Fluffys frugaleer thread. All welcome.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Cag my ds is still in the school system but I totally agree. I moved from the English system to the Scottish system at age 8 where it was really different even back in the early 80s. I wish I could get ds out of the English school system really. It's all just a bit bonkers here.

Doing something very un-Ems. We have a mortgage meeting at 10. I have the day off today as tomorrow is a bank holiday here.

I dropped dh into work for 9 and figured no point in going home obly to have to turn back around again.

So. I'm sat in one of the naice Portuguese cafes enjoying a decaf coffee and a Portuguese version of a teacake. They are playin Portuguese radio and last nights telenovelas on the tv.

I am eating out. On. My. Own. Never done this before.

So bom dia to you all. That's the limit of my Portuguese. That and ciao. And obregada.

em make a point of doing that as much as you can over the next few months because once Baby arrives, it will be a lot more difficult. Well, it won't be too difficult with a newborn baby but when they hit the toddler stage where they don't want to sit still for any length of time and are attempting to pull everything off the table, it becomes a lot more difficult.

Just caught up again. Hope you feel better soon Cag, and manage to get away with the Caglets.
Need, that hill, a real challenge, well done.
Mammy, hope other two kittens will be ok.
Em, poor DH!
Staying with DD to give some support. DGS having heart operation in June. Will be spend your as taking him to Natural History Museum.

tayto good point! I'm proud of myself for doing it though. Never do that. Ever.

Mortgage meeting done. Pre application submitted.

Now in queue at tax office. I'm number 237. Currently speaking to number 207. Hopefully everyone infront of me is quick!

I know what you mean about eating alone being tricky Em. I've done it oodles of times because I used to travel for work a lot, most in the US and a bit in Europe.

My absolute favourite was sitting in the restaurant of the St Louis Station Hotel in Missouri, all by myself with the lights low and someone playing soft music on a black baby grand piano. I felt extraordinarily exposed sitting there on my own with a lot of businessmen also alone at the other tables, but it was also amazing, and just like being a character in Casablanca or something.

btw I found eating out really easy with ds. We had a bugaboo cameleon and the handle can be swung right over the back of the pushchair so that the chair can be pushed up to a cafe table for the child to sit at the table. We ate out nearly every day for years and he used to invite all sorts of people to join us. It was good.

I just came cross this man on youtube who says what I'm thinking about politics at the moment. It's such a relief to know that someone else sees it.

Dd2 starts her sats today. She is actively looking forward to them. She is odd, but I do love her so! We are very lucky that our school is very non pushy. Hardly heard a peep about the sats, no extra work, just past papers instead of normal lessons. I told her to do her best, and that would be enough for me!

Been at the shop, my wotk table is done. I will post a pic tomorrow as I am so proud of it! We have set my light box into it, and I've made it the perfect height.

I wanted to go into town, but we frugally came home. I'll pop in later in the week. Dp always gets moany shopping anyway.

Thanks for being lovely about the quilt idea. I will process my order now, so I have a good couple of weeks to get it done.

Only read this page and last as so busy, sorry.

Good luck to any frugaleer little ones with SATs. I remember mine, they were grim. I disagree with them completely and think they should be scrapped.

Today's not going so well for me so far. Woke up with awful fatigue and anxiety. Took a diazepam which has helped calm me down but still feel quite sleepy. I tried to work on my presentation a bit to add a bit more content as it's too short, then I recorded myself and it's still only 7 and a half minutes. It needs to be at least 12 or 13 minutes or I will get some marks taken off just for it being too short . I really can't think of much else to add at this point and I haven't memorised any of it really and I have to give it on Friday morning, arghhhh!! So stressful. Oh and did I mention, it's in French!!

The weekend was lovely though on the plus side.

Spends yesterday:
£14ish on me and DH's tickets to the tropical bird place.
£3 on fruit and nuts to feed the birds there.
£4ish on drinks at the café whilst we were there.

It was lovely but a huge macaw/parrot/whatever it was gave me a horrid bite on my thumb when I offered him a peanut . I have a lovely purple bruise on my thumbnail. I definitely prefered the smaller birds to the big ones who would just out of the blue try and bite you really hard .

Lonely That's great that your school are so good. I wish we had a school like that. It think that's how these exams are meant to be run, but I don't know that many schools actually do it that way.

I had a good-ish sort of morning. I went to Next to buy bootcut trousers, of the sort I've been wearing for the last 16 years and they've been discontinued. I tried men's jeans in M&S but they were too wide in the waist, but got lucky and found women's ones in M&S that might do. I just have to find out what happens when they've shrunk in the wash. That's always the great test of a pair of trousers.

Awww the sweetest thing just happened. Got my latest usborne order from the seller I always buy from (on Facebook via a friend). She'd sent an extra package with a card to the Caglets that said it was something to enjoy on our sofa (when we finally got a sofa last month I put a pic on fb). In it, a colouring book and a really lovely hardback book she knows I've been after for a while (one of their Illustrated Originals). HOW LOVELY is that 😍 Made my day!!! Such a thoughtful gesture :)

I have antibiotics btw, wasn't expecting them as doc agreed my chest is already getting clearer compared to yesterday (thank goodness) but he suggested I keep them to take if I do start getting worse. Hopefully won't need to but nice to have them just in case as I won't be able to access a doctor easily while we are away (kind of stuck at the holiday site really and if I do feel worse I certainly won't feel up to trekking around an unknown town).

Em that's fab about eating by yourself. It's a divisive one, DH hates it but frankly I take any opportunity I can get! I love it! :o

Frugal effort - I phoned Sky and reduced package down from £107 a month to £83 a month but DH won't have HD TV anymore when watching sports (hope he doesn't notice )

Love that YouTube video - brilliant

tayto which energy company do you go to?

allthebest it's Airtricity but I'm in Ireland so it's probably not relevant to you.

Survived the tax office. It only took 40 minutes of waiting in the queue for them to tell me they haven't even looked at my tax form yet, and that I don't need to do anything re maternity leave as my tax is based on last years earnings.

Spends today £47 on a navy blue shirt sleeved wrap dress. Maternity dress. Smart enough for work. Yay!

Then bumped into ddad and he took me out for lunch.

I enjoyed my solo breakfast. Not sure I could have done a proper meal like knife and fork job on my own. But maybe next time!

At home now just watching tv. Next on agenda is post office and then coop for stuff for dinner. Then to pick dh up.

Glad you have them as a standby Cag.

Sounds like you've had a good day em.

I didn't have any parking to pay today which was good but now I have to take the cat to the vets for boosters and flea stuff so that'll be £££££

I need and and . Arrrgh, what a day.

Just going back to read the thread

All Brilliant result there.
Cag They should knock it on the head.
em I'm booked into a resturant on my own when I go on my training course. Dh has as asked me to "tone it down a bit". I'm hardly Dolly Parton as it is.

£3 concealer
£5 sainsburys.

There's rumours of another 25% off event at tu at the end of the month. I want some black jeggings next time.

Really good day off. And tomorrow's a public holiday here to celebrate jersey being liberated from the nazis back in ww2. So...about 72 years ago.

Other spends: £27 in Waitrose on cake baking stuff (cupcakes with a Nutella filling and chocolate frosting with whites chocolate stars) a few veggies and sausages for tea. Am making pasta and sausage meatballs in tomato sauce.

And £28 in pet shop (felliway refil - catface has started acting up at night I think because we're trying to shut her out of the bedroom, jingky balls to play with and a new mousie.).

£5 skate park, £3 Beavers, £2.40 on cucumber and tomatos, £8.60 repeat prescription.

Tayto. I read yours as "fit bloke" & wondered if their employees had to be easy on the eye to home installations.

NSD here, hooray!

Us teachers hate the SATS too, they are not even helpful in setting at secondary school because some schools teach so much to the test that is artificially inflates the results. Unnecessary stress for very young children imo.

Snuggly I'm glad to hear that. I wish we could get shot of them at this election, but the council election results don't seem encouraging.

All teachers I know hate sats and primary school homework.

£80 at the vets which I thought was very reasonable. He has lost 200g which the vet was really pleased with