Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

CRANKY40

Like Slowlyfading I am just plodding along at the moment. I cleared out the last of the late MrC's clothes from our bedroom last week....and found £10 in a trouser pocket. It was like getting a present. I feel bad as my friend took the clothes to the tip for me. When MrC first died I gave all the stuff he hadn't worn in the last two years to the charity shop, and his really good coat went to my uncle, but we live in a small place and I'm not really ready to see people walking round in his favourite clothes.

Yesterday I made some home made ready meals for the freezer. I made 6 portions of lasagne and 4 portions of spag bol. I also made 21 chocolate fairy cakes with wholemeal flour and omega 3 eggs for the small person and friends. He doesn't like wholemeal bread, but there are sneaky ways of getting goodness in.

I cancelled my old car insurance and found somewhere £85 cheaper for the year, so I was pleased with that (plus £10 cashback from Quidco). Other than that, not a great deal is happening.

Any news of your man Cheryl? Hope you're both ok.

Take care all of you.

cw18

CRANKY40 wrote: »

Any news of your man Cheryl? Hope you're both ok.

To the best of my knowledge he's not heard from the hospital yet - and I'm almost 100% certain he'd tell me if he had (he held back from telling me he had a GP appt about the problem the day before he ended up in A&E, but says that was because he didn't want me worrying. now it's all "in the open" between us I don't think he'd keep it from me)

But he's been spending this weekend with his family (short notice family celebrations), so I've not heard from him since just before he set off to his parents place on Friday evening. I know he didn't plan on telling them before further tests were done, but at the time he also didn't expect to be seeing them before then..... so I'm not sure if he'll tell them before leaving today or not. If he does, then I can see tonight being a tough one on the phone

He's supposed to be coming here next weekend so he can 'chill out' away from his problem neighbour (and we can finally get some face-to-face time since his hospital visit), but we still need to firm up plans.

I may also be about to 'test' our friendship. We're both happy with being just friends (something we both need), but I've been asked out on a date by someone else - and I'm not sure how current friend will take it, nor how the other fella will accept the fact my best/closest friend is male (something I'd rather tell him face-to-face, so if we do go out I'll be making every effort to make sure it's a very low-key evening!)

I haven't totally agreed to the 'date' yet, but am seriously tempted..... just depends on when we can get together, as our free time doesn't mesh particularly well over the next couple of weeks (due to him working shifts, and me having tentative plans for next weekend which I'm not going to cancel or try and re-arrange for another time).

CRANKY40

Go on your date. The free time thing will come together eventually if it's meant to be. When I started going out with MrC, he had to spend 4 months at the other end of the country for training almost immediately. I still ended up marrying him though.

minnie2

argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! help!!!!!! we have a leak in the roof spotted it last night in our second bedroom,had one of my kids staying over hence why i was in there.Theres a massive stain appearing on ceiling and wall. not good!!! worse thing is i ran through to hubby screaming and he calmly tells me he know and apparently its been like it for a while, when asked not so politely why the hell he hadnt said anything he said he assumed i knew about it! argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no i did not and surely if i did know i would have done something about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what is the matter with him??????!!!!!!!!!!!! then he says dont worry the insurance will pay for it!! - yes but our premiums will go up we have to pay an excess plus if something had been done about it sooner it may have been a small job we couldve just had done - now it may be a big one!!!!!!!!! he says the bit on the wall wasnt that far down last time he saw it- i asked how long since he spotted it and he just says a while.i am banging my head against a brick wall with him!! i love him dearly but hes such hard work! why did he not think to mention it?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cw18

Friday night has been suggested (by him), but I've told him I can't say yes until I know if my weekend plans start on Friday evening or at some point on Saturday (I just haven't told him what I'm up to for the weekend, other than spending it with a friend I've not seen for a few weeks which is true!).

This is my I need to try and firm up plans with my friend, but I don't want to tell him why I need to know sooner rather than closer to the time as I'm pretty sure he'd then say Saturday (whatever he'd planned) or call off the weekend completely (which I don't want to happen).

Feel a bit as if I'm between a pillar and a post at the moment

cw18

minnie2 wrote: »

why did he not think to mention it?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'cos he's a bloke :rotfl:

seriously, mine would have been exactly the same - and in fact he was.

I spotted a water mark on the living room ceiling (clearly from the family bathroom), and was told it had appeared "a while back" but had become more noticeable "in the last week or two". He couldn't understand why I promptly pulled the side off the bath to look for a leak (having done some measurements to figure out as closely as possibly whereabouts in the bathroom it was coming from), and positively gloated when I couldn't find anything....

In the end I've had to accept it appears to be from teenage boys not positioning the screen properly when using the over-bath shower, but I still need to re-paint the ceiling to try and hide the marks

CRANKY40

My thoughts for what they are worth.....your ill friend often seems to cancel plans anyway, so go with the Friday night, and tell the other friend you will be available from Saturday morning. If your friend comes on Saturday morning he will have all day Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday to chill. That is plenty.

minnie2

cw18 wrote: »

'cos he's a bloke :rotfl:

seriously, mine would have been exactly the same - and in fact he was.

I spotted a water mark on the living room ceiling (clearly from the family bathroom), and was told it had appeared "a while back" but had become more noticeable "in the last week or two". He couldn't understand why I promptly pulled the side off the bath to look for a leak (having done some measurements to figure out as closely as possibly whereabouts in the bathroom it was coming from), and positively gloated when I couldn't find anything....

In the end I've had to accept it appears to be from teenage boys not positioning the screen properly when using the over-bath shower, but I still need to re-paint the ceiling to try and hide the marks

i dont understand him at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its a good 2ft wide and coming down the wall too does he not think it needs sorting and why the hell is it always up to me!! and infact this one was left up to me even though i didnt even know about it!!!!!!!!!!!! this could be a serious problem and hes left it for weeks and weeks.
He goes into the room more than i do as his darts board is in there.Which is another prob as i constantly tell him to take the darts out and put in a red box in a cupboard when the kids are here - and i found a hole in the wall last night too under the darts board so clearly hes not been taking them out! The kids have got special needs so they are just going to throw them because they are there etc


So i have a hole and a leaking roof to deal with! and a husband who has no idea!!!!!!!!! i feel close to breaking point with him - he is worse than our kids even though theyve got special needs - they tell him what he should have done and show him what to do etc.How can someone not think to that extent?!!

I dont know whats making me cry more - the fact we have a leak or that my hubby is the most stressful element to my life - he makes thinks worse all the time - he does everything wrong and i end up having to do it all again.

Oh had another nice surprise Friday Next have taken £46 out which there is no budget for - oh yes apparently he owes £350 but its ok because it was bought before we started this thread in January!!!!!!! argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he keeps moving the goal post all the time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

miss_empty_piggy

Big Hugs to you Minnie2 - you sound very frutstrated and no wonder!!!

cw18

CRANKY40 wrote: »

My thoughts for what they are worth.....your ill friend often seems to cancel plans anyway, so go with the Friday night, and tell the other friend you will be available from Saturday morning. If your friend comes on Saturday morning he will have all day Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday to chill. That is plenty.

He's more likely to be planning to come over on Saturday anyway, so I probably will.

Silly thing is I'd be thrilled for him if he had a date - and would be waiting for a call to hear how it all went - but for the first time can't even anticipate how he'll react !! Totally stupid of me to be like this over something that was bound to come up at some point.

At least I've got some overtime money in my 'for fun' pot to cover an outing (or three)

And I've got more o/t to come in my next wage pack (worked extra hours in the week before I was off, and have extra hours this coming week and the one after which will all be in my next pay pack), so that will hopefully cover a few more