22 Foxhole East

f0xh0les

Ah! The stuff of family legend!

They are all best of friends again this morning, so no real harm done, except taking 5 years off my life and putting me in a miserable mood for the rest of the night, leading to a rant in the kitchen and DS1 rolling on the floor laughing at me.

Step-gran passed out after Xmas lunch (at a family friend's house), the second time in a week. She has a stinking headache still, but the lady in question is a nurse and she had no qualms about taking her home with a plate for today, and tucking her into bed. Just old age really. Anyway, her flowers are arriving on New Year's Eve, I did not like any of the bouquets for Xmas, but the ones starting on 27th Dec were lovely. She is probably in a mood with me too, her present has not arrived, neither have the cards. I think there has been some problem between here and there, as they were posted on 19th, first class, and they still did not arrive on time. Not sure all the stuff to the South arrived either. Oh well, it will turn up eventually.

Anyway, I have cleaned and tidied the top floor this morning. All ready for the new toys and the New Year.

Back in the saddle, I need some new school shirts for DS4, his are covered in all sorts of stains that wont come out, but I was not buying new ones for him to destroy with glue and paint in December. So that is on the list of things that need buying along with school shoes for DS3 and 4, again.
DS4 has also completely trashed his new bed. bent, broken, twisted metal slat bar things. He must have been using it as a trampoline to get them that bent out of shape. So another one for the list.

But the main thing is that 1/3 of the house is clean and tidy and we are all well.

apple_muncher

Did you not manage to accidentally stamp on ds1 as he got in your way on the kitchen floor...?

f0xh0les

He was rolling around too much, apple. He looked like an overexcited salmon.

crazy_cat_lady

Hang in there f0xh0les. Christmas isn't Christmas unless there are plenty of stressful moments. As you say - it will become the stuff of legend in future years.

f0xh0les

Ok, all the festive car insurances are done, all through Mr Tosc0, so I get cashback site money - somewhere between £30 - £60, and S&M points from using the cc, and Cl0bcard points for it being T0sc0. Both insurances added together (including Dr Mr Muppet F0xhole and his key insurance - his keys were insured not mine - grrr!) for just under £500 before the above reductions. So possibly closer to £400 when all is said and done. Will be a nice surprise when the vouchers pour through the door and hit the bank account.

Spoke to the other various elderly relatives on the phone, and whispered their names (and what they had received) to the kids who have no idea who they are talking to anyway.

Cashed out nearly £8 in cash from PA which will further reduce the car insurance bill. The ones in French and German really do pay exceedingly well. I have another £4 one for 20 minutes of answering risk analysis in financial markets, so will do that later and may get another payout before NYE, every little helps!
I am not going to buy any wrapping paper this year in the sales. DS3 will be getting a laptop for his birthday in Feb. They all got one when they started High School. So it is traditional, and they get to do their homework on it and so do not complain about the practically obsolete desktop we have.

So, I do not think I need to ring anyone else. It is all done. Everyone thanked, everyone has spoken to the kids (even the one who tried to hide under his bed), dh scurried off to the kitchen so he did not have to be involved (wimp!) and I think that is it. No more duty phone calls.

Christmas laundry done and dried. Will strip all the beds for NYE and make nice and fresh for 2020 - makes it sound like they will have to do all year! -

and I will stay away from spending any money. The smalls are all off to town tomorrow, but I already have a few £ coins in my purse for parking and I am not going to buy anything.

f0xh0les

Evening! It does not feel like a Friday night.

Took DS3 & 4 off to town, they spent their loot, I bought nothing except parking, 90 minutes, in and out, no stress, no fuss, job done.

DH went off and made DS2 do 90 minutes of grown up go-carting. DS2 did not have a single thing on his Xmas list. He had no idea what he wanted, and could come up with nothing, so DH decided he could try something new. He had a fab time and came back cheery instead of sullen. He has returned to his cave though.

DS3 wants the same thing for his birthday now, DS4 is sulking as apparently this is what has been missing from his life since, like, forever, and it is just not fair. Whatever Sausage!

Rang ex-car insurer and made sure there was no auto-renewal, they are sending the NCB forms by post.

Apart from that, I had a very Jane Austen filled afternoon and dh made chili salt aubergine for tea (the smaller ones had garlic broccoli ). All from stores. Still have 2 litres of milk - no shopping until that is gone.

Tomorrow I will make soup. Lunch will be a cheese and potato pie with Kale and Brussels. I will clean the middle floor, and fix one bedroom door handle that has objected to DS2 slamming it (boringly often). New spindle needed. I have one in my diy stockpile, somewhere.... and I need to ring step-gran too.

crazy_cat_lady

Hope you're feeling better soon f0xh0les - rest as much as you need to.

f0xh0les

My head is banging! Sneezing, coughing, feeling pathetic, and I still have to make my own flippin' tea!!! Inconceivable!

Still lunch was very nice, just what I needed, as was the Xmas cake afterwards.

I think today is a write off, soup is made for supper, in case nobody else can be bothered to cook, they can take it or leave it.

My face feels lovely and moisturised after aunt-in-law's Xmas face cream, but I smell of roses, which is an old lady smell in my head. DH got me some almond smelling perfume for Xmas, which I love. It will clash horribly with the rose though. One for daytime, one for night time I think.

So for the rest of the day I am good for nothing, I might have a doze. I feel properly rotten.

apple_muncher

So do you smell of cyanide...?

f0xh0les

Oh yes I very much do! Sicillian cyanide!
I also got a 'Body in the Library' Penguin books tote bag.
Stayed on the sofa propped up last night covered in blankets and although not fully recovered, I feel much better, no headache, no sore throat, still a little bit coughy but much better than yesterday. Will steal dh's bathwater when he gets out (very mse)

I have the urge to watch Castaway. Which is odd, but it is not free, so I will not bother. I might put on one of the dvds I am planning on watching and releasing back to the C/S. That is a 2020 thing to do. Thin down and donate.

Also need to do the review of the year. What worked well, what did not etc.

Apart from 'unmentionables' and my trainers& boots, and one ys £3 T Shirt I have not bought myself any clothes that were not from the c/s. That has worked really well. I will continue with this.


The using up toiletries challenge means I have one block of henna left, everything else is bought at the start of the month for that month. Nothing is in reserve until I find it ys. Then I will stock up.

The overpaying of the mortgage is working well. Managed over a grand, which is just over 3 months in term reduction. Have signed up for next year's challenge already. Conservative estimate of £600 to be overpaid in 2020. I hope to be under construction, after all, and that is spendy. Although I will still make small TT payments, I cannot help myself. I am under 60% ltv. £80k will be 50% of the buying price. I would love to be able to own half the house by the end of 2020. Hugely unlikely, but I know it has gone up in value, and with the extension it will go up again.


I want to get DS3 & 4 back into cubs and scouts, after a 3 yr absence. Must get their names on the waiting lists.


There is so much uncertainty about at the minute, all I can do is work out how much I need for my outgoings, keep them low, and save and overpay as much as I can.

All kids are still in school for another 18 months. After that I might be putting one through University. So if I can get the house sorted out in that time, then I will be able to afford that. The tricky bit will be if DS2 wants to go, as then we will have 2 there at the same time for 9 months. We will figure it all out, and dh is going for promotion at work this year, so that will probably wipe out all child benefit, and child tax, but the higher pay scale will keep us at the same level, and will increase year on year. He will end up a professor at some point. I quite fancy being married to a Prof. Get me and my pretentions of grandeur. He will get there. First step is A-S-S. Prof though. Climbing the ladder... -
I am keeping a well stocked pantry, that is the only thing in excess. All the things we buy often and are either dried or in tins, have started to build up a stock of.


But first, the remortgage needs to be sorted, by Moi (in my best Miss Piggy voice). And dh needs to do the breakdown insurance in his name this year, so we are both covered in any car for about £54 from 4uto4id.


Volunteering is going well. Will keep that up.


Savings have gone very well this year. I have about £5k more this year than this time last year. Not counting the mortgage o/ps. So I must, realistically, be saving about £500 a month. Which is enormous for a girl with no 'paid' job.

Right, now all that is sorted and filed neatly inside my head, I am off for a bath and clean clothes, after I weigh myself. That is being taken in hand in 2020 as well.