Words, words, words....
I'm sure others of you have been in this position: Loads to write, and you don't know where to start! And it's been so long, and so much has happened it's hard to know what to put down.
As I've already started with Psychotherapy training, I'll come back to it. I'll chat about Guy for a bit. He's making really good progress, if we could just get NAPIT to get their process straight. *sigh*
A couple of months ago, we did a mind map on a white board which outlined all the things he needed/wanted to get done in terms of business. This has been really helpful, as he can see how things are interlinked and reliant on one another. He has, so far:
- Written a manual of procedures and SOPs for his business
- Designed several forms to use with clients and for his own records
- Created a quick reference pricing structure for costing up jobs
- Organised and interlinked his appointments with his contacts lists
- Drafted informational leaflets for clients regarding PAT testing and safety
He is still trying to get an appointment with NAPIT, however, which is delaying advertising something chronic. They told us 6-8 weeks awhile ago, and sent Guy a wrong form - needless to say we are not very impressed. Still, he's planning on contacting them today, so we'll see what they say. We're ringing them about once a week at the moment.
The other challenge is the van - we've not been able to get what we need together to get it repaired yet, and we've been graciously lent one by friends. It has been raised as an urgent project, however, so we're getting there.
Part of the problem is that we took on the reconstruction of the back of the house, believing it would be a week-long project. Hoo boy, were we wrong!
Originally, we thought it would be just a matter of moving a couple of doors, and changing some stud walls. No. Like other things in this house, it seems the builders believed that it was silly to do things the easy way if they could make it difficult. So the plan was to remove the massive bath (which we never really use anyway), switch the bathroom and the utility room so the bathroom was the first door in the hall you come to, and open the rest of the hall into one big room at the back for storage and working. This required removing the wall between the hall and the bathroom, and moving the wall between the bath and the utility room. No problem if it is a stud wall with plasterboard. BIG problem if it is a brick and cinderblock wall covered in plaster. Which do you think we had? So 4 weeks and 5 trips to the tip later and we're still not totally complete. The bathroom is pretty much done, including all the rewiring of inside and outside lights so the switches make sense. He's also run wiring around part of the new workroom, so we have plugs in the right places. But there's still quite a bit to do, and he's been working 8 hours a day on a painting job in a bungalow. This is great money, but also exhausting, so it's difficult with this project overrunning. So it's turning out to be a good lesson in planning and juggling priorities, but still not easy. And of course because construction is still going on, there is STUFF EVERYWHERE, and it's not easy to tidy. My mantra for the moment: This will be fabulous when it is done. }:)
ION: Fizzgig is doing much better! His blood glucose numbers are still high (12-14 on our monitor), which is a bit concerning. We've gone up to 15 units of insulin twice a day, and we seem to have sucessfully fought off his urinary infections. His eyes are brighter, his fur is lush and its gorgeous ginger self, and he seems better all around. He does have quite a bit of back leg weakness, however, which we're working on by gently rotating his legs every time we pass. The vet has OK'd some suppliments to help him regain some vitamins and minerals he may be deficient in (echinacia and B12 apparently), and the next stage in our exercise plan is to walk him on his hind legs across the front room a couple of times a day. He is actually still walking on his feet, but occasionally he will rest back on his hocks, and I want to make sure we can keep those muscles strong.
More updates to follow - I'll catch up soon!
As I've already started with Psychotherapy training, I'll come back to it. I'll chat about Guy for a bit. He's making really good progress, if we could just get NAPIT to get their process straight. *sigh*
A couple of months ago, we did a mind map on a white board which outlined all the things he needed/wanted to get done in terms of business. This has been really helpful, as he can see how things are interlinked and reliant on one another. He has, so far:
- Written a manual of procedures and SOPs for his business
- Designed several forms to use with clients and for his own records
- Created a quick reference pricing structure for costing up jobs
- Organised and interlinked his appointments with his contacts lists
- Drafted informational leaflets for clients regarding PAT testing and safety
He is still trying to get an appointment with NAPIT, however, which is delaying advertising something chronic. They told us 6-8 weeks awhile ago, and sent Guy a wrong form - needless to say we are not very impressed. Still, he's planning on contacting them today, so we'll see what they say. We're ringing them about once a week at the moment.
The other challenge is the van - we've not been able to get what we need together to get it repaired yet, and we've been graciously lent one by friends. It has been raised as an urgent project, however, so we're getting there.
Part of the problem is that we took on the reconstruction of the back of the house, believing it would be a week-long project. Hoo boy, were we wrong!
Originally, we thought it would be just a matter of moving a couple of doors, and changing some stud walls. No. Like other things in this house, it seems the builders believed that it was silly to do things the easy way if they could make it difficult. So the plan was to remove the massive bath (which we never really use anyway), switch the bathroom and the utility room so the bathroom was the first door in the hall you come to, and open the rest of the hall into one big room at the back for storage and working. This required removing the wall between the hall and the bathroom, and moving the wall between the bath and the utility room. No problem if it is a stud wall with plasterboard. BIG problem if it is a brick and cinderblock wall covered in plaster. Which do you think we had? So 4 weeks and 5 trips to the tip later and we're still not totally complete. The bathroom is pretty much done, including all the rewiring of inside and outside lights so the switches make sense. He's also run wiring around part of the new workroom, so we have plugs in the right places. But there's still quite a bit to do, and he's been working 8 hours a day on a painting job in a bungalow. This is great money, but also exhausting, so it's difficult with this project overrunning. So it's turning out to be a good lesson in planning and juggling priorities, but still not easy. And of course because construction is still going on, there is STUFF EVERYWHERE, and it's not easy to tidy. My mantra for the moment: This will be fabulous when it is done. }:)
ION: Fizzgig is doing much better! His blood glucose numbers are still high (12-14 on our monitor), which is a bit concerning. We've gone up to 15 units of insulin twice a day, and we seem to have sucessfully fought off his urinary infections. His eyes are brighter, his fur is lush and its gorgeous ginger self, and he seems better all around. He does have quite a bit of back leg weakness, however, which we're working on by gently rotating his legs every time we pass. The vet has OK'd some suppliments to help him regain some vitamins and minerals he may be deficient in (echinacia and B12 apparently), and the next stage in our exercise plan is to walk him on his hind legs across the front room a couple of times a day. He is actually still walking on his feet, but occasionally he will rest back on his hocks, and I want to make sure we can keep those muscles strong.
More updates to follow - I'll catch up soon!