I have lost my OS ways, help!

Treacle_Toes

I've been away from this thread for about a week, but I've been trying to keep up my OS ways, despite a mini spa break last weekend.

Before my break I helped at a local jumble sale. There was a couple of items I noticed would sell for quite a lot of money on ebay, so I offered to take them to sell after my holiday and give them the profits. I could have just bought them and taken the profit myself but it didn't feel right.

I did get myself a pair of Gabor shoes there in a style I've been looking for new - they are £80+ on their website. After wearing them I noticed that the sole was coming away on one shoe, which I guess was why they were donated, so I took them to the shoe repairer. He said the patch was so small (about an inch) he did it for free!

I'm ahead with my meal plan by about a week due to meals lasting longer than expected, so I need to finish that to make it reach to next Friday as then we are going on holiday! Hopefully not too much to buy later today.

My plan for today is update money on the computer, gym, Tesco/Lidl. Also need to change DD dentist appointment as it's too close to our surprise Horrible Histories theatre trip next Thursday. I don't won't be be in a rush afterwards as it will be rush hour when we need to get into Chelmsford for the show.

Have a great day everyone.

TT x

Caterina

Good morning,

MOS well done on clear MOT and free valeting. £30 for MOT is very good, I pay over £50 at my garage, but keep going there because they know the car well. The other day DH took it there for a check up as he thought it was not driving right. They did all the diagnostic checks and found nothing, so did not charge us. I suppose the service they offer balances the more expensive price when we have to pay.

TT Gabor, fantastic find, I love their shoes, so comfy! Good for you. Enjoy the show with your DD.

Ahhhh the bliss of not having to go anywhere first thing in the morning, I had forgotten it, as I haven't worked at a morning job for years.

Made breakfast (nice big pot of porridge, nuts and seeds, cinnamon and maple syrup) for all and packed lunch for DH, now back in bed for a luxury few minutes with my cup of tea.

Today I hope to do tai chi, which I have missed on Monday and Tuesday because of the weather, then I really got to do the mystery shop I agreed to. Then more housework and ironing, it never ends!

4 pm boys pick up, today she needs me to stay with them until 7:30 as she goes to parents evening. Not a problem but I need to remember to take a book with me. Which reminds me, I need to renew library books, will do it on the phone to make life simpler.

I hope DS can be home while I do all the running around, as I have a parcel to be picked up and they don't tell you what time, it only says up to 19:00, not very helpful.

Have a good OS day.

Caterina

Good morning,

Had a very high spend day yesterday as I paid the nasty builders' final bill, adjusted to cover what they hadn't done but nowhere near enough, they never admitted their errors and blamed DH... Never mind, they are in the past now and mercifully out of our hair. Still got to pay the nasty electrician. But A- he messed us around so much that I am giving him a taste of his own medicine B- I am waiting to see a new electrician to check what's missing and correct the errors and if we incur in expenses due to Nasty's errors we will deduct them from his bill.

Yesterday I also did a mystery shop for some goods that I am allowed to keep, at a substantial discount, but not free.

The day before I spent £3 in veg top up, today there will be more spending in veg and fruit, I really fancy treating myself to some fresh blueberries (l1dl) and watercress for my salad. Also fish. If we are to cure our Saturday fish and chips addiction it pays to have breaded fish (£1.99 for 4) and chips (£1 for frozen oven chips) in the freezer. And no doubt the boys will welcome beer, paid for by DS's gathered coins over 3 years.

Tonight I am having dinner out with a couple of drinks as well, with a friend, as it is a mystery shopping assignment and it has a generous allowance, as well as a reasonable compensation. The hour and a bit that it takes me to do the report write ups are well worth the effort, as the meals are gorgeous. Shame it requires someone to taste a meat dish otherwise I could have gone with DH, but neither of us eats meat.

Also today should see me tackling some of the newly created ironing mountain (the result of over-enthusiastic laundry when I see sunshine!) and meeting a friend in the afternoon. I work for her sometimes, I do her finances, but we haven't met for a while and we decided to do a social catch up before the accounts meeting, so we don't spend half of my paid hours nattering LOL

Early evening I have a session of counselling with DH, it is going very well even if it is quite tough at times, but it is really helping us to see each other's viewpoints and iron out differences in a safe and mediated space.

Have a good OS day.

IrisViolet

Hi everyone, been MIA but still popping in where I could.
Knackered, baby Is getting 3 teeth at once and has got really ill with it, teething has never made her ill before so this is a first. Even booby isnt cutting it, she's just screaming all night, prob cos shes struggling to breath, so im knackered!

eldest daughter doing an extra day at her nursery now, so thats 3 days, leaving two days for ballet and playdates, we had a lovely day at the park yesterday, nice and free.

Still trying to be OS, think im doing quite well, sticking to my budgets and updating my spreadsheets with spends, bought quite a few xmas presensts and put them away, im going to get it all done by end of november. Been doing all my shopping at aldi and loving it tbh.

Still trying to cut down on electricity use but we will get there, also gas has been on a few times for heating when its been freezing, not much you can do when kids are cold.

anyway off to ahve some porridge for brekkie and make some smoothies to combat all these sniffles that have invaded the house, then itl be some reading and maths with DS, before napping with bubs! i hope!

Have an Os day everyone!

Caterina

IrisViolet, remind me, how old is the baby? If she isn't 100% breastfed and you have already introduced water or solids, you can give her a beaker of lukewarm organic camomile tea, weak infusion, to help with teething.

Another reason for booby refusal might be a growth spurt, in which case you can only persevere offering and take as many breaks and naps as you can. I feel for you, look after yourself, it is a difficult time xx

villagelife

I have managed 2 NSD days this week which is better than I had hoped and would have been 3 if there weren't new baby collections at work and having to pay for parking.

Loving my chickens - spending lots of time watching them.
Meal planning going ok and reducing the amount of meat we eat so far DH hasn't complained/noticed.

Having busy weekend - friends are coming for a meal on Saturday so must think of something to cook and see if I can pick enough roses or other flowers.

Caterina

Hi Villagelife, 2 NSDs in a week are good! One day I shall ask you all about chickens, as I really want a pair in my back garden. But it is a small garden so they would be constricted to a few square yards of space, inner London garden :-( and infested by foxes. Also pondering whether to investi in an Eglu or go for home built, with the same fox proofing that the eglus have, flat wire around the base of the construction.

A while away, though, together with my other garden dream, the woodfired bread and pizza oven. The lovely builder said he will build it for free in exchange for fresh bread and pizza. But I have had it with building anything for the time being!

moments_of_sanity

Good Morning All, I was never able to breastfeed my eldest as she arrived a month early and spent the first 2 weeks in special care being tube fed. I did express the milk with which they fed her though but even when she came out of special care she couldn't suck so we had to go for bottle feeding with a larger hole in the teat so it could 'run' into her mouth.

My youngest DD (17) very kindly invited me out for breakfast today as she wanted to try Ikea's vegetarian breakfast, well how could I resist and she even let me pay! :rotfl: cost of 2 breakfasts, a hot chocolate and a tea came to £3, well worth it to get to spend an hour alone with her. It seems these days she is always out with friends and comes in late at night (the friends are mostly male and always walk her home no matter what time of the night), only weekend nights do we allow her to be home so late.

Same DD has offered to come to A!di's with me later so once she is back from school we will toddle off to do some shopping. Hoping it won't be a big spend as there isn't much I need, mainly vegetables and breakfast cereals, oh and mustn't forget the cat treats or they won't forgive me! :rotfl:

Wishing you all a lovely day x

XSpender

Good evening Ladies


My OS mo-jo has been distinctly lacking the last week or two but has come back today with a vengeance.


The house has been cleaned top to bottom, I have cleared out 2 cupboards, checked everything in the fridge including all the jars and sauces to see what needs using up, read the meters, done some interview prep, washed and dried all the washing on the line, made admin type phone calls, baked the best GF cake ever (if I do say so myself;)) and made crispy buns for DS to use up some cornflakes and best of all I haven't done a weekly shop as we don't need anything:D


I am shattered but feeling very satisfied.:) DH, DS and I now have a free weekend for fun stuff :T

CRANKY40

I haven't posted as I just seemed so tired this last week or two that everyday stuff was enough effort.....I have been reading though. I'm thinking it may have been a virus. I'm more or less back to normal now, and the cake tin is full again. We took some cakes to my great aunt who is 95 next week. She's been in hospital and not eating much, but she enjoys home made cakes and ate them which cheered us all up.

We've been having porridge for breakfast as the weather has turned cooler. My small and fussy eater surprises me by loving porridge as a lot of people aren't keen. I will be adding vegetables to the fussy eater via spaghetti bolognese tomorrow as he went to a party tonight and ate nothing particularly nourishing. Spag Bol is great for disguising things that are good for him. He knows I do it, but he isn't bothered as long as he cant tell the stuff is in there.

This next week I will be working on my diet drink addiction. I thought I might try putting the money I save by not having fizzy drinks in a jar so I can see how much I've been wasting. I will also be trying to think of something to buy a nine year old for his tenth birthday in two weeks, then Christmas seven weeks later. Any suggestions would be welcome ��