OberonSH's DFW Diary Thread - 1 Woman, 1 Toddler & A Whole Lotta Debt!

OberonSH

Evening chicks - did put something in here this morning, but Martin's eaten it.

Spent today getting My Sh*t Together (tm) - Phoned for quotes on a) someone to sort out our stuff and b) somewhere to live. Luckily, both items have been crossed off teh list. Got a quote through a company that Mr Obi used to deal with, in his previous life as a sofa salesman, and they sorted us out for the same price as a self drive van and 2 weeks in self storage. Plus they're good guys, told us all we needed to do was put things in boxes then bog off for the day. Cracking!! so saved myself £200 plus got a bunch of guys to do the hard bit....now all I need is them to all turn up looking like Brad Pit, Orlando Bloom and David Tennant, and I shall be very happy indeed....

The housing situation has been solved - we'll be stopping with Mr Obi's dad for a week or so - B&B's were charging £45 a night, and the local caravan park had no vacancies. Plus nursery have allowed us a payment holiday, so we don't have to spend an hour round trip taking and picking up the DD from there. Also saving £84 that week. So all in all a pretty painless and cheap move. Moorcroft guy came tonight for our tenner for BT, and was very helpful as to rearranging payments to ensure we don't miss any. Got my lists, and house is looking more packed, thanks to Mr Obi being bustd back down to part time (for a week or so we reckon, another member of staff is 99% sure he's got the boot on Wednesday) and so has been at home to help.

Got my forms stamped for Sure Start grant and Maternity Allowance, midwife is pretty surly - hope I don;t get her when push comes to shove (if you excuse the pun lol) 'Come on for God's sake - there's CSI on the telly. Push a bit harder will you - I want a cup of tea!' So drop them in tomorrow and get things going. The £500 sure start will come in really helpful, still got a list of things to buy for Ash, although luckily most of his sister's newborn stuff is still practically unused. Got a moses basket, need a steriliser for the breast pump (no formula near MY baby, thank you) and possibly a pushchair, though I spent a lot of time with DD strapped to my front, so that one's a maybe.

All in all a nice, cheap day. I am going to settle down, sew up a mitten for DD and possibly start on some little socks for her - I love knitting socks, and want to use up some lovely cashmere blend wool I got to keep her tootsies warm. Got some lovely comments about the alpaca bolero I knitted her - my best friend even said she was tempted to get me to show her how to knit! So looking on Ebay for some nice wool for her christmas present (that gorgeous knitted vamp skirt - sounds dodgy, looks great) and also a nice sweater for OH that was featured in the last knitting magazine. I know, I have a storeroom full of wool, but I let all the decent stuff go to fund the new house. Besides, he'll only wear black or grey.

So cheer youselves up chicks, it;s nearly time to put on the Xmas pudding (mine will be done before the month is out) and possibly the sprouts if you're the vegetable-murdering, vitamin killing type like OH's mother.....

Natlou_2

Hi Obi, glad you're so upbeat, its easy to go the opposite way when you've got a lot on your plate and your pregnant. We moved into rented accommodation when DD was just 5 weeks old because we didn't want the responsibility of paying the huge mortgage, so we rented our house out, while we rented somewhere smaller and cheaper - but boy was I emotional!
Going off topic, I would love to knit some socks for my little one - are they hard to do, do you knit on circular needles? - they would be great to keep her tootsies warm when she kicks off her covers. If you've got a pattern, do you think you could scan and e mail it me? - A Debbie Bliss book (special family knits) has just arrived today for me from amazon - its a beautiful book no doubts, but just how many of the patterns I'll do, i dont know - Sadly the thing I like most (a long aran cardy/coat) is way beyond my capabilities!
Did you manage to get DD a winter coat by the way?
Nat x

OberonSH

I did indeed. It's very......pink. She wanted it, so she got it, and lord knows I tried to steer her into something les - eyewatering. She loves it.

Socks you say? I looooove socks. I use a couple of free pattern sites - again American, but not bad ones at all. I stick to plain, a pattern plus 4 needles = disaster. I use 4 needles, though would love to find a circular one, and a circular pattern with 1 pair, not 2 as the current trend seems to be. Will let you know....

Debbie Bliss rocks. Her patterns are not fussy, not overdone and you can imagine yourself wearing one, rather than some of the Rowan offering that look like a bunch of designers got together over a bottle of vino and tried to come up with the most hilarious outfit they could get, then realising it's deadline day submit it for a laugh.... 'Do you think people will wear it?' 'Nah, surely not.....'

Links to free sock patterns:

http://www.thedietdiary.com/blog/?p=530 - sock calculator - very good, even if the shoe sizes are in American
http://www.socknitters.com/sockpatterns/sockpatterns.htm - some nice designs here too.
And naturally, check out www.knitty.com cos their patterns are really hip without being unwearable. I want pics of the finished articles!!

Snaggles

Hi Obi! Loving your diary as usual! Just a couple of points:

a) There ARE no comfy knickers while you are pregnant - it's just a lie
b) Teal is lovely, looks great with the v. funky gunmetal coloured handbag I have just bought
c) David Tennant IS king :drool:

There you go, that's my contribution for the week...lol!

OberonSH

Afternoon snaggles! Look at that huge child!! I remember when she was just a bump...... My comfy knickers are not comfy per se, more like not in immediate danger of cuting me in half everytime I sit down.

Teal is a nice colour, my best friend is going through a teal phase, but she carries it off brilliantly. She has horribly wonderful face shape, and her hair is always really shiny, so she can practically wear anything. Grr hair envy. Especially as mine has just gone MENTAL. I look like the Weetos professor at the moment, as my fringe (which looks very Nigellaish when straight) has reverted to its natural stick straight out and look wiry self. I've run out of Lush Fluff Ease and my hair misses it.....

Well chicks, tomorrow is MOVING DAY!!! I've liberated a load of boxes from my back bedroom, by loading heavy duty bin bags with anything that oesn't strictly require a box. I'm about 2/3rds through, and have already had a polite row with the silly moo that's dealing with the house now the Landlord From Hell has realised he's on a losing side withe me. Apparenlt she's sent copies of these pictures that were taken before we moved in several times. Once by registered post, and can prove they've been delivered (although apparently it's a service that just has a barcode, and doesn't require a signiature. Odd, never heard of such a thing). Strangely though, I finally got a copy of them in my email. You'll never guess what?? These pics don't show ANY of the horrendous damp problems, and thanks to some estate agent style camera angles manage not to have captured the main bugbear - the unusuable back bedroom....now how do you suppose that happened? Odd that they arrived the day before he had to move out, and therefore no time to fix anything that did show up, and only arrived after my request for the full deposit back due to lack of evidence of any damage.....Still, once I get settled into my new home there's going to be a wonderful little package arriving in the lanlords doorstep asking for the return of money paid out thanks to the damp problem. Currently stands at nearly £700 and that's without compensation for the out of hours work, the harrassment and fact we had to live in a damp house and eventually get the council involved.

So tomorrow at 2pm, my entire family and our life will be manhandled by burly men into a storage facility to await the Promised Land (the new house). Feels a bit odd to see everything in boxes, but it's a great chance to have another clearout and start from fresh. We'll have to get a new bed, as our bed frame has seen 3 moves, and won't take another putting back together! Makes you wonder how much of the stuff in these boxes we could live without, if for some reason there's a freak custard related accident at the storage facility (it could happen, and knowing my luck, probably will)

So with my internet switched off, I sahll be DFW-less, but shall endeavour to be a good saving person and not spend huge amounts of money. I'm taking my knitting with me, as I'm back in a sock knitting phases, and as where FIL lives is devoid of shops, or indeed a library, the boredom shopping should be easy to avoid. I shall take over the cooking - less from a desire to help around the house, but more to avoid the youngests sons attempt to serve salmonella & botulism under the guise of chicken curry. I shall miss hearing about everyone's little triumphs in teh face of horrendous debt, but I'll be thinking of you all.

Keep smiling guys, you're getting there. Look at all those signatures out there with the amounts coming down and down. You all rock, and should take a moment to congratulate yourselves. You're doing something that is not socially acceptable in these want-want-now-now times, and are discvering that there's more to life than dreading the THUMP of the credit card bill every month.

Ta ta for now chicks, wish me luck and sexy removal men.

Shineyhappy

Best of luck for tomorrow I hope it goes very smoothly and living with FIL isnt too bad! Think of the money saved.

I am glad you wont need to lift anything heavy, after all isnt that what men were invented for?:D

OberonSH

Afternoon snaggles! Look at that huge child!! I remember when she was just a bump...... My comfy knickers are not comfy per se, more like not in immediate danger of cuting me in half everytime I sit down.

Teal is a nice colour, my best friend is going through a teal phase, but she carries it off brilliantly. She has horribly wonderful face shape, and her hair is always really shiny, so she can practically wear anything. Grr hair envy. Especially as mine has just gone MENTAL. I look like the Weetos professor at the moment, as my fringe (which looks very Nigellaish when straight) has reverted to its natural stick straight out and look wiry self. I've run out of Lush Fluff Ease and my hair misses it.....

Well chicks, tomorrow is MOVING DAY!!! I've liberated a load of boxes from my back bedroom, by loading heavy duty bin bags with anything that oesn't strictly require a box. I'm about 2/3rds through, and have already had a polite row with the silly moo that's dealing with the house now the Landlord From Hell has realised he's on a losing side withe me. Apparenlt she's sent copies of these pictures that were taken before we moved in several times. Once by registered post, and can prove they've been delivered (although apparently it's a service that just has a barcode, and doesn't require a signiature. Odd, never heard of such a thing). Strangely though, I finally got a copy of them in my email. You'll never guess what?? These pics don't show ANY of the horrendous damp problems, and thanks to some estate agent style camera angles manage not to have captured the main bugbear - the unusuable back bedroom....now how do you suppose that happened? Odd that they arrived the day before he had to move out, and therefore no time to fix anything that did show up, and only arrived after my request for the full deposit back due to lack of evidence of any damage.....Still, once I get settled into my new home there's going to be a wonderful little package arriving in the lanlords doorstep asking for the return of money paid out thanks to the damp problem. Currently stands at nearly £700 and that's without compensation for the out of hours work, the harrassment and fact we had to live in a damp house and eventually get the council involved.

So tomorrow at 2pm, my entire family and our life will be manhandled by burly men into a storage facility to await the Promised Land (the new house). Feels a bit odd to see everything in boxes, but it's a great chance to have another clearout and start from fresh. We'll have to get a new bed, as our bed frame has seen 3 moves, and won't take another putting back together! Makes you wonder how much of the stuff in these boxes we could live without, if for some reason there's a freak custard related accident at the storage facility (it could happen, and knowing my luck, probably will)

So with my internet switched off, I sahll be DFW-less, but shall endeavour to be a good saving person and not spend huge amounts of money. I'm taking my knitting with me, as I'm back in a sock knitting phases, and as where FIL lives is devoid of shops, or indeed a library, the boredom shopping should be easy to avoid. I shall take over the cooking - less from a desire to help around the house, but more to avoid the youngests sons attempt to serve salmonella & botulism under the guise of chicken curry. I shall miss hearing about everyone's little triumphs in teh face of horrendous debt, but I'll be thinking of you all.

Keep smiling guys, you're getting there. Look at all those signatures out there with the amounts coming down and down. You all rock, and should take a moment to congratulate yourselves. You're doing something that is not socially acceptable in these want-want-now-now times, and are discvering that there's more to life than dreading the THUMP of the credit card bill every month.

Ta ta for now chicks, wish me luck and sexy removal men.

wannabe_free_2

Good luck - hope it all goes well for you. Remember - no lifting of heavy boxes under any circumstances, and don't let DD 'pack' your bag!

WF

OberonSH

Unfortunately OH's work screwed up the rota, and instead of being off this wek, he's actually working. Had him this morning to do the heavy stuff, so this afternoon I'm just putting the last bits into boxes, and cleaning the oven. I have the world's largest bag of bicarb from the market, and am currently looking at the Old style board for some good ideas on how to make the oven shine. Shouldn't really, as when we moved it it was disgusting, but it;s something the mad woman from the management compnay has specifically mentioned.

Also trying to get washing dried before we go, and tiying up those last pesky bits. Luckily with tomorows removal being a late one, I've got the morning to do lastr minute things. Erred on the side of caution and packed my maternity bag as well - just in case. Teeny weeny babygros! Now just got to wait til I get back in Grimsby to get my best mate to help me run up a load of natural nappies - for I refuse to pay £9 each (yes, each!!) for them when I was a good DFW and found a free pattern to make your own, and went and bought a load of end of roll terry towelling. Now all I need is the ability to sew things together without stitching my fingers as well - hence the assistance of my bst friend, who not only has shiny hair, but is very talented at sewing. Grr. sewing machine envy...

JET34

Afternoon OH,
Good luck with the moving and new house purchase etc......... Hurry back as we all missed you loads when you went before!!!

Jane