MeandO's money-shuffling

Mrs_Money_Penny

Your poor son. There’s always something that comes along unexpected. Take care xx

MeandO

Indeed there is, Mrs_Money_Penny. They weren’t too happy with his wound on our return visit so he’s on more antibiotics, has had a special dressing put on it and we have to return again midweek for another check up. They are keeping a close eye on him and the care he’s had thanks to the NHS has been second to none. 

MeandO

I’m shattered again and can feel myself getting a bit bogged down with everything at the moment, both mentally and physically. My anxiety has been high today too with no particular trigger and it’s been horrible to feel like that again. 

I have mentioned that OH is having a really hard time of things at the moment which he just can’t let go of 24/7 and it’s impacting me if I’m honest. I’m exhausted as he’s not sleeping well and unintentionally disturbs my sleep when he’s here and the constant discussion and focus on the same issue is just so draining. He’s snappy with me and we seem to be going round in circles constantly, I feel wrung out. I’m aware he’s feeling it’s hundred times worse, but then trying to support him and look after DS and cope with work which is stressful right now is just making me feel like I have nothing left in me. I’m hoping some closure comes of it soon before one or both of us breaks. I just want him to be happy again. 

I spent some money on myself yesterday and feel incredibly guilty for doing so, but it was necessary spending on some new clothes after exhausting the charity shops. An out of town shopping outlet centre came up trumps and I bought a new coat as my existing one is three sizes too big now and has been stitched up numerous times. It’s done me well though as I have had it for about 6 years and originally cost me £30 from an ebay shop. I also bought 6 long sleeve tops and a jumper dress in the sales with everything costing me  £107 including the coat which was also a sale bargain at less than half price. I think I got a lot for my money, especially as the coat alone was originally priced at £100. I used the CC but have paid it all off already using some of the £136 of the no council tax this month (which I thought started next month so was pleased when I realised it was this month). That’s me done for new clothes now, I need nothing else for a while, other than a 2nd pair of jeans as I only have one pair that fit, but I’m wearing leggings more these days so they can wait. 

Today I wrapped all of DS’s birthday gifts and discovered a huge pen mark on a pair of joggers I’d bought him a couple of weeks ago. They’d been in the bag since I bought them so must have been marked in the shop and I didn’t notice it when they were folded. I took them straight back this afternoon but unfortunately they didn’t have any others left as they were in the sale. I ended up buying something else which cost me an extra £20 which was a bit annoying, but better than discovering the marked clothes after I’d given them to him. 

Whilst in that area, I also popped to one of the frozen foods shops to pick up some chicken DS likes that we have run out of. I spent £13.75 in there. I also used the last of my vouchers in Aldi yesterday so my grocery shop cost me £27.27. It included baking ingredients to make DS’s birthday cake and some mince and a big tray of nice quality sausages which I’ll split up and freeze. 

MeandO

Evening All,

It’s been a busy but productive day and I definitely had more sleep than the night before, so woke up feeling much better about the world. I got lots done at work today which felt good after two days of dealing with issues that got in the way of doing the work that needed to be done. I also swallowed a couple of phone call frogs need also managed to speak to a GP about DS’s condition and a letter we’d received from his paediatrician. He’ll be trying new meds soon which I think are going to make him feel a bit rough. Poor DS, wish I could do it for him. 

I also managed to rearrange an X-ray appointment for myself which I’d been waiting for for some time. Unfortunately they sent it out for exactly the same day and time as a different appointment I have at a different hospital. What are the chances? it’s taken me two days of pretty much constant calling to get someone to pick up the phone so I could tell them I won’t be there, so was pleased to finally tick that off the list.

I made the actual cake parts of DS’s birthday cake today too. Three cakes were baked to give me enough ‘cake’ to work with. I’ll ice and make the decoration for it over the next few days. 

I also cooked a lovely chicken, broccoli and cheese pasta dish tonight which has left two more large portions for the freezer. I’ll portion it up and freeze once it’s cooled. 

I had to flag a payment on my CC which was taken twice a couple of weeks ago. The company concerned swear it has only been taken once and the second accidental payment was just pending and wouldn’t have cleared, but it has and I’m not happy as it was for £214. I’ve had no luck with the company so I’ve asked the CC company to step in and they are going to investigate it. Luckily I have lots of emails from the company denying the pay,ent has been taken when it clearly has, so the CC company won’t have to look too hard to see it’s incorrect. Apparently it can take 8 weeks to sort though, but they will freeze that payment for now so I don’t have to pay it off and won’t get charged interest on it.  

Honeysucklelou2

Hope hope your DS feels better soon.

MeandO

Thank you HSL2 x He’s had another injury since my last post which resulted in another X-ray.  Thankfully nothing broken, just a badly bruised and swollen foot. It’s no wonder I’m going grey…

DS had a lovely birthday and enjoyed his cake. He had a friend to sleepover which I was dreading for the anticipated lack of sleep, but they were both very respectful and well behaved and I actually slept quite well that night! I bought in lots of snacks and food for them to have but they hardly ended up eating a thing, so a pizza DS some breaded chicken has gone in the freezer. There are also loads of crisps and treats for DS to work his way through. 

Money seems to be draining from my bank account as if someone pulled the plug out of the bottom. 😞 I’ve used SO much petrol in the last two weeks taking DS back and forth to get his wound dressed and checked over 4 times now and it’s a 50 mile round trip. £100 has been put into the car already since payday and I only ave half a tank of fuel left. I’ll need to fill it up again before Friday when DS and I are going to see my parents for a flying visit. There’s no money left in the petrol pot so I’ll need to top that up with the child benefit when that is paid in a week. I was hoping to roll it onto next month’s budget so I can cover everything at the start of the month but I guess that’s not going to happen. 

It’s also OH’s birthday next week and I am still struggling with gift ideas for him. I have said I’ll pay for food and take him to a nice gastro type pub for lunch so probably need to allow £40 for that, 

On top of everything, my dishwasher packed up last night. 😔 I’ve googled the error code and it’s something to do with the water intake or drain, but have checked the drain and water pipes and can see no issues. I’m wondering if the pump has gone. It was here when I moved in and from what I know about the timeline of previous owners, is probably about 8 years old, so am wondering if it’s worth calling someone out to try and fix it or should I just buy another.

I seem to have been spending quite a bit on groceries lately yet never seem to have much in. I really need to get back to meal planning but my head’s not in it at the moment. I’m absolutely exhausted permanently to the point where I struggled to stay awake today, OH’s situation at work is still ongoing and he is not coping with it at all well. He lives and breathes it presently, it’s all he can talk and think about and he is short tempered and grumpy much of the time. It is really taking its toll on me now too and I am struggling if I’m being honest. I feel very down and have no energy or enthusiasm for anything. I feel like it’s making me ill. He can’t see it though and it’s all he wants to talk about. It’s very wearing.

MeandO

I’ve just requested a £35 TCB payout to be sent to my bank account so that should go towards the petrol at the end of the week. 

My gas and electric DD has gone up again to £83 a month, an increase of £8 a month. I’m not surprised as I have had the heating on a lot as I have been feeling so cold all the time lately despite wearing numerous layers. At least I shouldn’t be in a deficit anyway. 

MeandO

Apologies for the abrupt endings and disjointed nature of many of my posts lately. I get interrupted frequently by one thing or another and rather than leave the post ‘unposted’ to disappear, I just hit the ‘post comment’ button so it doesn’t get lost. I’m aware this has happened a lot lately!

Today has been exhausting, I didn’t get much sleep as OH was here last night and is not sleeping well so we both end up having a disturbed night of sleep. I had to get up really early this morning too to give a colleague a lift to work to a (pointless) 2 hour meeting we had. Unfortunately parking is a nightmare at this particular office so we arranged to get there over an hour early, but still had trouble parking. I did save the £6.50  parking fee in one car park as the ticket machine wasn’t working. 

I picked up yet more groceries today on the way home, spending £22. I was annoyed with myself after though as a portion of this wasn’t needed but was a late breakfast/lunch for me as I hadn’t eaten all day - it was way too early to eat when I left the house then left my banana in the car and forgot about it. I should have just waited until I get home but I was so hungry. I didn’t make the best food choices health-wise either which annoyed me even more afterwards. 

Speaking of health, an appointment with a specialist last week has resulted in me now being on a lifelong blood thinner. I’ve tested positive for antibodies in my blood which suggest a blood clotting disorder, making me more susceptible to blood clots, strokes and heart attacks which are also unfortunately the cause of many deaths and near deaths of loved ones in my family, so this will hopefully reduce my risk slightly. My Mum has had many of these issues and events, it is just harrowing to witness and I don’t want DS to go through that with me. One positive, if I can call it that, is that is seems only to affect the females in the family so I am praying DS is unaffected. I am still processing everything about this really, it terrifies me if I’m being honest and I feel like my fate is sealed. 

MeandO

I’ve been feeling pretty rotten today and have been waiting for bedtime since the moment I got up. I was ill overnight and this morning, I think my body was rejecting the cr&p food I ate yesterday, and as a result had very little sleep and have been feeling rough all day. I just feel like I need a week off from everything to go to bed early every night and sleep. No chance though.

The heating is on higher than I’ve had it for a long time as DS and I both remarked at how cold it felt in the house this evening. It is a nice change to feel warm and snug in every room but I can’t help worrying at how much it’s going to cost.

DS requested risotto for tea, so we had a prawn risotto with some garlic chicken I had defrosted for another dish thrown in so as not to go to waste. I might make a variant of a cottage pie for tomorrow with root veg instead of mash as we have lots of parsnips and carrots in the fridge to use up. There’s mince in the freezer too so no need to purchase anything.

The only spend today was £2.80 on postage to return the forms to the credit card company for the disputed transaction from last month. Hopefully they process that pretty quickly. 

MeandO

Change of plan - I’ve taken a joint of beef out of the freezer to put in the slow cooker tomorrow. It was half price in stainsbos around Christmas time, almost wish I’d bought another. I’ll put it in the slow cooker with some carrots and onions and cook some parsnips, broccoli and potatoes to go with it in the evening. I’m so looking forward to it! We don’t eat a lot of red meat, mostly fish and chicken in this house, but I’ve been craving roast beef for a long while now for some reason.  May even make some Yorkshire puddings! There’s bound to be plenty left over for a meal for OH and I Thursday night too. 

I’ve just cleaned and ready-dressed DS’s wound as the hospital has given me lots of sterile dressings to do it myself now. It still doesn’t look great so I’ve taken a photo and will ask my friend who’s a GP to for her opinion. She saw the previous photos when the hospital were tending to it and said then how nasty it was.  Poor DS is desperate to get back to his sports but he just can’t at the moment.