'supporting each other through really tough times'

silvasava

Oh - Blue, Mardy & SQ Horrid times but they have prepared us well for this round and at least we can pass on help and encouragement to all who are going through it for the first time.
First married, wage freeze (Mr W) interest rate hikes & pork chops for Sunday dinner. Second marriage - 3 day week, DH laid off & all my money on bills you rapidly learn to do things you never thought you'd have to do.
What comes shining through on this thread is what the Yanks call a 'can do' attitude - if anyone's stuck there's always someone who's been there & ready to help out. Bless you all

Mrs L has put it so much better

nuttyp

Mrsl and silvasava how you describe it so on point as my DD says. We are all lucky as we have love, health, warmth and lovely family and friends. They are some things that can never be bought.

Whatever happens we will all survive, i know some days i cry in dispare over how hard we work but never seam to get anywhere. Then i see other people and realise we are so much more better off than others. I have no debts, everything goes out by DD so i dont forget. Importantly we have a few bits n bobs in the food store and the gas/electric meters have a few quid on them (prepay).

DD is cooking tea for her dad tonight, bangers mash n peas with gravy. I am so lucky that both my girls are able to cook.

Possession

Lovely post Lyn. We will all manage.

VJ's Mum I find it much easier to fast if I don't eat anything until dinner time. Once I start eating it's like I open the floodgates but if I can just last out until early evening I'm OK, and then 500 cals seems like quite a lot. I've found the same on non-fast days, I'm better not having breakfast otherwise I get the mid-morning munchies. And fast days are definitely good for money-saving! Have lost 22 lbs now, although I'm calorie-counting rather than fasting now as I think I can lose quicker. I'm going back to 5:2 when I get somewhere near goal (which is a depressingly long way away). DH is still off alcohol too, for about 70 days now which is fantastic. I think he will have a glass of wine on his birthday at Easter to break his fast. I have some wine squirreled away in the garage that he doesn't know about.

SDG31000

Hello everyone

fuddle I have everything crossed for you xxx

Possession Well done on your weight loss :T

I've decided with all the doom and gloom I am going to count my blessings today and try to stop being so negative.
Ok, so I have a headache, but it could be so much worse. The rest of the family are healthy and happy (or at least I think they are. It's so difficult to tell with teenage boys and a DH that seems to spend a lot of his time in "caveman" mode)

I've bitten the bullet and have cleaned the hob. I hate housework with a passion and have a tendency to put it off.

The cardi I'm knitting is finally starting to look like a proper garment. It is the first large thing i have knitted and I'm so chuffed that I have managed it. Just the button band to go and some more sewing up.

I'm making posh rice pudding for dinner. It's infused with cardamon and vanilla and you drizzle it with rose water scented syrup. Not sure if the rest of the family will like it, but in that case there is more for me. I'm using Yotem Ottolenghi's recipe from The Jerusalem cookbook.

I'm going to have a big mug of tea and some of the coffee and walnut cake that DS2 made me for Mother's Day for breakfast. My excuse is that it needs eating and I'm in the shop for 4 hours this afternoon.

I'm going to see my gorgeous nephew on Sunday while the rest of the family is at Comic Con at the NEC. They are under orders to bring me back a long sleeved "Soft Kitty" T shirt if they can find one and a pic of Gary Dourdan from CSI.

My heating has decided to start behaving itself after causing me worry yesterday afternoon. I think there is some gunk in a pipe and it causes a blockage every now and again.

Does anyone know how to fix/replace floorboards? I have lots on the landing and in our bedroom that creak/seem sunken. DH is being a pain about them and I want to have a go at sorting them out myself. I'm not the most DIY adept person I know but I'm willing to give it a try. Hopefully I won't lose any fingers in the process.

Much love and hugs and good wishes to everyone xxxxx

Possession

SDG my house is in an awful state. The children have been poorly since Friday and DS is still off school, DH worked the last 19 days straight and the bunnies are inside spreading hay and bunny currants everywhere. There hasn't been a moment a child hasn't been lying all over the sofa or floor. My hoover may have forgotten how to work. I hate housework!
With creaky floorboards, I know you can stop them being so noisy by putting lots of screws in, however it took about 200 screws to stop our staircase in London creaking terribly. Not sure how to fix sagging boards though.

savingqueen

Morning all, just popping in for a quickie ... post that is

Lovely post Mrs LW as usual. I know you wouldn't mind me not calling you Lynn but as I don't use my real name (paranoid about people reading this in RL) it doesn't feel quite right. Also a good friend and I use "Mrs X" X being the first letter of our first name in texts as a term of endearment so Mrs LW feels similar. Hope that makes sense!

Been to Tescows after school run for a few tescow own brands. I have taken to avoiding all other aisles and just doing my own supermarket sweep. Today I forced myself to browse a little as I am trying even harder with the shopping. Bought some bacon bits to try, never bought bacon bits before. Also pleased to see value peach slices in juice, used to buy in sainsbugs til they stopped stocking them. Only bought one tin to try em out.

Have an hour to give the downstairs a quick once over (DS8 has a school friend over for tea and parent collecting - house is :eek:) Then over to a friend's for lunch - she wants to use up leftovers from her DD's party at the wkend so feel duty bound to help her out. Bit of a sacrifice but someone's gotta do it! :rotfl:

Then hoping to nip back here for an hour to finish the housework

Edit: I HATE HOUSEWORK TOO! There's a thread somewhere sloblady think its called - check it out, it will make you laugh!


sq:)

Pooky

SDG, floor boards are easy to replace if you can get to them, a few screws into the joists will stop the squeaking too.

Possession - I'm in awe at your weight loss, well done you! I'm trying to find the enthusiasm to get stuck into it but it's lacking.

I love housework, I know, sad but I do. I love how the house looks when it's clean, tidy and cosy and I can't relax until its done each day. I'm very jittery at the mo with the kitchen and boiler works being done, dust everywhere and boxes of stuff in the way.

Peanut2013

SDG: Is that a soft kitty, warm kitty t shirt?

Feeling ok here, the beginning of the week normally quite good for us

Off to see mum in a moment for my weekly visit to see my favourite auntie. Have bought a new bouncer for LO today off ebay (£11) as I'm fed up of carting ours to mums 3 or 4 times a week. Now she can have one to keep there

Looking out the window with fear. Did 3 loads of washing last night and awoke to blue skies so all went out on the line. It's now grey and VERY dark! DAMNIT! Lol

Had an enjoyable evening last night. Thank you to the poster who suggested (ages ago!) about having friends over for cheap food. Friend suggested meeting last night so I just chucked an extra cup of pasta in the pot as we were having cheesy pasta and invited him over. He turned up with a chocolate fudge cake he bought on the way home as (in his words) 'feel guilty for always eating your food'.

Slightly concerned for tomorrow, it's shopping day and I always get a bit concerned about how much we're spending. We've decided we're desperate to save as much money as possibly and I think we need an ebay session. We were going to pass all of LO's old clothes onto my brother (first LO due in July) but am now contemplating selling some of the nicer stuff. He has a gorgeous snowsuit that we bought from mothercare for £25 and he wore it once before growing out of it!

Has anyone had any luck selling old jewellery? I have 2 rings that I am never going to wear again and am contemplating trying to sell them. Both are platinum and weren't exactly 'cheap'... But I wouldn't know where to start!

Margaret54

Hi peanut I sold some jewellery a few months ago with Gold Refinery I think that was what you called the company. I found them online and read the reviews and decided to go with them. I went onto the website and gave my email address name and mobile phone number. They sent out a little plastic bag with a form to sign with my name. You just simply popped the jewellery in it signed the paper with your name, sealed it up. Then went to the post office where you were given a receipt(you do not pay any postage at all all free to send) A few days later I got a text to say they had made an offer and went online to see my email from them. They said what they were offering and I was very pleased indeed, and said I would accept. I gave them my bank details in the return email and they put the money into my account that same day as it was lunchtime. They pay slightly less if you ask for a cheque but I wanted as much as I could so bank details were okay. I got £192 and this was for broken stuff only 9ct gold. I put it towards this new laptop and my dh was so pleased too. I hope you do well with your own stuff.

Possession

Peanut I pass all DS's clothes on for my 2 nephews but I sell (with my sister's blessing!) any really good stuff. TBH, it's only the good stuff that it's worth selling anyway. I'm very lucky that for the last couple of years DD has had loads of lovely clothes passed on from a mum of a girl in DS's class, and he sometimes gets given very decent clothes from an older nephew. What goes around comes around IMO.