Finally I have a mortgage I can start to pay off!

themadvix

Morning all,

Didn't sleep well *again* last night - third night in a row - so very zombified today. Considering the volume of work to get through and the impending Brownie trip (with its associated preparations), this is not good. I am going to a pharmacy later to see what they've got that can help me (something natural, as if all else fails I'll dose myself with Night Nurse for a couple of nights!).

Fortunately work went well yesterday and I pushed myself to get to a point where I was happy I'd get it all done today. And I think I will, despite the sleep deprivation. Nothing more has come in overnight from the US, so apart from something I'm expecting from another client that has a longer deadline, all is well. This means I should be able to get my hair cut tomorrow morning (courtesy of BIL's GF), so I'll stop looking like the wild woman of Hertfordshire (I think it's been almost a year!). Annoyingly she seems reluctant to opt for an evening appointment (she works in retail, so it's her day off), which means it cuts into my working time. Still, for £15 I can't really complain. Wow.... that was a lot of waffle, sorry!

Today I will be focusing on finishing this work project, getting my evening class homework done and getting to evening class. An afternoon nap may be required.

MS things:
* VB poll, MS rewards, SBs done.

That's about it... I won't get around to invoicing or money shuffling today. Fingers crossed for a big PB win though :rotfl:

Gratitudes:
* A hot, caffeinated cup of tea - works wonders
* A sympathetic Mum
* The sunshine has returned. Will try to get out for a walk later.

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Morning all,

So busy at the moment, I shouldn't really be on here. Money shuffle completed. Won't have up-to-date figures until 6th (when Santa pays its incentive). Glad of the rise back to 5% on TSB (especially as it's still playing up!).

April was a spendy month (we paid the cc bills yesterday and there was far too much frivolous spending on them). So for May we need to batten down the hatches (I think this is a common theme on the board!). May is going to be a manically busy month, both workwise and at weekends, so it will be interesting to see if we manage it. A more detailed, though out plan will be posted, but I need to crack on with work now.

Library event yesterday was great, spent £1 (on top of ticket price) on parking, but found 22p road kill Went for an Indian for BIL's birthday last night - regretted saying yes really, but managed to only spend £20 between us (no starter, tap water, no naan.... but we had a good time and came home full!).

MS things:
* SBs, VB, MS
* YG survey
*£15 hair cut
* Walked to town for meal last night - saved fuel
* Got to buy bits for Brownies - will go to Coop over road instead of fuel to supermarket - they'll have what we need and if it's a little bit more expensive, the Brownies can afford it (really, they can - we practice thrift in our accounts to the extent that we are 'giving' them the spending money for thsi weekend as we just need to spend some of it! So corner shop hot choc prices are easily affordable!)

Gratitudes:
* Great afternoon yesterday (inc hm cake at the library, yum!)
* Chance to catch up with DH on walk to town
* Lovely meal in the evening with family
* Sunshine out today

Ooh, and my bargainous lavender plants arrived - all look very healthy and are sunning themselves. Will be gardening lots on Monday!

Have a great day all (and weekend if I don't make it here tomorrow).

themadvix

PS My Hali reward has been paid

edinburgher

Ooh, and my bargainous lavender plants arrived - all look very healthy and are sunning themselves. Will be gardening lots on Monday!

Inspired by the offer, I picked some up from L1dl. They were quite a bit larger (so more expensive), but they are hale and hearty, which is important when you're planting anything in Scotland. I got some nice cheap ceramic pots for them and they're covering up an ugly concrete slab in my front garden

try_harder

Im glad to hear you are back in the money now that you have your long awaited £3 TM , im just writing out my lists of what i would like to buy before i decide what i shall spend it on .Seriously though mine went straight in to my OP i expect yours did too .


I do hope you have had a better sleep the last 2 or 3 nights

themadvix

Ed - glad you got some lavender - wise move to go with bigger plants, mine will take a while to get established, but then I've got a while until I'll get round to sorting out where they're going.

try_harder wrote: »

Im glad to hear you are back in the money now that you have your long awaited £3 TM

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

It'll be used to fund my tosco DDs from that account, so technically into savings. Focus really needs to be on upping my holiday fund as we go in just over a month (DH has paid for accommodation and ferry) and I have £152 in the pot for spending!! :rotfl: when naughty US client pays up that will help a lot.

Sleep was much better Tuesday night, but despite tablets again last night, no so great (placebo effect, maybe?). Will persevere. I do feel more rested than I have done in a while!

In even better news, the work I was procrastinating about isn't half as bad to do as I thought, so feeling less stressed!

themadvix

'Less stressed'??? Less stressed???!! Who was I kidding?! Yet again I've been let down by others when it comes to fundraising - turns out what had been agreed at a meeting isn't going to happen.... To say I am *livid* is to put it lightly. :mad::mad: However, I have replied, with a very charitable response, have requested my contribution be returned for another occasion and have detached myself from the situation for the time being. As I'm sure you can tell!! (Am seriously considering my ongoing involvement with Girlguiding - this is just one of the many reasons)

In good news, we've been awarded another £2,000 grant, so we're halfway to our target. Other issues aside that is (small matter of some structural inspections to the building to be done!). And breeeathe.

Unfortunately what was going to be a NSD will now have to be a spend day as I stress ate some cereal with the milk DH needs for breakfast in the morning.... Oops. On the upside, if I'm spending, I'll buy the butter I wasn't going to buy and we'll have crumble and custard (I've heard it's good for stress ) Did I mention I'm apparently at the lightest I've ever been as an adult, not sure why, although giving porridge for breakfast most of the credit! So I can eat the crumble without guilt!

DH and I need to apply for a Nw Flex+ account tonight. A joint one will replace our breakdown cover and includes European, without exclusions for aged cars (of which we have two). It works out less expensive than paying out separately for the cover and has other benefits too. We'll be going to vote too.

Sorry about the ramblings/witterings.... feels good to let it out!

themadvix

Afternoon all,

Please ignore my rant above.... I wouldn't say things have been resolved (they haven't) but I'm ignoring the situation now and so you should all too!

Today is not a NSD - had to buy a snack for later on the coach, as I think we may be late for dinner - M25 on BH Friday rush hour, anyone? And we needed more sunscreen, as we only have one pot and DH and I will be in different places this weekend!

US client paid up, but I think I'll leave that in my business account until pay day. They owe me another big bill mid-month, but I suspect I'll have as much trouble getting out of them, so can't guarantee they'll pay before month end.

Am mostly packed now and getting quite excited about the weekend - so glad the weather will be nice. And two full days of not having to cook - what bliss!

MS things:
* 2.5 kg of rhubarb picked and stewed ready for freezer (one is even packed up as a crumble)
* VB poll and MS rewards done. CBA with SBs this morning and had quite a bit of work to get done.
* DH will use the St*rbucks credit (earned from SBs) to grab a breakfast tomorrow. He's off to a wedding this eve and staying over as it's an hour plus away. Opted for bargainous TL rather than the expensive hotels listed on the invitation - never ceases to amaze me that people think that spending out on an expensive hotel for *their* wedding is likely to be acceptable!
* Dad is feeding the kitties tonight as BIL is at wedding too. DH will be back in time tomorrow to give them breakfast = no cat care costs.

Gratitudes:
* For family members and good friends who understand the need to let off steam about things sometimes!
* For homegrown rhubarb that does its thing and produces *loads* of lovely food
* For the electoral officials, who must have had a pretty boring day carrying out their duties yesterday (turnout here was 34% ), but nevertheless were helpful and polite

Have a fantastic (hopefully sunny) long weekend everyone!!

Crumpets

themadvix wrote: »

I'm hopeful for the tombola... just hope the people running it have sense! Out of interest what would you suggest for ticket price for a bottle tombola? Some non-alcoholic, but hopefully mainly varieties of booze, all aimed at adults. £1? £2? It's not a particularly wealthy area, but not dire either.

We always do 5 tickets for £1 must end in a 5 or 0 to win

Crumpets

Hi MV, sorry to hear about your volunteering woes, it sounds incredibly frustrating. I'm glad you have managed to let off steam and are now ignoring the situation, ignorance is bliss

I really need to pick my rhubarb, it's gone wild and is actually blocking my other veg from getting the sun! We're having a barbecue on Monday with friends so I think I'll make a bit crumble for that. I'm not sure it's actually barbecue food but hey ho :rotfl:

have a fantastic sunny weekend!