we had last year we want to make some happier memories this year.
Its very quiet work wise at the moment, too quiet for me with Christmas looming it is an expensive time of year and I'd love some more work in so that I can have a really nice Christmas with my family. There are several reasons why Christmas is very important to me this year - all 3 of the children now understand what presents are and it is going to be incredible watching them open them, my husband is due to be at home on leave so we will get to spend some real family time together and to hopefully make it a better Christmas than we had last year.
In November of 2009 my mother in law was diagnosed with cancer. A week later she had the full diagnosis - it was small cell lung cancer with secondarys to the brain and liver. She was living alone in a bungalow at this time and wanted to come home from the hospital so that visitors could come to see her with ease. The following weeks with trying to organise care for her in her home and ending up doing alot of the caring myself, and watching a very strong, independant woman waste away were horrific. She died on the 27th of December, 4 weeks after getting her full diagnosis and a day after her birthday. I can only hope that where ever she is now that she is happy and that is pleased that we followed her wishes to the letter.
So after the Christmas we had last year we want to make some happier memories this year.
Monday, 8 November 2010
Its never too early
I have a fairly busy life, no busier than any other working mothers life but with 3 kids and work and then all the other little bits that come into it - housework, taking care of the dogs, washing, school/playschool run, organising childcare etc it can get pretty hectic. Thats why I am devoted to my diary - everything that needs to be done gets put down and ticked off once its done (allows me to feel smug when I've done everything).
Today I have managed to get all the christmas presents either ordered online or bought. I have my list of who is getting what and its a nice feeling especially as I hate the shops in December. But is it too soon?
I don't think it is, it pays to be organised nowadays and it will free up time that I would have spent battling my way through other panicing shoppers in December, queuing up for the till, getting rammed by pushchairs and stretching my arms dragging bags and annoyed kids round the shops.
There are other things that can never be done too early - teaching your children about how to save energy, just little simple things like turning off the tv completely instead of leaving it on standby, switching off the lights when you leave a room and insulating your house to a good standard - the people who got the grants and got cavity wall/loft insulation in spring and summer 2010 will now be starting to feel the benefit they won't get such large bills over the next quarter and will be able to save energy and money.
So in the spirit of starting early - I wish everyone a very merry christmas and a happy new year :),
Today I have managed to get all the christmas presents either ordered online or bought. I have my list of who is getting what and its a nice feeling especially as I hate the shops in December. But is it too soon?
I don't think it is, it pays to be organised nowadays and it will free up time that I would have spent battling my way through other panicing shoppers in December, queuing up for the till, getting rammed by pushchairs and stretching my arms dragging bags and annoyed kids round the shops.
There are other things that can never be done too early - teaching your children about how to save energy, just little simple things like turning off the tv completely instead of leaving it on standby, switching off the lights when you leave a room and insulating your house to a good standard - the people who got the grants and got cavity wall/loft insulation in spring and summer 2010 will now be starting to feel the benefit they won't get such large bills over the next quarter and will be able to save energy and money.
So in the spirit of starting early - I wish everyone a very merry christmas and a happy new year :),
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