EH - Essex > Hebrides...the next step of the adventure?

Sunshine_girl2

Have a lovely break EH. 

EssexHebridean

Thanks both - we're really looking forward to it!

Re the curry paste SL - it's a jarred one, and we are talking literally years it's been in there. Each time I take it out to consider using it, I look at it really hard, give it a really good sniff, and STILL it is fine. My theory with anything with a "best before" is always that if it looks OK and smells OK (and for things it's easier to just taste a dab of, tastes OK too) then I'm reasonably sure it will do us no harm! 

I've had one of those nice productive office days today - lots of jobs wrapped up, another that I can't actually finish because I need to wait for the Land Registry to react but the paperwork for the other part of the task is ready for when I get back. Some files that need some accounts work doing detailed to our accounts lady, and I'm now just working on getting some other old files closed off ahead of adding them to our "ready to shred" spreadsheet for signing off by a partner. I do prefer to leave my desk at least moderately tidy before I head away for any period of time - although I bet it won't be when I get back! 

Surveys are trotting along - nothing new from Prolific but a couple more studies paid - I'm just under the £5 level now.
OnePoll is still creeping up incredibly slowly.
Ipsos now at 572 points. 
Oh and I actually did a YouGov survey yesterday. I've come to the conclusion that the issue with these is that the progress to cashout feels SO slow it means I'm not motivated to get them done. 

In small money saving things Mr Boss has told me to take home the remainder of my half pint bottle of milk. It'll only get slung if I leave it here in fairness, so a very sensible suggestion. I can throw it straight in the freezer when I get in. 

beanielou

Cream cheese & bacon sounds most yummy.

Have a lovely break 

girlatplay

I am one of those people who debt consolidation worked for.  In my defence, I hadn't discovered the MSE forums at that point so didn't have the knowledge that I have now and also, I have an extraordinary amount of self-control when I want to (ignore the grocery budget woes here 😆).  I had never heard of a lightbulb moment but I had well and truly had it.  I was so desperate and it seemed the only way.  It worked because I cut up all cards bar one (which I used and paid off each month) and didn't take out any more loans.  I didn't want to live like that anymore.  Finding the forums helped massively and that's when I realised I could pay the loan early.  I've gone from strength to strength. I've seen you (and others) give great advice to newbies then they just disappear.  Those who take it all on board and stick it out are the ones who get better.  I love when they take some harsh sounding advice and make it work for them.

I got your Ambassador comment to Mark.  Made me smile 😁

Have a brilliant time in Lundy.

redofromstart

Have a lovely break!

MrsPorridge

Have a great holiday.

savingholmes

Enjoy Lundy. Well done on all the exercise. You are doing my share that's for sure!

EssexHebridean

Thanks lovelies - Beanie cream cheese and bacon was delicious! Somehow MrEH managed not to use up the tub so I have cream cheese and tomato today to use the last of it! GAP it can be galling sometimes can’t it to see people just vanish when you think they might have started to grasp it. On the whole I’d say that usually it’s pretty fast for me to be able to tell whether the message is sinking in or not - and people are all so different too,  sometimes there are those where a real shock statement can help, others are just too fragile and need a far more delicate approach. Then there are those who are determined that their approach is correct - they post for validation, and when they don’t get it comes as a huge ego-bruising shock. They most often huff a bit and then flounce - but the one thing you can be sure of is that very likely we’ll see them back again in a few years - sometimes going through the same performance again, and occasionally actually with the lightbulb fully in and ready to acknowledge that the methods we suggest DO work. (I’m aware of at least one poster on here who has so far appeared three times under three different usernames - on each subsequent occasion the debt has got worse, and the likelihood is that next time they appear it will be with the risk of losing their home. It’s really sad - there are kids involved too - but above all it’s frustration that they simply can’t see that repeating the same steps over and over suggests that those steps are wrong! Aargh! ) I confess that these days there are sometimes newbie posts I look at and think it’s honestly not worth engaging with - they’re just not there and it’s a waste of time. And yes - the ones who have my absolute respect are the ones who get delivered a really blunt message - initially they’re usually a bit wounded and defensive but then they come back and say “Ok, I get it now” - they often start a diary too and it’s lovely to see the progress. 

Thanks Redo & MrsP - This time tomorrow we’ll be on the boat! Exciting!  SH thank you too - as for the exercise thing it’s about finding stuff you enjoy - then it stops being “exercise” and starts being just something you love doing. Also I think divorcing it from anything to do with weight or body size helps - joyful movement is good for your health regardless of what effects it has there, and feeling that you “have to” exercise is very much the antithesis of making it joyful! 

Packing got done last night, just a last few bits to throw in before the bags go in the car now. MrEH also wrapped up the basket of goodies we have for his parents as their nominal Christmas pressie - they were quite firm on not wanting anything this year - they’d just moved you might recall and didn’t want (or, let’s be honest, need!) any more stuff. We wanted to get them something so have put together a basket with various home made goodies, a couple of small bottles of red wine I’d been given (I don’t drink red), a couple of bottles of beers from our stash, and just a handful of bought bits & bobs - no more than a fivers worth though. The basket was one a friend gave ME a hamper in at Christmas so that wasn’t a spend either - and we’re confident they will really love it. 

Jobs so far this morning include bringing in washing, unloading the dishwasher, MrEH has made our lunches for later, and half a load of washing up has been done - there’s a pan having a bit of a soak now and then I’ll crack on with the other half. We’ve been for a brisk walk as well to enable MrEH to get his paper - thankfully that gusty wind has completely disappeared this morning. 

Banks checked - the CC now shows a small positive balance ahead of a pending transaction clearing through at which point it will be an even more “positive” zero!  

Entertainment here this morning has so far been provided by the council coming along and seemingly reversing a rather contentious piece of work they did a few weeks ago - I may have mentioned that they had made a decision to move our communal rubbish bins from the enclosed bin store that has served its purpose since 1956, to open fenced areas on the grassed amenity areas directly outside our windows. Bad enough for us, but worse for those on the floors above when the rubbish piles up in the summer because the bin men can’t be bothered to collect it (sadly this is a routine occurrence  here) and made worse by the fact that they planned to downgrade our bin capacity for general waste too - those bins are currently always full by the time the next week’s collection comes along. So a few weeks ago they came along and dug up several long strips of grass, prepared it and then poured concrete slabs (horribly badly, and without doing anything to stop the local yobs coming along and graffitti’ing in the not-quite-set concrete too). This morning a crew with a pneumatic drill have appeared and one of those slabs has now been reduced to a pile of chunks of concrete… talk about a waste of money! We wait to see if it’s just that one they are removing, or all of them! 

Anyway - that pot must be soaked by now and the rest of that washing up won’t do itself, will it! 

milann

Sounds like a real waste of money re the concrete slabs and rubbish- what are they thinking 🤬
Enjoy your holiday - hope the weather is kind and the travelling a joy 👍

savingholmes

Sorry you don't have a good waste service. Concrete situation sounds irritating too. 

I agree with you about joyful exercise. I find the body balance class hard but really rewarding. I'm hoping to add in some more outdoor walking again soon. Depending on covid rates - I may also add in extra gym at some point but the risk didn't seem to outweigh the gain so far.