Twinklie returns to the property ladder

earthgirl2

You are doing great Twinklie. How is the reducing electricity usage going? 

twinklie

earthgirl2 said:

You are doing great Twinklie. How is the reducing electricity usage going? 

I'm coming in at lower than their estimates by quite a bit, but hope I can keep it going. I do put quite a bit of that down to the air fryer. And just being tight with the heating - I am starting to feel cold a lot though which is a bit annoying, I don't like being cold. I can't put many more layers on or I'll look like the mitchelin man. 

twinklie

Relatively productive day here. 

Tasks complete:
1. Change all the beds.
2. Bedding hung out to dry.
3. Tumble dryer for a load done (first usage this autumn)…DH had run out of some clothes and it was raining this morning. 

4. Pet insurance claim is in. 

5. Paid boiler man - invoice only came today for the work he did in September. 

6. Confirmed Weds as DHs day off so DS1 and I can have our mother son day this holidays. 

7. Researched public transport for Wednesday. 

8. Packed stuff for swimming - will take boys to lesson later. 

9. Folded and put away laundry. 

10. Got documents together for sending to bank. 

To do:
1. Print documents.
2. Post letter. 

3. More laundry. 

twinklie

So I took DS1 to Liverpool to go to the Dr Who exhibition- we had an amazing time. It was a sci fi geeks dream! I loved it. 

I’m exhausted today. We spent £20 on two t shirts which I wouldn’t normally do, but it was Dr Who related and it seemed worth it as a treat.

twinklie

Well, what a week it's been. Had to call an ambulance on Tuesday for DH who had a suspected stroke. He was in hospital and had himself discharged in the middle of the night. Sigh. Then he had to go back on Thursday morning to the TIA clinic for further tests (CT scan, MRI, doplar of neck and shoulders, bloods). We were there from 10am - 4pm. They've ruled out a stroke and TIA, but were unable to give a definitive diagnosis. Likely that it was a migraine, but as he's never had one before the consultant said he wouldn't diagnose it. He also said that some of the test results came back as showing he was high risk for stroke and/or heart attack. So life style changes needed. 

So I'm researching low cholesterol diets - it appears he has naturally high cholesterol and his body responds poorly to it. He's changed gyms so he's going to the one our neighbour goes to as it's a 24 hr one and means he's more likely to go because he will have someone to go with. 

I'm not sure there is much else we can do tbh. So if anyone else has any thought's I'd appreciate any advice. Particularly if there are any good diets or recipe books that would help. 

The insurance claim for the dog was paid out today which was good. So I've got 127 quid back from what I've forked out there. So that will pay our annual travel insurance (due to preexisting conditions it works out cheaper for an annual family one than it does for individual trips). 

House insurance is sorted for another 12 months. So just Christmas to get through now and I need a new phone. Mines really old and no longer holds it's charge. It's hanging on, but I do think it's time to update. Plus now my eyesights started deteriorating and I need glasses for computers, reading etc, I think I'd like one with a bigger screen. 

Really need to crack on with some life admin and then I'm going to start getting on top of the housework - I'm trying the The Organised Mum Method atm. I tried fly lady and I've tried leaving it up to myself and none of that works. Sooo I'm going to see if this helps any. 

twinklie

Update on the energy usage. 

Start of October prediction. 
Electricity - £1843.14 Units - 50521
Gas - £2296.59 Units - 21289. 
Total estimated cost - £4,139.73

Start of November prediction. 
Electricity - £1793.40 Units - 4903.5
Gas - £2247.94 Units - 20818. 
Total estimated cost - £4,041.34

Reduction in estimate so far - £98.39

That's just purely looking at their estimates not actual usage. 

Last month their estimate was at we'd use £322 in energy. We used £200 approximately. So will see how we continue to fair. 

badmemory

Rather than a bigger screen (expense) can you not change the size of things on your current screen.  It does tend to mean scrolling down more when reading something.  As for the chol........  I just started by avoiding white & going towards red & I am not talking about wine.  Cutting down on fatty meat, Aldis now do a 3% fat mince, although I still stick to 5% cos I'm too lazy to change.  Replace a lot of that meat with veg.  If LDL (the bad one) is not a lot different from the HDL (the good one) then the problem may not be as large as you think.  Good luck with the diet changes, they will be better for you too.  I've replaced a lot of meat not just with veg but with mushroom as in a combined dish they seem to mimic the texture of meat to a certain extent.  As in it fools the senses into thinking you are eating more meat than you are.

twinklie

I can and do change things on the size of my current screen, but it's only holding charge now for about 2 hours before I have to recharge it again. I've had it for 7 years, so I think it's probably about time for a new one tbh. I would also like more memory and a better camera, so figure the time is now. Or I'll have to wait 12 months untill after we remortgage and I'm not sure it'll last 12 months if I'm honest. 

Our diet isn't actually that bad. His issue is finishing the kids foods, portion sizes when he makes meals and snacking. I always cook from scratch and we don't really go for creamy rich food, so there's not too much to change there tbh. I'm just planning on trying to cook/bake more snacks that might help. I always fancy something that feels more stodgy at this time of year rather than fruit as a snack. 

Unfortunately, I have a food intolerance to mushrooms (any fungi) so that's a pain. But there are more meat alternatives these days which aren't mushroom derivative like Quorn, so I should be able to swap out some stuff fairly easily. The difficulty is with the kids. They are both autistic and very resistant to change with their food. But we'll get there I'm sure. 

badmemory

A real pity about the mushrooms.  I always worry about those substitutes as I wonder what they add to them to make them taste like what they are substituting for.  I gather they are a lot better now than they used to be around 15years ago when I felt I needed to make some changes & I'm just a stick in the mud.  Anything that has some bite & does not just disappear in your mouth is good.  I use aubergine & courgette quite a bit. 

twinklie

Another tough week here. DS2 has been really struggling with attending school. He’s been doing quite late a few times. 

I’ve managed to move him onto packed lunches which seemed to help him last week. But we shall see. I don’t think lunches are the route of the problem. 

Electricity estimate is reducing nicely with each meter read and the gas is just starting to reduce. I’m hoping that reduces more in the coming months. 

Actual usage is a lot lower than predicted at the minute which is good.