NSK; "The Janus Illusion".

TiptoesDB

Calling, so sorry to hear of your loss. It seems to be such a sad time for many. I hope you are feeling better. LearningtoBudget… horrible to be chronic pain, no wonder everything lese takes a back seat, getting through the day is hard enough. And Missyv30, hope all is ok for your mum – fingers crossed. Thrifty, what a difficult choice. I think you are taking a very sensible approach.

Hearing all the sad news makes me doubly determined to appreciate what I do have and be grateful for it. Things have been tough at work and I have been feeling stressed and overwhelmed but I have so much to be happy for. I will recognise it every day.

Things ticking along challenge wise. Hoping to do a run and swim today to push my exercise totals up a bit. Downshifted 6 things now this month despite thinking at the start of the challenge we couldn’t possible shift anything else down! Today it was cat litter, tortillas and chicken for DH. Might as well give ‘em a whirl. Also going to bake DH’s birthday cake with granulated sugar not caster sugar. Half the price and according to agirlcalledjack, just the same in a cake…

My wedding dress, which I bought second hand and then sold on again, got married again yesterday and it makes me happy that someone else enjoyed it as much as I did! The girl who bought it from me on e-bay texted me a pic of her in it this morning, which was such a pleasant surprise! She plans to keep it for her daughter now, so my lovely dress will have a legacy which is so nice to hear!



1. SFD 12/20
2. Food budget £157/£180
3. Brand downshift 6/5
4. Lunch to work 10/19
5. Arranged outings 0/2
6. Exercise 9/25
7. Beauty spends 0/£10

clippy_girl

hi all,

fingers crossed for your mum tomorrow missy

so today was to be a sfd but kitty ruined plans again! :mad: he managed to loose his collar yest so knew i needed to get a new one at some point. glad i only bought a £2 collar and £1.50 id barrel instead of expensive tag.

so let him out as i usually do this morning and went to gym. when i was getting changed i had a voicemail from my vets so i immediately thought the worst (he is microchipped and my vet is the closest vet and open on a sun). rang them up and someone had randomly brought him in as they thought he was a stray as he had no collar! very strange as he had only been outside 2.5hrs so not like he had been out for ages. there are also loads of cats around here, most of which dont wear collars. so i had to go get him and whilst i was there bought two replacement collars and id barrels as vets is in a pets at home. they commented that he was extremely noisy and was crying very loudly he cried in his carrier all the way home but then cheered up when he saw his toys! he has been back out with his new collar on and immediately got in a fight with next doors cat! hes such a little tinker :rotfl:

but glad he is ok as thought someone had had taken him in as he had been run over

so plans for today are to type up 4 mystery shops and do some online ones. also going to hoover downstairs and make some soup. pulled up a few leeks from garden but they are a bit pathetic and skinny! decided this year im just doing strawberries and potatoes as they are easy. also hope to get some apples from my tree i bought last year (it had two small ones on it when i got it). may also make some of jacks daal as i love it the office dont like it though as it stinks :rotfl:

how lovely about your dress tiptoes

B17c

Sorry haven't posted for a couple of days, work has been manic! I've had a couple of spend days as forgot to make up lunches for work so had to get staff lunch! Only £3 a day but still... Not the point!!

Sorry to hear everyone's bad news, hugs to everyone who needs them.

SFDs: 14/20
Food budget: £44.86/£100
Brand downshift: 5/5
Foodbank: £0/£3
Exercise sessions: 15/15
LTW: 16/20

I need to be a bit more focused and up my game, really want to pay off my credit card by March and get some savings built up!

B17c

Tiptoes that's lovely! I feel a bit teary! :rotfl:

TiptoesDB

Thanks B17c ! you should have seen me this morning when I got the text - I was choking back a sob!

themarsbargirl

Tiptoes, i personally don't find granulated to be the same as castor in a cake. it depends a bit on what type of cake you are making but i definitelty don't get such good results in sponges with granulated, i find they go heavy and gritty. works for melt in a pot with butter recipes like flapjack and gingerbread though.

Fmess

Afternoon all

Loving the recycled wedding dress story Tiptoes, what a great idea. I know lots of people who have spent a fortune and then keep them in the cupboard, whereas at least one other person gets to enjoy yours

I have updated my totals from yesterday's food shopping and as predicted the budgets are decimated The only positive is that I have not gone into more debt for any of this, just had to earn more money/shuffle money around

Today is a SFD, went to the gym for exercise and have been doing chores. I am so tired at the moment and feel I could have a nap at least 3 or 4 times a day (really fighting the urge now). Anyone else felt like this since Christmas? I cant decide whether its because I'm quite busy at the moment, or because I'm doing more exercise and am so unfit, or because I'm dieting, probably a combination of the three!

I still need to hoover the house and do some work before bed but could honestly curl up and sleep until tomorrow morning! OH is being very sweet and says I should just put my feet up for the rest of the day and he can't see dirt anyway, but I know I need to get it done

Hope you are all having productive days

stewby

The wedding dress story is brilliant. The bit I liked best is the fact that she got in touch to tell you. I love that she thought of you on her big day.


Today has been a spend day but I did do rather well (I think). My house insurance is due on the 3rd feb and the company were charging me a fortune (my dad says it is my own fault as I didn't look around or anything, just stuck with the same company). Found tescimos with extras and less vountary excess were £100 cheaper so have gone with them.


The other cost was a bit more of a luxury... our annual membership to a campervan forum was due. £16 for the year which isn't too bad when you consider we spend that on a pizza takeaway.
:embarasse

However, apart from new look with my xmas voucher, I have not actually touched a sale!! This is a miracle for me so I am a wee bit proud of that.

LoveaDove

Tiptoes - What a lovely sequence of events!

SFDs = 13

Exercise= 6hrs 45mins/4.5 hrs :j

Went on a 2 hour hike today, hiking boots and everything! Absolutely knackered from venturing on very muddy briddleways and slippery slopes! Found 2 Geocaches and also got to see the local quarry for the first time ever in a a big gap in the fence so took a photo of the sun setting over it!

PJ's and slippers are now on! :cool:

TiptoesDB

Thanks guys! I asked her to send me a pic when she got married when she bought it, as I was really torn handing it over! I am really glad I did and that she loved wearing it and looked so lovely. I sent a photo of me in it to the girl I bought it from too, so the cycle continued... much better than sitting in a loft or cupboard as you say Fmess.

Well, didn't manage to run today, but did swim. And themarsbargirl, you are right -made a coffee sponge cake for DH's birthday today and it's a lot flatter than normal. Wish I'd read your advice before I made it! DH might not notice tho...