Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Angela84 wrote: »

Just came to say hello! How's the running going? I did c25k in January and really enjoyed it. Had a couple of months off now but really need to get back into it as was such a great rush when you finished!

HI Angela! Thanks for asking, I'm still loving it. I am quite in awe of anyone who can start running in January... I would rather spend January under the duvet! I had a run today: am aiming for 2x5K and a possible third run working on 10K each week. It's not going to be easy as I am a bit chicken about going out in the cold (though I prefer to run when it's cool enough so I don't overheat) and if I run with DH, he doesn't want to go over 5k.

You're right about the rush. I get home without the great feeling then it grows on me throughout the day. Must be the endorphins slowly catching up with the rest of me.

Cherryfudge

Today (30th) has been a sort-of NSD though I sent a donation cheque knowing my pay will go in tomorrow and the cheque will follow it. I've also (in consultation with DH) promised DS1 and his wife their wedding gift and put £1 into their bank as a check that it's going to the right place. That won't clear till tomorrow so as I've kept away from the shops & online spending and nothing's left the account yet... I can have that as an NSD, can't I?!

Good job nothing left the account today as I went mad with the grocery shopping yesterday. It was too wet to go car-booting so I suggested a trip to L!dl in another town (we don't have one). This was supposed to be topped up with a visit to the big Mr T but that didn't work out so later I went to our local one for a few items. We also went to an excellent greengrocer's which cost just short of £10 but DH paid that - apart from 1p as he hadn't got the exact change and I found a penny for him!

Now in my defence, we were running short of a few items as I mentioned the other day, and we only go to this shop a handful of times a year, if that, so I tend to stock up while I'm there. However, I rather lost the plot with some things I bought: £1.20-something on a bar of chocolate when I would have bought the 40p bar if shopping locally. We also spent nearly £7 on the meat for today (feeding family) and £3 on a desert, about £3 on some small cartons of juice for pack-ups, a couple of ready meals to add variety at work and some absolutely unnecessary treats (smoked salmon and anchovies... mmm!). Other than that we had a lot of genuine savings on things we normally buy.

The top-up shop included vitamins for me as I had a voucher which runs out today. I've counted them under medical - they make an appreciable difference to my health. There were also some really good end-of-day reductions locally (bunch of flowers for 33p - household, I guess).

So I didn't do very well on the not-spending, but everything I bought is likely to be used. It just counteracts any savings... stop me if you've come across that before.

The irony of it all was that I was watching a program about people who retire at 40, and how they do it. Some are super-savers, some ride the rising tide of a trend. I had just decided to be super-saver...

29th
Spends:
Housekeeping £52.24 + £9.78 = £62.02
Medical £6.00
Household £0.33
MS stuff:
Flowers reduced from £3 to 33p
Wombled 42p
Remembered £1.50 money-off voucher for vitamins and combined it with a buy-2-get-1-free. £10.75 became £6.00.
Bag of potatoes for 17p.
Lots of cheaper lines from L!dl, saved a few £££.
Confession time:
Spent some of those saved £££ on treats.

I'm on early shift again tomorrow so I need to make lunch and get to bed now.

parsniphead

It would have been nice to retire at 40. I think we all need to start thinking seriously about retirement plans as it keeps moving further and further away.

Re the spends, you have to eat.

Cherryfudge

So true, parsnip. Maybe not chocolate and smoked salmon, but eating needs to be part of the plan.

By the way, are you always such an early bird? I am such a late-night person that I hadn't realised there is a 5.14am. Is there always one, or have I happened on a special occasion frequented by larks not owls? or did you get woken and have to try to catch up later?

I shall be spending yet again on food today. We are quite well off for peripherals but I need to find something frugal for tea tonight to counteract Saturday's damage (may be corned beef hash as we have lots of onions and potatoes), then buy lamb for tomorrow as we have a guest and there's a tagine mix needing to be eaten. I have also volunteered myself to lead a cookery session (to do with work) and I want to practice so I'm going to buy ingredients. It's 'only' chocolate brownies but they aren't something I ever make and one of the participants has diet-controlled diabetes so I need to go easy on the sugar. I have found a couple of low sugar recipes but one has lots of artificial sweetener, which I'm not keen on. The other is has sweet potato and banana and looks like a definite possibility... will run it past a friend who has a specialism in these things, but I have all the ingredients for this, unlike the artificial one. Still, I see the shopping list growing and really I ought to be kept out of the shops for a bit.

parsniphead

Not through choice, I have to take DH to the bus station first thing. I really dont like 5am. 6 is ok but not 5, especially in the winter months. I used to be a night owl like yourself but struggle now to stay awake.

I could do with cooking lessons, my brownies are like lava. Good luck with running the session.

Cherryfudge

Even six o'clock would be a huge struggle for me - easiest way to get there is to stay up all night! Yes, much harder in winter... my 7.30 starts are as bad as it gets here. I do feel for both of you.

Re: lava brownies: just rebrand them! Add a bit of bling, pretend it's intentional, and you have a new recipe.

Cherryfudge

Confession time: today has been absolutely rubbish as far as being MS is concerned.

Firstly, the supermarket seems to drain my purse. Secondly, we have given DS1 nd his wife their wedding gift and it's lovely to see how delighted they are, though it dents DH's account somewhat in the short term!

I re-watched the program on retiring at 40, this time with DH. It has made us neither younger nor better with money but some of the ideas were eye-openers. Someone charges £3.99 to post potatoes to people with a message in felt pen, and he's making over £60 an hour doing it :eek:.

So today:
Spends:
Medicine £6.00
Toiletries £2.50
Housekeeping £15.83
MS stuff:
6 tins of no-drain tuna for £4! Half price, even cheaper than B& M.
Strawberries and clementines reduced to 80p a punnet/net each.
Meringues on offer... not needed just now but as they last for ages and everyone seems to eat them, they are some sort of investment. I may make an Eton Mess for dinner either tomorrow (for guest) or Sunday (also guests).
Mended DH's beloved shorts! They needed it and will now live to fight another day (and stop shedding change from the torn pocket).
Confession time:
How on earth did I spend £15.83 for food shopping when I'd already spent so much at the weekend? Here's what I got - please comment.
Corned beef £1.50 (cheapest, and made a cheap tea).
Plain choc 40p (to practice my recipe. Exact weight so no nibbling!)
Meringues £1.00
Chilli powder £1.00 (we ran out and DS2 lives on it).
Ground almonds £1.30 (to practice recipe)
Strawberries 80p (reduced, but I suppose we didn't actually need them).
Clementines 80p (as above)
Lamb chops £3.98 (cheapest way to buy lamb for the tagine tomorrow, serves 4)
6 tins tuna £4.00. And I will most certainly use it.
Maple syrup flavoured syrup £1.00 (cheap version rather than £4 for real maple syrup - to practice my recipe).

Cherryfudge

An day spent dodging torrential rains!

I went for coffee with a friend this morning and she paid, then to the station to meet our guest who is staying overnight. Dinner in the slow cooker and a piano lesson then dinner with Dguest, DH and DS2. Lots of apologies to our guest but I had long since booked the evening for a walk with friends, but we cried off at the last minute when yet another downpour hit.

So I have avoided the shops but still spent on my piano lesson.

I've been asked to go for coffee with our guest and my FiL tomorrow, and I had better try to plan something nice for tea from the cupboards as well as practising the Brownie recipe. All in all, a nice way to spend a couple of days off!

Spends:
Piano lesson £10.00
MS stuff:
Avoided the shops.
DF paid for coffee.

Honeysucklelou2

One of the best brownie recipes I've come across is in a children's cookery book. It's the Apple Tree Farm series by Usborne books- works really well each time! It is high on sugar though. Have you thought about adding beetroot? Chocolate and beetroot work really well together.

Arthurs_Rose

Morning, Finally caught up with your diary

Brownies sound good... i don't bake because id eat the lot. i've never managed to have just one biscuit, sweet etc ever.
I admire your running, its not something ive been able to do. i cycle and walk a lot but im obviously not that fit as every time i try to run, i end up walking most of the way - must try harder.