Changing our lives....

humblepii

What an amazing-sounding day! MSE- and other-wise. Your littlies sound CUTE! I'm broody as hell but OH and I are just not quite there yet... Though getting DF is the first step in the right direction Posted my SOA today, which was very sobering.

Have worked out to subscribe :j

Sessie

LOL took me a while to learn how to do that too! Still don't know how to do a lot of the features on here. Example: I get a notification that a new post has been made in a thread I'm subscribed to but I don't know how to get it to go to that post and let me read from there on rather than just take me to page one of the thread so I'm having to write down what page I'm on on each of the threads I'm following so I don't spend ages trying to find the new ones (hope you get what I mean).

Anyhow I'm just bobbing my head round the door to say I know I haven't posted one of my usual huge posts in the last few days, I had company round til late Thursday, lots on on Friday and then worked til 8pm and been out all day today for mum's 65th for a meal and then back to her house. I am utterly kna- ..er... TIRED out so am going to bed now and it's 8.35 pm! I'm going to read but I bet I'm not reading long!!

I have kept a note of MSE related things I've done though and will be back in the next day or so to update!! I'm still motivated and going for this big style!! To the point I'm planning to MAKE my childrens' winter duvets, covers and all!

But right now, my bed is calling.....

x

Sessie

Back again!

So... Thursday mum brought 2 lovely fleece blankets down for the children for winter as she'd heard me talking about them earlier in the week. Now not sure whether to put them under their cotbed sheets or use them "properly" as blankets to keep them really warm. Thing is, as the children are only 2, their sheet covers a plasticy mattress protector so it's going to be cold to lie on and won't get warm so I was GOING to put some flannelette type sheets underneath (one of the things on my list to get when I go to town for the day on 6 Sept) but now I'm thinking more along the lines of get them a couple of nice blankets and use mum's underneath. We'll see I s'pose...

We went swimming with the children - I only pay for me at £3.40 but I got £1 back when I returned the locker wristband. As I didn't know this, I considered it a "spare" £1 and it went in one of my jars. (TICK! - a small one but it counts!)

Also actually WROTE DOWN the list of questions to ask the Financial Advisor when we make an appt. Have been scribbling bits here and there and keeping a lot of them in my head but actually have now WRITTEN them down (TICK!). Learned an interesting thing today too - if you have life insurance and when you took it out you were a smoker (as we were) and you are now a non-smoker (as we are) for more than a year you can reduce your premiums by up to 60%!! So that particular issue is quite high on the list of questions as we pay through the nose for that! We both stopped smoking quite a while before we started the IVF and have vowed we will never smoke again - its four years ago now so it's unlikely we'll bend.

Made the butternut squash and chorizo risotto for our family visitors - blimey it was LUSCIOUS!! Will def make it again but would increase the amounts of ingredients and though the recipe SAID it was for 4, it really wasn't. Well, either that or we are pigs, as we all wanted more!!

Er... can't think of a third tick for Thursday .... they brought pudding so we saved on that???! (*cough*). Oooh wait! I found some loose change in hubby's drawers (!!) when I was putting washing away so that went into the jars too. Hurrah! TICK!

Friday was an NSD - TICK!. Also, found the courage to emtpy out the airing cupboard!! This was one of the bigger jobs but the children were in a great mood so we all trooped upstairs and got on with it - well, I got on with it, they threw themselves on all the extra duvets and pillows I found in there and giggled a lot. We also had the radio and did a lot of dancing. At the back, found an 18 pack of loo rolls I didn't know we had - so won't need to buy those for a while! Also found a couple of bottles of bleach and polish so ditto those - that counts as a saving right? Cleaning turned into finding turned into saving turns into a TICK! Well it does in MY book!:)

Also found an old single duvet cover that, if I'm honest I've never really liked - I don't like the material, it's a bit scratchy - but I kept it "just in case", you know, for days when I've done the washing but not got everything dry in time for the night, that sort of thing. Anyway, am going to use it as the "draught excluder" for the front door in the colder months. We get a draught from the bottom of the front door and from the letterbox, no matter how much we push it down flat. Saw a post on Old Style somewhere that said to get a couple of cup hooks to attach to the wall inside the front door and a broom handle to prop on the hooks (have both). Then you just thread the broom handle through the end of the duvet cover with the poppers and hang it up against the door on a night to keep the warm in. That little tip will DEF save us on heating as that little area just inside the front door and going up the stairs DOES get really cold on a winter night. Plus, opening the front door just lets any heat that HAS built up straight outside, at least this way, we will warm it up again quicker. It's a bit of a makeshift idea but they are the ones that work. Plus, it's easy as pie to take down during the day and put behind the sofa until evening again.

Dad is "on" the cat flap problem - keep you posted!

Also went into garage and put a few of the nappy boxes we were putting out for recycling to one side. Want to flatten them out, cut sections out, cover them in foil and stick them to the walls behind the radiators to reflect heat back into the rooms. Seems rather silly to be paying to heat an outside wall every winter don't you think?? Again, this is a "preparing for winter" thing but it will still save us money and keep us toasty!

Have a feeling this post might be too long so will review and post this and start again in another one... back in a mo!

x

Sessie

... ooh that was a good cup of coffee... now where was I? Oh yes, Saturday.

Saturday was a bit of a spendy day but I knew it was coming up so not too concerned. It was my mum's 65th birthday. Went into town with the children in the morning and bought her a gorgeous necklace (£xx as other family members read this!!) and cards from hubby and me and from the children. We had a coffee in Costa in WHSmiths as hubby's leg was hurting - that spend kinda hurt but I couldn't really say, "No.. you must SUFFER, I shall not speeennnd!" could I?? (Could I?? Really?). Went for the meal and we paid for mum and dad as it was such a special occasion. Went back to their house and spent a lovely sunny afternoon in their garden. Brought home two carrier bags of cooking apples from their orchard which will make some lovely crumbles and stewed apples/raisins for the children for winter puddings.

Before we went I put two loads of all the towels and sheets and things from the airing cupboard through the wash and on the line, wanted to put everything back all sparkly and lovely smelling, though am starting to regret being that thorough as I've put another three loads through today (Sunday) and it's hurled it down nearly all day so we have towels and sheets drying over every door in the house! Still, the house smells AMAZING! Can't give up my fabric conditioner - have used it for so long, just the smell of it on someone else makes me think of my children, hugging them in and smelling it.

Today, as I said above, a load more washing so I can restock the airing cupboard tidily (hubby will have a heart attack when he opens it next!), stewed most of the apples which are cooling in foil trays now waiting to be put in the freezer (TICK!). Nearly broke my knee hanging the washing out, caught it on a stone square we have a decorative ball thing on where the patio leads to the steps up to the garden. Really peed off as I ripped my La Senza pyjamas when I did it! They were my very first Martin Lewis bargains - he was on TV (Lorraine Kelly) advising about La Senza selling two pairs for £20 when usually one pair was £30 just before Christmas two years ago!! They are blue with penguins on and my daughter LOVES it when I wear them. They are still wearable - I suppose the "New" me will have to have a go at sewing them - I'm... shall we say, NOT a seamstress!!

That said, I have committed, with my mum, to having a real go at cutting down a double duvet and sewing two cotbed duvets out of it and also getting some cheap material (also on the Monday 6th list - as it shall now be known! It's pretty long, it's not going to be a leisurely stroll around the shops!) and MAKING the covers. I'm sadly, rather excited about this as I'm not much of a "handy" person but I really want to give this a go. I'll never be one to make clothes or anything but this has become a "project" now!! The cost of cotbed stuff is RIDICULOUS! The duvets are bad enough but the covers, because they're an odd size and shops have you over a barrell as to where you can get them from, can cost even MORE than the duvet!! No way Jose!! THIS MSE-er says, "I shall cover my own children! Even if it IS with a big ball of twisted cloth that resembles Mr Messy with a hangover! Yes I SHALL!"

Can't think of any more ticks I've earned today- I did go over to the shop following the tip from the assistant about reduced stuff after 6 pm but they only had salmon and I'm not a fan.

I think a lot of things I'm doing now are more on the "forward-planning" side of things, so I don't feel like I'm wavering as they will save us in the longer term, especially in winter when we'll need it even more. I do consider every spend now - whether it's necessary or not, and how I can save money by doing something a different way. If I'm really, embarrassingly, honest when I go to bed I lie there for a bit thinking of what I have to do over the next few days and how I can do it by spending as little as I can or by "making do" with what I have. It's sad.. what I have become.... seriously!!

Oh and one sad thing, I got a couple of boxes of free cat food from an (extended) family member whose cat recently died. There are some times you would rather not have things and for the person to still have their companion...

Until we meet again mi amigos...

x

Busy_bee_3

Hey Sessie

What a great diary you have! I check in every couple of days to see how you are getting on and i'm very impressed by how motivated you are and would really like to try something similar myself. I work full time so perhaps one tick per day would be more achievable for me to start with.
Keep up the good work and don't worry about how long your posts are, they are great!!

whatatwit

Sessie, my MIL cuts down duvets. I'm sure that she stitches through first, two lines with a small (or large) gap, depending upon how much you need to get rid of, and then cuts.

Poosmate

Hi Sessie, fab thread! Congratulations on all you have achieved so far and long may it continue! I think you deserve all of the ticks you've posted so far (probably more).

A few things, I shop at Mr M's and I buy Australian Mature Cheddar as it's the cheapest (normally) at £5.49pkg. I haven't been for a few weeks as I'm doing the cupboard thing and wondered if the purple milk is still 50p for 4pints (2ltr) or was it just a promotional offer? They used to sell St Ivel milk for £1 (4pts) (their own was £1.53 2.25ltr).

I also buy their yellow label tinned rice pudding and yellow label tinned peach slices for 18p and 24p (forget which is which price n can't find a receipt atm). Both are perfectly edible - try them, you're only going to lose 42p max if you don't like them!

Oh, and I also buy M's own Fruit n Fibre (£1.29 for 750g) which I eat dry in place of crisps - I am a real crisp monster so it's a bit more healthy for me!

Regarding the cashback sites and the cookies, you can go onto the compare sites and find the best quotes for whatever product you're planning on buying but when you are ready to buy, close down all of the sites and delete your "cookies". I'll explain how to do this in a mo.

Cookies are like a small file that is pinged back onto your pc from websites you have visited that allow the information from that site to load onto your screen so you can see it. Like a footprint. They also (supposedly) allow the site to load onto your screen quicker* the next time you visit it (unless you delete the cookies). They are stored in a folder called "Temporary Internet Files".

*Quicker? possibly by a few fractions of a second? Tbh I've never noticed the difference!

Over time, these cookies mount up and can bog down your pc and make it (overall) slower, so it's good to delete your cookies regularly anyway. Think of them as like the envelopes that your post comes in - you don't keep them do you?

OK, How To Delete Cookies: I'll do it really simple just because I don't know your/or anyone's knowledge of computers so better safe than sorry.

Click the START button in the bottom left hand corner of your screen.

Click on "Control Panel" on the right hand side of the box that comes up.

Double Click on "Internet Options" (a picture of a globe with a note infront of it with 2 green ticks on it).

Click "Delete" (about half way down the box that's just popped up (in a section called "Browsing History")). Another box will pop up.

This box will list categories** of cookies that are stored. Tick the boxes of the cookies you wish to delete. Please read this next bit (from [ to ] a couple of times because it might be confusing) and I'm better at showing that writing instructions.

[**Categories are:

Preserve Favourites website data - I tick this one
Temporary Internet files - I tick this one
Cookies - I tick this one
History - I tick this one
Form data - I don't tick this one except for before I go on the cashback site***
Passwords - I don't tick this one except for before I go on the cashback site***
InPrivate Filtering data - I tick this one

***The reason I don't normally tick these is because they are quite useful. I like that when I start to enter my email addy I only have to type in the first few letters and can click the box that appears, to automatically put it in. Or that my some of my passwords are entered automatically I find it impossible to keep track of them all and my pc is quite secure - I'm the only one with access to it.

If you can, make sure you know all your usernames/passwords before ticking and deleting these otherwise you'll have to go through the "Forgot your password" process when trying to log on to your fav signed up sites again. Tiresome! Like I say, I only delete these when buying products through the cashback sites so that the only cookies in the Temporary Internet Folder will be from there and the site I am purchasing from through that site. That's how the cashback site track who you bought from through them.]

OK, so when you've ticked all the boxes of the categories you wish to delete the cookies in, click "Delete" at the bottom of that box. (The title of the box is "Delete Browsing History").

That box will disappear and another one will open with a white bar and small green bars running across it. This is your cookies being deleted. If it's never been done before it could take a minute or two.

I hope that helps, oh and I best just add, I run on Windows Internet Explorer with Windows XP because if you have a different Windows version the boxes may look a little different. If you're unsure at all, get a second opinion, maybe check out the "Techie" board on here or use your Windows help section.

Anyway, I must away to bed, can't believe how late it is, or rather how early it is! Please don't stop posting long essay type posts - they're very well written and very entertaining too!

Best wishes

Poo

pennywisepoundstupid

Sessie, love reading your diary, Your doing fantastic, keep it up.
poosmate thankyou for the cookie info, had no idea how to do it.

Poosmate

Thanks PWPS, I hope the instructions are clear enough without being too simple. It's so difficult to strike the balance, when you don't know your audience, to pitch it so it doesn't insult people's intelligence.

Off to Mr M's now so will check in later - looking forward to Sassie's next entry.

Poo

Sessie

Thanks to you all for your kind comments and for the help with cookies and Mr M's suggestions! I feel like it's my birthday!! Oh and last time I was in Mr M's (Tuesday 24th August) yes, the purple milk was still 50p, as it has been for a couple of weeks now. I buy six at a time and freeze it. I also get their version of Special K (Trim Flakes - sadly, I'm no advertisement for it though!) - almost the same taste, a fraction of the price. Will give the rice pud a try too!

Bit of a spendy day (again!) today - we WERE going to go to the beach but the skies didn't look like they had the same idea so we played it safe and went to The Deep in Hull. For those that don't know it's an awesome huge indoor aquarium - really educational with massive tanks where you are eye to eye with all kinds of fish from tiny ones to rays and sharks. The kids ABSOLUTELY loved it!! We've been before with them a couple of times but they were a bit young before. Today though, they were fascinated! Just sat on the floor so they could see under the water level and just shouted and pointed and, "Wow"-ed for ages! We were in there about 4 hours and they were exhausted when we came out. Costs £9-odd for adults, which is expensive, but the kids go free.

Played for a couple of hours with building blocks when we got back home before tea (one of my pre-made meals) and fizzy jelly (dissolve jelly as usual in a little boiled water but then use Sprite or lemonade instead of water to make the jelly up!) with flapjack and yet more stewed blackberries (they keep ASKING for them!). We have started to "rotate" the toys a bit, put some away or in a drawer and "forget" to get them out for a few weeks then, when they've been gone for a while, "re-find them" to squeals of delight and a good few hours of fun playing with old friends. Saves on buying new things so often as young children do get fed up of what they've got but they ALSO have short memories so "old" become "new" and mummy keeps her pennies! Win-Win! :j

Have FINALLY got everything from the airing cupboard through the wash and dried (on the line, over doors, settees.... lol) and there is now a three foot pile on the kitchen table to be ironed and put back tidily. There is also a huge basket of "normal" ironing so the next few nights I'm going to be pretty busy. Grr, ironing is my most hated household task but I'll be really pleased when it's all done.

Also have found a recipe for sloe gin as I'm going to make some for my parents for Christmas. They have a glut of sloes in their orchard and they both love gin so, as they would just go to waste, I'm going to have a go. Apparently it makes quite a potent liqueur by the time it's done but takes two and a half months to do so I will be getting on with it shortly. Not JUST yet as the recipe advises not picking them until late September to allow them to fully fruit.

Have been spending quite a lot of time lately on the Old Style Board - two particular topics, Preparing for Winter and Preparing for Christmas. The latter has some REALLY great ideas, quite a few of which I'll be stealing!! I get quite mixed feelings about Christmas - I actually LOVE it, the whole tinsel, sparkly, feelgood old songs on scratchy vinyl, getting-together, coloured lights part but I resent more and more each year the amounts it costs. I genuinely LIKE going shopping for presents, or at least I USED to. The last few years has found Mr Sessie and me walking aimlessly around town sighing, "I have NO idea what to get for X"... and going round and round in circles until we're dropping! I did suggest to the family earlier this year that we do a "secret Santa" type thing where we all go out for a meal at the end of November and pick out a name from a (Santa?!) hat in the middle of the table. Then, whoever you pick, you buy them a nice present - say to the value of £40 or so, but JUST that one present. That way, everyone gets something - and for that amount, something pretty nice (plus, you can drop heavy hints when you are asked what you would like!) but everyone only has to buy one thing. We are all (except my own children obviously!) over 18.. considerably so!

Christmas really IS, in our family, about getting together and having a great day - we all work different hours and shifts, it's not often we are all together in the same place, the presents are secondary... nice but secondary. At least that's what I thought... When talking about this, the others echo my sentiment about not knowing what to get everyone, not to mention struggling with the cost of it all but when it came to it, not everyone was "for" the idea so it failed. It had to be a 100% thing or on the day, there would be simmering resentment which would be horrible. All I can say is, "I tried!". I tried to bring everyone's costs down, I tried to bring everyone's late-December stress levels down, I tried (without being rude here!) to bring less clutter (nice but unnecessary presents ARE just going to end up as "I can't throw it away, so-and-so bought me that" clutter, let's be honest here!) into people's homes but .... *shrug* I would never try to force them so... I'm looking at other ways of giving this year. Again, can't give too much info as family members read this but I think my creative side will be coming out more rather than my purse!

Apart from finishing the washing and drying of the airing cupboard contents (and finding various uses for them as detailed yesterday) and planning to MAKE a Christmas present I can't really claim any ticks today. Bah Humbug!

x