2 posts tagged “money”
So it's been a while since I was last here...again!! I've missed this site through moving in, getting organised, playing Mario Kart and generally not doing a whole lot =D
Where to begin? Well, let's start at the start! Me and Chantelle have finally moved into a place of our own, in a little square on Ella Street, off Newland Avenue in the heart of Studentworld in the city centre. The front "garden" needs some work, and there's a need for decoration and tidying, but over the last couple of months we've got stuff sorted and made it our own place - we still have boxes, and even boxes of boxes, but it's our place and we love it...
On 19th April me and Chantelle got engaged, and we are looking at getting married around September of this year. Chantelle's parents have a timeshare apartment in Maderia, and have paid for us to have a week's holiday there so it'd be a perfect time to have our honeymoon!
We were in Hornsea and we were talking about getting married, and how we both really want to do it, and by the end of the day we'd made the decision to get engaged and start planning a wedding...of course, it wasn't official until we'd updated our status on Facebook!! ;)
So far it's been pretty complicated trying to plan it all. At first, we were thinking about hiring a place and then that started to get expensive and messy trying to organise a million different things, and so the talk turned to making it simple, making it our day and using the rest of our time, efforts and money to spend on ourselves and the festivities. When Chantelle's folks offered to put £5,000 towards the wedding, we thought that it was quite a lot of money to spend on a wedding - turns out these days it's just a small chunk of change that would get swallowed up in the process, so keeping it simple also keeps it quite economical...!!
Talk also recently turned to church, and how we both missed being there, the people and the atmosphere of being at church. Over the last couple of weeks or so, it also dawned on me that whilst I started seeing reasons for leaving church, and reasons why it might not be true and so on, what I was actually looking for was an excuse to leave, so I could "take a break" from the burdens, and pressures, and responsibilities of being an active member, an example and "pillar" of the stake so to speak. Truth is, when I first joined the church, I went in all guns blazing, with the mindset of "I've been given a second chance at life and stuff, I'd better be worth it", and ended up putting too much pressure on myself, getting into it all too quickly, and turning myself into someone I didn't really want to be.
Now I've been away, I've had time to reflect on what I'd been away from, and also to reflect on who I've been, who I am, and what I'm doing with my life. I've found now that I can very likely still make it through life going to church and being a part of the experience and the atmosphere, and unerstanding and acknowledging what the church stands for, whilst still being me.
This is what I want to achieve - to be a good person, to try and live a good life, and enjoy and take in the teachings of the church, whilst still being true to myself. We're both looking for a fresh start with a fresh perspective, and I know that I will be taking it easier and steadier this time around so that I can keep myself balanced. I might not agree with absolutely everything, and I'm certainly not perfect, but the church is a good place to be for "life guidance", and I'm willing to try again and do what I can!
We went to Institute on Wednesday night as we'd been invited to a meal prepared by the teacher. It was good to see her and other people again, and we are now considering having the wedding at the chapel in Anlaby. The chapel itself is a really nice room - it has a nice modern feel to it and doesn't look too "churchy", and it also has a bit of an elegant "function room" look to it without looking too much like your average function room....if that makes sense!!
The most important concern we have is getting Chantelle's dress, and now we're on the hunt for good music that isn't Pachelbel's flippin' Canon...it's a lovely piece really, but everyone seems to have it for their wedding, and we want to be different. Ideally we'd like to have someone sing and/or play the music, and we have considered Kissing You by Des'ree, but we're still working on it!
And that brings us to now. Chantelle's working tomorrow, but I've been invited to Hull 1 in Anlaby as they are having a "linger longer" lunch after church, which means I get to meet people and eat food =D officially, we're living in the Hull 1 area so eventually we'll be asked to go to their services rather than Hull 2 if we want to settle in :(
Today was a day spent cleaning and tidying the house whilst Chantelle was at work. We got a four month old Staffie puppy this week but quickly rehomed her again after it turns out Chantelle is allergic to her...we ended up driving to Matlock in Derbyshire, where the new owner's son was to receive the dog for his birthday :) so today was a day to try and clean up dog hair and the like and generally make the place a bit prettier...we have cord carpets so a lot of dust and cat hair gets worn in very quickly, but after a good vacuuming the floors so look a bit better, and it made Chantelle smile when she came in so I must've done good!!
In other news, I've decided not to go to University this year. I've decided that I want to keep working, and I also wondered if it was really worth if for three years if nothing big came out of it...if I decide to go for it I can always apply next year, but if I had decided to go for it this year but then found that I didn't want to do it after all, it would be a bit of a waste really.
I am however still looking for other jobs and careers, as I still don't know what I want to do!! I still consider the Police every now and then, but other than that, I'm still stumped!!! Any ideas or offers greatly appreciated.....
Happy New Year! Hope all is well as we head into 2009.......we're now 3 days in and it's about time I used this site more often!
Over Christmas and New Year I've rediscovered the joys of eBay and Amazon Marketplace, making a tidy sum on stuff that's been sat here not used or needed for months, that people have either wanted as a last minute Christmas present, or that they've wanted for themselves now that the Christmas shopping bonanza is out of the way...either way it's a little bit of extra cash in my pocket!
I also signed up to one of these "consumer panels" that ask you questions about products in return for vouchers or prize draws and the like...only this one pays you quite substantial amounts for sampling products or trying out Free Trials of things like online shopping or movie rentals. Hey, when it comes to the Credit Crunch, I'm gonna take all I can haha :)
I'm gonna try and work hard to make this a more productive year, both for me and Chantelle. I'm gonna see what jobs are out there and try and do something more with myself, more fulfilling and challenging. Where I am now is a good place to work; the people are great, the job's easy enough, sometimes quite demanding but also quite rewarding knowing that you're helping to keep the business flowing, but it's time to branch out and see what other opportunities are out there.
Today I went for a little jolly around the coastal hotspot which is Withernsea =D I had to visit Tesco to try and find some razors (Gillette and Satan are apparently in league to prevent me from shaving...it's not entirely clear why Lucifer and a popular shaving brand would join forces, but I'm certain that all will be revealed in due course...), do some recycling (Christmas=cardboard in our house) and then decided to wend my way around the tractor-infested sideroads around Withernsea and Easington gas terminals. Taking in caravan parks, plastic cows and wind farms, I ended up driving past RAF Holmpton, which was used as an underground bunker during World War II and the Cold War. Might try and visit it properly when it opens again later in the year....I don't think a lot of people know they have a bit of wartime history right in their back garden!
Right now I'm back at home having just signed up for free trials on a website that delivers fresh fruit to your doorstep, and an online children's bookstore..........all in the name of market research and Cash for Shaun :)
Mum's sad because she's preparing to take the Christmas tree and decorations down...I'm looking out of my window and all the lights and decorations in people's gardens down our street are all gone, except one hour opposite us, which has a wreath hanging on the wall of the house, and some Santa and Snowman figures in the garden. It's amazing just how quickly Christmas is over....the shops no longer crowded, all sense of festive joy seems to go out the window as people go back to work or to their own regular non-Christmas lives...all apart from this man of course...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1731057.stm
On one hand, I reckon this guy's nuts, but on the other, I admire his spirit for keeping it up each and every day!!
Anyone else fancy a 365-day Christmas???
