SF's 2012 diary - the most exciting year yet!

slowlyfading

So, how is it Monday again already?!

Me and DH went to the pub last night to watch the England game - it wasn't particularly exciting and I'm tired this morning, so I'm somewhat glad that I won't have to go again on Thursday! we went with some other friends, so it was nice to see them and have a bit of a catch up

It should be a NSD for me today; I've bought a HM hcicken tikka wrap in for my lunch, along with a pear, some cherry tomatoes, a yogurt and a oat bar so I don't need to buy anything! I also intend to go on the exercise bike when I get home (see, now I've written it, I'll have to!).

Right then, a cup of coffee is calling my name! :coffee:

slowlyfading

HappyNow wrote: »

Hi Slowlyfading, I just wanted to say congratulations on everything you've achieved so far. Your wedding sounded lovely .

Thank you! wedding was lovely, it seems so long ago now

Really well done on getting your job. It seems a long time to wait until you start it, but I suppose that's normal in teaching. Hope you get lots of supply work/tutoring to see you through until then. Now you've got a firm job offer does that mean you can apply for a mortgage, or do you need to be in-post for a while? Looking for houses is so exciting!!

Thank you - it took me long enough! :rotfl: I haven't had the letter in the post yet with the official offer, and I'm not too sure if we'd get a mortgage whilst I'm not in the post yet? I think it might have to be that I work 3 months in and get 3 pay slips, and then we can think about it! Me and DH are planning on going to see a mortgage advisor in the summer, so hopefully we'll know more then

You have my sympathies over Mr SF's snoring! Mr Happy does the same, but I now have him trained to flip over when I dig him hard in the ribs and hiss abuse into his ear! It took me 20 years though, so while you're waiting do you have a spare bedroom to use when it's really bad? Sleep deprivation is a terrible thing....

Arrgh, I know, it's so annoying! :wall: we do have a spare room that I make him sleep in at times, just so I can get a bit more sleep! He's going to the doctors tomorrow about it, so hopefully something will be done then! Fingers crossed

About your personal issue. I hope you don't think I'm poking my nose in, and obviously I don't know what it is, but I just wondered why you feel you should wait to speak to someone and get help? If it's worrying you and you're struggling, I would have thought the sooner the better?

I don't think you're poking your nose in at all - the main thing is, for now, I want to see if I can do it myself, but if it becomes apparent that I can't, then I will look into seeing someone about it

Thanks for popping by!

slowlyfading

Arrrgh!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

Ever had one of those days?

Teenagers!! :wall: :wall: :wall:



And breathe...

taxi73

The grocery budget is always the hardest to keep to as prices change so much.I don't use big supermarkets now as they are so expensive.

Hopefully you can sort your personal problem SF but you must be ready for sorting it if you are thinking about it.

Teenagers..what can I say...mmm you have my sympathies as they can be a challenge

Jo4

slowlyfading wrote: »

Arrgh, I know, it's so annoying! :wall: we do have a spare room that I make him sleep in at times, just so I can get a bit more sleep! He's going to the doctors tomorrow about it, so hopefully something will be done then! Fingers crossed

I hope things have got better from your last post! I am glad to hear hubby is going to the doctors about his snoring, hopefully the doctor will be able to help and you'll get a better nights sleep!

slowlyfading

Thanks Jo!

DH is going to the doctors this morning about his snoring - so I'm hoping something will finally get done

Not got much planned today really, just work and then nothing much else, apart from an early night I hope! Tonight's tea is pea and bacon risotto, which is really easy to make and really tasty

Nothing else to report at the moment!

badger_

Great news about DH going to the Drs, hope you'll manage to get a good nights sleep soon!!

Jo4

I hope the doctor helps hubby with his snoring! Hopefully you'll have a wonderful nights sleep shortly.

DedicatedDFW

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Dedicated (SF hope you don't mind me butting in!) - where do you do your grocery shop?

If one of the big SM have you tried places like Al*di & Li*dl?

It does take a while to get used to the different products & my one word of advice would be to only buy one of something & try it - some things are fab but there will be some things that you prefer from elsewhere.

I keep 2 shopping lists:- the essential one that has stuff that needs to be replaced immediately at the next shop and the "top up" one where I note down things that last for ages (when I open the last jar/packet etc).

I take both lists with me but stuff from the 2nd list is only bought if it's on offer (and a decent one!) - if I get to the point of needing something from this list, it goes onto the essential list. Hope that makes some sort of sense!

I also bulk buy when stuff's on great offers (got all my wm liquid, fabric conditioner, household cleaning stuff for the year in March as there was great offers on).

I have a slightly different budget every 3rd month (see my sig) which is a stocking up month - things like loo rolls, kitchen roll etc - still getting used to this so the jury's still a bit undecided on whether this is worth it as I do tend to still buy stuff when offers are on. HTH

Hi rising and thank you so much for the advice - i do occasionally nip to L's and A's but to be honest alot of the standard stuff is dearer than my usual sm. i do stock up on offers when i can. One of my big difficulties is that my debt is mine (OH does not know about it) and he has expensive tastes on some food stuffs (these are got just for him) and as he had no debt and savings and works hard i can't change this as much as i have tried I am liking the idea of the 2 lists though

slowlyfading wrote: »

Gah, just wrote a long post and lost it! :mad: :mad:

Jo - I look on the BBC good food website a lot and I've also got a recipe folder with lots of print-outs and stuff in, which I look at often. I try and vary our meals, otherwise we both get bored! and thanks - this weekend has been a real wake-up call and I am more determined than ever to work on the issues and hopefully let some things go.

DedicatedDFW - :hello: and wow, thanks for reading through my whole diary! Hope you weren't too bored for both me and DH, not spending is a key step in being able to save so much. I think another thing is that we know, at the moment, it's definitely a shorter term thing rather than forever, if you see what I mean? I keep being distracted by homeware things, but I know we don't need them, so I can refrain... for now I love the NSD challenge here on MSE (it's on the DFW board, have a search for it!) and as I'm slightly competitive, it really helps for grocery shopping, I do a weekly menu and then look in the cupboards and see what we need to use up, and then write a shopping list accordingly. We really don't buy any extras, we rarely buy any alcohol and we don't buy many snacks and stuff either, especially as I'm trying to lose some weight I've got no qualms about using certain value brands (for example kidney beans at 18p a tin!) and that can bring it down a bit more does that help at all? don't apologise for asking questions!

rising - thanks, as always, for your advice

Not a boring diary at all hon I put the no spending into practice yesterday when i nearly bought a cheap meal for supper thinking how easy it would be - but i've got stuff in for supper so managed to hold back :T Was feeling pleased with myself until i came home and bought a book mind you it was the cheapest i could get it and hopefully a good investment

Hope todays a good day for you - and for everyone else too of course

Oops, nearly forgot - what is it with snoring OH's ? Grr! I am a very grumpy person without enough sleep and my fella wakes up full of the joys of spring after snoring his head off all night :mad: :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

slowlyfading

badger_ wrote: »

Great news about DH going to the Drs, hope you'll manage to get a good nights sleep soon!!

Jo4 wrote: »

I hope the doctor helps hubby with his snoring! Hopefully you'll have a wonderful nights sleep shortly.

Thanks guys

DedicatedDFW wrote: »

Hi rising and thank you so much for the advice - i do occasionally nip to L's and A's but to be honest alot of the standard stuff is dearer than my usual sm. i do stock up on offers when i can. One of my big difficulties is that my debt is mine (OH does not know about it) and he has expensive tastes on some food stuffs (these are got just for him) and as he had no debt and savings and works hard i can't change this as much as i have tried I am liking the idea of the 2 lists though

Not a boring diary at all hon I put the no spending into practice yesterday when i nearly bought a cheap meal for supper thinking how easy it would be - but i've got stuff in for supper so managed to hold back :T Was feeling pleased with myself until i came home and bought a book mind you it was the cheapest i could get it and hopefully a good investment

Hope todays a good day for you - and for everyone else too of course

Oops, nearly forgot - what is it with snoring OH's ? Grr! I am a very grumpy person without enough sleep and my fella wakes up full of the joys of spring after snoring his head off all night :mad: :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Please tell me to but out if I'm being nosey, but why does your OH not know about your debt? Can he buy his own food stuffs from his own budget? well done on resisting buying stuff in for dinner, and books are a neccesity in my book