Further financial faux pas and even more disasterous decisions

moo2moo

Managed not to end up looking like a drowned rat at the riding stables by sheltering in the caravan. The DDs were not so lucky but seemed to be enjoying themselves anyway. Had chucked in a dry set of clothes in anticipation of this so there was no getting out of the family excursion to Mr Ts. Surely thats what quality family time is all about. If I drag them all with me once a month theres no whingling that I never get them nice things. Went with the aim of spending £70 to get a tenner off but without buying anything for the freezer since its still jam packed with stuff. Decided just to buy staples and nothing but staples plus socks for DD1 and fruit for the week. Ended up with a whopping £130 bill. Whilst I was buying staples OH was purchasing more stuff for camping. Now have enough pasta and cereal to see us through the next month or two. Rather amazingly we managed to cram it all in the cupboards. The evil sods gave me another £10 off vocher for spending by next weekend whilch is highly unlikely... really it is!

Spent the afternoon planting seeds. Got a tiny bit carried away and have had to overflow from the windowsill to the kitchen worktop in order to keep everything out of the dogs way. Hopefully, in a rather bizarre way, this will make the kitchen tidier as theres no space to dump any washing up. I have a sneaky feeling OH will use the opportunity to abandon stuff wherever he happens to be when he finishes with it.

Now have to wait for the tomatoes, two types of courgettes, salad leaves, squashes, cucumbers, beetroots, peppers, peas and beans to sprout. Then I have to figure out where the heck I'm going to put them all.

In the meantime I have a bowl of chopped rhubarb soaking in sugar ready for transformation into jam today. Also have a couple of kilos of whoopsied kiwis awaiting the same fate.

Didn't list anything at all on E-bay yesterday. Meh. Still in two minds about parting with the incubator purely because I'm unlikey to find one thats as reliable so cheaply and its far more fun watching chicks hatch in the house than it is waiting for a broody to emerge with them.

OH was most apologetic and on the verge of tears when he rolled into bed last night pished as a newt. On a positive note it took far less alcohol than in the past to achieve this state but sadly, as hes realised, it didn't have the desired effect of numbing out the problems of the day. Hopefully this will result in him figuring out that he has to find another way to cope with theings when they go wrong. As it is hes in for one hell of a day. His boss phoned yesterday to inform him that one of his co-workers has been terminated with a v. generous period of notice. Co-worker ahs not taken this well and is causing problems at work. Shift supervisor was unable to deal with the situation and so avoided it allowing things to escalate and today OH is the most senior bod on shift. Feeling is its going to require the attentions of HR elsewhere in the UK and swift and harsh disciplinary action, but most likely whilst the HR peeps are still in bed. Meanwhile this means that OHs department is effectively down a trained person and still has to train the newbie who won't be of any use for at least another two months which is conveniently when the other chap has been told to depart. Bunch of !!!!!!.

Am anticipating OH being in the mother of all moods this afternoon whilst I will be spending the morning in a blissful buble of tranquility armed with a huge preserving pan and a large wooden spoon.

Suppose whilst I'm confessing all I should also admit to blowing £15 on a BASC Young Shots day as a surprise for DD1 over the summer. Its much like the day I went on last year only hers involves deer management as well as falconry and clay pigeon shooting.

At some point I need to whoosh round finding stuff with which to fill up the wheelie bin. Am slowly decluttering again and finally making a difference. Still need to unpack the clothes purchased at the weekend but before I can do that I need to sort my drawers out - ooh er missus - so that I have a working wardrobe and a weekend wardrobe. The fact that both are comprised almost entirely of t-shirts is hardly relevant.

moo2moo

thrifty_fifty wrote: »

Good going on the decluttering, and thank-you for the chicken pen instructions can't wait to get building.

xx

You're very welcome!

moo2moo

Am in the process of decluttering a giant family sized pack of onion rings whilst sitting on my bum hoping that the washing up miraculously vanishes. Sadly since there aren't any children here to bribe I'm going to have to do it myself. Could quite happily spend the day curled up in the garden with a good book watching the weeds grow. Admitedly its not the best use of my time but it is most relaxing and infinately preferable to tracking down DD2s dirty undies since theres no sign of any at all in the dirty laundry mountain and yet she couldn't find any clean ones this morning.

chevalier

That is one of the few things i have managed to train my 2 about is putting dirty clothes in the laundry. On other subjects i have failed. Not sure if that says more about me or them lol.

Like the idea of curling up with a good book. Pity that real life intervenes so much......
chev

moo2moo

Spent yesterday morning making jam. T'was most therapeutic and rather yummy. Put it all in Country Market approved jars but am still debating the wisdom of Country Marketing. On the one hand being paid to make jam is rather tempting but on the other the idea that someone will pay the sort of money that the Country Market formula implies I should be charging kinda makes it seem like a waste of time. Post expenses (which are v. small) I'd be looking at £1 a jar profit which seems like an awfully big mark up on a very small jar. Part two of my cunning plan involves persuading the friend who already Country Markets to take my stuff when she goes to avoid me having to do the time behind the stall. Even assuming I sell everything I've made the idea of giving up 2 hours of my time for a tenners profit on a Saturday really doesn't seem worth it, especially since I'd have the DDs with me so would end up having to buy them cakes and things to keep them quiet. Would rather pay the friend a percentage of the profit to avoid doing this.

Managed to vacuum downstairs and do a spot of tidying. Still have to run round grabbing stuff for the wheelie bin but can at least do that in PJs this morning now its stopped raining. I have a list of targets in mind.

OH assisted the DDs in the addition of much velcro to the Zumba belt which now fits everyone most snugly resulting in an evening of peace whilst DD1 Zumba'd and DD2 laughed at her... well what else are little sisters for?

DD2 is still running a temperature which would ordinarily warrant a day off school but as its internal test week which affects the class she moves to next year and the places in the gifted and talented programme it means she really needs to be there.

Made the fatal mistake of checking my bank account four days before payday. It didn't make for pretty reading. Am most grateful that I actually got paid for the second job which was enough to move the balance back into the black. Still waiting for the cheque for expenses to clear.

Am supposed to be spending the afternoon teaching road safety but not if its raining. Am keeping my fingers firmly crossed that it either pours down or dries up because theres nothing worse than being stuck outside with a whole lot of wet whingy kids especially when they're someone elses. Makes doing anything v. hard once the rain gets on my glasses because then I can't see a thing and I can't wipe them because I'm not allowed to let go of small hands in case one of the brats decideds to do a runner and hurl itself under the wheels of a bus.

Further plans for the day involve liberating something for dinner from the bowels of the freezer and dropping eggs and surplus jam jars off at a friends.

moo2moo

Have abandoned all ideas of Country Marketing... really and truly I have....honestly..... its just too time demanding. Am instead going to try a stall at the school fayre and see how that goes. Hopefully a win win situation. Cash for jam making for me and another way of raising funds for school. Obviously this means I have to make shed loads of jam in the next month in order to have enough stock to make it worth while.

Am still trying to figure out pricing. Obviously what I'm prepared to pay and what the people of poshington will pay are two different things but I'm hoping that samples to taste for a 10p donation to school will help to sell stuff whilst preventing several hundred small children scoffing everything I've got. Average prices seem to be £2 for a 200-227g jar which is a smidgen over half the size of a standard tin can hence my concern about it. Standard sized supermarket jars workout at £3.50-£4.00 which seems vastly overinflated considering the ingredients come to about a third of that at most, much less if its stuff thats homegrown or forraged. Obviously people will pay that sort of money because otherwise the Country Markets and the like wouldn't exist and if you're selling as a business then obviously you've got overheads to consider as well as labour costs and marketing and wot not.

In effect I'd be splitting things three ways. The cost of ingredients and fuel to cook it, a donation to school (or potentially market fees) and a small amount of profit to make it worthwhile cooking more than I need although I'm doing that anyway because I'm enjoying it so much. Mind you my parents seem to be quite happy eating the surplus and most of the people who come to visit end up taking several jars away with them.

Aaaagh. I'm not cut out to be a fledgling businesswoman.

So why oh why are my thoughts occupied with such things?

moo2moo

ps. It may only be 10:50 but I've just scoffed my way through a huge heap of oatcakes slathered in butter and topped off with great wedges of smoked cheese... should really class it as lunch rather than a mid-morning snack. Really I should.

beanielou

Dident realise you had a second job.

moo2moo

beanielou wrote: »

Dident realise you had a second job.

Only in the school holidays, which is when I really don't want to do any extra work, and then only because I get guilted into it but its paid by another organisation and taxed at the emergency tax rate which makes it a right royal pain in the bum.

moo2moo

Did surprisingly little yesterday.

Arrived home to find OH had been shopping. Again. Buying more unnesceesary tat. This time a rucksac thats exactly the same size as his camel back so that he can put his netbook in it when he goes away on business. I suppose thats easier than using the combination laptop bag/suitcase that he insisted he needed but which sits in a corner caked in dust and its not like he could use the padded netbook bag which was another "essential" purchase or even one of his many rucksacs (too big, far too big or wrong colour). Meh. Everytime I create a bit of space he fills it with more shoite which is why the postman delivered a gauge for project Landrovers dashboard. Not that project landrover has a dashboard, or a turbo or any wiring... hell it still hasn't got wheels. Whing whinge moan moan.

Am thinking positive thoughts... ones not involving cast iron frying pans, shovels or patios. Would be thinking more positively had some twonk not drifted back into the habbit of going to bed on a bottle of vino.

At least theres a hint of green in some of the many plant pots adorning the majority of sufaces in the kitchen and on a much brighter note there are now only 2 1/2 weeks to the school holidays... and OH is now taking the DDs camping for 2 nights.... which means three days peace.... obviously to be spent at work but it does save my holiday for later in the year... am now wondering about having most of the summer hols off.... seems daft working in a school if I don't get some of the perks.