Lightening Online

… it can flow through to things you’d rather not procrastinate on.

Like blogging.

I’ve lost count of the number of posts in my “drafts” folder that just need “finishing”.

Since I got this new laptop, the photographs are a bit more complicated to upload and resize so any post requiring photographs tends to get “put off”.

Mind you, my life has been crazy busy throughout November as well.

I keep thinking “if I can just survive this week, next week will be better”.

But by the time “next week” arrives, it’s really not looking much better.

I *think* December will be slightly better than November (more a testament to how busy November was mind you).  We’ve done very little in the way of reaping though (often we’re nearly finished by now) so it’ll hopefully be a busy time on the farm (if the rain ever stops).

My summer garden is looking good (I’d promise pics but don’t want to make promises I might not keep).

I’ve been a busy little “Christmas Elf” shopping for our local Christmas Tree and also for our Sunday School.  I’ve wrapped around 100 gifts in the past week and haven’t even started on our own yet (wrapping them that is - most of the shopping is now done).

In the past month I’ve also managed to get a bit of that painting done I was going to do LAST YEAR!  The family room and bathroom is now done.  Kids rooms are next and then our room but I don’t think I’ll try and tackle too much more until after Christmas now.

I’ve also been trying to declutter stuff.  We just have too much.  Bags and bags of stuff has gone out the door and yet still I feel like we’re drowning.  I’m hoping if I just keep chipping away at it, I’ll actually be able to see some progress eventually.

As I briefly mentioned above, our harvest has been postponed due to rain.  Unfortunately there is already quite a bit of shot grain around the place (where the ripe seed puts out a shoot).  This can mean a downgrading in what farmers get paid for their grain so is concerning many who really need a decent year to pull us out of the slump that the past 7 years has put us in.  It just goes to show that you can’t really count on anything until the grain is in the silo.

Lleyton has High School transition this week.  It’s not a huge deal for us here as our children go to an Area School so they don’t have to change schools (just a change to a different section of the school).  Still, I couldn’t help but shed a tear when the note came home.  I’m not ready for my firstborn to be old enough for High School yet!

There is a very brief catch up of our lives of late.  What you have been up to that’s keeping you busy?

Please tell me I’m not the only one who is finding money slipping through her fingers like water.

Me, the one who usually has a decent handle on money and knows where it has gone and manages to hold onto a portion of it.

Me, the “frugal” one whose friends shake their heads wondering “how she does it”.

Not so much this year.

We’ve been having a bit of a disaster money wise this year.

Nothing major.

Just lots of little “cash leaks”.

And a distinct lack of interest in doing anything to plug them.

I do think that at times it’s good to let loose a little (as long as it’s within your means).

But this year has just been good proof that ignoring your finances will lead to money disappearing at a rapid rate.

Mind you, everyone is talking about how expensive things like food have gotten.

And we didn’t buy any winter clothing last year so we did need a bit of a catch up.

But if I don’t do something about our spending soon, I may have to dip into our emergency fund to cover the shortfall.

I hope it doesn’t get to that stage.

How do I intend to turn things around?

I have no idea!

But I’ll keep you posted.
P.S.  I’ve been in Adelaide this past week with Lleyton for Sapsasa Tennis so I actually have a real excuse for not posting (for a change).  Hope to post some pics soon.