Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

Greying_Pilgrim

I ❤️Slow cooker/soup/stew season too newgirly - much easier to be MSE! 😁 Is this the 'all the family' cruise you're going on? Already? Gosh - that's come around quick if it is.

Greying X

South_coast

Do not re-book, just make it work! I'm sure the floor/ceiling will be soundproofed, you won't be hearing duff duff duff all night every night for a month! (And if you do then just complain and they will either move you to a different cabin or give you some lovely credit to use on another trip 👍)

greent

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82131017#Comment_82131017

Ooh - I wouldn't be too sure of the lack of noise - DD and her boyfriend went on a cruise in April and their cabin was under a club and they were disturbed most nights 🫤

newgirly

Depends if it’s a fully booked cruise or not as well 🙂

Well, finally I have time to post 🤣 this last week and a bit have been a whirlwind. We had fantastic time away and although it was not the cruise we originally planned with dd as we missed her, we made the best of it.
The boys whom we expected to see for a couple of dinners and drinks spent a huge amount of time with us and each other which was a lovely surprise to be honest. My parents popped up briefly from time to time as is their way. The kids all booked a waterfall day trip together and enjoyed it even bringing bag a bottle of water for us all to sample at dinner.
I took a games pouch with mini connect four, cards, uno etc. but ds2 had of course brought a full size scrabble with him 😁 so time was spent eating, playing games, drinking , dancing and getting wet in Norway 😂 I wandered down in olden along the waters edge to watch the kids ( the most stunning place I’ve been to) previously we have had a walk around but this time I followed the kids and dh along the fjord filming them kayaking, what a wonderful memory ❤️

Spending wise I thought we would have lots of our £500 plus £200 credit left, but as the kids spent a VAST amount on a trip onboard with the money we gave them we did end up spending a bit more, they registered their own cards for drinks but we bought wine at night etc. a lots of rounds of drinks. Amazingly though we ended up with the grand total of 18p left of the budget after all expenses! I’m glad they did the trip mind as they had a whole day together doing something memorable.

Anyway, back to being frugal for a bit, I’ve not enough money to pay for our haunted hotel Halloween night away yet 👻

To do list for this week:

repeat prescription, blood test form from gp

book an echo scan and cardiology appointment

check when holiday insurance renewal is

do mountain of washing still left ( there was a major spider incident of epic proportions the day before I went away, I may tell the story when I’ve got time 😆)

post vinted parcel

remove some items from this house, I’m starting decluttering 😩

Research and purchase a new slow cooker

daisy_1571

That sounds like a fabulous holiday, spending time together with your children as adults must have been wonderful

Dxx

South_coast

I have just ordered this slow cooker. The aesthetic is not my vibe at all, but given it'll be spending 99% of its time in a cupboard, I thought I could let that ride, as it's at least a fiver cheaper than comparable models elsewhere!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Swan-SF17021CN-Removable-Ceramic-Settings/dp/B01MDTZN4N/ref%3Dmp_s_a_1_1?crid=1QWI9J8KYMFSJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.RcpfDIgVFKsZkMFQ9arZbYMl8PlkIPVKK0C8AkaLo_NPgAe69O40hkrE8WbPcxErIa2sLuFN9E0F2c4WuT2JdW-TKnHfSJ4ZAt9sLPS1L_k8c0BnIlMECU7JIrb-I4ZASddQoqfUB7qLq2gslKuawUHoElQUdqIUhQ0R_rmqH6X2Q2W87FQaidXCB06IhK56ZiaIxCE2QeU5FMG4B0b1SQ.tSygEOeERpAFJeSg7ks-U5rW-uxPHMmc2HKNYbOM0EI&dib_tag=se&keywords=swan+slow+cooker&qid=1790109342&sprefix=swan+slow%2Caps%2C133&sr=8-1

themadvix

It sounds like you had a wonderful holiday - and I'm envious of the Norwegian rain!

newgirly

It was lovely spending time with the kids Daisy 😊

Sc that’s the exact one I bought 😂 it was the same price in Robert Dyas so I got it there instead though, it looks ok, a bit more yellow that expected but a bargain!

Hi Vix, hope you are well 🙂 it was nice to be in cooler weather I must say.

I’ve been ill the last couple of days, high temperature, cough etc. I saw mum and aunt yesterday (obviously told them first) I wouldn’t have wanted to see me to be honest 😆 I stayed at a distance though. Think I’ve just had an exceptional busy couple of weeks and it’s caught up with me.
So far in the new slow cooker, I’ve done jacket potatoes and a chicken casserole for dh. I need to look up some new receipes, I’m sick of not bothering with nice meals for myself, dh has got used to having meals just he can eat that are not veggie (he’d rather always have meat or fish 😒) , so I need to pep up my veggie cooking and look after myself a bit more. Maybe it’s time for a bit of online mooching for ideas.
I’ve bought a few of the 55p jars of m@rks beans recently, has anyone also had them? So far I’ve got one empty jar and I’m wondering what I can do with it, they are pretty nice jars so I’d like to find a way to make something with it, perhaps for Xmas or even home decor, I doubt you could buy an empty jar for that price.

South_coast

LOL, we are slow cooker twins 🤣 I never normally buy from Amazon, but I only learned then that you get free delivery if you collect it 🤯

newgirly

Slow cooker twins 🤣

I’m still poorly, if anything it got a lot worse a few days ago so it’s not been fun. I’ve been mostly on the sofa or in bed the last few days and dh is away this weekend for his friends 60th, not great timing as the kitchen is a long walk from the bedroom if I want a drink 😆

I actually forgot my warfarin check at hospital Tuesday (it’s not too bad as there’s hundreds seem in a few hours) but I can’t believe forgot 😳 so now I’ve got that again this tuesday, 6 monthly blood test Thursday and flu and maybe covid jabs Friday 😂 I should probably check on the normal blood test as if I’m ill it’s likely to show something up that it wouldn’t usually?

Anyway, some good news is I managed to get a code for o@sis tickets and ds1 came over at 8.30 am yesterday to take over the iPad as I was not really up to it, he managed to get four tickets including coach travel so is very happy, I declined one as in his words knebworth is “a slog” which means not suitable for me 😂 both toilet wise, standing around wise etc. since then my brother who is having one of the tickets has also got a code so is trying today, now dh wants to go 🙄 I don’t really fancy knebworth but the thought of him going and not me is really irritating as he doesn’t listen to them 🤣 however it will be a memorable day out with ds1 who is a big fan. Just need to find the brace yourself- £280 to pay for it! Unbelievable it’s cheaper than last year due to lack of dynamic pricing…..

The food budget actually has a fair bit of money in it so I think a chunk of it will come from there, we were away for a week and I’ve not bought lots of food lately, so perhaps I can stretch out until the end of the month and make the most of that. But it will still be a very generous Xmas present as our budget this year was going to be £50 each.

I’ve also got a little bit left in my personal spending pot this month (about £80) and was thinking of trying to improve our in home coffee making situation, I love having two Cappucinnos a day, I still drink normal instant and tea a lot too but they are my daily treat. I have a dulc3 gust0 machine which fits the Aldi pods which I prefer to the packet ones, but I’d really like to not be using the pods (plastic wise ). I’m no coffee connoisseur, more of a frothy and flavoured sometimes person of that makes sense 😂 I’m wondering what might be best and if it’s achievable on a shoestring or if I should start saving for a big proper machine? Would just a milk frother do the trick I wonder? Any suggestions would be very welcome 😊