Trying to make my dreams a reality!!

icontinuetodream

Beckyy wrote: »

Hope your day brightens up a little bit :A

Thanks Beckyy....that's very kind!

Thankfully, I feel a lot better today....I have been given a tax rebate which has given me the financial cushion that I need in my bank until I get an income, I have done the food inventory and also a menu plan that will see us through to the end of March with the minimum of spends!!:D I am hoping that we can almost clear the freezer by then which will which will enable me to do a whole freezer full of homemade 'ready' meals for April.....less work that way!!:rotfl:

On top of that, I have done the shopping for the week and written the shopping lists for the menu plan so totally organised for the next few weeks....oh so virtuous!!!:A

DS & DIL have started on clearing the bricks out of the greenhouse ready for the great greenhouse turning and clearout tomorrow.....I need to get my sweetpeas in over the next couple of weeks as well as plant out my salad leaves and get some tomatoes started....I am really looking forward to getting all my veg on the go over the next eight weeks....it will be nice to finally have the garden in some semblance of order!!

Tomorrow will be hectic but productive, once the greenhouse is cleared and turned, I will plant out the bulbs which are currently just sitting in my kitchen (bought them cheap just before solstice).....we have started to use the washing line as dh cleared the box out of the way so hopefully will be able to utilise it again tomorrow with the weather promising to be better!! At some point next week, we will get the glass that we need for the greenhouse (lost two panels due to the wind) and then the potatoes which are currently chitting will be able to be put in there and I will finally have a kitchen with clear worktops!! Woohoo!!;)

Anyhoo, feel much better, finally getting organised and don't feel that I am in too much trouble anymore!! The financial situation was worrying me but this tax rebate has helped enormously to alleviate that pressure and now I can just enjoy my time off before I get a new job!!:j

icontinuetodream

Its been a hectic day!! Greenhouse has been turned and cleaned, just need to level the floor, re-lay the bricks and get everything back in it now, but that's a job for later in the week!!:j:j:j I have also planted my leftover bulbs and will get the rest of the things planted once the greenhouse is complete I can't begin to express the relief that this job has been done...its been on the list for so long I can't remember!!!:o The kitchen vista has improved dramatically now, it has really opened up the view from the dining table and the new flower bed looks huge now!!:T

NSD today......far too busy sorting the garden to venture away from the house!! Just a few things to slice and dice for dinner but I did most of the prep this morning before we ventured into the garden, so less than 15 minutes before dinner will be on and bubbling away!!:D I do so like the weekends!!;)

icontinuetodream

What a beautiful morning this morning is!!:D I took dh to work this morning as I need to the car today and it is really cold and frosty, foggy too but the sun was rising and breaking through the mist on the fields and it looked spectacular......it really makes it worthwhile being up at the crack of dawn!!;)

I have a busy day ahead, I am going to clean up the house a bit, walk the puppy, go into a local town to sort some paperwork, go to ald* to get some fruit and salad, pick up dh, pick up glass for the greenhouse and sort dinner...fortunately, I have a relaxing night ahead!

Tomorrow, I intend to get the greenhouse sorted - putting in the glass, levelling the floor, laying the bricks and putting the shelving back in (along with the other bits and pieces that it houses!:o) I will then be able to get my broad beans, tomatoes, sweet peas and pansies sown on Wednesday :j I will end up saving a fortune this summer now....I will hopefully have enough room to keep us going in veg for the majority of the season and also build a better stock of dehydrated and frozen veg and fruits

Not too much to report on the mf front....however, dh gets paid this week (and therefore so do I! ) and I am hoping to be able to transfer a bit extra at the beginning of next month...on the plus side, this will be the first month of my new recalculated lower mortgage payment so I will be 'OP'ing' approx. £83 extra now without even doing anything!! So much more coming off the capital every month is brilliant....shame I count the whole amount I pay off every month as opposed to just the OP part...it would look lots better on paper!!:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

icontinuetodream

Current status -

• Have set myself a £5 budget for milk only between now and the end of the February - as long as I stick to my meal plan this is more than doable. My meal plan currently runs until the end of March
• I have applied for two jobs - neither are ideal but the salaries are comparable to my last proper job so will be financially perfect.... One is a role I have done before but I have the skills and experience for both positions - one is fixed term and part time but will probably lead to a permanent full time position eventually. The other is full time but will require me to obtain transport - not a major issue, but an inconvenience and expense that I would have preferred to avoid.... I will be happy to get either of them though - despite wanting to do something new, I enjoyed my previous employment in this type of work and it will be a broader client base so at least that part of the job will change I won't know until the beginning of next month whether I have an interview for either.
• I have bought tomato, butternut squash and beetroot seeds to finish off my seed requirements for the year I still have to buy some raspberry canes.
• I have two cigarettes left....not saying anything else, but you get the drift
• Still have to sort the greenhouse and plant the seeds....ds hasn't been around the past couple of days to help with the heavy stuff but is back on the programme tomorrow so I will get it done then I have bought the glass though and dh is getting the fittings tonight, so I will have a fully glassed greenhouse by the end of the day!!
• House is still a mess....the puppy keeps trailing dirt through the house from the garden and I am getting to the point of despair!! However, once the greenhouse is sorted the compost bin can be rehomed along with the contents of the greenhouse and the mud mountain will subside....I will clean the house once it is done so that it is not a complete mess within seconds!;)

So, that's how it all is at the moment.....I am going to admit defeat on the mortgage payment front this month....I thought that I would be able to put more to it but will have to be satisfied with the £779 I have done....at least its better than nothing and I will do my absolute best to make March a better month :D

icontinuetodream

Best laid plans and all that......ds not available today after all so no further forward on the greenhouse front!!

On the mortgage front however, things have looked up...I received a refund from s*y which was completely unexpected so have paid another £41 towards the mortgage today!!:D

I am having trouble motivating myself today....I have been busy for the past few days and just want to sleep!:o I have decided that I am going to set a timer for an hour and then sort as much of the house out as possible within that time....what doesn't get sorted can wait until tomorrow after I have had a big fat snooze!!:D

mortgage_girl

Well done on the mortgage front ICTD :T you are doing amazingly well. It shows a real strength of character that you realised the job wasn't for you and walked away from it, I'm sure you'll find something perfect when the time's right - when one door closes, another opens and all that.


Keep your chin up chuck.


MGx

norfolkdream

Have just read the last few pages of your thread, it was like reading a book with all the ups and downs of the job front

Fingers crossed that you get offered the job you mostly want. It is nice for a while not being at work though isnt it. You can get so much done. I work part time but it scares me that once the kids are grown up I will have to go full time, I'll never get anything done haha.

You must have a huge amount of food in already if you have meal planned for 50 meals! I only do meal plans for 2 weeks and run out (apart from tins of soup and beans on toast )

I'll be watching with interest for the job news

icontinuetodream

norfolkdream wrote: »

Have just read the last few pages of your thread, it was like reading a book with all the ups and downs of the job front

Bit of an epic saga wasn't it!! :rotfl:

On the good news front.....my very short-lived employment has paid me for the two shifts I did!! I have paid an additional £102 to the mortgage this morning as a result!!!:j

And....My sis is coming over at the beginning of next month :jI am really looking forward to it as I absolutely love spending time with her and it may be a few months before we get to see each other again if I get a job soon so we need to make the most of my unemployment!!;)

I am going to clean the house and walk my puppy in a little while...I am hoping that ds will be back from gf's at some point this morning so that I can get the greenhouse work sorted this afternoon - if not, it will have to wait until the weekend when dh is available.....

Bad news front....there isn't one!! All is good in my world at the moment....no traumas make for a happy ICTD!!:D

icontinuetodream

mortgage_girl wrote: »

Well done on the mortgage front ICTD :T you are doing amazingly well. It shows a real strength of character that you realised the job wasn't for you and walked away from it, I'm sure you'll find something perfect when the time's right - when one door closes, another opens and all that.


Keep your chin up chuck.


MGx

Aargh!! Multi-quote didn't work!! :mad:

Thanks MG.....I will keep the faith!! And, you're doing brilliantly!!:D

icontinuetodream

Well, the weekend is upon us and I am hoping that I will get the greenhouse sorted today!! I have been given a link on another thread to a vertical bottle garden which is brilliant and I am now on a mission to save all my 2ltr plastic bottles to enable me to make a few

Had hm pizza for dinner last night....kids absolutely loved it as they got to put some weird concoctions together and we will definitely do it again...it has thrown my meal plan out a bit though as I have some of the tomato sauce base, some gammon, chicken and pepperoni left over so dh will have the pepperoni for lunch and I will chuck everything else in together and serve with pasta for dinner tonight.....

I have to rack some wine this weekend too....I have two demijohns of red which has finished fermenting - one elderberry dessert wine and a hedgerow wine which I started off last year....both of these are from fruits which have been foraged so very cheap to make I also have a 'kit' of 7 day stuff which I need to get started so that I have plenty for the summer!!!;)

Anyhoo.....one more cup of coffee required before I finally get my very unfit backside into gear.....hopefully I will still be able to move enough tomorrow to be able to report on garden progress!! :rotfl:

ETA: Just checked bank and made a tilly tidy of £1.59 to the mortgage!!