NSK;The Tortoise and The Mad MARCH Hare!!!

dolly84

Morning all.

traveller - when I was younger I was very unsentimental and quite thoughtless really, it wasn't that I was selfish or trying to be hurtful I was just so wrapped up in my own life I didn't think. A sit down and a chat about they way people felt about that would have been a very good thing for me. I didn't change until I had my own children and became sentimental and much more emotional about things.

Well yesterday was a spendy day but only £2.99, DH went to the pub and got his gourmet burger, chips and guiness for 99p, even at £5.99 it was good value. Then we put a lottery ticket on - this is a rare spend for us.

Me and DH went for a bike ride in the morning, the sun was out and it was lovely, by lunchtime the wind had picked up and it was freezing. We walked the dog for an hour later. Despite all this blooming exercise I have only lost 14lb since mid January and for the last 3 weeks haven't lost anything. I really didn't want to do a diet because I always lose weight and then put it all back on plus having to mess about with separate meals or obsessing over food isn't something I have time for, I just wanted to eat our normal food but in smaller portions and cut down on the extras. I cook from scratch and it is sensible food but it isn't working so will have to have another think about it.

Today will probably involve spending money as I need to get a cucumber at the very least.

chickadee

Hi there,

Not checked in for a few days again, and doing rubbish on NSDs. I take my lunch to work every day though but there have been ebay parcels, diesel, etc. to buy day by day. Only managed 3 this month. Not over budget though, which is good. I have a very sophisticated spreadsheet for that .

Gave blood last night and saw on the breakfast news this morning that the blood service is appealing for people with my blood group to give blood asap as there is a national shortage of O- and B- blood. Last night I saw a brown tag attached to my donation marked NEO-RR and when I asled what that meant she said my blood had been reserved for neonatal use, so I felt very pleased and special that a baby or mother will get my blood. I was reading a leaflet that said only 4% of the population give blood. I know there are restrictions relating to pregnancy, age, medical historty, etc. but they surely don't rule out 96% of the population?

Took DS to look round his chosen university on Wednesday. It's about 30 miles from home but he's planning to live there so he gets the full uni experience and gains his independence, which I don't object to. Halls are so expensive though. £97 a week for the most basic of facilities. Me and his dad aren't together now but we get along fine. We were talking about how much it is going to cost him to do his degree and if he takes the full student loan + the loan for tuition fees he will owe £43k by the end of his course. :eek: Scary numbers! We'll both help him out but even so, it is a big sum. His degree is a useful one so it should hopefully help him to get a good job when he finishes.

Re: the cards thing, I am quite careful about sending cards and gifts. They don't always arrive in the day, sometimes at the weekend if there is a gift to take as well, but they always get one. My sister however, is terrible with cards. She lives some distance away from the rest of the family but never sends a card. She will bring one for the most recent birthdays when she comes to visit months after the event. We both have sons who turned 18 this year and all of her family were invited to my son's birthday party in a local club. They didn't come, or even send a card and it was his 18th! I sent her son a card and present for his birthday, but they didn't have a party, or any sort of celebration that I heard of. So miserable. Plenty stashed away in the bank, a big house and a brand new car every couple of years though.

Right, better get some more work done. By all.

Siouxsie32

Afternoon everyone, how are you all today? Not that I'm wishing time away, but it's two weeks til payday I'm doing alright for money this month, and most of my budgets are on course, I would just like it to be April so I can get a little bit more of the debt paid off!

I have an unplanned spend next week - my pregnant niece has been trying to come and visit me for the last few months, but with work patterns we've never quite got it together. She's finally on mat leave but too pregnant to fly, so I'm going to visit her for a few days. It'll be the last chance we have with it just being the two of us before everything changes for her so I'm fine with spending the money. I intend to spoil her and have lots of girly chats and do some fun things together! Obviously, as cheaply as possible, but sometimes things are about more than money. This is one of those things

Still doing alright with the SFDs. Had a strange concoction of fridge contents for dinner last night, and I have enough to take to work for dinner later. I'll maybe need to buy a banana on my way home tomorrow morning for breakfast...unless I can scavenge one from work for free!

Re the birthday card debate (I'm loving the debates on the thread this month ), I always send a small gift to my sister's kids for their birthday, and could hire Santa to drop off the gifts at Christmas. The older ones usually phone or Facebook message me to thank me, and the little ones draw a picture of them playing with the gifts, which is really cute. I never get anything in return (for my birthday or Christmas I mean), but that's okay. I couldn't not get them something. It's like a down payment on my future when I'm too old to look after myself - surely one of them will take me in

apple_muncher

A super spendy day for me today! But it was a planned one and was all in charity shops. I got myself a work blouse and trousers and some gorrrrrrrjus blue shoes. I don't usually get shoes there, but these were perfect. I also found 2 boxes of hair dye in the colour I normally use. And all that came in at £15.50. Result!

I also got dd a huge tea set using my Sally Army credit, and she's currently got it out on the climbing frame with her bears. Yep, arm out of the sling, so I'm not looking too much! It's been three weeks already since the fall, so a max of three more.

We had a bread order come through so the freezer is choc full of gf loaves! I won't be buying anything for the freezer next time I do a food shop as dh informs me there's more bread yet to come!

I'm grateful for sunshine, 'new' clothes, knitting needles, the legs those international rugby chaps all have (!), and hyacinths/ magnolia/ forsythia.

mothernerd

Warning. This is a moaning self obsessed rant by someone who should know better. Please feel free to by-pass this entry.

Okay deleted first post and tried to isolate problems. With massive apologies to those struggling to cope with serious problems.

1) Back is hurting.Took serious painkillers 2 hours since and it has retreated from agony down to a dull ache but definitely not going up ladders

2) Head/tooth/jaw pain - can't locate source, may just be result of bouncing thoughts round for half the day without resolution/ plan of action.

3) House is conspiring against me.Looks like a bomb site and things which have places won't stay in them - padded envelopes and packaging leapt out of their box and embroidery threads ditto whilst trying to make room to carry on doing actual work. Broke a glass the other night - usually a sign that something is wrong,over-tired and out of balance.

Currently working on bathroom and little bedroom. Further work needs large ladders - barely space for them in either room when empty. Only place left for things to go is in here with me (already have half the attic stairs in here. My stuff is in 3 bags/boxes (lost 2 of them for a couple of days).

4) DS1 and DS2 are ill. DS1 (via DS3's facepage this morning) is coughing up blood and losing bodily fluids, but will probably pass and at least gf is with him (okay he is 29 but mother bit wants to scoop him back into the nest).

DS2 a bit more worrying (this may underlying other things). Saw him yesterday,he has been ill since beginning of week. Stomach pains and swelling (baby bump) bad enough to stop him standing up. Doctor has taken blood and urine samples and started antibiotics in case it is an infection. Going back to doctors on Monday, will wait to see doctor he prefers this time. Sensible part of me says doctor would have done more if it were serious. Other people have suggested appendicitis (made him promise to phone ambulance straight away it pain worsened), a hernia (weeks off work) or pancreatitis (isn't it lovely when grandmother's think the best of their grandchildren).

He was ill before Christmas and hasn't caught up with the money he owes me. He has only had one shift this week therefore negligible earnings next week (unless he gets sick pay) and they still have him down for working tonight (busiest time) - I don't think he should work but if he got worse,at least other people would be there. Finally they are getting their refurbishment (promised 2 1/2 years ago) but again,he doesn't know if/ what he will get paid whilst premises are shut.

As he is 'renting' my old house both these scenarios have serious implications for my already precarious finances (this is part of the reason I have debt, supporting him when I was only just making ends meet) but he can't will himself well and I can't see him starve.

5) Another underlying worry and part of me wants to say it isn't any of my business. Mum and her OH live in his house, her house is rented out. She fell downstairs in February and still has problems with her hands, neck and balance. Her OH was diagnosed with dementia at the same time and has other health problems. I think mum had been covering for him for some time and also her own health has suffered considerably from looking after him.

The latest problem is that they cannot find some important paperwork. I have been de-cluttering since February (I was mildly annoyed that a pile of old cables and electrical stuff I sorted 3 weeks ago had not yet gone) and one of his sons filled a wheelie bin with shredded paperwork last year but apparently we have barely scratched the surface - there may be a loft full of every domestic bill he has ever had (56 years worth?) I am angry with her OH and feel mean for being angry with him but he has had (and still largely does have) a nice life. He has 'ways of doing things', most of which cause endless extra work for other people and at times his
treatment of my mother is very hard to bear.

Anyway, I have bored you enough. I will sign off now. Keep plodding - I am at least filling the odd bag of rubbish and waste bins of recyclables, just so annoyed with myself today.

apple_muncher

mothernerd, you are not being self-obsessed; you are being your usual lovely caring thoughtful self. And I'm amazed at the clarity of your writing - think I'd be an amoebic blob with all that. Hang in there and do what you can to ease your own physical pain. Do look after yourself first, so that you can then give out to others afterwards.

Sending you lots of hugs:grouphug:.

dolly84

chickadee - I don't give blood, me and DH went once and they couldn't get a single drop from me, I have very deep seated veins and I was the doctor's first failure. I had a dead arm for days after. When I was pregnant and had to give blood I was very worried but the lady doing it did it every day and was brilliant and now I know exactly where to point them to the one tiny vein which will give up its prize.

I do find the locations of the clinics a pain and think it should be available at the GP surgery maybe once a month then I'd have no excuse - can you still do it just twice a year?

TiptoesDB

Hey torties

Sorry for not being around all week, and sorry to say that I am going to have to bow out of this month's challenge. Serious family issues and illness has meant that 1) budgets are a bit out of the window in this crisis time, 2) I have been looking after little ones and have not been at home for most of the week so no internet access 3) no end in sight to the crisis so can't even promise to be back on track soon. Hopefully I will have some kind of order by April and will join back in then.

Till then I will try to be good where I can but family has to come above debts at the mo, and I am still managing to phone/ text my spends in to DH who adds them to the spreadsheet at home so at least we can keep track on things and know where we are when things calm down.

Sorry, I have not been able to catch up on all the posts for about 5 days, I hope everyone is ok xx

Fmess

Tiptoes hope you and your family are all ok, big hugs :grouphug:

mothernerd we are here for you to vent at and it sounds like you have a lot on your plate at the moment. Keep going and please do take care of yourself too, bug hugs :grouphug:

chickadee I really want to give blood but I have a similar issue as dolly and my blood refuses to come out and the nurses end up giving up I would love to be a donor

I am really struggling with getting SFDs at the moment. Today was food shop day, tomorrow should be a SFD but tomorrow I have a hospital appointment and there is no option but to pay for car parking My budgets are now spent but we have plenty of human and animal food in to last until the 25th (apart from bread and milk for OH).

Today has been a very productive day, although this is partly because I lied to OH and told him it was after 12, so he got up (and it was only 8.55!!) He was a little grumpy until I fed him a bacon sandwich, but it meant we have done lots of decluttering and took a full car load to the tip and a box of decent stuff to the charity shop. All the wheelie bins are now stuffed full and it feels very therapeutic. I feel like I want to give away everything at the moment :rotfl:

Buffythedebtslayer

Hello,


Well halfway through the month, had to use the credit card and money is ok but interesting. I am afraid I too have to bow out as work has been grim and with Mum coming home the house being a mess plus me being a mess I can't really keep up with the thread at all. I am pleased I paid off the car insurance and my debt is going down. so thanks for that and good luck to you all XXXXXX