Investing in Us: Holidays, Health, and the Road to £150k

in_need_of_direction

I’d vote for the skip as it may also help with other decluttering

debtfreewannabe321

I spoke to DP after I posted and said I think we should and he agrees so I'll try and order that today for week beginning 18th as he's off work for a few days and if it stays for the weekend BF and myself can help. DD thinks she is some sort of princess so I'm not sure she'll be able to help *rolls eyes whilst laughing*

Today I would like a plan so I don't feel I've been unproductive. A plan with as much sitting as I am standing so I can rest. Fatigue is bad but a good night sleep and lay in the morning have helped.

• Mow the lawn (I like this job)
• Hoover living room and dining area and kitchen (one big long room together)
• Mop if I have time and energy
• Go to d*nelm and buy a rug/ door mat for the door. I need to sweep and mop so much lately because we bring garden stuff in through the patio doors.
• Put DW on -not full
• Tidy kitchen
• Listen through playlist whilst doing and make notes on songs to move around or get rid of or replace etc
• JP for dinner and salad 🥗
• Fix a top of mine needs a few stitches on it. It's new and I didn't see it had a tiny hole on it. It was cheap in the sale so I'll just fix it myself (and I can't find the receipt).

Edited to add jobs I have done instead of my list to make me feel I achieved something when I look back 🤦🏻‍♀️😉.

• Put all clothes away in the dressing room (two baskets full)
• Sorted through my clothes as I was running out of space. I un-hung (it's a word now) all the clothes that no longer fit me ☹️ - quite a few. In the hope that I feel better about going in there and knowing I can fit into everything on the hangers. They're all folded up now in a box on top of the wardrobe. I don't want to get rid of yet in case by some miracle I lose some inches.
• Cleaned bathroom
• Cleaned toilet
• Put wash on
• Emptied bins upstairs
• Sat down for five minutes 😉😁

Cake session done, it was fun and feel a little more organised now. She gave me some good ideas on other things to do. Her son came and helped DP do some patio work bless him he was desperate to get stuck in with the sledgehammer 🤣. I'm having a little rest before doing some gardening. Sat in the sun, soaking it up. Two washes out on the line too 😊 feeling quite productive today which has bolstered my mood no end because all jobs were for me not for work. 👏🏻❤️

Queen_of_the_Hive

Aw @debtfreewannabe321 - just wanted to say - do the skip and think of it as an investment rather than a one of payment if that kinda makes sense. It has bigger value and part of house maintenance. But glad to see you are going for it. Not sure its any cheaper but we'd used rhino skips in the past for this kind of thing.

Your to do list looks exhausting, don't panic and try to do loads. Be kind to yourself.

Was just thinking about you and the wedding, enjoy the cake decoration session. Is the big day the second May bank holiday?

debtfreewannabe321

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81992528#Comment_81992528

@queen_of_the_Hive yes just after the next bank hol Monday 😁 so not long at all..

I'm having regular breaks in between the housework but the house already resembles something more like me than my sister's house (I shouldn't say that it's a bit rude really but her house is always dusty and messy and she doesn't care- I do ☹️!)

debtfreewannabe321

Phew, I've managed to do everything except mow the lawn because it started raining and also because DP has put his cement mixer on it 👀🤔 am waiting for that to be moved first. And the random bricks and mud piles everywhere from the patio 🤔🤣. He decided to edge the patio with bricks left over from the extension that we told the builders to leave. I said, we'll find something for them 🤣. I'll take a pic when it's done but for a DIY'er as opposed to a pro I think DP has done a great job and saved us a small fortune!

I found a wilted Lilac tree in the front garden. Desperately dry and dropping leaves and wasn't sure I could save it but we pulled it out gently and popped into a bucket of water with a capful of feed in, and left for a few hours. It looks like a completely different tree! It's perked up and I've cut the dead wood off and replanted it. I'll keep It in the back now as we forget to water the front.

My new solar lights turned up. I ordered some nice mason type jars and then ordered some separate lids with handles to hang the jars and they've lights attached and solar panels.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07W7QGXWZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

And https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0CWKXCXKB?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title unsure if those links will work. But they look cute and very cost effective compared to the cost of ones in the garden centre.

My hanging baskets done on the cheap are flowering nicely. Wish they would hang a little more than they are but they seem to be pointing up to the sky 🤔 even though they were trailing ones. Hmmm. Anyway they're bushed out and pretty so whatever.

Tomorrow I'll put the window film on the garage windows and DP will finish the utility path as he's named it. He's done the main patio now but needs to butt up the old path to a new one to run alongside the patio now. It's getting there though and looks very nice.

My random bed with 'wildflowers' is looking better and better every day. I'm pretty sure there are some id consider weeds in there but not a great deal (so far). Lots of foxglove and hollyhocks coming up and the odd lupin with some aqueligia (I dunno how to spell that). I'm desperate for DP to finish the patio so I can move some raised beds on to cover the fence panels up 😁😉 but I'm being patient (ish).

I need to put more netting and supports around the strawberry plants as they are currently looking a bit squished they're absolutely huge so need to raise the nets I put around them.

I want to find some cheap pretty hanging fake plant/ greenery the tall type to wrap around things. To go over our gazebo. I've lots of nice bunting to go up just before and once the garden grows a bit more it will look nice out there on the day 😁 not quite Cue gardens 🤣 but pretty enough.

I bought a mat for the patio door, to wipe feet on. And also three mugs. We appear to have a mug fairy who's stealing them from us. We had tonnes and are down to a couple left 🤔.

House looks clean enough now although there is always more to do I can live with it for now. Feet up, movie on and some snacks now I think.

debtfreewannabe321

I mentioned to DP last night that we might need a few activities for children on our wedding day otherwise they'll be running riot through our house. This morning he said thanks for the conversation right before bed (sarcasm) I was hyperventilating whilst you were snoring imagining them destroying our home..then I was imagining the party and panicking and not wanting to have it and I don't know anyone.

He's got a bit of trauma there me thinks from his ex wife who was very 'lets keep up with the Joneses' and when DP failed to live up to her standards at parties and people went home unimpressed he would get it in the ear from her.

So, this morning we went through the guest list that I know of so far ... And he only didn't know five people. One being a child of my best friend. And one my uncle. The others are work friends. Most people coming are my friends and I see now why he's been hesitant on inviting anyone. I hope we can have a nice chilled day and he understands I don't care what anyone else thinks about our food, our garden or house (we are mid renovations after all and veggie which people love to moan about).

Less than 30 have sent an RSVP which is a nice number for a small get together I think.

Anyway. Today. DS1 is coming ❤️🫶🏻. I'm going out this morning to tidy the patio of loose sand and decorate with plant pots on one side (in the bid to cover the fence panels that side) ...the outdoor lights came on last night and looked lovely 😍. It is coming together and I'm super proud of what we've achieved out there. It looks way better than what it did before. And I can't wait to use it for the wedding and beyond. DP is going to try and finish the utility path today and that is the patio done. DS is bringing furniture for outside so it should be ready when he arrives.

I tried to order a skip yesterday - £400. I was having conniptions at that price. I found a better priced one quite local but couldn't order you had to ring through. So we will try and do that Monday. We, being the royal we, and that will be DP as I'm at work. Then we will clear what rubbish we can to make the garden safe and the carport (absolutely rammed with rubbish) and also some from the garage.

I have, with the help of chat gpt, designed a utility area minus the shower room, which will be much easier to fit. And quicker..and cheaper. We were putting in the downstairs shower for ds1 who was planning on moving back home. However he's been begged by his boss to reconsider staying and they're offering for him to commission. Which means going back to $andhurst. He's already been, and passed and came out with best student etc but at the time he was sadly too young and they didn't give him the job …I dunno why they let him go in the first place and got his hopes up but there we go...anyway it would mean his wages staying stagnant for two years but he will also be paid to do do degrees (plural) which means he won't have to pay for them and he will get a wage (he's already on a very good wage for a soldier because of his role). So, anyway, he probably won't be moving back here. So we can just put a utility and downstairs loo in!

I didn't mention yesterday but when I was pulling out of my drive to collect DD some imbecile on an electric scooter was doing about 25mph down the path way and smashed straight into my car. He's ripped the bottom of the bumper where he collided with me. He stumbled but not enough for me to make sure he was okay (he clearly was) nor for him to apologise going so fast and so close to driveways down the pavement and he sped off again. He reached the end of the road quicker than I drove down there so that told me how fast he was going. Turned left into the council estate to never be seen again. ☹️👎🏻 So I don't know how much this will cost to fix but it's unsightly and it made me really angry and upset and then I was having horrible heart palpitations, headache and dizziness for hours after ☹️. Anyway. Yeh. Another cost. It's never ending at the moment.

northwalesd

Oh @debtfreewannabe321 , I hate those bloomin' scooters (and those illegal electric bikes). We have any number of them round here, you need eyes in the back of your head. Hope it doesn't turn out too costly to fix.

KajiKita

Oh poor DP, he’s not as robust as he likes to project is he. I hope he’s feeling a bit safer now you’ve gone through the list with him.

Ugh to that electric scooter … 😢 I’d be tempting to put an anonymous post up on a local FB page asking about him - I suspect you won’t be the first person who’s had an issue with him! I’d also report the incident to the police - that idiot sounds like a menace.

How are you feeling about DS1 not coming to live with you?

The patio sounds fabulous 😊🤩

KK

debtfreewannabe321

Thanks @northwalesd and @KajiKita the guy riding the scooter was a fully grown man too so not a child. I'm still pretty angry about it. Had someone walked out at that point the accident could have been far more serious. They all seem to have them around certain parts here and are menaces on the pavements.

I've been in the garden this morning but I've stopped for now, can feel my blood pressure has dropped and I'm not feeling well, heart beating too heavy and fast too so will try and calm it a bit. I did manage to move two heavy plant pots with trees with DP help before I stopped and a few smaller ones on my own for the patio. Also dug up lots of stones out of the soil that surrounds the patio and ordered some grass seeds to put down there. I've put up two lots of lights as well curled around the pergola. And I've one more to do but need to sit and rest a bit first. DS1 is due soon too and I will need to help him with the emptying of the van.

I never got round to moving the books upstairs to our room so that's got to be done too.

I wonder if I will ever get a weekend where I think, nothing needs to be done…

DP is working hard on the last bit of the patio 👏🏻 it's coming together nicely although the clean up job is going to be just as bad as the making it job I think with bits of concrete everywhere and brick dust.

Good news when I go back to work - only two weeks left until we break up. But also bad news is we only have two weeks to finish patio and finish the clearing job. 🤔😰😬

debtfreewannabe321

Morning all,

I'm supposed to be in work but I've rung in sick. I've been super dizzy and discombobulated and feeling spaced out the last few days and yesterday as I was driving I was losing my focus too often- well it's hard to explain but I didn't feel present in my body... I'm exhausted. Thankfully I was only driving up the road. Today I had a long drive planned and thought, no. I didn't sleep well last night either which hasn't helped but I'm going to just rest today and see how I feel later.

It's my mum's birthday today and although she doesn't speak to me she's still in my thoughts. I've given up chasing her to be in my life though. Suppose at least it's a cheap day huh as I've not sent anything for a few years now.

I'm going to go and water the garden in a bit and try and ground myself. I'm going to read. And cook. And have a day to rest. I didn't have time to myself this last weekend and I'm now paying the price for over-peopling.

I need to try and reign in spending now as we've spent so much the last few weeks it's becoming hard to keep track. DP has ordered the skip, only a 4 yard as the larger ones are all out of stock until the week of our wedding. So we will clear the worst bits and hopefully that will help somewhat.

Can't even think straight for a proper update. So I'll leave it here and perhaps come back later....