Nathan's Birthday :-)

Well he made it to 8 years old!! I do have some pics, but I've had such a hectic day (more about that later) that I haven't had a chance to download anything yet!

Nathan had a fabulous day - pressies in the morning and he got a new Nintendo DS (his third one due to breaking them GRRRR!) with a new game from his dad and me ... some Ben 10 toys from his Aunt & Uncle, a cheque from his Gran and a football & England watch from his Nan.

In the past we have always gone waaaaaay overboard with presents, but this year I'd purposely said to hub that I didn't want to be spending a fortune on extra little bits and pieces because a) we can't afford to, and b) we are spending £100 between us on a new DS AND a new game!!

To be honest, Nathan loved what he got, he's a happy boy, and I don't think he missed out AT ALL with "quantity" because he does understand the value of what he got too.

Apparently he had an "awesome" day at school too! Always good to hear!

This evening we all went out for a family meal at the restaurant around the corner (The Sussex Potter) at Nathan's choice! Ate waaaay too much, had fabulous desserts, made a complete mess and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Where's Dee up to with the paperwork I hear you asking?

Well, so kind of you to ask! LOL Okay so my mission today was to sort through the oldest papedwork and get that in month order... nice big tick on the ole checklist there! Tomorrow the plan is to START 2005 month order filing and get some orders poured. I sent out a fair few boxes today, got paperwork filed AND I have even organised a system to file all of the current and future paperwork too!

Damn I am actually loving sorting all of this out --- I just WISH I had got off of my giant (slowly shrinking thanks to the gym) backside months --- no, years ago! *sigh* I'd be in a MUCH better position today if I was *insert more deep sighing and regret* Ack ok enough with the self butt kicking ... I'm sorting it out NOW and really getting into it!! At work today amidst a massive circle of paperwork (12 months in a year = 12 piles of papers!) .... I stopped and just smiled to myself because I feel like weight is being lifted from me daily ... hahaha no wonder the gym is working for me ... I'm exercising my stress calories away!!

Anyway ... (lol I do ramble huh)

This evening my mission is to input every customer I've had since April 1st 2008 into my newly installed QuickBooks and raise an invoice through the software so that I can see straight away exactly how much I'm making currently. I'm not going to allow myself to go to bed until it's done! I've got 3 more weeks of customers to input from the bank statement up to the current date, then I just have to add the ones from the shopping cart that I haven't been paid for yet .... but I'll forgive myself not doing that bit until tomorrow - well, depending on what time it is when I'm done with this lot anyway!!

A couple of people even commented today that I am sounding happier and looking better! I swear it could be a combination of losing that extra 3lbs outside of my comfort zone, braving up to sorting through the paperwork ... or all manner of outside influences and you wanna know what? I don't care! I feel more positive right now than I've felt in a l-o-n-g time and it feels great! I can face the world and whatever is thrown at me tomorrow because I'm not going to sweat the small stuff anymore (nope gonna file it instead! HAH!) and damnit forget the present --- I'm living for the future from now onwards!!!!

Okay time to come down from my cloud and get my head back into these numbers!!!

I'm gonna be a paperwork QUEEN!!!

The majority of my crap stuff paperwork has now been sorted into date order, and it has only taken the sum total of a couple of hours a day over the last 3 days. How sad is that? I truly am kicking myself for not doing this sooner - especially considering how quickly I've managed to get through it all since Friday afternoon and how far behind I had allowed myself to get. I could have done this months ... years ago. I will never EVER be in a position where I don't know my numbers (or at least be able to lay my hands on the info right away!) ever again!!

Okay there is still a LONG way to go to get to zero, but the worst part of going through the boxes and organising it into date is done! Next step is to make sure I have all my bank statements dating right back so that I can go through it all and meticulously record every single outgoing and incoming through the bank, and then file all of my cash receipts. Alongside that I've installed new accounts software on my laptop so I am going to find *everything* from 1st April this year so that at least going forward my tax year from 08-09 will be 100% in order!!

I couldn't have done it without L's help! Just having such a close friend in my corner who knows me well enough to say "Dee, you're a great candlemaker and your product truly is terrific, but you are fucking shite with your paperwork!" has been just what I needed to motivate me! LOL there aren't many people who actually have the BALLS to stand up to me, but L is one of them! L has been there for me in a way I hadn't ever seen coming - and I am truly grateful.

I need to prove I can do it ... not to anyone else, but to myself! I am my own worst enemy and I know it! God, I feel so motivated right now and so ready for tomorrow!! Lemme at Monday morning so I can get started on my "to do" list and make some phone calls!

And she procrastinates no longer....

I was up, motivated and raring to go this morning! I went to the gym as soon as I’d dropped the kids at school and had a really good workout… I’m finding my routine pleasantly gruelling, i.e. I feel the burn while I am doing it, but I think I will definitely be looking to increase the resistance when my 6 week review comes up! I came home for a quick shower then headed straight into work.

Wait, it gets better! I spent a couple of hours going through things at work, then it began …

** drum roll **

The paperwork has been started!! I had a friend helping me today, and I swear that L was a worse slave driver than I thought I was! L is firmly of the “touch every piece of paper once” - i.e. file it or shred it school of thought, and I have to agree it’s a much better way than my “throw it in a box and worry about it later” method! L is one of the few people in the world who I can really count on for an honest to god bottom line opinion and who also isn't afraid to tell me either! A perfect person to help get me organised!!

We got through SO MUCH in just a couple of hours - it really didn't take THAT long and it wasn't THAT bad at all. I was really kicking myself for putting it off for so long ad not doing it sooner. If I had just spent half an hour a day for a week I’d have achieved the same thing myself and I could have done it months years ago. Okay enough kicking, I'm doing it now and I am NEVER going to let myself get to this point ever again. Besides, even if I didn't want to get straightened out (which I do!!) well, let's just say that I don't think I will be given any choice in the matter! LOL

This box was FULL - and I mean stuffed FULL of crap! This is only one of the boxes that I have with paperwork in, but it was certainly the bulk of it!

And look at it now!! It's less than a quarter full and it's totally organised! All of the paperwork is neatly filed in date order with card separators until it moves into the filing cabinet when we've been through the other boxes. All of the rubbish got shredded and every piece of paper got anally sorted into date order! The result is a much lighter box ... and an enormous weight lifted from my shoulders!! There is still a serious amount to do and I'm not entirely sure that I have every single piece of paper together yet, but damnit it feels so good to have really started it.

The next stage is probably going to be the worst, but it's also going to be the most interesting, because that is the part where I will find out my numbers and THAT is what I need to know to stay in business. I need to log absolutely every single piece of paper, every incoming and outgoing that I have and work it all out to the last penny. I need to know where it's all coming from ... and where it's all going!

It scares the crap out of me, but strangely, I am looking forward to it at the same time! If I have a hope in hell of making this work, then I need to be absolutely on the ball with my paperwork... and it has helped enormously to have had someone else there today to keep me going.

I feel so motivated and ready for it. Bring on tomorrow!!!

Why do I always worry more when things are going well?! It’s such a me thing to do. I worry when there is nothing to worry about because I’m sure there should be something to worry about! Okay, so it’s not like I have nothing to worry about – there’s certainly plenty of that, but I think that really facing my demons has really helped and because I’ve made SUCH a good start on sorting my sh*t out, it has reflected back in other parts of my life too.

I have realised that it’s pointless waiting for the good things to happen to you. You gotta get out there and go find them, or at least be in a place emotionally where you can see new doors and opportunities open to you. That’s how I have been feeling over the last few days since the crappy weekend!!

I went into work feeling refreshed & motivated (gotta love pills for a decent night’s sleep!) and got on a major cleaning mission! I need to find every single piece of paperwork that I have got, and in order to do that ... I need to go through every single corner of the workshop, so I started in one corner and I’ve been working my way round, so the workshop is looking great! I also completed several orders ready to pack tomorrow and the new order tracking & dispatch system that I’ve implemented is already working! I had a couple of customers call to ask the status of their order … I was able to easily find their order details and give them the tracking number, so it’s all good!!

I’ve spent a lot of time today thinking about the future, and it’s amazing the difference that a positive spin can put on things. I am determined to give it one more shot … if I go down then I’ll go down fighting all the way!!

Midweek mutterings

I was really motivated first thing this morning after another good nights sleep. I was in work early and filled in my new dispatch form with all of the details for all the current orders - and it works really well. I was able to get ALL of the completed orders sent out today too!

I went to the gym for a workout before picking the kids up from school and although I was knackered, I did it! I had to skip the rower as I ran out of time, but other than that ... it was good! Even after the pump class last night I wasn't too achy - we'll have to see how I feel tomorrow!

Had a bit of a non-evening really - just watched TV and relaxed ... yeah I know ... imagine that - Dee is relaxing!! LOL Am gonna take a chill pill and get me another good sleep tonight!!

Things are getting a shake up around here!

Okay, first thing first ... I am ready to get back on the world again.

It's amazing what a good nights sleep can do for a girl! I went to bed around 11pm and I don't even remember "trying" to get to sleep. I woke up this morning feeling soooooooo refreshed and ready to start the day. It's been a long time since I felt that.

Pull up a pew - this is going to be a long one!!

I've had a good day today - no, a damned good day! Things are changing around here! I am no longer going to sit around on my backside (figuratively speaking!) and wait for my luck to change. It's time to do something about it myself!!

I pulled together the paperwork I have at home that I could find to hand and took that all into work this morning. I knew I wouldn't have time to really start going through it, but I DID make one big pile of all of the boxes of invoices and paperwork in the workshop and start to get organised. It's the most I've actually done towards it in a long time (being perfectly honest) and it felt good just to make a START on it.

I've promised myself I will spend at least half an hour during each day I'm at the workshop going through the big pile and beginning to sort it into smaller organised files. Just doing that much has already made me feel motivated towards really getting my shit sorted.

Plus, look what I found in the stationary shop in town when I was buying pretty things to file my crap paperwork in (c'mon it's me!!!) I mean how cool is this!?!?!

What girl wouldn't want to get organised when she has pretty folders and pink tak!! It's apparently a limited edition to support breast cancer and I'm all for supporting any of the cancer charities ... especially when you get pink tak! Hehehe!

Soooo at work today I got LOTS of boxes packed, and started a new system for tracking orders in the workshop. I've designed a form that has a box I will fill in as soon as the order is printed with the date the order is received, whether it was phone or internet (with the order number) and the customer's name & postcode. The dispatch date will then be filled in with the tracking number! This way I can see exactly how long it's taking me to fill orders and, keep track of the weekly figures. Yeah yeah, I know ... I should have done that anyway from the beginning, but I'm doing it now!

This afternoon by the time I'd got in from work and picked the kids up, I was pretty exhausted and still needing to catch up on sleep, but I still managed a body pump class at the gym! I'm determined to sort myself out - inside AND out! Although I do pump at the workshop with my bar, there is nothing better than someone else standing there telling you to push it harder!!!

Sooo it's time for a shower, then I'm gonna take a pill and watch Sex in the City re-runs!!

Bye bye comfort zone!!

Well, hopefully in the next 6-8 weeks anyway! I went ahead and joined the gym today ... and there was a slot for an induction tonight so I took it! I'm now a fully fledged member and already been inducted! LOL :-)

The gym at Lancing Manor has been completely been refurbished and it's massive - absolutely massive!! I love the new system there too! I've got a "wellness key" which is hooked up to the main computer system. My trainer programmed my workout into it, and this key slots into all of the machines to keep track of exactly how much effort and work I am putting into my training! It means he also automatically knows when I've been and when I haven't!



The wellness system is absolutely brilliant - it keeps track of your fitness and how many calories you've burned, I'm so impressed with it! These are the keys ...

It's great - as you finish on one machine, it tells you where to go next!!

The scales may well go up though ... I remember from when I was really fit before that because muscle weighs heavier than fat ... the scales go up but the dress size goes down! THATS what I want!

I've not even changed dress size or anything ... I posted this morning that it's only been a slow 5lb gain over my comfort zone, but I just want to knock it on the head before it really makes a difference ... and going to the gym and working out 3x a week will give me fairly rapid results. We like rapid results!

I get a review in 6 weeks ... I've promised myself I'm going first thing in the morning before I head into work! My workout is totally focused on my "problem areas" ... well I'm a girl so it's gonna be legs, ass and thighs! LOL

Wow, I feel so motivated and up for it!!

Still grinning!!!

The phone carried on being non stop yesterday and I found myself so engrossed in work and getting on with things that I managed to just about get home in time to pick the children up from school! I had call after call - party bookings, order enquiries and people just telling me how great I was!!! LOL

Today has been a really good day too. I haven't had any staff in this week so I have had to work harder, but somehow I just seem more energised and more motivated than I have felt in a long time.

I think part of it is because this time last year when it was ALL **** I promised myself that I would give it until Christmas before making a decision on whether it's all actually worth it, or whether I am better off just selling up and being done with it. I could have worked MUCH harder this year, it's true and I could have put more into it, but to be perfectly honest it hasn't been the best year in my personal life which has made concentrating on the business that much harder. It hasn't really been a fair deal that I made myself.

Next year will be different. I am NOT going to sell up. I am NOT going to fail. Things have already picked up and as long as I carry on being pro-active in my marketing and making sure people know that I exist - then I WILL succeed!!!

A good day all round ... again! I shall have to be careful or this will become a habit!!