NSK: The June Overhaul!!!

NinjaSavingKat

Afternoon June Bugs...


Super late in the day check in from me - why I hear you ask - cause I have been reconciling my spreadsheet - WHAT FUN! :T:T:T

First things first - Waitrose gave me a refund on those items I bought - but the amount was £7.98 due to a promotion. This promotion had ended by the time I went back in so I was given £10.34 in cash.....:T

I bought £4.98 worth of vegan marshmallows (2 packets) from Holland and Barrett.

I spent £11.90 on goodies for my friend from M&S - she requested no flapjacks and £6 on a bunch of blue lilies in Tesco - weird but appropriate - that's £17.90 on the credit card and worth every penny! £1 from the food budget went on a little card.

Shame it took SO LONG to get there that I only had a very short cuddle with baby before I had to walk to the country-bumpkin-bus-station for the last bus home at 2030??? Otherwise the next bus would have been another £2.50! I was SHATTERED this morning and relented with a 35p energy drink which I think was not vegan - either that or fall asleep under my desk. NOT GOOD!

Anyway... my own shopping in Tesco came to £8.44 and totals will be added later tonight as I am about to leave for the day..

I have also relented and bought a train ticket for Friday to see my cousin and with Monday off managed to get a cheaper ticket - full total = £54.50. It's a lot of money but considering all she is going through it's not bad for not having gone to see her in the last 5 years....:o:o:o..AND I finish work at 0800 on Friday morning so 4 hours on the bike might be too dangerous...

So I budgeted £40 for petrol - had to spend £15 already which is also all used up - so the remaining £25 will go to the CC and the rest will be covered by next month.

That leave £62.60 x 2 - for the last two weeks of travel in my account, with £70 for motorbike brakes (guesstimate as I might not need them), £30 for cat flea/worm tablets etc and £7.02 remaining of the £15 Mumsy gave me which will be going on ingredients for the Rocky Road which I can't get out of my head! Maple Syrup is £5.60...???

This vegan malarky is EXPENSIVE!

Every item is listed on my spreadsheet (loser), I want to know how many bananas I buy a month, etc etc so I can plan ahead next month and bulk buy some items...

I want to find some cheap plastic tubs that have a wide neck and hold 1 litre of liquid. I am going to make up the green smoothies two weeks in advance and freeze them..... I once got a brilliant Covent Garden soup tub that went everywhere with me so I don't mind buying something like that and dumping the soup (usually meaty meat soup)...

Right - enough wittering. I will be on tonight after baking to see what everyone is doing but for the love of my sanity I need an early night..........

OT gained for the 4 hours I wanted on the 23rd (happy NSK) - I emailed them and said I could start earlier so the weekend after this one I am doing the same crazy double shift - I think of the money and it pushed me through.....

Right - laters bugs....

NinjaSavingKat

What I forgot to add was that my money was all getting confused ( food vs travel ) so I have wrapped a £20 in a post-it note and cellotaped it down.

Very neat with a distinct "3rd Week £20" written on it. Same with a £20 for week 4, remainder of travel money and remainder of the refund cash that is technically money from my Mum.

Now I can't get to any of it in a store without looking like some pedantic imbecile and really have to think about opening my little self-made packages...

I have exactly £6.64 for the rest of the week so will cook and prep today and hope that my cousin doesn't want to go out over the weekend - I might decline any suggestions though.....

Pictures of little yellow parcels to follow.....

mothernerd

Poor MagicCat - such a betrayal of your trust and violation of your home.

Having an up and down day. Have had to throw away the remaining tuna mousse - it had a furry coat. Although as I originally hoped it would do until last Friday, it's been a little star. Finished the fruit juice (12 days) yesterday and had a 'money purse' for lunch - spiced meat and peppers in a puff pastry 'bag' - also threw some of the pastry (try not to eat any usually). Bought ys'd before Easter - expected it to be the little tiny things you get in chinese dim sum (had put it away for an Easter 'buffet').

However it was different and filled my 'pasty craving' (had 2 since December 2012) from yesterday. Note to self - do not attempt to walk home in the post dinner rush past 2 of the best (little local made on the premises) pasty shops in town and 3 chip shops including one with banners proclaiming it has won 'best chip shop chips in the North West 2014' + all the choc vendors. Still not spent anything.

Am now thinking I will not shop tomorrow. Will be cooking the pasta dish, quiches and probably sesame thins (DS1 left a packet of sesame seeds and I know they don't keep very well), later on. Still have some chopped onions and if the onion soup does for the 'onion component' of a couple of bean recipes, I could go to Friday or even after the weekend. Friday I get a lift home and the bit between sainsbobs and mum's is only 15 minutes. Also thinking the bar of chocolate should be my end of month treat - all about delayed gratification, can have it but what if (may still crack at any moment).

Have also dropped a hint to DS3 that if money is to be spent that is what I would want. Think he got his remaining money out to visit gf and may have a bit left. He said spending money would mean him leaving the house but also said he has completed 6 out of 10 levels on the game he is developing - may be spending his remaining money as he puts himself under more pressure and he works harder.

Exercise wise - legs not 100% this morning so started with stretches - new ones are done in sets of 3 so alternated 'stork' and 'ballet' 3 times- then needed a lie down. Physio was telling trainee that if exercises were too complicated people couldn't remember and didn't do them - that's why I give them all simple one word names. Also trying to sit and stand correctly, with proper support when necessary, at all times.

Was planning to move a couple of large bits in the garden - big reward for a little effort, give it some shape (did manage a little more weeding last night but think I need a break from bending down) but thunder cracks intervened.

Have dispatched a washing up mountain, alternating clockwise and anti-clockwise laps of the kitchen and incorporating a step up and a step down (about 12") as I had brought the box downstairs to help with garden tasks. Had to leave out the step on the third batch of washing up - was starting to get dizzy and just breathing was enough.

Otherwise having a pondering day. I realised a few months ago that a lot of what I had read recently was fairly superficial (last year's waiting for a new glasses prescription and adjusting to the new - cue several months stuck on large print books, didn't help) and have been making an effort to choose things with a bit more substance. So thinking deep thoughts and re-discovering a bit of the old me (before life tried to knock the stuffing out of me - it failed, I may be a bit flat temporarily).

mothernerd

Went back outside - sunny again, weird weather.

Moved compost bin to new position, in front of shed. Scraped old flaking paint off and used (very old, very dry) compost underneath bin and on top of contents. This means I can continue to use the bin for now - old compost should soak up any liquid that seeps out. When I sell the house, I can stop using it and should have 3 months while the sale goes through to get the contents moveable (could always dig in at the back of one of the beds).

Also moved a bin with a tree in it to the other side (green leaves, cream bin, turquoise shed - good). Aware that I was pushing it a bit by now, I put some boards across the bin I have filled with soil (so pot is supported on the edges of the bin), put a large decorative pot on top and filled it (1/2 a bucket of soil at a time) and put in a (still dormant) shrub, a paeony corm (deep red, against cream fence and turquoise shed) and a small hebe (tiny dark green with cream edges leaves) which was being overshadowed by its neighbours.

Now safely back in the house with carrot cake, water and laptop providing heat therapy to my leg - don't plan to move further than the bathroom for the rest of the evening.

Fmess

Evening all


MagicCat I would be fuming and as you say it is awful to think of these people being in your house and possibly having took other things. If it was me, I would check all of the boxes you talk about (or at least the ones that look like they could have been easily accessed) and write a list of anything and everything you remember has gone missing. Then I would ask for a meeting with the main guy and present him with your list, perhaps with estimated costs to replace the items. It may depend on the financial situation with the builders, have you paid them all the money to the end of the job? You could go to the police, or if you haven't paid them everything, then say you will keep the money to replace the stolen items. To be honest if it didn't leave you out of pocket, I'd sack them, report them to the police and write lots of online reviews slating them.


Today is SFD number 7 I have had 4 of my 5 fruit and veg (spinach, cucumber, mushrooms and pepper). I am still trying to find things to sell on eB4y but starting to struggle a bit.


Hope you've all had a good day.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for sitting outside for 20 mins with a good book, dd's cuddles, the pension person calling to arrange a meeting, good coffee and a mentally alert day!

SiannieLaz

Evening All,


MagicCat - how horrible for you what an awful situation to be in. I would follow the advice given previously and think about getting the police involved.


I haven't got much to say, the black cloud is descending upon me and I'm feeling pretty rubbish at the mo. Have cut up my credit card in preparation. I've been keeping it in case of emergencies but my mum has said she will step in if anything comes up. there is nothing bad going on, just my mood falling for no reason. So main focus is getting through the next couple of days until it lifts again. SFD today tho.


Totals
SFD 4/15
Groceries £21.38/£80
Misc £10.48/£40
Petrol £15/£30
Exercise 6/25
Meals 9/30
Tidy 9/30


HAve a good one all xxx

NinjaSavingKat

apple_muncher wrote: »

And have you thought of strapping the bus pass to your forehead so that you don't lose it? Gaffer tape would be very effective...

Ha ha ha ha ha! This made me chuckle!!! Ok - I will stick it to my forehead....

NinjaSavingKat

MagicCat wrote: »

..... Don't really know what to do.

You need to call the police. If the contractor and his men have nothing to hide they will be as helpful as they can when the police need to question them - they will also realise that their reputation is at stake when you have to recommend them but will always follow up the story with the uneasy feeling they gave you when things started to go missing..

Please do not sit and assume you can not do anything. This is your home. Pure and simple. You are inviting people in because you are paying them to do some work - they have NO RIGHT to be in other areas of your home...

Please call the police. They will come and see you due to the nature of the call and the suspects being so bleeding obvious...

I am so sorry this has happened to you but I would be LIVID. Please call 101 and just speak with the operator...

NinjaSavingKat

Moneymash wrote: »

Ok birthday milestone for me, not in years, in finance, yesterday was the last birthday I shall spend in consumer debt, thank goodness.

This is AMAZING news - you must be super proud of yourself I hope! It's a great feeling when it's all gone and you are keeping your wage all to yourself...

I have recorded that programme about kids on the breadline as it looked very interesting - then I would like to punch the parents from shopaholic kids... breeding little brats!