The 9 year plan...hold onto your hats and here we go!

EssexHebridean

I'm determined to not open it until Friday night though - argh!

Chicken & Mushroom lasagne this evening which was delicious!

We have speedway tomorrow (weather permitting) so this evening I have charged all my flashgun and battery pack batteries and checked over the rest of my kit. Having my bag packed up the night before makes for less of a panic in the morning.

£93 expenses claim for mileage was handed in and signed off - fingers crossed it will make it to HO tomorrow but payment will probably be the following week now. Usual claim cut off dates are the first and third Monday in the month. There will probably be another trip for more testing next week, then the following wednesday myself and Area Manager boss go to Slough for a day of testing with the people who are writing the programme. TBH it's just nice to get out of the office at the moment - my sightly dozy colleague has had a set too with one of the other chaps and is in a right royal monstrous sulk. He's spent the last few weeks huffing puffing and whinging about "his" workload and how stressed "he" is and how "he" has too much work - doesn't seem to occur to him that as we do basically the same job (except through seniority I have a few bits and bobs that I do as extra!) "his" workload is the same as "my" workload - but I'm not sitting moaning about it! Frankly, if he'd spend less time whinging and more time working, and actually get around to learning from his copious mistakes, he'd get on a lot better....! Phew - rant over!

Lemon_Tree

essex, here i was thinking that we must be related as we have the same middle name - tenacious. And then you go and completely describe what i face every day at work. People who can't do their jobs, are over paid for what they do do, yet complain that they're not paid enough. Me ending up picking up all the pieces, sorting it out, doing their work as well as my own. and they're the ones who are 'stressed' etc. Give me a break! sorry i feel that we now work in the same office. Your 'Frankly statement' basically sums up what i'd like to say to my lot on an almost hourly basis.

chicken and mushroom lasagna sounds lovely i'd not thought of doing anything other than the bolognase or veggie versions. Will have to get my thinking cap on.

boredofbeingathome

Yeah talking of expenses, my company changed the procedure the day before cut off-tomorrow. Luckily i check emails twice a day from work...i will have my money!

EssexHebridean

:rotfl: @ LT - glad to know I'm not the only one! I have friends who actually know who I'm talking about if I refer to my "slightly dozy colleague!"

Bob - glad you got your exp's money OK. Mine got signed off and was taken into HO this morning so I should get it next Thursday apparently - I'd muddled the cutoffs up so it'll be sooner than I thought!

MrEH topped his phone up in Tesco earlier on using a 200 extra CC points voucher - I used one earlier in the week too to do mine so that's the equivalent of another £16 in deals we've earnt this week. The CC points tally stands at nearly 2100 for this quarter so far which is excellent.

I think I'm about to spend some money. I need an inflatable sleeping mat for camping trips as at the moment more than one night tends to be a bit uncomfortable and I end up with backache. The company I want to buy from (superb reputation and high quality) curently have a promotion on so I can get the mat I want for £25 rather than £37.50 which seems like a bargain.....BUT I'm at the stage we've talked about before where I'm feeling guilty about the idea of spending ANY money on anything! :eek: I think that's a positive buy though, and as it's a limited reduced price offer I think I should take a deep breath and hit the order button. However.....I am suffering at the moment from a massive craving for an ipod touch. Wanted one for a while - and the wanting isn't going away. Have even sussed out that the Apple store sell refurbed ones and that they are on Quidco for cashback....:rotfl: Less positive, this one, eh?! I've got the 0% deal running out on the Tesco card next month with just over £700 outstanding which will either need paying off (preferable) or BT'ing to a new 0% card (Less ideal because I'd rather wait and get another 0% card when I actually need one for something that it makes sense to spread. Common sense suggests that I wait on this until Christmas and put any money I get towards it, but I simply donlt know if I have the willpower....HELP!

EssexHebridean

ps - the bombay mix has not been touched....yet! :rotfl:

Jo_R_2

Hehe LOL!:D

About the spending dilemma... I'm in a similar predicament, half-price furniture from Argos is my quandry and have also been dreaming of buying some non-specific music player to listen to some tuneage on:D

Haven't come to any conclusions yet but need to decide as my sale things are only on sale until next week... What about yours?

EssexHebridean

The camping mat will go up a little in price at 9am on Monday - it's a birthday offer from the company that makes them to celebrate their 5th anniversary of making the mats. They have put them on sale at their original price from 5 years ago, and they will gradually creep back to the current price over the next few weeks. I think I have to order one to be honest - it's so much cheaper than the others I've looked at -linky HERE if you're interested and it;s the regular mat I'm looking at.

I do realise in my saner less craving-y moments that I have to put off the purchase of the ipod for the time being - clearing that Tesco card must be prioritised, not least because as it was taken on a "controlled" basis I don't view it as a debt, as such. I want it gone though, and before the interest starts!

What furniture are you after then Jo? Is it likely to be marked down again in a future sale do you think? And finally of course, so you need it, or just want it? No harm in buying regardless of the answer to the question, so long as you;ve been honest with yourself about the answer! As for the music player, if I do buy the ipod touch I will know where there will be a dead cute bright pink ipod nano for sale....!

gallygirl

The mat is for your health - you NEED it.

The phone is a toy - you WANT it.

You know it makes sense EH

EssexHebridean

Yes GG - I do! You're right though - I am going to order the mat this evening and will put the ipod off until christmas and do that then. At some stage through the winter months I also need to order a new flashgun for my camera as the current on is ancient and is not working too well with the newer camera body. I can get by for our final few speedway meetings of the season by using an older camera but a new one is certainly needed prior to next March. :rolleyes: It can wait until the new year though and then I can stash aside a bit of cash each month to sort out paying for it.

Jo_R_2

EssexHebridean wrote: »

The camping mat will go up a little in price at 9am on Monday - it's a birthday offer from the company that makes them to celebrate their 5th anniversary of making the mats. They have put them on sale at their original price from 5 years ago, and they will gradually creep back to the current price over the next few weeks. I think I have to order one to be honest - it's so much cheaper than the others I've looked at -linky HERE if you're interested and it;s the regular mat I'm looking at.

I do realise in my saner less craving-y moments that I have to put off the purchase of the ipod for the time being - clearing that Tesco card must be prioritised, not least because as it was taken on a "controlled" basis I don't view it as a debt, as such. I want it gone though, and before the interest starts!

What furniture are you after then Jo? Is it likely to be marked down again in a future sale do you think? And finally of course, so you need it, or just want it? No harm in buying regardless of the answer to the question, so long as you;ve been honest with yourself about the answer! As for the music player, if I do buy the ipod touch I will know where there will be a dead cute bright pink ipod nano for sale....![/QUOTE]

Oooh - I'm just off to check out ipod nano to see what they're like - love bright pink! Might take you up on that, I shall investigate further and let you know!

Furniture is a tv stand and a sideboard - and there's a dresser-type thing that could be used for storage and books but that would be a bonus, it's the first two I'm very keen on. Thinking longer-term, they look fairly sturdy and are matching so wouldn't be a 'make-do' sort of thing until we could afford something better, they'd actually be quite smart and would last. We don't have anything storeagy (LOL) at the mo so would be a godsend as have a plastic tub sat here next to fireplace full of folders of bills and bank statements and nowhere to store them, books all boxed up (I love my books) and the tv stand is years old and wrecked, to be frank, mainly due to kids and yogurt/stickers/biros:rolleyes:

Can afford the tv stand myself with a bit of jigging money about, though the sideboard I'd need OH to help out with.

Have you done your ordering yet?