Friday 31 August 2018

Friday 31st August 2018

Our senior pup has already been out for a huge poo, the virus scan has been started and I've just taken me morning cocktail of pills but I'm bloated with all the squash I drank to take them now  😟

Gonna take the pup out for her walk then carry on reading the book I borrowed from the library 2 days ago.

All set for the day now though, so anything else that happens is a bonus from now on.
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That's the puppy walked and fed.  She only wanted to do 100% this morning though and I wasn't going to force her to walk any further so we're still at yesterday's 450% in the bank.
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I've had to reboot again to get my internet connection back so I'm thinking that I just won't go online on a Friday other than to check my email as soon as I log on because otherwise I'll be rebooting every Friday because of AVG using 100% of the disk, so don't worry if you don't hear much from me on a Friday - it's nothing personal at all, I'm just trying to get the virus scan to keep running without needing to reboot each week is all!

See you all tomorrow!
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Thursday 30 August 2018

Thursday 30th August 2018

The pup only wanted half her walk this morning and I didn't want to force her so I'll try again for the other half later on today.  I don't want to force her in case she's in pain or something though.  Mind you, maybe she was just a bit cold 'cos Steve said it was 6 degrees when I took her out which might have been why she only wanted to do 50%... I'll try again at lunchtime and take it from there.
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Hayfever pill and supplements taken now, but the multi isn't kicking in as quickly as it was a couple of months ago, so maybe that means my levels are where they should be now?
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I've just been protected from a viral threat on a webpage by AVG... I love that!  It's constantly running and protecting me without slowing anything down!

They do a free version but I'm using the paid-for version and things like blocking that threat makes it so worthwhile!  I'm protected until 5th January 2020 too and it's unlimited so I don't need to worry about it for the next 18 months 'cos it's already been paid for 2 years!

Get yourself AVG to protect yourself and buy it if you can afford it... it's sooo worth it!  It's just under £60 a year but the peace of mind it gives you for that protection is sooo worth it for me, especially like it did just now!
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Another threat secured by AVG and it's not even lunchtime yet!!  It's earned the money I paid back in January twice and it's not even 11am!
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Only 33 survey invites so far today and only completed one of those, but it means that I can carry on reading the book I borrowed from the library last night until bed time now!  Yay!
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The pup has just dragged me for another 200% plus this mornings walk makes 250% minus the 100% I would have been happy with makes 150% extra, plus yesterdays 300% makes 450% in the bank... getting towards a free working week's walks in the last 6 days, which ain't bad for a senior pup!!
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Just taken me prescription and I'm burping for England now!  lol
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The prescription is starting to kick in, so gonna shut down and head to bed now... nite nite orl!
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Wednesday 29 August 2018

Wednesday 29th August 2018

Just taken the pup for her morning stroll and we did 150% so that's an extra half in the bag in case she gets grumpy and refuses to go out, plus the 250% carried over makes it 300% so she's got 3 days walking in the bag, just by strolling as far as she wants to go each morning!

She's a senior lady now (9 years old) so I'm taking my lead from her on the morning walkies.  It's great when she wants to go for a long walk, but I'm not going to force her to walk in case she's in pain just then.

Bless her little furry paws.
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She's got enough food for tomorrow and I've just discovered 2 bags of Pooch and Mutt food, but I don't know how long they've been there or how fresh they will be so I don't wanna risk it, I'm gonna try and remember to bin them when the black bin bag has been started.  Waste of money, but better that than the pup having no food at all!
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Last hayfever pill and me 3 supplements taken now, so I'm all set for the day.
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Steve's just ordered our lunch from Burger King and I'm having my first ever shop-bought (as opposed to made at home) black coffee!  I hope it's not too strong to drink!  lol
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The coffee was very chemically... even worse than the instant stuff we get from the supermarket!  Seriously hope I don't turn into a coffee snob after less than a year!
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Tuesday 28 August 2018

Tuesday 28th August 2018

Just got back from walking and feeding the pup.  She fancied a really long walk this morning... 250%!!  That means she's got 2.5 days (100% after yesterday and 150% from today) in the bank for when she's being grumpy.

There's no way I'll be able to walk around the house today now though, so Steve'll have to take his key with him when he goes to the doctor instead of me answering the door to let him in.

My knees are already painful and my lower legs are exhausted so I don't want to risk falling over 'cos there's no way I can get back up even on a rare good day, let alone after such a long walk with the pup!
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Hayfever pill and supplements taken so I'm all set for the day now.
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Another 1.5 hours that Steve's spent with his family.  That means 1.5 hours on Friday and he'll have spent the same amount of time with his family in 5 days that I've spent with my mum in 8 years.

So much for seeing her regularly, eh?  Especially now that she's on her own!
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Shopping's been and gone and Steve's put it away.  Got another 2 weeks of hayfever pills too, fortunately!  I'd have taken the last one tomorrow if I'd forgotten to add them!

Apparently I've got mug shots and cheese and onion pasties for me to have this week but Steve's doughnuts were out of stock and there were no alternatives for some reason.

Got some fizzy pop this week, just for a change too.
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That's me prescription taken so I'll be able to have a really early night again tonight and hopefully wake up a bit later too.
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Having a Burger King coffee and meal which'll keep me awa... scratch that, don't want the coffee to keep me up all night when I'm desperate to have an early night lol  We're going to have it for a late lunch tomorrow instead lol
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Going to bed now... can barely keep me eyes open!

Nite nite orl!
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Monday 27 August 2018

Almost 6 hours with his parents today alone, which means...

Just got back from spending nearly (as in less than 15 minutes difference) 6 hours with Steve's family.  That's longer than we spent with my mum last time we went over there in 2010.  Just need to spend another 3 hours with Steve's family this week and he'll have seen his family more in less than a week than I have seen my mum in 8 YEARS!!!

He promised me on our way back from the funeral that we'd go over and see her regularly now that she's on her own.

I've seen her once since he made that promise 8 years ago.

I don't call that regularly by any stretch of the imagination!!

I give up.

I really do.

Monday 27th August 2018

That's the puppy walked and fed.  She only wanted half her walk today which means that she's done 500% in 4 days so she's done a days worth more than I'm usually happy with, so she's got either a full grumpy day where she doesn't want to go for a walk at all or 2 half days in the bank.  It all adds up eventually, but I take my lead from our senior pup and don't force her when she really doesn't want to do the full length because I know that she'll make up for it when she feels able to.

She's fast asleep in Steve's chair now, bless her!  lol
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I cleared up the pup's poo from our back yard this morning, put it in the bin bag outside and less than half an hour later the rubbish was collected!  What great timing by me!
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Apparently it's 14 degrees, rising to 18 later, but it's still a touch chilly out there so I'm gonna wear me cardi today.  I can always take it off and knot it around me waist if I get too hot, but there's nothing I can do if I become cold and I haven't got it with me!
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Pills taken and I is bloated with liquid now.  Urgh.  👎
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That's me prescriptions bought for the next 12 months and I've just signed up to be an organ donor too.

The PPC will be with me in the next 7 working days and the donor card will come through the post too.  Means that I can help to improve or even save someone (or multiple someone's) life when I kark it... I won't need my tissue or organs any more when I'm dead but they will help others live a much-improved life, so why not??
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That's the donor card as my phone's wallpaper now - took a while but it's done and dusted now.
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Gonna post this, shut down and watch a bit of telly while we're waiting for Steve's dad to come and pick us up again.  We'll be spending all afternoon there which is the same as I spent with my mum when we buried my dad.

He's then seeing his dad tomorrow and Friday so that's the same amount that we saw my mum back in 2010, so by the weekend he will have seen his family the same amount in one WEEK as I've seen my mum in eight YEARS - hardly fair, is it?!

Shutting down now... see you all again either later tonight or tomorrow morning!
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Sunday 26 August 2018

Sunday 26th August 2018

I've just copied and pasted yesterday's blog post as well as backing up my hard drive and rebooting my likkle laptop to get the internet connection back and I'm about to take the pup out for an early morning stroll... all by 7.30am!  I'm gonna be wiped out by 3pm!  lol
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Puppy walked and fed... not even 8am yet!!

Next up - pills!
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That's me 4 pills taken so I'm all set for the day now... just need a coffee to wake me up now!
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Gonna have a bath ready for tomorrow now... BBS I hope!
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Out of the bath and prescription taken, so I'll have a really early night tonight, in preparation for spending tomorrow afternoon with the in-laws again tomorrow.
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Just waiting for Steve's take away to turn up then I can head to bed, so I'll post this now.

Nite nite orl!
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Saturday 25th August 2018

It's a beautiful day out there this morning!  Nice and sunny and bright and warm without being too hot.

The puppy did an extra 50% of her walk too so she's done 350% in 2 days instead of the 200% that I would have been happy with.  She's a senior pup now so I'm taking my lead from her every morning.  I'd prefer her to do at least 100% every morning but when she's grumpy and either only does 50% or refuses to go out at all aren't so bad 'cos she makes up for it with days like yesterday and today!
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Hayfever pill and supplements taken.  Thankfully another easy morning for swallowing them again... yay!
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Tech advice needed if there are any Windows tech support bods reading this!

I run a virus scan every Friday that finishes 35 hours later.  No problem there.

I also back up my hard drive when the virus scan has finished.  No problem there either.

I've got Task Manager open atm and the disk is showing 100% so it's not letting me open any other programme (I'm writing this in Notepad atm).  Steve reckons it's because of the virus scan yet last week I could use my machine the whole time it was running without any problems so why am I being forced to only use Notepad and literally nothing else today please?

Other than my email and a couple of Word, PDF and websites I've barely used my machine this week so why is it showing 100% please?

I've already scrolled down the background processes and other than literally two or three things that are at about 2.5 MB/s, everything else is at 0 MB/s, so what's using up the entire 2TB hard drive this week that wasn't being used last week please?
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Seemingly it's no wonder that the scan takes 35 hours... a deep scan goes through every single email and file on the machine every scan.  I've got several hundred thousand emails in just one email account and I've got like 10 email addresses and that's without going through my websites and graphics and manuscripts and other documents!  lol

It took days to download all my emails into Thunderbird so to expect a virus scan to go through them all in a couple of hours is sooo unrealistic lol

I just want to keep my hard drive free of 'viruses and other malware' and by doing the weekly scan and back-up of my entire hard drive keeps my mental illness in check!
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Virus scan is at 48% and I started it again at about 4pm or 5pm yesterday so it's only been going for about 20 hours which is really good going compared to last week!
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I've just discovered the Performance tab in Task Manager and it's a lot more interesting than the Processes tab!  The laptop has been on for 19 hours and 39 minutes, which means the virus scan has been running for about 19 hours 30 minutes!

It's done 51% in that time so it's hopefully right on track for finishing in the early hours, but I won't complain if it finishes before I head to bed like it usually does... it's done the stuck bit overnight like it usually does when I start it off in the morning instead of the afternoon so hopefully it'll speed through it all like it usually does now!

Just wish I'd stopped it and rebooted it at lunchtime instead of later on lol
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Firefox has just loaded up so I'm gonna copy and paste this into the post now so that I don't have to keep using Notepad... might keep it open just in case Firefox throws another hissy fit at me though!
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The scan is at 53% but I'm still waiting for my blogs to load up in Firefox *sigh*
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Got 2.5 bottles of squash now, thanks to Steve preparing them for me just now so that should keep me going for a while, as long as my pill-taking is still a positive experience 'cos that'll only be 5 or 6 mouthfuls of squash a day.

There seems to be a problem with Blogger atm so I'm gonna close down Firefox again and then try loading it up again, hopefully with more success this time!
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The connection has just timed out again, so I'm thinking that the issue is with Blogger, not this side of the connection... I'll try again in a few hours but, right now, I've got no idea when I'll post this.  Hopefully before I go to bed today (Saturday) but it might be first thing Sunday morning when the virus scan and back up are finished 'cos it might be that I have to reboot my likkle laptop again which I'll do when the scan's finished 'cos it's at 56% so I'm not going to set it going again now that it's running OK and it's over half way through.
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My internet connection has just disappeared so the problem *was* at this end instead of Blogger's after all.

Steve's rebooting the router wirelessly or something so hopefully I'll be able to get this saved when my connection is back!
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Still having issues with the internet connection so I'm not going to worry about it for a few hours now... hopefully the little yellow triangle will disappear soon and I'll be able to go back to saving this as a draft until bed time.  Frustrating but necessary, unfortunately.
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1% is done in 17 minutes atm so I'm gonna just curl up and watch the motor racing so that I don't use up so much of the memory or hard drive or whatever.

It's up to 59% now so there's 41% left to do which means it'll be finished in 11.5 hours from now which is about 3am tomorrow (or today if I'm posting this on Sunday lol)
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Something has gone wrong with the connection that only a reboot will fix apparently, so I'm gonna take me prescription and go to sleep until the early hours, then creep down, back up my hard drive and reboot then.  Hopefully my internet connection will be back up then and I can post this blog and catch up on all my email and stuff lol
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38% left to do now so it'll be done in 11 hours which'll be just about when I come down lol  Tomorrow is gonna be a loooooooooong day!  Means I can have a long, relaxing bath before it gets light though  lol
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Just taken me prescription, so I'll be up at about 4am tomorrow (today) lol
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Just come down thinking it was 8*a*m and that I'd been asleep for 15 hours but it's actually 8*p*m and I've been asleep for 3!  lol
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Friday 24 August 2018

Friday 24th August 2018

The puppy forced me into a walk-athon this morning.  I was happy to come home when we'd done 100% but the pup kept walking, so we did 150% which was brilliant but she still kept walking until we did 200% of the walk!!

My legs were telling me that they couldn't do any more after that and Mitzi agreed, thankfully!  We did double what I was happy with which means that I won't be able to walk any more in a couple of hours lol
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Taken me hayfever pill and supplements now.  All 4 of 'em went down easily today... didn't even have any remnents of crumbs from the Calcium today!  Maybe the extra long walk and the easiness of taking the pills are a flashing neon sign saying I'll have a good day today??
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The virus scan is at 26% already and it's only been going for an hour too!

I could get used to this!  lol
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First survey of the day completed!
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Second survey done and dusted.
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If my maffs is right, in 7 days time I'll be able to cover the £57 worth of bills for the rest of August as well as being able to afford £50 a week for groceries and all of September's bills then be able to put all my money from my benefits into my savings account just in case I don't get ESA re-awarded in November.

I'll also be able to move another thousand over to just about see me covering all the bills for a few months as long as I'm a tightwad with the money and the groceries are a maximum of £50 a week but I won't make it through 2019 with literally no money at all if I'm not awarded ESA and PIP.

It's already hard enough as it is but with literally no money coming in and still having bills to pay and needing to eat, I won't make it with no money at all so I'll have my suicide plan as a backup.  I've got everything I need to be successful this time and I've done a lot more research so I know that when I put it into action that'll be it this time.
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Wasn't such a good day after all 'cos I've just been forced to reboot which means I've had to start the virus scan all over again!  Means that it'll be finished at about 8.30am on Sunday which is a bit of a PITA but couldn't be helped!  😒
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Just moved £500 to my backup account that I'll use if I'm not re-awarded ESA in November or to pay for my OU courses if I am.  Either way is totally cool, although getting the ESA will mean that I'm not going to take my own life, although Steve would be entitled to more benefit money after my death if he loses a job at any point in future!
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Thursday 23 August 2018

Thursday 23 August 2018

Took the puppy out for her walk and apparently we were quicker than usual even though we walked the same amount that we usually do!  Steve fed her before we went out, so it saved me a job when we came back... thank you Steve!
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Had breakfast today... a Belvita breakfast biscuit pack of 3 - Steve was just finishing off his second pack (6th biscuit!!) when I came down... I told him it was supposed to be one packet per person per day and he replied with "I was hungry!"  lol
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Already finished one survey today and I've only just started!  Gonna take me supplements now, before I forget.
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Hayfever pill and supplements taken now... it was the Calcium that was the difficult one this morning, but even that wasn't too bad thankfully!
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Second survey of the day done and dusted!
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Third survey of the day completed now.
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And another one!
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I is cream crackered so I'm going to bed now.  Nite nite orl!
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Wednesday 22 August 2018

Wednesday 22nd August 2018

The pup did an extra 50% on her walk today - I was happy with 100% but the pup carried on walking, so I just followed her until she was ready to come home!  Bless her furry little paws!
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Taken me hayfever pill and supplements.  It was the multi that took 2 mouthfuls of squash to swallow today, the other 3 pills went down really easily.
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Had a tube of crisps for lunch and a mug shot for me tea... gonna take me prescription now and then head to bed after a couple of late nights last night and the night before.

Nite nite orl!
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Tuesday 21 August 2018

Tuesday 21st August 2018

It's taken me all morning to persuade the pup to go for her daily walk but only managed half of it before refusing to go any further.  She's a senior girl so maybe she's feeling her age now?  I'll see if she wants to go for the other half this afternoon... maybe she needs two shorter walks a day instead of one longer one?  Either way, I'm taking my lead from her now that she's an old lady... you wouldn't force a 63 year old to run a marathon every day, so I'm not going to force the pup to walk further than she wants to either.
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We're going over to see my little nephew on Monday afternoon so the pup will either have to go for her walk before we go or wait until we come home then.  We'll get our groceries on Tuesday instead of Monday next week too.
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Just taken me hayfever pill and supplements... they all went down surprisingly easily today!!  Just one mouthful of squash for each of 'em!  I like it when they go down like that, makes it so much easier lol
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4 completed surveys so far today, so it's a good day survey-wise!
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If I'm not awarded ESA in November, what sort of online, remote working job could/should I look for in an ideal world?

I'm creatively passionate about working with children and qualified to work with kids aged 12 months to 7 years 11 months as well as being an audio touch typist who knows basic html and css.

I write for all ages from picture books to young adults (ie teens) and I'm hoping for a minimum of £500 a month at the bare minimum.  I'm willing to work up to 12 hours a day at an absolute maximum, but would prefer part time at least initially so that I can still study and write.

I'm picky and stubborn so apparently proof-reading would be a good remote working job for me and I'd love to give it a go, but is it a stable job bringing in at least £500 a month?

Most ideas considered!  Just leave me a comment in reply to this post so that I can start my research!

If you're not comfortable leaving your name, just leave me your first initial so that I can thank you!
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I was wrong to think I could trust the only three people I'd started to trust.  Steve's broken my trust numerous times, C broke my trust for the ESA thing (apparently I can walk a mile with no support) and D's just broken my trust on SCBWI.

I had my trust broken as a child and it's taken 25 years to work through it with three people who promised that I could trust them and just as I was starting to, they broke my trust.

The only person I will ever trust from now on is myself.
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Monday 20 August 2018

Monday 20th August 2018

That's the puppy walked and fed.  She did a very "fresh" (Steve's word, not mine) poo and my finger went almost straight through.  Totally gross but responsible.  Need to attach another plastic bag to her lead ready for tomorrow now... you watch me forget until I'm putting her harness on tomorrow though  lol

Gonna spend the morning doing surveys then hopefully writing this afternoon and evening... you watch me spending all day on flippin' surveys and doing no writing though!  😵  lol
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Taken me supplements and hayfever pill.  They all went down really easily today!
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Our next door neighbour brought over a huge bag of home-grown grapes for me and Steve this afternoon - yummy scrummy in my tummy!  Think we can forgive him for letting his vine grow over the wall and into the yard now!  lol 

I'm guessing, because this Summer was so hot that it grew bigger than he was expecting and he can't eat them all himself now, bless him!  lol
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It's gone 6.30pm but I've finally finished the last survey... knew it would take all day!  lol
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Sunday 19 August 2018

Sunday 19th August 2018

I is cream crackered after a late night last night!  Taken me hayfever pill and supplements though, so hopefully the B12 in the multi will wake me up soon!  Hope the puppy wants to go for her walk today too.
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Puppy walked and fed.  Supplements and hayfever pill taken and we're having Pasta Bake for lunch so I'll shut down now ready for eating then I'll be back afterwards.
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Totally stuffed now!  lol
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Anyone got any ideas of how to fake confidence when in reality it's through the floor? 

Please? 

Pretty please??
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I know that it's only 4.15pm but I'm gonna take my prescription and go back to bed... too tired to make it to tonight!

Nite nite orl!
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Saturday 18 August 2018

Saturday 18th August 2018

Just taken me hayfever pill and 3 supplements.  Only the Iron went down without a problem today  😟
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We had hash brown's for lunch!!!  Yaaaaaaay!  It doesn't take much to make me happy, but having home-cooked food is an easy way to achieve it!
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I haven't seen my mum since the Summer of 2010 when we buried my father and went over to see her once after we got the pup.

Haven't seen her since.

Neither of us have a driving license and Steve doesn't have a car so we're kinda stuck with just the phone and email.

My brother has both a driving license and a car and he's more than happy to take her to Wales for a 3 day holiday that they came back from yesterday.

Steve's just suggested me getting a taxi over there for a few days then getting a taxi back here but at about £100 (nope, that's not a typo, I really do mean one hundred pounds) one way and being left with literally pennies at the end of each month, I don't know where I'm supposed to be magicing £200 from!!

Like Steve said, the road works in both directions and my mum has been over here a few times before my father died and it's no problem at all to give him directions if he needs them to bring her over here occasionally but my brother isn't up for that for some reason, so screw him!

My mum is 74 now so she's not getting any younger and she's got diabetes that she's struggling to keep under control with pretty much no help from her GP other than telling her she needs to lose weight.

I just haven't put my arms around her for almost exactly (as in to the month) 8 years and I miss her!
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Completed a grand total of 2 surveys today... a bit disappointing but that's just the way it is some days!
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Virus free and backed up for another week so I can go to bed now... at long last!

Nite nite orl!
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Friday 17 August 2018

Friday 17th August 2018

Virus scan started, puppy walked and fed and I'm about to take me supplements to get me sorted for the day.
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Hayfever pill and supplements taken so I'm all set for the day now.  Gonna make an early start on the surveys and take it from there.
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Steve's just promised "on Mitzi's cute little bum" that tonight's take-away will be the last for a while and that "we'll definitely have something cooked here tomorrow".

Unfortunately I don't believe him but I'll refuse to have any more take aways until we have at least one meal cooked here.  I'm just soooo bored of take-aways!!
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The chips were totally gross... ate less than 10 of 'em because they were so greasy!  Yukerama!
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Taken me prescription and finished me can of pop so I'm going to bed soon I reckon.
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Thursday 16 August 2018

Thursday 16th August 2018

Puppy walked and fed and she's now fast asleep on the back of the sofa.
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Got over £50 credit to use up on my mobile so Children In Need will be getting a donation from me this year as long as they can take it off my phone lol
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Haven't taken me supplements yet, so I'd best do that now, while I remember!
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That's me hayfever pill and supplements taken now.  The multi was a nightmare to swallow today!!
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Just 5 bits and bobs today... I've taken me prescription so I'm gonna clear the cache in Firefox ready for the weekly scan first thing tomorrow, then head to bed!
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Wednesday 15 August 2018

Wednesday 15th August 2018

That's the puppy walked and fed.  Almost had me over as I opened the door because there was a cat sat right in the middle of the road, washing itself.  Mitzi's little tail was wagging into a blur and the cat just looked at her and walked off.
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Steve's just done another 2 bottles of squash for me and he's making a cafetierre of "posh coffee" (which is actually cheaper for more volume than the instant coffee) so I'll be able to take me supplements when he comes in with it too
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He's just filled up me mug so I'll take me supplements now... hold on!

Done!  Finished the box of hayfever pills this morning and the supplements were a nightmare to get down again.  All sorted for the day now though, thankfully.
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Started next week's online grocery order and my OCD is happy 'cos it's £58.85 all in.  I had a voucher for 15p for the substitute price difference this week so it was £59.00 before that which my OCD was happy with too... I'm easily pleased, me!  lol  😄
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I've been a chocaholic since childhood and prolly always will be.  Steve forwarded an email from Amazon to me with a selection of chocolate hampers in it and seemed to think he'd be getting more than a crumb out of them.

He's known me for 25 years so you'd think he'd know by now that he won't see more than the wrapping from most chocolate!  lol 😃
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Done 4 or 5 surveys today so I've got about $2ish coming into my online survey account in the next few days.

I realise that that doesn't sound like a lot, but it quickly adds up to a fair bit, then you've just gotta convert it to £s and ask to be paid when you reach the required minimum amount!
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Tuesday 14 August 2018

Tuesday 14th August 2018

The pup doesn't want to go for a walk again for some reason, so I'm gonna take me supplements and wait for Steve's flapjacks to be delivered again.

Apparently he can afford daily take-aways and weekly things from Amazon but he can't afford to help me with the groceries that are 90% his every week whereas I'm left with literally pennies each month, have holes in my shoes and can't afford anything for myself after paying the electricity and groceries every month.  Hardly fair, is it?
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That's me hayfever pill and supplements taken so I'm all set for the day again, now.  Gonna make a start on reading the memory book, putting what it says to the test, then review it.  Wonder what advice it'll have that I haven't already tried?
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Just finished reading the book and reviewing it here on this blog and on Amazon... I had such high hopes for the book improving my memory enough to study but it didn't tell me anything new unfortunately.

It's an OK way to waste a couple of hours but it's not worth spending any more time on it than that, unfortunately  😞
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In 9 months time it'll be 30 years since I first became a Take That fan... scary stuff!  I even remember how I first found out about them - via High There! back at the start of Summer 1989 just before they released Do What U Like!

I remember reading the interview - I was sat on the bus on the way back from the hospital and there was an interview with them in it that I was so engrossed in that I almost missed the stop!
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Book review: Memory improvement techniques by Achievement Pyramid


☆☆☆ out of 5

I had high hopes for this book because I've had huge memory problems for 15 years and I was hoping it would give me ways to improve my memory. 

I was wrong. 

It didn't tell me anything new at all and the exercises it provided were doing crosswords and taking IQ tests along with getting more exercise, practising yoga and learning to play a musical instrument. The most helpful part was right at the beginning when it said about using mnemonics to remember information, but I knew that from my first college course.

If you are looking for a book that will give you ways to improve your memory, look elsewhere. 

If you're looking for a book that teaches you nothing that you didn't already know, but you want to waste a couple of hours, have a read of this book, but don't expect to gain anything from it that you didn't already know. Sorry. 




Monday 13 August 2018

Monday 13 August 2018

Just taken me supplements after Steve reminded me and they went down pretty easily this morning!  Only 4 mouthfuls of squash to get them down instead of the usual 5 or 6 or, on a particularly hard-to-swallow day, half a litre!!
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Not going to take the pup for her walk this morning 'cos she's going to see the vet for hopefully the last time about her skin.

She only had half a body of fur, after her previous owners didn't want to treat it, when we first brought her home from the Dogs Trust back in 2010 and had to have a bath every other day with a prescription shampoo.  Her skin has been similar to that but we nipped it in the bud as soon as we realised it was happening again.

She's been being treated for a few weeks now and we're hoping this'll be the last vet visit she needs because she's only got one steroid left and her skin is a lot better now, thankfully!
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Only got a little bit left to crit in the book... the author was aiming for 16 year old readers but changed their mind yesterday.  It's gonna be published in September but needs oneheckuva lot more editing and needs to be at least tripled in length too!  I'm glad they've already got a publisher but hope they aren't being taken for a ride like I was back in 2012!
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Had another author email me for a review of their book overnight.  This one is about improving your memory so this one will be interesting to try out and I'll definitely try out any techniques within it and give it an honest review... might be a bit unfair that my memory problems are due to having a damaged brain, but it'll be the ultimate test for the book, and, if the techniques work it'll help me if I start studying with the OU next year!
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Our little senior pup is baaaaack!!  Apparently she wanted to make friends with a greyhound/lurcher type dog at the end of the road while they were waiting for Marie and she made friends with a bulldog while she was waiting in the vet's too... such a friendly girl!

She's still on the steroids but it's every other day now instead of the every day it's been for a few weeks and she's up to date with her jabs and we've just got to keep an eye on her ears and wipe them out when necessary now.

The pup has also got a comedian fan online apparently too.  The comedienne was missing her dogs and asked for photo's of her followers dogs, so Steve put up a picture of Mitzi and the commedienne apparently replied saying she looks like a model!

That's it for vet visits unless she needs to go back again now though, just gotta finish off the steroids and keep an eye on her ears but she hasn't got to go back any more!  Yaaaaay!
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And the crit's finished after 2.5 loooooong days reading and critting it.  It's got potential, but there are a LOT of errors that a simple editing will solve.  It's also only 61k words apparently, so the author needs to find another 39k words to make it into a novel as opposed to a novella, yet the publisher has said it'll be published in September... a lot of work to do in a very short amount of time unfortunately  😔

Gonna give myself the rest of the day off, then read and review the memory improvement book tomorrow!  You watch me forget though lol
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Sunday 12 August 2018

Sunday 12th August 2018

The pup only wanted half of her walk today... she was eager to go out, unlike yesterday, but she point blank refused to do the other half of her walk which usually means she needs a poo urgently and is being kind by not doing it in the street in case I fall over and can't get back up.

Nope, she came in, had her harness taken off then went to graze on her breakfast!  I hope she's not in pain or anything now that she's a senior but I don't know why she's getting so stubborn about either not going for a walk at all that entire day (like she did yesterday) or only wanting a very short walk (like today).  I just want her to be well and happy is all!
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It's amazing what can be achieved when me an' 'im work as a team instead of sworn enemies.  Just like last week I took the recycling box out backwards while Steve took out the rubbish bag that's usually too heavy for me to lift and this week we had a full blue bag of cardboard recycling to go out too.

We worked as a team and got it all out there ready for tomorrow morning then I took some last minute bottles out for the recycling too.

Just gotta clear up the pup's poo and put it in the rubbish bag, then that's it for another week!
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Gonna hopefully finish critting the book by bed time then I can spend all of tomorrow doing surveys and hopefully writing my own manuscript too... wish me luck!
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That's the pup's poo cleared up... slimey and gross 'cos of last nights rain, but it's only once a week thankfully.
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Almost forgot to take me supplements!  They are done and dusted for the day now though and I surprised myself by being able to swallow all 3 of them with the squash that was left at the bottom of the bottom of the bottle instead of needing gallons to swallow them like I usually do!
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Saturday 11 August 2018

Saturday 11th August 2018

Our little senior puppy doesn't want to go for walkies this morning!  😕  I'll keep trying to persuade her, but she's more interested in sleeping right now!  😟

Gonna take me supplements now then try again in a couple of hours or something 😟
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 That's me 3 supplements done and dusted for today.  The Iron was a nightmare to swallow for some reason today, but the Calcium and Multi were fine... weird.
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We seem to have our UKTV channels back after Virgin got into a tizzy a week or so ago.  They obviously had too many complaints and customers leaving that they thought "oh poo" and grovelled to the UKTV bods to take them back!

The programmes Steve had set up to record have vanished, but presumably they are easy enough to set up again!

Yaaaaay!  I can catch up on The Bill and Masterchef again now... they were the only programmes I watched lol

I genuinely haven't missed watching TV though... 'onest!  I couldn't have cared if the TV had been on or off but those 2 hours of telly a day are a welcome return to my viewing!
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36 hours later and I'm still virus free, so gonna back up my hard drive again, then carry on critting this YA novel and I can have an early night for a change!  It's taken me almost 7 hours just to crit the first chapter!!
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I is stuffed to the gills now and I've still got a portion of onion rings to eat!!
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I is cream crackered so I'm going to put the bottle of Tango in the fridge, head to bed and hope I achieve more tomorrow than I have today!

Nite nite orl!
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