And so it begins: The Pig Vs The Mortgage

pinkypig

I've had a lovely lunch that went on for most of the afternoon:D. It was great to have a catch up and we went to a lovely country pub that felt really festive. It did involve a spend which took me over my personal spends budget and was worth every penny. The food was great and the company more so, a good reminder of the need for balance, os payments are important but so is stuff like this
Apart from £10.40 on lunch I had no other spends and I managed a small TT to the os account.

I did manage a few jobs this morning and this evening so some of my to dos got done;

Visited mum and dad and took their presents but didn't deliver the others:o

Made white chocolate cheesecake for tomorrow night and sweet shortcrust for the lemon tart for Christmas day.

Prepped veg and made cauli cheese for tomorrow night and took the duck and some braised red cabbage out of the freezer.

Made the kids pancakes for breakfast.

Clipped the dog

Made a cheap , easy favourite for dinner - chorizo macaroni cheese

Watched Love Actually whilst wolfing down a large back of skittles:o

Tomorrow we are off to my sister's for drinks and nibbles and then we have a family dinner around 7.30 before dd heads off to the pub with friends.

This means that in the morning I need to;

Clean out and get the Stove ready for lighting when we get home

Make lemon tart and pavlova for Christmas day

Get a load of laundry done.

Ds is in debt so he'll be working some of it off by cleaning my car

Must get to bed - busy day by the looks of things:eek:

PP xx

Betterthanever

Have an amazing Christmas!

CathT

I don't know how you achieve so much! I'm recording Love Actually later, only watched it once and that was years ago.

We always write our Ald1 list in aisle order. I prefer to go when I only need a basket and can dart around instead of following the trolley traffic jam! It does mean I go down aisles the wrong way though but that's usually when I'm getting the wine and realise I've forgotten something!

pinkypig

Betterthanever wrote: »

Have an amazing Christmas!

You too. 2018 is going to be an incredible year for you - exciting times:)

pinkypig

CathT wrote: »

I don't know how you achieve so much! I'm recording Love Actually later, only watched it once and that was years ago.

We always write our Ald1 list in aisle order. I prefer to go when I only need a basket and can dart around instead of following the trolley traffic jam! It does mean I go down aisles the wrong way though but that's usually when I'm getting the wine and realise I've forgotten something!

We love it! Love Actually and The Holiday are a bit of a tradition for me and dd:)

pinkypig

Family have dispersed and ds has gone to bed and dd to the pub:)

Today has been a bit of a festive whirl a and we've thoroughly enjoyed it. Its also been a nsd:j

I got out for a run early and managed to dodge the rain which was a good start. The rest of the morning was spent making desserts for Christmas day and having a catch up with the kids as we've been like passing ships recently. We then had the afternoon at my sister's which was really good fun - lots of laughs, mulled wine and scrummy food.
This evening was our traditional family dinner which is always nice but we were all fit to burst we've eaten so much:eek: The kids got their Christmas eve PJs and bed socks - never to old for these:)

I've cleared away and set the table for breakfast, the presents are under the tree and the kid's stockings are done (never to old for these either:)) and I'm going to have an hour with my feet up reading and enjoying a glass of wine:D

A very merry Christmas to you all :xmastree:

PP xx

pinkypig

I'm still in bed:o. I woke up very late and have sneaked back to bed with a large coffee and a promise to myself that I'll read for no longer than 45 mins!
I hope everyone had a lovey Christmas day. Ours was really nice. We got to see mum and dad first thing as they were heading out for the day then had presents and a family breakfast. We went family for lunch and then to my cousin's for wine and lots of cheese:D
I ate sooooo much:o. I was driving during the day but I left my car last night so I could have a few tipples just to round off my healthy day! We did get out with the dogs in the afternoon but other than that it was just eating and lounging:D. The kids were on great form - they love family get togethers.

In mfw news I will not need to buy wine, chocolate or biscuits until next year:rotfl: I've also got £50 off my mum and dad so I'm mulling over buying a treat v putting it in the os pot. My current account loyalty rewards went above £5 so I've requested a payout and my tcb payout is being processed but hasn't arrived yet.

Today's to dos include:

Sort out the fridge to make sure no leftovers are wasted.
Run to pick up my car - must remember to take the keys!!
Put presents away
Sort out recycling
Get some milk

We are then off to another family party so healthy eating will need to wait until tomorrow:o

PP xx

pinkypig

We've just returned from another family gathering which was involved more laughter, wine and huge quantities of cheese. Seriously, I have no self control when faced with Stilton:o:o. Must get a grip!

The kids have really enjoyed time with the wider family and despite the age gap between cousins they get on so well, its really nice to see:)

I've had a spendy day:eek: I went to Asda for milk and they had the most amazing sale on cosmetics gift sets. They were down from £6 -£10 to £1.50 -£2 and when I went to the checkout the three for two offer deducted:money: I quickly wrote a list of presents needed for dd, nieces, sisters, mum,friends, TAs etc for birthdays and Christmas and got stocked up. I got 24 presents (bronzing, eyes, eye brows, nails,lips,skin care, body butters and reed diffusers) for £31 and two packs of Xmas cards for £1. I also found jumpers for my BILs and a gruffalo hat for my great nephew. Even better, i found three enormous fresh turkey crowns that were reduced from each £17.99 to £6 so they are tucked away in the freezer. A total of £65 spent but I've now got no gifts (apart from the kids) to buy all year and I reckon I'll get a week's worth of meals out of each turkey crown as they are massive:money: Well chuffed:D

The gifts will come out of the annual spends budget and I'm going to take the £18 for the turkeys out of January's grocery budget as they'll be used during 2018.

Other mfw successes included;

Went for a run

Put presents away and hoovered downstairs.

Made stock with duck carcass and pate with the liver.

Ate lo roast veggies for lunch.

Stripped duck carcass and chopped the meat up and mixed with hoisin sauce to make sandwich filling.

Put smoked salmon and sausages that won't get used in the freezer

Took left over desserts to family gathering so they were enjoyed rather than wasted.

Load of laundry done and on the airer.


Tomorrow's to dos are;


Have a lie in

Finish fridge clear out - lo duck, roast pots, dauphinoise points, cauli cheese, egg yolks.

Eat healthily and at the right time of day

Do spin class

Tidy garden

I'm off to try and get an early night as my sleep routine has been rubbish. I hope everyone has enjoyed a bit of festive indulgence (thriftily of course:rotfl:).

PP xx

EatingTheElephant

I’m very jealous of your turkey crown haul! I usually order an extra one at Christmas to have on my birthday. Turkey is my favourite roast and I find it hard to come by the rest of the year, but this year I forgot to order one

I’m not brave enough to fight my way to the shops to see if they have any left though!

pinkypig

EatingTheElephant wrote: »

I’m very jealous of your turkey crown haul! I usually order an extra one at Christmas to have on my birthday. Turkey is my favourite roast and I find it hard to come by the rest of the year, but this year I forgot to order one

I’m not brave enough to fight my way to the shops to see if they have any left though!

Pity you're not close by, you could have had one of mine:D
Hope you had a nice Christmas xx