PB’s Very Exciting Diary...!

Pink_Butterfly

Day off is here!! :j:j:j I have a very long list of jobs that need doing, so it won’t be relaxing at all, but still beats going to work

Speaking of work, so many of us in my department are unhappy. And outside the department too. It really is baffling how a lot of employers don’t treat their staff well & think that is how you should run a business. If I had my own business there is absolutely no way that I’d do that. I’d want my staff to be loyal & stay working for me if they were decent workers! Obviously my employers enjoy paying agency fees & training new starters...

I spoke to the agency that placed me there the other day & they’re now trying to find something better for me. They sent me a job spec yesterday but it looked way too challenging sadly so they’re looking for something more suitable now.

The neighbours have been awful this week with their noise. I went to a friend’s house last night for a catch up as I had a child-free night and she was saying how noisy her last neighbours were, and how thin the walls are, which surprised me. She lives in a semi-detached & I assumed it was well soundproofed but apparently not. Her cat seemed to love me and sat on my lap all night, bless him!

There is definitely a link in my brain between feeling unhappy and wanting to spend money and eat unhealthy food. I’m not going to lie, I’m not being a good girl right now, in both areas. Last night before going to my friend’s house I went to Primark and bought some fake tan and a mitt (£4 in total), which to be fair was a lot cheaper than having a spray tan which is what I normally have when I’m going to wear a dress & show my legs, and then I went to Boots and bought one of my friends some birthday gifts. That’s another thing I like doing when I’m down... I like making people happy and feel good about themselves! Anyway, I’m aware that I’m not being very frugal and I will be trying to find other things that give me just as much pleasure but doesn’t cost money, or make me gain weight!

Pink_Butterfly

The worst month is officially over! Hurrah! :beer:

I’m very glad to see the back of January. I’ve got a nice February planned, including a week off work (2 weeks to go!!) so I’m looking forward to it!

The month has started off rubbish though as I had about 2 hours sleep last night thanks to noisy neighbours and brexit fireworks, plus I seem to be catching another cold! I’ll be drinking plenty of coffee today. In about an hour I’ll be collecting DD2 from her dance/drama group & we’ll go to Costa until it’s time to collect DD1 They’ve got a birthday party to go to this afternoon at a trampoline park, so it’s a busy day! I don’t have time to be poorly :rotfl:

I managed to get most of my jobs done yesterday & I was a very proud mummy watching DD2 get her certificate during her celebration assembly Bless her. DD1 also made me proud at her swimming lesson after school - she can swim so well now. And I love how confident she is in the water! Much better than me!

Money update now and January saw me spend a total of £158.42 on food, cleaning products and toiletries, which for a 31-day month is pretty good going. I also spent £20.26 on electricity and £47.80 on gas, which is slightly less than December. Could be better, however I’m not expecting it to be much lower this month due to my week off...

All my direct debits are pending in my account now, including my loan repayment can’t wait to see the new balance on Monday!!!

Pink_Butterfly

The loan payment has gone out so new balance is £7,011.98 :j I’ll be making a small overpayment soon to take me into the £6Ks! Slowly but surely it’s going down and even if I don’t make any more overpayments, it’ll be gone in 18 months

The cold symptoms have disappeared thankfully & I have managed to catch up on my sleep thanks to being able to wear ear plugs due to the girls being at their dad’s house I’ll be getting them back tonight though, which is good obviously as I miss them but it does mean I won’t sleep as well.

The rest of the weekend was lovely. The girls enjoyed the party and I was very impressed with the staff and how they catered for the parents as well as the children. DD1 wants her party there & I was against it at first because of the cost but it’s definitely good value for money, so I’m slowly changing my mind! DD2’s birthday is first though & I need to book her party soon.

Yesterday I went out for breakfast with some friends for one of their birthdays. I had pancakes with Nutella & strawberries and a huge chocolate milkshake which I didn’t finish I got home and OH (who was there waiting for me) had put a chilli in the slow cooker and it was so delicious. He bought the ingredients and wouldn’t take my money, and there were leftovers for lunch/dinner today! So I was very happy

I’d better start getting ready for work as I need to leave in an hour :eek::eek:

Pink_Butterfly

I can’t sleep due to my neighbours so I thought I’d check in

If anyone reading this is thinking about living in a flat, please do your research first and check what the soundproofing is like before you buy/rent. Because if I knew that it was this bad there is no way I’d have chosen to live here. It’s honestly horrible. Not being able to sleep because someone else can’t keep their voice down is so frustrating and upsetting. I’ve had a year of it & I don’t know how long I can go on for

Because of how miserable I am I’m spending money on things to try & make me feel better. Sometimes clothes, sometimes meals out or day trips. It’s good for me in the short-term as it gives me something to look forward to, but longer term it means I can’t overpay my loan as much, meaning I can’t move into a house as no lender will give me what I need until the loan has gone. It is only £2K more than my savings balance so my situation isn’t as bad as it could be, but still, them savings are there for emergencies and I’d rather not touch them.

I’m just feeling sorry for myself tonight. I know a lot of people have it worse and I try & remember that but it’s hard sometimes.

Anyway, today’s spends were a birthday card, a valentines card, a chocolate bar from the charity box at work & some basmati rice. Work provided a bbq lunch for everyone as we had a good January, so lunch was free and it meant I could save my leftover chilli for tomorrow

On the downside, having Friday off meant I had over 180 e-mails to deal with :eek: And to think I’m off for a whole week soon!

Pink_Butterfly

Happy hump day! We are halfway there (living on a prayer!)

I got my nails done tonight. They are red, and some nails are sparkly while others have a white love heart on them. Very appropriate for this time of year

The school called me today about DD2. Unfortunately it wasn’t what I wanted to hear!! Apparently she had got frustrated with someone and threw a book at them, but it ended up hitting another girl :eek: I was mortified! A friend of mine who is a mum of one of DD2’s friends told me which girl got hit, so I text the girl’s mum and apologised, a lot. So embarrassing but thankfully the girl’s mum was fine and understanding DD2 is at her dad’s tonight but I spoke to her on the phone and said it was completely unacceptable to throw things at other children. She got stroppy with me & then stormed off... so I will be talking to her about it again tomorrow!

During my phone call to her teacher she mentioned that her understanding & ability to explain herself isn’t where it should be, so she’s going to work with her to try and improve them areas. She thinks that she gets frustrated because she can’t communicate properly, so hopefully we will see progress there soon.

This is all so different to DD1’s experience at school so far. She has never hurt another child, and she finds school work really easy (she’s got 100% in every test she’s done since November, and she has spelling & maths tests weekly). But then again they are different children, and I’m happy that they have their own personalities. Just need DD2 to be less... violent I’m not making excuses for her, but she was up half the night last night because she had a nightmare about spiders, so she would’ve been shattered today & her tolerance levels were no doubt much less than normal.

I spoke to my boss today about my upcoming week off and what was going to happen to my work when I’m not there, as being off last Friday has made me really behind, which is just ridiculous. He said he will be speaking to the MD about it as no-one in the department is going to have time to cover me. This is another massive reason why we need a 2nd person but I give up suggesting it!

Money wise, I’ve only spent £8.09 on food, toiletries & cleaning products so far this month. I’m waiting for refunds from various clothing companies (I’m going to try and rein in the spending now! I’ve spent £105 on clothes for myself so far this year. And £28 on a handbag...). My tax credits are being paid in on Friday & I’ll ask for my ex’s half of this month’s instalment of the dance/drama group, as that’s due this weekend.

Time for bed, I have about 3 nights worth of sleep to catch up on

Pink_Butterfly

It’s the weekend!  Hooray! Not sure how I’m feeling about MSE taking away my favourite emojis when they did the update.... hopefully they will bring them back 

I am currently laying in bed in my silent flat with a cup of tea and it is bliss. The neighbours are obviously still asleep! I have already stripped the girls’ beds and put a wash on, put away last night’s washing up, sorted out the arts & crafts drawers and tidied up the living room. The girls are at their dad’s house now until tomorrow morning so I’m going to get dressed soon and see my OH. Not sure what we are doing today but tonight we have a date night & we are going to one of my favourite restaurants, so I’m very excited about that! It’s a Mediterranean restaurant with a very small menu but sometimes I prefer that, and it has an amazing atmosphere.

One more week at work left and then it’s my week off! My boss joked that at least 5% of my work will be covered while I’m away... sadly I think it’s accurate! Too late to train a temp now really so it’s going to have to be covered by current staff and no-one has the time. A job was advertised yesterday on an agency’s web-site and I’m very tempted to apply. It ticks a lot of boxes. I will contact the agency first I think and get some information about the company.

The girls have their dance/drama group thing this morning & this will be the first time their dad takes them. It’s a lot of waiting around so I’m sure he will moan! I’ve paid the 2nd instalment as it’s now due so will get his half at some point, plus money towards a few other things I’ve had to pay for like swimming lessons & school trips.

The tax credits were paid in yesterday so my account looks nice & healthy, ready for the half-term madness! I have got one day child-free in that week as my ex is having the girls, so I’m going to spend the day with my lovely mum. I always enjoy our days together so it’ll be a nice day!

I have spoken to DD2 about her behaviour since my last update and she told me that 2 of her best friends told her she wasn’t their best friend any more which is why she got upset. Obviously she still shouldn’t have thrown the book but my heart broke a little bit. Of course they’ve since all became friends but I never want my children to feel like that. I felt quite upset afterwards

Right, must get in the shower and start the day! I am wearing a dress tonight so I need to tan my legs... and probably shave them 

Pink_Butterfly

Good morning! My cherubs are due back in just over an hour so I thought I’d hop on here quick while I can! It’s so windy outside - it managed to wake me up despite wearing ear plugs! Makes a change from the neighbours waking me up though I guess...

Date night was lovely. We had a drink first in a bar, and then went on to the restaurant and had a 3-course meal with some wine. I hardly ever drink so I felt quite tipsy! It was a very nice evening and we both agreed that we should do it more often, although maybe cheaper places if it’s going to be a more regular thing

I am at the halfway point between pay days and the budget is looking ok. I have a couple of treats for the kids budgeted for half-term, plus our dental appointments, DD2’s birthday gifts/party/cake and a balance on my Next account which is for clothes that I bought for the girls and myself in January. I also have about £100.00 for my day out with my mum but I’m going to try & not spend all that as March is going to be a tight month due to my service charge being due (6 months worth so about £500.00), and my car insurance (I pay annually). So any money I don’t spend this month will help. Realistically the car insurance is going to have to be paid out of my EF, and I’ll just put it back when it’s a less spendy month. I could pay it monthly of course but that’ll cost me more in the long run.

Have a nice Sunday everyone and stay safe with the crazy weather!

Pink_Butterfly

It’s Wednesday, AKA Hump Day!! 3 days down, 2 to go, and then it’s 9 days of freedom!!!!   

It’s been interesting at work this week to say the least. So much drama has happened - thankfully nothing to do with me but it hasn’t been pleasant. Weirdly I’ve personally been alright this week & not too stressed! Maybe because I know I can switch off for a while soon

The budget is still looking good and all refunds have now hit my account. OH is coming round soon and I think we are going to book a holiday for June. It’ll only be for 4 nights as we won’t be taking the children, but we’ve seen some good deals for Tenerife so hopefully we can decide on one and get it booked! I also may book a caravan for me & the kids for a few nights in the Easter holidays as it’s quite cheap and it means having something else to look forward to when I’m back at work I’m very undecided about taking them abroad in the summer holidays. Heart says yes but head says no as it’s sooooo expensive and I want to get my loan paid off I’d only go for a few nights again but still, it’s not cheap, and I do not want to take them out of school so needs to be when they’re off! Last year I took them to Spain & we all had an amazing time and I honestly have the best memories of that holiday. The girls talk about it all the time & it was worth every penny. Hmmmm!

Pink_Butterfly

Our holiday is booked! 4 nights in a 5* hotel in Tenerife I’ve never been before so I’m very excited! The bad news is we had to spend slightly more than we wanted, but it’s still £200 cheaper than our holiday last year, which was on a closer island & the same hotel chain. I also went through Top Cashback so £51.22 is now pending. The other “bad” news is that we are having to fly from Gatwick, which isn’t the nicest journey, but hopefully it’ll be ok! Our flight isn’t until 2pm so we’ve got plenty of time to get there

OH paid using his credit card so I’ve taken note of the instalments and I’ll pay him my half which his card gets charged. I also need to buy some travel insurance so I’ll do that tonight. I’m also dropping off a bag of DD2’s old summer clothes to a friend who is going on holiday in a couple of weeks and has a little girl who will fit in them, so that will clear some space in my bedroom!

Pink_Butterfly

And that’s work DONE!!! Yayyyy!!! I was so happy to be out of there when I left for the day...bring on the lay ins I plan on doing a big eBay session while I’m off to raise some money. There are plenty of things in my wardrobe that I never wear so hopefully they’ll sell easily!

I bit the bullet last night & booked the caravan for Easter. I don’t regret it but booking 2 breaks in 2 days has made me nervous! I am sure that we will have a lovely time though. Hopefully the weather will be kind!

An agency called me about a job today but then decided that they wouldn’t put me forward for it because I hadn’t got much experience in one small area of the role. So that was disappointing, especially when I can do this particular task quite easily, but hopefully something else will come up soon. It obviously wasn’t meant to be!

The girls are now in bed so I’m going to make the most of it & chill out. Praying that the neighbours keep the noise down tonight, they’ve been really annoying the last couple of nights.