Seasons Greetings

Hello readers, I am sending you best wishes for this festive period.  I hope you had a peaceful Christmas Day and I hope that your New Year's Eve brings fun, reflection and most importantly no hangover on the 1st of January!

Was 2012 a good year for you or are you glad to see the back of it?
Do you have any resolutions or plans for 2013 or will you just take it as it comes?  

I hope to blog a bit more in the New Year as 2013 has got to be the year I get sorted financially and blogging about it always helps me.  If it is not the year, then I fear I am doomed to repeat the same mistakes for the rest of my life and that is a terrible thought!

For now I wish you all the best and I do hope 2013 brings you happiness.

x x x

It's Going to Get Worse Before It Gets Better!

Good evening my lovely readers, I am hoping you are all well today.

Well the cold snap is finally lifting and my goodness it really has been cold the last few days.  I am looking forward to seeing some sunshine tomorrow and feeling temperatures above freezing and then some!  An exotic 8 or 9 degrees centigrade so I hear! 

So, anyway.  I have had to spend money this week...on petrol, on food, on postage and on the remaining Christmas gifts I was prepared to buy.  However as I type that I literally remember something else I need to buy before I am done...argh! 

Would someone just pinch me and tell me I am not dreaming and that second class postage really *is* that expensive these days??  When did it get this pricey to send a bloody card to a friend?  It's not far off a card in the post being a gift in itself now! 

I bought a £5 Secret Santa gift today as well.  I hope I got good value for money as I bought a bottle of red wine which is a Bordeaux Superieur which makes for good reading.  Luckily I know someone who knows my Secret Santa 'draw' and wine was recommended, so, fingers crossed I made a good choice.  It was £5 I could do without spending but I love Secret Santa and I signed up for it ages ago.  Pulling out of it would have been depressing, disappointing and....like throwing a deckchair off the Titanic to be honest.

Next month brings the majority of my annual car bills.  It also brings the gas & electric bill.  It also brings just over 5 weeks till I get paid again.  And anything else that decides it wants to crop up.

So...without wanting to wish my life away, let's just say, when the next 6 weeks are over, I will be relieved.  It'll still be pretty dismal but I am hoping upon hope, the worst time will be over.

And now for a confession....whilst in Aldi I also treated myself to some rose wine for £2.99 and a bar of chocolate.  Well...I've turned down proper social nights out aplenty for December (including probably not getting to see "The Hobbit")...so a drink and a nibble in front of a TV recorded film is a cheap substitute no?  I refuse to feel guilty.

And my final words on this post, are sad ones.  My heart is breaking for all those affected by the Connecticut school shootings today.  This is utterly heartbreaking, tragic news.  A complete nightmare scenario.  I mentioned recently about keeping things in perspective and this serves as no better example.  My troubles and concerns are zero compared to those affected today.  I hope they find the strength they need to come through this awful time.

Good night readers and take care.

x x

You're Keeping Me On Track

Evening to you all, I do hope you're keeping warm right now.  It's freezing fog where I am - not much fun at all.  I hope everyone is tucked up at home where possible and not having to drive in this.

I was so happy to read all the supportive comments after my recent post, outlining what's going on with me and my plans to get myself sorted.  It really helps and keeps me going down the right path!  So thanks again to everyone and Ilona, you're so right, every penny does count.  I actually get a little thrill everytime I plonk the coppers from my change into a little red tin I have as I know they add up and before too long I can use the useful total towards food or petrol or whatever.  

Thanks for the EBAY suggestion Vicky - I may well look into that in the New Year for any 'better' stuff I have.  I did use EBAY & Amazon Marketplace some years ago when I was paying off two overdrafts (sigh....proof that I just didn't learn!) and you're right the contribution it makes is really helpful.  I am also wondering about a car boot sale in early Spring too.  They can be good cash generators too.  I just need one good "big" item to sell to make my stall booking money back (and more, hopefully!) then everything else will be lovely jingly cash in pocket.

Well I put our humble Christmas decorations up last night and wrapped some gifts in left over from 2011 wrapping paper!  I also wrote out left over from 2011 Christmas cards as well!  It was a nice night in though and finally kicked off a bit of Christmas cheer in the household.  Hubby came home and opened the door to the living room and smiled, saying "It's Christmas!"  I had some scented tealights burning on the coffee table and sat under the glow of the fairy lights strung up high over the sofa....I have even lit up a big houseplant with some battery operated lights as well!  Nice.

Grocery shopping after work today was a bit embarrassing.  I managed to whoops-a-daisy a jar of marmalade as I was lifting it off the shelf in Aldi and it fell and smashed on the floor!  There was no-one around from the store when I did it so I found an old box and covered it up (managed to cut my thumb moving a big shard of glass as well - ouch) then went and found someone.  I apologised and offered to pay for the breakage but I just got a sour look and a "Oh great" but they didn't make me pay for it so I can take that!!  I did apologise again though...I don't smash jars of sticky breakfast food on shop floors for fun, honest.

After that I managed to get all required groceries and leave with about £3 in change.  I had to nip to Sainsburys to get some own brand coriander leaf...74p as opposed to £1.75 for a branded jar.  So I now have just over £2 in my purse.  I think all I have to buy at the weekend is some more mushrooms so I should be ok to get through till next Wednesday when I get paid.  

A friend treated me to a gingerbread hot chocolate in the hospital cafe at lunchtime:  she insisted!  We had a really good chat and it made such a nice change to relax.  Work's been pretty full on recently for both of us.

Well that's about it from me.  Have to go and put some tumble drying on soon but the meter will be on cheap 'leccy very soon!  Hopefully then no more washing till the weekend when it can all go out on the line and dry for free.

Take care - stay warm.

x x x

Colds, Debts & How Have I Saved Money Recently?

Hello & happy weekend everybody, I hope you are all well.

I have been poorly this week - I caught a cold and had to take Thursday & Friday off work.  I was in bed till gone 1pm both days just zonked out.  Luckily we had some Day & Night Nurse capsules left over from hubby's cold so I didn't have to fork out for more medicine.  I started to feel much better yesterday and today, although still blowing my nose for England, I am just about there now.  Back to work tomorrow!

Overdraft

Anyway whilst off this week, when awake, it gave me plenty of time to think about my financial status, study my Excel spreadsheet and generally muse about stuff.  I may go about £650 - £700 overdrawn by Spring, which is really not great.  However some good news is, that total also includes debt payments which will pay off completely the 0% credit card I took out at the beginning of 2012 to pay for much needed new double glazing in three rooms.  So I won't have paid a penny interest on those which was always the plan.  The other 0% card I had was a Virgin card to pay off a previous overdraft.  The plan was to get the overdraft paid off then stick rigidly to a budget to prevent going overdrawn again. 

Well that failed. 

SO...the Virgin card still needs paying off and here I am with another overdraft which is worse than it was before!  Not the plan at all but lesson learned.  I'll pay it off by mid Summer and now I just accept that I will be overdrawn and I just have to claw it down bit by bit. 

I am trying to think more long term rather than panicking short term so now I need to just keep calm when I see my overdraft rising and know that come summer, the credit card balances will be gone and it will start to get better thereafter.  I need to keep my eye on the prize which is "this time next year".  This time next year I WILL be debt free again and this time next year I will be finally on top of my money issues.  I will.

With all this in mind I should now have the motto 'Every Penny Counts' tattooed on my eyelids.  

There is No Spare Money

Every penny I spend now just takes me further into my overdraft so every penny spent is a conscious decision.  So I am trying to be positive about all the ways I can try and keep things as low as I can.

Money Saving Efforts This Week

Being ill meant not going out anyway but even if I had been OK I'd planned not to spend any unnecessary cash.  And I achieved that.   I am making use of www.spendingdiary.com and find it really useful.   I love the reporting tool which shows you how much you've spent say on "social" or "groceries" should you set up those groups.  An eye opener.

This weekend thankfully has been fairly windy and mostly dry so I have managed to get a lot of washing dry on the line or just about dry so that they either finish off on radiator racks, or in the case of some larger items, only took about a third of the time they usually do in the tumble dryer.  The washing I have mostly got done overnight so it's much cheaper electricity.  Some of the tumbling I did later at night too when the meter clicked over to the lower rate.  So that's helped.

Energy

I submitted meter readings on Friday and I do owe Atlantic some money. I recently went over to Direct Debit to get cheaper rates.  We used to pay for what we used quarterly but seeing the difference in the rates it seemed madness not to start a DD again especially as I could choose what monthly rate to set.  However the first payment didn't come out till 1st December and I last paid a bill in September.  So there's a shortfall now and the next bill is due the end of this month.  I can see I will no doubt have to pay an extra bit to cover it all then hope that thereafter, the direct debits will cover future bills.

We have gas central heating and a halogen heater.  There is no fireplace or woodburner and we're not able to install either in this house, so we're stuck with the above.  The only choice we have is to be cold and minimise having the heating on.  Today that's not so bad as the temperature got up to about 8 degrees C outside and the sun was out - and it made such a difference.  With jumpers on, it felt alright.  Heating is completely off and won't come on till it's dark.  It'll stay on till about 9pm then go off till getting up time tomorrow for an hour.  Then it'll be off all day till dark again.  The house is freezing when we get home but we'll just keep the door of the living room shut, put the halogen heater on the first 400w, make sure no gaps in curtains and that room heats up fairly nicely.  It's not feasible to have the heating off all the time otherwise I would!  It's due to get down to sub freezing mid week here and the cold snap will last a few days at least.  We have to do what we have to do when it's like that but needless to say fleece sofa blankets & hot water bottles come out at night!

Food

I bought a big bag of potatoes in Aldi on Tuesday and other fresh vegetables and have managed to make it all stretch through.  I haven't needed to go out for anything else.  Today's lunch was roasting left over red onions cut into fat wedges, three parsnips chopped into fat sticks, half a butternut squash cubed up, four diced potatoes and the remains of a garlic bulb split into peeled cloves, all smothered and mixed up in three tablespoons of sunflower oil mixed with: two tablespoons of water, a tablespoon of white vinegar, half a teaspoon of caster sugar and two teaspoons of various dried herbs.  I roasted these for 35 minutes (stirring once or twice) and roasted a pack of veggie sausages half way through.  Veggie gravy made with the water from cooked frozen peas from Aldi and a twist of black pepper.  It was really tasty and hubby loved it.

We've still got loads of potatoes left which we'll use to make a delicious dish called Egg & Potato Bombay and we'll have that with Approved Foods basmati rice, probably on Wednesday.  We have everything else for evening meals Monday and Tuesday so tomorrow evening, I will do an inventory of what we have in the cupboards and will make a frugal menu plan for the rest of the week/early part of next week and shop accordingly for the fresh items, bread etc in Aldi on Tuesday after work. 

Cash Only

I use a credit card for petrol and some other purchases i.e. online once a month stock up purchases (I am collecting Avios points as one day I am determined to fly abroad again!) but I have made the decision to try and be cash only now for grocery shopping and other necessary spends.  It's obvious what I have been doing thus far has not really worked:  I clearly haven't learned from my own history.  So time for something new.  The last few grocery shops have been cash only and it really focuses your mind.  You're doing mental calculations all the time to make sure you don't go over budget and everything that goes in that trolley or basket is needed and, where possible, the best value you can get.  My utter delight last week in Aldi when I realised three things I needed were in their "Super Six" offer and the week before that the bread had 30% off marked price as did the mushrooms I wanted.  I was so chuffed

Cutting Back

I have changed my mobile phone provider to a SIM only deal now which is saving me about £5 a month (I use data downloading otherwise I could save more).  I have cancelled my LoveFilm subscription which is another £5 a month.  That's £120 over the year.  Worthwhile!

I am not going out once over Christmas.  I have not even bought any Christmas food or nibbles and don't plan to until perhaps the week before and then it won't be much.  I have one night out planned in January (tickets for a local gig already bought last year) and that's it.  For 2013.  Seriously it is the only thing in my diary and I am not going out of my way to add anything else because there just isn't the money.  Over the Winter months I don't think this will be too much of a problem.  But come the Spring I will be bored, depressed and ready to throw the towel in so this is when I will need to be creative and get my social fixes one way or another. 

I will be going through my wardrobe shortly to plan what clothes go together and make myself wear things I have bought but ignored.  (Why do women do this!!?)  I may have to get rid of some bits & bobs which I just don't feel comfortable in as it will give me more space and just help bring other items back into focus.  I do not need to buy any more clothes.  I haven't actually got that many as I am quite good at 'culling' but there are still things I don't make use of when I should.  I have actually customised a couple of tops recently to make them more 'wearable' whereas before I would have just stuck them in a charity sack then probably gone out and bought a replacement.

Perspective

Last but definitely not least, I need to keep a sense of perspective.  I am still 'richer' than so many people.  I have a roof over my head, I have food & clothing, I have a phone I can pick up to call friends & family, I have clean running water at my disposal.  I have a job.  I might day dream about winning the lottery and not having to go to work (not going to happen as not spending money on tickets right now!!) but really I am grateful.  The job will help me dig my way out of this mess.  And it's not even a massive mess.  I have been in a worse financial mess by probably 8 times as much so....I can do this easily can't I?


If you have read all this and got to the end - well done!  And thanks for sticking with my rambles.

Bye for now...I am off to listen to a football match on my cheap little radio which costs less than a penny to run an hour!  Frugal entertainment indeed.

x

Thank You

Hi all.  I wanted to say thank you for the supportive messages after my last blog post.  Your comments mean such a lot and it helps to know others are on your side!  So thanks very very much for taking a moment to drop me a line.

I know I am not the only one and we're pretty much all either paying off what feels like never ending debts, or, fighting to keep our heads above water whilst implementing frugal methods.  I don't wish debt or financial struggle on anyone believe me, but at least there is a camaraderie between 'frugallers' to be enjoyed!

Anyway I have actually had a really nice weekend on a budget!  Months ago I booked a date with an old school friend to go down and chat/stay over and generally catch up as we haven't seen each other for years upon years.  She lived about 40 minutes drive from me.  I had enough petrol in the car so no need to add further fuel.  I did take a bottle of wine (I had budgeted a small amount of money for the weekend) and as a fabulous surprise she took me into our old city and treated me to dinner with her Tesco coupons for a participating restaurant!  All it cost was a contribution to the cost of a bottle of wine (yes another one!).  Her extremely kind and lovely husband dropped us off and picked us up so no travel costs either.  

We stayed up extremely late, chatting and drinking the wine I had brought down and then more chats this morning after breakfast.  Bliss.  

After that I drove 9 miles east to see my sister, brother-in-law & my nieces and dropped off the Christmas gifts I had bought for them (not much but they all have something they will like for about a fiver each).  After an hour and half chit chat and a cuppa I drove home and hubby made us a dinner using up peppers, a pack of tofu and a fajita kit from Approved Foods!  I since fell asleep on the sofa for a while as staying up till crazy o' clock will make you tired!

The heating unfortunately is on higher than I would normally have it plus we're wearing all sorts of layers as it is bloody freezing!  The cars had a thick frost on not long after dark.  Hubby is suffering with the start of a cold and I want to keep him warm and toasty not make him feel worse bless him.

So that has been my weekend and I feel like I needed a bit of a lift.  I did bring some cash back with me as well so that's a bonus!  I can put that towards the grocery shopping on Tuesday.

Anyway thanks again and any time any one wants to drop any encouraging words in....feel free!  Believe me when I say it helps.

x x x

Still Alive!

Hello there.  Well I am still here, still alive, still trying to be frugal! 

I haven't posted much in ages because it's just the same old crap but different day.  Sometimes I want to come online and spill my guts about it but then I just think "Meh, who wants to read that depressing blurb?" so I don't bother.

I try and try to do the right thing but as I may have said before, some of us seem destined not to have money, even a small amount of money to spare, and I think I am one of those people.  

The good news is, I am firmly in the savings habit now and I am putting away £100 a month into an account to pay for annual car bills, home insurance and the like.  I also seem to have broken the habit of shopping for things I like but don't need.  I make good use of Approved Foods, Aldi, EBAY if I need things or looking for the best price on goods if I have to buy them new.

The bad news is, things seem to happen outside my control which affect incoming finances or make really bloody ANNOYING drains on any savings I make.  It sounds like paranoia but honestly, any time I might spend a small amount of money on myself, I get whacked with something stupid like a nail through a car tyre, a blocked drain, I lose my gloves and need to buy some more...many stupid stupid things that just p*ss me off.  On top of the washing machine giving up the ghost this year and rotten windows needing replacing in a hurry.  Even one of my friends today said "You do seem to get more than your fair share of bad luck!"

Anyway I sit here looking at my spreadsheet tonight (as I am still trying to keep a reign on things) and I see it spiralling into my overdraft pretty miserably come the New Year.  Christmas is not really happening in this household in 2012.  I will put up the decorations we already have up, I did buy only those nearest & dearest to me a few little gifts (mostly second hand) and I am making someone some home made ale mustard but the budget has been minuscule.  

I am trying to take a deep breath though and say to myself that I must keep going and it can't be cleared overnight.  BUT I can try to make it so that this time next year I am in a better position.  I guess I am annoyed because I have been debt free before (mortgage aside) and I never wanted to owe anything again yet here I am about £2000 in debt again.

So anyway that's an update.  I hope to post more positive news again soon, charting progress and things I have done to save money or make extra money (maybe!).  I continue to read some blogs for inspiration and do try to keep a sense of perspective - even if it doesn't sound like it.

Take care all & all the best with your own journeys.

Last Night a Spreadsheet Saved My Life...

If you're of a certain age you *will* have replaced the word spreadsheet with "DJ", right?

OK so perhaps that is a bit dramatic but last night, a spreadsheet shocked me to the core, made me feel sick and very very stupid.  However after waking up this morning and having remembered what I saw last night, I still felt stupid and a bit sick but also grateful to have had a wake up call and change direction once and for all.

Now if you have read my blog for a while you will know that I have been pretty bad with money in the past.  I am no angel now but I am a hell of a lot better than I was.  But I can get tempted and am prone to relapses from time to time. 

I find life too dull if I am not seeing or experiencing things, learning something about a new place, socialising and generally being out there.  These don't have to be fancy high faluting things and I haven't been out of the country for three years now (and the last time was on honeymoon and in a free chalet owned by an in-law....they also paid for our Easy Jet flights to get there as a wedding present!) and there are no plans to go abroad any time soon either.

A day by the sea with a bag of chips will do me fine if I am with good company and can wander around seeing stuff, appreciating architecture, watching the world go by etc etc.  I am sure you know what I mean.

I do also have a bit of a penchant for clothes shopping.   Charity shops are fine by me, high street shops and the John Lewis sale, also fine but these days I am well aware that the former option is more suitable for my budget!  And it doesn't happen very often.  So I have come some way.  But up until last night, I still felt like I was missing out on something that I couldn't put my finger on.  A strange feeling.  And also, if I am completely honest, I have made so many bad choices with my money.

Last night - completely rock 'n' roll for a Saturday I know - I was setting up a new spreadsheet for incomings and outgoings, to see me into 2013 and indeed to the end of next year.  I like to be able to forecast and plan for annual bills of course.  So, whilst doing this I open up last year's spreadsheet to get an idea of some previous gas bills.  Then I decide to look at my general expenditure and how my overdraft compared then and now.  Then I got really curious and opened up spreadsheets going back to 2009 and that's when the nausea started.

My GOD.  The money I have wasted is unbelievable.  It's shocking and embarrassing.  In 2008 - 2010 I was working as an Account Manager for a software house and I earned good money, some months some seriously good money.  And still I was overdrawn through ridiculous purchasing choices.  Clothes I bought at full prices which I gave away not long after because they were "not quite right".....beauty treatments I have long since learned to administer myself.......make up I thought I needed but used hardly ever (now been binned or also given away) and also, grocery shopping in Sainsburys or Tesco when there was an Aldi within easy reach of my house but I thought it wasn't good enough or so I thought, which was utter crap because I'd never even been in there so how could I even think that?   

So although I have been shuffling along in a certain direction anyway (and it is the right direction I have to say) I now feel like I have had a complete kick up the arse. 

Absolutely no more spending on clothes for a very long time unless absolutely necessary.  I must use what I already have.  Clothes rediscovered, reinvented, repaired & re-dyed or whatever is needed, where possible.

Groceries shopped for as cheaply as possible and I will make food inventories every week to see what I can make with what I have.  No buying anything even if it is cheap unless I actually need it. 

Socialising....I will still spend money on socialising.  There's no way I won't.  But I am going to be as picky as hell and as frugal as possible.  My days of hard partying were over a long time ago so there's no danger of slipping back into that kind of spending again.  I'm not going to feel guilty about the odd drink out with a friend or lunch with my husband once a month in a pub.  When I have seen the amount I have wasted on other stuff, the minuscule budget I have for staying sane is peanuts.

Beauty treatments....I'll continue doing what I do and enjoy it.  Some women feel it's a life essential to have someone else file their nails or wax their bikini line and maybe I did once too, but not now.  There is something very satisfying about a home administered facial, making your feet soft & pretty and such like.

Happily I could start to take direct "action" today.  I found a top I bought back in 2008 (one that did make it past the first month of being purchased!) which I have had good wear out of.  I noticed there were several little holes appearing along the hem line...tiny little ones that you only see if you hold it up to the light.  I considered putting it in a charity bag but then got needle and thread out.  Luckily the top is a black & white pattern, quite random, so I was able to stitch up all the holes and no-one will notice.  I should get another year out of that top I am sure.

I also got a shortish wrap dress which I wear as a top from time to time with only a certain pair of trousers and used wonder web stuff to "take it up" a couple of inches.  Now it's suitable for wear with all my jeans and other trousers too.  I am so chuffed and asked myself why I didn't do this before?

To all the naturally frugal people out there, I know they may well be laughing at me or thinking what a simpleton I am.  But I'd just like to say, we're all good at different things.  And sometimes people's journeys start later or take longer with different twists & turns than others.  We're bombarded on an hourly basis of every day with obvious and subliminal images of what we should look like, what we should be wearing, where we should be spending our time when we're not at work even what we should be drinking and some people are more resistant to it or parts of it, than others.

I've taken a massive turn this weekend after seeing what is the equivalent of a huge lit up road sign and I feel happier.

Thanks for reading - and hopefully, not judging.

Lots of love.
xx

Giving Up Not An Option....

Evening readers.  Thank you Enid & Ciaran for your protein suggestion recently.  Unsure if you would have seen my comment in response?  Basically I thanked you very much but said I am vegetarian so I don't eat meat or fish.  I wondered if there was a veggie equivalent that might work though!   Feel free to suggest anything, I am open to suggestions.

Well things feel like a long hard slog at the moment.  Weight going in the wrong direction even though I'm trying.  Overdraft going in the wrong direction...even though I'm trying.  Ever just feel like someone up there just doesn't like you?

I made a saving of over £30 on my home insurance recently....brilliant.  Only for the next day a tyre needed repairing as a screw went straight through the middle of a rear tyre (which was new last summer and has barely on miles on it).  Fair enough not as expensive as a brand new tyre but annoying nonetheless.  You could argue that the home insurance saving paid for that, yes that is definitely one way of looking at it but I had been ecstatic that it was going to be a big £30 chip away at my overdraft.

I was cycling to work to save money on parking AND get some exercise....the rain won't stop coming down now and if it does I have a bad back through other exercise I did trying to be healthy!  Great.

And a million other niggly bits that have happened, that I won't bore you with, but suffice to say I feel deflated.

But I know.....you just have to carry on don't you?  Tempting as it is to throw my hands up in the air and say "Why the hell do I even bother?" I know that'll result in things really sliding downhill. I guess I am just feeling a little down and wishing that something encouraging would happen to give me a boost.

TTFN I think I will go off and browse some blogs for some inspiration.

Fingers crossed for a better post next time peeps!

xx

Back!

Hello!

Well the good news is, the cold has gone.  It did take it's time to fully bugger off, but bugger off it finally did.  About the middle of last week I suppose. 

The bad news is....I did my back in again at the end of the week.

I have to say it was probably all my own fault.  I wasn't lifting a box from the waist as per above.  Actually I did a free home work out last Wednesday, using the wii fit and Just Dance and I went a bit bonkers without a proper warm up, no warm down and no stretching afterwards.  What a complete IDIOT.  Anyway the next day I felt like, well, I'd done a work out (I also cycled to work and back) then by Friday things started to feel a little uncomfortable in the lower spine area.  Come Friday night I really knew about it.  But decided to do all the housework anyway to get it out of the way for the weekend.  This included washing kitchen & bathroom floors.

I'm so smart aren't I?

So anyway you can probably guess how Saturday & Sunday went can't you?  I am 41 but felt about 91, seriously.  I could barely lean forward at the sink to clean my teeth and leaning over the bath to wash my hair was an adventure to say the least.

Anyhow after many hot water bottles, pain killers, stretches and shifting of positions later, it is on the mend now.  Oh, I managed to give myself a blister from a very hot water bottle too, to boot.  Doofus.

Anyway it's getting there now, I can at least move more freely and I went out for a half hour walk at lunchtime with a colleague/friend for some free exercise.  My back feels better if I am moving around actually.

So, lesson learned.  Exercise is clearly bad for you!  Only kidding.

Well I weighed myself tonight, convinced that I was going to be a bit lighter.  I have been so good recently in that I have cut portion sizes down, I have resisted lots of in between meals snacks (a previous downfall) and I have been more active than I have been in a long time.  Uh UHHHHHHH computer says NOOOO.  Apparently I have put ON two pounds since last weigh in 5 days ago.  Well thanks a bloody lot. 

The answer is definitely not to give up and push a box of white chocolate chip cookies into my face to cheer myself up, I know that.  The answer is not to stop being active or go back to the bigger portion sizes.  I know that too.  The answer is to be thankful that tonight I am still able to wear a pair of size 12 jeans I bought in a charity shop about 3 years ago and be thankful that my waist size hasn't increased.  It's still under the national average by about 2 inches. 

However my doctor thinks, even after looking at me and seeing I am not particularly big, that it wouldn't be a bad idea to lose a few kilos.  I am 5' 7" and weight 12st 7.  That is officially overweight. And tonight - I've shown I am even going in the wrong direction, after a week of being especially good & active.   

If I had stayed the same weight I could maybe accept that.  But to put 2 pounds on in less than a week?  Oh and yes I do weigh myself at the same time of day as I know that can affect things. 

It's annoying!  I am so annoyed!  REALLY ANNOYED.

I'm off to sulk.

 
I hope you're all having a better evening than I am!

Bye for now.  Sleep well. xx

Be Gone Damn Cold!

Hello to everyone and welcome to Michele, my newest follower, very nice to have you on board.

The good news is, after three days off work last week, extra zinc, tonnes of orange juice and a couple of Brazil nuts a day for immune system boosting selenium, the cold started to wane come Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.  I went back to work on the Thursday.  The bad news is, I am still coughing quite a lot and blowing my nose for Britain but at least I do feel a lot sparkier for most of the day.  However both today & yesterday I found myself napping on the sofa in the afternoon, completely unable to keep my eyes open so I guess my body is still fighting it off!

I didn't get to do much thinking (as I thought I would) on the days off, I was just too busy sitting there going "Gahhhhhhhh.....achooo!  Gahhhhhhh.....snuffle......splllllltttttthhhhhh"  (that last one is my attempt at the noise you make blowing your nose....). 

Since then I have pondered over my spreadsheet and I just don't know where I can make any more helpful cut backs to try and pull my overdraft back any sooner than about November, and this all hinges on no disasters happening between now and then!  I am impatient though and would love to have results now.  But I know I should grow up a bit and realise I can't have everything NOW.  Perhaps a bit of that spirit would have stopped me getting into my overdraft in the first place and would help me stay out of it in the future eh?

The plan has to be long term doesn't it?  There are no easy quick fixes.  Mainly I suppose I am worried about the space & time between now and November and all the temptations, invitations, possible problems and so on that could happen to drag me off the path between now and then.  And boredom.  There's no getting away from it, I do get bored and this sodding weather isn't helping!  Sometimes just getting out for a walk helps but lashings of rain is not conducive to country walks! 

I am envious of my fellow bloggers who have interesting countryside and geographical features to look at for free on the weekends.  I live in one of the most culture-less and  featureless places in the country (that's not an exaggeration it's the absolute truth) so please, next time you're out looking at nearby beautiful hills, cliffs, fantastic old buildings or strolling along a beach front, spare a thought for me! :-)

Still at least I have my holiday in Cornwall to look forward to.  The savings are still happening.  We've saved enough for petrol now, hee hee!  So if nothing else we have the cottage paid for and the money to get there and back plus a little bit more.  So if nothing else, we can get there, get home and buy ourselves some delicious seaside chips in between and enjoy the coast for free!  :-)   In reality if all goes to plan, we'll have saved a fair bit more by end of August so we can get out and about a bit and have a happy week.

Some of my friends are upping sticks all the time to go away on one holiday after another (with frequent weekends away somewhere in Europe to stem the boredom of home).  I am sure they see some wonderful things but I think I'm probably right to assume they won't ever appreciate a holiday as much as I am going to appreciate our little jaunt down to the West Country because we've saved and saved for this for well over a year and we probably won't go on holiday again for a few years.  I want to enjoy every bit of it from the moment we lock the front door and drive down (i.e good music on the stereo, some naughty snack along the way...!) to that moment of relief when you arrive and put the kettle on.  If the weather is kind (oh please be kind!) then every step of every coastal walk will be treasured and I may well reward myself with one or two local ice creams....mmmmm delicious.  Peaceful, tranquil nights away from the busy road which we live by and no rushing to get up early for anything in particular, except a lazy, tasty breakfast (hopefully on the cottage patio) and more fresh Cornish sea side air.

Readers, keep your fingers crossed for me that we have an Indian summer this year as if the weather is appalling after all this, I think my heart would break!

OK bye bye for now, I hope to update soon with some more positive news i.e. the cold has finally buggered off and I've had a breakthrough on the money and 'entertainment' front!

Have a good week.

xx