A whole new world, for now

in_need_of_direction

Thanks jwil, it seems to have slowed down incredibly but that’s always the way.  Today will be a work day, tomorrow a sort out the roofspace day and Wednesday an on site fieldwork day.  So the shopping was done albeit across 2 stores, the car was fed, I had coffee with friends and we finished series 3 of slow horses.  Series 4 will wait until Friday night.  

Today I will tackle a number of work jobs including responding to an email that annoyed me to the extent that I knew not to reply upon receipt.
yesterday insurance was sorted and we agreed to send £500 to pb.  This is less than my Oct wins plus our standard contribution to regular bills. However, the quarterly gas bill will come out of the current account.  After agreeing £500, I then asked dh to check if there was anything in vinted. £32 has now been requested plus I used £14.50 cc vouchers on yesterday’s shopping so we acquired an additional £50 of pb.  I now I’m off to update my sig.

today I am grateful for
a chat with ds who has just had exam success
squeezing an extra £50 for pb
a catch up with friends 

jwil

Well done on the PB contributions!

I've got one of those emails in my work inbox at the moment.  I thought I'd better log off rather than reply!

in_need_of_direction

So very little structured work was done but emails, including that one, were responded to. I also took a call from a friend who has a new job and was putting a small piece of work my way.  And, drum roll please, my longest outstanding invoices were paid.  Last night we watched the final series of slow horses within the 1 month free of Apple TV.  Well worth the watching. This brought us to after midnight when we tried checking pb.  And tried, and tried. It was this morning before we could see our results. 

Dh got £150 which is automatically reinvested so the sig has been updated. DH has been told to get stuff on vinted and sold so we get to 80%. I also won £50 but that will go to current account until bills and workmen are paid.  

Holiday spends will happen after the cc statement date so will be paid for in January.

multiple runs have been made to the dump and three biggish items have gone to the charity shop.  Bar one set of metal shelves, the kitchen has been restored to business as usual while we can once again access all bedrooms without a climb.  

There are still things to be sorted but I’m hoping this weekend will break the back of it.  Soda bread also needs to be made to avoid butter milk going bad though I do wonder how this could be told.

today I am grateful for
wins
the possibility of getting to a round percentage this month
a lazy night enjoying something I watched as opposed to just being in front of telly

Cherryfudge

You're cooking on gas, as they used to say! Especially well done on responding to the emails and having the invoices off the list - and a very useful couple of pb wins.

You'll soon have the house back in order.

Any plans what to watch now you've finished Slow horses?

in_need_of_direction

Cherry, we had previously started with bad sisters but lost our free subscription before we finished the first series so that’s a contender but we only have a week left. I’m a big fan of Sharon Horgan.

Little progress was made on anything yesterday as we went down the rabbit hole that was Marcus Wareing’s Christmas show. Today I need a different approach.  My aim is to get one room completely organised - the kitchen.  My intention is to find homes for anything that’s there plus deep clean. I’m even thinking of corralling all plastic containers into a small crate.  I’m also coming after the fridge door contents consisting of partially used jars of random ingredients and all while the laundry is underway.  I will end the day with a clear, functioning kitchen table and organised cupboards with at least one large item exiting the house. I’d also like to give the living room a good clean. 

We had our weekly weigh in and have both remained the same. This won’t be happening next week. I’m doing a well-being workshop next Saturday so dh is going to see his parents from Friday evening to Sunday evening.  I am starting to formulate a cunning plan or two. I love getting the house to myself and it rarely happens. It’s also a lot more mse when dh visits his parents on his own as there’s only one flight to be paid and he stays with them whereas if it’s both of us, we get a hotel. 

I have decided to set a mini target to contribute £150 to pb before we head off on holiday.  This is to be funded from additional income, coupons, vouchers etc. I received a £10 cc voucher so that leaves another £140 to be found.  I have a swag up available if I cash out by tomorrow so I’m thinking of another £10.  Just need dh to get his vinted/ebay finger out. There is one item being decluttered from the kitchen cupboard that normally goes for at least £40. If we could get that listed and gone, we’d be below £100 plus there’s the usual clothes and shoes to go.

right, if anything is to be done, I need to get motoring.
today I am grateful for 
the outline of a plan
progress towards my new target
a chat with ds

milann

Enjoy the organising and having time to yourself. 

The soda bread reference took me back to my mum who used to make it from sour milk. My American cousins often post about making it and are rightfully very proud of the Irish heritage. I have to admit I’ve never made it. The thought of sour milk put me off forever when I was a child. Maybe I need to try it again with buttermilk and embrace my heritage 👍

Cherryfudge

I'm tired just reading! I hope it all goes well.  

in_need_of_direction

Milann, soda bread is the easiest bread in the world. Only 2 ingredients, soda bread flour and buttermilk in a 2:1 ratio then cook on a griddle or in a pan.  I use an electric crepe maker.  I also add sultanas to the ones made just for me and will sometimes put grated cheese in for others.

well, no deep cleans done yesterday but kitchen cupboards tackled and reorganised. I’ve decided that the days of using a guitar, penguin and Santa Claus cake tins are gone so these are waiting to be rehomed and takeaway containers have a new place to live.  We also visited a further away recycling centre and left a car full behind.  Soda bread was made, we ate from stores and filled our recycling crates that have just been emptied.  The fridge door only gave up 2 nearly empty jars and one to go to dsis. We have identified further items to go in the now empty recycling crates.  My first meeting of the day is 15 mins away and scheduled for ten so I need to get cracking.

today I am grateful for
recycling options 
dh pitching in
improvements that didn’t cost a penny

in_need_of_direction

Afterthought if anyone would like the cake tins, pm me and I’m happy to post

in_need_of_direction

Well, wasn’t yesterday a complete write off bar a few email responses. I’m now panicking about stuff to be done pre holiday and am consequently tackling none of it.  On the plus side,while junk food was consumed, none was purchased for an all out binge.  That may have been due to my resistance to remove the oodie. 

Credit card bill was paid and, that combined with holiday related costs, has left a much depleted current account.  I still need to pay myself for last month but am holding off on doing so until dh is home from his parents as he tends to only see cash available rather than what might be needed and London temptations are many.
today really needs to count workwise if only to get a handle on where things stand.

today I am grateful for
christmas items purchased at a discount on line with enhanced cash back
contact with a relative to progress the declutter 
me refusing a takeaway option in favour of food from stores