Well - I missed a week, no major surprise there - the workload from Uni has ramped up pretty quickly with two assignments due at the end of week 5 (just about to start week 4). I did keep track though, so I can still fill in the update. The data for the previous two weeks are as follows:
Wk 8: 0/7 No spend days, YTD 20/69
Wk 9: 1/7 No spend days, YTD 21/76
As you can see - not so successful this past fortnight in terms of limiting the days I spend. And the main culprit is University. Although I have been taking lunch and coffee most days (I did forget one day, being too intent on getting kids to school on time) I have been finding that one cup of coffee isn't sufficient for a full day of study. If I ignored the days where my only expense was that extra cup then my statistics would be very different (2/7 and 3/7) so I'm not feeling too bad.
I'm still managing well with the Naughty & Nice list, mostly. Another couple of reference books purchased (on sale), and a children's book in support of the charity "Room to Read" that I will donate to the school library. It is a child's version, in rhyme, of how this charity started, with their first delivery of thousands of books to a school in rural Nepal (that only had three books until then, and kept them locked up, they were considered so valuable). Books do seem to be an ongoing theme with me don't they?
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| We are so fortunate to be able to afford books of our own. |
I think I should probably add Charity to the Nice list, it seems selfish not to, and then I don't have to feel guilty about the two charity 'dos' I went to in the last couple of weeks. It is nice to have a night out and support a good cause at the same time, don't you think? We went to a lovely Vietnamese dinner organised by a good friend of ours in support of Room to Read, and specifically girls education in Vietnam (where she comes from), and the next night I went to an International Women's Day event.
The hard part is deciding who to support, there are so many worthwhile causes, but I'm not Bill Gates, and even he couldn't fund them all - so choices have to be made. In the past I have been a regular supporter of the Red Cross, UNHCR, Surf Lifesaving and the Salvation Army. Right now I am supporting The Conversation because independent, intelligent journalism is so thin on the ground in Australia at the moment, yet so essential. Other causes I support on a more 'ad hoc' basis.
How do you decide what Causes to support?
We support Assistance Dogs and the RFDS, as well as doing food drives for the homeless, and donate goods to Vinnies, the Salvos and the Red Cross. Too long ago that we started to remember what inspired us to start.........
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