Getting back on track for 2013 and beyond

kerri_dfw

I'm off to the office today, when I get dressed that is. I had some really vivid and horrid dreams last night. I woke up adrenaline going as I was convinced I'd just heard smashing glass and someone screaming, I dreamt someone had just crashed their car round the corner. OH then had to get up to make sure noone was breaking in downstairs!
I've sent a message to someone on freecycle asking for reusable nappies, hopefully will collect these on Saturday but she's not confirmed her address yet boo.

I've just researched hammer drills after talking to my Dad, so we're power tool shopping on Saturday yay then we can put the fencing up in the garden to allow the cats to roam out there by themselves. That'll make them happy. It's going to cost about £200 or less in total including drill purchase and we can take it with us when we move. This is instead of the £600+ it would cost to get someone in to do it. Hurray.

I've just been debating whether to get a food mixer from Am4zon with some of the money from my referral bonus. I'm due to get £3236 in wages tomorrow, £1029 is for bills and the rest is towards debt. I have £560ish for my work expenses credit card to pay and the rest I wanted to pay towards VC. However, I'm tempted to pay £280 for the Kenw00d chef so I can make lovely cakes and pastries as the magimix doesn't do cakes. It's the last thing missing from my kitchen since my old housemate broke my Br3ville. I might think about it a little longer as not sure what the OH will say to me purchasing it, although I'm sure he'll like the cakes it makes.

Edit: have been a good girl, have decided to get a hand whisk instead. Breadmaking is done in the breadmaker and everything else is done in the magimix, so unless I go baking mad a hand whisk shall surfice. Plus it's less than £50! bargainlicious.

Todays flylady tasks are:
beautify the bathroom

15 minutes?
clean the bath and polish the taps
if there's a shower screen wash it down with detergant and hot water

30 minutes
once it's washed give the shower screen a polish
scrub the loo inside and out
buff that basin

Got an hour?

as above plus tap polishing
dusting
mirror buffing
clean the floor

debtfreewannabe321

well done for not buying the kenwood chef (although they are nice ) if you end up making lots and lots of cakes and feel you can justify it then go for it! i have a kenwood mixer and it's fab and it does get used a lot but if I hadn't bought it pre-lbm I might think differently now, it doesn't get used enough to warrant what I paid for it I don't think lol!

I am starting the fly lady too as soon as my back is up to it

And p.s I had to LOL at the soap dispenser incident :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

kerri_dfw

I haven't flylady'd yet today, I did wash the bath yesterday so just need to swish & swipe sink and loo. OH swept the floor this morning due to kitty litter over it, so I guess almost there.

I currently have 2 banana loaves baking in the oven. Thought it was probably the only thing I could make without using a mixer. Made a complete mess of the kitchen but hoping they'll turn out ok, not cooked anything in this oven before. OH burnt the pizza on the weekend in it and he's the one that can actually cook hahaha.

I have realised I need the following baking items for the kitchen though:
Large loaf tin (I have 2 small ones)
Muffin tin
Mixing bowl
Decent sieve
Jug that measures in something other than 100ml units

Ho hum, maybe a sale will be on for baking items soon Right, off to find on the interwebs how I can freeze this banana loaf once it's cooled and sliced

kerri_dfw

Payday today, have paid £1k to VC and adjusted my signature. I've transferred money to our bills account and paid off my work expenses cc. I have about £700 left in the bank at the moment, some of this needs to go towards buying fencing bits tomorrow to secure our garden so the cat can stop driving OH potty in the morning. Some of it will go towards petrol for getting around the place. The rest I'm earmarking for paying off more debt towards the end of the month.

I'm quite disappointed by how much I've been taxed, almost £2k in total including NI & student loan. I was hoping to get paid more than this and I'm sure some of my OT didn't get paid in this month so I must have missed the cut-off with my timesheets. Oh well that'll just come in next month then.

What it has meant though is that my qualifying for mat pay month this month was a high sum, put with last months then I should get a decent mat leave pay for the first 12 weeks yay before SMP

I am so fed up of being in debt now. For some reason I thought that the bonus payment would clear my debts completely and I'd be able to start afresh, but it's just not working out like that at all I should get an extra £100 from the OH this month, paying me back for sofa/festival tickets. I'll get him to pay that straight into my account and I'll pay it straight to VC. If I can get to the 50% paid mark I know I'll start to feel a bit better. Just feeling a bit meh that I paid just a whack today and it's not even put me halfway.

Ho hum, back off to do the menu plan. I will have 4 weeks shopping lists written out and a stocktake of the kitchen completed today.

debtfreewannabe321

Don't be disheartened kerri it will happen perhaps a little later than planned but you will be DF that's the main thing huh? My pay day too (well technically DH's lol) so i've been moving money around too and trying to work out where to put things and what needs paying first. My money gets paid in dribs and drabs all month so I have to tax my brain (not hard to do I can assure you) and work out what to pay first lol :rotfl:

As for baking stuff & mixing bowls I got a beautiful baby blue mixing bowl from Dunelm Mill. It was reduced to £8 I think and it's HUGE! All my other ones were tiny and got on my nerves with things jumping out the bowl as I was mixing :rotfl: this one is fab ---> this is it if the link works...goes nicely with my shabby chic kitchen http://www.dunelm-mill.com/shop/mason-cash-blue-flour-power-mixing-bowl-279883?cm_mmc=pla_google-_-PLA%20-%20All%20Products-_-All%20Products-_-PLA&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA%20-%20All%20Products

kerri_dfw

Ooh that's gorgeous DFW. I'm currently on the pr0cook website totting up things into my basket, trying to work out whether I want non-stick or silicone muffin tins. I think I should close down the website, as I've just remembered that I have £200 to fork out for hypnobirthing course this month, boo.

My hand mixer has just arrived it's got a which best buy sticker on it so I'm even more impressed. Have gone ahead and ordered bakeware from pr0cook anyway, naughty but at least I will have cake to get me through this debt. I spent £44.93 and bought a measuring jug that measures in 50ml; 3 cake tins for £10 (cheaper than buying 3 tins of chocs); 3 mixing bowls for £20; a non-stick 6 muffin tray; and a non-stick 12 bun tray. I've also had to spend £14.82 on an airbake tefal cookie tin as this was what the interwebs said would help control the heat in our oven (currently chargrilling the bottom of pizza whilst the top is not cooked).

Anyway, I am hoping that's the last of my extravagant spends for the month and actually my kitchen is now ready and raring for some home cooking. OH is all for the meal plan and the yummy recipes I've come up with. We're going to start from this week and see how it goes. We've worked out that due to the recipes we'll be able to make double portions from them, chuck the rest in the freezer, and then not have to do so much cooking next month. Fantastic! We'll also be eating a whole lot better, one week is chocca full of veg yay. Gosh I'm gabbling away today.

debtfreewannabe321

I've got both types of baking tins, I found the silicone to be best as even when they say non stick they eventually always do stick in my opinion or perhaps it's just my rubbish cooking! I got mine from Home Bargains for around £2 each (victoria sponge size moulds not muffin cases) so not sure how much they are on the website you're looking on but they are pretty much the same quality where ever you get them from in my opinion i've even found them in the £ shop and they are just as good x

Cherryjack

Love all this talking of baking you did well not buyng the mixing one.. selfridges do them in retro colours..and even my oh always mentions lol.. think of the space you will save DFW your debt free omg well done !! Today ive been listing all my old clothes ive gone from a size 24/22/20 to a size 16/18 mega happy and i can shop in the well know cheapy shop..i had a field day x

kerri_dfw

Well yesterday was a successful day, we put the first coat of paint on the walls of the nursery and now when you come up the stairs a glorious yellow emits through the glass of the door, it makes me smile everytime. I do however need to go and get another pot of paint from the shop, so I'll try to fit that in today too. I also made the most delicious lentil lasagne, OH has taken some to work today for his lunch and the other 5 portions are in the freezer for later on in the week.

Today I need to put the chilli on, I couldn't make this yesterday as the chickpeas needed to soak overnight. It takes about 6-8hrs on high in the slow cooker, so if I put it on around midday I can pot it up and freeze it later on this evening. If I have the time, inclination and energy I shall also try to make the glamorgan sausages today, they don't look like they're that hard to make.

I also made a gorgeously chocolatey cake made with G&B cocoa powder om nom nom. Unfortunately the oven got turned off by mistake part-way through and it's come out a bit drier than I intended. The jolly thing also didn't rise, so I think I need to add a tbsp of bicarb next time. I have a tendency that my cakes don't rise We both enjoyed it either way and OH has also taken a slice to work.

Cake tins, mixing bowls, muffin & cupcake trays, and the measuring jug have all arrived today from pr0cook. All looks fab and have put yesterdays cake in the medium sized cake tin already.

Had a good clear out in the kitchen and moved everything around so it actually makes sense now. MIL organised our kitchen for us when we moved in whilst we were out sorting the old flat paperwork and I just couldn't find anything. Cost of groceries this week, all readily thought out thanks to meal plan, £11something from the farm shop and £60ish from the SM. However, £15 was OH's coffee for the next 6 weeks. It better last him 6 weeks anyway!!! There were also a few store cupboard things in there such as spices which we won't need to buy for a few months now.

Baby is regularly moving around like crazy now and we had movements all over my tummy yesterday. I really need to find where I've put the b1ooil, it's in a box somewhere. Hypnobirthing teacher has emailed to confirm the course starting next Monday.

Right, best get on with work/chores/cooking/etc

Flylady tasks for today:
Monday Mayhem ~ Krazy Kitchen

Daily routines
[strike]S&S bathroom[/strike]
[strike]S&S kitchen[/strike]
[strike]Make bed[/strike]
[strike]Put washing on line[/strike]
[strike]Clear draining board[/strike] x2
[strike]Tablets[/strike]
[strike]Breakfast[/strike] - I had a slice of chocolate cake and a HM fruit smoothie
[strike]Open windows to let fresh air in bedroom[/strike] - and in the baby's room to help get rid of the smell of the wet paint

15 Minutes..
[strike]Clear the floor of unnecessary gibble[/strike]
[strike]Mop/hoover the floor[/strike]
30 minutes to spare..
[strike]Shine the sink and draining board. Make those taps shine and twinkle..[/strike]
[strike]Wipe down worktops and wipe down all small electricals.[/strike]
[strike]Rehome anything that is out of place[/strike]
Got an hour...
Clean the window and windowsill. Rehome anything that shouldn't be there
[strike]Sort through your cookery books/magazines. Are there any that you don't need that are just taking up space? Rehome them to the local charity shop...[/strike]
[strike]15 fling boogie[/strike]

Extra challenge:

• Deweb, don't forget those corners
• Clean light fittings/switches
• [strike]Wipe down the doors[/strike]
• [strike]Empty those smelly bins[/strike]
• [strike]Clean that cupboard under the sink!!![/strike]
• [strike]HHI[/strike]
• [strike]Make chilli[/strike]
• [strike]Make Glamorgan sausages[/strike]
• [strike]Buy paint for nursery[/strike]
• [strike]Pay rent[/strike]
• [strike]Second load of washing[/strike]
• [strike]Hang second load on line[/strike]
• [strike]Put on breadmaker[/strike]
• [strike]Dehydrate excess celery & courgette so nothing is wasted[/strike]
• [strike]Call manager about maternity leave[/strike] - all approved
• Put in expenses claim for 2 weeks mileage
• Sort a box in the dining room
• [strike]Bring washing in[/strike]

debtfreewannabe321

Just popping over to see how you did on the flylady challenge today I somehow missed your update earlier! You've done loads! We've both ben busy bees today My dd & ds2's bedroom is painted lemon & lime (pale green) it's lovely and always looks so cheery in there, yellow is definitely a great colour to go with (we only painted their room after they drew all over the magnolia walls lol)

I need to incorporate the daily routine into my flylady do you get it from the thread or make it up yourself? xx