NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

CEW

I_want_a_baby wrote: »

CEW - I will ask again in case you didn't see a few pages back, would you please share your bread recipe and bakers tips? One of my 2015 goals is to start baking our bread. I have a kenwood chef to make the dough in and will then let them rise and bake in the oven.

Sorry I did see your post but only at around 2am this morning when I woke up with really bad indigestion/reflux. Have a stomach problem that is controlled by medication but stupidly allowed myself to run out so waiting for the prescription to be sent to Mr S on Monday hopefully.

I will grab the recipe and post it this afternoon along with the tips from baker and our own experience.

Just about to go out and deliver some leftover Christmas presents, couldn't manage to find a mutually convenient time to exchange gifts before now :eek:

Back later with my weekend spends and the recipe.

Chez x

[Deleted User]

I am having a storming time this morning, sorting my knitting stuff ready to get started on a lovely jared flood pattern called hawser, I decided to double up my home spun merino and have perfect gauge in stitches but fewer rows so have done the maths and worked out that I can cut my rows down on each cable. So work will soon start on clearing a full box of yarn and small steps count

In the process, I have had to get some circular needles sorted so suddenly decided to tidy my knitting stuff, seeing that I have the full set starting from 55 years ago, plus bamboo set, plus a (prized) lantern moon set plus karbonz in the thinner needles. I have dpns of all lengths, sizes and quality, including donated ones suitable for my leather knitting belt, I have to learn on that one. Circular needles of all sizes and lengths neatly stored in cheap ebay cotton drawstring pouches and marked with marker pen and also sets of interchangeables from chiaogoo (fab) and also knitpicks. That plus all the other bits and pieces, must be worth a small fortune. I did any donating years ago so am keeping the lot as I use almost everything, except the nostalgic antique set. I am not making more room, just sorting and leading to good feng shui

I did buy this week, books by chris kresser as we are heading to paleo. Also more grass fed butter, cheese, bones etc. I made the bone broth 2 nights ago from the turkey carcase, organic so hopefully full of vitamin k2. Anyway grass fed meat on its way next week, including bones and liver

Looks as though two loved woollen jumpers are on the way out, cheap online bought lambswool from woolovers. They have started wearing thin and developing small holes. Really good value but two out and I`ll be putting one or two homemade in, when I have made them

Dh made a shelf stand for inside a floor to ceiling cupboard in bedroom, very useful too as it is a store for stuff like loo rolls and toothpastes. I can now easily fit my iron and board in there and put 3 towels on a chest of drawers in a spare bedroom, so will only need to take out the iron for most things, it makes that bedroom look lovely and homely now

Amazing how one thing leads to another and how I never stop learning, now about k2-7 and k2-4 and d-ribose, all because if dh`s unexplained so called heart failure, which is rapidly resolving and he looks so well now after my changes, which included chucking some edibles out, like christmas stollen, waffles and cheap chocolates.

purpleshoes_2

Nom nom paleo is a good website. If I had a quid for every time I've had to explain to people that I follow a paleo diet but don't eat meat I'd be so rich

Whole 30 is another website that gives guidelines on paleo eating.

I_want_a_baby

Thank you so much CEW xx will keep an eye out for your post xx

I hope you feel better soon and get your prescription ASAP. The midwife phoned me yesterday and said I needed to go onto iron tablets - I'm dreading this, I'll be on them for 10 weeks and heard awful things about the side effects :eek:

Had a good chat out on the plot, we've mutually decided where the poly tunnel will go, where the main veg planting will be where the separate bean trenches will go and also decided to have a raised bed for salad in the garden which will will need to make. All our beds need some kind of edging really as the grass from the field is growing over, there is also a lot of weeding and digging over to do!

But aside from onions and potatoes there isn't a lot to plant in the next 6 weeks so we should have time to get it up together.

IWAB x

[Deleted User]

Morning everyone!

Sunny day here and not as windy today, so I will be taking the dog for a walk shortly around the woods - didn't fancy it yesterday in case a tree fell down on top of us lol!

Stuff to report from below deck -
Am estimating savings of £165/yr now we have had a water meter installed and I keep checking usage.
Have changed energy tariff and now pay £57/mth DD for both gas/elec (our actual meter usage is about £55).
Am switching from talktalk to sky for their broadband/phone package, with free broadband, £50 m&s vouchers and cashback from quidco - after total cashback it will work out at £36/yr for line rental and broadband.
Have started shopping regularly (once a week) in the local butchers and lidl and have cut costs for our family of 5 to less than £70/wk.
Have not ventured into any other shops to buy anything since just before Christmas and it feels really good.
Have cleared 2 credit cards within the last 3 months, closed one and reduced the limit on the other and put it away for emergency savings.
Lost 2 lbs this week - good but definitely not good enough. I'm ashamed to say that I bet I weigh a lot more than most of you on this board and really need to sort it out. I'm not a lazy person, but I like my treats and I must have a very slow metabolism. My goal for this year is to lose a steady, maintainable 2-3 lbs/wk - 2 lbs a week is over 7 stone in a year!
Have also applied for a job this week - I was so nervous hitting the send button! My husband works and I have 3 children, one of who starts school in September, but I would like to get sorted sooner rather than later. I had a job about 18mths ago but had to leave due to an accident, so this one I would be able to do and it would keep me busy. Doesn't help my anxiety and nerves though, but I guess everyone is nervous when it comes to new jobs?!
Also, the house is spotless! Have been decluttering, sorting and cleaning and it is now in a position where everything has it's place and is easier to manage. Am going to look into tha Amazon trade-in later and clear the remaining books etc and save any money for gifts for throughout the year.

Oh dear, I have written an essay!!! Never mind, I don't post as often as some of you - I'm just making up for it lol! Will report back soon!

Take care xx

[Deleted User]

On the back of my last Amazon post there is also this... Send a £20 giftcard, get £5 extra to keep yourself.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/browse.html/ref=pe_758171_61711481_pe_button/?node=5225073031

Send the giftcard to yourself? your other half?

So technically this is me encouraging spending, however Amazon giftcard's don't expire for 100 years once there added to your account. I regularly use amazon for craft materials and books as they are simply the cheapest place around.

Important Notification: This offer is ONLY valid for customers who have received the e-mail invitation from Amazon.co.uk. If you did not receive an e-mail invitation from Amazon.co.uk, you are not eligible for this offer. To qualify, you must:
(1) use the Amazon.co.uk account associated with the e-mail address to which the invitation was sent, in order to purchase the Amazon.co.uk Gift Card(s),

I didn't get an email but it worked for me
Be sure that the offer has been applied before making your purchase

GreyQueen

IWAB, don't panic about the iron tablets, millions of people take them, I have taken them on prescription for years.

About 24 hours in, your p00 will turn blackish-brown, and will remain that colour for the duration of your taking the iron, bit alarming if not pre-warned.

If I stop the iron tabs for a day or so and re-start (this was done on Dr's orders to facilitate a blood test) I do experience a few seconds' of eyewatering gut pain, like really bad wind, but it was 1-2 episodes and each lasted about 5 seconds. No biggie.

savingqueen

I have been reading along but not posting much. I also had terrible problems at one work place (smaller problems at a couple of others), the stress was unbelievable and I became a workaholic. I was eventually signed off sick when I had some sort of breakdown. When I went to Occupational Health the woman told me she knew the company well and was totally on my side - I had been petrified she would deem me well enough to go straight back to work. I ended up resigning when the company put pressure on me to return before I was well and thereafter could only handle part-time work. Being a SAHM was planned but I had intended to retrain and get back into the work place once the kids started school full-time. I did some training for a volunteer post as part of the plan and had such a bad experience there that I couldn't take up the role. I really don't know how the trainers were chosen but that's another whole story. DH has also had mental health challenges in the distant past. He works full-time and I look after home and kids. If I did paid work both our mental health would suffer as we would be struggling to juggle kids, home and work. It isn't what we had planned - I was the higher earner, more career driven and with better prospects. I used to feel really guilty being at home but I now embrace it fully, it works for me and my family. I rarely get bored as I have more than enough to do and can set my own challenges. I still help DH occasionally when he brings work home so those skills are still being used although only DH and I appreciate them.


Anyway didn't mean to ramble on! I being careful with spends but as someone on here said we will still have the odd treat and no feel guilty. There might come a time when we can't afford treats so we will have them whilst we can. Our treats are things like a weekly broadsheet, the odd fish and chip supper (we had that last night), the odd cuppa in a caf! with friends, cheap outings with the kids etc - not buying stuff but experiences, celebrations, socialising or simply a rare break from cooking. Today will be a NSD, waking to the park with kids and eating food we already have in. Yesterday's chippie treat was fine as we have been very careful with spends lately.

suki1964

It's so cold here ATM so after posting this I'm warming up doing the ironing. Snow, gales and now sleet, it's miserable. After waking up this morning cold in bed after hubby had jumped out have decided that the winter flannel sheets need to go on. A very expensive shopping channel purchase 6 years ago but they are wearing well and I think they will do me my lifetime so value for money

Dinner is the 25p chicken with some ys veggie bought yesterday. The weeks food shop was £15 and that's for three of us so not too bad. Also got the cook books out ready to see what I can make different this week to use up cupboard stores and left overs. Mum is feeling brighter so her appetite has returned, the big saucepan of soup I made yesterday has all gone, in hers and hubby's belly's lol

Thanks for the amazon link, I've booked marked it for when I've time to go through my books. I don't have so many now, just paperbacks mainly, all charity and secondhand purchases. I love reading but never buy new

IWAB, is it time to plant onions outside now? I was looking at seeds the other day and wasn't too sure if I could put them out or have to start them off indoors now for planting out in February ? Any advice would be welcome as we never have any joy with onions and I use LOADS

ISLANDMAID. I got rid of sky a couple of years back, and the only thing I missed was the comedy channel. We bought a humax freestat box to replace it so could still have the recording and time shifting. Between that and freeserve and a netflix subscription we have never looked back The netflix is a monthly subscription BUT we always find something to watch, and indeed we can't always keep up with the box sets we would like to watch

Back to the workplace bullying, now the problem guy has gone, work is a pleasure. And it's not just me noticing and commenting. Even the youngest dishwasher said last night how she now is enjoying coming into work. It's a disgrace how one bad apple can upset so many peoples lives

Right going to get the ironing board out. Working tonight as usual so another long day but off ALL DAY Monday. Woooo hooooo

fairy3

Afternoon all - N6CNH - thanks for the link have bookmarked and look forward to reading. Been reading the 1500 days blog and lots of others too thanks to the thread.
EMIAI - were you working in the emergency room? Hope so otherwise send good wishes, on the baking front I have conceded that I will never be a contestant on TGBB and do what is comfortable - my kids (who are adults just) look aghast if I tell them I am baking and offer to go to the shop and buy something!
Kittie - would the jumpers felt? I have a couple that are cut into squares and waiting to be made into a lovely quilt, you are obviously a very skilled knitter and your collection is impressive.
It's a horrible day here - rain, wind and so cold - even the dog was not impressed on our morning yomp and kept looking at me with a 'are you seriously kidding me?' as we headed round the park.
Busy day here yesterday - stocks replenished - just veg and fruit as stocks still high and grocery budget looking good. have entered the attic this morning and my oh my it's going to be a longer term project than first thought.
Afternoon will be spent cooking vat of soup for lunches and dinners until tuesday as working mon and tues this week then finished for good!
Sorry for long post and hope everyone stays warm and safe

F x
Would also be interested in the onion question as have seeds, pots and compost!