Preparing for the biggest move of our life

So, I slept solidly, and woke able to move a lot better than yesterday.


Ibuprofen was enough for the pain and I got to work and through the day fine. I couldn't quite believe the difference, I felt ancient when I woke yesterday.


Long weekend now. Off to visit family tomorrow expensive weekend in fuel costs alone, only a day trip though. They have a puppy who wont cope with Mr T just yet.


I will aim to finish first draft of my essay this week too. Then I will have a week to review and edit if needed.


Not much else to report atm, just a 'plod along' week really.

So my rightmove fix this weekend resulted in multiple excel pages.
Balancing the cost of staying local to moving away but travelling in to the same job.


I have looked at various possible employers for the sector I work in and my employer is completely the best paying at the minute.


All situations however indicate, not much difference at the end of the month. What I save on the total monthly cost of a shared ownership property is going to be eaten up by petrol cost the further I moved out. Its a shocking difference per month though, a 2 bed flat here £1100 per month (shared ownership), 60 miles out £500-£600 flats / houses. I couldn't consider a long commute until DD didn't need childcare, even then I don't want her home for hours on end after school because I am stuck on a motorway following an accident.


The alternative is to have my money by summer 2019 (2 years!) and if I haven't secured a transfer look for a new job in a chosen cheaper area, and take a paycut.


If I hold on one more year, so 2020, my car finance will be finished and that year September onwards childcare costs will also come to an end which will work well affordability wise.


The big question in all cases, is how much the landlord plans to increase the rent by, so I have to be prepared to move into another rental, even if I don't want to as large increases could make it very difficult to continue saving.
A lot of what ifs in my plan, I don't like what ifs. At all.


Inset day for us today. Waiting for the water meter man so still up early, oh well at least I can take a cheeky nap a little later, I think I will need to!

Busy weekend with a party thrown in between swimming and ice skating.


I had to redo a huge chunk of my essay as I just couldn't get the stats needed. I generated my own report and used figures from that - slightly different than originally intended. Two more sections to do and I am roughly 1/2 the way through the word count target.


I will try a little more tonight, though it may be more reading than anything else. Tuesday I am in the office all day, watching a conference by VC, its an all day thing, so I hope there will be some times I can progress a little further, if not Monday & Tuesday night will be dedicated to completing it.


I had my 1:1 with one of my managers Friday. I woke very upset at the election results, well I had woken at 3am unable to sleep so monitored all the way through. I am a complete lefty, all for equality. I understand some people's reasons for voting right, but I see so much hardship surrounding me it really does make me sad that they have the power to inflict so much against public services which lets face it have hundreds and thousands of low to middle income people employed, whilst giving tax cuts to the people who really do not need further tax cuts.


I didn't realise how much I was upset by it, it all came out, I sobbed like a baby for a solid hour or more. All my fears came out, more than I ever knew I had its like they were buried deep down and that day they flooded my brain and I just couldn't escape them.


No spend weekend.


I am not sure I will be able to add to my h2b isa this month my spreadsheet is very stretched - its not a surprise, I will need to be booking the summer holiday childcare which does wipe Junes budget every year.


July we have our break away - Monday to Friday, a cheap UK holiday park deal that I have been paying a little towards every month. Its half board, I opted for that I as managed to get a week when kids ate free, and last time we done that we spent easily less than £50 in spending money for lunches, ice creams, the odd signed photo etc.


I have another week off end of August, no trip booked for that we just cant stretch to it, but I wont have childcare bills to cover in august as it will have been prepaid so we should whether permitting be able to stretch to a possible theme park visit, swimming, day trip to the beach etc.


Skating will continue every Sunday throughout the summer, swimming will stop though DD will get to go daily M-F as part of the holiday club whilst I am at work.


Hoping for a NSW, aside from food shop top ups which will need to be done on my lunch break as I will be at work Wednesday morning.


I am looking forward to a week of sunshine as predicted, about time

Its been far too long since my last update, so much has happened!
One more assignment to write before my course is complete, very relieved the end is in sight.
Job is steady, still enjoying working two roles, keeps things lively!

Biggest news of all... I met someone!


The introduction to DD a little later went very well. It was earlier than planned. We had a couple of out dates a week, other times he would come round after she was in bed, we would eat or watch a film. One morning a couple of months in, she asked me who had been round. I said a friend. She then asked 'HIS' name....I knew then she had either heard us talking or seen him leave from her bedroom window. He had never stayed the night as I wanted to prevent her bumping into a 'stranger'.
I threw a bit of a wobbly once I had packed her off to school, I felt like my plan had failed. I wasn't ready to introduce them and decided I had to back off.

The gem of mine, gave me the weekend to think things through then took control over my indecisiveness proposing an informal introduction as a friend.
I tentatively accepted, she chose McD's as choice of meeting place

They hit it off, I sat their tense as anything whilst they larked about like they had known each other for years!

We kept dates separate, but at least once a week he started to come round for a movie night or dinner, all three of us. Slowly moving to occasional sleep overs.
I didn't realise until looking back, I think I held back the first few months worried that it wouldn't work with DD then I would have built something up that couldn't continue. After their meeting, I felt more relaxed and started to let him in a little more emotionally. In hindsight the meeting was at the right time for us, I'm sure of that now.

Then came the introduction to families, 2 of mine (brother & uncle), 8 separate introductions on his side, all of whom have been so welcoming. They live quite far away, so we started to visit his family every few weeks for weekend stays. He has a massive family, compared to me, lots of nieces and nephews. DD after being so isolated for much of her life suddenly is part of this gigantic crew of young cousins. I keep waiting for a melt down, or some form of jealousy.....nothing! Its as though she has been waiting for something like this her whole life.

As have I truth be told. I didn't realise just how much of a gap there was in my life waiting to be filled by someone like him.

So...in February 2018 a long 9 years since I last lived with someone....he is moving in!!!


I am looking forward to this new chapter of our lives, exciting times ahead!!