Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

newgirly

Hi Cath, it’s hard to tell with the moving and it’s been an ongoing thought the whole way through this very old diary 😆 you are right it’s so much worse at this time of year, I’m probably noticing it more being indoors and even in bed more the last few months. We would need to do a fair bit to get the house ready to sell if we did decide to go, and the only decorating done in the recent past (last year I think) was the box room, the water damage was never done 🙄 so really there’s a fair bit, plus new windows, drive , rendering etc. if we do stay , plus probably the removal of the conservatory too 😩 

Christmas, I will get help with the food, my parents will do the beef and stuffing and I’ll do all other meat and veg, my little brother will take my dads bank card to get the cheese in borough market as is tradition and spend a crazy amount on mouldy rancid cheese, my dad will then pretend to be cross about he’s spent 😆 the prepping is not to much of a worry, but I shall be doing way less than usual and no clearing up at all this year 😁 

Cost wise some survey vouchers for M&S will get me some nice desserts and ready done bits to cheat - red cabbage for example 😋 and I’ve already started putting a few bottles of Prosecco in the shed. 

Busy day today, coffee with best friend first thing, then Deadpool this afternoon at the imax - a little annoying as there’s a supplement to pay on top of the pass for imax , but it was the only time that we could do today, then a very early dinner after with friends which was three courses for £22 I believe, so a bit spent but a nice day out which makes a change lately. 

South_coast

Don't let DD read the bit about where the prosecco is hidden 😮!

newgirly

South_coast said:

Don't let DD read the bit about where the prosecco is hidden 😮!

Haha, well nobody except dh knows about this diary except dh and he hasn’t read it , so hopefully the Prosecco is safe 😆

newgirly

Another nice sunny day today 😊 I’ve got my last rehab session today 😢 I’m going to miss it, both the sessions and the drive up there as I like to bend dhs ear all the way 😆 he’s always at work or I’m in bed early so I even though he’s here I feel like I don’t see him much, plus it’s different driving through London than going by tube, you miss so much, it really is stunning. 

Had a bit of a fright with some chest pain yesterday, only briefly but managed to get a same day gp appointment!  they did suggest a&e but there’s not much they could do as I’m fixed and tested afterwards, plus it last long, gp wasn’t that convincing but said it’s probably not cardiac related, I shall ask my rehab nurse today and I’m going to another appointment in a few weeks with a specialist. 

Dil has been busy decorating the smaller bedroom we have let them have, she’s always on the local regifting site, both with donating and acquiring 😆 she sourced a huge nearly new chesterfield style “snuggle” chair, bought and painted some book shelves and even got a fish tank for free for the baby fish we have from mums pond. It is however way too big for them it’s one of those biorbs, so I think she is now getting a couple of goldfish 😂  it’s painted dark green which I though might look a bit like a dungeon, but actually it looks like a cosy old fashioned library in there now, I love it! 

Aside from all that this week, we have a bit more stress as it was time to talk to the kids about my heart problem, we had known all along it can be hereditary but decided to not talk to them until I was fixed and recovered so it seemed like it was now the right time. They all took it well and have agreed to have heart scans to check, if it does come back that they have it’s more a case of keeping an eye and having regular scans as they get older, treatment would still be the same but you would have more knowledge and control over how and when. It’s not usually an issue until you are much older. So we have offered to pay for them all, although my dad may well insist I’m not sure yet. I was far more worried about it all than they seem to be though 😳

Anyway time to get up and get some washing on! 

newgirly

Another busy weekend on the cards, I’ve got to package up a parcel and the heart monitor I’ve had on the last few days and post in town , when I’m also going for brunch with friends 😬 tomorrow is a bbq at my parents where all I’m taking is a plain salad even though I offered lots more. 

Yesterday I went to ike@ with DIL, I have to tell you what we had in the restaurant as it always shocks me how cheap it is 😆 big bowl of tomato pasta for her, 2 cinnamon buns, two hot chocolates for a total of £3.65! Fantastic, plus it was pretty quiet in there.

I’ve done some personal spending money spending while there, I’ve bought a two tiered wooden shelf we went to Poundland and got glass jars with chalk labels and long teaspoons, sprinkles etc. ready for my………autumnal hot chocolate station! 😬 need to get a few decorations for it too, but I saw it online and thought it was a good idea, none of us are big (or at all ) drinkers, and I thought it would be nice when we have the kids visiting if they are not wanting alcohol. We non drinkers often don’t make an effort, at home I drink, water, coffee, tea (decaf) and occasionally chocolate milkshake or hot chocolate in winter. It’s time we spoiled ourselves like we did when we used to buy nice wine 😆 ds2 and dil are going to love it! 

While in Poundland a few other things fell into my basket, new cushion covers, long overdue since we acquired the sofas from best friend, they are kind of fleecy dusky pink ones -£2 each and lovely linen looking floral ones that match the walls and other cushions for £3 each! Plus a matching throw for £8. A pretty cheap living room makeover considering I really want to decorate and have new furniture 😂 still that’s for when mf….

newgirly

The cinema was awful yesterday, dodgy film and it was soooo busy ( usually go when it’s really quiet!) there were people sitting near us it was so busy and a woman wiggling her toes nearby with her bare feet up on the chair in front while looking at her phone, this should mean a lifetime ban in my opinion! 

Then home for a very early night a a squiz through the finances. All is well so far this month, grocery shopping a day or so over what it should be at this point but not terrible, personal spending pot still pretty good. I have got to rejig again as we are paying for the kids heart scans and also a trip to Manchester. Dh’s friend from school who he rarely sees has split up won’t his wife (they introduced us!) and moved to near Sheffield, he wants is to go and stay in his new place as he’s left London and moved up alone, so we are doing one night there which is enough I think, then we will go sideways and back to Manchester for the Xmas market 😊 when we went last year, we arrived late and had to leave first thing as I was ill so it seems a good opportunity to go back as dh was keen to. He’s going to try and get the spending money together and I will find the hotel money, it’s strangely affordable actually, as it’s a Sunday/Monday night PI starts at £40pn which is right by the market , with fancier ones probably double that. I shall be doing a mini challenge to pay for it, dh would prefer a non purple room, will have to see how well I do with finding extra money I guess. 

This does sound like a very spendy dairy lately, it’s not as bad as it sounds, honesty! I’m still cutting corners in other areas aside from trying to go away 😆 no haircut since April 2022 still, I’m doing it myself as it’s got long, no takeaways, still driving a 20year old banger. It’s just I’ve such an itch to go away in the last few years, which has only got worse the closer we get to mf. It’s best friends fault, we were happy with the odd family caravan break until she gifted us a free cruise she couldn’t go on, I blame her for starting all this 😂

Anyhoo, I have a plan for the rest of this year and the whole of next year, unless the sky falls in, everything will be covered and paid for by the end of next year, the mortgage ending in March , all trips booked for 2025 plus the big family one in 2026 paid for by Dec 2025. Then after that we have extra money 😊 I’m popping the kids scans on the 0% card and paying off after we are mf as we just can’t do it otherwise really. 

Plans for this week: 

Check out local council gym, the private one Friday that we saw was filthy 

Meal plan for the week, we have food in, I’ve just not had energy so I have been eating cereal and toast which is silly 

finish the hot chocolate station, this has encouraged a lot of ridicule from the men at home, I shall prove them wrong and they will see my vision in the end! 

Go for a long walk, just to prove I can as it’s been ages (taking my mobile or someone with me just incase 😆) 

list more on vinted 


I hope everyone is having a great weekend! 

skint_spice

I think the hot chocolate station sounds great!

newgirly

Why thank you, I shall post a photo when it’s finished! 

Off to mums for a bbq soon, I’ve just managed to persuade dh to go on a walk in a nearby country park (he doesn’t really enjoy it 😆) got lost in the burning sun which was daft at this time of day in the heat on my first walk out, however we did manage to get a fair few blackberries! I’ll need to cook them into something as none of us are actually that keen on them on their own 🙄

Debsnewbudget

 Am just cooking mine with water and sugar into a blackberry compote type thing to put over ice cream …yum 

newgirly

Thanks Debsnewbudget thats a great idea! Love ice cream 😬

Went to the cinema to see a secret horror screening last night,  it was ok but I fell asleep near the end as it was a very late 7.30 start 😆 today I’m visiting the friend with the broken ankle, hopefully she’s up and about a bit more now. This morning I have warfarin clinic at the hospital first thing, there’s still no car parking so I’m think about getting the bus/walking or getting two buses instead of meeting dh at work and getting a lift, will need to check how long it takes and how far I have to walk first maybe. 

Dinner was leftovers from the bbq and dh tried the “frozen ready meal” bag of chicken Thai green curry from tesc@ I bought ages ago, £3 a bag for two people - or one if you are a hungry dh after work 😆 apparently it was fine so I might keep one in the freezer, he doesn’t usually have really meals but sometimes comes home very late and after telling me he didn’t want dinner earlier in the day then is  could be a good emergency meal instead as of beans on toast. 

The house needs a clean, but I’ll see how hot it gets first as I can’t do it early, no point making life any harder than it has to be! I shall compromise my doing some washing 😊