un-hinged!

mary_hinge

....must oil that creaky door :eek: How's a girl meant to sneak in after been AWOL with all that racket!?

So Grandad Hinge had a right good send off, rightly so for such an amazing man. Many tears were shed and I feel completely wobbly but we are getting there.

I have been looking at our budget recently and planning ahead for Mr Hinge's departure in the next few months, Money wise I know we should be ok but I need a back up fund whilst waiting for single applications for tax credits and Housing Benefit.

I have:

• replaced my smashed iPhone thanks to my house insurance and plan on selling my broken one for spares on eBay.
• haggled over my broad band and phone and saved myself £12 a month
• renewed Miss Hinge's phone contract (her birthday in a few weeks) and negotiated a bigger discount and a better allowance for a cheaper monthly price
• Finally cancelled my monthly gym membership and fat club pass as although I need to lose weight these are costing me a fortune and realistically I am never going to use them. Too many excuses!! saving nearly £45 a month :eek:
• cancelled all the pet plans, pet insurances etc... for the fluffies we no longer have and reduced the ones we have to the most basic needed.
• Listed several bundles of very expensive hand dyed wool for sale, it is lovely to have but very unlikely I will use it and would rather have the £100 it is worth
• 4 more huge bin bags of clothing gone to the weigh in place, only £18 made but the space is priceless.

Miss Hinge has a place on the local swim squad the trainer is very understanding if her disability and how much she can be pushed, it was awesome to see her back in the water and even more so to see her enjoying herself and doing well.


Superman is driving me loopy, he has turned his "no sleep" up a notch and it is killing me. sleep deprivation is torture and both Him and I are over emotional stroppy wrecks most of the time I have chased his referral to sleep clinic and will keep pushing as this just can not go on. I can not go on.


Master Hinge is doing well albeit toddler dictatorship most of the time :rotfl: his preschool account is in credit so his fees are paid until the end of term, no top up to pay :j another £13 saved weekly.


Superman has 2 birthday parties coming up and his birthday is between them. He is asking for a birthday party but has settled on a day out with his best friend (paid for by Tesco days out vouchers ) I have managed to pick up some Lego as presents for his school friends using the vouchers from WhSmith. Superman is determined he wants a metal detector for his birthday to find treasure and gold and make us all rich :A:A ...... I can picture myself now raiding the charity shops for costume jewels and randomly burying them in the back garden :rotfl::rotfl:


I am saving hard on my points cards, £2 and 20ps:


Boots £18.45
Tesco £27.50 in vouchers

Nectar £9.45
£2 £40
20p £32.20


my survey accounts have been very neglected and I must do better.... I plan to catch up on all in my inbox tonight after I have settled the little H's in their rooms.



The F&F I made to one of my creditors of 20% got rejected, they seemed to of added 2 of my debts together and will only deal with them as 1 account not the 2 they are. Hey ho I can't afford to give them what they are asking for so they can go whistle until 2019 :rotfl:


Mrs H...... who will try harder!

please-let-me-be-lucky

Erm, you made a typo. That last line should actually read ....

Mrs H ..... Who is a bloody marvel and is doing exceptionally brilliantly under the circumstances!!!!

All good stuff (except the sleep deprivation bit). Take care you Xx

mary_hinge

please-let-me-be-lucky wrote: »

Erm, you made a typo. That last line should actually read ....

Mrs H ..... Who is a bloody marvel and is doing exceptionally brilliantly under the circumstances!!!!

All good stuff (except the sleep deprivation bit). Take care you Xx

I just feel like we are surviving and existing rather than living if that makes sense?

I saw in your diary about the work group :j well done!!

please-let-me-be-lucky

It makes perfect sense. You will feel like a new woman if you manage to get the sleep thing sorted though.

Cheers re Support Group, a massive weight has been lifted! You'd know all about that after Missy Hinge's DLA fiasco! Xx

mary_hinge

please-let-me-be-lucky wrote: »

It makes perfect sense. You will feel like a new woman if you manage to get the sleep thing sorted though.

Cheers re Support Group, a massive weight has been lifted! You'd know all about that after Missy Hinge's DLA fiasco! Xx

:eek: don't remind me!! the renewal pack will be falling on my door mat around christmas time :eek:

mary_hinge

:beer:

another month passes by reminding us at how fast this year is flying.

Mammoth clear out operation is underway in the House of Hinge in preparation for Mr Hinge moving out, 9 black bags of tat gone to the tip today, another 5 black bags of old clothing to the cash weigh in shop.... £18.43 for the trouble :jand a few niggly DIY jobs are under way as living like this is making me blinking miserable and maudling! :rotfl:

Another 10 hours over time slotted in last night which will help towards the pot, birthday and holiday funds! .....not long to go until Superman turns 6 :eek: and Missy Hinge 10 :eek::eek: birthday preparations are underway, tickets booked for the West Midland safari park using Tesco vouchers :T I love a free day out :rotfl:....... exchanged another £10 clubcard vouchers for £50's worth of entry vouchers which will see us another free 2/3 days out in the summer :j Missy Hinge has decided she wants to take a friend bowling for her birthday, mission for next week is hunt out the best deals:money:
I like to think I am quite savvy when it comes to making the most of deals and offers/vouchers for days out but I was completely unaware we can buy yearly passes for merlin attractions.... sealife center, legoland, alton towers etc etc.... currentky until midnight to night they have 25% off yearly passes, with the children's free carers passes it will be £240 for the year for unlimited visits...... I need to do some serious thinking and number crunching before midnight :rotfl:

This week has been a week for hospital appointments and me running round like a blue ar$£d fly...... being at the right hospital at the right time on the right day helps

I have made the executive decision to pay privately for Missy Hinge to see the uk's top specialist as we are been passed from pillar to post with little benefit other then to amuse these people with her bendiness and "party tricks". £350 for the assessment but this will give us the answers we need and no further tests should be needed as the nhs have her blood results and I can take a copy of them with me.

How is everyone else holding out?

Mrs H...... who will really appreciate her bed tonight!

Eager_Elephant

Well done on the clearing out!! I bet the house doesn't look that much different:rotfl:

Did you buy the Merlin passes?

I agree about paying privately for Missy H - it's definitely the right thing to do.

We often go private with our children - DS has hypermobility but manages really well and is not very severe; the GP said he could could see a peaditrician but this would take months. We paid for him to see an Osteopath privately and he did a course over 8 weeks and now we go back when it is needed.

DD tore her ligaments in her knee on a trampoline, the hospital only cared that it was not broken but she had problems running at school - her knee often gave way and she would fall on the floor. Again we paid privately for a Physio and he has done wonders - he says she should have been referred by the hospital at the time as it would never heal without physio.

And as you probably know DH has acupuncture privately - he has been going for 3 years now. I don't even want to add up what it has cost but he wouldn't be working now if he did not have it and he would have a life of benefits. There is a lady at work who has really bad migraines and I suggested acupuncture and she said she couldn't afford it and just has time off - I know it is a personal choice but I am sure she would benefit from it.

After all my ramblings how soon can you see the specialist?

mary_hinge

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

Well done on the clearing out!! I bet the house doesn't look that much different:rotfl:

Did you buy the Merlin passes?

I agree about paying privately for Missy H - it's definitely the right thing to do.

We often go private with our children - DS has hypermobility but manages really well and is not very severe; the GP said he could could see a peaditrician but this would take months. We paid for him to see an Osteopath privately and he did a course over 8 weeks and now we go back when it is needed.

DD tore her ligaments in her knee on a trampoline, the hospital only cared that it was not broken but she had problems running at school - her knee often gave way and she would fall on the floor. Again we paid privately for a Physio and he has done wonders - he says she should have been referred by the hospital at the time as it would never heal without physio.

And as you probably know DH has acupuncture privately - he has been going for 3 years now. I don't even want to add up what it has cost but he wouldn't be working now if he did not have it and he would have a life of benefits. There is a lady at work who has really bad migraines and I suggested acupuncture and she said she couldn't afford it and just has time off - I know it is a personal choice but I am sure she would benefit from it.

After all my ramblings how soon can you see the specialist?

We are seeing Professor Rodney Grahame who is the UK's leading specialist in Hypermobility syndrome and Ehler-danlos syndrome. He is fully booked until August :eek: but it will be worth the wait and the travelling to London
Missy Hinge is frustrated at the conflicting advise we keep receiving and is starting to question the health professionals when she feels they are giving duff information!
We looked at the osteopath route for Missy Hinge but because her joints dislocate and her ligaments tear so easily they felt she needed specialist treatment.

The living room looks marginally better and a bit more spacious :rotfl:

I did indeed buy the merlin passes, we have decided they will be the main parts to the children's birthday presents as family always give them money and we buy what they want. We plan on going to Alton towers for father's day!

How are you getting on with the GF eating?

Eager_Elephant

I suppose August is not too bad, at least it will be the school holidays so you won't have to worry about school pick ups.

Thanks for asking, the GF eating is amazing - I feel so much better for it. It is interesting having to learn to cook properly fraom scratch - I mean I can cook but during the week I would usually do a veggie thing such as a kiev or burger with potatoes or veggie mince in something but as I can't have any of that I have to really think about what I am having.

I did a lovely sheperdess pie on Sunday, with all the lentils you could not tell it did not have veggie mince in.

mary_hinge

June sales totals so far £123 out of £250 target :T half way and it is only week 1 I will get 12months car tax for the first time ever :rotfl:

£2 saves £48 :j
20p saves £37 :j

debt stands at £19,700 and I am on target to be below £18,000 but the new year with DMP repayments, I am aiming to beat that I want to be £15,000 for 2015........ best get making money :rotfl:

I have accepted a new job which will see me earning the same wage but will reduce parking and petrol costs by 75%, I will be working 2 night shifts a week will be home in the day and juggle all the appointments with out running around like a ar$3d fly :cool: will certain help improve the tidiness of the house and should see the food bills fall if I have more time to shop around and be more organised. :eek:

This weekend is preparation for Superman's birthday next week, except he doesn't like surprises so no wrapping presents and he has pick his own card and opted for a shop bought cake.... :rotfl: a giant jaffa cake no less.

Mrs H x