My Busy Life

sidneysmum

Hi Polesalot - The fabric at Hobbycraft sounds very much like the stuff I have ordered off Ebay. Next summer I will be on the look out at car boots for suitable fabric and I`m going to start to look in the local charity shops for items to cut up and use.

Today has been very nice. Belly dancing this morning followed by my fortnightly curry with my friend this afternoon. Did my weekly shopping this morning - 73p on a large brown loaf. Actually I will have to do a bit more shopping this week, perhaps on Tuesday at Mr. M, but I wont be spending much as I am still using up what is in the freezer / cupboards.
Tonight means feet up and some home made wine.

Hope everyone is having a great moneysaving day x

sidneysmum

Hi everyone - Very cold today here in the North West. Keeping busy helps me not notice too much !! Have had another nice day. Started with zumba at the gym followed by my close friend (who happens to be the zumba instructor) coming for her lunch with me. Had a great couple of hours chatting. Decided to take Sidney out for a long walk this afternoon and used this as an opportunity to hand deliver a few christmas cards. Saved on stamps!! I have been doing more thinking about 2013 and my plans / resolutions. In fact I have started to put one or two things in place now. Why wait till 2013 ? I have carried on with my money saving towards my emergency fund whilst making small overpayments to my mortgage. Paid another £5 today. I have decided that I am going to start slimming world in the new year and hopefully lose 1 stone. In the meantime I have decided that I am going to try and take Sidney out for a very long walk each day (maybe 1/2 hours) or possibly more sometimes. Coupled with my gym / exercise classes, that should do the trick. Also by doing more walking, I hope to make a saving on the amount of petrol / lpg I use every week. I am not going to wait till the new year to start the walking - started already ! I know when I am getting out and about a lot, I just feel so much better in myself - so its a a win win situation.

Hope everyone is having a great moneysaving day x

sidneysmum

Wow I am so tired. Its been a busy day so far. Went to work very early and it was quite hectic. I called at the supermarket on the way home and stocked up on a few basics - frozen peppers, savoury rice, butter and.......the Christmas TV magazine. Before i actually cancel my TV licence I am going to see if I watch any programmes over Christmas. Watch this space. I took the hound out for a long walk also - about one and a half hours. No wonder I am tired. I hope to do this every day in the New Year. I am spending so much time at the gym then I still have to walk Sidney - so I am going to try and incorporate both things into one. The new cinema programme came out for the next week and i was a tad disappointed that there was nothing I fancied watching. Never mind. Paid another £5 off the mortgage !!!

Hope everyone else is having a great moneysaving day. x

sidneysmum

Wow , have had a busy couple of days and just not had time to post at all. Still been very frugal though ! Yesterday was work followed by a long dog walk - almost 2 hours. I am just so happy out with Sidney. I feel as though it is doing me so much good, not only physically, but mentally too. I have got loads of calm and time to think about what i want to do and how to do it. I have felt much more positive being out in the fresh air even though its freezing outside at the moment. Both today and yesterday have seen me pay £5 per day overpayment off the mortgage. It is keeping me really focused on what i am doing.
Today I didn't have work so went off out and had a marathon walk with Sidney. We were out almost 3 hours although I did stop off at one of the local charity shops for a browse. Found a wonderful hard book called "The complete encyclopaedia of chickens" which i quickly picked up for 50p. So although yesterday was a no spend day, today has seen me part with 50p. Later on I am off out meeting a couple of friends for our xmas get together. We always meet at out local cheap and cheerful carvery where I have a huge roast dinner followed by an "unlimited" glass of fizzy drink for less than £7 - A very cheap treat. Also had another use up on the toiletries front (body lotion). I have added this to my signature.

Hope everyone is having a great moneysaving day x

EC12345

Hey Sidneysmum. Just popping in. My husband is on a work do tonight so I have come to bed early and have spent the last few minutes catching up on your diary.

Well done on the exercise. I've been really bad and haven't done hardly anything for nearly a week and a half. I'm finding it difficult to get motivated when it is so dark and cold in the evenings. I work in London and after my commute home I just want to get into bed. Am going to try and do an hour of something on Saturday.

It's great to hear about your hobby. I might try and do something new in the new year. I love riding my bike but when it's dark in the evenings it is just not practical so I need to find something to replace that. If it incorporates some form of exercise so much the better and it has to be value for money. Obviously biking is free and healthy at the same time.

It is my last pay day next week of 2012 and then I am going to sit down and work out how much I can save next year whilst still enjoying all the things I love doing. From reading your diary, it seems that you enjoy eating out. Me as well. Like you, I always try and find a good deal. Working in the city can be hard and everything is so expensive but there are always offers and deals to be had and me and my friends have got hunting down the offers and bargaining for nice drinks down to a fine art.

I have got a days holiday tomorrow. Am going for a spa for the day with some lovely beauty treatments so am looking forward to that. I put the money aside a month ago so really it is all paid for.

Have a great evening.

EC x

sidneysmum

Hi EC12345 - Thanks for dropping by. Lovely to hear from you and your news. I hope you enjoyed your spa day. How wonderful. Regarding the eating out, I think I have got into a bit of a trap really. As I live on my own nowadays, I need to go out to meet my friends and all we seem to do is eat. Although I love this, my waistline doesn't !! One of my plans for the new year is to try and cut the eating out down to once a week or even once a fortnight. I really want to get stuck into eating healthier so I going to suggest that we meet up say in the local bar and have a diet coke instead !! Another one of my plans (really for 2013) is to use the car less. I have actually started to do this now instead of waiting for next year. Hopefully that will help my purse and my waistline !!

Yesterday was spent with my friend who stayed over till this morning. We went and did a bit of window shopping as the weather was so lousy. I bought a black shower curtain. My bathroom is black / white and my current shower curtain is white and i am always having to put it in the washing machine as it soon looks grubby. I am going to see how I go on with this black one. I also spent £1.47 on bread and milk. As part of my increased walking, I took Sidney to the local Mr A for my bits and pieces. Sidney was put to the test also as she had to sit for 2 minutes outside the store whilst i got my shopping. I was very pleased that there was no howling or amateur dramatics on her part as she is VERY spoilt. :rotfl:

Today has been busy also. Had another big dog walk this morning before visiting relatives this afternoon. I had to use the car for my visiting as I couldn't carry the xmas gifts I was taking. My lovely quilting material arrived and its stunning. I have decided to get a proper quilting cutting out board (which i ordered today) as it would be a shame to spoil my first attempt through not having the correct tools. Cant wait now for it to arrive and for me to have a free afternoon to start my quilt.

I also am giving a lot of thought to another project I might contemplate for maybe next year. When my sons lived at home they used our spare bedroom as a playroom when they were little and as they became young men, it became their own lounge. Anyway the room is now empty barring a bit of junk so I am planning to make it into a nice room that suits me. I am at this stage thinking I might use it for doing my sewing / quilting but it will need decorating as there is currently no wallpaper on the walls. The carpet is very serviceable but one of the windows needs replacing with a new frame as it is past its best. I am thinking a wrought iron daybed, shabby chic furniture and pastel colours. I will keep you all informed !!
One use up today with the toiletries (face cream). Added to my signature.

I hope you are all having a great moneysaving day.:)

Jazee

Hello Sidneysmum, glad all is going well with the money saving and your hobby sounds as if it will be great.

I also enjoy long dog walks, usually two a day, its an excuse to get out too, not that I enjoy trying to keep upright on the ice as it was earlier in the week.

Loved your comments about Xmas TV. As one of my plans for next year is to watch less telly in the evenings, I've started early on this one, and spent money I wouldn't normally do on a tv listing mag for Xmas. My intention is to go through marking off what I would like to watch and then setting up the recorder. However, I keep getting distracted by the articles and haven't marked a single programme yet.

Hope you have a happy Sunday.

vasseur

Another busy week for you. I agree with how good exercise can be for the mind. I just love it.

You'll have to post up some pics of your quilt when you've finished it

sidneysmum

Hi Jazee and Polesalot - Great to hear from you both. I love it when people leave comments along the way !! x x

I have had a busy couple of days along with everyone else. Yesterday was zumba followed by spending a few hours at an old friends home. I came away with an old duvet which I am going to use for a new dog bed. I have got some suitable material for a cover and plan to make it asap. She also gave me a great piece of gingham which is the start of my patchwork stock ! My sons came to tea and I cooked a great big piece of pork in the slow cooker. It was gorgeous. There is some left so I will be having it for my tea today. Also paid £5 off the mortgage.

Today was zumba again which i really enjoyed. On my way home I called at one of the local charity shops and bought a huge aspidistra for £3. I was delighted as I know they cost a bomb. I have already got it positioned on a fireplace hearth. I hope my trails round charity shops start to produce a few more nice odds and ends. I love buying quirky bits and pieces for my home. This afternoon has been spent having a very long dog walk. Hopefully later i might get chance to start one or two of the sewing projects I've got waiting to be done. Paid another fiver off the mortgage and used up another bottle of shower gel. I cant believe that I have got so many bottles of shampoo, shower gel etc half full and lying about. I am not buying any smelly stuff until I run out. Mind you I will probably be bought a few bits and pieces for xmas to be added to the stash.

Hope everyone is having a great moneysaving day x

vasseur

I just LOVE poking round charity shops! I like picking up different pieces of china and other things for my home. It gives you a chance to have things that no one else has. Too many peoples homes just look like the inside of h0mebase these days - no originality!