BOO! The Freaky Frugaleers prepare for Halloween and beyond. All welcome!

[Cagliostro]

:)

My frugal dinner. 2lbs stewing beef from freezer, quarter packet frozen chopped onions, quarter pack frozen veg(not enough) jar curry sauce from Aldi in slow cooker all day served with cous cous le yum

Cathode I didn't understand about you planning to attend gp more from your post either but I understand about liking your gp practice. I had to move 3 years ago to one that was more practical

£30k ouch, poor girl.
Ah cathode that's sounds like a tough GP appointment.
Cyber crime is massive, without meaning to scare you all. Got to be savy and even then it's easy to get caught out.
£39 on hair cut but budgeted.
Hope the appointment went well Italian. Fingers crossed no storm until dd is safely here.
I love my posh thermometer, makes me so much more confident taking dc temp.

Need to think about the c word now, I'm usually so much more organised by now. Think I will take a day off

cathode I totally get moving GPS for convenience. But also liking GPS. Mine is great. But no parking nearby. My old one was old (both the surgery and my GP) but had Parking...

I've had to have words with my trainee today. She's back from a few days sick and is in danger of going on a sickness monitoring thing. I don't want to do it. But will if I have to. I've recommended that she visit her GP every time and get signed off. So at least we have proof it's a "real" thing iyswim.

Hi all signing in.

Wow Need that is a scary amount of money to lose, can the police not do anything?

Have just been messaging a couple of my good friends and we have decided we deserve a spa day/night soon hoping it happens as would be lovely! We are thinking January which would be the perfect antidote to post Christmas blues, looks like for an overnight stay with included buffet lunch and dinner it will be £100 ish.

I made a red thai curry tonight as I had all the jars ingredients but totally underestimated how hot it would be my eyes were streaming and mouth on fire!! Bit annoying really as had to give up on some of the rice but refused to waste the chicken so battled through My stomach is probably in shock now as haven't eaten anything spicy for ages!!

NSD.

Oh dear em. I've only had one day off sick in the past three years. My record was no days off sick in ten years. I'm quite lucky considering everything I have wrong with me I have got a bit of a cold right now though.

Snuggly I would have to replace the thermometer too I hate not being able to check it when they're poorly.

Mammy that looks delicious.

I love Jaffa cakes. Only twelve bites in a pack

Snuggly my thermometer always goes missing too. I was desperate for it two weeks ago but couldn't find it, today it appeared in front of my eyes jeez, I may have turned into my DH

Cathode so sorry about GP experience - I thought you were getting somewhere after your last one.

NSD!

Girlie spa day sounds amazing!

wreck it's a nightmare. I have no issues with her work. Or with her. And I understand that people get sick. And that some people get sick more than others.

I also unfortunately understand how sickness affects work (hers and everyone else's). And if she has one more day uncertified sick I don't put her on sickness monitoring I'll be in trouble for not doing it. Aaaah.

Catface was given a catnip toy today. She's ripped it apart. Cat nip is everywhere. She's a bit spaced out now.

Ha Em catnip is amazing - my boy cats goes really stupid and stoned on it but my girl cat isn't bothered

Thats tough em does she just have days here and there? is there a pattern to it? My work is really quite tough on sickness now, I think more than one episode of sickness in a 3 month period you automatically go on monitoring. Touch wood the only time I have had off this year was with dd when she was poorly.

Wild I know, am properly excited!

Frugal fail:
Our plans changed this afternoon and I completely and utterly fucking FORGOT to cancel a maths lesson which resulted in the dad/child (in a car thankfully) waiting around. They were really understanding but I am beyond mortified! :( :(

Frugal win:
I did a feedback survey for a concert we went to recently, and I won the £100 Amazon voucher! YAY! £10ish is going on a piano book of the music featured in the concert, the rest I'm not sure - great help towards Christmas :)

Cag that's amazing!

Nothing the police can do really, the account was emptied of the money almost as soon as it was transferred. The company is a global multi national, who ought to have better security really, not that it's not shit.

Brill news Cag re the voucher.

Em You have to do what you have to do. It may just be the gentle jolt she needs. Small companies suffer when one employee is off more than larger ones for sure. If it's documented by the GP it's better for her anyway surely re disciplinary etc?

Spa day in January would be a lovely pick up Girlie for the long slog to spring.

Love a SC 'stew' Mammy, especially on a cold night like this.

9 miles tonight, 3 miles before the club and 6 with.

That's fab, Cag!
New thermometer is much better than old one anyway, it lights up red if temp is too high and can be used underarm or in mouth, obviously if cleaned first!
Just spent £107 in supermarket. Restocking the entire fridge and freezer from scratch is costly and I might have bought a recipe book . New fridge is beautifully organised though. Hope we can keep it like that!

Which book Snuggly? They are a weakness of mine.

Exactly need I'm hoping she has the sense to take the advice on board.

Hope so Em, hope so.

Em that sounds tough re: sickness. If she visits the GP often then at least she will have actual proof & support for an underlying issue. GP's are pretty supportive when you have tangible evidence of regular visits. E.g - my GP was able to document my visits and write my employer a letter (few years ago now though). My employer never asked for it because I wanted to be upfront about my absence.

If she gets poorly and doesn't see the GP often then nobody will have any proof that anything is amiss.

Either way: hope she's OK!

Another stressful evening here in paradise. And my strong asthma inhaler is making me cry. What a mess!

Puff, inhale, cry.

SPendy day here, but I managed, after 3 months, to buy a lakeland oven liner. I started my christmas shopping, bought DD a Lush box with various bits in it. And a little present for my sister in law. And a cashmere beanie for me. And a bath caddy. And the most gorgeous candle votive/bowl thingy. Can't wait to start decorating for christmas! Turns out exH wanted all the decorations bar the box with DD's yearly decoration. So, this year I have to buy everything new. From wrapping paper to tinsel, the lot!
Look forward to that!

Em. Both my DC know how to get onto the dark web, most teenagers do. My DN found a site claiming to know where to get weapons grade uranium. These are average, pretty middle class, boring kids. I just trust they won't go off and buy weapons grade uranium....

Hi all. Monday £16 on lunch stuff in Tesco. Yesterday was going to be a LSD, just choir subs yo pay £4. Then I got the chance of cheap tickets to see Gangsta Granny with DS and DD1 (£.50 each) train fare came off Oyster do not sure how much. Unfortunately we were given the wrong start time for the show and arrived late. To be fair, we were only late as the train wax cancelled, but got the tickets for free £13 in McDonalds for a late tea after theatre. £20 at theatre for popcorn, drinks and ice creams. Normally I take stuff with us, but it was really last minute (pulled DS away from side of swimming pool 3 minutes before start of lesson!)

Today £14 including coffee pods, beetroot, salad for lunch tomorrow and 2 bottles of squash. (I'm really poor at drinking water but ok if it is squash)

I have £60 to pay for dancing costumes, and still need a new waistcoat and another costume for DS.

need I have no idea how to access the dark web. Obviously I'm out of touch with the young'uns.

I was told to always get a doctors note if I could.

I went on a breakfast presentation about Internet investigations, I will be getting a 1 day course follow up which I am stupidly excited about.

I am also going on a first aid course.

Spendy day

£5-ish on breakfast, £11-ish in coffee shop after school. Power tripped, couldn't resolve it, had to eat out. £60 treating myself to a purple cashmere sweater , £31-ish in Body Shop, xmas presents.

Power was tripped by the heating system which is now not working. Electrion coming in the morning, that'll be fecking expensive.

30K? Bloody hell.

DH has heard about a new scam, apparently they use Whatsap to say you have a voucher from Sainsbury's, or similar, and get access to pc/phone when message is opened.

Ok I'm back really struggled bit in last few weeks back issues not resolved by surgery in summer

£20yest on nails /waxing
£10 today on 2 home Ed activities main ones this week .

That's really interesting that you all agree that it's good to go to the GP when ill to get confirmation. I've been in a real fix, because if I go when we have a virus I get told off for wasting their time. But if I don't go then nobody believes me. Today my GP told me she didn't believe anyone had ever really had the flu (anyone ever, not just me) and said I was wasting her time by coming so often. I was so furious because I phone patiently fairly regularly to ask for help and nothing ever gets resolved.

It sounds as though it really would make sense to move to the local practice and be able to actually get there when we have a problem so they can see us and confirm.

Mammy Thanks for the understanding about moving practice. My current place is lovely and our old GP was like a grandad to ds. Our local one is in a very poor area and the waiting room seemed really grim. Many things about our local area are really grim though.

Em that's really interesting about the dark web. I hang out with computer scientists a lot but they don't talk much about that.