Getting a grip...and hanging onto it!

apple_muncher

Hey crazy_lady, I guess you are on your few days away now. Sounded like it was going to be lovely, so I hope it was!

Hope your friend and her baby are doing well and making good progress. Also hope your dd loooooves the unexpected present you mentioned.

Keep chipping away at things - it has an impact longterm.

Have a great :xmastree::xmassmile:xmastree: Christmas and New Year.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Apple!



Babies growing nicely, but still tiny tiny. Got to see him outside of the incubator on Christmas Day – a super present. Looking forward to lots of cuddles as the year progresses, to make up for all the ogling without touching until now! :j



I started out well with another super haul of reduced food last night from our new local co-op. They don’t seem to have got their stock control quite right yet, teething problems I guess. Their standard markdown seems to be to 10p…having audited my freezer when I was trying to cram things in, we have A LOT of bread goods and sausages to eat up! Got most of the things I need for my folks coming to dinner today, and a party of 10 on Friday in this way, and the menu isn’t even that eclectic! :rotfl:



Resolved to pull myself back out of the bad habit of logging into various time-drag social media sites first thing in the morning….it always ends up making me feel low, and late! Coming on here would be much better! To tackle health and wealth scary matters promptly rather than sit on them, and to enjoy this debt free journey by cherishing my successes and loving the experiences that are free (time with friends and family) along the way.



Really looking forward to DD arriving home shortly, not just because that and the folks over give me an excuse to put le heating on for a little while. Its only uncomfortably cold in the kitchen, but everywhere else has that slightly empty chilly feeling. Plus it means my washing will dry, tick.



My Christmas tree is still thriving – must water him a little more now – and if the winds ease over the next few days it’ll be time to move him outside. I do hope he lasts for next year!



I signed up for a couple of challenges to keep me on the straight and narrow - weekly savings and Pay 1% of your debt. Best of luck for 2014 folks

[Deleted User]

Very MSE dinner party last night – with a bit of luck and planning I think we fed 10 three courses for about £5, using lots of reduced items purchased late on xmas eve that have been nestled in my freezer, and xmas present wine. It feels like we ended up with a net gain in food – lots of scrummy salad that one couple bought with them, and snacky things like crisps, crackers. Plus a couple of portions of lasagne and bolognaise sauce stashed in the freezer, and mac and cheese made with some extra white sauce. We will be enjoying some eclectic meals with the leftovers this week, made more enjoyable as they will bring back happy and bizarre memories of last night! I gave DD a murder mystery set as part of her xmas present, and we had a gang of friends she has known since nursery plus their parents over. The deal was come in costume, but nothing purchased – had to be borrowed/improvised/swapped, and everyone had some ingredient to contribute to the meal. It was going to be bring a course each, but to be honest I found so many cheap or free bits towards the main and pudding, that it ended up being basics – a pack of cream crackers, bowl of salad etc. I feel very lucky to have friends like this that are so easy going, threw themselves into the night, and who I can be quite open about our financial situation with. They are pretty inspiring money savers in their own right, too. And I now know, pretty awesome actors and shrewd detectives. I laughed so much I could hardly stand up at one point.
I can imagine, pre-lightbulb, that I would have spent an awful lot more hosting a night like that, on stuff…that wouldn’t have made much of a difference to the fun. Or maybe we would have even gone out to do it…at about £25 a head!
Pretty pleased also to have got the washing all dried while the heating was on for the guests last night, and although it wasn’t a NSD, I only spent what I had planned. Fuel was less due to a mega annoying clicky pump, I got it out of the red on the gauge but couldn’t face standing there any longer, so just £10. An incentive to make it last now as don’t want to break a future NSD just for that! Used petrol prices website but discovered the combination of my two local petrol stations – for rival companies – means they drive the others price down – they are the cheapest in the city;). Got my offcut lino in the sale– very excited about having a floor covering in the kitchen soon, when my mate is free to help me fit it. Friendly salesman cut a remnant right down for me, saving me another £15 in bits I didn’t need. Then he told me that the offcut of my offcut would be in the free section if I wanted to pop back in half an hour, just in case it would be useful to have a matching extra bit! All in all, a great day! :j



Today is intended to be a NSD…kids who slept over last night have just been collected after a pancake fest for breakfast, leftovers for lunch, and DD off to the theatre with friends later on (they bought her a ticket for xmas). I am bracing myself to blitz the house as we have a paying guest coming in tomorrow night for a week…£ is good news, but I’ve loved relaxing and having the place to ourselves. It’ll be nice to have the heating on a bit more while they are here, anyway!



Off to:

• Blitz the bedroom
  
• Put warm weather clothing out of the way to make it easier to prepare for guests
  
• Check out the loft - still dry?? (bit scared to look)
• Check in with the outlaws who are coming for dinner 2mrw, want to make sure they like the bits I'm planning to extract from the freezer! DONE, and they are bringing bits towards tea, plus tools for some jobs
  
• Update my spreadsheets after online banking
• Find some snacks for DD To take to the theatre DONE