The Tougher Thread continues.....

pukkamum

bluebag wrote: »

Ah! thank you so much, but that would involve that awful thing 'effort'. Do you know of anything that would suit the bone idle?

I always put a little dab of nail polish on the waistband of mine when i was at home with 2 sisters who bought very cheap tights and tried to 'swap' them with my very expensive ones!!!!

SDG31000

nursey3 wrote: »

Good evening all,
I've just found this thread and would like to join in...but it looks like I have a fair amount of reading to catch up on!



Waves to SDG..:j If you're who I think you are, then I have a bouncy one here, beside me, wondering when you're bringing the kitchen aid to visit!

Nursey3 aka Ellie

*massive hugs to nursey3 and the bouncy one* :D:D:j:j:j

Fingers crossed DH's expenses have come into the bank and we and the kitchen aid mixer will see you next week. xxxx

pukkamum

cleggie wrote: »

Hi all!
Have dropped the kids at school and dont have to be in uni yet, so thought i'd catch up!
A little 'about me' ( gosh, i feel this is a bit like 'blind date' ) i am single mum with 2 lovely children, they are 11 and 7.
I am also a mature student (but i dont act mature- i prefer the term 'life educated' LOL!!) at uni, doing my degree in Psychology, and am in my final year.
I dont have tonnes of debt, but i have a very small income with which to clear it, so its taking a while!
I am now slowly becoming a tight wad- something i never saw coming! I dont like to spend money unless i have to!
I am too living in poverty, but to be honest i dont really feel like we are as of yet! I have a house to live in (rented from council), food on our plates and can pretty much afford to pay the bills, so all is reasonably OK. Like Katieowl, i have to work hard at being OS to make sure it stays that way, but we do OK!

My biggest challenge to date is Christmas- my LBM was in Feb, so have yet to 'do' an OS Christmas and am starting to panic as i need a tree and decorations, as well as presents for my kids...and i have a small budget!

Well, thats me!

We made lots of decorations for our tree last year and the kids loved it, we made a ton of popcorn and dyed it pretty colours using food dye then threaded onto cotton as tinsel, also made salt dough and cut out and decorated xmas trees stars etc.
We made xmas bunting using cheap paper xmas tablecloths and fabric we found in charity shops.
I am doing a lot of my xmas shopping on ebay and or charity shops, once it's wrapped whos to know plus you don't have tons of packaging to get into on xmas morning.
Lyla loves barbies and i have already ordered 11 pairs of barbie shoes for £2 from china and there are tons of barbie clothes etc on there.
Hope this helps love xxxx

rachbc

I made cinnamon tree decs last year - using a huge bag of cheap cinnamon from the asian store - miked with pva and somat else that I can't remember then rolled and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. They smell amazing and look like gingerbread but last forever! Google cinnamon dough if you are interested!

Working this morning then off for our ferry this eve. I have made a picnic for on the boat as I know the food with be ££ and not much good -pizza, pasta salad, a big bag for fruit and some treats from B&M. Juice, more furit and homemade cereal bars for breakfast. All helps keep the costs down. We are self catering so I have loaded the car with stuff form the store cupboard - some not especially OS but I don't want to be doing much cooking - jars of sauce won't hurt for a weekend. I have to say I do have a soft spot for forgein supermarkets so we shall call into at least one for fresh stuff. Never been to Holland before - anyone know any essential dutch phrases??

Bigjenny

Lovely morning here in South Lincs, have windows open and washing out.

Steak and Kidney in the slow cooker, already smells nice, one for tonight with mash and veg and three for the freezer.

Off to Mr A for shopping a then final tidy of the garden, will have to brave climbing up on the bank as the weeds are waving at me.

Have a good day.

Softstuff

rachbc wrote: »

Never been to Holland before - anyone know any essential dutch phrases??

The only Dutch I know comes from my misspent youth selling towels on a market in Turkey, where one of the phrases to yell out was "goedkoper dan zwarte markt beverwijk". Which is something to the effect of "cheaper than beverwijk market". Can't imagine that being a great deal of use :rotfl:

Seems there's a few of us been getting Christmas prep underway. I've been making cupcake toppers, little mini flags for cupcakes, and felt tree decorations. This evening I'm also getting my mincemeat soaking. Quite optimistic about Christmas really, now that I have all the ingredients for mincemeat, Christmas cake and pudding.

Love to all you oldies and newbies, they say that sex sells, but I didn't think some naughty chat in the tough times thread would attract new posters! I'm thankful they haven't found a way to tax that yet, I'm sure they're working on it.

VJsmum

rachbc wrote: »

I have to say I do have a soft spot for forgein supermarkets so we shall call into at least one for fresh stuff. Never been to Holland before - anyone know any essential dutch phrases??

"Do you speak english" is a good one :rotfl: - many do in any case.

I love foreign supermarket - and Albert Hein is a good one - luvverly cakes, but the bags for life are a bit boring. I have a thing for buying reusable bags from foreign supermarkets, (only those around £1), some are lovely and remind of nice sunny days and happy times while i'm trudging round the supermarket. My husband hasn't yet been forgiven for allowing an american one to get chewed by mice in the garage.

pukkamum

oooh lucky you going to Holland i love it there me and DH are hoping that my pennie jar will eventually lead to a trip to Amsterdam just me and him with perhaps a sneaky visit to a coffee shop or two!!!!
You must try Fritte Saus (sp) it is a mayonnaise type sauce they have with chips and it is sublime, i have searched endlessly to get it here but no luck so far and a trip to the Netherlands just for sauce isn't very MSE!!!!

JosieJump

Energy saving bulbs and timers

GQ - just had a quick surf and wikipedia says that mechanical timers are fine but electronic ones may not work at all, may shorten the life of the bulb or may cause the bulb to flash when off.

maryb

I've used mechanical timers no problem with table lamps with low energy bulbs. When we go away, I set a couple to come on for a few hours in the evening so it looks as if there is someone at home