The Ultimate Incentive to have an amazing 2010.

Tete_en_l'Air

I was starting to think you'd left us now you're a married woman! Feeling your internet pain - I ordered it on about the 29th August, the man came to put the phone line in last Monday and the broadband still won't be activated til tomorrow, I'm thinking of writing a Birdie-style letter. The only reason we went with them is because they don't require an 18 month contract but as it stands we're a third of the way into our rent contract before it's even been put in!

Are you back at work properly now then or part time? Seems harsh that 'you're driving or you're out of a job', surely your employer has some sort of obligation to rehabilitate you back into work - give you office based stuff if you can't drive? That was a rubbish reason not to give NIM the job too but the way of the world I suppose...

Hopefully all the house and car stuff will resolve itself in the next few weeks. Our house is turning out to be a total ice box (which I sort of feared moving into an 18th century place) and the house that Jack built so we might start to think about looking around again at Christmas - depressing thought when it took us so long to find this one. I'm just hoping houses are like jobs - easier to find one when you already have one.

Those cakes look good, have you ever tried a proper Hummingbird cake from the Bakery? I wasn't that impressed to be honest - I think my versions of their cakes are better Looking forward to the honeymoon snaps, hope there are some of turtles!

Dinah93

Just finished off my wedding spreadsheet, and excitingly the final total we paid was £7892 (excluding honeymoon). We only managed this because my parents paid about £3000, but still, we came in under our target of spending £8500 on the wedding, so thats another one of my medal challenges crossed off!

I'm disliking food. Not only because after months and months of dieting the honeymoon got me right back where I started, but also we're spending about £100 a week on the damned stuff, and we're not even eating meat at the moment! The logical part of me knows that some of this is basics and things like oil and vanilla extract last a long time, but the illogical part of me resents this ammount of money going on sustenance!

Shame the house is so cold Tete. My stone rental was the same, it just got to a point where I thought 'character is all well and good, but I want to feel my toes again!'. Enjoying the location though?

Not back full time yet, 3 days this week, aiming for 4 next week. Found it a lot harder than I thought I would, both physically and mentally.

Tete_en_l'Air

Well done on the wedding budget - sort of makes up for the overcharging builder?

I'm disliking food too - I don't know how we're spending so much on it as we have mundane teas like beans on toast four nights a week. I blame OH and his mammoth appetite on the nights we do have a proper meal. And I've been doing a lot of baking too which just is not cheap! Especially when it's for things at OH's work so I don't even get any!

Surely though it's better to have lost weight and go back to the starting point rather than actually put it on? I'm still a stone lighter than I was when we first did the diet challenge on your thread, but it's half a stone more than I was at my thinnest which is annoying but it's really hard to maintain that weight.

Yeah, loving the house, very much, even though we still have only a bed upstairs and the place is freezing. There are hedgehogs and bats and squirrels, and it's so nice to be spending time together

Flower08

Our house is really cold as well Tete so I feel your pain! I'm too scared to put the heating on incase we cant afford the bill :rotfl:

Dinah - your work sound awful, dont know how they think they could possibly get away with threats with the driving. I am sure you would have a very good case against them if it came to it.

Dinah93

Apparently its likely I would, so I'm just writting down events as they happen so I have all the evidence if I need it.

NIMs birthday yesterday, but his big dinner is tonight - last night it was just carbonnara (which is actually his favourite), and I'm doing a Chinese feast tonight, so have had to put the heating on so the dough will rise on the pork buns as we don't have an airing cupboard - hardship but I'll have to be warm for a few hours!

Tete_en_l'Air

Flower08 wrote: »

Our house is really cold as well Tete so I feel your pain! I'm too scared to put the heating on incase we cant afford the bill :rotfl:

SNAP! It warms up really well and fast but we just have a feeling it's leaking straight out of the walls and will cost a fortune We've only had it on so far when we've had people over You know, keeping up appearances! When we're on our own we have a blanket to sit under, but even then my nose is starting to get cold

Birdie85

Nice to have you back on line Dinah! I hated being without internet when we first moved in, you feel completely cut off from the world!

I feel your pain with the cold houses girls, my parents 18th Century Coach House looks fabulous but it's sooooooooo cold. Even in summer I'd have to wear a jumper inside, it's the kind of place where you go outside to warm up! I loved moving to my modern little flat, it's so warm all the time and it costs next to nothing when we do put the heating on. There's a lot to say for giving up character for mod cons!

Good idea to gather evidence from work Dinah, I can't beleive they said that to you. It is their job to get you back to work and make whatever changes necessary to do so... what if you'd lost a leg rather than 'just' ruined your knee? Would they treat you better because you were properly disabled?! Idiots.

We've got this week off work, just chilling and not doing anything too exciting although we went for dinner with my family last night (it was SIL's birthday on the 4th too!) and my parents are going up to Alnwick tomorrow and OH invited us along so as long as Mum and Dad are OK with it we'll be going for a night away which will be nice, especially as Dad said that he'd pay for the steaks in the lovely steak house!

I got OH put back on the car insurance (and argued with them about their admin fee that they knocked off which is a good lesson to learn! £25 they wanted to charge me!) and he drove us to Aysgarth Falls on Monday, he's not too bad a driver but it was so nerve wracking being his passenger purely because it was his first time in my car! When we got back home we went straight to the pub as I needed a drink! LOL! He got stuck on a couple of hills and he abused my poor car a bit; I felt so sorry for her, there was a very worrying burnt rubber smell when we arrived at the falls! :eek: Credit to OH, he never got stressed about it all, just laughed it off and carried on, he coped better than I did! I'm cross with his dad though when I think about it, surely it was his job 10 years ago to take his son out driving?!

Tete_en_l'Air

Birdie85 wrote: »

what if you'd lost a leg rather than 'just' ruined your knee?

That's a good point - even firemen whose jobs are obviously really physical would be given another post in the service if something happened to them.

Hope you enjoyed Aysgarth - I have a walk printed out for there but we haven't been out walking in soooo long. Every time we have a free weekend it's always peeing down!

We have internet at home now too finally, but I'd spent so much time online yeasterday at work that I didn't actually want to go on!

Flower08

Birdie85 wrote: »

I loved moving to my modern little flat, it's so warm all the time and it costs next to nothing when we do put the heating on. There's a lot to say for giving up character for mod cons!

Im so jealous! I love all the character of our house, we have a lovely original fireplace in our bedroom but in hindsight I really wouldnt mind not having those features if it meant the house was a lot warmer!
Not considering moving anytime soon, but when/if we do I will definately consider sacrificing the lovely features.

Swinstie73

I'm with you on the being cold, I have a spiral staircase and all the heat goes upstairs. It's like a freezer downstairs and a sauna upstairs!

Dinah, can I just say that you have done an amazing job of getting debt free, organising a wedding and buying a house in just over a year! I am at my wits end trying to organise a wedding, buy a house (not to mention selling one too), and get my final debt cleared, I'm exhausted. A summary of how you did it would be great, I'm too tired to read your other diaries again.