MFW Diary.....before moving in!!!

LauraWxx

Morning all...I would say happy monday but they are never a happy time...especially when it is freezing and covered in snow outside!!

Very productive weekend my end...lots of things organised...will updated last weekends list in a min.

Spends wise...a couple of ££ spent on fruit for the week. About £25 spent out of 'my spending money' although to be honest it was all stuff for the flat...did a B&M's run so things like washing powder, kitchen roll and a set of plastic draws to put in our storage cupboard.

No spends really planned for this week apart from petrol on Wednesday and parking at uni for the last time!!
We had discussed going out for dinner on Wednesday night to celebrate me finishing uni but will prob stay in...especially if it is cold!!

off to update the list!

I will leave you with the thought that my bf went to work in his shorts today :eek::eek::eek: mad man!!

LauraWxx

LauraWxx wrote: »

Sorry to be boring guys but I like a list and I have lots to do this weekend. Being a bit naughty I have managed to do lots of unii work this morning at work which free's up tomorrow for me. so I have batch cooking and organising galore planned. List needed to keep me on track!!

Batch Cook -
1. Roast Potato's & Portion (so bf can have still have roasties whilst i am eating rabbit food and to save time in the week). Not done - No room in freezer after the rest of batch cooking!
2. Bolognese Lunches - Mine, low fat version. Done :j
3. Bolognese Lunches - BF's normal version. Done :j
4. Cottage Pie Base - Out of Turkey MinceDone :j
5. Tomato / Onions / Mushrooms / Herbs sauce base used for Meatballs & Seafood Spaghetti over the next few weeks. Done :j
6. Chicken Pasta Lunches - Me Not done - No room in freezer after the rest of batch cooking!

Organise -
1. Organise Wardrobes and make room for all bf's stuff. Now Done :j
2. I am already pretty up to date with washing but do any other loads including clothes the bf brings to move in. Now done - so many loads of washing this weekend to do all the clothes the bf bought with him I have lost count! :j
3. Re-do freezer inventory and check meal plan for 11th-25th of Jan to see if any meals can be made using freezer stuff. Done :j
4. Sort through all clothes not wanting to keep from wardrobe sort out - anything decent put on ebay, scrap the rest. Done - 10 items now on ebay, most of whichh with watchers already! :j
5. Wash bedding set that I am selling on ebay, Iron and package ready to be sent to winning bidder. [COLOR="rgb(46, 139, 87)"]Done (did mid week) :j[/COLOR]
6. Put up curtain pole in Bedroom and turn Curtains upOoops not done - next weekend! Oops still not done...now next next weekend!
7. Touch up paint in hall where walls have been knocked over xmas. Ooops not done - next weekend! This aswell still not done - def next weekend!

Wow thats a lot of stuff to do!!:eek::eek:

So most of the organising is done as was the batch cooking. Next weekend I need to concentrate on getting the decoration finished. Paintwork needs touching up, curtain poles and curtains put up etc. We also had a bit of an accident yesterday where the bf spilt a black candle on the carpet, the table it was on and up the wall a little bit :eek::eek:, managed to get the wax out of the carpet fine but there is a stain left. Need to get some decent stain remover an tackle that in addition to touching up the wall and ideally sanding and re-varnishing the table (only a small side table).

Just made me chuckle... Monday morning and I am already planning next weekends activities!

B-J-D

very organised lauraw!! i bet you feel great tickin all them things off your lists?! have a good week x

LauraWxx

Thank you BJD, i love a list!!!

LauraWxx

Hi all hope everyone is well, hectic few days for me but I can now officially say I have finished Uni :j:j:j

Going to be out for a cheapy pub meal on saturday night and a wine or two to celebrate!!

It is very cold here in the midlands, prediction of 13cm of snow overnight are getting me nervous...I hate driving in the snow, so have already asked the boss if I can work from home tomorrow if we have snow, to which he was fine with.

Money wise not much to report...had to draw some cash yesterday from the spends account and I noticed by not going out much at the weeeknd, i still had a lot of petrol left by yeseterday (fill up day). I currently spend £35 per week on petrol but would hope that with no more trips to uni I can cut this to £30 per week and then ideally stop doing all the silly little trips and get it down to £25 per week.

Some thought is needed as to what to do with my car, coming up to having had it for 2 years, was a 3 year deal although i know they will try to talk me into swapping it early. Prob wont do that but I do want a clear plan of what to do with it after the three years.

Food is getting low in the flat but we are sticking to meal plan well...although did have to slightly re-jig at the beginning of the week. Couple of extra bits and pieces need picking up (i may attempt aldi or just send the bf).

£50 then left to spend on food shopping to see us to the end of the month and I want to start making much more use of the slow cooker, absolutely sick to death of getting in about 6.30 - 7pm from work, then a gym class or something resulting in not getting dinner cooked and served till 9pm ish :eek::eek:

In fact will go and have 5 mins on menu planning now.

Still on the countdown for February when we start a joint shopping budget and the bf starts contributing....those savings should grow quickly!!

Hope all are well and manage to get home tonight before the snow sets in!!!

misscousinitt

It certainly is cold here in the midlands - glad i'm in the office this lunchtime.

Yay to finishing Uni - can I ask where you have been studying? I went to UCE which is now City of Birmingham University. (You don't have to tell me if you rather you didn't as its an open forum!).

Hope it doesn't snow that much - I hate driving in the snow too - we have a big hill on the way to work which I can't avoid and its hairy when its snowed! And there is absolutely no chance of any of us working from home!

Good luck with the meal planning.

MCI

LauraWxx

Snow snow snow:snow_laug:snow_grin:snow_laug:snow_grin...its all I have thought about the last few days!! made it into the office today (worked from home on Friday) but only came in because I have someone coming to see me today. Already fired off the email to the boss asking if I can work from home again tomorrow if the weather continues to be bad (forecast to).

Not much money spent over the weekend...due to not really being able to get anywhere, apart from £20 (budgeted for) spent at the pub (walking distance) on saturday night when I went for dinner and a few drinks with a friend.

All organising has been finished....even had an hour sorting all paperwork yesterday and filing in correct place. Painting touch ups have been done, curtian pole and curtains put up in the bedroom so that with the blind looks lovely now...and very 'dressed'!

The diet has gone a bit to pot being in the house all weekend..been picking at all sorts....to make matters worse my friend who i went out with on Saturday night (and she stopped the night) bought with her cookies, cupcakes and minstrels :eek::eek:

MCI - I went to UCB right in brum centre....will be glad to not have to pay parking and petrol costs anymore :j:j

LauraWxx

Cant believe I forgot to update...The best news from the weekend.....I have received the refund check from Persimmon for the maintenance paid so that is £237 to go into savings account (thought it would only be around £200). However I am not sure when I am going to be able to pop to bank to pay cheque in. Hopefully tomorrow but if not perhaps Wednesday afternoon.

I have also sold a top on ebay for £15 plus 3 p&p and have a number of other items finishing tomorrow night, some of which have minimal (99p) bids on.

Have got the all clear to work from home tomorrow, this will mean I will have saved 2 work days worth of petrol this week (petrol week = Wednesday - Tuesday)...and barely used the car at the weekend so may only put around £20 worth of petrol in on Wednesday. I don't like having the tank totally full as for some reason I am convinced it then uses more petrol!!

LauraWxx

woohoo some more good news...i have agreed a settlement claim for £1600 so hopefully a cheque should be sent soon.

Popped into aldi last night for a tin of beans and bottle of lemonade and ended up spending £10ish. It is one of the first times i have been shopping since xmas as I have been doing the online shopping.

I'm undecided what to do, on one hand I like the convenience of on-line shopping, the money it saves in terms of not throwing extra bits and bobs in the trolley, but on the other hand unless i have it delivered every week i will still need to pop to aldi (or send the bf) for milk and fruit and I know Asda (even though prob one of the cheaper of the big 4), it is still not as cheap as Aldi. Need to give some thought as to what to do.

Working from home so a bit of a longer time in bed but lots to do so busy busy now!

Will be popping out later today to the post office and the bank (next to each other) to post a parcel and pay in the refund cheque.

Hope all have a good day xx

LauraWxx

Morning all...wow this week has flown...i think working from home makes it feel like it has gone quicker!

I had yesterday afternoon off and went to do my food shopping, went to the meat superstore (good for buying stuff in bulk but as only shopping till the end of the month didnt get too much) and bought a tray of chicken breasts. There were 13 massive chicken breasts (double the size of normal breasts) in the tray and it cost £20. I used some yesterday for cooking and freezing (more on this in a sec), chopped some up and froze in portions and froze 4 whole.

I then went to M0rriesons and did the rest of the food shopping, some good offers on the meat (pork shoulder half price) and salmon (almost a whole side for £4) but still spent near on £65 :eek::eek: def need to get back into utilising Aldi more.

February shopping budget for the two of us is going to be £200 and like other people on here I will keep a running total on my signature. I am going to plan the food for the month, then do a big Meat superstore shop, an Ald! shop, and maybe a m0rrisons / asd4 for the remaining items and then try to just use Ald! for top ups.

Anyway, when back home I had a little batch cooking session and managed to cook...bolognese (tonight's tea), cottage pie base (in the freezer for next week), chicken curry (in the freezer for next week) and chicken risotto for three lunches (one with me today, other two in the freezer).

Lovely dinner of salmon and jacket potatoes for tea last night...jacket potatoes cooked lovely as they had been in the oven on low all afternoon. This also meant I didnt need to put the heating on until last night

Money wise nothing spent apart from food shopping. However I am out for tea tomorrow night and have friends coming for Sushi dinner on Saturday (which will require some spends for the ingredients).

Weekends task is to meal plan carefully for February and produce the shopping lists. I can stretch what we have in until next weekend and then use the Friday night / Saturday morning to trail around the shops buying most of the months ingredients! Then use the rest of the Saturday to batch cook up as much as possible.
I have promised myself that when we have a house, I am going to have a chest freezer as well as a normal on!!