Mrs. P's Diary

Horace

Mrs P - I used to have a slow cooker but freecycled it because I never used it. I have a Remoska but chose not to use it for brisket:rolleyes:

MrsPorridge

Just a quick update as I am frantically busy at work today. Am away from home tonight so will update more tomorrow night.

magni

Well done for cancelling your CC:beer:

MrsPorridge

Had a long busy day today so a quick update:

Tomorrow is my "big shopping" day. Have planned our meals for the month and have got the shopping list. Am aiming to spend no more than £150.

DS needs new golf shoes but I will be using the family allowance for them. Fingers crossed they won't be too expensive.:D

MrsPorridge

Did my big shop today and was delighted when it came to £33 less than I spent last month :T

So, spent the morning shopping then the afternoon was spent cooking!! I cooked mince adding lots of veggies to bulk it out. I then made 10 individual cottage pies, bagged up four portions so I can make stromboli and kept some of the mixture back ready to make lots of pies in my piemaker tomorrow. I then plan to serve 3 pies for dinner (there are three of us) and freeze the rest. Also made a loaf and two small cakes.

My feet are now killing me after standing in the kitchen for so long - its a relief to sit down at the computer:j

Plans for this evening are to watch Marple on ITV3 and then to watch The Island on ITV1 - no idea what the film is about but the blurb says its a sci fi and it stars Ewan Mcgregor who I quite like!!

I did buy one luxury with my big shop and that was mince pies - to be honest couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a whole aisle in Sainsburys with Christmas stuff. :eek: I also got some clotted cream to go with them, so DH and I will have one while we watch tv later.

Tomorrow I plan to weed and rake over the veggie patch in the garden ready for next year. We've also got some rubbish to go to the tip so will do that.

DS has just bought me a lovely cuppa so I'm going to spend some time looking through the boards while I sip it.

MrsPorridge

Things I did today:

Dug over my veggie patch
Did some more batch cooking using my piemaker

Bought some fablon window sticky stuff and put it on my front door which now looks like it has frosted glass. Goodness knows why but the front door is plain glass and gives a lovely view straight into the hallway and anybody walking past!! There was fablon on it before but a horrible blue and pinky stained glass effect.

Also had as much as you can eat Chinese buffet for Sunday lunch - delious.
Did some ironing.
Sorted out clothes I am going to wear this week.
Made packed lunches ready for tomorrow.

Am going to be very ambitious and aim for 4 NSDs this week - unfortunately I will have to get petrol one day. I live about 20 miles from work so its a 40 mile round trip - its actually 12 miles to the nearest supermarket as well - so petrol is a "biggy" for me every month.

Am trying to get fit as well and tomorrow I am vowing to go on my Wii Fit for at lest 30 mins every day. Also trying to cut down on choccy, biscuits and sweeties this week.

More tomorrow....

Midnight_Sky_2

Hi MrsP, just caught up with your diary - you sound really motivated and on target...well done you!!

You will really reap the benefit of a vegetable patch next year. When you come to buy the seeds for the veg check out places like Aldi and Lidl - their seeds are pennies (approx 29p per pack) compared to the likes of garden centres or B & Q (£1.20 - £1.99 per pack). The seeds are perfectly good and you can produce some great veg from them.

The batch cooking is a great saver - I used to do this (before I fell off the DFW wagon) and it saved me in both money and time, so I am going to get back to that next week hopefully.

Look forward to reading your diary.

Midnight x

bobbie78

Hi MrsP you sound totally in the MSE zone but can I make a suggestion, I know you want to be as strict as you can so you don't slip into old ways but maybe can you find yourself 5-10 quid a month buffer to treat yourself so next time there is a crisps moment then you don't beat yourself up too much.

As I don't know how much debt you have but you don't want to start as a sprint then run out of puff in a couple of months when you feel you're depriving yourself too much. So have a look at the freebies board and do pigsback etc for vouchers for fun things to do/ places to go etc which will no effect your budget. I'd seriously think about giving yourself £5-10 quid wiggle room if you can, you don't HAVE to spend it, it isn't a target but if you do have some need for crisps you won't beat yourself up over it.

Just focus on all the good you're doing, so if once in a while you just need something for you then try and build up a buffer of vouchers or just a £5 quid emergency icecream fund (or starbucks fund in my case) otherwise you'll end up thinking why am I doing all this work and have nothing to show for it (even though you know really why but it doesn't feel like that when you're tired and stressed) and then it is easier to slip back into old ways - or that's what happens to me anyway. So remember treats are good they keep you sane and on the right path, but MSE freebie treats are better

MrsPorridge

Hi Midnight - thanks for your tips re veggies - I will know where to come to for advice when they start growing. I managed to grow some sweetcorn this year but about 12 plants only yielded 4 sweetcorn - I don't think they got enough sun, the others just withered. However, the sweetcorn we did have was out of this world nothing like shop bought.

Bobbie - thanks so much for your suggestion. I have in fact budgeted in £20 quid this month to spend on treats. Its a really good idea thank you. I like the idea of a Starbucks fund - in my case though it would be Costa. They do a scheme where you get your card stamped every time you buy a drink and when its full you get a free drink - only two more stamps to go and I get my freebie.

All I need to do now is get myself motivated to lose a bit of weight. I managed to lose a stone over a year with Slimming World, but gave up in August and really don't want to go spending almost a fiver a week on that. I have got a Wii Fit though and am now trying to use that to motivate myself to do some exercise. I don't think I eat too badly (although I love chocolate) but I do absolutely no exercise at all and sit at a desk all day. Well, for the first time in a week I decided to go on the Wii Fit - and found to my horror I had put on 2 lbs but worse still am now classed as obese, before I was just overweight - obvioulsy I was on the cusp. Its a shocker and I really don't want to tell anyone, but though if I write it down then I will do something about it.

I have managed to kick myself into gear over my over-spending (which is why I am in debt). Now, I just need to kick myself into gear with my over-eating and not exercising. So have decided to put this into my daily diary as well. From now on will do at least 30 mins on the Wii Fit every day. Have decided that mornings will be better as its difficult to get near the TV at night due to DS and DH (and me too if I am honest). Also by the evening I am tired and DH usually has dinner ready (yes he is a treasure) when I get in from work as he finishes work before me. So have decided from tomorrow to get up at 6am - do 30 mins on the Wii which will give me plenty of time as I leave the house about 10 to 8.

More tomorrow.....

MrsPorridge

Got off to a brilliant start today. Got up early and did 30 mins on the Wii Fit.

Took lunch to work. Couldn't have an NSD as had to buy diesel on the way home.

Prepared dinner ready for tomorrow night - corned beef hash in the slow cooker. I got the recipe off the old style boards and its the first time I've tried it. I've prepped all the veg ready just to throw it in the crock pot tomorrow so should have a lovely dinner when I walk through the door. Will update on what I think of it tomorrow!!