False Economy, Dieting Tips and The Cats

Lunchtime today I popped out to grab some lunch as I forgot to pick up the ham from home this morning.

Around the corner from work is a Pound Stretcher and I can quite happily buy some lunch from there if I am not a snob about what I eat!

Sweet and Sour Supernoondles – 49p. Bottle of Pepsi – 55P, and a multipack of Skips 8 packs for 95p. The cunning plan: to have a pack a day for a week and a half.

By 4.30pm 4 bags had disappeared down this thrifty girl’s throat.

So it appears, I have a lesson to learn. Buy one pack and eat one pack. Buy 8 packs and devour the lot as soon and as furtively as possible.

Oh dear!

As so many celebrities get on the dieting band wagon with summer approaching, I am happy to share my tips on achieving a beach ready body.

·        Food consumed in secret, contains no calories

·        Food consumed in a different postcode / county to home also contains no calories

·        Food consumed around one’s birthday is “free” food

·        Chips, bread, desert “shared” from another’s also will not contribute to weight gain.

·        If one must attend a diet club, then ALWAYS ensure that the first weigh in is done in coat and shoes. Therefore you always have an emergency exit for meetings post emptying the biscuit barrel.

·        Adding a side salad to any food classes it as diet and will allow you to loose weight. E.g. Lasagne and salad, fried chicken and salad etc

·        Celery is not a snack, raw carrot is not a snack. A snack consists of carbs, oil and fat.

However, I have just discovered that we will be crossing over our holiday with another couple as we are staying in TC's parent's holiday home in Spain. A casual conversation yesterday evening went as follows.

ME “Are we crossing over with this couple at the beginning or end of our holiday?

TC “The beginning of ours, the end of theirs”

ME “Lovely, it will be nice to see them! Um so what does the girl look like?”

TC “Oh she is a pretty wee thing, and friendly”

ME ”Oh, good. When you say wee, what sort of size is she?”

TC “I don’t know… about an 8?”

Bugger! I am a solid 12 / 14.

Just to clarify, I am not concerned about the holiday cross over. I am concerned about the fact I will turn up with my slightly yellow British skin to be greeted by slender bronzed lovely. I may have to give up the kit kat chunkys guys…:o(

Had the pussy cats spayed yesterday and they came home feeling very sorry for themselves. Poor little mites.

Ever one to bring comfort and succour to our pets. I sat on the rug yesterday evening hand feeding them, rubbing upturned chins, scratching heads and stroking backs. Also whispering into an accusing ear that I had not taken them and if it was up to me they would never have gone. Everything was The Chap’s fault. Well, I don’t want them to hate me!!

Going forward we have to take them back in a week to check the scar, we also have to clean Belle’s teeth twice a day for a week as she has some gingivitus (sp?), and clean Twinkle’s ears once a day as she has ear mites again. This could be fun, as we all know how much Belle likes to be pinned down. *Sigh*, fingers are over rated anyway!

Frugally yours

Abigail

x

The Cat’s got PMS.

Hello and Welcome to my new follower Tasmanian Minimalist, thanks so much for visiting. x

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I have never owned a cat before and I am not a vet, so this is just my humble opinion.

As we have not had the cats spade yet, I suspect they might be coming into their first season.

We will get them done, but as at the moment they are indoor cats then we are not worried about teenage pregnancy just yet.

Twinkle seems to have changed personality in the last few days and become much more affectionate. She miaows at me all the time and last night even came up to me and asked for food, the first time either cat has ever done that, so I did put an extra pouch down for them both.

She then came and jumped on my lap and just sat there talking to me for ages and wanting to be stroked and generally fussed. I was nudged whenever I stopped the scratching.

I know that feeling.

So I started having a conversation with my cat (Gosh, one of these days they are going to cart me off to the funny farm)

TWINKLE: “Miaow”

ME: My poor little baby, are you feeling poorly? Oh sweetie pie I am sorry. Do you feel sad? Have you got a tummyache?

TWINKLE: “Miaow!”

ME; Oh dear dear dear! What are we going to do with you hmm? I don’t mind if you want a good cry. Is someone being mean to you Twinkle? Would some chocolate help? Shall I get you a hot water bottle little one?

TWINKLE: “Miaow”

I then happened to look up, and see The Chap at the other end of the sofa watching the pair of us bemused. I explained

ME: “I think she has PMS”

He looked faintly horrified and quickly resumed killing alien super villians on the xbox.

Bet he wishes he hadn’t got 2 female cats and a girlfriend living with him now doesn’t he?

:o)

Frugally yours

Abigail

X

P.S. Don’t start writing in, of course I did not give the cat chocolate or a hot water bottle.

The Cats

Our little girls are growing up. We currently have two furry teenagers that dart and roll about Southfork with all the exuberance of an Olympian.

They can now jump from standing still to kitchen work top height without batting a whisker (however much we scream and moan at them for doing so)

They can also eat us out of house and home.

They ignore us when we call, have failed to learn their names and refuse to sleep at night anywhere but on your knees, ankles or tummy.

They are also voyeurs, and will sit perfectly still whilst watching you in the shower. (photo shortly)

But my goodness when they are tired they are so loving, they are super cute.

One thing is for certain, they adore each other more than us!

Frugally yours

Abigail

x

Me and My Big Mouth

Imagine if you please, that the sun has set after a long day at work and you are resting on the sofa with your loved one, after a sausage and potato dinner lovingly prepared by your own hand.

The fire is on, and your pair of grey kittens are curled up in their respective baskets basking in the heat.

Your own feet are tucked up beneath you and your almost-but-not quite-perfect boyfriend is content as he has control of the remote and circa 85% of the sofa.

This is a quiet domestic scene, replicated across many households in the UK in the last few days. The weather outside is wintry, but baby it is warm in here.

On such occasions, my advice is to inhale deeply and enjoy the calm of the Monday evening,

My advice is not to say, “TC, have you checked the cats ears recently as Twinkle seems to be shaking her head a lot recently.?”

TC walks crab like across the carpet in a nonchalant manner, almost whistling and keeping his gaze firmly fixed at a distant point on the wall. He then drops to his knees like a ninja capturing a Star Wars Stormtrooper.

Face lit with pleasure, he turns to look at me, satisfied to his core. Twinkle is caught in his sturdy fingers.

Simultaneously, as Twinkle is captured, Belle did a perfect impression of a Red Bull drinker, grew wings and reverse bungee jumped a good 5ft before hot tailing it behind the sofa and squawking her displeasure.

The confined feline, of course is also joining in the verbal cacophony with pathetic mews (she really is such a coward) convinced we are about to develop a new line in kitten mittens.

Sh*t… guess who now has to look in her ears? I run upstairs and grab some cotton wool pads run them under the warm water tap and also locate the cat’s ear drop bottle.

Poor little thing they are not good and one is worse. We spent the next few minutes trying to get 2 drops of thick yellow substance into the ear, and not onto TC’s hands, my clothes and the rug. A near impossible task one would think, but I have found, swearing and sweating really helps.

Funnily enough the actual rubbing of the drops promotes purring. Silly little thing.

20 minutes later both ears have been cleaned of the worst, they were thick with wax.

Now for Belle.

If Belle was a soldier she would be in the special forces and have her own personal motto “Never give up, never surrender!”

It took the two of us to catch her, and the unfortunate demise of a rather nice mug, as one of the three of us knocked it over in our own special game of Evening Tag.

Luckily they were not too bad, and really we got off lightly once we had bandaged up TC and assured the neighbours they were not living next door a group of Satanists undertaking Animal Sacrifice.

The good news, we have to do it all again tonight.

The bad news, it obviously did not work as Twinkle and Belle must now have hearing problems as neither appeared this morning to say hello and when I called them both, all I caught sight of was the end of a tail disappearing around the spare bedroom door and underneath the bed.

Damn me and my bright ideas.

Frugally yours

Abigail

x

Bag A Freebie

I get so excited about a voucher.

I mean spine tingling, pupil dilating excited! I can shop for free! If you are a chap, it is the equivalent of getting a ticket to a sporting final.

So imagine my delight when I checked my O2 priority moments App this morning.

O2 are celebrating their Anniversary, so are giving Priority Moment customers a voucher for £10.00 for either Argos or Debenhams.

Now there are some Terms and Conditions, so watch out! You  cannot use it on sale goods etc.

Off I toddled at lunchtime today, as Argos is about 100 yards from office.

A flick through the Argos catalogue and I spied a cat bed in their value range.

At £8.99, it fitted into my budget, of paying.... well nothing!

It is quite small, but as Twinkle and Belle are still pretty little it will fit one, plus they like to roll into a ball to sleep.

With a little bit of luck, it might stop them from sleeping on my Calvin Klein coat (that is where I found one this morning!)

Priority Moments do have quite a good few deals on when I checked today
1- Halford are offering a free de-icer and car scraper
2- 45% off Odeon cinema ticket
3 - Free regular sized drink at Cafe Nero
4 - £20 off a £40 spend at The Body Shop (not sale goods)
5 - Free weightwatchers book at WH Smiths

I still have this headache and now my left ear is making a sound like crackling or a log burning. It is most disconcerting! Paracetamol / aspirin and Ibuprofen are just not touching it. I even tried a decongestant, and no luck. Sorry to moan, but at my wits end!

Frugally yours
Abigail
x

Mission Statement 2013

It has been so lovely to read all the comments, I have tried to spend as much time as possible looking at them and responding to everyone.

What I loved was looking up areas I had never heard of Comox, Kirkville, Gardiner etc. They all sound brilliant!

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond.

If I win the lottery can I visit each and everyone of you and take you out to dinner??

So 12 months down and all change after the move.

I am nearly done with the flat, and after a deep clean this weekend. I will be out of the flat and ready to start tackling Southfork.

So perhaps as it is January, now is a good time to think about what needs to be achieved in the next 12 months. What do I want to do?

I need a mission statement

"Keeping It Simply Thrifty will endeavour over the next 12 months to reduce debt to £0.00, increase savings and whenever possible seek out cheaper alternatives to branded goods whilst ensuring that items purchased are done so to ensure longevity of use or (as frugal girl puts it) heirloom quality."

Yes there is a lot more to say. But lists get lost. I wanted 3 or 4 lines, which can be printed on a piece of paper and kept in a wallet or in a pocket.

I know my flaws, I want everything now and I need to be constantly reminded of what needs to happen to reach my goals.

My plan is to print these few lines out and put them in my purse as a daily reminder for the next 12 months of what I want ultimately.

As a quick aside I started the £5 challenge again. To live on £5 from Monday – Friday. So far £3 spent on a value pack of knik knaks for TC, Some cheese biscuits and 3 cans of pop all from Poundland.

One commentator yesterday said how much she liked seeing the cat pictures. So here is Twinkle getting fussed by The Chap.

Frugally yours
Abigail
x

The Pussy Cats.x

Twinkle and Belle (or Bella depending on who calls her) have really been growing and finding their feet since joining us a few weeks ago.



Twinkle (L) and Belle (R)



I tell them they are beautiful every day and The Chap picks one up, gives it a rub and chortles "Hello, Fatty!"

For someone who would rarely have touched a cat a few months ago after a nasty incident as a toddler, I am now Cat obsessed. It is a bit sickening really.

Whilst the idea of having two sisters from kittens has worked out really well, as both The Chap and I work long hours, the downside is they can be self sufficient and tend to leg it away from us when we enter a room. Unless of course we enter the kitchen in which case that automatically translates as

"FOOD, CHARGE !!"

The Chap has invented a new game "Cat Fishing" when you grab a bag of pussy cat treats and chuck a few in their general direction watching them skid around in pursuit, before bringing them closer and closer to us through judicious throwing of the treats.

However as the evening wears on and the "girls" get tired, they creep closer and closer until one settles on your lap. Belle cannot get enough of general paw rubbbing in the "round and round the garden" style whilst Twinkle likes to lie on the sofa at neck height occassonally tapping your neck or shoulder with a little paw.

Really very very cute.

However, I will sound one note of caution... Be very careful when your other half utters the immortal line

"I have found the ultimate scratching post!"

Sigh..

Frugally yours

Abigail

x

Tying Up the Loose Ends

It occurred to me this morning whilst eating a chocolate covered cupcake (courtesy of work colleague) that I mention a lot of subjects then never really clarify the result.

So today I will.

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Firstly, after an un-named supermarket recently tried to incapacitate me with a nasty bout of food poisoning on Saturday night after consuming a boxed take away Chinese, I went in on Monday and complained again after my phone call on Sunday.

I am really not a person who can stomp in shouting and ranting, as I tend to think that the Customer Service Person did not cook the dinner so are not ultimately responsible. I was firm and polite. I stated I was not happy, I realised it was not this lady's fault, but The Chap and I has been very ill and I wanted someone to take me seriously. I then produced the packaging, and receipt.

I immediately got my money returned and together we filled in an E122131622i/driggg/lly884dhtt>.Doc form (well you get the idea). I am not expecting to hear anything back, from said supermarket, but I live in optimistic hope.

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My Tesco vouchers are creeping up nicely to purchase the Alessi cutlery.

Whilst I do pop into other supermarkets, I always get my petrol from Tesco and that plus a huge cry out to friends using Facebook (who then asked their friends), Freegle and even the cashless exchange means I can now have 12 of everything and indeed I already have purchase 10 boxes of the main cutlery and Mom has bought me 5 boxes of the starter sets as a Christmas present. So well on my way.

A huge shout out to Karen at Use It Up, Wear It Out who very kindly sent me some she had received after my blog. I love to read every comment peeps write in response to my posts, but I especially felt touched a stranger to me had gone to so much trouble. In general, aren't people kind?

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The kittens are settling in well and generally look happy.

Of course they run from me when I enter a room, like I am covered in snarling Rottweiler's. However, I find a little bit of ignoring of them and within 30minutes -1hour, they are fast asleep on myr lap.

This is Bella (we changed her name a little from Belle), she is normally very shy. But on Friday night, she plonked herself down on my lap and stayed there for ages fast asleep with the occasional twitching... dreaming of catching mice perhaps? So very cute!
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The garage door saga stretches on, I have a man coming tonight to try alternative springs on it this evening. If not, no choice but to buy a new one.

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And finally, having another couple look round the flat tomorrow morning.

...Oh Lord what if they want it???

..Oh Lord, what if they don't???

Arrrghh!

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Frugally yours

Abigail

x

Food Waste Fr... Erm Actually No It Is Not

Well normally on a Friday I would blog about the food I need to throw away. But nothing to report today.
So here are some photos instead.

The kittens are just getting so sweet and really finding their confidence. Twinkle the slightly browner coloured one is very precocious, climbing up your leg and prancing on any random feet which may be close.

Belle, is a lot quieter, and more nervy around The Chap and I, but every now and again she clambers onto a lap, or arm or shoulder and drifts off to sleep purring whilst being stroked. I feel very honoured every time she does that to me.

And finally...
I got given a £3 voucher a while ago for the needlecraft centre at Trentham Gardens. Not much you can buy nowadays for £3 so the plan was to buy some cotton, until I saw this.

I added 39p and bought it and am loving learning french knitting again (30 years since I last had a go) I now have well over a metre and not a clue what to do with it. Any ideas?

Frugally yours
Abigail
x

Some New Additions...x

Afternoon.

Hope you had a good weekend, up to much?

I had dinner out courtesy of the inlaws on Saturday and really spent nothing during the course of the weekend (except petrol which does not count)

Result!

But The Chap did get something...

Actually, he got 2..

Don't you just love them?

The Chap and I have been looking for two female Whiskers kittens for nearly a year, and finally last week he saw two. We were then able to pick them up on Sunday.

Both The Chap and I have had pets in the past and felt we wanted them again.

It was up to The Chap to decide as I could not afford to have a pet, but with me moving in shortly I consider them 50% mine.
Shhhhhhh!

Two very distinctive personalities one is bigger and very placid, likes a fuss but nervy, the other smaller kitten is feisty and hard to catch. We both want two lap cats and once after a few days of settling in and finding the courage to remove themselves from the pet bed or the behind the sofa we are going to start training them to enjoy fuss.

I have always have dogs, so cats are new territory for me, but already falling in love with them.

Nice too, that a pair of sisters can keep each other company whilst we are at work.

In the meantime off to the vets this week for a check over, microchipping and to set a date they can both be neutered, even though they will only be allowed out under supervision in the back garden.

But aren't they the cutest??

We also met Mum, who was so beautiful too!

Names to be decided when we get to know them better though, Leia and Padme are making an early bid.... Star Wars Princesses in case you did not know. Guess who thought of that?

Frugally yours
Abigail
x