Progress is...

badmemory

I've recently come out & the meals are absolutely abysmal. Mince pie, well there was some mince & pastry & mash potato, diced potato & I think a couple of peas & a very small bit of grated carrot. The highlight was the skin on chips which were actually edible. I was eating 3 meals a day instead of my usual one & managed to lose 2 lbs so I count that a win.

beanielou

Glad things went better than hoped on Friday & that you enjoyed two very different retirement do’s.

rtandon27

So I've been hard at work this weekend but have not tracked my list…

Best to end the weekend with a list to see where we are at…

Meal Plan
✅ 🍜 Saturday Mar 28- Easy Peasy Day - BF=McDs Lunch = leftovers - Dinner = Pizza
✅ 🍖🥕🍠🍅🥔 Sunday Feb 29 - Roast Day - leftovers and grazing all day!
🥬 Monday Mar 30 - NOT Veggie Day - roast chicken & carrots & brussels & potatoes
🐟🍟 Tuesday Mar 31 - Fish Day - Fish & Chips [Payday!]
🍗🍄🥕🥦🥔 Wednesday Apr 01 - Chicken Day - Lunch = chicken BLT sandwich rolls - Dinner = Sweet and sour Chicken with peppers & pineapple and jasmine rice
🍔🌽🥔 Thursday Apr 02 - Meat Day - Beef stew from freezer with toast
🥧🍟Friday Apr 03 - Fakeaway Day - Lunch = cafe - Dinner = salmon something
🍜 Saturday Apr 04 - Easy Peasy Day - Lunch = gyoza & noodles - Dinner = TBC
🍖🥕🍠🍅🥔 Sunday Apr 05 - Roast Day - llamb dinner from free meal kit!

Routine Tasks
✅ YNAB shuffling
🔆 fill up ISA - 75%cash and 25%S&S
🔆 across the pond banking
✅ grocery order - we will do a top up shop if needed
✅ meal plan (above)
🔱 weekly digital planner
🔆 Delay Repay
✅ supplements into dossets
🔱 pack-ups for work days
🔱 Weekly surveys & contests
✅ laundry - 2 loads done and drying - my mac and windbreaker have been washed along with a slingbag - last week's pink/red/purple load folded and put away
✅ 3 loads of dishes & 1 load of pots done & 1 lot of roasting tins
✅ vacuum downstairs
🔆 vacuum furniture
🔆 vacuum stairs
🔆 vacuum landing
🔆 vacuum bedroom

Non-routine Tasks
✅ Kitchen cleaned and reset for week!
✅ Paid half-yearly water
✅ Ordered half price Easter chocolate & 1/2 price chicken & 1/2 price flowers from ooober - I'm loving their daily specials - may return to small shops for the next month - such good
✅ OH & I had a Sunday afternoon movie - reviving a habit we had during pandemic
✅ Sorted meal box account - had to get voucher win put on there manually before I could order - adds up to 4 meals for two - I'm floored - we never spend 15 pounds a meal when cooking at home but hey - it's FREE - I'm not turning my nose up!
🔱 Follow-up on Water company complaint - Our energy company has been replaced as having the WORST customer service!
🔱 Use refund voucher from flower company - poor quality for the flowers OH sent to me at work on Feb 14
🔱 Pillowcase being mended - emerged from washing with a small tear!
🔆 Banana Bread to be made
🔆 Banana Muffins also to be made
🔆 Holiday Freezer use it up Meal Plan
🔆 New mats need to be stuck down with corners
🔆 Another batch of paperwork ready to file
🔆 Organize my physiotherapy and specialized scan
🔆 Book dental hygenist
🔆 Get back on track with dental devices - mouth & jaw have been acheing!
🔆 Print out OH's medical paperwork, including insurance bills
🔱 have sourced weighted blankets - singles - Scandinavian style!
🔱 annual underthings hunt still in progress - one bit of armature found - 2 in basket - 2 to return
🔱 need to get a flat top brush for brass paint
🔱 apply for the GHIC card (website was down the day I went to do this!)
⏳ look into oiling/waxing newly installed xtra banister
⏳BFF across the pond - we owe each other money - Easter week we plan to talk! - her Bday also next month!

Garden Things
🔆 6ft plant staging needs to be put together
🔆 cotswold stone needs to be put down
🔱 winter jasmine is in full bloom - needs tieing to supports and more supports needed for it to grown on
🔆 transplant mexican daisies into new pots
🔆 start sunflowers
🔆 start sweetpeas
🔆 start foxgloves
🔆 transplant remaining baby trees into their new pots
🔆 prune heritage rambling rose bush
🔆 prune rosemary
🔆 prune summer flowering roses
🔆 prune raspberries
🔆 tidy up planting bed in front of house
🔆 collect rest of leaves that have materialized in parking bay
🔆 install wrought iron divider at back of shed
🔆 install new rose trellis at front of house
⏳ start getting quotes for new felt for flat roof & summer house & shed (needs doing in autumn) - on hold
⏳ trim down and rehome butterfly bush - on hold
⏳ new trellis needs to go up for the climbing rose in the front - on hold

rtandon27

Have just discovered that favorite Japanese restaurant near work has closed after 25 years in the same location! So sad - group was meant to be going tomorrow - next favorite is not open on a Monday - 3rd one is more expensive and only seats tables up to 4 so this may not work. I'm going to suggest a nice Korean one that does bento boxes & sushi OR a new Korean one that looks a bit posh! Glad that at least half the group has pulled out of our monthly get-together as it is year-end! I only have one thing left to do in the morning so will be free to go by noon!

Cherryfudge

I'm so pleased the day at the Hospice was actually a positive experience with hindsight - food excepted, of course. I'm sure you can find ways to compensate for that. Also nice that you got chocolate! And two retirements in one day - you are a social bunny, are you not? 😊

I hope the weekend has given you some much-needed 'getting over work' time.

rtandon27

Well I made it through year-end intact - one item needs to be uploaded this weekend - money owed to me to the tune of 700 pounds! Easter break has started and I'm well pleased that I've got a week to get through all tthe things I've been to busy & tired to tackle!

An extra day to the weekend, meant I could get the kitchen cleared, laundry started, lots of rest watching mouse-ears+, and do a year end balance of the books. I was a bit shocked to see savings at 1/3 of the usual but OH reminded me that we'd set aside money for a funeral, paid for a wedding, financed his legal fees and overpayed the mortgage by a year's worth of payments!

Found an offer at NWst as I'm already a client and did a fixed rate 25/26 ISA at 4.05% nice and easy just moving money from savings to new account. Next fiscal year, I'll give more thought to a S&S ISA as well as another easy access ISA account, as I need to minimize taxable interest!

So a long weekend list and may think about a week off list as well!

Meal Plan
✅ 🥧🍟Friday Apr 03 - Fakeaway Day - Lunch = cafe - Dinner = charcuiterie & petit pain
✅ 🍜 Saturday Apr 04 - Easy Peasy Day - Lunch = gyoza & noodles - Dinner = Freezer Dive lamb leg steaks, caulicheese, panfired mushrooms, roasties potato & sweet potato
✅🍖🥕🍠🍅🥔 Sunday Apr 05 - NOT Roast Day - spinach ricotta tortellini with pesto
🥬 Monday Apr 06 - NOT Veggie Day - Thai Green Pork Meatball Curry with Black Rice & Mangetout (free meal kit)
✅🐟🍟 Tuesday Apr 07 - Fish Day - Fish & Chips
✅🍗🍄🥕🥦🥔 Wednesday Apr 08 - Chicken Day - leftovers
✅🍔🌽🥔 Thursday Apr 09 - Meat Day - Pan-fried Lamb Steak with Harissa Potatoes, Green Beans & Zesty Yoghurt Drizzle (free meal kit)
🥧🍟Friday Apr 10 - Fakeaway Day - Sausages in buns & chips
🍜 Saturday Apr 11 - Easy Peasy Day - Sichuan-style Beef Stir-fry with Brown Rice & Smashed Cucumber (free meal kit!)
🍖🥕🍠🍅🥔 Sunday Apr 12 - Roast Day - Sticky Teriyaki Duck with Quinoa, Pickled Carrot & Tenderstem Broccoli (free meal kit)

Routine Tasks
✅ YNAB shuffling
✅ fill up ISA 7for 25/26 - found a fixed rate at 4.05% - next year 75% cash and 25% S&S
🔆 across the pond banking
✅ grocery order
✅ meal plan - Freezer Dive focus!
🔱 weekly digital planner
❗️ Delay Repay
✅ supplements into dossets
🔱 pack-ups for work days
✅ Weekly surveys & contests
✅ Kitchen cleaned and reset for week!
✅ laundry - 1 load done SAT - 1 load folded SAT - 1 load done SUN - drying in the summer house
✅ several loads of dishes done & put away
✅ vacuum downstairs
✅ vacuum furniture
✅ vacuum stairs
✅ vacuum landing
✅ vacuum bedroom

Non-routine Tasks
✅ OH & I had a Friday mouseears+ binge
✅❗️ Work Expenses Claim - Tuesday
❗️ Follow-up on Water company complaint - Sunday
🔱 Use refund voucher from flower company - poor quality for the flowers OH sent to me at work on Feb 14
🔱 Pillowcase being mended - emerged from washing with a small tear!
✅ Apple Tart to be made
🔆 Banana Bread to be made
🔆 Banana Muffins also to be made
🔆 Holiday Freezer use it up Meal Plan
🔆 New mats need to be stuck down with corners
🔆 Another batch of paperwork ready to file
🔆 Organize my physiotherapy and specialized scan
🔆 Book dental hygenist
🔆 Get back on track with dental devices - mouth & jaw have been acheing!
🔆 Print out OH's medical paperwork, including insurance bills
🔱 have sourced weighted blankets - singles - Scandinavian style!
🔱 annual underthings hunt still in progress - one bit of armature found - 2 in basket - 2 to return
🔱 need to get a flat top brush for brass paint
🔱 apply for the GHIC card (website was down the day I went to do this!)
⏳ look into oiling/waxing newly installed xtra banister
⏳BFF across the pond - we owe each other money - Easter week we plan to talk! - her Bday also next month!

Garden Things
✅ swept and weeded front steps - left ferns & succulents that are growing in cracks of steps - MON
✅ tidy up planting bed in front of house - 98% complete - rose bush & quince trimmed - top few branches need the longer clipper - MON
✅ collect rest of leaves that have materialized in parking bay - MON
✅ 6ft plant staging needs to be put togethetogeth - FRI
🔆 cotswold stone needs to be put down
🔆 transplant mexican daisies into new pots
🔆 start sunflowers
🔆 start sweetpeas
🔆 start foxgloves
🔆 transplant remaining baby trees into their new pots
🔆 prune heritage rambling rose bush
🔆 prune rosemary
🔆 prune summer flowering roses
🔆 install wrought iron divider at back of shed
⏳ install new rose trellis at front of house
⏳ start getting quotes for new felt for flat roof & summer house & shed (needs doing in autumn) - on hold
⏳ trim down and rehome butterfly bush - on hold
⏳ new trellis needs to go up for the climbing rose in the front - on hold

edinburgher

Mouse-ears+ 😂

Happy Easter @rtandon27

Cherryfudge

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81950646#Comment_81950646

And after several minutes, I finally got it! 😊

rtandon27

@edinburgher & @Cherryfudge - no need for free advertising here 🤣🤣🤣 - much as I'm loving a bit of binge watching!

Well a good portion of today was spent tidying up the front of the house - stairs swept, moss & weeds cleared from steps, leaves in parking bay removed (as well as rubbish brought by the wind) - then 2 long sessions pruning quince & rose & flowering shrub as well as weeding the entire planting area. Just need to get out there with longer loppers in the morning and take off the tops which were too far up for me to reach safely!

More clean laundry folded and put away and the remainder is out in the summer house drying. So nice to have laundry out of the house and drying in the fresh air for most of the day.

Also cooked us dinner from a free meal kit - tasty but OH & I both agreed that my usual thai green curry is much tastier and that neither of us fancy red rice! Dessert was an apple tart/flan as OH fancied one - easy enough as we always have frozen ready-made pastry in the stores! Nice way to use up apples that were not fit to be used as eaters.

Best part of today was the glorious sunshine - amazing how it boosts the mood and just makes everything feel that tinyest bit better.

rtandon27

Week off was great - only did what I felt like each day! 🤣🤣🤣❤️ Lots of caring duties, lots of cleaning & lots of not thinking about work! A bit of gardening, a bit of social connection & a bit of anti-procrastination items!

So another weekend, another list - rather pleased that last week's list ended up with lots of ✅ lovely green tick marks!

So starting off with a meal plan - we both need to push for 100g a day of protein, navigating OH's health challenges & lack of appetite and my legume allergy, so we have decided that though our diet is veggie forward, we need to focus on the best quality meat/fish/poultry our budget can allow for - Organic where possible and highwelfare when not. We already attempt to keep most of our veg local, organic and with low mileage, easy when living on the edge of nowhere with lots of local farms & farmshops, many of which deliver for free!

Meal Plan
✅ 🌭🍟Friday Apr 10 - Fakeaway Day - Sausages in buns & chips
✅ 🥙Saturday Apr 11 - Easy Peasy Day - Take-away Kebabs! Shish & Doner on traditional fresh bread!
✅ 🍖🥒🫑🍄🥕🥔 Sunday Apr 12 - Roast Day - Pork Roast with baby veg - courgette, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes
✅🥬🍚 Monday Apr 13 - NOT Veggie Day - lleftovers
🐟🍟✅🍖🍚🥒Tuesday Apr 14 - NOT Fish Day - BanMi mini baguettes
🍗🍄🥕🥦🥔 🦆🍚🥕🥦 Wednesday Apr 15 - Chicken Day - Sticky Teriyaki Duck with Quinoa, Pickled Carrot & Tenderstem Broccoli (free meal kit)
🍔🌽🥔 Thursday Apr 16 - Meat Day - Sichuan-style Beef Stir-fry with Brown Rice & Smashed Cucumber (free meal kit!)
🥧🍟Friday Apr 17 - Fakeaway Day - Pizza & wedges
🍜 Saturday Apr 18 - Easy Peasy Day - Dim Sum & Noodles
🍖🥕🍠🍅🥔 Sunday Apr 19 - Roast Day - lamb leg steaks & veg
🥬🍚 Monday Apr 20 - NOT Veggie Day - Cabbage & onion & keilbasa & peirogis

Routine Tasks
✅ YNAB shuffling
✅ Check on ISA transfer for last year & set up this year's
🔆 across the pond banking
✅ grocery order
✅ meal plan - back to work this week so keeping it easy
🔱 weekly digital planner
✅ Delay Repay
🔱 supplements into dossets
🔆 pack-ups for work days
✅ Weekly surveys & contests
✅ Kitchen cleaned and reset for week!
✅ laundry - caught up last week - taking the weekend off
✅ several loads of dishes done & put away
✅ vacuum downstairs
✅ vacuum furniture
✅ vacuum stairs
✅ vacuum landing
🔆 vacuum bedroom

Non-routine Tasks
❗️ Follow-up on Water company complaint - they have now sent me 5 years of invoices AND messed up my account completely! - words fail me
🔱 Use refund voucher from flower company - poor quality for the flowers OH sent to me at work on Feb 14
🔱 Pillowcase being mended - emerged from washing with a small tear!
🔆 Banana Bread to be made
🔆 Banana Muffins to be made
🔆 New mats need to be stuck down with corners
🔆 Another batch of paperwork ready to file
🔆 Organize my physiotherapy and specialized scan
🔆 Book dental hygenist
🔱 Get back on track with dental devices
🔆 Print out OH's medical paperwork, including insurance bills
🔱 have sourced weighted blankets - singles - Scandinavian style!
🔱 annual underthings hunt still in progress - 2 to return
🔱 need to get a flat top brush for brass paint
🔱 apply for the GHIC card (website was down the day I went to do this!)
⏳ look into oiling/waxing newly installed xtra banister
⏳BFF across the pond - we owe each other money - Easter week we plan to talk! - her Bday also next month!

Garden Things
✅ check on last year's potato bags - the leftovers are already sprouting!
✅ plant spring onion ends to see if they grow back!
🔆 cotswold stone needs to be put down
🔆 transplant mexican daisies into new pots
🔆 start sunflowers
🔆 start sweetpeas
🔆 start foxgloves
🔆 transplant remaining baby trees into their new pots
🔆 prune heritage rambling rose bush
🔆 prune rosemary
🔆 prune summer flowering roses
🔆 install wrought iron divider at back of shed
⏳ install new rose trellis at front of house - on hold
⏳ start getting quotes for new felt for flat roof & summer house & shed (needs doing in autumn) - on hold
⏳ trim down and rehome butterfly bush - on hold
⏳ new trellis needs to go up for the climbing rose in the front - on hold