Live on £4000 for a year - Part 2

bails

It is lovely to see you posting Janey, and that we can be the 'calm centre in your storm' that someone talked about. You and Tom are very much in our thoughts here xxx

Marru

Hi all,

Thank goodness for this thread and new friends that have been found. Bails came to rescue yesterday. She occupied DD so I was able to clean my boy piggies, she put DD to bed and then gave me a counceling session. AND DD was so tired this morning that I was able to wake up without being woken (either by alarm or DD) and just read a book for awhile in the quiet house before she woke up at half nine!! Unheard of. So all is well again in here and I think I shall keep her. I turned computer off early last night and had a nice long bath so well rested now. Mumzy - thank you for your PM, I will reply to you when I get a moment.

Janey - so glad that you are still with us. My thoughts are with you.

Nyk - I hope you are ok! We are all waiting to hear how all is going.

I have been getting "creative with beans" lately and managed to make lovely quick meals for one out of tinned beans. More about my "price winning" recipes later.

Have a great day everybody!!

Marru

PS Redglass - I signed up with Harris but I can't remember ever getting any surveys from them - someone else might have different experience. The best surveycompany from my experience is Lightspeed. Have a look through cash back sites as some/one of them gives you cash back when you sign up with them.

mumzyof2

Marru wrote: »

Hi all,

Thank goodness for this thread and new friends that have been found. Bails came to rescue yesterday. She occupied DD so I was able to clean my boy piggies, she put DD to bed and then gave me a counceling session. AND DD was so tired this morning that I was able to wake up without being woken (either by alarm or DD) and just read a book for awhile in the quiet house before she woke up at half nine!! Unheard of. So all is well again in here and I think I shall keep her. I turned computer off early last night and had a nice long bath so well rested now. Mumzy - thank you for your PM, I will reply to you when I get a moment.

Janey - so glad that you are still with us. My thoughts are with you.

Nyk - I hope you are ok! We are all waiting to hear how all is going.

I have been getting "creative with beans" lately and managed to make lovely quick meals for one out of tinned beans. More about my "price winning" recipes later.

Have a great day everybody!!

Marru

PS Redglass - I signed up with Harris but I can't remember ever getting any surveys from them - someone else might have different experience. The best surveycompany from my experience is Lightspeed. Have a look through cash back sites as some/one of them gives you cash back when you sign up with them.

What recipe did you come up with, im intrigued :rotfl:

Marru

Ok,

Here we go. I have now three favourtes in the Mr T range: Italian bean mix, cilli beans and taco beans.

I had small bag of mushrooms that were about to go off and had to be used so I fryed them and then threw tin of Italian mixed beans amongst them when they were almost cooked. Served with new potatoes (or mashed potatoes) and some green salad - delicious! (This in principle serves two - but I was hungry )

Also I tend to make quick meals by throwing everything I can find into frying pan and just mixing together. I had one sad leftover boiled potato, one sad tomato, some frozen peas and eggs. Threw them all into pan with some chilli beans and boy was that lovely. Had I had more potatoes I would have used less eggs.

Also did some pasta for DD yesterday from bogof pasta sauce, whole wheat pasta and frozen veggies. It was lovely but in the evening spiced it up for myself with - you quessed it - some of those chilli beans I had left. Yum! Any left over meat would go nicely with this.

Enjoy!

Marru

mumzyof2

sounds nice marru

both kids asleep so im off to make lemon drizzle cake.. well try and make it

mumzyof2

Afternoon all,

I just come on to say iam so chilled today it is untrue,, usually on a Sunday im all down and feeling sorry for myself because there is nothing to do and everyone is out with family etc but not today.. and its even raining!! Whats the matter with me?

I was going to meet up with my friend but i decided to bake a lemon cake (il try and post a pic later) and then she rang and asked if i wanted to come for lasagne at her's tonight for tea.. I said yes..but im thinking can i really be bothered lol :rotfl: its so not like me and i dont know whats wrong with me. I have had a lazy day and kids have slept for 2hrs (one is still asleep) and they are just so chilled..DS woke and is now watchin power rangers dvd and not said a word to me.

Anyways i will go to hers tonight as its a free meal even though i got all stuff out for my chilli con carne but i wil have that tomorrow.. I will take half a lemon cake with me to her house for afters

MrDT

Made me a pie.

Jealous?

WARNING - This recipe can seriously damage your waistline

bails

Sounds like you're having a great day Mumzy! Perhaps it's all the fun you had yesterday making you all contented I'm having the day you say you usually have but am trying to shake myself out of it.
I am finding it difficult to post at the mo in light of Janey's sad news, which obviously puts everything very much in perspective. I'm hoping that a bit of 'normality' on here will help you, Janey...
Nyk, I'm sure you must be ultra busy with everyone and the party aftermath, look forward to hearing how it went (hope you didn't deck anyone ).
So pleased to hear you sounding much more upbeat today Marru, and that Monkey had a lie-in - great stuff! :T
I'm sitting here wishing I was at Glastonbury - we'd planned to go this year but OH has a shiatsu weekend - so guess what I'll be saving for next year? I'm going to put the date in my diary, just as soon as I've made a new one.
Had some great news yesterday - remember me having a mare with a certain bank account I'd opened right before getting ill with conditions that if not met meant you'd be penalised? Of course my salary disappeared so I never paid it in as expected and forgot about the account with everything else going on. I had a letter (to an old address) saying I owed them £400 :eek: and then another one this week, only a month later, saying I owed them £713.80 :eek::eek: I tried to contact people SO many times about this with no joy and had to go back into the branch. After about an hour of chatting to various people to explain my situation and being put on hold (I had to phone from the branch), this woman mentioned, almost in passing, that she would close the account without penalties! :T:j I was so relieved I burst into tears The woman who'd be helping me in branch left the customer she was dealing with and came over to give me a hug! A bank that realises that we are people :T So I know we're not meant to big up any companies but the one who had the 10% savings account a while back definitely get my vote
As for the impending drop in income, I refused to let it get me really down and brainstormed some ideas to help with the situation. They still need finalising but one of them is to expand the veg growing by knocking down one of our sheds and then putting less into the food pot each month as 'payment' for the veg I grow. It all comes back to what each of us can put into the pot each month, in terms of money, time, energy etc. As my usual input is severely limited, it's about being creative with what I can do.
Anyhoo, I hope you're all having a restful Sunday, except SophiesMum who is no doubt making a whole load of lovely oldies very very happy. Look forward to the photos!
ps Yup, I'm jealous Mr DT, and starving! How far is it to yours?

andromache_2

I've been away for a week and managed to spend only £13.89 rather than the budgeted £50. I've finally caught up on everyone's posts and have been realising what a great supportive community this is. It's great to read about the highs like sf's degree result (well done!) and nyk's party last night (hope it went well) but, like others have said, I feel as bad reading Janey's awful news as if it had happened to a friend. (sophiesmum's post made me cry too.) I hope you're surrounded by friends and family at the moment, Janey, and am really glad that you're still posting on here. The way you spoke about your OH was full of warmth and affection (even when you were despairing at his having bought yet another gadget) and I'm glad that we all got to know him in some small way through you. Know that there are lots of people holding you in their thoughts. Hugs as well to Marru and anyone who needs them xxx

bails

Bless you Andromache, got me again with your lovely words.
SlowlyFading, I'm so sorry I seem to have missed your degree result in my absence? Hope you got what you wanted; what are your plans now?