Week 1 Done

Well, the first week of “Roz’s Happy Place” is done and dusted.

Much has been achieved, sales were good, now that social restrictions are lifting, the town is taking visitors for the first time in months and I am still happy.

Tired but happy 😊

I’m going to enjoy my Sunday in bed. I’ll still be working for a good portion of it, because I’m keen to get everything finished so that I can settle into a routine. I’ve given myself until the end of the month but I think I can have it done sooner.

Today was especially busy with lots of small sales and overnight the caravan parks began to fill up with vans, camper trailers and tents. I hope they’ll still be here on Tuesday when I next open the shop!

Thankfully, Adoring Husband cooked dinner tonight while I dozed in my recliner.

We watched the football and AH retired for the night at the half time break of the Tigers vs Raiders game.

I can hear my pillow calling my name.

Nite all.

Got Stuff Done

Even though there were a lot of people through the door, it was the quietest of my sales days this week.

I had a few visitors in for a chat and a couple of people whose art/craft I have on consignment, a couple of solo males came through too!

Adoring Husband pointed out the fact that the caravan park is now beginning to fill up. That’s great for the town!

In between all of that, I sorted through some art works to decide what to display and rearranged some of the photos.

I ticked some things off my list:

• I created the first advertisement for the local newsletter which will begin publishing again in August.
• Designed new business cards, stickers, small signs and gift certificates.
• Emptied the old bank acct ready to close it.
• Activated my new business bank account card.
• Ordered something for a customer.
• Cancelled old details with some supplier websites and created new accounts with them.

So I was fairly productive today and my ‘to do’ list is reducing rapidly - although I need to make a new one for all the ideas that AH keeps coming up with!

The day passed quickly and I think I’ll increase my hours next week.

I like the idea of being open 9am - 2pm. It still leaves plenty of time in the afternoons to get other things done at home or drive into The Bay with AH. There is also the option to run classes in the afternoons if necessary.

When I got home, I had to bathe Ruby’s eye and administer drops before sitting down and doing a few more bits and pieces for the shop.

Tonight, I cooked up the green chicken curry that I didn’t do on Wednesday night and we’ve been watching the footy. I’m doing well in the tipping comp and have three from three correct so far.

Turmeric paste is excellent for dogs with arthritis and eases the symptoms of most conditions.

I’m in bed with my sleepy tea beside me and ready for some deep sleep now.

Nite all.

Progress is Made

I love Adoring Husband.

Sometimes his constant questions are as annoying as all hell but generally speaking, he’s the best man on the planet for me. His unending support and his willingness to pitch in and do all the little things really takes the pressure off.

He’s a legend.

Today was busy in the morning and quiet in the afternoon, which gave me the opportunity to finish my new logo ...

... now to create new stickers, business cards, information cards, adverts for the newsletter, signs etc

I’ve ticked off a further three items from my ‘to do’ list, which helps me feel like I’m making some ground.

I love my happy place. It feels peaceful and light. As tired as I am, I still love walking through the door in the mornings and I enjoy spending my days there. I hope that feeling never changes.

This afternoon, Adoring arrived to take over the shop so that I could leave ten minutes early for a late lunch with The Motivator. TM was late so he didn’t have to cover for that long but for a while he thought he had to be there until 3pm! At 2.15pm he realised he could close the shop and go home.

What a dill 🥴

TM and I lunched at Dayman’s General Store and we both had a Mai Thai Bowl with fish cakes (vermicelli noodles, spring onion, fresh tomato, coriander, mint leaf, peanuts, green beans, sprouts, carrot, cucumber, lime dipped in poppy seeds, three fish cakes and Thai sauce).

That was accompanied by a Detox Hydrator - watermelon, apple, cucumber, lemon and celery ... followed by a pear and ricotta tart with vanilla ice cream.

My body was thanking me throughout the entire meal. It was all so fresh and nutritious and tasty.

We took our time over the food, but I was so hungry, I didn’t do much talking!

Afterwards we went for a walk at Dayman Park which was lovely. The weather was perfect but we were both wearing heels which made some of the terrain a bit tricky. Stupidly we decided to take the stairs back up to the car.

There must have been 25 steep steps! We were both puffing and panting by the time we reached the top step and commented on how unfit we were. We also agreed that now would NOT be a good time to have a heart attack considering we are both attempting to establish new businesses and have exciting times ahead of us!

We survived.

We returned to Dayman’s because we forgot to purchase some of the oils and hand cream that we wanted. They also had Turmerix for sale.

The drive along the foreshore was a nice way to start our return trip home and TM dropped me off before 5.30pm.

It was a lovely afternoon.

I’ve had some sleepy tea and now it’s time to sleep.

Nite all.

Full House

It was a good crowd for meditation and it was a really deep class getting right in to the nitty gritty of our psyche. This really challenged some, while others eagerly learned a lot about themselves and others thrived on the experience.

I love these classes.

Afterwards, as the ladies left, they went out of their way to find me and express their gratitude.

It was nice.

The Gypsy stayed for a little while afterwards and we talked about the class, her YouTube channel and caught up on life. I like spending time in her peaceful presence.

Adoring Husband drove into The Bay and purchased a replacement bar fridge and a step ladder for the shop.

I used my printer for the first time and it worked like a charm. I received my first square reader payment in my new account.

It was a busy day so I didn’t get anything ticked off my list and by the end of the day, I was done, but I had to bathe psychotic dog Ruby when I got home and THEN I got to sit down and take a break.

We had a very early, very light dinner and are in bed early too.

I’ll be pleased when I’ve completed my ‘to do’ list and can settle into a comfortable routine.

Now I’m going to attempt to sleep through AH’s snoring. Tonight may be the night I concede defeat and sleep in the back bedroom.

Tomorrow I have a late lunch date with The Motivator. I’m looking forward to some good food and having some social time with TM.

Oh and isn’t this rain lovely?! 🥰

Nite all.

Happy Day One

Roz’s Happy Place had a very successful first day!

Adoring Husband and I arrived at the shop at about 8.20am to do some clearing, tidying and vacuuming before the girls arrived for morning tea.

My desk was still piled high with all the ‘stuff’ that we couldn’t find a place for over the weekend and the training room was still scattered with bits and pieces. The floors needed another quick vacuum. The fridge needed to be cleared because The Motivator was selling it and the main display table needed some tidying up.

All of that was completed by the end of the day.

I also unpacked the small box of stock that arrived yesterday and put it out for display.

The Motivator arrived late in the morning to prepare her fridge for pick up and her buyers not only bought the fridge but ended up spending a LOT of money in the shop which made me very happy!

The beautiful carved whale has finally left the building and I’m assured it has gone to a very loving and happy home.

Adoring Husband helped me tidy up the training room from morning tea so that I could set out the seats according to the isolation rules for meditation tomorrow.

Don’t get me wrong, there is still much to do, but my list is getting shorter and the pressure is easing. I’ve completed 14 of the 27 big items listed.

I am still physically and mentally tired from establishing this new business and rearranging almost the entire shop & stock. Thank goodness for Adoring Husband who has, as always, been my champion.

I’m hoping that by the end of the month, my list will be complete, and I can settle into a more gentle routine. I know that I’ll have to be mindful of my self care in the coming weeks so that I avoid burnout.

I really need an early night and some sound sleep so that I can be up bright and early, feeling light and breezy for meditation in the morning.

I am off to a good start! Business is good!

Nite all.

Wearing Down

It was a fairly slow start to the day, which was nice, and I was picked up at 11am for my belated birthday lunch date with some of my girls.

We ate at Aquavue.

Our table was half in the sun and half in the shade which made it quite uncomfortable for three of us because even though it’s Winter, this is Queensland! It’s ALWAYS Summer in Queensland!

We couldn’t move our table because of social distancing rules.

Also, I think the food was a little disappointing by Aquavue standards. The service was haphazard and the food and drinks came out at inconvenient times and not per our requests.

Luckily, the company was fabulous!

By the time we got to Stocklands, I could feel my energy levels dropping and I knew that Sunday’s work effort was catching up with me.

My purchases for the day were a beaded necklace, a colourful triple bracelet and a phone cover.

In seventeen years, I’ve never damaged a phone screen ... until now. The damage is minimal and the screen isn’t even cracked, but I decided that a protective cover was a must.

We left The Bay around 3pm and were all home by 3.30pm.

My plan when I left home in the morning was to have the day with the girls then spend the afternoon finishing up at the shop, but by the time I got home, I just had nothing left and I attempted to convince Adoring Husband that I didn’t want to go anywhere.

Unfortunately, there was stuff that just had to be done today otherwise I wouldn’t be able to open tomorrow. It couldn’t even wait til morning.

So I changed into casual clothes and dragged my tired old body down to the shop where I downloaded the app and set up the square reader ready to take payments tomorrow. Since we were already there, we spent some time removing the stock that we’d put in the treatment room while we’d rearranged things on Saturday.

Ninety minutes later, it was time to leave.

I had a tomato sandwich for dinner because that was all I was capable of preparing and it’s almost 9pm now and I want my bed.

I neeeeeeeeed sleeeeeeeeeep because it’s an early start for me tomorrow.

Nite all.

But Wait!

Who knew I could feel even older than I did yesterday!?

All of my bits are aching, my feet are sore, my bones are creaking, my brain is shutting down, my enthusiasm is waning, my ideas are fading, my grunt is groaning and even my yawn is faltering.

Six hours at the shop today rearranging display cabinets, dusting, cleaning, vacuuming, reorganising stock displays and reconfiguring my office space.

There’s still hours of work to do, but the big stuff is mostly done. There’s quite a bit of fiddly redisplaying to do which I’ll do tomorrow afternoon and then into the week. No rush really.

Adoring Husband and I are absolutely exhausted.

We made some mini pizzas on our paleo bases for dinner because it was the easiest thing we could think of.

Right now we are attempting to stay awake for the House Rules Final, but I think that as soon as I sign off here, I’ll be heading to bed to watch it. Hopefully I can stay awake until they announce the winner.

It’s a blessing that I have a lunch date tomorrow so that I don’t have to spend another six hours working, although I imagine there will still be numerous hours in the afternoon.

Ok, my brain can’t do anymore.

Nite all.

Feeling My Age

I slept well on Friday night and was awake bright and early (5am) listening to Adoring Husband leave for work.

I had to prepare a couple of platters to take for The Motivator’s farewell morning, iron some clothes to wear to work, have a shower, load the car and be at the shop by 9am. I was late 😳

I set up a little area behind the counter with a table and chairs ...

... lay the platters, the champagne and the glasses in preparation for some guests.

We had quite a few people turn up. The usual crowd and a few extras. I even offered champagne to customers that we didn’t know and they accepted my offer willingly and then opened their wallets to spend! I offered them more champagne! They laughed.

It was quite loud at its peak so that I could barely hear the customers speak, but we had a very good morning of sales and there was lots of laughter ringing through the shop. I had to tell one of our visitors to stop talking because I’d had two glasses of champagne and she was annoying me.

She stopped and then apologised before she left ... so as far as I’m concerned, she knows she has a ‘talking problem’ and has probably been pulled up for it before! I’ll call her Mrs Potter. She’s a nice lady and wouldn’t harm a fly but she does have a propensity for talking long and hard.

Our guests had all left before closing time so we were able to shut up shop on time, clear the mess, finalise business talk and say our long emotional farewells (3 or 4 times) before heading home.

The Motivator took a few photos but I don’t have access to them. If she sends them to me, I’ll share them here.

I’d like to take this one moment to thank The Motivator for being my friend and business partner for the last three years and for helping us create such a beautiful space to work in. Her design skills were paramount in the beginning and her spread sheet skills were paramount in the end. All the bits in the middle were important too!

I hope that she finds all the motivation, positive energy, good vibes, self belief and imagination to create her own perfect niche of success in our little town and beyond.

May the force be with you! 😘

My ‘to do’ list is still quite extensive so I can’t rest yet, and I still haven’t decided on my logo layout, but the new shop name will be “Roz’s Happy Place”. These are my first two attempts at the logo but I’ll play around some more over the next couple of days til I hit on a winner.

AH and I will spend Sunday at the shop moving a few things around and changing the layout just a touch. It already has a great feel so I don’t want to change it too much.

I’m looking forward to NEXT Sunday when I can spend the majority of the day in bed to rest up. This has been a mentally challenging week and I am definitely feeling my age tonight!

Today is the first day of the rest of my life!

Wahoo!

Nite all.

Oh The Pain

I didn’t sit down for the entire day because I was clearing out drawers, sorting through catalogues, decluttering and culling, filing invoices, rearranging drawers and figuring out where to put everything  that came out of the furniture that was leaving the shop.

The good thing about my efforts was that The Motivator and her posse of removalists were able to complete their task in an hour! They were very efficient for non-removalists!

The Fisher King, Fairy Princess and Gentle Giant swept through like a team on a mission, loading the ute a couple of times and filling the back of the car. If it was an Olympic event, I’m certain they’d have won GOLD!

We were all home by 3.30pm.

Tomorrow is party day and there will be champagne and nibbles for anyone who cares to farewell the girl between 10am and 1pm.

I wonder if I can get tipsy?

When I got home this afternoon, I had to bath psychotic dog Ruby, clean her eye and administer the drops.

Then I had to take a call from the bank to finalise some details regarding the new business account.

Finally, I got to sit down and put my feet up.

That’s where I remained for three hours.

I stood up from my chair to go to bed and I could barely move!! Everything had seized up and my lower back was screaming at me. I shuffled my way across the floor like a 90 yr old woman requiring a walking frame!

My magic DoTerra Ice Blue muscle rub was massaged into my lower back just before bed (by me) and it gave me almost instant relief. I love that stuff.

I didn’t even make my sleepy tea to bring to bed. I can’t stop yawning so this is it for me.

Oh in case you were wondering, the answer to the puzzle that I posted the other night was 45. Sorry it took me so long to remember to put it here. 😳

Sleep time for me.

Nite all.

A Nice Surprise

3rd June - It was bloody difficult getting out of bed early this morning.

My alarm was set for 6am but that cool breeze floating through the window kept me under the covers for another twenty minutes!

I still managed to get to the shop with plenty of time to spare for meditation.

We had 8 people in attendance which is allowable under the social distancing rules - although we should be able to fit 12 if we do it right next week.

It was a great class and we learnt about the power of silence.

The Gypsy stayed for a chat afterwards and it was great to catch up with her.

Surprisingly, it was a good day for sales and I still had time to tick off a couple more things on my ‘to do’ list.

I left the shop feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Our FROG box arrived today. FROG have recently teamed up with Su Jus Bar and each week I order their green chicken curry sauce and a juice. Wednesday night is now green chicken curry night. It’s delicious! And easy!

It’s only 9.45pm and we are in bed. I’ve already slapped Adoring Husband twice to quieten his snoring.

I’m going to trade him in for a quieter version tomorrow.

I made myself some sleepy tea to bring to bed with me, but even that won’t override the husband noise!

4th June ...

Whoops! That sleepy tea worked a treat!

After about four kicks to the thigh, AH finally slept quietly and as the sleepy tea kicked in, I yawned about six times, put my iPad on the bedside table and fell asleep almost istantly!

Slept solidly from 10pm - 5am.

Amazeballs!

*I will add more tonight before I publish this*

I arrived at the shop at 11am and The Motivator and I did all the catching up we needed to do regarding the business change over and then we spent some time mucking around and talking nonsense, as we do.

Only two people through the doors all day - perhaps those gale force winds scared everyone off!

Adoring Husband arrived at 2pm to help us close the shop.

He is at SES training night right now and I am watching my team get annihilated by the Roosters in the NRL. It’s a sad and sorry state of affairs.

I think I shall make myself some sleepy tea ...

... and climb into bed.

It’s going to be a big Friday and then an even bigger Saturday!

Nite all.

Lunching

I can’t remember who it was that first recommended Naughty Coffee at Howard for a meal.

I’m here to tell you that four out of six of us had well below average lunches and the other two were ok.

The cafe has a nice feel and the service was friendly, but the food left a lot to be desired.

The best part of lunch was the group sitting at our table.

We got to shop at the famous Vancootens Drapery which is much more than a drapery.

Compared to other lunch dates, we were home very early.

However, we had already spent over an hour at The Happy Abode having a farewell coffee with The Motivator so we all had five hours together.

My biggest need for the day was to scan and email some important paperwork. Our work printer is not functioning as it should so I tried our home printer, but it too is not functioning as it should. I tried the local post office, but they don’t do that. I tried the library, but their computers were not operational today. We found an old scanner in the cupboard and we tried that but it was a no go.

In the end my only option was to photograph the pages with my phone and email them.

Fingers crossed they accept them as is.

I ticked two more things off my ‘to do’ list, for which I’m quite proud of myself. I’m not procrastinating and I’m working my way through that list steadily. So far, there has only been one hiccup which I’m fixing as quickly as policy will allow.

I have an early morning tomorrow with meditation back for the first time in about ten weeks, so I’d best get some sleep.

Nite all.

Vet Visit

Every visit to the vet seems to cost us more and more!

We now have psychotic dog, Colli, on heart medication permanently and psychotic dog, Ruby, on allergy injections permanently. They both came with us to the vet this morning while psychotic dog, Jack, enjoyed some quiet time at home for the first time ever!

Adoring Husband babysat the psychotic dogs in the car while I made a quick Office Works run, a quick Coles run and a quick Dan Murphy’s run.

Shopping list checked off, coffee drive thru complete, post office pick up (my Kmart trackies arrived) on the way home and we were parked in our garage by 12.30pm.

Jack seemed happy to see us because his little butt and tail were wiggling and wagging furiously when we walked through the door - that was after we woke him up because he’s too deaf to hear the car engine any more!

We had a quick bite for lunch and I came into my office bedroom to tick a couple more items off my to-do list.

Of course nothing is straight forward. There has to be a hiccup or two to keep me on my toes. Tick one wrong box against an ambiguous question and it starts a whole new ball rolling.

*sigh*

Slow and steady wins the race.

We had a very light dinner and have been in bed for an hour. AH is doing his usual trick snoring loud enough that I can’t hear any TV dialogue.

I wonder if the bed in the back bedroom is comfortable?

Nite all.

Starting Again

So much to do! So little time!

🎶 Makin’ a list. Checkin’ it twice.🎶

I spent the morning in bed (surprise!) making an extensive list of everything I need to do to establish my new business before The Motivator leaves on Saturday.

When we started the business 3 years ago, we combined my logo (the green circle with hearts emerging) with her business name - she had a website called The Happy Abode with colourful flowers as the logo.

We opted to do that agreeing that when we finished with the shop, we would each take our ‘bits’ back.

So I have selected a new name to put with my logo.

I made my list, which is slowly growing longer as I remember new things that I have to change, cancel, modify, transfer, establish, open and replace.

I jumped on the ASIC website and registered my new business name. That website has to be one of the worst government sites I’ve ever had to navigate!

This was my office space while I did that ...

After I finally got that sorted, I played around with my logo and the placement of the new name. Watch this space next weekend when I will reveal the new look!

Tomorrow, we head into The Bay, firstly to take psychotic dog Colli for a checkup now that she’s finished her heart medication and Ruby for her allergy injection.

Then to purchase some replacement equipment that The Motivator will be taking with her on Saturday.

Gotta get some alcohol for her farewell on Saturday too!

This week is going to be busy and hectic and exciting and challenging!

Wish me luck!

Nite all.

Pretty Average

Average for a Saturday ‘PRE’ Covid19. That was our day in the shop.

We had some catching up to do ... which we did.

It’s 11pm and Adoring Husband is asleep beside me and has been snoring like a congested horse for almost two hours!

I’ve been trying to watch two movies but can’t hear any of the dialogue over his noise.

I’m really tired and will probably give him a good kick if he keeps going.

Here’s a brain teaser for you ...

I’ll try to remember to give you the answer in tomorrow’s post.

Now I’m off to bed.

Nite all.

Dizzy Azz

I blew up 27 balloons today.

By the time I’d finished, I felt pretty light headed 🥴

I had to climb a ladder to hang some of those balloons but I was smart enough to wait until the light-headedness passed before I did so. Can you imagine? Oh the picture that conjures!

The shop is now decorated to farewell The Motivator ...

Afterwards, I paid some bills, chatted with some customers, set up my new charging station and cleaned up all the packaging from my decorating.

The day passed too quickly! I’m thinking of returning to my normal hours after next week. We’ll see.

Now it’s heading towards midnight and I have to work tomorrow so it’s time to sign off.

Nite all.