Fledglings Flying Festively - the December Flylady thread

[TooStressyForMyOwnGood]

[santa][santa][santa][santa][santa][santa][santa]
A warm welcome to the December (dare I say Christmas?!) Flylady thread. This is a lovely friendly thread where we loosely follow the Flylady system (see the Flylady website ) in the hope of having organised homes and lives.

We are a long running thread but always welcome new members; the more the merrier .

The new slimline structure seems to work well so I will stick with that. I will leave some links in this OP and then some quick links in the daily posts. Please do familiarise yourself with the Flylady website, especially if you are new. The Flylady is (understandably) keen that people do look at the website.

On the website there is information for beginners. You can also sign up to the Flylady emails but we would advise caution as there are hundreds of them.

We post our achievements (ta das) and our to do lists and any other general chatter about life / flying.

Information on getting started: www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/

The launch pad is also a good starting place:www.flylady.net/c/lp.php

Fly stands for Finally Loving Yourself. The general idea is that short bursts of tidying / organisation are more achievable than marathon efforts. Flylady advises 15 minute bursts is effort but you can tweak this to fit your own circumstances.

Be kind to yourselves, jump in where you are and be careful not to crash and burn! Especially at this time of year.

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A daily summary (which should update automatically every day) is available on the Flylady website at flight plan here.

The link to the current zone and missions is here.

Re. zones, do what works for you. I don’t always stick to the zones myself and do what works best at the time, with varying degrees of success!

daily focus

missions for the week

Flykids mission

I’m sure I don’t need to tell anyone that it is getting close to Christmas so there are holiday missions here.

December’s habit is usually pampering yourself but has not uploaded yet; I’ll link it tomorrow.

beginner babysteps.

The best place to look for an overall summary is the launch pad.

Happy flying everyone.
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Also a huge thank you to SC for a lovely November thread.

meet thought it was just a zoo type of crazy..glad to hear not just me then
I sat on my phone (not literally) pratting in the abyss that is Pinterest til 6.cross my to do is huge and I wasted over an hour quiet time to get stuff done!!

Tada
Cats fed
Wash on
Last kitchen cupboard organised
Swept kitchen floor
Wash nearly ready for dryer

Fridge is next....

Does anyone else wake up whittling over xyz needs doing today??

I must be exceptionally lazy. I think only of coffee zoo

Yes to waking up worrying usually school related not housework😁 unless visitors are coming.

What a pretty DD zoo and great goingerbread house.

So glad school has finished. Some will have sore heads this morning. I along with several others weren’t invited! Secret night out which wasn’t completely secret. Someone put something on the board at last minute but by then I had lost the will. I didn’t want to turn up to where some didn’t want me and most of the others felt the same. My timetable changed again. Don’t think I will be there much longer.

DD and partner are coming home Christmas Eve as his mum is very ill. Sad for th em to cut short there trip but sadder still at the circumstances.

DH has painted the kitchen his choice of colour. I don’t like it. Oh dear!
It is too brown. A sort of pale caramel colour and we have a pine dresser on that wall. It doesn’t go.

I have slipped a disc yesterday so my back is really sore. I’m ok lying down and thought first thing I haven’t done it but got up and yes I have. Back in bed with a cup of tea and masses to do. We started putting kitchen back last night. Most needs washing first and the lads left the wrong thing not instructions and it is completely different to our dishwasher. Smaller and Neff. DH put it on yesterday to make sure it didn’t leak and it washed 💦 for three hours.😳

To do
Put kitchen back.
Put bed sheets on for wash( the one I am lying in) and DDs.
Put clothes away, vacuum bedroom.
Need to buy DD something small to open for Christmas. DH paid fares back.
Vacuum house.
Tidy sitting room and put tree up.
Wrap present I can’t find and it is small and very important.

DH has just woken up. Boy that man can sleep.Half man, half mattress.
Finished tea so will have to get up and take painkillers and get started. Not going to get an osteopath till after Christmas am I? Mine would have done it but he is done in same village as DD was ( unexpected coincidence) unfortunately. And just realised I haven’t sent him a card or GP because I changed app. Due to singing ...at the hospital.

I have been here far too long.

Happy flying today but remember to have little revive rests for tea, coffee, wine.
Off to make scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for breakfast. Not a usual option but we sampled some from Lidl for Christmas Day. So leftovers that need eaten😁

By the way Lidl had loads of Stollen here last Thursday so maybe worth a try. It looks good but haven’t tried it. I don’t normally shop there but I pass one on the way out of town😁

Oh sorry long post...again!

A bit like Festive I am also incapable of rational thought on first waking and a few hours afterwards . However like Zoo and Meet I do have nagging thoughts about the next day (stomach butterflies don't sound nice Meet) usually when going to sleep the night before (or not sleeping) or on waking up in the middle of the night. What helps is having a "list" pad thingy on my bed-side table . Wrote on it last night before going to sleep to assuage stress but in this instance it didn't work because the amount of things still to do, and the amount of available time in which to do them, doesn't tally .

However, think Toostressy has nailed it. If I don't get to make mince pies this year, I'm not going to stress. It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. It's not a real problem like some people are facing. So going to go with that thought today!

Good luck with the wrapping Sass!

And with paper work Meet!

[Btw, I don't think I can claim prism of wine glass prism phrase as my own; definitely comes from somewhere else, but can't remember where!]

Taking it slowly this morning as had bit of a rough night with ovarian pain and "puppy" combined.

On the positive side it is an absolutely beautiful day here! Gorgeous sunshine. And tree 🌲 arriving in a couple of hours!
Whoo-hoo!

Xpost Bower gosh, you always have so much going on. Do take it steady with your back! Do you have a grabber stick? They can really help until you heal.

So on your behalf about secret staff lunch. How low can you get at Christmas? Sounds really awful.

And so sorry to hear about your dd's partner's mum. Good to have your dd back for Christmas I'm sure but very difficult circumstances.

Take it steady with everything you have going on!

And good luck to everyone else too!

Ha! Have just read "half man, half mattress"

Thanks SC.
It was a night out.we always have a last night out meal. No one organised one last year or this year because they don’t like new staff. However because I get on with new staff some old staff won’t speak to me or include me. This is the same reason for a handful of other staff. I know that I am not included because a new member of staff started to say something in the staff room and a senior member of staff shut her up. I was the only one in there not in the ‘clique’ and I used to work with a member of staff who is leaving. I know she would be upset if she knew I had been excluded. It is so petty and the biggest laugh is that these very people would really tell the kids off for this.
My old friend is in the clique and hasn’t sent me a Christmas card this year which makes me sad. I have a gift for her and will leave it at her door. I am not her TA any more but was for about fifteen or more years on and off. I thought we were friends.😢
Just shows you doesn’t it.

The man half is up😬

Half up

That's just horrible, horrible, horrible about the staffroom. And what an atmosphere to have to work in every day. Must take its toll. You can only rise above it I suppose when people (to use a well worn Mumsnet phrase) show you who they are. Deeply hurtful though.

DD has just sauntered in with a satisfied smile saying "well that's all my Christmas prep done" having spent precisely eight minutes wrapping, and having used up nearly all my best wrapping paper and ribbon and destroyed my wrapping station! Teens eh! You've got to love 'em!

She is off to the Grand Place Christmas market with friends this afternoon. Can't help worrying given recent events. But you can't keep them tied up at home can you?

Bower, that sounds awful. We have some petty stuff at work, there's only a dozen or so of us and inevitably there are some personality clashes, but nothing that bad. There is one person who really seems to have a problem with me and it gets me down, I tiptoe on eggshells round them. I just don't get this sort of behaviour in adults, we should know better. Makes you realise just how horrendous it must be for children when they have are bullied .

Indeed Meet and doesn't sound nice either .

I know nothing about schools but for senior staff members to be involved sounds particularly poor Bower. Management should be sorting this not excacerbating it!

and that doesnt

bower sending hugs.for awful school staff that don't appreciate you bloody husband's painting without asking your opinion and your back
Be lovely to see D's,but in other circs I'm sure would be nicer

Tada
Deployed use of "d"p to post some Xmas cards that would've taken couple hours on foot( TMI ...bad periods arrived and I can't walk far without a crime scene look..)

should be (to quote a phrase) doing all the things..
So what am I doing?cutting snowflakes to paste to living room window pinterests fault
Here's a gloriously ponstastic cat one to cheer up anyone who needs a lift!!

Morning all (just). Trying to have a morning of getting the house organised and sorting laundry out as failed miserably at that tonight. Meeting friends later for a late lunch / early tea. Have long to do list and making very slow progress. Really need to reach my fuck it moment.

Bower, that is all a bit shit . As Meet says, it is horrible when people don’t get on at work.

Love the cat snowflake zoo!

SC, I absolutely loved Xmas as a child/ teen which I now realise is because basically the only prep I did was a little bit of wrapping in a very similar style to your DD.

Oh, I assumed you made up the phrase but it is still fabulous .

I’m with you zoo and Meet, I totally wake up with a long unachievable to do list in my head. What’s the secret to not doing it Forestier?

Big wing flaps to all. Going to investigate a drink and snack for the girls while I think about some kind of light lunch for them.

Oohhh cat snowflakes!!

Good luck with your long list Toostressy!

And everyone else!

Right, I'm finally going in ... .

Meant to say

Bower a thread for you here

And Honu of course!

Meet yes I had one of those but she suddenly left. She used to say good morning if SMT were around otherwise she blanked me. I always said good morning. I won’t become like them. As SC said I try to rise above it. The few of us are supporting each other and when it is horrid we ask to meet and share it so it doesn’t get us down too much. It all started when the HT retired and then the Younger Ass. head left. We then needed two new ones and they didn’t like them. I can’t say much more. It is an awful atmosphere at times and I have spoken to SMT about it and to HR as we all had an appointment.
Just sometimes it gets me down. I think I will go this year maybe this term. I know I am doing a good job because the kids run up to me and give me. A cuddle even the Yr 6 boys. I got two on Friday from Year 6 boys at the end of the day to wish me Merry Christmas. So I know I am doing something right!

zooamazing. I did a ballerina one for my advent calendar window. I will try and get DD to post it. Can you post link to cat one please I could make it for her room. It is a tip in there because DH sleeps in there and lots of kitchen is in there and lots of her house too.

I have appointment with Osteopath at 8:30 Christmas Eve yeah! I thought they would be shut now but sent an email in case. I have had to come and lay down. We have half the dining room kitchen stuff put away. DH has decided not to paint the kitchen again before Christmas. I was hoping he would get more paint and do back wall then we could put the dresser back for good. Now we will fill it, empty next month, paint and refill. Aargh where is the logic in that just because I didn’t like the colour.
DH suggested if I kept moving I would be alright. Luckily he wasn’t near any sharp knives when he said that. In fact I am not sure where the large, sharp ones are, lucky for him. He has never had a slipped disc. I have definitely done it. Higher up than usual.

Zoo perhaps a nice warm drink, paracetamol or stronger and a Christmas film with a hot water bottle are your prescription.

SC thanks I hadn’t seen that one. Been to post😁

Ime the trick to not waking up to a terribly long list in your brain is to struggle to fall asleep because you have a brain focusing on a terribly long list and you have to write it down. And then be so tired from the lack of sleep that it takes several hours for the brain to function after you wake up.

I am about to go brave town on foot to pick up the last few bits that have been forgotten but needed for tomo's do. these december birthday people are so inconvenient with their timing, they should have chosen better timing Apart from that I need to do laundry, folding, ironing, putting some clothes away, put some clothes away, slow cook some meat for slicing tomo for posh sandwiches its an allergy thing rather than we are posh , pack ds' stuff and clean out my car. So a nice relaxing day then

Bower ouch toxic environment much?!
zoo

Hope everyone else is surviving and wining the to do list battle of the season.

For the love of God,SOMEONE pointy stick me into action.ive got squirrel in traffic attitude
Think I need to write a list and cross off as I go...