Fearless Frugaleers Finding Their Feet in February

[SpottyTeacakes]

I've got fruflu

fluffy well its the nearest decent town to me. With good primary schools (well they aren't terrible unlike our current closest primary), jobs for me (shite but better than nothing), good public transport, beaches, actual stuff to do and things to see. The only problem is - the houses are bloody expensive.

It's a lovely quote isn't it! When I was a designer I printed it out on A3 and stuck it on the wall.

My favourite frozen batch meal is stroganoff.

I wondered Need, I hope he has a really tasty loan car.

I think Bolognese for batch cooking, can have it with pasta, rice or jacket spuds.

Love that quote Collie that will be my new mantra!

Fuzz how long will you be able to stay off sick for do you know? Whats the limit for sick pay? I'm guessing they probably know you're not going to be coming back but you will have to work out what the best thing to do financially for you.

I just did my first page of upwork writing. Yay! Nice to feel like a thing done.

Need if you're cooking for your friend as well as her family, I read a thing on mumsnet I think about someone who had written a recipe book for people with cancer. Apparently is plays merry hell with their taste buds, but the book had it all thought out. It sounds as though your friend may want to eat different food from her family if that's the case.

Oh! There seem to be two:

www.amazon.co.uk/Royal-Marsden-Cancer-Cookbook-Nutritious/dp/0857832328/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455226602&sr=8-1&keywords=cancer+cook+book

www.amazon.co.uk/Breast-Cancer-Cookbook-Mo-Keshtgar/dp/1849495564/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1455226602&sr=8-2&keywords=cancer+cook+book

I know need, life can seem awfully unfair sometimes. My mum used to get the doctor complementing her on how healthy she was...apart from all the cancer that is. But it will help your friend that she has takrn care of herself as she will have the strength and reserves to help her through this crappiness.

Thanks all, you lovely lot I've just had a read on Pinterest (haven't been on there for a long time, but really ought to) and I have learned tonight a bit more of the things you mention above, that tastes change, there may be nausea and mouth sores to contend with during chemo and yes, it may be that the family need to eat something different to the sufferer. Smoothies are good (wondering if they have a Nutribullet or similar), seeds, oil, etc potentially for calories due to weight loss. I want to get this right for them.

Nice (sort of) pay rise ipsos! Thanks for the link too.

fluffy no, he's driving a lesser model, another bone of contention and negotiation....

Total spends today..

23.50 ice skating lesson for DS.
15.90 for lunch out for me and my mum (we never get to do this).
250 dentist bill :(

Almost NSD, spent £1 on a cake for charity. Am getting a cold, just in time for half term

How are you getting on surviving the last week of half term Pointless? Is the eating going better? Ds is really struggling, but I heard that another kid had an inexplicably long lasting tummy bug too, so it's not just us.

Ds is having a tough time and I have ideas of how to help but they are not going to be cheap. I need to fix our garden so he can have friends round, and that means getting our lawn replaced with paths and beds, which will cost a ton of money.

Ds has outgrown his bike suddenly - not cheap.

Also the teachers say his social skills need work to help him make friends, and I think I'm maybe going to sign up for that sports club in the summer so we have access to organised play activities and other children. It's all a bit eye-wateringly expensive, but I need to do it really, to get his social development back on track. The poor lad has just had such a rough run in his early years.

Glad the holiday is coming and the weather is improving. That's a start at least.

Spotty, yes, the network railway card. It's. Down to £20 for a limited period :)
I've got two things to research on this weekend: the car insurance and mobile contract (I'd work a miracle if I get it down from the £7 I am paying. But I found Out I should have been given a discount. )
Spent £20 in the jewellers (planned), £54 in Lidl and £25 on petrol.
Has anybody recently bought a brand new car? I am confused as to what's included in the guarantee, insurance wise.

need been thinking about your friend. My mums friend was going through chemo and craved sweet things. Mum made cupcakes/muffins, and froze the batter in the cases. I do this at home too. It means I don't eat the whole lot at once...

i also remember her friend saying how for ages all she could taste was metal. And then nothing. So foods with great textures were nice.

I can only see it on the family and friends one?

My cold is very bad and I'm feeling really sorry for myself hoping for a nsd as I'm off to work in a minute.

Love all the batch cooking ideas I don't have anything to add

Not caught up on last nights posts yet. My top up shop last night was spurred by dhs request for bread m, just checked freezer when going shopping list not one but two sliced pand inside! And two half pand in fridge & he knew I was shopping today so those two halves would've been plenty! What does he be thinking?

Phew I can't take time to work I need it to keep up here. Will try and get everyone.
Jeepers sounds tough.
Fuzz I second document everything and fingers crossed for dh.
Collie yes you may. Would you consider a discounted for frugaleers holiday let?
Need. Your ideas sound great. Also if she is put on steroids your pal may weight gain so a mix of food types sounds good. Soups too maybe? My pal said one of the hardest bits was no one contacted her as they didn't know what to say so said nothing. I put my foot in it lots of times but she saw the funny side thankfully.
Nsd planned today.
£22 Morrison yesterday. The meal for 2 seemed such good value so I caved

Was hoping for nsd today. But there's nothing for lunch no bread no salad no crackers no cheese no soup. So will have to grab something from one of the sandwich shops near work.

Spag Bol and homemade garlic bread for dinner.

Ipsos (((hugs)))) and spotty too.

For those of you that suffer with anxiety or have family/friends that do this is a great read What Anxiety Mean

Thanks Babs.

We are working so hard to sort problems here. Poor ds is stuggling at school and hadn't notice that he doesn't make eye contact and doesn't alternate properly in conversations. So now we're trying to train him to hold a conversation. We're rapidly realising that he's unable to, because he's stressed to the eyeballs by all sorts of things that are stressing us to the eyeballs. Good grief. What a time he's had. We have turned off all the screens in the house and we are talk-talk-talking our way to victory. If I seem not to be around for a bit, it's because ds and I are trying to learn to form RL relationships ASAP.

Ipsos all the best to you and your DS. He's lucky to have you. He sounds quite similar to my DS. I may be pursuing an assessment in the next year or so. It's not something I feel sad about - he's such a quirky little dude :)

Girl my company sick pay runs out, I think, in May (6 months full, 6 months half).

It just so happened that my manager called this morning, to organise an occ health meeting. I said that my GP is signing me off for longer, and that I need to meet with her face to face to discuss everything. I think she understood what I meant.

In other news, DH's boss told him today that he's posting something to him, including the date for his disciplinary. I don't really understand that because he'd said yesterday that he would meet in another two weeks and then decide if he needed one. WTF. :(

So within a few days he will have a disciplinary on his record. Not Good.

I really need to be getting on with stuff today, it's not even pain stopping me (today is ok, compared to my normal levels anyway) I just feel all rabbit-in-headlights. It's like I am paralysed by anxiety IYKWIM. Flight or Flight is bollocks, IME. :o

Also, weird thing happened this morning, I got a text from Giffgaff saying they couldn't do my usual goodybag purchase (£5 a month). So there's me panicking that my account must be incredibly close to the limit, if it's not letting them take a fiver out (yes, it has happened before! ) but I just checked, and I'm not. No big amounts pending or anything, stuff like my bus pass has already come out.

Also (sorry for multiple posts) I've just transferred the penny saving money back into my account. :( It's a shame but needs must right? We won't be able to do our trip up north either. Thankfully we hadn't booked anything and the event is annual so it's not the end of the world. We still have our little trip next month, for which the accommodation is paid already (was only £100 for 4 nights - hurrah for term time holidays :o), the train won't cost much as it's not very far (and we have a railcard already) and it's self catering with lots to do on site. So thank goodness that is still doable if we plan carefully.

IF DH gets the well paid job then we can go back to saving, and hopefully do the other trip. But we need to be sensible and not count on him getting that job. Or indeed any job.

Oh well the giffgaff payment went through when I went on there so must have just been a glitch.

Fuzz your DHs boss is an absolute twunt. I am absolutely furious on your behalf! If he hands in notice today - would he have a 4 week notice period?
Would anyone support you financially in the interim between jobs?

Arghhh! Can't believe there are some horrid dodgy fuckwit companies out there. are they a national company? Can I boycott them?

Spent £10 on the first part of my Dads birthday present today.

anyone know how the lidl steaks compare to aldi ones?
The pack of two does 4 of us for dinner from aldi as it's so rich and good steak

Thank you Collie

Well, I told my mum the other day when he first got the news, and she said 'we won't let you starve' bless her :o so in that sense, we will get by. We have a little savings too.

Notice period is a month, he has about 3 weeks annual leave as well as lots of owed hours from all the times he's had to stay late, work through lunch etc, and they don't pay overtime but he is supposed to be able to take the hours later... of course he never gets a chance to do that, so he's hoping he can just take them off his notice period anyway. They clearly want him out.