Making chicken feed of my mortgage

muddywhitechicken

:mad: just spent the past hour looking for a hello kitty onesie for our niece for Christmas :mad: I was surprised that my SIL gave us that one off her Christmas list but I soon realised that it was probably because her size (age 7-8) has sold out everywhere :mad: Me... cynical...???!!! :rotfl:

Miss F wasn't as bright today but she is still outside with the others, 1 egg today from Miss B

Mexican chicken & wild rice soup for dinner with enough leftover for my lunch tomorrow

I've been bad... I had a Waitrose delivery today. I had a £10 off a £75 shop discount code and there were a few bits that were unavailable so I only spent £56.33... ONLY *rolls eyes* I bought some salmon for dinner tomorrow but I don't actually NEED any of the items I bought today...

£2.40 on chicken treats (lettuce)
£0.00 on food for the wild birds
£2.30 on vegetables
£0.00 on fruit
£1.84 on dairy
£14.81 on meat/poultry/fish
£0.00 on toiletries
£0.00 on cleaning products
£34.98 on storecupboard items
£0.00 on bread
£0.00 on Christmas
£0.00 on miscellaneous

Enough about money-spending, there was some money-making activity today! £21.62 cashback from my credit card

I'm back in the office tomorrow so must remember to claim my expenses

muddywhitechicken

I thought I was bad yesterday but today I took supermarket spending to save money to a new level! A quick trip to Sainsburys Mr MWC resulted in a £126.24 spend after the money off coupons :eek: :doh:and I forgot to buy milk :doh::doh::doh:

£0.00 on chicken treats
£0.00 on food for the wild birds
£0.00 on vegetables
£0.00 on fruit
£0.00 on dairy
£0.00 on meat/poultry/fish
£0.00 on toiletries
£13.05 on cleaning products (incl. 3 x Ariel liquid on offer)
£14.34 on storecupboard items (breakfast cereal)
£0.00 on bread
£81.39 on wine (11 bottles although the bottle of chateauneuf du pape will probably be a Christmas present)
£31.33 on miscellaneous (Sainsburys magazine for me, Q magazine for Mr MWC, greetings card, aspirin and £22.15 on a bottle of whisky (but I will get 4/5 of this back from colleagues)

I used the following coupons: £8 off £80, £1.50 off Ariel, 30p off Sainsburys magazine, double nectar points and 1000 nectar points for £60+ spend on wine, and I came away with a £2.15 brand match coupon

We now have £86.68 worth of nectar points We normally use these on our Christmas shop but this year we are going to friends on Christmas day so instead I have decided to challenge us. We will not spend more than £10 "real" money on groceries in January (I have to have some cash as I can only spend the nectar points in £2.50s)

Cinnamon rubbed salmon with couscous and harissa yogurt for dinner
1 egg again
I haven't seen Miss F today - it was dark when I left for work and dark when I got home - but I shone the torch in the eglu and she looks to be ok

muddywhitechicken

Another spendy day but I haven't been anywhere near a supermarket :rotfl:

The brake pads and discs were replaced on my car (I'm not very impressed that the discs were corroded after only 3 years :mad:) and the wheels were balanced (I wonder how long it will be before I hit a pothole...:think:) but the tyres are OK for another few months - £156

We had our team Christmas lunch today. I went by train as a) I didn't have a car (!) and b) it meant that I could have a drink - £9 fare. I met a couple of friends for coffee beforehand - £6.55. The meal was lovely and I didn't have to pay

Whilst in town, I returned a couple of items to M&S - £37.50 refund - and my TCB payment of £68.28 has made it into my bank a/c today

No dinner tonight - I'm still stuffed from lunch and Mr MWC is away [STRIKE]earning TCB and hotel loyalty points [/STRIKE]on business

1 egg today (Miss

It was funny watching the chickens this morning - they're not overly keen on the snow!

muddywhitechicken

A smaller spend day today - lunch (£3) and a birthday present for a friend (£18.50)

Not sure if there were any eggs today. If there were, they were under Miss F and I didn't want to disturb her this evening

Curried pasta for dinner because we couldn't be bothered to cook anything else and there were cauliflower and yogurt in the fridge that needed using up

I finished writing my performance review today. I've bigged myself up so that my line manager has to do some work to justify why he is only rating me as meets expectations - it's a long running "joke" that everyone always gets meets expectations :mad: - but I don't see why I should make it easy for him :rotfl:

muddywhitechicken

It's a beautiful day here - sunny and not too cold

Mr MWC and I walked into town and went to Morrisons. Spent more than I hoped again - not sure what on so I'll have a look at the receipt later... I need to pop to Sainburys (a 2-mile walk in the opposite direction) for a couple of bits as well.

Miss F has lost her sight in 1 eye but apart from that she seems OK, not wobbley and is eating/drinking well. If anything only being able to see out of 1 eye is less stressful for her - she is very nervous of the other chickens and is always running away from them... now she doesn't realise that they are so close if they are on her blindside...!

2 white eggs this morning so there was 1 from Miss B yesterday

Mr MWC has been roasting lamb bones and making stock this afternoon - the house smells lovely

muddywhitechicken

Scotch broth and crusty wholemeal bread for dinner

Freezer contents update:

Duck breast x 2
Diced venison
1/2 leg of lamb
Breast of lamb
[STRIKE]Lamb neck fillet[/STRIKE]
Lamb chops x 4
Lambs liver/kidney
[STRIKE]Lamb bones for stock[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]1/2 shoulder of pork[/STRIKE]
Pork chops x 2
[STRIKE][STRIKE]Gammon shank[/STRIKE][/STRIKE]
Beefburger x 1
[STRIKE]Chicken thighs x 2[/STRIKE]
Casserole sausages x 5
[STRIKE]Chicken stock x 1L[/STRIKE]
Raw king prawns
Fishfingers
[STRIKE]Scotch pie x 1[/STRIKE]
White pudding x 1
[STRIKE]HM chilli x 2 portions[/STRIKE]
Blueberries/blackberries/blackcurrants/gooseberries/rhubarb/raspberry puree
Peas/soya beans
*Chicken
*Shin of beef
*Pork ribs
*Gammon shank

Not a great deal of menu planning required this week as I leave for a transatlantic business trip at 04:30 :eek: on Tuesday and I'm not home until Friday lunchtime.

muddywhitechicken

So, £53.10 spent at the supermarket today...

£3.10 on chicken treats (spinach & lettuce)
£0.00 on food for the wild birds
£5.45 on vegetables
£3.09 on fruit (including OJ)
£4.99 on dairy
£12.45 on meat/poultry/fish
£7.01 on toiletries
£0.00 on cleaning products
£15.71 on storecupboard items
£1.30 on bread
£0.00 on wine
£0.00 on miscellaneous

Much less fresh food bought this week (as I will be away) apart from some meat as there was room in the freezer

sheilds

Hi MWC.

Just wanted to say I love you diary -its been so good for inspiration(bought new home exactly 1 year ago and now that we are settled we really want to start overpaying at every possibility) recipes(all sound lush and just my kind of food!!) and even the chicken stories are great.:)

Keep it up-best wishes,

S.

muddywhitechicken

Thanks sheilds - good luck on your MFW journey

I'm so glad that Mr MWC isn't a fussy eater!

Another beautiful day here. I would like to be pottering in the garden but I have too many indoor jobs to do today - shine my kitchen sink, deep clean bathroom, clean conservatory, start presentation for US meeting (needs to be completed by COB tomorrow), review a couple of reports, laundry, start packing for my trip...

I also need to bake two batches of chocolate guinness cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing for Mr MWC. He is going into the office tomorrow (he normally works remotely) and wants to take in a "thank you" for the people who support him

As I'm not going outside, today will be a NSD :j

muddywhitechicken

Not getting very far with my list as my dad popped in for a coffee (still here over 2 hours later and stayed for lunch...)

Huevos rancheros for lunch we haven't had an egg-based meal for a while and Miss B does lay very tasty eggs