two frugal years to freedom: a fritterer's tale

liltdiddylilt

Hey lobbyludd. Heartbreaking news about DD. I know it is hard but you have to be tough and send her. You defo need the break, and once she is away she will absolutely love it. I used to sob everytime I went to my nannys to stay over but I loved it once I was there. I was a real home bird of a kid, and now I live 250 miles away as miss independent. So probably sending me anyway despite the tears and protestations worked some magic.

I am starting to get worried about school uniforms. The local primaries all have uniforms emblazoned with named. Lucky Jelly can have a dress in the summer which could come from the local supermarket and they are good about stocking the right colours for the kids in our area, reds and greens! But still, it seems to be a huge bill. I might stick it onto my YNAB savings now..

Hope you're ok and kids got away alright. Thinking of you!

lobbyludd

thanks lilt,
she did go, she loves them to bits but is going through a particular phase - ds would stay home all day every day if he could, dd likes to explore, but only with me currently, but she did go and was fine on the phone

I've been in work early both days so far - how ridiculously easy is it to get up and organised when you've only yourself to sort out?

2nd pay day of the diary yesterday...:D

spent money on going out last night; that might well be twice Ive gone out this year alone, this madness must stop! had a lovely time at an open air theatre with pals and a picnic.

I have cut up one of my credit cards so that no more spending can occur on it. I've not been able to pay my last phone bill as can't get through to orange on the website.

will meal plan tonight and have some lemon sle something or other.

liltdiddylilt

Ah I am very glad she went, and that you got such a nice start to your holiday free of minions

You're right, it takes forever getting more than just yourself ready. Jellytot spends ages in the shower :rotfl: at 2 and a quarter that shouldn't be happening!

Orange's website is seriously rubbish, although I am glad I basically have DD's or Standing orders set up on everything nowadays. I cannot work out how my MIL and my Dad both spend ages waiting in queues at post offices and banks, paying each bill. It baffles me why they would want to. MIL does it weekly, and it keeps her on track. But at an extra cost?!

Wahey to cutting up the credit card! Well done you Hope it doesn't leave you short though!

Enjoy your cheeby free night. I wish you had a holiday booked from work too though!

Let me know your meal plans! I have so got to get into doing that. Right now I have a whole bunch of frozen chickn breasts, bacon and sausages... and cupboards piled high. But bare minimum inspiration!

Night!!

mum2one

liltdiddylilt wrote: »

Let me know your meal plans! I have so got to get into doing that. Right now I have a whole bunch of frozen chickn breasts, bacon and sausages... and cupboards piled high. But bare minimum inspiration!

Night!!

What I do with frozen chicken breasts (once defrosted), cut a slit to make a pocket, then add made up stuffing sometimes add chopped apricots into the mix, then wrap a piece of bacon around them - then pop in oven.

Sausages - make a sausage and tomato casserole - use 1lb sausages, (grill till brown) pop in casserole dish, add chopped pepper, fried onion, add 2 tins tomato's (bash the tom's if I dont have chopped toms mash them down in the tin. Bake in oven gas 5 for 40 mins, (can swop pepper for any veg, can add some chopped bacon.
Can top with crushed crackers mixed with grated cheese and add 10 more mins to cooking

If you dont use the topping - you can freeze extra portions xx

liltdiddylilt

Ahhh thanks Mum2one! Sounds intriguing and I will definitely try it. Think if I made extra and froze it, then I could add the topping on afterwards?! And recook for 10 mins?

I am a fan of new york deli chicken, where you cover a chicken breast in bbq sauce, bake it for 20 mins in the oven, then add a slice of bacon (I usually crisp it up a bit first on its own) and some grated cheese to the top. Lovely! xx

Sorry for the hijack Lobbyludd! xx

lobbyludd

that sounds delicious M2O apricots and stuffing (there's a things-people-cook-with-stuffing-mix thread on old-style, i had no idea!)

turns out I do no cooking when the kids aren't here, nor meal planning either, came home had a cup of coffee and napped on the sofa for an hour and a half - the decadence!

washing on, bins out and one patch of the victorian floor re-tiled. Have to gouge out the remaining concrete from the other patch tomorrow, and hope I have enough of the right sort of tiles to finish it thursday ish(or enough of the right colour that can be cut down - I'm not bad at this now!).

also must finish cleaning the cooker - I've dismantled it and started cleaning it, I've also dismantled the panelling on the bath to look at the bath taps (I need to remove them to recaulk the bath - stupid design......).

I am so not a completer/finisher! I need a team of patient people following in my wake of destruction and sorting out my projects or standing in front of me instructing me firmly to finish the things I've already started before going on to the next one....

anyway - those and the trunking are the "try-to-finish" jobs for this week - must not start any more, nor buy stuff for any more.

Paid orange over the phone, have ordered my phone-unlocking code (20 days to wait for email delivery???) anyhoo, but otherwise a low-spend day. I bought a chicken salad (lemon and pepper chicken, would love to know how to do this as very tasty) should have prepared lunch but really too hot to cook, may take in a bowl of chili tomorrow - entirely the wrong weather for it - but it will mean an NSD!

lobbyludd

LOL - no carry on I love the ideas

liltdiddylilt

I use stuffing mix with minced beef/lamb/pork (whatevers on offer) to make burgers! Tonnes of flavour and really bulks it out without making it feel like that

Cup of coffee for food sounds like every lunchtime at work for me my dad is a starter of projects not a finisher too. You destroyers should come with a label I lived in a house with 17 rooms growing up. Only 3 were decorated. One year during winter, the kitchen was moved into the shed for 8 months whilst dad dug out the victorian tiling in the kitchen then dug through about 9 feet of SAND to the cellar roof and concreted the rest back in. The entire chimney stack was resting on one brick either side for 130 years. And a lot of sand! Old houses are mad!

Hope you're enjoying your time off. Have the kids checked in? Sure they are having a lovely time!

I'm off to sleep. Night! xx

lobbyludd

enormous post eaten by the interweb gremlins lol,

edited "highlights"

children back had great time but glad to be home
mum and step dad stayed for bbq lunch and I'm still eating the left-overs
family situation of misunderstandings which I'm keeping completely out of
forgotten my dad's annual garden do next weekend, but have too much planned to go
things I have not spent money on over the weekend: light for landing (cranberry glass arts and crafts chandelier - was really lovely but I've NOT GOT THE MONEY), everything else on ebay....
things I did fritter money on: take-away on friday, start of collected tiles for the hole-in-my-bedroom-floor-where-the-hearth-should-be, various ice-lollies for melting younglings, too much food for bbq.
tasks accomplished whilst kiddles away: cleaned oven and fixed it's door (took hours in raging heat hence takeaway on friday!), retiled part 2 of the hall floor, excavated area 3 ready for tiling and ripped off crappy two-b'-four masquerading as architraving, worked out what is required to recaulk bath (taps need to be removed) have ordered special wrench to do so, got new trunking and set into wall in hall (was wooden trunking on top of wall) finished lawn edging, transplanted some chamomile to bare patches, watered all plants daily, 2 nights out and worked full time. tasks accomplished since kiddles back: zero LOL!

am on annual leave today but have done 2hrs work so far with an hour's telephone meeting in a bit, boss was supposed to brief me for another telephone meeting at 12 but she's not at her desk yet so think she's forgotten - so I'll make it up as I go along tomorrow (again from home).

lobbyludd

spendy day - 5 on exterior sealant to seal the back door (leaks during driving rain).

nearly a tenner on ice-lollies and ice-lolly moulds - which guarantees the end of the summer - sorry

oh and 7.40 on a charm for DD, I've bought one a year for a bracelet she'll get when she's 13.