So when the UK sleeps, we know you other MNers are out there part II

[tadjennyp]

I was looking for thumbwitch's recipe for that cake and found the old thread has disappeared so Linzer and I thought we'd resurrect it!

maybe it's brick - I'm sure some of them aren't brick though - but still open to cold damage of the mortar then.

That's bad about the insurance refusing to pay out though.

aaah! thank you - i tried asking someone via fb, but another person just weighed in, completely ignoring the bit about 'in america' giving the kind of reply i;d give to an annoying teen who'd just talked all the way through a lesson then said 'what are we doing?' ie patronising.

so, my pipework should be ok for another 80 years or so?

I'm sure your plumbing is fine kickass. Like I say, some of the pipes here are failing but I live out in the suburbs and they are not more than 5 years old. Did you see the burst water pipe in Utah I think it was? Completely showered this bloke's house in subzero temperatures and made it look like an ice cave! Took him hours to melt enough ice to get back in again.

OMG!

i saw the start of 'extreme couponing' (yes, it's a real tv programme).

the woman on it has TWO rooms full of 'stock' she's bought from coupons. they have an extra $35,000 contents insurance to cover it. There is enough loo roll to last an average couple over 40 years!!!

I turned off. Once I'd seen how big her piles were, I lost interest!

I was only joking earlier when i mentioned toilet roll furniture - but she has an entire wall made of it - shaped around the windows as well.

That's not extreme couponing. That's hoarding.

i know - she buys and keeps things she never uses because some of the coupons mean that the shops give her money (which i don't understand why shops just say no to).

why not just ebay things for $1 & postage?

she said that looking at her stock gave her a sense of both excitement and satisfaction.

at which point i turned off.

I misunderstood 'once I saw how big her piles were' in relation to the toilet roll! I didn't think they'd show that sort of thing on American TV!

That's really not healthy.... I look at my hoards for stuff (except baby stuff) and get depressed! But I guess I'm not a bargain addict and some people are, so they really need that rush of 'saving' even when it's something they don't need.

sorry tad, couldn't resist the cheap pun - it was piles of hoarded crap. i mean, how much extra do they pay to insure that stuff (they insure BOG ROLL - wtf?) does it not undermine the savings?

i sometimes watch programmes like this just to make me feel normal & in control - it's my guilty pleasure.

Sometimes I wish we had cable TV, but then I remember what tosh is on most of it, most of the time! Now if I could just get the Comedy Channel, Syfy, BBC America, Nick Jr and HBO for a bit extra each month I would be happy!

'bravo' channel is my dirty secret!
real wives of ...
hoarders
wife swap etc etc.

every so often i allow myself to OD on it, then don't go near it again for several months (honest)

They insure their 40 year stockpile of loo roll?! What happens uf she spots another loo roll bargain? Do they get more?

This may prevent me from going to the gym...I have to know!

Yes, I watch that sometimes when I'm at the gym. Real housewives of anywhere is a total oxymoron, isn't it?! I mean, they keep the cosmetics industry afloat between them! Did you see the dinner party episode of the Beverly Hills one??? The mind boggles!

OMG, it is my total dirty secret, too. At least Beverly Hills. I have to watch every episode online 5-10 min. at a time when nobody else is in the room. I can't imagine what DH or anyone else I know would think.

On a different note, I was totally fascinated by the plumbing discussion. (Seriously) I find the most riveting threads on here are the ones where everyone says how cold it is in their house and they can see their breath. It's like competitive colding. It really makes me feel like an environment-destroying energy guzzling bad, bad person. I never feel more, um, American than when reading those.

liking the covert TV watching (it's like my MN habbit)

Night all, consider yourself marked

Everybody's house is kept warmer than mine. Seriously I feel too hot if the heating is more than 65F! So did Camille and Kyle ever make up?

jenny - is pregnancy your excuse or do you always feel the heat?
We're lucky and have a well insulated modern house - it's usually around 21 - 23 degrees and we only have the heating on for a short time in the morning, lunchtime and evening. I couldn't cope with living somewhere where I could see my breath indoors. That's what my parents house is like. Mind you my mum says they never get colds and it's all very healthy.

The piles/piles joke did make me laugh. I have never watched those Real Housewives programmes but someone told me that on one of them, one of the housewives had a surrogate to give birth for her because she didn't want to ruin her body?????

The ones I am fascinated by are the obeseity programmes. The ones where the people on it are 700 stone and need a winch to get them out of their homes. How do people GET like that?

Anyway both dd's have now started school/playgroup - no tears for either which is brilliant because they have almost always cried when I have left them somewhere new. With my 2.5 hours to myself I went out and spent a fortune on new clothes/boots/shoes....all for ME.

stranded - well done!! i still get pangs of guilt whenever i buy something for me, even the jeans at $15 a pair. atm i'm nerving myself to buy a new veg peeler - it feels like a 'treat' even for something as mundane as that.

tad - during the day our heating is set at 62F. I do find that if I'm sitting down for a while that is a bit cold, but when I was painting the house, or doing housework that was fine. however, dh likes it warmer in the evenings, & christmas (he was home for nearly 2 weeks) cost us an extra $100 in heating bills - eeek!!

I always feel like that. If the heating comes on while I am still in bed, I feel really groggy. Today is quite warm and I have been walking around in short sleeves. Finally the ice is melting off the roads!

I just spent a fortune on baby-related stuff, so don't feel guilty at all. I do feel bad about buying stuff for me and probably will do till I have a job again. Silly really.

Well. Despite having really heavy rain overnight, and it looking grey, drizzly and unpromising this morning, come 11am it suddenly warmed up and the sun came out, so the party we went to was a great success! I was overdressed though - a longish cotton layer skirt, bad plan in this muggy heat - am now home with the aircon on and in vest top and shorts. DS is refusing to put on more than his nappy. He'll get cold now.

I don't like it too hot, my CH in the UK was never much more than 19 or 20 deg at the most; but I really don't like it too bracing indoors, iykwim. It is here in the winter because we don't have central heating - so it can be colder indoors than outdoors in the winter

I love shopping on my own - I managed a few hours of it pre-Christmas, and then once in the sales, but don't often get the chance.

I know what you mean about feeling guilty shopping for yourself. I used money from my own account rather than our joint - at least it was money I earned, albeit a few years ago! Also, a lot of the stuff I bought was in the sales so not too bad.

Glad the party was great! I tend to shop on my own as it can be challenging with the dcs! I like to mosey around bric-a-brac shops, second-hand bookshops, stationery and old-fashioned pharmacies, none of which go with pre-schoolers! I have a few friends at home that can get me to part with money, but shopping with dh is just a disaster!

i used to suggest we go to a pub for lunch, encourage let dh have a pint. then i'd have a window of opportunity about an hour long, when he'd be all smiley & full of bonhomie, open to any suggestions, so I'd say 'let's get a new set of towels for the bathroom' or whatever.

After that he'd need his afternoon nap, so I'd take him (and the new towels) home. (yes, is said dH, not dd)

Hi Hope you dont mind me crashing your thread.

Im currently living in South America and 18 weeks pregnant. I was just having a skim through and im so pleased that someone else has the same guilty pleasure. The Real Housewives.....wow! I think Atlanta and Orange County were my favourite.

But I do have to say I am comepletely ashamed at the amount of amazing rubbish I watch on TV here! fabulous

Hi Sarice! Where in South America are you, if you don't mind me asking?

Kickass - - cunning plan there!