Tired tired tired but all very happy

 Had a lovely Friday after shopping - ate and watched Mr Potter. Biggles had his tap dancing gear ( No 5's) on as he had a work do in the hofficers mess .So all gold lame off he went to dine in as they say! I think he looks like a Las Vegas bell hop. He sometimes tap dances and does jazz hands just for me!!!!  No one at work knows this. He would never live it down. His sense of humour for han hofficer is rather good. He doesn't take himself too seriously which is pretty rare for his breed!! And how else could he put up with an old hippie like me lol


We three set off for Sheffield around ten. Had a jolly nice journey down just chatting, singing songs including football songs. He went to the football  with Mr Mother Biggles and Mother Biggles and Weeny girl and I hit Meadow Hall. Biggles sent me off with orders to purchase nice things for the weeny one and twenty quid to boot. Ah bless.  Mother Biggles was impressed with what she referred to as spends! ( She is an older fashioned lady who expects to be a little pampered by the chaps- Mother Biggles also spoilt her as did Auntie Biggles  - Biggles sister who we met at Meadow Hall. They trotted off together - Weeny one without as much of a backwards glance. Aunty Biggles has three older children and Weeny girl was keen to go and see youngest niece Biggles who is ten. I can remember at that age thinking that ten year olds were very glamorous and the bees knees!!! This meant Mother B and I got to shop. We hit Primarni - ok for kiddies stuff. It won't last a season but then again it doesn't need to.  Silly clothes purchased, sandals, trainers with flashing lights and sunglasses. I really wouldn't purchase these things but let other people indulge if they want to. I did manage to grab a valance for the new comfy bed.

Mother Biggles likes to shop so I indulge her girly passions. I never ever need nor can I think of anything worse than going on my own to a place like Meadow Hall or the Metro Centre. Biggles knows this but is very appreciative.


Time spent in the garden, made Easter cards, decorated eggs, also scored for some of MB's old clothes. She is not your typical 65 year old which is excellent.  Per Una never worn night dress too short for MB she felt, as well as shoes that pinch her feet - some vest tops never worn and some sleep shorts - red check with a red vest - all good in my book!!!  Lucky me.


Other than that over spent but had fun. Now off to bath weeny one and get ready for work. Hope you are all well too!!!! Biggles Happy - his team won and we got to chill out so all good. Great curry and excellent Sundays Dinner to boot!!!!

OK I shopped!!

OK I shopped and spent money - lots of it but there were bargains to be had and I restocked the meat stores with three packs of sausages original price 2.65 - now 1.35!!! 18 thin sausages in each pack so two meals as a minimum from each pack and as such a conservative estimate is  6 meals. Also chicken, gammon rounds, quarter pounders, pizza, lunch items for me, some bits for when we get back from Sheffield and also a bottle of wine, two Easter eggs ( £1 each) and a Harry Potter DVD ( £6 - special at Morrisons if you spend over £40 so I did on stores).


Silly really as I intend on purchasing sandals for weeny girl and leggins for weeny girl and maybe a cheap valance for my fab comfy bed!!!

Off now to use said bed and also indulge in Potter ness!!!

More no spends!

I have not spent a penny since Tuesday!!! I like working where there is no access to shops at lunch time, you can use a kitchen to warm up food, make your own coffee!!!

Took delivery of my divan base - all set up with help from Biggles who was rewarded with a chicken curry made from 7p a jar curry sauce. I saved half of it for the freezer.  Weeny one and I ate pizza earlier so were happy with that.

I am using up much of the freezer contents. I shall try to get rid of most of it given its need of a serious defrost. I am away this weekend and also next so minimal shops should get me through the next fortnight - til the next payday anyway.


I need to pay for my garden bin collections, weeny girl needs sandals and its photo time at school! Another £20 with 4 additional prints for a further £20  I am waiting for the car mechanics bill and the end of May is car tax!!!

Oh joys joys joys. I have filled up the car at ASDA and hope to get away with doing this twice a month - approx £80 a month for two fills.


I need to review life insurance. Its £50 a month  and will only pay off my mortgage - decreasing term with illness, sickness benefits.  Hmm am sure a better deal is available somewhere for a bit less for the same cover.


Friday tomorrow!!! Work all good!!! Nice peeps, working with teenagers again, networking so fun fun fun.. kind of!

Update and ponderings!!!

Work is fine - all good - will one day have three staff on term time contracts- Ha ha will be negotiating  a term time only contract or may be term time plus once the service is set up and working well.  Its fine so far. Benefits include local gov pension scheme, possible flexi when justifiable of course. I have a perm desk, access to a kitchen at lunch time and am miles away from the shops so no lunchtime spends ! I start at 9 finish at five - 1 hour or there abouts for lunch as and when needed. Will plan on taking less when project actually starts. I can then wrack up flexi to take during the holidays - hopefully anyway.

Was watching super scrimpers and apparently Child tax credit will only pay a max of £122.50 pw for child care - generally a decrease from 80% to 70%!!!!  My child care will be £145 pw so I need to add 22.50 per week to child care bill. That uses up child benefit and also  some of the child tax credit that I may get. If am lucky may have £10 extra to keep gorgeous one on!!!  Could be worse - might not get a thing and be stuck not even able to contemplate working! Thankful for small mercies.


I am undecided whether to focus on mortgage or pension ( once I sell the house) I am 38. I have a small child (3). I have a mortgage not due to be paid off till I am nearly 65 . Do I sell the sodding house, rent and focus on making extra pension payments??? I cannot do both on my poxy wage. It is still 7k less than my pre redundancy salary - I didn't top 30k shall we say. I am probably with maintenance making around 21k now with additional commuting costs so its very tight and I am still balancing on a high wire rather precariously. I am now hoping that the house will sell before the car goes splat. I still intend on applying for another PGCE for next year. Buy and rent maybe who knows.  Its rather depressing having your salary reduce by such an amount at 38 with out having the payoff of working less or actually needing less having paid off bills, debt etc

I get a bit jealous when I see peers moving on careerwise or getting paid more to do jobs much simpler than mine. Ie they are overpaid and work for the local authority - yes some people are over paid who work for LA's. Its phenomenal!!! Senior support assistant on 29k on a non pro rata term time contract!!!!  without any specific training  or any sort of qualification such as a foundation degree or level 3 qualification in learning support. Shocking really - am sorry they can work full time for that. An LSA does not take work home with them not enough to justify that salary! More than plenty teachers get with less responsibility.oh well suppose its special needs. hmmmmm

Hmm What is new in my house???

Trying to think of the things bought from new or at full price new!

• Mattress for the bed
• A bookcase I have had for 6 years - ex stressed that I buy new in his house! Its the only thing I contributed and took that with me when I left!!
• Weeny Girl bed frame! - I didn't actually buy it so does it count???
• Computer desk cheap cheap from Argos -£12
• Futon - I needed a sofa type thing for the downstairs of the one bedroom house I moved into! About £112
• TV - not purchased by me either!!
• Towels - ASDA and doing fine
• Kettle - Sainsburys basics - about 3.98 3 years ago - doing well as is the cheapo microwave for £25 and toaster for 3.98 as well
• Dinner set - cheapest from Argos - now missing a few pieces!!
• Curtain poles - needed to get curtains up and couldn't wait for freecycle!

Am not including baby stuff/toys  some of which had to be bought new - car seat, specific lightweight buggy for going abroad, cot, crib and mattress - that's it.


Aha - I lie - black out curtains for weeny girls room and also mini table and chairs for weeny girl to sit on - IKEA-  great for crafting, eating dinner, when little friends visit!

All else preloved!!!! donated from friends, freecycled, ebayed - not much is ebayed!!! I love it and have been very lucky - my sofa and chairs are excellent quality, bed though now knackered had done well! I could go on. My only new purchases  - hang on - forgot - washing machine!!! were necessitated by moving out of house with a small baby to a new house pronto. No time and not as easy  to search for  bargains when you have a small small one to look after and go to work full time and do it all on your own!!! I still have these very bland things now. I had no motivation then to seek out bargains with the priority being get settled and juggle work and baby stuff.

I think my suite and kitchen table etc are all great finds!! What are yours??? Have you indulged in anything brand new???


All of my kitchen gadgets - toastie maker, food processor, liquidiser, deep fat fryer are free cycled!!!
Just need a George Forman to complete the set!!!

Back to full time work from tomorrow!!!

Ok I start my new temporary maybe permanent job tomorrow - I look forward to it!!! Today was horrible - rain and dull and cold till late afternoon. We spent the day inside - still tired from the weekends adventures - Weeny girl had an afternoon snooze as did I - we ventured forth at half four! Forgot about the bank and didn't get to town until after bank closing time so will have to try and fit  that one in again - oops. Also forgot the library books but did manage to take the glass to the bottle bank and  vacuum out the car as well as take Biggles stuff to the alterations place. Other than that accomplished zilch - no frantic cleaning of the house no ironing and cannot be bothered to start now - We did watch Harry Potter  2 from the sofa and have a leisurely lunch and the obligatory lie in this morning particularly so as the weather was pants pants pants!!!

Lunch was baked potatoes with cucumber, tomatoes, grated carrot and cheese coleslaw ( home made)  for me and plain cheese for weeny girl.  I have left over colesaw for to tomorrows lunch. Tea was lentil soup and homemade bread- Weeny girl got her 3-£1 sweets from the pound shop earlier so twix it was for pudding for her!The other evils are in the cupboard for another day (smarties and frutellas I think).


We will take  the Easter crafts to Mother Biggles house to do on Saturday. Hopefully the weather will be nice and we will be able to play outside in the garden. I do need to purchase Weeny girl some cheap summer sandals! I go for cheap - around £7 I think I paid last year as they only have to last the season! I do not buy Clarke's sandals just shoes- so we may fit in a small shopping trip in Sheffield.  I have an Easter bonnet for her to decorate and also some eggs - plastic ones.

Will be early to bed tonight and will not forget to charge my phone or set my alarm . Weeny girl needs to be at nursery for 8am sharp to enable me to get to work for 9am. I should make it with plenty time to spare. Its a trial run kind of although have travelled this way many a time before.

Cragside Sunday, Messy Church and great lasagne!

We were off and out and at em again this morning-  after making bolognese for tonight's lasagne, armed with a picnic, camping stove and this time matches for the making of  a decent cup of tea.! Biggles was off training for his sponsored motorbike ride (visiting a number of RAF bases around the country in a set number of days)- build up hours spent on bike or you get severe numb bum and tiredness as riding take a lot of concentration especially on new roads of the A and B variety. Weeny girl and I tootled off again to visit a local stately home and estate. First time I have ever been - always been too tight to pay £16+ entry fee.  Though you could easily spend the day there in good weather - you drive or walk around the estate on a one way road - a circuit with car parks which lead off to places of interest - waterfall, lakes. play area, labyrinth, country house, formal gardens, iren bridge, clock tower, picturesque picnic spots, forest walks....






We took in the most relevant places to a three year old - despite driving round  she was getting tired after a couple of hours hard marching here and their- the estate is huge and you would need to walk well to get round it in a day. The only spend was on the ice cream - £3.60 for two and a can of diet coke for incredibly thirsty mummy. Eeeek!!!! prices!!!!

 

Called in to Messy Church  at 4pm- was referred by  the Debt Christians and I happpen to know the person they referred me to so I felt I had to turn up at some point. It was actually not bad - very child friendly and more of a  Sunday school with songs, games, craft activities and also tea!!! Yes the kids and adults get a sandwich tea! Not bad and more than enough to full your tum if you don't have plans for lasagne! Weeny girl happy as pig in muck! Seen  her chums and had a good play with other small ones  with some God thrown in for good measure. Its not a weekly thing but every so often - next one not till  8th May - I may go back- will see what we are doing nearer the time. We may be in Sheffield again- two trips planned for near future.

After the crappy Morrison's lasagne sheets sticking and having to cook a few more - (I salvaged the cooked bits of the lasagne - yes all of the sheets decided to stick in the middle - the ends of the sheets were getting overcooked so I made the executive decision to waste the middldes rather than wait for a complete disaster to happen . Only needed a few more sheets to add to the off cut salvage pasta.) made a med and small lasagne - we ate the small which was full to the brim the medium one is not brimming so about equal.  One for either tomorrow or the freezer - I think frozen as I have left over cheese salad to have with baked potatoes tomorrow.

 I am shattered- weeny girl though she snoozed in the car on the way back from Rothbury ( That's where Cragside is and yes its also where the mad gunman was last year) - is snoring loudly and doubly shattered!  Day off tomorrow to spend with weeny girl before full time service resumes - Ha just my luck to be part time in the winter but not during the great weather!!! sigh!!!!