Goal - 3 debts paid by Christmas

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Well, the toaster will have to wait until Monday. I have to go into town (necessitating using the car park and paying for parking) already on Monday to go to the post office, so I'll do anything that needs to be done on the High Street then, including the toaster. That way just one lot of parking fees to pay.

That also gives me more time today to get things done here at home.

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Unbelievable!!! Something in the air here, I think! The baby monitor has died! It's past the warranty, so we'll need to get a new one, as in our house, the sound simply doesn't carry well and we can't hear upstairs from downstairs. And in order to get a decent one that has good sound (fair amount of interference in our area), we'll have to shell out £50 for a decent digital one. This is one of those things that we feel is important to get.

I've managed to pull something in my back, probably when lifting one of the children. So I'm moving a bit slower right now. I'm still going to have to get a lot done today, it'll just mean I'm sitting on the sofa with a hot water bottle on my back tonight.

Tax and licensing coming out of current account this week, so we'll have to be extra careful with money for a bit.

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Let's see. We've agreed that it was cheaper to buy a toaster at Tesco, so went with a 4 slotted one that was £19.99. It has separate controls for the 2 sides and will fit well on our countertop, so I'm happy with that. Toast is something we can't do without here.LOL DS3 has just started eating it regularly, and DS2 wants toast every morning with his breakfast, so lack of a toaster would be a big problem here!! I was going to buy the toaster in town on Monday, so one paid parking all at once, but DH pointed out that we don't need to go to the post office in town, there's one on the way to DS2's preschool with a free carpark, so we'll go there. This will avoid paying for parking at all, saving us about £4-5! Sounds good to me!!

We've got about £25 to last us 2.5 wks, but that mainly only needs to cover milk, bread, and fruit so it should be fine. There's plenty of meat and veg in the freezer as well as cereal and such in the cupboard. Nappies were on sale, so had to put a little more of the budget towards them. I don't like paying full price on them if I can help it at all.

Lovely meal this afternoon - roast lamb, roast potatoes, peas, carrots. DH cooked the meal and cleaned up. Although we will have to sweep the dining room as DS3 is not known for neat eating. I've picked up some, but a good sweep will catch it all. I think mopping will be in order as well. We've still got two more roasts in the freezer, which will cover the next two Sundays, and then the new grocery budget starts so we can pick up some more from the butcher.

We're having a barbeque with DD next weekend. We knew it was coming up as it's to celebrate family birthdays, so we've stashed some sausages and hamburgers in the freezer over the last couple shops when things were on sale. So it won't break the budget this week. The only thing we'll need to purchase is a few bottles of soda, which shouldn't be too bad, I'll keep aside a fiver to cover any miscellaneous expenses. And since it's family birthdays and not just a specific party we're hosting, we'll be asking family to bring their own alcohol. We simply can't afford to supply a bunch of different alcohol, as everyone seems to drink something completely different.

Laundry is all hung out. Windows open to let fresh air and cool breeze in. Now I'm just relaxing for a bit to let my back rest.

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Arggghhh! Toaster is faulty and not what we wanted - now have to take it back this morning. Oh, well, parking fees after all. But will make the most of them and get a few things done while in town anyway. Might peek into ELC and see if we can spot a little something to pick up for DS3's birthday coming up, as we haven't purchased anything for him yet. The 1 yr birthday isn't generally very expensive - as there's not much they need, and it's not like they're "asking" for anything specific. :rotfl: He'll probably be more interested in the birthday cake than the present.

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I've managed to sort through almost all of our paperwork...finally!!! Now I have a small stack to shred (or if it's cool one evening soon, we can burn it in our chiminea in the garden).

I'm sitting here dying for a cup of tea, but dreading getting up. My back has gotten dreadfully painful, so I had to give in and go to the chemist and get something stronger than ibuprofen for it. He recommended cocodamol and ibuprofen together for a few days, to relieve both pain and swelling. It does seem to be helping somewhat - the hideously painful twinges are getting better.

We've scrapped the idea of a large barbeque due to scheduling conflicts and gone with a simple get together for cake and coffee for the children's birthdays midweek. We've also decided to go and visit DS1, DIL & DGS this weekend, so a bit of a drive, which unfortunately will bump the petrol expense up for the month, but family is important. We haven't been to visit them in ages (they've usually driven to see us, due to general circumstances).

I've almost got the dining room under control!! :j It has taken forever to get to this stage!!!! I have tons of craft/card making supplies and would love to start making cards again for family - it would save us money on cards as well, as I have all the supplies I need, including paper! To be honest, it would just be nice to have the outlet of being able to do something with crafts here and there, just as something fun to do for myself. Maybe in the evening here and there.

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Today is DS2's last day of preschool. He starts reception in September *sob* (yep, that's a whole other issue - he's too young!!! sniffle) But anyway - he's there all day, except for over lunch from 12 to 1230, when I will bring a packed lunch up to him and we will sit in the nearby park and eat. It's a bit sad, as he will really miss the preschool - he absolutely loves it! But at the same time, it means he will be home all day, which will be nice as well. DH is off work next week, used his holiday time to take a week off so we can enjoy some time with the boys plus get a bit of DIY done.

I checked our account, and even after paying for the taxes for the car, we will probably have a little bit extra to squirrel away into savings this month. I am rather pleased about that. And I'm hoping our grocery bill might go down as DS3 will be moving off formula at the end of the month, plus he is doing better at eating what we eat now, so no "extra meals" which is not only cheaper, but less hassle as well!

We just got our Virgin bill for the tv/phone/internet and noticed that the phone usage part was higher than I'd like. I keep forgetting that we can call DD on DH's mobile and then it's free, and that's added things up. Plus we get free weekend calls on our landline and I need to make sure I wait until the weekend for some calls, if I can. Although I have had to sort some direct debits recently, and that was done during the week - sitting on hold for awhile can really boost up that charge on the phone bill.

oops school run... back later

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Ooops! Been a bit busy lately and didn't have time to post.

Still dealing with painful back, but tons of things needed to be done, so pushing through as usual. LOL

We spent the day visiting DS1, DIL, and DGS in Devon. It was a lovely drive, and we had an enjoyable day. Obviously it does bump up our petrol for the month, but family is important, so it's worth the expense. We were able to give DGS his birthday present and spend some time with him as well. :j

Back home now, resting my aching back on the sofa after the drive both ways today. I was going to work on a few letters tonight, but my head is tired and it will just have to wait until tomorrow.

I am still feeling like I'm beating my head against a wall with Moorcroft and Tesco, but I'm not defeated yet. I will be sending them both a letter after they've been typed up tomorrow. I am tired of getting threatening letters in response to genuine questions about the account. I am sorely tempted to start the CCA letters to a few places, as some are being just ridiculous. I'm also checking into where to make a complaint regarding Abbey/santander about the massive number of mailings they have been sending me along with numerous different default notices. I hemmed and hawed a bit about it, and ranted about it some, but I honestly feel they were harassing us, so I am going to see about making a complaint.

Oh, and our washing machine died. We looked around, debated freecycle and such, but decided that in the long run, as we use it daily, we are most comfortable buying new. We found one that is nice and simple, no big frills, but had excellent reviews that was also on sale for 15% off. So it will be delivered Tuesday and they will be taking away the old one.

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Today is reclaim the house day. We generally have one of these when the house has gotten a bit cluttered, messy, or out of control. So as DH is off work this week on holiday time, we're making the most of it. This morning and afternoon we are "reclaiming" the living room, hallway, and kitchen.. which includes decluttering, hoovering, dusting, and putting everything back where it belongs. We've already cleaned out the fridge and made a start on the shoe box in the hallway/entryway. Then this evening after the boys are in bed, DH & I will start stripping the wallpaper in the hallway/entryway. Hopefully we can get it all done tonight - there's not a WHOLE lot of it. And then fill any holes, and make sure it's all ready to paint tomorrow night when the children are in bed. :j We will also need to sand down the bannister on the stairs. It's got a horrendous snot green coloured paint on it, and the wood underneath (where the paint has worn away) is quite nice, so we're taking it back to the wood. The next step will be to do the same to the stairs, but that will probably be at the end of the week, as that's a fairly big project. Not sure what we're going to do with the stairs exactly - leave the wood (with a finish), or paint them. We'd love to have them carpeted, but just not enough money for that, especially after getting the new washing machine, but the washing machine absolutely is a higher priority.

If it's cool tonight after we finish the wallpaper, it might be nice to sit outside with a drink and burn some of our shredding in the chiminea. Two birds with one stone, and all that. Depends on how late we finish the wallpaper.

I'm going to borrow SAHM's 100 day challenge list and swap a few out to suit our own needs. DH thinks that it's a good idea as well, so we're looking forward to making some changes based on it. I'll post that shortly, once I've actually got the list sorted and added any ideas that DH may have for it.

Another cut on our grocery shopping - DH often brings lucozade for his work lunches, which can add up. He's going to switch to squash and basics fruit juices instead, which will be much cheaper. Since he's made a cut, I'm going to do the same and cut out soda entirely. I don't really need it - I only buy it when it's on sale, however, if I don't buy it at all, that's a savings. Plus I don't want the boys to be interested in drinking soda, so it's best not to even have it in the house at this point.

I'm going to go work on my list while DH is doing some cleaning, then we'll switch out and he'll take over with the boys for a bit while I do some. This lets us do a few bits of cleaning without the boys underfoot (kitchen/bathroom), which makes it take twice as long. Then we'll work on the general cleaning, and then we can work around the boys playing with no problem.

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Okay, I've done my list. Whew!!


100 Day Challenge Goals

Personal
1. Alcohol free days 1/72
2. Non-shouty days 0/100
3. Work outs 0/23
4. Walking 1/23

Family
1. Cook one new recipe a week 0/14
2. Organise Christmas and birthday gifts, cards
3. Give each son half an hour quality time per day (on top of usual play/time spent together) DS2 0/100 DS3 0/100

Financial
1. Dedicate time at least each week to updating budget spreadsheet 0/30
2. Do 2 positive MS things each day 2/200
3. NO buying clothes for 100 days!! 1/100
4. Stick to grocery budget 0/100
5. NSDs 0/50
6. Dedicate time each week to replying to creditor letters and organising debt situation. 0/14
7. Post every day in order to make sure I'm working towards my list. 1/100

House
1. Strip wallpaper in entryway
2. Strip wallpaper in stairway
3. Strip wallpaper in upstairs landing
4. Sand staircase
5. Sand banister
6. Finish on banister
7. Finish or paint staircase
8. [STRIKE]Clean out and organise sideboard[/STRIKE] done today
9. Clean our bedroom (seems to be a catchall for everything)
10. Sort through too-small clothing for boys
11. Put together stuff for eBay, freecycle
12. Scan MILs family photos and return
13. Put all photos on disc for safekeeping
14. Organise craft items in preparation for making christmas and family cards from now on

DAY 1 today

Meant to get to wallpaper, but had a bit of a rough day - family crisis here as well as another family member, so just didn't get done what we wanted. Tomorrow is DS2's birthday, so not sure how much we'll get done either until after the boys are in bed. Eeeeek! Have to make a cake and need eggs, so DH will be walking to shop to pick them up first thing in the morning.

ETA: We did do SOME of the wallpaper - the first layer - but still need to steam off the bottom lining layer, so can't mark it as completed yet.

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DS2's birthday today! :j We've got the cake in the oven baking, along with a smaller cake in a silicone teddy bear pan (from Poundland), as he doesn't like icing - so he'll have a little teddy bear cake with no icing.

Big clean done in the kitchen as the washing machine is to be delivered today - although delayed as the delivery truck broke down. They've called to advise that it will still be delivered today, and they will call about an hour prior to delivery. We've got family coming over for birthday cake this afternoon - it'll probably be then that the washing machine is delivered LOL.

Already done 1 MS thing today - sent DH and DS2 to walk to the corner shop to get eggs, instead of taking the car to the supermarket. Saves on petrol, as well as avoiding temptation to buy anything else!! (although it does mean we can't mark today as a NSD)

We're cooking an inexpensive turkey drumstick (£1.49) in the slow cooker today, and plan on using the meat tonight for a curry and using the bones to make a broth for soup on Thursday for tea. (Tea tomorrow night is pizza as it's DD's birthday tomorrow!) So I'd say that qualifies as a new recipe for the week! :cool:

Much better day today than yesterday!