Meal Planning Monday Virgin

I have read posts in this Meal Planning Monday linky for a long time now and never thought meal planning was for me, but we are now on a huge economy drive and I am constantly hearing that meal planning helps cut the weekly out goings so here I am.

I have to say I have enjoyed reading what others are eating and planning, it gives me new ideas, and I am now wondering why I never joined in before, as I get so bored with everything we eat, it never seems to change

So our meals this week

Monday - Left over Chicken from yesterday's roast - probably a stir fried rice
Tuesday - Homemade pizza and potato wedges
Wednesday - Hairy Dieters Lamb Tagine - never tried this
Thursday - Hunters Chicken Stew from a recipe I found on the Internet which sounded nice
Friday - steak and chips (me and OH), boys piggy night where they pick own food - cue pasta for one, and hot dogs for other!
Saturday - homemade burgers with garlic bread and salad
Sunday - Beef roast

Looking forward to reading the others x

People Don't Eat Enough Fudge History

So as the title suggests, I am honoured to be hosting a guest post from SarahMac over at PeopleDontEatEnougFudge.

She recently had a mega blog giveaway event and decided to share with her lucky readers posts from days gone by. We were able to choose our own from her funny list or ask her to pick one for us - I did the latter.

If you are not a reader of PeopleDontEatEnoughFudge I strongly encourage you to pop over and have a browse around, this lady NEVER fails to raise a smile, if not a hearty laugh from me, she is a very talented blogger and can write the most amusing posts, so go on pop over and see her.

So here on my blog, I am honoured to be sharing with you a piece of Fudge history

Share Because I care

Do you know, I think I may become a relationship counsellor.

I've decided that I'm pretty good at giving advice (dare I say, even an expert;).

Of course, I have my own experiences to draw on and, (after the fact), I know exactly where I've been going wrong.

I bet you expect me to tell you now don't you?

Well, I'm not going to.

This is MY gig and I'm not having all of you jumping on the band waggon. It takes more than a few stolen insights to become a relationship counsellor you know!

I've been giving some great advice lately.

Before Christmas I told a friend that he should really talk to his wife and not be tempted by a local Jezebel.

I said he should rediscover his passion ....

So he did (with the local Jezebel!).

She then had a wobble and ended it which I said was a GOOD thing, now he could talk to his wife and rediscover the passion ....

So he left his wife and started a long distance romance.

Meanwhile the local Jezebel is expressing an interest again and he is torn about where and with whom he should be rediscovering his passion ....

So I told him he was a tart.

As a starting point I think I'm doing pretty well so far don't you?

More to come (possibly) and, if you are in need of a little advice well ....

I'm here for you :)

Reason to be Cheerful

I wouldn't like to say how many weeks months it has been since I have taken part in this, and yes I do know this is a day late as well in being posted!

But this week I have many reasons to be cheerful - please read reason number 5 if you cant be bothered with reading the rest!

1. I have found my blogging chi again, it was last seen running away into the sunset and has taken a long time to return to me but it is back!
2. We have reached a critical point in our finances which has been a shock to the system, however rather than finding this depressing, I actually see it as a good thing - yes I am mad, my brain has been pickled by all the wine drinking, but on a serious note, I have long been aware our spending was getting a bit out of control and have simply not been strong enough to stand up to t'husband and his wants. Now however we have to face it and I am pleased, we have done it before and managed to pay 6 grand off so I am not worried about doing it again. it can only be a good thing.
3. Work is flowing in at the moment, bit too much so I am having to work evenings but it is so worth it. I have my regular work with agency 1 who is not doing as well as they were so I have been concerned they could maintain the amount of money I like to earn. I also do work for  agency 2 who I use to be employed by and this is increasing slowly but surely rather than the odd bit of support I gave then, I seem to now be part of the team for a project. And then I managed to secure some work for a well know nutritional company and do a project for them and there has been a hint they will use me again, and I am doing a small job for a fourth client, so it is all coming together. I also had an interview with Yorkshire Cancer research about doing some work for them in the coming months!
4. I ran up the big hill by our house, first time ever so feel very good about that
5. My final reason is all thanks to Michelle, the founder of this fab linky, and blogger at Mummy from the heart, who last year had a massive blog giveaway in which I won a half day spa experience with the Imagine spa chain. As I live near Knaresborough this was perfect as there is an the Imagine Spa at The Dower House hotel in Knaresborough.                                                                                                                                I am ashamed to say due to personal reasons, lack of time management and a lot of work I have been moving this week by week through my diary thinking 'I just haven't got time, I will book it next week' & have been doing that for a year. On Monday I noticed it expired on Thursday 14th March so I rang them and thought Sod it.                                                                        Since my blogging chi returned home, it also seems to have brought back with it confidence & a little bit of sense in that I need a break from work - working for myself means I rarely leave the house (other than school runs), and don't get much interaction with people/professionals. I spent 4 very blissful, unguilty hours yesterday at the Imagine Spa. I started with paperwork & changing into a my swimming costume & a thick warm robe, followed by a coffee & magazine & foot spa. I then had a fabulous deep tissue back, neck & leg massage - god it was bliss! Following this I had a sauna, followed by 10 minutes in the steam room, a monsoon shower, another foot spa and a 40 minute swim which totalled 100 lengths of a 10 meter pool. I finished my day with 20 minutes relaxing in the spa pool. I felt like a different woman at the end of it. I had the best nights sleep ever!                                                                                                        I just wish I could do it regularly, wouldn't life be grand to be a lady of leisure who did manage that weekly!

So I would like to send a heartfelt thanks not only to Michelle but also to the host of R2BC this week, seasiderinthecity for actually sending the voucher - you really gave me a much needed half day break, me time and overall a lovely day. Thank you x

Red Nose Day - mum of the year - NOT!

I have known all week that today was red nose day and the boys would need red clothes and noses for school. I also knew there was a Great School Bake Off competition going on as well. I even managed to get my mum to bake a cake with Little Man last night while I was at football with Mini Man, so it was all going well, until that is Little Man leapt out of bed at 5.55am asking

LM 'Can I start to ice my cake now please'
Me ' Still a little early chick, its not even 6am, try and stay in bed a little longer please'
LM ' Is Mini Man's cake the same size as mine'
Me 'Oh sugar (not my actual thought!), I forgot to bake it last night'
LM 'Mini man is going to be really upset you know'
Me ' no he won't, bags of time to do it now' as I hot foot it down to the kitchen, with LM in tow thinking it is the green light to ice his cake.

And so that is why I was baking a cake at 6.30am this morning and had to put it out on the decking to cool quickly enough for it to be iced!

These were the results though so not too bad and I am proud to say, they both did them by themselves

Frugal Friday

Having been prompted scared into tightening our belts and trying to save money, I have decided that once a week I am going to have a round up of things I have done to be frugal and to try and cut back whether good ideas or not!

So from today onwards, I am going to be doing a Frugal Friday post of my week. If anyone has any other ideas please, please do share them or what you are doing to try and save the pennies as I think I have a lot to learn!

Here is my list for this week:

1. Did my weekly shop in Asda rather than Sainsburys - so far I did spend less
2. I find I have to get things like bread and milk daily/every other day, so instead of taking my wallet, I just took enough money for milk and bread
3. I sorted my freezer and have been really chuffed with what I have made from it
• Monday - I had some left over rice which I made into a savoury rice with mushroom, peas and corn and a little seasoning and soy sauce and we had with some fish I had in
• Tuesday - I found a large bag full of left over turkey and ham from New Years Day so defrosted it and made a rather nice turkey and ham pie, if I do say so myself, even t'husband ate it without complaint. I made the pastry myself as well.
• with some diced lamb I made some kebabs, Mini Man doesn't like mushroom or pepper so I stuck chunks of carrot on his stick, looked odd but he didn't complain, I then did a homemade BBQ sauce and some wedges with these
• Boys eat at Grannie and Grandad's on a Thursday so I used lots of veg in the fridge and did roasted veg tossed in olive oil, a little chilli, garlic and pepper which were lovely for us
• I have defrosted some chicken for tonight - not sure what I will do with it yet!
• So this week I have used only what I have had in my cupboards and freezer :)))
4. I am just about to do next weeks shop on line using mysupermarket.com which compares the price of your shopping list at about 5 different supermarkets
5. We have made the effort to walk to school a lot more this week

So I feel we have made a good start on tightening our belts, lets hope it continues

The Good Life

What the hell has happened to our finances? 

Christ for the first time in years we literally are both at the very cusp of our overdraft limits and so is the joint account. Each time I flex the little bank card, I expect it to be spat out of the machine with a big buzzer going 'uhhhhh-uhhhhhh I don't think so', while I flush a shade closer to the red noses currently on sale and all those in the queue behind me look on sympathetically but with that look in their eye of 'thank god its not me, or stupid woman how can she let herself get in that position at her age' all the while eyeing my Radley handbag and Timberland winter coat and tutting loudly (both of which were presents I hasten to add from more than one person clubbing together - so there!).

I am not saying I am any better because I have not been but hubby is terrible with money and has no concept, however as I rarely actually let him see the bank accounts I guess some of that blame lies at my feet. Thing is if he saw it looking healthy he would spend, if he sees it struggling, he shouts and bemoans the fact he works so hard and he should be allowed to spend what he wants etc so vicious circle. But he is crap, he was invited sailing on his bosses yatch and he went and bought himself a brand new thick jacket, waterproof trousers, shoes and spent nearly £200.00 - why, because he didn't like the navy blue winter jacket with the detachable fleece hanging in our downstairs toilet worn about 10 times in 2 years, it didn't look the part, he wanted some new shoes and OK he needed the trousers. Why did he need a new jacket of £99 when he has 2 in the cupboard he never wears? He spent £700.00 on 2 tailored suits when he started his new job as he is apparently beyond wearing debenhams - does he wear them, does he hell, he never wears a suit jacket and both of those are now redundant as the trousers have both worn through on the bum after less than a year. See what I have to put up with. If I say no though, he literally sulks and doesn't speak to me for 4 days - healthy relationship hey! (and lets not even mention the credit cards which I have just transferred to interest free and have cut up so no more can go on them).

Anyhow sliver lining and all - i think being in this position has been a good thing, a big slap in the face and back to reality - we are living beyond our means, we have been silly and its now time to reign things in again, which we can do.

How though?

Hubby wants damned spreadsheets - yes spreadsheet which I apparently have the time to create and share with him.

I want to say £1742.00 a month goes out on all bills/mortgage etc, and after this we should be taking £200.00 out of the bank per week and spending that on food shopping and anything else we need. How are we spending more than that I don't know but it all adds up.

Over the past year or so I have become a right bugger for 'popping to the supermarket for bread and milk' and returning with at least 3 shopping bags. Only last week I went for milk and a light bulb and came home with some new shoes (only 9.00 in the sale but not necessary, but hey they were purple and nice), and I am constantly thinking things are a bargain so just getting - cooking stuff, bags, stuff for the boys, all not necessary. Hubby just spends, spends spend. most recently he parted with £130.00 for a F***ing TV remote - I kid you not. It does everything, its touch screen, it is enriching his life, he can control everything from one remote but it cost one hundred and flipping thirty pounds. I was NOT happy. This is what I mean, he thinks we have a limitless supply of money.

Anyhow I am now spreading the nutella a bit thinner, slicing the cheese less generously and not putting extra ham in the sandwiches! I am also clearing my freezer and cupboards, baking more and making the most of what we have in.

Any help or advice is welcomed

Its actually been a relief to get to this stage again as I think we needed it after too many years of living the good life.

Time!

My last 2 posts which were the 3rd December and the 8th January both started with how busy things have been, how I have taken a step back from blogging - sounds stupid but I found it was quite a pressurised thing to be trying to do when busy and how I was hoping things would change

Clearly as it is now March, things did not change and I haven't had the chance to do any blogging.

I find myself doing things, or in certain situations and thinking 'this would make a good blog post' or 'must remember that to blog about' and then it doesn't happen.

Going back to the pressurised things, does anyone else feel that? I was finding I would come on to write a blog but then start checking in on other people's, trying to select the ones which caught my eye as interesting and lo and behold, I had lost 2 hours of my working day.

I also have a thing about when people take the time and effort to leave a comment on one of my posts, that I return the favour and go and visit their blog and read their latest post and also leave a comment, to me it is common courtesy, you know if someone sent you an email or phoned you and left a message, it is unlikely you would ignore it. However, new blogs throw up loads of new time issues for me, I find myself trawling through their old posts to try and gauge what type of blogger they are and what they blogged about, if I liked what I saw I added them to my feed, but again, hey presto there is another 2 hours gone.

And then there is the whole 'should I post daily' is that for me or for my readers? Again another small element of up keeping the blog pressure!

And lets not forget Twitter. I am having a bit of an affair with twitter at the moment. I keep my facebooking and personal twitter separate from my blog so have a different blogging twitter account, but on a personal front, I am a little bored of fb and have moved to twitter. However, that and my blog twitter were just one more thing to keep updating, oh and reading and replying to, again consuming more time.

Its hard!

I feel silly admitting this as well, I was getting to the stage where if I didn't get a comment I was feeling disappointed and wanting to know why, was my post boring? why had I spent 3 hours commenting on other people's post for them not to bother to visit my blog? etc, it was getting silly.

I miss it though, but I am not going to promise to start blogging again because as my last 2 posts in December and January said, I want to and clearly haven't been able to so its a case of watch this space!