make do and mend for tougher times

D&DD

Possession that is actually a really great idea He can't sit in cinema chairs but loves movies.As he spends rather a lot of time flat on his back he does watch a lot of TV he likes the american crime series,sci-fi stuff (supernatural,grimm etc) and there are a few series I know he'd like..Burn Notice was one in particular and I think that has a few series so far.

As far as anything else goes,he's never been a 'trendy' kid none of mine have ever been into trainers and stuff they all have their own likes/style a bit like mum *but mines just scruffy now lol*

He can't do sports etc and travelling is difficult at best,so is sitting in certain chairs..so we can't do concerts and stuff.His mobility is limited due to the spinal fusions and he can't be excited or exerted due to his heart
His legs are dodgy at the best of times and currently
his wrists are splinted too as they've been playing up!
Not making this easy am I :rotfl:

maryb

7ww I think the easiest decoration is a spider's web on top of a cake. Ice it with plain white glace icing (that's just icing sugar mixed with water) then get some dark icing and pipe concentric circles or a spiral. Then take a cocktail stick and draw it through the lines of icing from the centre to the outside about 8 times so it looks like a web. The tubes of writing icing you can get from the supermarket should be OK but you could just add some cocoa to any leftover glace icing and use that in a piping bag with a small nozzle. If you can get a small spider cake topping from Lakeland or the cake decorating section in the supermarket that would also look quite good.

PipneyJane

maryb wrote: »

Grey Queen I get so cross about NMW. It's subsidising profits which are then used to pay huge bonuses to senior management as if they had actually done something clever. If you accept that households have to somehow have enough money from all sources, what it boils down to is that people in the middle are paying for those bonuses and getting nothing like it themselves. Or we are subsidising foreign profits, since so many companies are owned from abroad now.

I can only assume the government is playing chicken with these companies when it is proposing to change the rules on WTC so that people have to work a minimum number of hours. Companies like that like to employ more people on short hours to keep the NI cost down. It would make more sense to change the rules on employer's NI to create a level playing field, but then they would be accused of imposing a tax on jobs - and there probably would be fewer jobs in total. But tackling it this way puts low paid working people right in the firing line

The NI loophole should be quashed. Last December, my DH was told his hours would be cut and his job "shared" with someone else because that would be cheaper for his employer since they wouldn't have to pay NI. (This was on a job he'd held for 7 months so no employee rights.) That was his reward for doubling the turnover in the shop. (DH did the banking so saw exactly how much takings had gone up.) Trigger another round of job hunting.

The thing with NMW is that some people did benefit when it was first introduced, particularly those working in the public sector. If you think back to the late 1990's, many of the necessary-but-unsung-hero roles were being paid as little as £2 or £3 an hour (I'm thinking of hospital porters, care assistants, hospital cleaners). However the last government cheated - they changed the index used to measure inflation from the RPI (included housing cost) to the CPI (excludes housing cost), which meant they didn't need to increase the NMW as much. "Real" inflation as measured by the RPI is now much higher than the numbers quoted every quarter.

Frankly, I think the whole system needs an overhaul. Employers should not be subsidised for employing people.

SDG31000

Happy Brithday Mrs Chip and smileyt

I am writing this in the dining room of the hotel DH and I are staying in in Limerick. It's a nice hotel with a few minor irritations like having very heavy glass doors on the bathrooms that make a heck of a noise at 3am when you need to pop to the loo after a bit too much Guinness and an extractor fan that could wake the dead when it kicks in. I am having a lovely time with no cooking or laundry and it is bliss. Although I am going to need to go on a diet when I get home.
Today we are off to Bunratty castle/house/folk park. One of DH's ancestors married into the family in 1806 and DPIL are anxious that we go and see it.

Hope everyone is well and happy

Take care xxxxx

P.S Get well soon Miss fuddle x

kidcat

Happy Birthday SmileyT and Mrs Chip - have a wonderful day

I have woken up in panic mode, DD had driving lesson booked for 9.30 and for some reason didnt set her alarm, littlies decided to stay in rooms watching DVDs so I slept, next thing DD flies in shouting about her instructor being here - not a good way to wake,

DD6 hand isnt looking as bad as I had expected which is good.

We are off to a farm as soon as we can escape but I found weevils in the baking cupboard this morning so first job is clearing that out and binning all things infected. Then it will be a trip to Ikea in morning for more glass jars - the plastic ones all got infected.:mad:

Forgot to mention that I was shopping on Tues and realised that Mr A has changed their whoopsie times, seems they are reducing at four rather than six.:D

nuttyp

Its another grey dark day here in lincolnshire. Had to take DD to the bus stop on the main road at the top of the village, a good 5 min walk. Due to the mist I took the car... I know naughty. Have put on some washing and have put sausages in slow cooker with veg and gravy for DD and OH tea. Have work this afternoon, hope theres no arguments with disgruntled gamblers.

Have looked again at mr s and mr t to see if there are any jobs going. Desperatley need to escape, thing this what makes my IBS bad. Had 2 days off work all good and today its back with a vengance. OH wants me to quit but its not that easy. I have tomorrow off and then have to work all weekend again, why cant the other staff do there share?? Thats my other bug bear, the crap shifts arent shared fairly.

Mrs_Veg_Plot

Happy birhday Smiley and Mrs C, hope you both have a good day.

VJ's mum I too am feeling better today, have much more get up and go. Will finish painting bedroom 1 and start bedroom 2 today. Well as soon as I finish my cuppa anyway.

DD2 has gone for a day out with MIL so that leaves OH and myself to move her from hermold bedroom into the newly painted one. It will probably go a lot smoother without her here as she is a bit prescious about people being in her room. Typical teenager.

Paintbrush is calling.

Hope you all have a good day

mrs VP

the_cake

Happy Birthday to smileyt and Mrs Chip - have a really happy day!
Fuddle, if your DD likes ginger, it is really good for sickness. Either make ginger tea: grate some root ginger into hot water, leave for a minute or two then strain it - you can sweeten it with honey, syrup, etc., or by sipping ginger beer or ginger ale .... hope she feels better soon.
Really grey and mizzly again here, very demotivating, I am almost looking forward to the colder but BRIGHTER weather!
Love to all, the cake.

ginnyknit

Happy birthday, Smileyt and Mrs Chip hope you both have a lovely day x:bdaycake::bdaycake:

PipneyJane

VJsmum wrote: »

Can I disagree? I know I work in Uni so may have a skewed view but I do also have 2 teenage children. I think kids need as much qualification as they can get / afford (the affording is a whole other debate and don't think that the Universities are benefitting from this increase in fees as, in fact, we are worse off than we were before). But it probably needs to be a relevant / vocational degree.

Most teenagers I would venture are unaware of the vast range of degrees on offer. Most think of history, geography etc - or the more $exy ones like graphics, film, fashion. But a good vocational degree will set them up for life. i have a degree in Quantity Surveying - i'd never heard of it till i was 17 and didn't really know what it was even when I started the course, I just knew it was something to do with building. I have been through 3 recessions since graduating and never really been out of work for any length of time. Employers will always choose those with qualifications - probably won't even look at the CVs of those without. Also the "Russell Group" (top 20) universities, whilst they may look good on paper don't always offer the vocational stuff (i am not sure if any do a building related degree except Architecture), so don't automatically be put off if your degree isn't in one of those uni's. Our average graduate salary last year was £24,000 - even in this climate (the top one was £75,000 :eek: but he had loads of experience and was very senior in his company and STILL he needed the bit of paper!).

Sorry, bit of a soapbox. And makes a hypocrite of me as my DD wants to be an Actor! However, I am hoping that we have enough funds put away for her to do a masters in something practical / vocational if that doesn't work out.

Very true, VJ's Mum. It's the practical qualifications that we need, as a country, too.

For those with teenage children, although being a Quantity Surveyor doesn't sound very sexy, it opens a lot of doors. I work in engineering on the other side of the fence to you (I'm a Project Accountant). I'd say all our best project managers are QS's by training and, if you want to get ahead in our company, Cost Control is the department to join. It's also a good profession if you want to chase the mega-bucks and go contracting - on my last big project, "Contract Managers" earned an average of £45/hour, so over £90k per annum.

Finally, as one of our Operations Directors pointed out, it's a great job if you're a smart woman with a good business head on your shoulders because everytime she walks into a room, people notice her. And they're more likely to remember what she said - and that she said it - because women are less common in these roles. Probably less than 30% of the employees in our company are female (it's even more noticible on a building site), so standing out for the right reasons will help your career.