Fledglings May 2021 thread: MAYbe we’ll keep our routines going as the outside world opens up 😊

[halfhope]

Welcome fledglings to May’s Flylady thread – many, many thanks to ED for her expert guidance through April 2021.

All are welcome and especially Newbies. Don’t be shy in making yourselves known because we are a friendly bunch.
We follow Flylady’s system for house and sanity maintenance which is based around 5 room zones spread over the month. There is a weekly quick home clean in the midst of more thorough zone cleaning. I am an aging fledgling who really should be more proactive about following the plan but to be frank I enjoy the natter and good company more than I enjoy cleaning. Every day I will be checking in and giving the ‘flight plan’ for the day with links to the Flylady site. You can join Flylady on her site for email updates but she does like to send a lot out, just so you know!
The most importantist thing to know is that you are NEVER behind – just do what you can when you can. Many of us post ta da lists as we cross items off our [never-ending] to do lists.
You may find the following acronyms along the way (adapted below from ED’s useful list from April)
LOL = load of laundry
S&S = swish and swipe, a quick daily clean of the toilet and sink
PO3 = power of 3. When motivation is on the low side or you’re overwhelmed just pick 3 things at a time and do them
DNLMS = did not lose my shit
Ned = our mythical mate who helps with the laundry
Pointy stick —-> = for when a fledgling needs a motivational prod
The naughty corner = a relaxing haven where we hang out when motivation is low or when life becomes overwhelming. Usually enticing food is left there with squishy cushions.
KCC – (Keep calm corner) these are little stories, photos, memes, off-topic questions, just to keep us all distracted from the general tedium of lockdown life. Feel free to chip in.

Hills I hope you are feeling better. What about Johnson and Johnson one shot jab?

Foxes - that's entirely understandable with all the work going on.

Thank you for the clarification about Rhino - I must look it up!

Willow's list has just reminded me that it's plan and play day. My ta das so far have been doing exercises for posture and a general tidy up after breakfast.

To do:

• clean shower in ensuite
• post envelope
• Parent teacher meeting online this afternoon
• Tesco shop
• catch up with Diane in Denmarks youtube videos as a treat
• do the home blessing from yesterday face palm
• a walk as part of running prep
• research more posture exercises online

i need to dig into that one but it got put on hold in the states for the same blood clotting issues irrc. So as far as i understand I cant have any of the damn things. but just wanted to check. Especially with the issue of the new variants spreading like wild fire

I am on hold with 119 now. Should have made sure i had a comfy seat and a brew. The music is terrible and horrifically loud! 20mins later - yeah could you ring your GP this is too specific Battle axe receptionist here I come. But first. Coffee...

P.s. I took the super strong painkillers and they have worked better than I hoped Yay for less pain!

Red - I want a gorilla. Handy little things they is. But can't really justify it in my tiny garden space. So really I just want to win the lottery and buy a house with a bigger garden
Enjoy the green house!

I'm going to look up gorilla now!

Definitely do not attempt GP receptionist interaction without super strong caffeine Hills

@halfhope

gorillacarts.com/

I’ll post my list later but my best ta da so far today is that I just had my first session as a volunteer befriender on the phone and it went really well 🥰

Ta da

❤ all up fed dressed
🧡 todays uniforms ironed (need get on top of this!)
💛 dc1&2 packed off to school
💚 dc3&4 delivered to school
💙 picked up bits b&m
💜 washing on line
❤ washer on / dryer on
🧡 dw on / unloaded / on again
💛 lunch for dc5
💚 upstairs bins empty
💙 checked bank and emails
💜 cleaned washer filter

I dont like doctors very much. Here is the standard line. Not going to actually answer the questions because the standard line is not to

ah no Hills - an answer that's not an answer. Would a pharmacist be any better?

Thanks very much for the gorilla cart link - I love them. And the Rhinos come in very pretty colours.

Sing I am so so proud of you - well done indeed. You'll provide so much help and wisdom to others.

that stellar list there - I've still to do the bins here...

Just a heads up that there appears to be an issue with Tesco online grocery shopping. Noticed halfway through picking things that the first half of the shopping was missing from the basket. So I started again and got 3/4 of the was through and looked at the basket to only find the last four items chosen. Gave up at that point and left feedback. Even more frustrating than losing a long MN post!

We bought olive green but it is more like a sage colour. The sage was more expensive so we went with the cheapest colour which ended up lighter than it looked on line yeah! I will get a photo.

HillsA gorilla sounds just the thing for an allotment. Could you spare £5 a week. A long slow save but nearer your goal.

Sing brilliant! Great news.

That great list.

Well I have done today’s task but it has gone a bit wrong.
I sorted the clothes in the basket then tidied part of the drawer to accommodate them. I carried on with that drawer and have sorted the bottom drawer. Now I have a basket full of clothes that need to be gone through to check about five pairs of leggings, a couple of pairs of black school trousers and a few pairs of tights.

You're doing well with the sorting Red. I've done my bins and have started the home bleurgh. Zone cleaning tomorrow and leaving shower til then.

Tesco shop done via app which is working. It's a known problem at the moment apparently for Tesco. Parent teacher meeting happening now with DH attending.

I’m about to book our online parents evening hope - antiprocrastination a day early!

It seemed to go fine sing - I set up the technology before letting dh on .

I HATE video calls. Dc1s parents evening was awful, i just feel like such a muppet!

We’ve booked with plenty of gaps between the times. Some just after school which DH can do while I leave for my jab (how’s that for crap timing) then the rest as late as we could get them. Splitting between DH and I although I may write down questions for the science teacher 🤣

Oh, I found the online parents evening WAY better than the real life versions, we had the whole thing done in 45 mins with a glass of wine off screen compared to about 2 hours queueing to see teachers, feeling overheard etc in the school hall.

I think i just hate seeing what i look like on screen, and i struggle to know what to do with my face

I've been on zoom several times a week for all sorts of things over the last year so I'm just used to it now. It's not flattering though.

red i am trying hard to save at least 50% of my pay check each month. But realistically it is going to take about 20yrs to get the amount needed for a today priced house. I don't have a snowball of a chance.

Hope i have no idea but I got accused of having decided i don't want the vaccine and told i was wasting their time. Do you seriously think I would have sat through 20mins of crappy 119 music and a further 20mins of crappy doctors practise music if I KNEW i was not having the vaccine. I have calmed enough to write a letter of complaint so that will be happening on my lunch break tomorrow. I am tired, I am grumpy, I know damn well the covid will kill me if i catch it, but also the risks are high with the vaccine and if you couldn't answer the damn question because of policy just fucking say so. I have played that damn game before over the MMR when no one would tell me if the MMR which contained egg was safe for my egg allergy child.

I do have a few organisations I can contact who might be able to offer some more guidance. But they are charities so might be reluctant. But we will see.

Tonight I am making the people tea and going to bed and to hell with it. Still feel like crap. green snot and ear ache on top of a flare will do that.

I haven't found that zoom or any other platform has made me look anything other than an exhausted frump.

You've had a very rough day Hills. I think retreating to bed is the best option. I hate GP receptionist phonecalls (I call mine Cerberus except she stops people entering the Underworld not exiting) and to be frank sometimes you get the run around when you finally make it in. That must be so frustrating for you especially when you have a valid health worry.

Oh this was the GP not the receptionist. Receptionist was actually lovely. GP gave the distinct impression that they hadn't even bothered to crack open my notes. That is possibly unfair. But hot water bottle is done and just waiting for the pasta to cook for the people.

On a lighter note I had a lovely sitting in the hills. Made some decisions about how life is going to work. It's gonna get ugly.

Glad you have made good decisions for you, Hills, but sorry the GP was unhelpful. I wonder if they have to go on special courses, as ours are often similar. The latest was DD should "try to eat properly". Yeah, thanks. When the ASD was biting hard and PTSD was stopping her going to school, we got "you need to try to go to school more". Bloody hell, why didn't I think of that? 🤷

Zoom gives me multiple chins (even more than I actually have) and makes my hair look like a haystack whatever I do. I've given up trying to look nice, I just put a stupid overlay on (few of my zoom calls are serious).

Today has been a weird rollercoaster of emotions and I think I'm either pre-menstrual or perimenopausal, or both. I am ready to do shouting at a moment's notice, should anyone need any shouting done. A dear friend's stepson has detonated a bomb in the middle of their family life that is a) so much what she doesn't need and b) so very obviously him shouting What About Me? I'm Special!! that I want to throttle him. Went to pick up DS3's friend from his old school and had the sort of happy, end of day in the playground interaction that I miss so much, and I am sad that DS3 doesn't and didn't have that experience of school. Why could it not be easy for him? Then I ended up reading the thread about Naomi Campbell's baby and whether she used a surrogate, and realised I have huge, enormously strong feelings about the ethics and sexual politics of it that make me very uncomfortable. So now I am hiding in the bath instead of upsetting people.

Ta da
❤️ Whole house hoover, removing 5 weeks of dust post-plumbers. Yuk, but also, so nice to have the floor not crunch when you walk on it.
🧡 Scrubbed our new bathroom after my wash
💛 Sorted DS2 out with tidying his room
💚 Set DS3 to do homework
💙 Tried to do planning. Had to help with maths homework including bastard question about calculating length and width of a cuboid given volume, height, sum of length+width+height and the fact that width was less than half length. DS3 was hysterical by the end of it.
💜 Washing. Hanging out. More washing.
🤎 Cooked lunch. Spoke to friend re: bombshell, at length. Helped DS3 make brownies for guest.
🖤 Collected guest.
❤️ Tried to talk to DH about how to fit everything in; he was surprisingly unhelpful
🧡 Did menu planning. Updated diaries. Concluded the rest of this week is a(nother) write off in terms of getting any actual work done.
💛 Made tea for DS3 and guest.
💚 Sent guest home, replete and happy.
💙 Fed me, DH and DD.

Don't know what to do now, everything is completely out of control. Might try some cross stitch as grounding activity.