Bimbling along

Hi everyone first of all welcome to two new followers .. .. Mrs G and Thrift Delux .. :)

 We woke up to heavy rain again this morning, just for a change eh? it stopped about 8.00 so i quickly got dressed and we headed out for a walk, it was very wet out and very muddy, it ended up being a bit of a bimble of a walk as it started raining again and it was really cold..

We had a mooch around the bushes, in between the trees, i fed the birds, Deeds had a sniff about, we
slid about getting muddy..

 There were signs of spring bulbs popping up..

some wild mushrooms growing...

Dark clouds came over head so we trotted off home ...brr...

Come on Dee Dee Mummy is cold ...hmm refusing to move I see...haha

Back home, Deeds is all wrapped up in his bed with a hot water bottle after a soapy wash down, he was black again..haha..never mind, its nothing a wash doesn't sort..after all he does look forward to his walks..he's not moved yet..look at him..peebow..

Blimey I was freezing when we got back, big mug of tea, and hot porridge was very much enjoyed, a bit of a relax, now I need to nip out for a bit of shopping, and I've got a bag of bits for the charity shop that need dropping off...I  really cant be bothered this morning its still raining and a 15 minute walk into town, I might leave it a bit longer yet see if it fines up a bit before I go to work this afternoon..

Ive made another £15 on eBay so have added that to the January eBay account, it all adds up eh?there is  another couple of bids on a few things so that's really good for the account..

 I want to put a bit extra on the Farmfoods saving card today when I go out, i think i will add another £10 to it so there will be £17 on it now..

We added a bit more loose change to the savings Tin, I will count that up on Friday and then Start February's Tin..its looking full so that's good..as always I have added £10 to this weeks on-line savings we have £50 in that, so its all adding up nicely.. a great January already..

There's a pair of Sons pants that need stitching and a  new button on so if iv'e got some spare time that needs doing today too...

OH is cooking Tea tonight, Bangers, Mash and Beans, that'l do me fine..yummy comfort food :)

(pictures courtesy of Mr Google)

.......Eee im pooped ......
See you all later
AFM xx

  

Homemade Card Holder..and other Musings

Hi everyone...brr its blinking cold up North today, well it has been all weekend actually, same as many places i believe, windy, rain, thunder and hail, i thought we may wake up to some snow this morning , but no, just more rain and wind..

The hail was making such a racket i opened the back door to have a look and everything was covered...i went to grab my phone to snap a few pictures but the battery was dead!!when i finally managed to snap a picture most of it had melted but there was still some around because it was so cold...Diesel Dog hid behind the sofa in the back room when i opened the door i think he thought i was going to make him go out lol..

We got invited to the In-Laws for Sunday Dinner so that was  nice, no cooking for me :) lovely roasted food and apple pie and custard for afters yummy .. we sat and chatted away and watched a movie on tv, a bit of Maths homework was finished and then we headed home for a relaxing evening...

OH did a workout and had a soak in the bath, i attempted to sort the dresser of doom out hahaha every time you open the doors some material falls out or my buttons tin escapes lol... i gave up and decided i will do it in the week when no-one is around to interrupt!

I bobbed in Tesco on Saturday as we needed a few basic bits and i spotted this jute bag with the Tunocks print on and then LOVE on the other side, these were £4.00 reduced to £1.50 so i got one to put away to go with my mums Mothers day bits, these bags are really useful and she likes to use them when shopping, plus they are her favourite chocky treat :)

 

I was a bit bored the other day so i was tidying around the house and opened the drawer where i keep my savings cards and thought i really need a basic holder to keep them all in, i had a little think about it and i remembered that i had an old leather spectacles case that i didn't use, so i found it out ...

Got some of my cards out to measure how deep i needed it to be ...

It was a perfect width ...

I marked it with a pencil and then cut along with my dressmaking scissors ... i cut the top part off too so i could trace the dipped part..

I cut out the dipped part ...

I then added my cards .. hey presto a neat little card holder that cost me nothing ..tadaaa..

i quiet like it.. i dabbed a little glue where i cut across the stitching to keep everything held together..it holds 6 cards with maybe a little room for another if needed..im really pleased with it..

Off to the post this morning with some eBay bits i sold then i was off to do a full day at work .. my boss is off today so i am sneakily  blogging from my desk haha..

Home for Dinner in a bit so i will put the slow cooker on with a Quorn casserole for Tea, ive got some veggies prepared in the freezer so i just need to bung it all in and switch it on, ive a packet of vege suet for dumplings from Approved Foods so will make that up too...that's it for now my friends..its A No Spend Day today too as i already had the stamps for the post..

Happy Monday

AFM xx

Topping Them Up and a No Spend Day

Hi everyone ...

What brand of shampoo and conditioner do you use? how much do you spend ?

 

 

 

I buy Tesco Brand shampoo and conditioner 300ml each for 75p each,

Loreal is 250ml for £2.89 and Pantene 360ml is £3.69

 

I cant understand how people could pay that price to wash and condition their hair, I know some pay more certain brands are nearer to £5 each - crazy.

 

We have been using Tesco brand for a couple of years and I find it works very well, in smell and results are very similar to the Pantene ones, I will continue to use Tesco version as long as they still sell it, sometimes its on offer any 4 for 3 so £2.25 for 4 products works out at 56p each, great value, so next time its on offer I will get a few extra...there is the choice of For Normal Hair or Dry/Damaged Hair too which is great.

 

A couple of years ago I purchased some pump action shower dispensers for 50p each, I squeeze the shampoo and conditioner into one each and its really surprising how little you use when you use these, its so easy to squidge a handful out of a bottle when you don't need it, it stops kids emptying half a bottle on their head too hahaha I find that a bottle each when put into the dispensers last us about 3 weeks, and I wash my hair every day ..fab!! .. another advantage to these pumps are you can actually see what you have got as the dispensers are see through..so you don't un-necessary buy more when you can see what you've got !!

 

I know there is the value ranges out there that are cheaper and you get so much more for the money, but I find they dry my hair out terribly so I don't mind paying 75p each..however if we had a house full of kiddies I think it would be fine to clean their hair with the value brands, Tesco Value 1 ltr shampoo for 40p is a massive bargain...

 

 

 

 I have tried the Alberto Balsam ranges, 400ml for 75p, fab value, they smell really nice but again dry my hair out, so I stick to the Tesco ones...these ones come in several smelly fragrances too ..

 

 

Hope that wasn't too boring for you all ??

 

Just what I use, and if that helps someone wanting to try it then great, it saves me money so I get to put more into our savings over the year.. all these little things make it able for me to save save save.

 

Its a No Spend Day today here..fantastic..

 

Happy Friday Everyone

AFM xx

 

A Spend Day

Morning Bloggers..

Well I went to put the kettle on as usual this morning and it blew up !! so I had to boil a pan of water on the gas stove, which I am not happy about it took 7 minutes to boil so I could make a pot of tea for two and one coffee... our kettle used to boil in about a minute, I dread to think what gas you would use if that was how you boiled your water every time you fancied a brew!!

 

Heck, needless to say OH will be picking up a new one on the way home from work this evening, as I cant afford to be boiling water with gas. Argos have some basic style ones for about £9 so that will do us, our old one was a Tefal Red one, very nice but the pre 2013 years we would spend what we wanted on bits for the house, well not any more so a cheaper basic one will boil water just as good and we will have some spare money left.

 

 I need to pull the fridge out because the socket is behind the unit for the kettle to plug into, I will probably need to take the plug off the new kettle to feed the wire behind too...oh blooming heck what a faff ...

 

Well its raining again, just for a change up North, it woke me up bouncing off the windows at 5am this morning, I couldn't get back off after that so I've had a lazy morning so far, I need to pull my finger out and get some bits done.

 

When im stressed or worried hence last nights post I bake or go into a cleaning frenzy, I've wanted to make banana muffins for a while, I had saved some bananas and freezed them so I took some out last night and found a recipe online, reviews were great, I had all the ingredients, so off I went and made a batch...flaming eck they were awful, took an age to cook, and believe me I can bake, so I couldn't understand why everyone's reviews were great, lovely fluffy tasty muffins ??? mine wouldn't cook, still soggy in the middle baked for nearly an hour?? well I don't know what went wrong, so the birds will be having a treat when we go for a walk later..i was really looking forward to them too..oh well..im just annoyed that I've wasted precious ingredients..

 

I've scoured the cupboards and freezer so see what I could prepare for tea tonight, looks like it will be shepherds pie, I was going to make a lasagne but we don't have any tomatoes in the house so that's that, I've got plenty of potatoes, onions, plenty of Quorn mince, some reduced yellow stickered sprouts and a bag of yellow stickered runner beans, so that's tea sorted.. ive got a packet of Angel Delight in the cupboard from Approved Foods so will whip that up for afters...

 

Right I've got a few bits I need to sort for the post that I've sold on Ebay grand total this month for ebay is £12.65

That's it for today my friends
AFM xx

 

 

 

 

 

Gutted

This evening we invited someone into our home, our lovely warm home.

 

We spent 'our' time with them, I cooked a meal, provided drinks and desert for them, for me to end up feeling totally gutted 3 hours later to find out that said person was caught red handed by the OH attempting to steal from us earlier in the evening...I feel dreadful I truly do...I don't even know what to say but felt like I needed to put this down in writing...........my mind wont switch off now, whirling round with what ifs and scenarios..............

 

AFM x

No Spend Day

Evening bloggers, just a quick post tonight..
what a rainy evening its been, brr cold dark and wet...
 

Ive had a no spend day today, so that's good..we had homemade Quorn Korma Curry for tea tonight, ive used the last of the rice and pitta's from the freezer to go with it, and then we all came up to do our own things..

OH was weight training, Son was doing his homework etc etc..i turned the heating off and got in bed and have been watching SuperScrimpers on 4oD on the laptop..love that programme, still amazes me what people will waste and how they can't save money..dearie me

 

Catch you all tomorrow

AFM xx

 

Morning Light

 

I am determined to reduce our household utilities, when the alarm goes off at 7am it is very dark and cold in our house, one bedside lamp goes on and while OH is in the shower or having a wash I put a pair of joggers and a fleece over my pyjamas, dressing gown over the top to keep me warm, then I wake my son up put his lamp on, then I will go down stairs in the dark, and I put one lamp on in the back room..

 

  

And a few fairy lights go on in the kitchen,

 

 

It just lights up the corner of the room, I then go round and open up the blinds ready for 8.20 when we have enough natural daylight to turn them off. Make the teas and coffee flick the heating on low and then our morning routines will begin..it would be so easy to flick every light on throughout the house in the mornings and to put the heating on full blast..but when trying so save money we simply cannot afford too.

 

 

Our kitchen is an extension into the back yard and has a concrete floor and gets very cold so slippers and thick socks are a must at any time of the day but in the morning its freezing cold.. the OH and Son have left for work and school, the lights are off and I now get to have my breakfast, todays choice is porridge and a large tea (pint size) I have worked out that a small glass of porridge oats and a larger glass of milk measure out great for my porridge, bung them into a bowl and into the microwave for 4.5 mins and hey presto its ready, more energy efficient than cooking for 15 mins on the gas stove with a pan to then wash up. A large tea will fill me up for the morning and saves boiling the kettle twice for two mugs of tea...

 

Can you see a round mirror peeping up and a  fuzzy thing in the photo above?  haha I will have to reveal what that is another time there are three of them ..!! unless you can guess?

 

 

Just popped upstairs and look who is making himself comfy on my bed? .. excuse me Mr Diesel Dog

 

He says im not bothered Mummy, and then refuses to look at me.. haha..

 

 

Look at his tucked in legs awww :)

 

We have workmen digging u the road outside our house, so noisy, it unsettles poor old Deeds and he starts barking and running around the house.. I best get ready and take him out for his muddy walk, its bin day too so I need to sort that out..it seems bright but looks cold up North today so ibetter wrap up warm..

 

Due to all the bad weather that has been battling the UK I saw on Facebook last night that in Lake on The Isle Of Wight (where my parents still live) they have had another landslide on the cliff path, we were only walking on it at xmas..I forget now that I live up North that these things still effect the Islanders, any increase in wind or rain and the boats have to stop running, cutting all connections to and from the mainland, the roads flood very easily and in many areas there is only one road to get you where you are going, so if its flooded it tough your not going anywhere.. and the many landslides that happen..when I was a child in places the cliff path that you see in the photo's below was a football pitch away from the edge of the cliff drop, now its only a couple of meters away...the Island is shrinking fast...seems funny to me now, but its just normal life there...

 

 

Life goes on eh? thank goodness no one was hurt.

Happy Tuesday Everyone

 

AFM xx

 

P.S I wonder if Mr Herron is about today-fingers crossed we see him :)

Feeling Happier

Afternoon bloggers..

 

So I went to Barclays this morning got the online banking issue sorted out, and have had a play around with that this morning, very happy with it, easy to use and I can now see exactly what's in there and what's coming out, happy so say that the rent had already come out and what I saw on the screen is what we had left, so knowing that I bought two lots of smart price yoghurts from Asda  66p for 8, and topped up the saving card to £10, I also added £10 into the weekly online savings, and bought two lots of toothpaste for £1.98, I found 56p in my coat pocket so have just popped that in the tin, and that's it now im not touching any more money in any account until next week..im feeling much happier now..

 

I know I am supposed to wait until the last day on January to count the tin money but it was looking good so thought I would count it up so far...grand total of £39.34 so far saved, really happy with that, I will keep adding when I have change left over in the next 11 days.

I had a till receipt that I kept on forgetting about for Boots, so I bobbed in to add the points onto my card, its up to £7.38 to spend in store so I shall hang onto that encase I see something to put in the Christmas bottom drawer.. :) I don't really use Boots, only for printing our digital photos off so that's how I get so save the points..its far to expensive for everything else!!

 

When we nipped in Tesco at the weekend I needed to get some toothpaste as ive been using up every little squeeze in the tubes that have been put back into the landing cupboard!!! why do we do that ? anyway so I had a look, and didn't buy any, Colgate Total was £2.99 a tube heck what a price to pay.. I looked down town as I know our local 99p shop do Colgate, yep I came away with the exact same toothpaste I saw in Tesco for £2.99 a tube and I paid £1.98 for two packs..great..that will last us a good while yet...and a good few pennies left in the pocket :)

 

 

Its been a bright and sunny day so far this morning, off to work soon so Mr Deeds didn't get his walk today, I shall have to make up for it tomorrow with a extra long muddy one..hehe..he likes those the best, mummy doesn't though!! I hope everyone is having a great Monday.Right-e-oh im off to grab a coffee before work.

 

Tata for now

AFM xx

 

 

Worried..

Firstly welcome to a new follower Sara @ A Frugal Wife :)

Hi bloggers, I thought I had been doing really well over the last couple of weeks, didn't draw out of any of the bank accounts, only spent a few pounds here and there on shopping. So when checking my account on Saturday I was really shocked and worried to see that there only seems to be enough to cover the rent that is due on the 22nd..im baffled, I am going down to Barclays in the morning to double check, and I can use the machine inside that checks all transactions that have come out or are due out...sigh... there is always a constant money worry niggle isn't there? im hoping that for some reason my wage hasn't gone in or cleared, but ive not had that problem before..we will see.

We needed some grocery shopping and some bits from town yesterday, I made a list in the week but as usual there always seems to be more. At least we had OH account to pay for the shopping bits, £7.35 in Farmfoods, £19 in Aldi including a very naughty treat, although reduced I really needed cheering up and a small but delicious cheesecake came home!!! I made a homemade curry, with rice and naan bread, it was delicious, I still had a bottle of wine left over from Christmas that was a gift from my boss, so a couple of glasses were enjoyed.

Back to reality this morning though with the rent and general living account, I tried to register for online banking so I can keep a beady eye on things but it keeps saying that my surname is in the wrong format .. cripes what next! .. so I will sort that while in the bank tomorrow too as I'm not paying the telephone charge to call and tell them I have an error 90!!

On the bright side I made £9.50 on ebay over the weekend so that's good,

Feeling defeated, but I will pick myself back up..i managed to find some loose change and 5p on a shop floor so that went in the tin..it all adds up eh?

 

See you soon

AFM xx

 

Google+

What on earth is it ? ive been trying to figure it all out for a while? can anyone shed some light on it? is it  a way of people following your blog? hmm confused!!

AFM xx

Easter Chicks

Cluck Cluck ..

My Mother In Law is making these cuties and selling them on ebay Awww I hope we get a couple each for Easter, Cream Eggs fit underneath them ..yummy.. see I told you I like sweet things !!

 

 

Look at all the different hair styles haha

 

 

Ooh Miss PomPom I do like your hair :)

 

 

Hey Mr Cool Dude I Lurve your Quiff :)

 

 

Whats that? Yes I Love That Afro Mannn

 

HaHa it all fun eh? 

 

AFM xx

 

 

 

Feeling Lazy

Firstly welcome to a new follower lah2563

 

 I need to stop snacking on goodies, yes I am a snacker and I love cakes, biscuits, deserts all things like that..my OH doesn't really eat things like that so if it gets bought or made then its mainly me that eats it so I need to watch what im eating a bit more..so far this morning Ive only had healthy porridge, and it was very nice on this wet and grey day, I think I will have Heinz Tomato Soup from Approved Foods (33p) and a couple of slices of homemade bread for dinner.

 

I had a no spend day yesterday and I have no intentions of spending again today, we have a store cupboard full, a freezer full, and the fridge is just about hanging on, but I shall find things to make for dinner and teas. I will need a few bits at the weekend but I wont be spending much, we only need fresh milk, tea bags, fruit, some cereal and eggs so that wont come to much. I've got 7 potatoes left so I will make them last another week before I buy a sack again.  I will have a look in Tesco at about 3.50pm as there is usually yellow stickered bits reduced a bit more than usual, however they have been rubbish lately.. I shall look.

 

For tea last night I took out of the freezer some Quorn Mince and Onion that I had prepared for a Shepherds Pie, but I defrosted it, made a quick Short crust Pastry in the blender, 4oz of plain flour, 2 oz of butter dash of salt, and cold water, bring it together and it makes just enough for a pastry top, so we had that with half a cabbage from Aldi 39p range, and a bit of lurking mixed veg that needed using up, couple of roasties each, everyone said how nice it was, which was nice, clear plates all round :) I love mince and apple sauce on any roast dinner, I even love it just on a plate of vegetables ... yummy ...

 

Not sure if im going out for a walk with Deeds this Morning, its bad and lazy I know but I just cant be bothered, I didn't have a very good night sleep again last night, turning all night!! the night before I had bad dreams all night and woke myself up crying twice, when I went to the bathroom in the morning I looked a right state, puffy eyes, mascara runs and I had scratched my face and had blood on it !! Blinking Nora what a mess..Eee I don't know. I may take him on a pavement walk on the lead as the trouble with taking a near white Miniature Jack Russell out in this weather is you have to shower him every time as he gets literally black..he looked like he was wearing black trousers yesterday LOL..

 

Anyway sorry for waffling on - bits to do in the house so see you all later

AFM xx

Muddy !!

 What a Muddy walk we had this morning, brr its was still cold at 9am the sky looked full of something but we stayed dry and no snow fell..

 

 

 

Just as we came off the path and onto the mud track on my left a huge Herron came out the bushes, I couldn't believe my eyes, I have seen him before, in the summer months stood in the river... 

 

 

I tried to snap a quick picture of him but a walkers dog frightened him off, I was really annoyed, the woman didn't even say anything, scared the poor Herron off anyway..

 

 

He landed in a tree high up observing the ground below, I waited and waited but he didn't come back down, no matter how much bread I was cooing him with ..

 

 

Maybe I will see him tomorrow? he was really big, I think he would have came right up to me if that woman wasn't there with her Retriever.. Just look at my muddy wellies lol ..

 

 

I ended up with a very muddy DeeDee too when we got home, he looks quiet clean here :)

 

AFM xx

 

 

Another No Spend Day - & some Fresh Bread

Well today has been another No Spend Day so im pleased with that although I have realised I have only got 13 tea bags left till Sunday so I will have to use them wisely and have a few extra cups of coffee instead.

 

I used up the last of the bread for tonight's tea, it was an easy one Savers Beans and Mushrooms on Toast with a sprinkle of the Christmas Cheese .. simple cheap and tasty :) we had another piece of the Flapjack to finish off for afters .. Yum

 

 

 Sorry about the picture quality im having to use my phone at the moment as I cant find the camera charger lol I guess it will turn up somewhere odd haha

 

 

Fresh bread straight out of the bread machine smells lovely :) I use a basic recipe that works for me, I have tried a few suggested recipes but have failed each time so I stick to my own now.. it goes against the grain really but its how I do it and it works great every time

 

For a 1.5lb Loaf I use -

 

3 cups strong bread flour 

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 sachet of dried yeast

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

 

I add the yeast, warm water and 2 tablespoons of sugar to the dough pan and leave for 10 minutes or so to bubble and rise, then I will add my flour, sometimes its all Strong White and other times its 1 of Strong Wholemeal to 2 Strong White, then add the salt to one corner and then the olive oil to the other, switch it on, choose 1.5lb loaf, medium crust, basic programme press the button ..hey presto 3 hours later its ready :) When I first got my machine I found it all very daunting but when I found this recipe to work for me it literally takes minutes to prepare..happy days..

 

Fingers crossed its a little dryer out tomorrow I don't fancy getting soaked while out with Deeds..

Just encase you are wondering our Jack Russell (son no2) is called Diesel, but answers to DeeDee Deeds, PunPun and Puppy Boy ..!! haha

AFM xx

A wet Morning again and a bargain

Eee what a morning again, its wet up North, im supposed to be taking our DeeDee out for a walk but its so dark and wet I may wait a while. Just had breakfast and checked a site I go on regularly for deals, Tesco have there Light Choice Baked Beans on offer as they are being discontinued, so 4 tins are 72p 18p each that's cheaper than the value range, I am very temped to stock up but I wanted another no spend day today!!! we will see, I do have two tins in but one will get used tonight as we always have an easy tea on a Wednesday. Hmm could do with some of those beans toot toot

I used up the Vege Chicken Granose that was left over,i mashed it up added some of the Christmas Cheese, a bit of chopped onion, and a splash of milk, made them into rounds gave them a flour and lightly fried them, I made 7 out of what was left, one got taste tested yummy, tasted a little like Quorn Sausages!! the other 6 will get used for OH lunches this week with some Brown Rice...

We had some salad that needed using so OH got a salad bowl too today :)

 

Catch you later

AFM xx

Faffing around...and 1 no spend day

Just saw that Quorn Mince is on offer at Tesco .. £1.50 for 500g.. offer on until 03.02.14

I had some free time this afternoon at work and found myself faffing about...cut some letters out of old magazines and hey presto ... A Frugal Mrs ... He he back later with this evenings dinner.

 

::::::EDITED::::::

Well tonight's tea was homemade Spaghetti Bolognese with Savers Pitta bread and Flap Jacks for desert courtesy of my son.. I used up an onion, half a bag of quorn mince, tin of savers tomatoes a cheap packet Bolognese Sauce mix two garlic cloves and a couple of mushrooms to bulk it out..We had savers spaghetti and it was very good, filling and cheap..

Today has been a no spend day so that's good, im hoping that the rest of the week will be too. Fingers crossed going to try and get some bits listed on Ebay and Facebook tonight every little helps eh?

Welcome to my first ever follower Donna :)

AFM xx