A-Z the letter C (Coalition Government and how everyday families are suffering!)

This one was tricky - my first thought went to Cruelty to animals and then Chewing with your mouth open! 

But eventually I settled on the state of England and in particular since the Coalition Government came into power..... 

(This does not mean that I think Cruelty to animals is not as bad as this, however Cruelty is a common peeve or hate and the majority of 'normal' people agree it is wrong. I thought the Coalition Gov was a more 'risque' post and something specific to 2013 which is why I opted for this!!) 

I am not a political person, I know very little on the in's and outs of life in Westminster (in this era anyway - historically I know more about politics!) but I do know how everyday people up north feel about the situation created down south on the banks of the Thames. This maybe a generalisation because I can not speak for all us Northern folk, but everyone I speak to is disgusted at the state of the country now. It has been increasingly getting worse for many years, but since the two culprits above came into power the lower classes seem to have been made lower. The job market is poor yet benefits changes are been made which mean people suffer (bedroom tax is a prime example of this!). The only people who do not seem to suffer at these cut backs and the inflation rates are those sat in the houses of parliament and the fat cats in charge of major companies. 

But the worst thing in my opinion is the ignorance of this suffering and hardship. Tv programmes highlight situations for poorer people on a weekly basis. (Recently Skint on Channel 4, and even programmes like Secrets of Shoplifters illustrate how times are hard) yet we still have politicians stating they could live on £50 a week!!!!!!!!!!!

Do they know and appreciate how hard it is to feed people on a small budget? how difficult it can be saying no time and time again to kids who want an icecream or sweets? I sincerely doubt that!!!! Not all those people who shoplift or do perhaps 'dodgy' things are career criminals- they are parents who are struggling to put food on the table and clothes on kids backs. 

As a family we have not shoplifted or been reduced to low levels to provide for our children. But my husband has now lost his job due to health issues and is unfit to work for  the unforeseeable future. I am looking for work but with these gunky ear infections and deafness it is a struggle. So now we are going to be one of those families who struggle and have to survive on state handouts!! It is worth mentioning my hubby has worked full time and paid his taxes and National insurance for 27 years. So it is bad and wrong to be surviving on government money - but he has paid into the pot over the years! 

Never would we be reduced to stealing to cope with this downfall - but it gives us an understanding on how people can do this because there are more people out there who are much worse off than us!! As a family we are resourceful and can make cheap and healthy food and repair things instead of replacing but not everyone has the know how or ability to cook properly or mend things. 

I just wish that David Cameron and Nick Clegg could see this; not all people who claim benefits are avoiding work but the majority of them are people who are just down on their luck and struggling to eat and stay warm. They should look at families like mine and many others I know and realise how life is for people who are not in power and who do not have life savings and an inheritance! People who are ill or who have been made redundant because of the state of the economy should not be put in the same category as those idiots who purposely sit on their butts all day and have no intention of working (legally). 

I could go on about this because it a subject so close to me and many people I know and care about - and I accept that this government did not necessarily cause this- but they are not helping and still remain ignorant to a lot of people's plights!

But a magic wand can not be waved - I have a feeling the situation is set to get a whole lot worse before it gets better!!! 

Would be interesting to know what others think?

It will also be interesting to look back and review this situation and subject in a year or more and see my opinions on it then!!! 

Update - negative (Depression and ear problems!)

It has been a few days since I have written anything on here, I have got a few draft posts ready to finish and then publish but nothing new has gone up in ages.

I've had a bad time lately, battling with my depression and my ears, but it is a catch 22 situation because my ears have been so bad it has increased the fed up and down emotions I am going through. A couple of days ago the gunkyness stopped in my right ear, however the pain from the pressure build up started. I keep hoping for the leaking to start so I can get rid of this intense and annoying pain but no joy. I have put off going to the GP though, mainly because I have a hospital appointment on Tuesday with the surgeon who operated on my ears. I am partly dreading this because I think they will end up suctioning all the crap out of my ears but at the same time I need this constant problem to stop so I am 100% fit for work, when I eventually find work.  Needless to say my hearing is up and down with this, some days I feel as if i am under water and everything is muffled even when I have my aids in. When I have not got them in I live in a world where only the noisiest sounds are heard.

My depression hasn't just been made worse by my ears though, as a family at the moment we are struggling financially. I know a lot of families are in the same boat so I am trying not to complain too much but through the week my other half was served his notice at work on the grounds of ill health. It was not unexpected and he has 7 weeks to be redeployed in suitable non manual work but still it increases the pressures our family are going through.

I am constantly looking for work which is emotionally draining, I know I have not worked for so long and I am not ideal for telephone work or work in a noisy environment but even places like Asda and Lidl do not seem to look at my CV properly. I have a lot of qualifications but they are academic and maybe this is working against me? Who knows? I do know however that I will be persistent  I do not just need work for the financial reasons but mentally I need to be more than a mum who sits at home tidying up, entering competitions and cooking meals.

Finally - there is no joy on the laptop front yet. We got a new motherboard from the USA but it doesn't seem to work and money has totally run out now! I am currently using the oldest and loudest laptop we have. It sounds like an hairdryer and keeps over heating and closing down so a tad annoying. I am grateful that I have got something that I can use to write and enter competitions but the sooner I have a fully working less temperamental machine the better!!

January - the month I turned 30. (An overview)

Well although I am a day late the month of January is now over. Like many others I do generally feel fed up and skint in the month following Christmas. But having always had a birthday at the end of the month I do have something to look forward to which helps me through the 'down' days.

This blog has been running over a month now and I am so surprised and pleased to have now had over 500 people viewing it. I am still learning a lot about blogging, including the etiquette etc... But I don't think I have offended anyone yet!!

I know I write a lot of competition posts with a lot of links for you guys to enter the comps, I post lots because I enter a lot. But because I don't want to be predominantly a competition blog I am trying not to post too many. Perhaps when I finally find a job I won't post the comps but write more about lifestyle and family things? Who knows....? The aim of this blog was not to focus on one thing alone so because of that I am trying to vary it.

So my January was hard, financially and emotionally. My laptop broke leaving us with 3 broken laptops in the house. I've had no call back from the thousands of jobs I am applying for. Sick pay has been brought into force for my husband so incoming money reduced to a worrying figure. My son has been upset because still no sign or contact from his biological father. Both me and hubby still suffering from the operations we had in November last year. This ear infection has been going on for over 2 months and I have had loads of different antibiotics to try and get rid of it. Thank fully the children seem to have escaped illness (touch wood)  so it could have been worse!

I am trying to stick to the list of goals that I wrote on here - I'm looking for work on a daily basis, slowly de-cluttering the house, I am logging on weekly to see if there are new council houses for us. Each day I am trying to achieve something positive, but there are days when even the littlest task seems too hard, the delights of living with depression I guess?

All in all though I am pleased with myself, I have had more good days than bad and am actively trying to change and better my life rather than sit and mope like I did last year!

Ears, Competitions, Jobs & My last rant!

Thought after my 'rant' the other day I should face the music and write another post explaining myself a bit more. I think I may have mentioned the fact I suffer from depression - I have done since I was 14. It's a condition I can usually manage but every so often I do explode. It doesn't help that my ears are still infected - think its coming up for 6 weeks now - it is making me all irritable and moody. So the post the other day was written when emotional and in a bad place. I did debate whether to just delete it - but that means deleting thoughts and feelings that were right at that moment in time. So its staying....

No updates on my ears - I did go back to see the doctor last week but just left feeling upset. She gave me antibiotics for the gunky ear infection but admitted that they probably wouldn't work. Apparently my condition means I am likely to need micro-suction to clean them out on a regular basis, which annoys me because the operation I had was supposed to improve the infections and the gunk.

Been up to my eyeballs with the job hunt - and I have applied for more positions. There is one that I really want so badly. It is perfect for me and I have relevant qualifications - but because I have been a stay at home mum for 10 years I have little experiance. Someone somewhere has to give me a chance to get this experience - so i am really hoping its this school that will give me a chance. On a good note though I have got an interview with Childline and the NSPCC for a volunteer role. It is in February so I will keep you updated.

Still waiting for my big competition win - haha- I have won a book from PGUK via facebook - will take photo when it arrives. And I am still waiting for 2 prizes to be delivered so every morning its exciting just waiting for the postie to arrive!!!

The first week of the year!

Seen as I am trying to keep a record of my (ordinary life) I thought some weeks that I would try to do an update.

The 1st part of the week was mainly child centred - getting the routine back for school runs and early mornings. However I did apply for some jobs and enter lots of comps, read lots of books and learnt a new skill.

It wasn't my intention to learn a new skill - but my sons hair was becoming unmanageable  He was beginning to resemble cousin It from the Addams family. Been short of funds I decided I would once again attempt to cut his hair myself. In all honesty I have tried before and not one of those bowl style cuts from yesteryear, but it always went a bit pear shaped  Then I had an idea - why not watch a couple of videos on YouTube  So i did - the result was a resounding success. He likes it. I like it - and better still now you can see his lovely blue eyes. I did have some drama whilst doing it though as my daughter who watched the clips too also thought she should be able to have a go at chopping her brothers hair. When she realised I wasn't going to let her loose with the scissors she threw a tantrum like only a stroppy 8 year old can. She still isn't happy about it days later but she understands why her being an hairdresser wasn't an option. (Would she let her 11 yr old brother loose on her long locks?)

On another note there has been a bit of drama on the street too. Next door there was a minor chip-pan fire and the lovely guy who lives there had to be admitted to hospital for smoke inhalation. Thankfully there was no major damage to the house and the fire brigade didn't need to be involved but it definitely served one of those moments where you count your blessings.

The other incident happened today when the 83yr old living in a bungalow across the road fell face first on his return from the shop. Again he was lucky to the extent that no serious head injuries happened - however he had to spend all afternoon at the local A&E for his badly cut hands to be cleaned out and all the gravel removed. There were several of us who helped him until his son arrived and not only could we not believe his age once he had told us we also couldn't believe the amount of blood caused by hand injuries. The worse part is he loves playing piano and the keyboard and now until he has healed he will struggle to do this. We had never spoken to this elderly man previous to this, he hadn't lived their long. But now I know we will be more aware of him as we go about our day to day business.

Right last bit - TV i am loving at the moment includes BBC's The Ripper Street and Mr Selfridge on ITV, I am determined to not get into the hype of Celebrity big brother though!! haha

2013 My hopes and aspirations

I am not going to call them my resolutions - mainly because I never, ever, ever stick to them. This year I have decided to rename them hopes and aspirations (although I know it means the same thing!) 

• FIND A JOB - this will be hard with my disabilities but I am staying positive that there is a position out there for me. I've revamped my CV and am checking the good job websites daily - I even applied for a Shop assistant job at 9am this morning - that's dedication. 
• KEEP SEARCHING FOR A NEW HOUSE - on the council waiting list and it operates on a Bid system so I need to make sure every week I log in and express my interest on those houses that are in the right area and the right size. 
• REDUCE THE AMOUNT I SMOKE - this is one of those I make every year. My main problem though is I am at home on the laptop too much - I am hoping that the more I am out of the house with my new job(!) I will smoke less. Its all willpower - and I don't have much of that! 
• KEEP WRITING - I always feel better when I have written something, can be creative story stuff or just rambling on here or in my paper diary thing. I need to keep up with this for my own piece of mind.
• TAKE MORE PHOTOS- this is to preserve more memories. I have a camera phone so always have the means to take photos - yet rarely do. There are even less photos of me around - i know I am not the most photogenic - but surely the more photos are taken the more likely I am of finding one of me that I like?? haha
• DO MORE CROCHET - I set myself the mission to learn last year - and although I have learnt the basics and can make play/ toy food and teddies etc... I want to do more and hopefully sell some - I did attempt selling some through ebay - but think I need to look at other avenues now. (I will put some photos on here at somepoint - all my creations!! ) 
• ENTER LOADS MORE COMPETITIONS -  had a bit of success with the advent competitions over Xmas - so now I am hoping my luck with extend into 2013. 
• DECLUTTER MY HOUSE - I have loads of things that we no longer need - clothes, books, toys, etc... I have trouble throwing things out. I am not a hoarder but sentimental. When you are forever dodging clutter there is no room for sentiment. Therefore need to sell some stuff, donate it etc.... 

Going to leave the list at that for now! I dont think I will achieve them all - but at least writing it down on here  I have the opportunity to check back in a bit and maybe prompt myself to tick more off.