And it's all downhill from here...

Remember that lovely cheery post you got last time, where I was all happy? That was the high point.

As always, if middle aged women moaning isn't quite your thing, you can click away now I will always love you, I'm your auntie, a bad auntie at the moment as you'll find out.

At work I am extremely organised, I get into work early, at least an hour before the others and I write down all the things I've got to achieve that day. I work 3 days per week in that job and I am really productive. I have a navy blue and white polka dots notebook that contains all my to do stuff and I use different coloured pens, I have a system and it really works, in meetings, if someone asks me to do something it goes in the notebook and then I tick when it's done, I can look back and tell you what I did three months ago last Wednesday. This works for me. Which is just as well as I have 3 hours spare to do a full weeks work before I go off on annual leave, I am horrendously busy at work presently.


Trying to replicate this getting things done at work success I made a list of all the things I need to do this week at home as I seem to be living several people's lives and am far too busy to be just one person. This was a good move. The bad move was to forget to put things on the list. That was the flaw in my otherwise cunning plan.

I forgot to phone gadget mad dad and wish him a happy fathers day, I'm a bad daughter, I did post cards to him, I also bought cards and presents for the ex mr auntiegwen and I expect I was just all fathers day'd out. Phone call not on the list.

I remembered my godson's birthday and posted card and present on time. I did sign the card auntiegwen, all lower case and with no space, like I type it here. His mother will be surprised at my shocking grammar. But I did sort it out because it was on the list.

I went into work on Monday for a meeting, ON MY DAY OFF. That was definitely on the list, so I wouldn't forget. Me no likey, it's my day off and it was really sunny. I had to get dressed and be indoors when I wanted to be semi undressed outdoors. When I got there I found that my boss had been to a big meeting with the council. They'd called everyone in to warn them that even though they'd agreed funding until April, they were doing an urgent review in September and someone was going to lose money. They are our only source of funding, if that goes, so does my job. I like my job, I don't write much about it here but I genuinely feel it's the right job for me. I now have to decide whether to start looking for another job, because unlike my colleagues, this is not a second salary, it's the only salary. And my kids are used to eating/wearing clothes/living etc.

I forgot my nieces birthday. My sister has 2 daughters and I forget each of their birthdays every single year. This annoys the crap out of my sister. I am a bad auntie. Even though Abbie's birthday is a few days after my son's and Alanah's is a few days after BBD's I still forget, you'd think their cards and presents to my kids would trigger me to remember but nope. I didn't have it on the list.

I forgot to go to the dentist, even though it was on the kitchen calendar, it wasn't on the list.

I happily ticked off, making the appointment for the solicitor, phoning the pension people, paying in cheques at the bank, getting money to go on holiday, handing over register and diary and work to be done to my friend Susan who will be covering for me next Tuesday at my other job, doing a form for a school trip, getting money for packed lunches, form to have locker deposit returned. All happily ticked off as I worked my happy little way down the list.

I failed to fill in the form for my son's school trip, not because of any list, just because someone ate my beautiful boy and left me with a 6 foot lump of Kevin the teenager. He was picked, 1 of 40 kids, to go on a trip to Alton Towers due to excellent attendance, work rate and behaviour. And my wannabe bad ass won't go, because all the good kids are going. Spare me please.

And it's only Wednesday. Send me love or gin. Or both.