Shagged Out Viroids Volume 4. Over here!!

[nickelbabe]

ooops, got a bit carried away there.....

sign in everyone!
let's hope we get some new graduates on here too!

tough! Anyway, it's supposed to be useful after pregnancy too..... (unless you hate the taste like you do! )

awwww, i want newborn cuddles.

Sounds like you're getting ontop of things nickel. Glad you have a plan of action and the BP is.good.

Must say, I took a little offence at your comment "if you've got that much to lose" but realised you weren't being mean! You can't tell the emphasis on MN! I'm a generous size 12...but had been trying (unsuccessfully) to lose a few pounds. Thank you small meals and nausea!

Much better day today. Felt almost normal :) Ate THE most yummy dinner in the world EVER! Stuffed jacket potatoes. Mmmm....super crispy skins, with cheese and ham. Heaven!

And I spoke to my boss (female) today. She admitted that she wasn't dealing with things well last week. Which I took as a veiled apology. We're sorting out a break in the morning for me and risk assessment. So feel listened to at last. Which was really all I wanted.

MW tomorrow....SO excited! Someone who is paid to be interested in my pregnancy!! Any tips?

I can just imagine your folks at church wondering where you'd got to, Nickel if you took a Sunday off. Are none of them able to lend a hand in the shop? Surely theres a retired old dear who'd love to help you out! People like to be asked too, but don't always think to ask what can be done.

Love the visions of sleepy newborns. Me soon!!

sorry! I didn't mean it to sound mean! I just meant that it won't matter if you lose weight during your pregnancy, that you've got enough in spares.

it might be worth getting a note from your MW about the workload and how important it is to get rest during the day.
and ask her about the weight as well- a 3rd party reassurance that you're not starving your baby. :)

I really wouldn't trust any of the people in my church to look after the shop - let's just say, they're a bit out of touch.....

Oooo...we've all gone v quiet. Disappeared off my threads im on.

No real news here. Tired and sick. Grr... Lost half a stone now.

Hope all well.

Hiya.

Hope you are feeling better princess. Sounds like you're having a rubbish time. Mind you, I could have done with losing loads of weight, as my BMI at my 12wk appointment was 31! I think an awful lot of it is just down to how you feel really, and I just hope you feel better very soon.

I had my 28wk appointment on Friday, and all went well. They don't weigh us here at every appointment, but my blood pressure was fine, and Bean has a nice strong heartbeat. They had to take 4 vials of blood, which was horrible, but I should hear in a few days if my thyroxine needs changed again.

How are things with you nickel?

I'm alright - had a long, boring day yesterday!
We went to a birthday party on Saturday evening, and despite at least half an hour's dancing to heavy metal music, no movement.
It did make me need to weeeee though!

Yesterday was boring cos after church, we didn't have anything to do all day. And at the moment, the only position that's comfortable is lying down, so I spent most of the time napping. :(

getting loads of tightenings across the top of the bump, but no other signs.

Your Saturday night party sounds great nickel! It's a shame nothing has happened for you yet though. When is your actual EDD?

I have done nothing today at all. I feel a bit tired after the weekend, and a bit sniffly with the cold. We didn't do much, apart from go to a Christmas fair on Saturday, but just having DS around to entertain can be tiring at the moment! Anyway, after today I will be going into full-on cleaning and chucking-stuff-out mode, as the flat is a tip and really not ready for a baby. DP is taking a couple of days off work next week, and we will get somebody with a van to help us shift stuff. Basically, we have held off because we thought we were moving to a bigger flat, but now that's looking like it might not happen until well after baby is born, so we have to get organised. It's a nightmare, as we hate this stair, but hopefully we will get moved soon, and in the meantime we will just have to make the most of it.

edd is saturday (26th). so I've still potentially got ages yet.
but i'm fat, heavy and uncomfortable.

I wouldn't worry too much about not being ready for the baby - it'll be in your room for 6 months remember

Ooh, hopefully you'll be one of the tiny percentage who have their baby on the EDD! I know you must just want it all to get moving NOW though!

I know that baby will be in beside us for the first wee while, but even so, the flat is just a mess and really in no fit state for a baby. It's like an obstacle course as there is nowhere to put anything (very few cupboards etc), and I just feel like crying even thinking about where to start with sorting it out. I really want to move!

you'll sort it out - we did some huge clearouts of stuff we didn't need (old clothes etc) a couple of months ago, and it's amazing how much space that creates. :)

I finally found the tens machine. Going away for a couple of days so will post on Monday. Nickel if I send it to you are you then going to post it on when you are done?

yes, I will indeed.
:)
thank you

See, this is why midwife is insane to advise me that I should be giving up work in good time for the baby to arrive - to prepare me for the exhaustion of labour.

This year is sucking big time financially.
It's the end of november - in order to pay my invoices on time, I have to have enough money in the bank tomorrow to pay them.
My daily takings are not up at all in order to (in fact, they were so low in October, I had no reserves at all) - I have no spare money.
I have to pay 24% interest on the credit card, and that means that although I only spent £200 on it last month, I owe a further £180 in interest (from previous months' balances), and my minimum payment this month is £240.
Which I don't have spare, because all of the christmas stock arrived in October, which means I have to pay it in november, even though I haven't sold any of it yet .
So, I'm putting money in my personal account so that I can build up a balance record so that the bank will give me a loan at 8% (so that I can reduce my monthly payments - ie pay off the credit card with the loan and then pay the loan off monthly), but that means that I'm having to use my personal account to pay business bills, which means I'm not building up enough of a balance to use towards the credit card payment.
on top of this, those people who are buying, are paying by card, so that's going into my business bank account, which is fine, but it means I can't touch it, and I need the cash so that I can put it in my personal account to build up the balance.

And MW says I shouldn't be working.
I think I've already moaned about this..... Who knows when this baby will come! It could be days (in which case, we're fine and covered) but it could be another fortnight! So the suggestion seems to be that I have to employ someone (at this short notice too???) for god knows how long a length of time , which of course makes me soooo less stressed, because God knows where their wages would come from!

then this morning I get a letter from the landlord moaning that they haven't received payment for the buildings insurance, which they insist was due for payment on the 10th september. I'm not entirely sure how this can be accurate because my lease year starts on the 25th october, which I would assume that buildings insurance would be due from - otherwise i'm paying insurance for 35 days before I moved in.
plus, it's a changeable cost, so I have to wait for an invoice to tell me what the amount is, which arrived at the beginning of November - so it's on my list to be paid by the end of November, like with everybody else

Plus I can't sell toys and games through amazon for the pre-christmas period because I didn't sell enough through them in September and october (those being the months when nobody bought anything at all)

So, yeah, I'm doing really well with cutting down on the stress.

oh, and the icing on the cake!
I've just logged on to my online banking to see if i've got enough to pay at least one supplier - £619balance. (most important supplier needs £773)
So I checked to see what else had gone out, so I could mark it on my spreadsheet, and find that when the payment for my business rates went to the council, it took me into £67 overdrawn. so they reversed it and didn't send the money (rather than giving me an unauthorised overdraft charge! ), and of course the council haven't yet asked for it again. which means that I don't have £619, i've actually only got £232, and the council will be angry at me.

Oh jesus, could it possibly get any worse??????????????????????

That sounds like a hellish situation nickel. The financial juggling side of things is what would really put me off about having my own business. I hope that somehow you can find a way to take the pressure off, and relax a bit.

Would you like a fag?

I think this is the kind of time taking up smoking would be good!
I need to close the shop, really.
but I can't do that till the lease is up (which is 2 years hence), because I'd still have to pay the rent even if I weren't open.
:(

That's really a shame nickel. Have you had the shop for a long time? I saw your post yesterday about Amazon, and have to agree with you (although I have used them). I love book shops, but everywhere near me has now closed down, except a really rubbish Waterstones. Did you plan to give up the shop after starting a family, or has it just become an option because of the rubbish economy?

I've been open 3 years.
It was starting to make money - then the recession "double-dipped"
When they announced the budget in March, there was a noticeable downturn and it got worse and worse from there.
every time I think it might be picking up again, it doesn't.
I have decided that if it's not picked up again before the end of the lease, I will just close when the term finishes.
DH is supporting me in this (thinks we can't be worse off!)
I dearly want to be able to move premises further up the High Street, but I'll only be able to do that if I make more money in the next 2 years.
otherwise I'll just have to be a SAHM.

It must be a big worry for you, especially after putting all the hard work in to get it up and running in the first place. I know the outlook is really gloomy for the forseeable future, but I really hope things start to pick up.

It is a big worry.

thanks for the tea and sympathy!

Not got anything particulary constructive to add Nickel, but sorry you're having such a shit time. Money worries are the absolute worst. Good luck with getting your loan, I hope that makes life a bit easier for you.

On the upside, shouldn't be too long now before you feel physically better (you will be soo tired, but a different sort of tired which is somehow easier to deal with) and you won't be lugging a bump around, just a cute little baby :)

Not got anything particulary constructive to add Nickel, but sorry you're having such a shit time. Money worries are the absolute worst. Good luck with getting your loan, I hope that makes life a bit easier for you.

On the upside, shouldn't be too long now before you feel physically better (you will be soo tired, but a different sort of tired which is somehow easier to deal with) and you won't be lugging a bump around, just a cute little baby :)

More sympathy here Nickel. Hope business pics up for you soon.

Is there anyone who could be a silent partner for you to give you a cash injection?

Isbn's not happy about the tight knickers I'm wearing today.
have to be tight, cos I'm wearing long socks and i don't want my knickers to fall down!
It keps pressing against the elastic as if to say "WTF? why won't you give me some more roooooom?" I'm tempted to reply "well, if you would like to remove yourself from my womb, you might just find there's a bit more roooooom out here!"

I'm sure my money worries will continue. I worked out last night that I could close my 6-year-term ISA and ask for the money - I'd lose £200ish, but that's better than not being able to pay anyone.
At least I've got that to fall back on.
(i should have thought about this a week ago, though, because it'll probably take over a week to process and send me the money, and that's still too late to pay the bills)