A bit of a whinge and a bit of perspective

First the whinge.

- The car park I use for work has got strict on early bird parking conditions and now makes us drive all the way up to level 7 to get our ticket "validated" which is just a guy scrawling something on the ticket in ballpoint and handing it back. What does that even do? 

- Spotlight was sold out of seashell chocolate moulds which I need for a birthday cake

- What is this weather. It's too changeable even for a Melbourne springtime, and now I have a cold (diddums!)

- I have way too much to do to get ready for birthdays and Christmas, and not enough time to do it

- The kids are going to sleep way too late which eats into my evenings which is leaving my house messy and to-do list only minimally tackled, and me grumpy.

- The school didn't send me a dental plan form and now I have to try and get one

- We couldn't save as much of the money we got from an insurance claim as we planned, because we had to use it for Christmas

- Our deck needs painting, our fence needs replacing, our walls need re-painting, our carpet needs replacing and possibly our floors need re-stumping. And we can't afford to do any of it.

There. That's better.

On the flip side:

- We are all well, healthy and mostly happy

- I got the last little wooden rocking horses from Spotlight that I need for the other birthday cake

- My mum got me the seashell chocolate moulds from another Spotlight

- I haven't had to put anything on our credit card for Christmas, thanks to our small but welcome insurance payout

- I have lost some weight and it hasn't been hard (so far!)

- The girls are winding down at school which means no more homework!

- I am nearly ready for the girls' birthday party, I just have to stay calm

- It's nearly birthday and Christmas time, yay!

*Exhales loudly*. OK, I'm alright now. Carry on.