13 Moons ... ( *** Off, I'm Fabulous )

Shoe_Gal

Sounds like good advice - though I can't believe the cheek of some people :mad: My sister is cooking for our family and I wouldn't dream of going empty handed!

museumworker

Hi Lula Hula - sorry to hear you've having a blue day (or a mean red, I have to fit in a reference to breakfast at tiffany's somewhere on the board). I can totally empathise, feeling very low myself at the minute. Have convinced myself I have SAD and the only solution is a £125 light box :eek:. It sounds like you got on with the day though and hope you are feeling better now.

Re: slow cookers, would definitely recommend (I'm sure I saw on the grabbit board a massive one for £12 via argos or something similar yesterday too) and I am in total :eek: that you have never made a casserole - they are super easy! They are a marmite kitchen implement though - which may mean you can get one via freecycle barely used. OH can't stand some things i've made in there, but we have had a lucky run the last few times, and as ours is mahosive, I make enough for about 8-12 people at a time and freezer off the rest. Curries, stews, casseroles I've tried with good success. The cheaper cuts of meat are the best, so if you have a butcher near you you will be laughing! I have used a few different books from the library, and have bought a few of the best ones now. My latest book from the works for £2.99 is good, but tells me I can make steamed puddings, breakfast and jams in there... I am not sure I believe this but curiosity may get the better of me and I will put it to the test once and for all!

Re: Xmas - I would definitely take the bull by the horns and divide up jobs/food and tell everyone what they need to bring/do. Drink, soft drinks, snacks, starter, sides, pudding, condiments, biscuits, cheese and meat for platter. Plus a main part of conversation can then be 'ooh, I like the pigs in blankets you made' or similar. And put someone else on washing up duty

Lula-Hula

Flippin 'eck,

I pop off to do a bit of online christmas shopping & there's an army of you gathered in my absence :rotfl:

Thanks guys, I dont often get so down that I just cant motivate myself at all, but too much time indoors pondering can be dangerous so I really appreciate all the positive posts & fighting talk :A

Thanks you very much for the info Shoesy, but I'm not braving Tatco this week just for a £12 cooker & a half price christmas pud . Mind you we did have a quick look at them in waitrose & OMG are they hellishly expensive :eek:.

Sorry for not having made a casserole yet mw & although our freezer space is very limited we do have a very good butcher nearby ... & quite 'tasty' too I seem to remember

Re the family contributing - DD1 immediately offered to chip in but whether anything will materialize is another matter. Perhaps the visiting rellies will bring offerings or contribute when they arrive, I just found it rather rude to have ignored my previous emails & then to send a text that was worded literally as I posted it. It's the assumption that I am free to just pop in to pick stuff up as & when directed that really irritates :mad:

I am working monday to thursday at work job next week, mon to wed in the evenings doing home-job, then thursday evening is the school christmas fayre postponed from last week which leaves friday when I'm meeting my dear friend for coffee in the day & DD has a party in the evening.

I've decided to make sure that everything I buy for the 'feasting' goes on a separate receipt from my usual shopping, so I keep track of it all.

I'm nearly there on the christmas gifts, got a few bits online from the Body Shop for teachers, DD1 & some more luscious body butter for me. there was a free gift as I spent just over the required amount so that's another present too - all in the sale & should get about £3 cashback too.

After about an hour of trying & getting timed out I finally managed to get the gift for sis & that should bring in another £4 cashback. I'm so tight I opted to collect it from the store to save on the £3 delivery charge & just have to hope it's in by next sunday so I can park for free . Have already promised DD that we'll go shopping then so she can get stuff for her friends.

I now just need to get stocking bits for DD, a gift voucher for Dad, small gift for Grandmother & items for the visiting rellies. No response to the email asking if there's anything the might like, so they'll get what they're given .

At this moment i have absolutely no idea at all what I have spent; I did get some freebies/reduced items for DDs via amazon survey vouchers, but the rest has either been cash or debit card so no CC inolved & I'm happy with that .

I went to sign up to the Sealed Pot Challenge today & am using the £2 coins I have to start it off. I'm hoping for about £350 by December 1st next year. I was expecting to be allocated a number & was rather embarassed when I realised that I must have joined in previous yers as my number was aleady allocated, & not too near the bottom either .

I now have to confess to spending a scary £54.77p in waitrose today, bringing my total so far to an astonishing £107.16. There was a lot of store cupboard stuff in there & as huge blocks of cheese were on offer I bought 2 & also stocked up on loo rolls as there were packs with 3 free ones. It's still a lot of money for the first week since payday but we definitely have enough of everything ( maybe not milk if DD gorges on cereal & hot choc ) to get to the weekend so there should be at least 3 NSDs next week.

I've not done the exercise but cleaned the kitchen thoroughly including washing all the cupboards & kickboards & shining the sink . I've also cleared more stuff out of the wardrobe which makes me feel fat & frumpy & have put together a weeks work of outfits for work that make me feel confident & happy with my appearance, rather than worrying about it being appropriate. I think I've been there long enough now to be taken seriously when it matters.

I will also be wearing my 'protective bubble' ( thanks to Hypno :T) each day to enable me to do my job to the best of my ability without taking stuff personally, getting frustrated, wound up or sucked in to interdepartmental politics. Blimey, I'm going to need to put a good glug of Gordon in that bubble to counteract that lot :rotfl:

No direct debits due out next week so I've paid another £100 to Virgin CC which brings the total outstanding to £3,600.

Off to update sig,

night night
xx

Karmacat

Don't you just love coming back to your thread when there's several people posted I do!

Hope you slept well, Lula - you've got a busy week this week, your shopping is good tho - and I totally agree about the delivery charges. I bought a voucher from Thompson & Morgan, the gardening people, for my brother - and they've only gone and charged me £2.29 for delivery! Irks me somewhat, lets say :rotfl:

But, this thing about the rellies contributing. The text from you should now read as follows: "Am coordinating Xmas meal as agreed. But no rply my previous txts, so pls bring XXX[mince pies, pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce, sage and onion stuffing] I am providing [the settings, the turkey] as my contribution. I am *so* incensed on your behalf!

Souk08

Totally agree with KC Lula on the rellies thing. Only I'd kill them with kindness in my tone. Lots of thanks a lots and can't wait to see you's in there!!!! Deffo keep your feasting spends seperate so you can see what you spent. Lovley my slow cooker is a teeny Argos one, think it was £10/£12 but the thought of standing in Argos at this time of year is grim, I know!

Karmacat

Souk is right too! The tone has to be *nice*:)

taxi73

WE ALL PUT £10 pp in the kitty and give it to the person cooking ..this year DD1 and we all take our own booze.

NewlySingle

Lula-Hula wrote: »

I've not done the exercise but cleaned the kitchen thoroughly including washing all the cupboards & kickboards & shining the sink . I've also cleared more stuff out of the wardrobe which makes me feel fat & frumpy & have put together a weeks work of outfits for work that make me feel confident & happy with my appearance, rather than worrying about it being appropriate. I think I've been there long enough now to be taken seriously when it matters.

I will also be wearing my 'protective bubble' ( thanks to Hypno :T) each day to enable me to do my job to the best of my ability without taking stuff personally, getting frustrated, wound up or sucked in to interdepartmental politics. Blimey, I'm going to need to put a good glug of Gordon in that bubble to counteract that lot :rotfl:

No direct debits due out next week so I've paid another £100 to Virgin CC which brings the total outstanding to £3,600.

Off to update sig,

night night
xx

All that cleaning sounds like a proper workout to me (themostI do is a little Wii step andthat flying penguin thing
I need a bubble to go into too ~ especially if it's got a nice cold beer in it....then again, tonight might be better with a Neurofen cup of tea bubble!
Yay on the card payment :T

taxi73 wrote: »

WE ALL PUT £10 pp in the kitty and give it to the person cooking ..this year DD1 and we all take our own booze.

Sounds like a great idea :A
Nicx

museumworker

Ooh a tasty butcher, definitely worth hanging out there

Souk - much nicer put than I would about rellies chipping in!

Can I ask your advice Lula-Hula on a garden type matter. OH would like a decent garden fork for the allotment for xmas. He mentioned some posh brand I wasn't listening to, and now I need to order it. Could you recommend a decent fork I could get?

Souk08

Can't help thinking of Fork Handles - the Two Ronnies sketch!!!!