NST: September: the Turtles go Wombling

dolly84

Calling - good luck at the dentist.

TOG - I second Bob's suggestion of ratatouille, I add sliced sausages into mine.

Luckystarr - I know what you mean about English skills, one of my strengths is writing and sometimes I make errors which are quite incredible to me. You could try writing a diary each day for practice and be very correct about it all.

It is raining here. I have to go out this morning then work later. No plans for spending any money at all.

thriftylass

Good morning,

Had a lovely anniversary weekend. Got the date wrong and thought it was Sat, being disappointed DH didn't say anything. Then realised it was Sun, doh.

Went for a lovely dinner, left the kids with FIL, and he even paid for it.

Today I will a proper meal plan with what we have left and make a good shopping list for the next payday. I too think prices gone up considerably especially in the big ones. I definitely need to be more strict in going to the discounters like Lidle rather than Tescimo.

Back later

Calling14

Thanks dolly dentist was not as bad as expected. Total treatment charge will be 185.50. However as they haven't got any long appts available till next Jan, got time to save. Paid 13.50 today for check up- that will come off the cost. Plus can claim up to 110.00 back through medicash. Glad I aren't in pain though with such a long appt wait.
Suppose I lose a SFD for check up fee, hopefully get it back soon so can reclaim SFD then

Spent last hr looking at gas/electric tariffs - how complicated do they make them? Think after all that will stay with Sainsbobs energy just change tariffs, as like getting nectar points and the fixed tariffs are good.:D

Had a acidy tummy since last week, so trying hard to avoid, carbs, wheat and sugary things today. Result afternoon slump worse than ever:( Off to try hot drink to get me in lively mood.

Hope everyone is feeling brighter today, autumn is here walked kicking leaves to the dentist today. Do like this time of year- without the rain:)

Synonymous

Fmess wrote: »

Syn - Thank you for your advice. How do you keep your utility bills so low in the winter? I'm at around £30/35 a month in the summer. I'm hoping that, as you say, being on my own, there will be less usage this winter - one set of lights, one laptop, one tv etc. You are right, I have a big car for my dogs, however when I chose it, I picked a tiny engine to make it fuel efficient/cheap and to keep insurance and tax low. It means its slow when laden down with dogs and their stuff, but its fine when its just me, which is 90% of the time.

The car sounds like a good choice Could you walk/cycle to work to save on fuel? Big hugs to you chick - takes some bravery to go it alone when you know it's going to be harder in a lot of ways. One foot in front of the other and be kind to yourself as you find your own way. Could you sell your sleek TV stand to help pay for the TV?

I've definitely gotten used to the cold! Feel like I'm being boiled alive when I stay at my parents' house now. Committing to being really thrifty with the heating and really on top of turning off lights and chargers you can save loads on your own and there's no one else feeling deprived! Even better if you've got your own pack of dogs to snuggle up with Some things we do: energy saving bulbs (main lights and bedside etc), blankets on the sofa, radiators off in unused rooms, hot water bottles, fleecy blankets pinned to curtains like apple, we keep all the doors closed as the hall/landing is unheated, draft exclusion tape round downstairs doors, don't own a tumble dryer or a TV, got some free loft insulation from the council, stay in the kitchen when it's warm from cooking, change the heating programme when I know no one will be in to feel the benefit, have short showers, slow cooker not oven, cheapest fixed energy deal. Most of that is probably second nature to turtles though! When it becomes second nature it's easy, but equally sometimes it's so miserably cold that only a radiator will help! Our heating isn't going on until at least next month (hopefully longer but new housemate feels the cold). Timer is usually 45 mins in the morning and two hours at night as a base - better to have it set too little than too much.

I do have 8 halogen spotlights in the kitchen and need to replace them with LEDs as they are a big energy sink, and don't last long either. Was going to replace them as they die, as the LEDs are expensive (done one so far), but saw a pack of 10 LEDs for about £30 in Wickes so should probably just go for it and start saving energy straight away. My friend plugs his phone charger (and any other chargers) in via a timer so it will only be on the few hours it needs, especially overnight - genius!

I had an apple recipe brainwave last night - stewed some apples for my porridge and put them in ice cube trays, so I can add a few before I microwave it each morning. Did a little happy dance at this light bulb moment as I only had massive freezer bags!

Still 11SFDs - bought a drink at a party last night and the bus there. Made a fruit loaf for breakfasts this week, and lunch and dinner are from the freezer. Hoping not to buy more food until the weekend, which will be a stretch and might mean black tea for a few days

academiablues

Evening all. NSD today, but whole day appears to have been ruined by spider-gate tonight! Don't think OH had realised quite how arachnophobic I am (he knew I was, just not this bad) - went in the bathroom, saw what I thought was some dust, so I kicked it (daft, I know) - definitely not dust. I jumped into the bath and screamed for OH but he was washing up and couldn't hear me. By the time he found me I was a crying, whimpering mess in the bath and wouldn't get out until he found the spider and got rid of it. Which he did (phew!).
So, that's my little story of crazy for today! Hope everyone else has had a better day

luckystarr

Hello

Applemuncher and Fmess Thank you for your kind words

dolly Thank you for the advice, will look into that.

I have managed a SFD so happy about that hope tomorrow will be another one.

Starting to think about Christmas not really sure what to do with regards to budget and what to buy.
We usually have to buy 30 gifts this included family and friends and we really need to cut back this year. Please could I have some tips on how you have all broached this subject ?

I am having a lazy evening before the OH goes off to work I am feeling a little better but just need to have patience and cut myself some slack.

Hope you all have a good evening will check in tomorrow.

Night all

Fmess

Thanks syn, I'm going to write a list of those suggestions and make sure I do them all

academia I've just nearly had a heart attack as a huge spider crawled out of my dressing gown sleeve and onto my hand whilst I was watching tv!!!!!!!!!!!! It's escaped to the ceiling so I can't get rid of it too

dolly84

academia/Fmess - aaghh, to the spiders. I don't mind them except the really big ones that move like lightening then you can't find them.

I am expecting an uneventful day today, working, dog walking, cleaning, school run, a meeting at school then out for a run.

Have a good day all.

The_Only_Girl

Good morning turtles!

My week off work. Yay! :j First on the list is to conquer Mt. Everest which is my ironing. Two more loads of washing to load and judging by the size of this mountain, it will take me at least the whole day to finish this. However I have Netflix for company so it shouldn't be too hard.

Thanks everyone for the suggested recipes for my courgettes. I would have cooked ratatouille coz it's one of my favourite dishes but sadly, I didn't have aubergine, so that didn't make it to the shortlist. I found a recipe online for Briam, a potato and courgette bake. (Some recipes have aubergine and bell pepper in them.). Here's a copy of the recipe if you want to have a go:


BRIAM (potato and courgette bake)

Ingredients
Serves: 4
1kg potatoes, peeled and sliced into 3mm rounds
4 large courgettes, sliced into 3mm rounds
4 medium red onions, sliced into 3mm rounds
6 fresh plum tomatoes, pureed
125ml olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
a generous amount of sea salt and black pepper


Method
Prep:15min › Cook:1hr30min › Ready in:1hr45min
Preheat the oven to 200 C / Fan 180 C / Gas 4. Find the largest baking dish or tin you have - 22x33cm or preferably larger, as you don't want the veg to be layered too deep (use two baking dishes if necessary).
Place the potatoes, courgettes and red onions in the baking dish. Pour over the pureed tomatoes and olive oil, and sprinkle with parsley. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Toss the ingredients together so that the veg is evenly coated. Finally, add about 100ml of water to the dish.
Bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes, checking after 1 hour to stir the veg and also add a tad more water if necessary. (There should be no water left in the end, however.) At this point I also taste the veg and add more seasoning if needed.
Cool slightly before serving, or serve at room temperature.

Cook's note
If using larger tomatoes instead of plum tomatoes, use only 4 to begin with. You can always add more pureed tomato after an hour of baking, though note that Briam is not supposed to be drowning in tomato sauce!

The hungry hippos demolished it quickly last night, but not before hubby set some aside for his packed lunch today.

I will try the salad next.

Yesterday, I took DS2 to Santander to open his mini 123 account. It went through without a hitch so he's excitedly looking forward to his debit card to come through the post. We're planning to use it for our emergency fund at the moment because it gives a very good interest rate. We plan to keep his money in his junior Cash ISA. We did receive confirmation that the 123 current account monthly fee will increase from £2 a month to £5 a month starting January 2016 which made me a bit sad coz it will make our next gain from them much smaller (interests plus cashbacks). It would have been nice if we could move our mortgage to Santander to get some cashbacks from our monthly mortgage payments too but with us just finishing DMP early this year, it might be wise to wait a little bit to prevent too many credit searches on us whilst recovering from our dark financial past. Hopefully soon we could apply for their 123 credit card too, as they offer good cashbacks rewards as well. It will happen in good time, fingers crossed.

I also received a phone call from Virgin Money saying my current account application has been accepted and the card will follow. It will be very useful for holding some money aside, away from the main current account to make sure they are safe and ring-fenced.

Have a good day all!

This might seem like a lot of time in the oven, but trust me - the bulk of the flavour is derived from this, and you definitely want some nice crusty and charred edges on your veg for maximum flavour.

Lastly, don't be afraid of salt and pepper with this dish - be liberal for best results. Start out as you normally would, and you can always add more seasoning when you check at the 1 hour mark!

thriftylass

Good morning!

Today was a spend day. Ordered an external hard drive (£80 down to 40 minus 10 voucher). My main account on my laptop (where all my pictures of my kids, the wedding etc are saved) was corrupt for over a year now and I wasn't able to access any of it. Finally sat down and sorted it (felt quite geeky being able to go through back doors of the laptop I didn't even know existed, lol). Not only was everything still there, the internet is finally working again and the whole thing is so much faster since I deleted the corrupt account. nearly thought I had to replace the laptop (10yo, with dead battery) but will keep it longer now. So laptop saved but thought I better invest in an external hard drive to back things up.

Done a big meal plan thing and a big Tesco online order stocking up on things from a detailed shopping list (£100, mainly tins, staples, toiletries, cat stuff, some meat, household stuff). Will pick that up on payday next week and just pop into LIDL or ALDI for fresh fruit, dairy products and meat that is cheaper there.

Got a meal plan for this week and a list of 5 meals to batch cook and freeze in multiple portions for October. Also rather than having a food, spend and other budget I now assign £400 a month spending money that has to cover food, HH, gifts (need to make list for October and xmas) as well as my personal spending. So I know I have roughly £100 a week and might be able to keep better track week my week rather than month.

Back later, have a nice day

Oh re spiders. I once flicked a funny looking dirt spot in the conservatory and a 100 baby spiders scuttled off in all directions. Yuk