Living life in HD technicolour

MuffinTops

Thanks macpumpkin, that's really useful. I'll get some manuka honey as I can't keep coming down with these colds. I have lots of garlic in so will incorporate that into my batch cook tomorrow. My colleagues are going to love me!

A classic example of "parents know best" story! That's so caring of them.

MuffinTops

Two people have paid for the ebay items already and when I logged into Paypal I had $10 sitting there from a phone survey site that had paid out a while ago and I'd forgotten about! So that's being transferred now and will be sent across to the mortgage fund!

I've also added 12 more items with a 7 day listing as that's manageable for me. I've created the wording for a couple more too which are ready for the next free listing weekend.

Tomorrow is likely to be quite busy as I have to go out and buy a few cards (and honey), get the eBay paid for items sent off with proof of postage and get the batch cooking done. I also want to redo my nails at home ready and nice for work and I need to update my financial app on my phone as that's a bit behind.

I've found the Jillian Michaels shed DVD in my decluttering so I'm going to have an active watch of that tomorrow as I've heard great things about it.

For now I need more decongestant and some tea!

MuffinTops

I'm still feeling really poorly with this cold. If anyone remembers Gilbert the Alien on Saturday morning "Get Fresh" TV all those years ago (absolutely brilliant little character well worth looking up on YouTube) then he's got nothing on me! I'm starting to think my brain is melting through my nostrils!!!!


Anyway, I did manage to venture out as all of my bidders paid! I always find that a good sign of a decent eBayer - wrongly or rightly. But having now paid for 2nd class postage on all items and working out exactly what the eBay fees will be and then added to that the paypal fees and packaging costs I'm just about making a profit! Lots of effort for very little gain. I'm not complaining about postage costs by the way, just the overall effort and fees of selling online now. So, boot sales will be the way to go for me! I don't work Fridays or Mondays so I can easily get lots of stuff together for a Saturday or Sunday morning boot sale and know I'm in control of the final amount in my pocket! Do I sound cheap? But every extra penny I can push to OP'ing is my goal and I'm so focused on that!

One of my close friends J emailed me today asking if I'm interested in a 3 course meal and a show in London for £20 at the end of March, so I jumped at that. Another great night out to look forward to, and he's such brilliant company. I'll put daily budget aside to pay for it before we go.

He and I are also out on Thursday to another unique restaurant I've found which I've already put enough aside for. I'm really excited to try out these out of the ordinary places and we've decided to make this a monthly date now while I can still find new places.

Oddly, despite feeling so rough and having to work tomorrow I'm feeling pretty upbeat. I just wish I had some decent energy levels. In my mind I'm ready to take on the world but once I go to start anything my body shouts "As If!!!"

So, I think another cuppa is called for and then I'll sit down and update my bank accounts app and maybe watch a bit of catch up TV. Coffee anyone?

MuffinTops

I managed to log onto my internet banking this morning and send money off to the various online saving pots I've set up for things like Christmas saving, car insurance, home insurance etc. So that's all of my savings sorted for the month too. I also managed another small op to the mortgage again this morning as my paypal withdrawal had finally arrived in my account.

During my lunch break I managed to sort out Mother's day and my Mum's birthday bits, both in March. Although I'm fairly sure I'm anonymous on here I still think I'd better wait until after each day to say what was arranged. But it's good to know that those can both be crossed off my To Do list. I do still need to get cards though. Cards always slip my mind!


Then I had a quick read on the forum. This story really touched me today to the point I'll add a link and share it with anyone who fancies a quick read...
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4479101

At the moment it's just 3 pages long, although the first 2 pages tell the whole story. Not many posts have had the effect on me that this one did.

Right, I'm shattered so am off to bed. I hope everyone's having a great week so far.

MuffinTops

Last week really seemed to fly by. It was a good week all in all, other than this cold which is still hanging on. But I don't feel ill with it anymore which is a major relief.

I met up with J on Thursday after work and we went to a really nice hidden restaurant in the City. It's a first come first served basis so we were a bit worried there would be a long wait, but we arrived, mentioned the code word and were told to sit for a few minutes. It literally was about 3 minutes before we were led through the fridge and down to the cocktail bar downstairs. They serve food too, including a nice veggie burger for a very reasonable price so we ended up staying there for hours! Our waiter was lovely and very attentive, even moving things around for me to get a better photo of them! An outstanding evening. Spending time with J is always something I love doing, and being in his company in such a lovely exclusive little place just made the evening close to perfect.

Today I had to work so have managed to clock up 11 hours of overtime. Due to budget restraints I have to take some of that as time off in the future, but any payment I get will go as an OP on the mortgage.

Tomorrow I've got a day out planned for my Mum for Mother's day which I'm really hoping will go well. I've tried to arrange things to do that won't matter if it's raining or not so hopefully I've thought of everything.

Tonight I plan to do very little now. Just sitting in front of the tv and relaxing.


Happy Weekend!

MuffinTops

I think today went well. I met up with my Mum this morning and we headed off to London. I walked her around her old haunts which have mostly changed beyond all recognition from those 45 years ago that she was working in that area. We stopped for coffee on one of the boats along the Embankment and decided on some lunch too as it was quiet in there and very reasonably priced for what we wanted.

We then went off to see the guards at Buckingham Palace as she's never been there before. That was lovely but the wind along the Mall really picked up and was harshly freezing!

We wandered back down to Northumberland Avenue where the Time Tours Travel bus was waiting for us and on we got. It was a really nice trip around London with a man dressed as a mad professor telling us about the history in a really amusing and humourous way. Mum loved it which was a massive relief for me.

I had booked us a cheeky table in Chiquito based on Mum's main meal being free but it was just too cold to wait so I called and cancelled and we came back for a restaurant nearer home.

The whole day was in budget which was good going and I've told her I'll take her back to Buckingham Palace at some point soon to see the changing of the guard as it's been something she's wanted to do for years but never got around to arranging.

I have tomorrow off and desperately need to get some housework done as well as food shopping as I'm running low. I think it's just a small shop I need to do for lunches during the week though so shouldn't spend much.

2 of the items I left on eBay from last week have sold, so I can package those up and send them off. I increased the postage price on them before any watchers or bids appeared so hopefully I'll end up with some spare money this time around.

I've uploaded my shop and scan barcodes and receipts and have been assigned a mystery shop for this week. I should be able to sort the mystery shop tomorrow.

It's been a strange weekend for me as I didn't work Friday, did overtime Saturday and have been out for the day today! It's whizzed by at ridiculous speeds again though!

I hope everyone has had a great weekend!

newgirly

Just wanted to pop in and say hi, as I have just spotted your diary- best of luck

MuffinTops

Hi Newgirly. Thanks for popping in and saying hello.

MuffinTops

I'm thinking that even the weather can't believe how fast the year is going as it still thinks we're in mid-winter!!!! What's going on???

I didn't venture out at all based on the cold and the snow. Luckily none of it settled, which I think was mainly due to the strong winds whipping it all over the place.

So an easy NSD day. I've put a few more 99p bits on eBay today with realistic p&p again so hopefully something there will sell. One buyer has paid for an item sold on Sunday. Hopefully the other will pay soon too!

While I was stuck in I've managed to get a grip on housework and have also cleaned up the contents of my laptop by moving the media content to an external drive. Was much cheaper than buying a new laptop and it's working much more efficiently now.

I'm hoping to meet my friend C tomorrow for a trip on the London Eye followed by dinner. He confirmed again today but if this weather keeps up I'm thinking we may end up rearranging! I'm working tomorrow so I'll check the Eye website through the day.

Well I have a few things to do before I go to bed and my eyes are feeling quite sore now so I think I'll get myself sorted. Goodnight everyone. I hope the week has started off well. x

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi MuffinTops, London Eye by night would make a great gift for our DD, I'm just looking up any offers. Thanks for posting about it.

Best wishes Tilly x