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Laura Corin

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Posts posted by Laura Corin

    Well-Trained Bodies - April

    in The Chat Board

    Posted · Edited by Laura Corin

    1 hour ago, Soror said:

    I'm currently doing a 20-sh minute daily workout. Monday was upper body and Tuesday was core.

    My eating has not been great lately. Sigh.

    I'm snacking too much. I'm eating leftovers for lunch too much instead of prepping lunch. My family doesn't like as many veggies as I do so it is a good time to get in a veggie heavy, high-fiber, healthy meal but I've been heating up whatever is easiest instead.

    I've had busyness and stress and people bringing junk into my home. MIL bought us 4 lbs of taffy for the eclipse. Noone needs 4lb of taffy! Dd's bf gave me a giant thing of caramels. I love both of those. I'm not resisting very well.

    Plan of action:

    - increase water intake

    -prep lunches

    -stay away from the candy!

    today's food:

    breakfast- homemade gf pumpkin waffles- high protein- I just made a big batch on Sunday- I love these and make them quite frequently. I just use eggs, instead of egg whites in these and omit the maple syrup. I do top with a bit of honey or blueberries.

    lunch- baked tofu veggie peanut bowl- I already have the peanut sauce made. I'll make some quinoa and chop veggies with breakfast so it won't take long at lunch time.

    dinner- pollo asada chicken w/ peppers, onions, avocado, and rice

    snacks--- ?? tbd

    It's hard to work out quick lunches. I often start with a pouch of prepared lentils or beans  - you can get some here that only have real ingredients.  Then I dump whatever raw veggies I have on top. Maybe scramble some silken tofu if I have time. 

    Wednesday  -  rest day.

    • Like 5
    • Thanks 1

    Reorganisation at work, job opportunities, eta retirement - your thoughts please

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    43 minutes ago, Soror said:

     

     

    jumping off of these and expanding my previous post..

    I've been reading the book, Die with Zero, after hearing some interviews with the author and lots of talk in my financial groups about it. He stresses that although we often have plans about all the things we'll do in retirement quite often by the time we retire we don't feel like doing them. Even if you are in excellent health(as I know you are) it will decline with age. There is a window in which to do certain activities and other activities we enjoy less as we age. 

    I thought from previous posts you were done with traveling after a life of adventure but I'm reading now that there are still adventures you'd like to have. If that is the case I'd say there is no time like the present! 

     

     

    What we want to be doing is not extensive travel but instead something like Trusted House Sitters, where we go somewhere and stay for a bit.   You are right that I was pretty jaded about travel in general (I'm aware that this is a luxurious position - I was very lucky that I was able to travel a lot when younger).  But going somewhere and having the time to relax into it sounds really nice.

    I'm thinking seriously about option D.

    • Like 5

    Reorganisation at work, job opportunities, eta retirement - your thoughts please

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    6 hours ago, Beth S said:

    E) Just retire. 

    As you said, it's hard to decide to leave your career . . . but these job changes you are facing are an easy sign that it's time to retire.
    My 63yo dh retired 6 months ago, and we are absolutely thankful we are able to enjoy this time together without immediate health problems.
    (We're living frugally, & getting our house fixed up so we can sell/downsize/move to our kids' hometown.)

    If I was in your shoes, I would quickly realize that NO paycheck was worth having to go into work on a Monday morning while my dh had the day free.  😉

    There's a common pressure to "work another year" because it will make you more financial secure.
    However, it's just as easy to guess (like @prairiewindmomma just said) that you'll regret giving this company the healthiest year of your life . . . to deal with some huge stressful changes/assignments.

    If you're thinking about retiring, you need to start doing your homework, set up a budget plan (if you don't already have one) & learn about the rules surrounding your government's retirement programs, health care, etc. 
    This research eliminated a lot of the uncertainty for us.

     

    Thanks. Husband is a retired finance professional,  so he is very much on top of the figures. We are due partial US SS and partial UK state pensions plus other income. We are covered for health.

    • Like 3
    • Thanks 1

    Reorganisation at work, job opportunities, eta retirement - your thoughts please

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Soror said:

    My thoughts are- if you end up in the new job with more responsibility will you feel obligated to stay longer than you would otherwise? 

    I've been doing a lot of reading, listening, and thinking about retirement as of late. I'd say while I'd guess the odds are in your favor to live a long life the ability to enjoy the travel you want to do will diminish with age. I'd lean towards quitting sooner rather than later so you can enjoy the health you do have now. The ability to pick up short-term work in the future seems like the best of both worlds. 

    All good thoughts.  No, I don't think I would feel bad about leaving with a month's notice at any time.  Which is interesting - just how committed am I to the organisation/my role?  I suspect the whole reorganisation has stirred up different feelings in me.

    32 minutes ago, Hannah said:

    I'd go with D for this reason.  My previously super fit and healthy Dh has just gone through a major health crisis that will permanently affect his quality of life.  Where we thought we would be working a few more years, we are now going to move our retirement forward to be able to enjoy the things that take more time to do.  It is a big step though, as for many of us our identity and self-esteem is coupled to our jobs.  If you know that you have the opportunity to pick up contract work that will pay for your travel, even better.

    The other question is whether job A is outcomes driven or being 'available' to customers or colleagues? What I mean by that is, if you have a job like programming, or data analysis, an experienced person could cover the same amount  of output in half the time to a new recruit, thereby freeing a lot of time for themselves.  Starting a new job always requires a lot of time to get up to speed.

    I'm sorry that you and your DH have gone through so much.

    For Job A, I do need to be available.  However, it is less tightly seasonal than my current role, so it gives a bit more flexibility for taking leave.  Opportunity B would be a bit more deadline driven. 

    Part of what I need to decide is whether I have the will to go into a different role (which will build on my existing experience but will inevitably involve learning new tasks) and put in the work to perform to my own satisfaction.  I like learning in general (I take academic evening classes for fun) but whether I'm up for this kind of learningat this stage is another matter.

    • Like 4

    Reorganisation at work, job opportunities, eta retirement - your thoughts please

    in The Chat Board

    Posted · Edited by Laura Corin

    The departmental merger at work (announced 16 months ago) has finally resulted in a new organisational tree.  I currently have a job that covers two areas, so it's nice and diverse.  Sensibly, they are putting the new larger team into more focused roles.  I have been put into the area that I like least, and the extra duties that are being added in to make up my hours are not interesting.  I don't have much choice on how the role is organised (the structure was decided far above us in the organisation and my contract allows them to put me anywhere suitable).  I should have seen this coming, but I had been thinking about another opportunity in the department ...

    The other opportunity is to be involved in developing a new product for the department.  It would be a higher grade and sounds interesting, but they are hiring externally a new leader for that team, so I have no idea what the team would actually be like.  I had expressed interest in this new position, but had no idea that it would be at a higher grade, so I am not sure about it now.  The strangeness is that my salary would not actually go up if I was offered this position (long and complicated backstory) until over a year later, when it would start to creep up a bit.  So more responsibility for no extra cash.

    The third aspect is that I'm 61 and - as I expressed here a while back - I don't know how long I want to/should carry on working.  Husband is 67, and we are currently in decent health.  There are things that we want to do that working four days a week (even with good vacation provision) get in the way of.  He is leaving it entirely up to me when I retire - he's a great guy and knows how important working has been to my self esteem.  We are fairly well set up financially for retirement, but it's a big step emotionally to give up this permanent job.  If I do quit, I'm highly likely to be able to pick up short-term work (maternity/illness cover) in the organisation in the future.

    So, if you have got this far, what do you think about the following options?

    A) acquiesce in the new role that has been designed for me, relax into it and quit if/when it gets too boring.

    B) go for the new job and if I get it and don't like it after six months, quit

    C) actively look for another job in the organisation, away from the current department (I am keeping an eye on opportunities anyway)

    D) Do A above and then quit anyway when our old dog dies and we are more able to travel

    E)?

    Thoughts?

    Thank you

    L

    • Like 1

    S/o s/o

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    On the days when I have to go to the office rather than working from home, I buy myself a coffee.

    Taking our kids out for nice meals when we are together. 

    Getting the dog groomed - I could do it myself but I don't. 

    Paying for fitness opportunities when I could work out at home.  Currently that's a swimming membership. 

    Not thinking about petrol costs when I want to go to the Highlands to hike.

    • Like 3

    S/O: What are your top 3 grocery splurges?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Eos said:

    Local organic fermented kraut and other veggies - once a year though I am sometimes gifted these by a friend who makes them. It's silly that I don't make it myself, and this thread is inspiring me.

    If you are interested in ferments but want something really easy, this - for me - has been foolproof, after two failures at making sauerkraut.

    https://www.thespruceeats.com/lacto-fermented-carrot-recipe-1327619

    • Thanks 4

    s/o American cheese, and grits

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

    As a non-American, I have to ask what on earth is government cheese? It makes me think of war rations or something 

    As I understand it there was a milk oversupply problem and the US government bought milk to support the industry.  They then supplied it to various government programmes for free/cheap. 

    • Thanks 1

    Well-Trained Bodies - April

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Eos said:

    My dry-stone wall building workshop was fun and so informative, an all day workout for my arms and abs but I did it! I was strong enough. 

    Sounds amazing and really hard work! 

    Today - just a gentle four-mile hilly walk in windy weather with Husband. Otherwise, just housework.

    • Like 7

    Jokes & memes

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    6 hours ago, knitgrl said:

    According to this book, everywhere the cow says Moo.

    I don't think that's right.  It's 'meuh' in French, which uses a similar vowel to in the English word 'turn'. So a different sound.

    • Like 2

    Well-Trained Bodies - April

    in The Chat Board

    Posted · Edited by Laura Corin

    Before a wind/rainstorm was due for this afternoon,  I walked home from the seaside - about 9.5 miles with a good hill on the way.

    We've had so much rain recently,  the burns are all in spate. The pictured house is an old watermill for sale for £850,000, but insuring it must be tricky. Our weather has been getting wetter over the past decade.

    20240406_093046.jpg

    20240406_095819.jpg

    • Like 5
    • Thanks 2

    What cool facts have you learned recently?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    5 hours ago, ikslo said:

    They graze all year, and possibly the type of cows. It’s natural beta-carotene apparently. 🤷‍♀️

    British butter is similar - year-round outdoor grazing in a climate where the grass doesn't die back makes a difference.  The grass doesn't grow much in winter, but cows can be rotated onto ungrazed areas and some hay containers put into the fields as a fairly natural supplement. 

    • Like 4
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