Second Time Lucky

amycool

My birthday is close to Christmas and I do remember being very jealous of my July birthday brother.

I was given a £25 Next voucher when I left work and it has just cost me £5.99! I hate vouchers. I either have to spend £4.10 on the bus to get to the shop, where I usually can't find anything I like and buy something I'll never wear, or I have to pay £3.99 delivery! Anyway, I've ordered a jumper and some shoes that were already discounted so hopefully they won't be awful. There's a 7 week wait so I'll probably forget I bought them.

I had aimed to make a banana cake from the rotting bananas but we have no flour and I can't face the 45 minute walk to get some so they have gone to waste.

I'm hoping to at least start a meal plan this afternoon. Hoping. last night we had leftover medley.

Next week I might try to get going a bit more with the surveys. I do the odd yougov one but at this rate it'll be 2018 before my next payout.

amycool

Ooh!!!

I'm very excited as my Sky cashback of £78.78 and my M&M cashback (very quick indeed) of £3.93 are payable! At last!

I decided to get £86.84 on a Homebase/Argos gift card as we seem to spend a small fortune in both of those places.

debtfreeoneday

Freeze the bananas till you are ready to make the cake, that's what i do. Most of ours get eaten before getting to rotting stage, but I'll bung one here and there in the freezer until I have enough.

how is DD getting on at School?

turtlemoose

I was just about to say freeze the bananas

ref a bike for DD, check eb@y, as well as gomtree and prel0ved.co.uk - you could pick up a bargain this time of year with people selling off their too-small ones because their kids got new ones for xmas!

Fortune_Smiles

Frozen bananas make excellent ice cream too http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1363649/quick-banana-ice-cream


Fortune x

amycool

Thanks for the banana tips! Knowing me though, the bananas would be sat in the freezer for 4 years until unearthed.:o

I have flour and sugar now so hopefully next time they won't go to waste. DD gets free fruit at school so she isn't getting through anywhere near as much here (still a fair bit though!).

DD still hates school but she seems to be coping okay with it and starting to form some friendships. She's bright, so hopefully once she starts getting some praise for her work she'll want to go in more. So far she's been very good at doing her homework but we'll see how long that lasts. Over the weekend we did lots of reading, practising words, handwriting, 3D shapes, and counting backwards! I'm probably a bit weird in that I like homework. It keeps us busy!

I have booked a holiday! There was a lot of consideration and changing of minds but we've decided on a 5 day break to the Lake District in June. My Mum is coming too and it cost about £340 for all of us. My Mum is going to cover the petrol costs so other than that it'll just be attractions and food. We have no idea how DD will cope with being away from home for the first time so we kept it short and not too far away (still dreading the car journey!). There's the choice of staying in the holiday park and using the pool, but also tons of choices of child-friendly activities nearby. Part of me is very excited and part of me is very anxious!

This does leave the dreaded summer holiday with no break but we can hopefully do lots of day trips. Maybe I'll set us a project or something...

In other news - I did a meal plan! I'm making a bit veggie cottage pie today, which should do us 2 days (with chicken nuggets on standby if DD refuses it!). Pasta on Wednesday. Gravy dinner Thursday. Pizza Friday, then OH can sort out the weekend. DD is not happy as she wants pasta every night, but I'm not budging.

It feels like a lifetime since either of us was paid. The account is looking very empty.

SueP19

Do go for fleabay on the bike front, we bought DD a bike at 9 and she never did learn to ride it, a nice shiny £200 job sits in the shed :eek::eek::eek:

Firegirl

Amycool- I feel your pain on the pasta front!!!!

Here's a super easy recipe for you. Steam mushrooms and courgettes-my kids hate these vegetables- blend them and throw in some cheddar and blend again- guilt free pasta sauce for all the family. For the adults use the zest of lime and Parmesan!

This is my kids favourite sauce!!!! Can't wait to tell them what's in it when they get older!!!

amycool

I've been having a look at bikes but it's so hard because I don't drive and we're always so busy at the weekend. I saw a lovely one that's only about 3 miles away - I wish there was a "pay an extra tenner and we'll deliver it" option on gumtree and preloved!

On the pasta front, I made DD her favourite and she still complained that I had more than her (she's a third my size!!!) so you can't win.

Today I am having a weepy day. It was my birthday this week and DD didn't cope well with my being centre of attention (also got a handmade card from her with a picture of her birth mother on the front!!!!). So we've had a few days where I have been called into school - once because she was sad, once because she was pretending to be ill. I thought we had turned a corner last night but this morning was horrendous too and I'm expecting another call.

It was particularly upsetting for me yesterday as my lovely friends had taken me out for cake and I was having such a nice time when the school phoned.

Luckily I got lots of chocolate for my birthday, which I have been eating until I feel sick each day.

My avoidance of driving won't be going on for much longer as my in-laws gave me £150 for lessons!!! Can't back out of it now! Next week I have a few meetings but hopefully the week after I can start properly researching instructors and contacting them to find one who won't make me cry. I'm an emotional wreck as it is!

My lovely husband bought me a Folio, which I have always wanted.

I got paid more than expected today so I hope they won't phone again and take it back off me.

OH's contract runs out this year so we have to wait for a meeting to find out if they are extending it. Up to now everyone has been saying, "Of course we'll be keeping you on" but then an ominous letter arrived and it's making me a little anxious.

My spreadsheet doesn't add up. It's £13 out. Very annoying.

I need to go down to Iceland to claim my free birthday £1 treat but the pavements are icy and I'll probably just get there and the phone will ring. I also have to do the 50 minute round trip to get my prescription...for the 3rd time. They forgot to order it, then the chemist didn't have it in. Grrrr.

I am mega-grumpy today. I think I need to watch some comedy.

debtfreeoneday

Sending hugs and virtual chocolate which won't make you feel sick.

And some more hugs. Get those lessons sorted, you'll feel better.