Conquering Debts Once and For All...

Box_of_Fluffies

The curry last night was soooo good. The restaurant we get out takeout from is the best one we have found around our area. It's a tiny place with seating for only about 20 people. It's one of those places where they remember you. Was supposed to be having leftovers for lunch but Mr BoF made a salad for us both. :rotfl::rotfl:

Our few days away were amazing. We stayed in Auckland for an extra night and visited Waiheke Island where we did one of their winery tours. We travelled to three different wineries and after our visit to the first I was beginning to hope that we didn't get quite so much wine at the following vineyards. We tasted four different wines at the first and they were not small glasses. The setting for all three was spectacular.

We then stayed with friends for a couple of nights. They own some Alpacas and live in a great location with the most amazing views. We had plenty to eat and drink and generally just relaxed. We even did some stargazing in the evening. The night sky was just so clear as they live rurally where there are no street lights to cloud the view. I just wish we could have stayed a while longer.

It was an expensive few days but as mentioned in an earlier post it was budgeted for so all good.

Mr BoF received a tax refund. A massive $2.08. We also received a refund of $150 for some payment protection we had with our old bank in the UK. We hadn't even asked for it so it was a bonus. They even included interest. Bonus!

Will try and catch up with everyone's diaries later but I'm writing this post from work in my lunch break.

Box_of_Fluffies

It's official. I have osteo arthritis. No weight bearing exercise for me. I have to take 2 paracetamol 4 times a day for the next while. I'm not too keen on this but will see how i get on. I have booked a review at the gym to get a new programme.

DS2's birthday celebrations at the weekend went without a hitch and everyone appeared to have a good time.

it's going to be a busy week so not sure how much posting i will do in the next few days. More dr's appointments, this time for DS1 and meetings for our Asperger Support Group. We have a dtand at the Wellness Expo that is on this weekend.

brizzledfw

Boo to the arthritis. Sorry to hear that. Hope the anti-inflammatories help.

Pleased you had a great mini break..am very jealous

PinotGrigio41

Ooooh the mini break sounds just perfect.

Sorry to hear about he arthiritis, what a nightmare. Hopefully the meds will keep the pain at bay. xx

Box_of_Fluffies

Sorry I've been away so long. It's been a very hectic month and we lost internet access for a few days.

It was Mr BoF's birthday last week (Anzac day) so it was a weekend of celebrations as we are now also finally Kiwis! :j:j:j Our citizenship ceremony was held on Monday with the Lady Mayor of Hamilton and the Hamilton MP's in attendance. It a short but pleasant ceremony followed by photos in the Council Chambers.

We had a lovely long weekend relaxing weekend together. Mr BoF and I went to the movies on his birthday and saw the Monuments Men. Absolutely loved it. Even treated ourselves to a maple syrup and walnut ice cream. The following even we had a family dinner followed by another trip to the movies, this time we saw Captain America. It's not really Mr BoF's cup of tea, but it was a spur of the moment decision and it was the only movie showing at the time. Me and DS's enjoyed it.

I've been busy applying for a new job at work. I enjoy my current job but the one I applied for is less stressful and will be more flexible. It's something I've done before so I know I can do it.

On the budget front, well the birthday weekend was quite expensive but well deserved. Some of it was budgeted for, some of it not. Oops!

I have though somehow managed to pay over $1100 off the credit card. We also get an annual rebate on energy and we received that this month too, so that has gone away to cover the extra on one of our winter energy bills. :A

Mr BoF and me have also paid to have some more PT sessions. Mine are aimed at strengthening my knees while helping me to lose weight. Since January I've lost 7.6 kg (about 16 pounds) so I'm chuffed to say the least.

That's it for now. I will try and catch up on the diaries in the next few days, now I have the internet back.

Hope you're all well and enjoying the sunshine. x

brizzledfw

Great to have you posting again :T and congratulations :j Proper Kiwis now

Sounds like you are enjoying the lilies along the way, as FS would say. That's great. You need some upsides when busting the debt and an icecream and movie trip is often the way to do it!! And best of luck with the new job. Anything that is more flexible gets a thumbs up from me

grannyx2

Congratulations to you both and happy belated birthday to OH

Good luck with the job application

Granny x

Box_of_Fluffies

Sorry I've been missing in action for so long, I promise I'll try and post more regularly.

Work is crazy busy at the moment. All leave is on hold until September as we are now in our busy season. It's the end of the season so everyone is trying to get their records up to date before the new season starts on 1 June.

On the finance front, DS2 has had his child disability allowance stopped as the Dr ticked a different box on the new form. We've challenged this and the Dr has completed a new form as he thought he was ticking to say nothing has changed, DS2 still needs extra support. We will see where this leaves us but currently we are down approx $50 per week.

I've just sold a few items of clothing that are now too big :j and have some more auctions ending this week. Any money made will go towards paying off our CC.

Anyway, that's me for now, as I'm at work. Hope to catch up on the diaries later.

HappyNow

Whoop! Congratulations on being a proper Kiwi! I feel like doing some wild Maori dance in your honour, but I don't know whether that's politically correct, so have one of these

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> :j

Not so good about the osteo-arthritis though, I believe it can be very painful so take care of yourself at that gym.

77.39% paid off, well done. Won't be long now! xx

Box_of_Fluffies

I can't believe it's been nearly 6 weeks since my last post. Work is and has been so busy the time is just flying by. It won't really calm down until mid-September which seems an awfully long way away just now.

On the finance front, there is still no word on DS1's Disability Allowance. Mr BOF is chasing them up again this week. On a positive note, we managed to pay off the last credit card (sig has been updated). Now working to get the last of the business loan paid off by the end of the year.

We have still been working hard at the gym, although not for the past 10 days as I've had a horrible head cold, and are seeing some great results. In the 3 months with my personal trainer and changing my diet slightly, I have managed to lose 17 lbs and about 27cm from various parts of my body. My knee is bearing up much better and is less painful. The next few weeks will be the test as we are taking a break from the personal trainer to concentrate on paying more off our debts.

That's about it for now, doesn't really seem much of an update for 6 weeks but hope to be back soon.