40 Things for 40

Things to get done this week 1. Get invites posted 2. Finish websites and publish them 3. Complete modules for courses 4. Mindfulness 5. Start making Christmas cards

1 Healthy Me Do Wii Fit 5 times a week for 20 minutes. Achieve my step goal of 10000 steps each day Achieve 250 steps each hour at least 8 hours a day 2 Much Less Poor Me Continue to clear off credit card 3 Academic Me Restart Lightroom course 4 Organised Me Keep diaries, planners and calendars up to date 5 Creative Me Finish invites 6 Crafty Me Start going to crafting classes again 7 Houseproud Me 15 minutes decluttering every day 8 Workaholic Me Finish new website 9 Grateful Me Write 5 things I am grateful for everyday Write 3 positives each day 10 Romantic Me (Us) Date night (going out) twice this month Movie night at home once a week Day out once this month 11 Sociable Me Be a better friend Visit family Visit friends 12 Entertaining Me Read 4 new books Watch 2 new movies  Listen to 2 new albums 13 Charitable Me Fundraise for Wilberry Wonder Pony  Donate to PFK 14 Wobbleberry Me Review how I can complete t...

One credit card is completely cleared off. Still a little way to go on the second one, but it is getting there and now I can use the money I'll be saving from the first to help pay off the second.

1 Healthy Me Do Wii Fit 4 times a week for 20 minutes. Achieve my step goal of 10000 steps each day Achieve 250 steps each hour 2 Slightly Less Poor Me Reactivate ISA Put £100 into saving account this month Make extra payment to Credit Card 3 Academic Me Catch up with Goal Mastery modules Set priority for courses I need to finish 4 Organised Me Keep diaries, planners and calendars up to date 5 Creative Me Finish horse journals (decorating mainly left to do) 6 Crafty Me Make one scrapbook page Make 4 cards 7 Houseproud Me 15 minutes decluttering every day 8 Workaholic Me Finish sorting office 9 Grateful Me Write 5 things I am grateful for everyday Write 3 positives each day 10 Romantic Me (Us) Date night (going out) twice this month Movie night at home once a week Day out once this month 11 Sociable Me Be a better friend Visit family Visit friends 12 Entertaining Me Read 4 new books Watch 2 new movies  Listen to 2 new ...

1 Healthy Me I lost another 1.5kg I lost another 1-2 inches from everywhere (one day when I am brave I will post  measurements) 2 Slightly Less Poor Me Credit card 1 is cleared off Simon and I are looking at seeing if we can get a loan to clear off my remaining credit card and his one, if  we can probably save money on the APR by doing it that way Found out that we had over paid Simon's parents what we owed them. They are keeping it for now, so apart from using some of it to redo the garden, we are going to keep it for a rainy day. 3 Academic Me Started back on my Goal Setting for Success course. 4 Organised Me I am back on track now, apart from keeping this blog up to date!  Have revamped the folders for the horses. I am not going to have a daily diary section anymore, as I have the Leroy & Bongo planners and it seems a bit pointless to write the same things twice. I am going to add some of the freebies I have downloaded over the years on fit...

Over analysing as I do and seem to have hit upon an interesting road block. I admit that I am not the most confident of riders and can easily lose confidence, then take an age to get it back. However I have realised that this time I am not scared of riding, but of things going wrong. Will I get ill again, will the horses injure themselves, will the car break again, will I plan something and have to cancel because of work etc. At the moment, work seems to be the sticking point because I am having to do longer hours so am not getting to the yard as much as I want too. I want to start getting myself and the horses fit, but due to all of the above, I am, quite frankly, terrified of getting started. The funniest thing is, I do not care of one of the horses spooks, bogs off or bucks (I may object to a rear or true bolt though), I just want to go and ride my horses!

I have lost another 3lbs (just under 1.5kg), so I am now around 55kg, which is the weight I was aiming for. Do not really want to lose any more, just tone up, get fit and get flexible - I feel like a plank of wood most of the time!

Following on from yesterday, I have been revising how I think about planning. On the one hand I love plans and am great at planning, but not so great at having realistic and obtainable goals, less so at completing them. Basically I am the sort of person who should still be in school (aside from the fact i hated school) as I love a timetable and having specific tasks getting done at the same time each week. However, adult life in general and my job in particu lar very rarely allow my beautiful timetable to go to, well, plan (a little like the railways). So I am trying to adopt the mindset of as long as my tasks get done, it doesn't matter too much when. I am not sure if it will work out, but it can't make me feel any worse than I do when I miss my appointed slot for doing a task.

I really enjoy seeing my friends successes with their horses on Facebook but recently I've been feeling a little wistful that I'm not out there achieving goals too. The set backs I have had this year have made me almost afraid to make any plans in case anything goes wrong. I guess I have also lost my motivation a bit too. My comfort zone has shrunk down to going to the yard and patting my ponies, I've ridden six times since the beginning of May! Three times were this weekend. What is the point of all this rambling? I'm starting again. This time with tiny goals, SMART goals, getting a routine in place. I've started going through the numerous folders I have on confidence, goal setting and bonding ideas. I have even dusted off the lovely Leroy and Bongo planners and have been filling them in (glossing over the March to May plans), with erasable ink pens mind you, but hey, it's a start, right? 😉 from Team Solstice Wobbleberry Challenge https://ift.tt/2JBm...

Did this on Saturday, just 20 minutes of walk for each, we are all rather unfit and erm, rotund! Actually I've lost 6kg but the body protector doesn't show it (just wanted to slide that in there  🤣 ). Both were very good, just wanted to concentrate on having a good active walk, keeping straight and a low relaxed head carriage. Amber's walk was not quite active enough at first, but better by the end of the session. I figured we won't dazzle anyone with our skills, but we could with our matchy  😂 😂 from Team Solstice Wobbleberry Challenge https://ift.tt/2JDpfnp via IFTTT

Not everyday you walk into the kitchen at work to find two of these little guys in there! I’m thinking they were baby robins? Simon opened the window and one flew out, this one was quite comfortable though. Gently scooped them up then had to wait for them to decide to fly off my hand out the window. Have no idea how they got in though, windows all shut.

I am not going to make too many plans, as every time I do, the wheels seem to fall off! This  month I am just going to have a few basic goals. 1 Healthy Me Do Wii Fit 5 times a week for 20 minutes. Achieve my step goal of 10000 steps each day Achieve 250 steps each hour 2 Slightly Less Poor Me Put £10 in ISA this month Put £10 into saving account this month Make extra payment to Credit Card 3 Academic Me Catch up with Goal Mastery modules 4 Organised Me Keep diaries, planners and calendars up to date 5 Creative Me Finish horse journals (decorating mainly left to do) 6 Crafty Me Make one scrapbook page Make 4 cards 7 Houseproud Me 15 minutes decluttering every day Sort through clothes - keep/ donate/ recycle 8 Workaholic Me Finish sorting office 9 Grateful Me Write 5 things I am grateful for everyday Write 3 positives each day 10 Romantic Me (Us) Date night (going out) twice this month Movie night at home once a week Day...

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So I'm just going to lump the past few months into one review as it will probably be easier. 1 Healthy Me I lost 6kg - one advantage of being poorly I guess. I've not put it back on yet either! I lost 2-3 inches from everywhere (one day when I am brave I will post  measurements) Started on Wii Fit again. Only a few minutes at a time as I get knackered very quickly. 2 Slightly Less Poor Me Meal planning went out the window somewhat, but I am back on it now.  Sorting out an online food shop as the local supermarket is actually more expensive than the larger one of the same company a few miles away. Credit card 1 is nearly cleared off. 3 Academic Me Have not done anything on this one of late. 4 Organised Me Calendars are back up to date, diary is nearly back to where it should be. Started on the horse's journals again (and trying to ignore all the plans of the past few months that we didn't accomplish). 5 Creative Me As well as messing abo...

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Hello everyone, so sorry for the lack of updates. I haven't been about due to an illness that wiped me out for pretty much all of February and March. As such I wasn't able to do anything with the horses and all my exciting plans went out the window - story of my life really! Thankfully I am feeling much better now, although I feel it if I over do things (though that might be my age). I'm not attempting to make any plans for now, just getting back into the saddle (regularly) will be enough to start with. from Team Solstice Wobbleberry Challenge https://ift.tt/1dZceUn via IFTTT

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My first time back in the saddle in about 12 weeks this weekend. Matti was a good boy, if a little keen to want to canter (although we didn't). I had not planned to ride, just took the horses in for a groom, then ended up hopping on for 15 minutes! from Team Solstice Wobbleberry Challenge https://ift.tt/2rrF9cw via IFTTT

Done a bit more to help this one.  1. I removed all but one of my cards from PayPal and Amazon. 2. Cancelled last 4 subscription services I had running. None was for a huge amount, but every little helps! 3. Actually looked at and wrote down my outstanding balances on my two credit cards. One credit card was a bit worse than I thought.  4. I have worked out that one will be paid off by June, the other one I am aiming to be paid off by March 2019 (pet related emergencies aside!) at the very latest. Although I tend to stick my head in the sand when it comes to money, I feel surprising relieved and more in control now that I have done this.

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Matti not looking too impressed with his hot water bottles! I used a fillet string to connect them and a towel to wrap them in. I did put his rug back on for his 20 minutes though, was a bit chilly yesterday! from Team Solstice Wobbleberry Challenge http://ift.tt/2E4T65o via IFTTT

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I thought that having sub goals each month, with one or two being more of a focus than the others, as this might help me from feeling too overwhelmed. 1 Healthy Me Lose 2kg from start weight (62kg) Exercise 5 times a week (Wii Fit/ Apps) Run 3 times a week (intervals walk/run, around 20 minutes) 2 Slightly Less Poor Me Put £10 in ISA this month Put £10 into saving account this month Make extra payment to Credit Card 3 Academic Me Complete the Shaw Academy Photography course. Catch up with Goal Mastery modules 4 Organised Me Keep diaries, planners and calendars up to date Rejoin All In Good Time/ A Hive Of Productivity 5 Creative Me Create storage for made cards Finish horse journals (decorating mainly left to do) 6 Crafty Me Organise photos Make one scrapbook page Make 2 cards 7 Houseproud Me 15 minutes decluttering every day Sort through clothes - keep/ donate/ recycle Sort through shoes Sort through jackets and coats 8 Workaholic Me St...

Here is my review of January. On the whole I feel like I did fairly well, but lots of room for improvement! Some goals went better than others. 1 Healthy Me I lost 1kg - yay. I put back on 0.5kg - not yay! Started running club. Failed at running club as having a virus for most of the month meant I have not been able to do anywhere near as much exercise as planned. So I have deffered until the next one starts. Started on Wii Fit again.  2 Slightly Less Poor Me Have set up larger payments on one credit card so it will be paid off completely by June.  As I can only set up minimum payments on the other card, I will make extra payments each month to help it along. Paid off Next account in full. Cancelled magazine subscriptions and online courses/ app subscriptions Have managed to not spend much on non-essentials. Have not managed to do meal planning or online food shop though and I am sure both of these would help to save money. 3 Academic Me Att...

Another weekend that could be said to be 'character building' and one for the f**kitbucket. Saturday, thought I had sussed out Matti's canter issues, not perfect but better. Correct lead more often than not and only changed behind a few times. We even nailed transitions at a marker rather than halfway around the school. Next up was Amber. Felt positive until we walked into the school then my confidence made a run for somewhere hot and sunny. I tensed up and apparently looked terrified. Amber was rather tense and felt like she was about to explode. Got off after 7 minutes. On the positive side, I decided to think of it as not our day, rather than my normal negative nellie talk. Sunday I had planned to take Matti to a polework clinic but he had other ideas and refused to load. At one point we could not even get him near the ramp. About half an hour after my lesson had started, I managed to get him to walk through the trailer. Attempted to tie him up and close up the tra...

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Also did a bit with Amber. Groomed first and we went for plum matchy. As I have not done much with her, I decided to play safe and give her a quick lunge before climbing on board. Literally did 2 minutes walk and trot on each rein, swapping over several times. She had a couple of Tigger moments but was really good. Her walk in particular is looking amazing! When walking her in hand I am struggling to keep up as it is so forward now! Not quite as amazing once I was on board, but a lot better from before she was treated. Did a couple of circuits on each rein in walk then finished. Hoping to start a bit of trot soon - just want someone on the ground at first just in case she finds it too exciting. from Team Solstice Wobbleberry Challenge http://ift.tt/2naeT55 via IFTTT

Had the morning off work so as the weather was nice for a change, I spent it at the yard. Matti had a groom and then I tacked up. I even went full on matchy! Love this petrol colour on him. First time for ages as normally I do not have enough time. Before I got on I decided to give him a quick lunge first. His trot is super at the moment, he is stretching down and working in a nice frame most of the time. Occasionally we have ears in my face moments - normally when he thinks it's time we had a canter! Left canter was lovely, just need him to transition down to trot when I ask, not halfway around the arena later. Right canter is still iffy - he either goes on the wrong lead, or changes behind if on the correct one. But if I give him a loose rein, he is better. So it is possible he is just having a rider issue, but I will probably get him checked out by his chiro for my own peace of mind. Everything else has been checked recently and although he could have tweaked himself the...

So Goal Setting. I've been working on this (and mulling it over when not) a lot recently. I am pretty good a setting goals, making plans, timetables, step by step guides, the lot. However, I'm not that great at actually having a goal come to fruition. Either the ball never gets rolling or I start making progress then get side swiped by something or other. Take last years Wobbleberry challenge for example, this was held up by lack of working transport, then Amber broke, then my personal life was turned upside down and my anxiety got so bad I could hardly leave the house. Perhaps some of this is what I call self-sabotage. Things start going well and I start worrying about what is going to go wrong, then something does. I do not seem to be able to believe that good things can actually happen to me and so I block them. But I still set goals. I have tried not having any goals or plans because someone once told me that I would only get frustrated if I did not achieve them. I gu...

Today I had 3 goals: 1) Stay on 2) Get 60% or over 3) Get correct canter leads Well, one out of three ain’t bad, although it was very nearly none! Arrived at the time I had planned, then suddenly I only had 20 minutes to get on and warm up! Busy warm up but Matti coped well, although he had left his right canter lead at home. Walked into the indoor school and spooked at the dressage boards. Bell rang and off we went. Both a bit tense but going ok until we had to do our first canter and it went a bit wonky. Ran over the dressage boards and I nearly ate dirt. The judge kindly stopped me so the arena could be rearranged and we set off again. To be honest I did think about retiring but decided to carry on. Made it through the rest of the test without incident. Plan was to load Matti, watch the last few in my class with a cup of tea and cake, then pick up my sheet and head back to the yard. What actually happened was Matti took nearly a hour and a half to load! Not quite sure why...

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Hmmm, I think I need more plaiting practice. Matti was left with strict instructions to not attempt to rearrange them! from Team Solstice Wobbleberry Challenge http://ift.tt/2mOn71Y via IFTTT

Exciting mail today. British Eventing Official membership pack and gorgeous planner from Leroy and Bongo. Now I can start officially planning for The Wobbleberries challenge! #rideforhannah #kickingcancersbutt from Team Solstice Wobbleberry Challenge http://ift.tt/2DTr25S via IFTTT