I have been so busy trying to get through my list of To Do's for September that I haven't had time to spend updating my journal..

Progress so far:
1. Company Audit - prepare, organise and file documents for audit DONE
2. Sewing Order - finish 15 children's chefs jackets (for a Restaurant Chain doing an in house promotion) DONE
3. Garage Sale - go through cubhoards for extra curtains, cushions etc and add to garage sale. Finish this by the end of September and then donate whatever is left to charity
4. Dog's Kennel - clean out and put in new bedding DONE
5. Personal filing - my in tray is FULL and I need to file all my statements, invoices etc DONE
6. Achieve 15 no spend days during September DONE
7. Car inspection for new car insurance
8. Accreditation on new product that I sell
9. Spend 15 minutes everyday sorting out or tidying up around the house
10. Library books - get them back on time so I don't have to pay a fine DONE
11. Vacation - need to confirm our booking for 7 days in October (using Dad's timeshare) DONE
12. Evaluate new business oppportunity - training & development for Hospitality Industry DONE
13. Oil Change on car
14. Wall hanging - finished but not mounted on a rod yet DONE
15. Fetch new Passport & apply for DD's passport
16. TV support in sewing room - move it lower DONE
17. Bedroom curtains - need to shorten (they have been too long since I moved to this house nearly 5 years ago) *sigh*
18. Utilities - refund due from overcharge
19. Make blinds for dressing room
20. Move furniture to make space for Mom's Kist and Great Grandmothers original treadle sewing machine DONE
21. VCR for repair on extended warrantee contract
22. Wall Safe (Lock Box) need to install and fix to the wall DONE
22. Medical Insurance - sort this out once and for all
23. Weightloss - get focused and lose 6.5 - 10 pounds by the 30 September
24. Spending log - make sure everything I spend is logged
25. Look for ways to increase the $20 challenge to $200
- Have grown seeds into seedlings for our vegie garden and am now just waiting for them to be a bit bigger before we transplant them into the garden
- Made 3 birthday presents for DD's friends saved $21.48
- Printed off Greeting cards for DD's friends saved $4.50
- Saved $7.71 on specials during Grocerie shopping
- Took my own bags to store instead of buying new ones saved $0.28
- Had the family around for Sunday morning tea instead of lunch saved $11
- Reduced the time for the swimming pool pump to run by 3 hours per day
- Have started switching off power at the wall instead of leaving appliances on standby

$20 Challenge
Managed to save $44.97
New total $154.99

Weightloss
Still haven't lost any more weight - just my 3 lbs but then I haven't been that focused on this.

Career Challenges:
I am at a cross roads with my current sales position:- my clients are just not making decisions as quickly as they used too, because the product I sell is imported it is subject to price fluctuations and at the moment our currency is weak so the prices are rather high.

I am seriously thinking about going freelance for a couple of years and am exploring the following options:
- Sales mentoring and coaching
- Adding 2 new products to my current offerings, Basic Selling Skills and Telesales Skills
- Selling restaurant franchises and doing their resales
- Providing training in the Hospitality industry

At the moment, because I am not making my sales targets I am not earning what I need to make month end payments never mind paying off debt so... I need to look at other revenue opportunities.

I am hoping to have some answers by the end of the week or should I say I want to make my decision by 30 September.

General:

Summer has arrived and it is wonderful to see everything growing again and the grass turning green. Wearing summmer clothes is so much better and more fun but...

DD has outgrown just about all her summer clothes except for a couple of sundresses I made at the end of last season so I start sewing for her again this week.

DB - has discharged himself from hospital again and refused to take the accommodation at the half way house. Although it is hard, I am realising that there is little I can do if he doesn't play his part. Prayer is the only thing I am able to do at this stage.

EMF - no progress here as I have had no income over the past couple of weeks and have been using what we have to buy the necessities and keep going.

Other than that I am having fun getting through my To Do list and can see a huge improvement in the organisation of my home. Also, noticed that the more I do the more I feel like doing.

BTW - a couple of you have left comments about wanting to learn to sew so I did some surfing to see what I could find to get you going:

www.berninausa.com - has some free projects at all levels

www.sewing.org - also have free projects at all levels.

You can also do a search with Yahoo using "sewing crafts" as your search criteria and there are lots of web pages.

www.sewyoungsewfun.com - a great beginners website

www.make-stuff.com - a fun website

www.quiltersnewsnetwork.com (my favourite) - always something new for beginners and more advanced projects

Then lastly, most of the sewing machine manufactures have their own webpages and have free projects plus some even have courses which you could attend.

So have fun searching...

If anyone needs help - I will try to get answers for you or try explain - sewing is one of the most rewarding hobbies and great Occupational Therapy for Stress.

Christmas:
Only 91 days to (sorry to remind you all) - have decided that it is time to make up my Gift list as I try to make most of our gifts.

My usual list of gifts includes:
Placemats
Tablecloths
Kids clothes
Dolls clothes
Barbie Clothes
Decoupage items - trays, placemats, pen holders
Baskets with soaps, creams, lotions etc or deli items that are treats for some people

As income is under pressure this year I am going to have to dive into my stash of craft supplies and sewing supplies and see what I can come up with

Will check in tomorrow