Budget reduction (updated thanks Jess!)

Today I feel like death warmed up ... these shifts are going to be the death of me this week - thank goodness tonight is the final 6pm-2am shift! Last night/this morning I didn't get to bed/sleep again until 4am (standard stuff on this shift), but I was awake again at 6am, and couldn't get back to sleep until almost 9am, tossing and turning the whole time ... I kept dozing on and off until just after 12 noon, but after the 3rd night of only getting about 5 hours sleep, I feel like crap ('scuse the language!) and everything, especially my stitching, is suffering 'cos I'm wandering around like a zombie {heavy sigh}.

Yesterday I tried to blow away some cobwebs before work and went for a walk and signed up for membership at the local Video Ezy store ... I then came home and put my Homescreen membership on hold for 3 months, because I think I'm wasting money unnecessarily each month by not sending my movies back quickly enough ... I think it might be better to pop up the road on my days off and pick something up when I really need it, rather than having them turn up on inconvenient days etc. I'm hoping this money will be better spent on other things ... such as ... a trip up to Sydney to visit friends, and a trip home either just before (unlikely, though) or just after Christmas.

With those goals in mind, I've also reduced my Monthly bits cost at SB&B to a lesser monthly amount, and cancelled my Silkweaver FOTM for the timebeing. The way I look at it, especially after looking at the list of all the projects I can stitch from my stash (gulp), I really don't need it all ... admittedly, though, the Monthly Bits from SB&B are just threads that I need for specific projects, so that's not so bad - I've also asked if I could get the WDW/GAST threads more quickly than the rest, too, as those are needed more quickly (and it'll also give me more choices to substitute from for other charts).

Anyway, time to really cut back on unnecessary items, and focusing on the things I really need rather than just want ... not something I'm very good at! LOL. Luckily I get a travel discount through work, but with all the airport taxes and fuel surcharges it still makes it a costly exercise to travel these days ... but it would be so worth it to catch up with everyone. At least the room rental's cheap where I'm travelling to LOL ... so fingers crossed that all going well I'll be heading north to Sydney in November, and then back across the ditch in December/January. I've decided to try and get back to NZ for one week every year from now on.

As for right now, I think I'm going to drag myself out and get some fresh air by walking round the waterfront for an hour ... I have no idea how I'm going to survive the night at work tonight - but I'm thinking tonight might be a fantastic time to try out those sleeping tablets I've had sitting there 'just in case' I need them, I'd KILL for a good night's sleep :(

Then tomorrow I can finally pick up a parcel that's been lurking in my PO Box since before the weekend ... they've been closed each night this week as I've been going to work late, but tomorrow I'm on 3-11pm, so they'll be open woohoo ... I LOVE getting those little slips of paper in my PO Box, which means there's something larger than the usual bills waiting for me ... it also usually signifies stitching stuff has arrived! Yippee!! :D

And to finish, here's another cultural experience I had ... attending an Indian wedding not long before I left Auckland to move here - that's me in the blue (shock, horror!) sari ... what an awesome experience!!

Piccie by Photobucket 'cos Blogger won't uplift for a change ...