Oh Lord, It Is Still Only Thursday?

It has been a heck of a week.

I am still not well, sweating my way through my nights and coughing my way through my days. The antibiotics do not seem to be helping and I just feel rough. Plus as I am too tight to buy balm enriched tissues, the loo roll I have been using is making my nose so sore and red that soon santa will be shoving some antlers on me and getting me to pull his sledge.

I have been in work everyday, but I am longing for the weekend and a lie in.

After feeling ill and then the car breaking down, I just feel this week is never ending.

I am off to see the Parentals this evening who have just returned from 2 weeks at their villa in Spain. They missed the snow and returned just before the big thaw. Jammy old sods!

I just miss them dreadfully whilst they are away, so have been really glad to know they have returned. Mum is cooking my favourite a proper roast chicken with all the trimmings Cannot wait, thanks Mummy!

Today was PAY DAY, is it me but has it been a millennia since we all last got our salaries?

Another few days and I would have been boiling up an old leather handbag for dinner. So tomorrow evening I plan to run riot at Tescos.

However, as soon as I got it, it just went. I worked out 77% of my salary will be allocated / spent today. I have paid all the bills I need to pay (a lot were final bills from the flat utilities, telephone etc) and withdrawn £500 to cover food and petrol for the month.. I also paid a friend for a ticket to see Spamalot in March. That was the only thing I paid for which was for fun. £38.20.  I don’t think I can start tackling the overdraft just yet.

Life is a bit of a slog at the moment.

I am still getting used to the whole living together “thing” if honest, I miss the organisation of my flat and feel very much like I am camping or that feeling you get on holiday where everything is being fished out of a case wrinkled or lost all together.

I need to get it all sorted, as currently I keep finding a pussy cat mixed in with the dirty laundry here at Southfork.

As Southfork is a work in progress there is something that needs to be done every weekend. This Saturday I believe my day has been ear marked as “taking the cardboard from the kitchen units to the tip and helping TC get rid of the radiators in the garage” kind of day… What fun! (cheerful face!)

Post my rather frightening situation on Tuesday evening with the HGV Driver, I did first thing Wednesday morning contact the firm involved, detailing what happened. They got back by lunchtime and stated they had checked their fleet records and contracted drivers and it was no record of this truck on their system.

They put forward the possibility it was a foreign truck or independent in their field.

They agreed the behaviour was unacceptable and unprofessional and suggested I contact the local authorities.

I cannot see any point pursuing this now. I am not a case on Crimewatch, so am just chalking it to experience.

A bit flat today as you can probably guess. Looking forward to seeing my mum and dad and then having a big hug with TC.

And if anyone wants to slip me £500 so I can book a sneaky week in the sun, then please don’t feel I will be offended and not offer!!!!    Ha ha ha wouldn’t that be unlikely.!

Frugally yours

Abigail

x

Badly Frightened

I am going a little off topic at the moment. Hope you don't mind!

Driving home this evening, I have to go through an unlit business park.

That's when I realised I had no headlights.

None at all.

On a busy country style road with oncoming traffic that often over take at high speeds.

The hazards went on immediately, but there was nowhere safe to pull over.

I had to carry on to the end of the road then turn right at a traffic lights onto an A road. Speed limit 50mph.

I then pulled off almost straight away onto a lay-by.

I then called Green Flag, and informed The Chap I was going to be late.

I then sat back, and waited, thinking I was safe.

I thought I was safe.

I had pulled up behind an HGV which was parked.

I don't know if I had pissed him off by having my hazards on, but after about 10 minutes the driver got out and came to look at me. He then proceeded to get back in his lorry and reverse as close as he could get to me then go forward and then get out and come back to stand in front of my car and watch. This process was repeated about 4 or 5 times.

I have never been so frightened.

I couldn't get out of my car, he did not try to speak to me and I couldn't get away.

All this time I was on the phone to my mum or The Chap very scared.

It was only half past six, pitch black on a road with lorries and cars whizzing by.

Utterly trapped.

I have never been so pleased to see Tim the Green Flag rescue man.

As soon as he arrived, the driver got back in his lorry and left me alone and I sat in tim's van.

The driver obviously did not want to move as he stayed there even after I had pulled away.

Tim diagnosed two blown head lamps. Strange as I only checked them this morning. According to my saviour, sometimes one goes, then the surge blows the second.

I am home now and safe. The Chap cooked me a pizza. I still have the heeby jeebies.

Not a nice thing to happen when I still feel dreadful, and my chest infection continues.

Plus, I had to fork over £14 for two new bulbs.

Sigh.

Is it the weekend soon?

Frugally yours
Abigail
X

Unicorn Poop

I am still feeling absolutely lousy, but I dragged my sorry ass into work today. Really wish that I had not bothered, no thanks and no sympathy. After 14 years with the same company you would think I would learn that my employer expects me to be dead before I take a day sick.

Harrrrumph!

However, now is a really good time to buy stuff.

Normally I would never advocate you buying anything, unless you honest to goodness need it. But if you do honest to goodness need it then buy it now.

I had Friday off to enjoy a long weekend. So off I tootled to my local town centre for a mooch and to visit the bank. As often happens The Chap also asked me to do 101 jobs for him, as he hates anything which could be even vaguely entitled as “shopping”.

I was delighted to do so as our road still had an inch of ice on it, TC had picked up 2 bags of rock salt and was going to have a go at clearing it with a spade. Now I would have cleaned a ticklish elephant’s bottom with a soft toothbrush to get out of that job.

One thing I really did need was some moisturiser for my face. As I hurtle towards 40 at break neck speed my face is just getting dryer and dryer or is that drier and drier??. The cheap supermarket pot I picked up for under a £1 was irritating my face a little by causing a slight burning sensation.

I would love to have picked up a Clarins pot, but at £40 I could not bring myself to do so.

However, I did come across a voucher for The Body Shop. I rarely enter The Body Shop as the last time I went in I found it a little too flowery for me.

Plus I thought it expensive.

However, they were offering an excellent deal with this voucher. Spend £40 instore and get £20 off your purchases. That is a 50% discount. So I ended up getting some day cream, night cream, hand cream and aftershave balm for The Chap. Total spend £41.50, price I paid £21.50.

This is not worth doing unless you really need something, but TC was delighted with his aftershave balm and utterly convinced it will make him look devastatingly attractive to women. I told him he did not need the lotion for that.

He still thought my face cream was expensive, and he is probably right, though I absolutely refuse to admit it to him. The situation was speedily resolved by telling him it contained Unicorn poop.

I like the moisturiser and would (so far) buy it again, but probably only if there was another deal. I was wondering if it was worth stocking up for birthdays / Christmas?

I accessed the voucher using my O2 priority moments, but  think you can also get it (or something similar) at vouchercodes  / voucherclouds and a link on the moneysavingexpert website and finally on their own website.

Frugally yours

Abigail

x

Just What I Needed..

Woke up this morning, did not feel good.

Actually I cried and called NHS Direct. They booked me an emergency appointment at my local cottage hospital.

GP says I have another chest infection. An hour after walking through the door, I walked out with a prescription.

A quick stop at the pharmacy, £7.65 on the antibiotics.

An hour and a half later I am currently lying on the sofa drinking tea The Chap has made me and watching DVDs.

Feel lousy, but the free healthcare in the UK is wonderful. Remember it is Sunday all this happened.

Frugally yours
Abigail
X

Snow Snow Go Away, Come Back Another Day!

I have been a bit fed up this week. The Chap can attest to that.

I walked in through the door last night and could not speak for a while. He came to give me a kiss (to dissolve any fairy tale notions you may have of our great romantic displays of affection, he did have to finish a particular level of Call of Duty and put down the xbox remote thingy first).

Anyhoo, after a kiss hello, he told me my nose was very cold.

It’s all about the love between TC and I… :o)

This week has been dreadful from start to finish. The snow where I live has compacted into inch thick ice. So taking the car to work is much too dangerous, beside which as I now live on a slight hill it is virtually impossible anyway. The griters don’t visit this little estate.

So I have been using British Rail to get into work. Here is an example of my trip home yesterday and in today. Please keep in mind that I have to pay £15.10 / day for the privilege of travelling with them.

Getting In This Morning

6.30AM Wake up, fuss the cats and get up.

6.55AM Out of the door, and march on sheet ice to station

7.20AM Catch 1st train

8.30AM Reach destination 30 mins later than expected due to signalling problems

8.45 AM Catch 2^nd train to where I work, which is also running late and currently locked when I arrive at the platform.

9.10 AM Arrive in town centre I work in

9.30AM Walk through office door.

Getting Home Last Night.

5.10PM Leave work 50 mins early

5.32PM Catch first train

5.50 PM Arrive at station and wait 45 mins for a train on concourse

6.35 PM Cannot fit on first train as too overcrowded, plus it will stop 2 stations before I need to get off

6.40 PM Catch next train

7.20 PM Arrive at stop before my station, where train terminates.

7.45 PM Walk through front door.

Last night, I was so cold and tired, I did not eat or do anything I just sat on the sofa in front of the fire and could have cried. And it really makes you in just the right frame of mind to clean out  a cat's ear!

I feel like a  rubbish employee getting in late (I should start at 8.30AM) and having to leave early (I should finish at 6PM), and fed up when I get home. Plus I can ill afford paying £15.10 / day for more than another day or two.

This snow is NOT fun, and causing a lot of problems.

Yet more forecast for tomorrow afternoon / evening.

Frugal and Fed Up

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

Even More Free Stuff

I ventured out again this yesterday. We needed some cat food.

I ended up walking about three miles.

First stop train station to pick up tickets for tomorrow. No luck, they wouldn't let me buy them until after 3pm. Ridiculous system.

So on I trudged, to Pets 4 You to check out their cat food prices. £5.59 for a 2kg sack. Or 3 for £9.

Not bad at all, but Lidl was a bit further and I needed some bits n bobs. Their food was not right but £4 for 2kg bag.

I grabbed some stuff for lunch and walked back to pick up 6kg of cat food.

Next to the superstore was a Halfords car supermarket. Luckily I remembered checking my O2 moments, so was able to waltz in and grab a free de-icer and scraper. Pretty useful at a time like this. Well when I can dig the car out and our road does not look like a skating rink.

More free stuff. Brilliant!

So last week I got £10 Argos voucher which I spent not the cat bed, won £50 voucher for my local town and bought the new Alessi cat bowls, then wound up th week with de-icer and scraper.

Wouldn't mind another week like that this week please!

Frugally yours
Abigail
X

2nd Class Citizens

The snow here has been horrific for the UK.

Friday I woke up and the weather forecast had warned us there was going to be problems.

So I popped on my jeans and wellies and headed for the train station.

I am so glad I did.

Catching the train is a pain. The train left at 7.30pm and I walked through the office door at 9.10am.

It's crackers! A 20 mile journey means two trains and a bit of a walk. Not to mention ticket of over £15.

However, as I sat in the train the snow came down with a vengeance. Within minutes everything was white.

20 minutes after I arrived my Director left worried about the possibility of not being to make it home in his car.

G and I stayed put working until about 11ish then we happened to look outside and all hell broke loose.

The snow was really deep. We had to push her vehicle off the car Park.

I managed to make it home but was terrible worried that the trains would suddenly be cancelled.

I got back through the door to receive a call from The Chap, his car was stuck. Unable to get up a hill. So he had to abandon it and catch a train too.

No more snow so far, but no sign of it melting and more forecast for Sunday and Monday.

I went out today early. I had a list of things to do for TC and I.

One of them was spend my winning voucher. Harder than you would imagine.

The kitchen supplies shop did not stock tefal pans. I want a full set of matching pans.

So I did sneak over to the jewellers, but £50 only bought you a smile in there.

No go in the other shops, the menswear shops sold items only grandfather would have worn. Can't see TC in White leather boots. Well I can,but I may have been an ex girlfriend if I had bought then! Lol

So I indulged the other members of our little family.

New cat bowls!

How posh are these? Alessi cat bowls. Retail price £45. Who would spend £45 on cat bowls????

Well I did. They are very smart and Twinkle and Belle will be eating off much better bowls than us. Does that mean TC and I are second class citizens in our own home ??? :o)

We are never buying cat bowls again...

Mind you they are beautiful!!

Frugally yours
Abigail
X

Well That Was Worth Doing!

Firstly, hello and welcome to my new follower - Mad Maison. Thank you for visiting and your kind comments. x

Remember December? All that festive good humour and anticipation of time off to celebrate Christmas?

I do. I remember writing my Christmas cards, and getting cramp in my hands.

I remember buying all the stamps and being in a mood for a while after, as it had cost me so much.

I also remember getting our local magazine. You know the type of thing all glossy pictures and text, telling you of local businesses and some photos of posh people in expensive clothes opening something or other or at a fancy pants dinner.

I like getting this magazine, it comes every couple of months and I always have a read through. I shove it in my handbag and grab it out one lunch time for a mull over.

Well they always have competitions. I do like a competition.

In December they had three, 1) win a dinner for two at a local posh steak house 2) win a gold pendant from a local jewellers studied with semi precious stones 3) win a £50 voucher for the local high street to spend at one of 5 stores.

I entered all of them, some of them twice. Most you enter with an email. The final one you had to send a postcard and the answers to some very easy questions. As I had a couple of stamps left over, I entered twice.

I only went and blooming won! I got home last night to find a letter from the posh mag saying congratulations and I just needed to take the letter in with a proof of ID and “Bobs your Uncle”. £50 of free stuff.

There are limitations to the stores it can be used at

2 menswear shops

A jewellery shop

A photographic studio
A kitchen / cooking supplies shop.

A local museum shop.

I squealed, yes an honest to goodness yelp of delight passed my lips in the manner of an Enid Blyton heroine.

The Chap looked vaguely concerned, and I passed over the letter. My thoughts whirling as I mentally decided between some earrings, or perhaps a locket (I have always wanted one).

“Oh Good!” he stated, “We can get another saucepan or two”

…

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 Accomplished or 82 Imps & An Armful Of Empties

Stuff this horrible, snowy, rainy and cold weather!

Is it unreasonable that I just want to go back home, crawl into bed and read Mills and Boon War and Peace whilst drinking chocolate milk and stroking a cat?

Probably not, but the chances of it happening are the same as Jason Statham approaching me covered in whipped cream carrying a doughnut and a mind full of sinful ideas.

Still that is my daydream.

I am nursing a dreadful headache today, think of your worse hangover and and multiply it by 82 imps clogdancing in your head. Not even a great evening out the night before! Just a miserable all consuming headache that started yesterday morning and still shows no chance of abaiting.

This weekend has nearly wiped The Chap and I out. Finally the flat has been cleaned and cleared, I did have one embarrassing episode.

I cleaned out my booze stock. It was full of those dreadful bottles you bring back from holiday and so a bottle of peach schnapps, half a bottle of Aldi equivalent Baileys, a bottle of Damson Wine (where the hell did that spring from? I hate wine and Damon Wine sounds goddamn awful!) and finally a quarter of a bottle of vodka all went down the drain.

Unfortunately I got caught recycling the empties by two neighbours who now probably think the quiet girl at no19 was passed out most evenings due to alcohol… hey ho!

I finally finished at 8pm, after a mad final 60 minutes. When I caught myself vacuuming the filter for the tumble dryer, I decided it was time to call it a day and left.

The Chap was putting up coving in the kitchen when I got home and obviously had been surrounded by water fowl as I kept hearing “DUCK!” coming from the kitchen. Discretion being the better of cowardice I kept clear and emptied out the car. You see on Saturday I got asked the question “Do you think we need coving in here?”

So now a new project, sorting out the stuff in the spare room. Poor Twinkle and Belle are mildly worried at the boxes everywhere but doing their best to impart hair over everything from bank statements to cashmere coats. Ofcourse I am not stressed about it at all…..

(See photos at the end as currently not able to upload)

We both managed to sit down at 10pm, and by then the headache I had staved off all day with asprin really started, so I gave up and went to bed.

I think both of us are shattered. No break over Christmas, and every weekend spent on honing his DIY skills and my cleaning prowess is beginning to take its toll. I would love to have a day just him and I no drill or vacuum cleaner and no money being spent.

Goodness knows if that will ever happen anytime soon, we can but pray.

On the plus side, cleaning does stop you from spending.

Frugally yours

Abigail

x

Mission Statement, Tested.

11^th January, and already my mission statement for 2013 has been put to the test.

Allow me to elaborate.

Imagine it is Saturday night, you have been clearing kitchen cupboards all day and furtively filling up neighbour’s bins with rubbish from your soon to be rented flat.

You return home and have 25 minutes to shower and change before meeting friends for a curry that has been re-arranged from November.

Your almost-but-not-quite-perfect-boyfriend then decides to wear one of the new shirts you bought him for Christmas from Ted Baker that cost an arm, leg and a couple of kidneys.

Now imagine the shirt is too small, you didn’t know, as someone had not tried it on before….

Hmm, now I was a little shirty… (boom boom!)

Well, as TC sorry the almost-but-not-quite-perfect-boyfriend is violently allergic to returning anything, I then folded it up and dug out the original bag and on Wednesday lunch time took it back to my local House Of Fraser for an exchange.

Wednesday 9^th January was the last day House of Fraser would refund Christmas gifts, and the item needed to be refunded as my local HoF did not carry that line.

To cut a long and rather tedious story short, I had to take the shirt back home with me and search out the receipt, which of course had been packed into one of the 64,392 boxes during the move. All of which are now spread across, TC’s house, my parents house and the cupboard under the stairs back at the flat.

It is a minor miracle I found it at all, but I was a woman on a mission as HoF would now only give me a credit voucher / or exchange if I presented the receipt or proof of purchase and I was not going to loose out, nor was I about to wave a bank statement under the nose of some snotty faced sales assistant in the menswear department.

Last night when TC and I were watching the final episode of The Polar Bear Family and Me (amazing btw!) I said I had returned his shirt and got the money put on a gift card.

I realised by his response that the chance of him going in to buy another shirt was between nil and zero.

He told me to pick up some pans for the kitchen instead.

The Chap has been working on our new kitchen since well before Christmas and had paid to have a brand new induction hob put in. If you know nothing about induction hobs, well all I can tell you is that they don’t get hot, though the pan does. It is all to do with magnets, and mirrors and quite possibly magic. It was one of those Physics type moments when TC starts talking and I find it easier to nod, smile and intersperse both actions with an “Oh, okay!” and “Well isn’t technology clever?”

The sauce / frying pans TC had and the pans I have are not compatible with induction technology. So since November, if it could not be baked or microwaved then we couldn’t cook it at “Southfork”. Even though the induction hob was in, and ready to use.

As I am always happy to go shopping, lunchtime today I popped back to House of Fraser, with the mission statement in mind.

"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."

I was going to buy the best quality we could afford, so it would last forever, even if that only meant buying one pan today and slowly adding to it over the next 12 months.

My idea was to buy some Le Creuset, which are the price of a small bungalow on the coast to start off my collection.

I went in fully intending to purchase a saucepan. Until two things happened

1) I saw the price

2) (this was the deal breaker) I lifted one.

Seriously, as good as these pans are and look, they are the weight of a baby rhinoceros being ridden by a kangaroo… in wellies….juggling barbells.

And this is before being filled with chocolate sauce water and vegetables.

Remembering a female’s right to change her mind at the last moment, I asked some advice from the helpful lady in the department and bought some Tefal Preference Pro, after wandering off pretending to think about it when actually I was using my smart phone to check reviews online (all good, bar the usual miserable sod).

A Stirfry Pan and an 18inch saucepan. (see below for a picture)

This will start us off nicely and allow me to introduce fresh vegetables to the “Southfork” diet next week, as well as stop a reliance on pizza and expensive pre-prepared food.

The best part?

House of Fraser had both pans reduced in the January sales with 20% off and they gave me recognition points, even though I had already got them from buying the shirt, and the combined price was £67.20, which leaves me with 80 pence left on the gift card. The shire was £85, and I bought it during one of their 20% off 48hour promotions.

Only one thing remains that worries me greatly…….does this mean that I bought The Chap kitchen utensils for Christmas? and if so does this mean he can buy me an ironing board or something awful like that in return on my birthday?

I think I feel sick…..

Frugally yours

Abigail

x

Living Together or A Novice's Thoughts.

Before I start writing let me qualify all of the text below with the statement "I love The Chap, Dearly""

I returned from my sister's on Boxing Day and since then have spent every night at The Chap's house. But, I consider we moved in together the day I moved over my bathroom cabinet. It is the female equivalent of hanging one's hat for us ladies. The day my lotions and potions crossed the threshold, then in my mind I had moved in. Basically, wherever I shave my legs is my home.

The Chap and I in nearly 2 years together have only had one argument. I am a paragon! (ha ha!)

But, at nearly 37 this is the first time I have lived with a man and I always knew that there were going to be some things that would take a little getting used to. After 10 years of owning my own place, and making all the decisions I realise that having someone else to consider would take some getting used to. (My mum says it knocks the corners off one)

This, came home to me on Monday when I swung by my parents after work to pick up their set of keys to give to my agent for the new tenant. I had a cup of tea and then toddled off to the estate agent's to drop the keys through the letter box. It never occurred to me TC would wonder where I was. So I was slightly perturbed to receive a text on the way home at 8.30pm asking where I was and if I was ok. I acknowledge I had been thoughtless. These little situations are bound to crop up.

But, I am still getting used to a lot of things. Getting ready for work in the morning is weird (now I have to wait for the bathroom!) and grocery shopping for 2 seems so much more expensive as I cannot expect a manly man like TC to just have a bowl of cereal one evening a week.

Having to compromise on what we want to watch is disconcerting too though we both like anything scifi or Attenborough related. These are areas of living with another I just had not considered.

Plus, as much as I love TC, we are just going to have to stop his little habit of leaving the towels to dry on the bathroom floor (I don't care there is underfloor heating in the room!).

I am far from perfect, and realise that my OCD cleanliness must be irritating (a point in fact I have a rolling device on my toothpaste tube to ensure all contents are used whilst the container remains spotless).

All these situations I was expecting.

All these situations I was not

1) TC goes to bed much later than I during the week, so I now struggle to sleep from the very low background noise of the tv. I am sure he must have noticed that all this week I had make up removal pads stuck in my ears by the time he came to bed. Not my best look.

2) When is the most discreet time to poop?

3) Is it ok to divulge that I like to lounge about in jogging bottoms when I get home, that are ever so slightly the wrong side of tatty.

4) Is it ok if I put the heating on?

5) When is it acceptable for me to change us over to my bed linen (which is better, newer and bigger)?

6) How long can I leave my legs now between shaving as before I just shaved them on the nights I was seeing him. Does he even know my legs have hair????

Such minor queries in the great scheme of life, and really he is perfect. Yesterday he arrived home to show me a new kitchen tap he was planning to fit. It is one with the hose attachment that I really wanted. "Posh people have hose attachments on their kitchen taps", I told him, when we were discussing kitchen sink adornments. So he had bought one to plumb in and had it delivered.

God bless his cotton sock.

Frugally yours

Abigail

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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
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1 Year Old

I turned 1 year old on Friday and did not remember..

Christmas 2011, The Chap bought me a new laptop with the capability to start blogging and uploading photos etc.

He listened to an idea I had and helped me.

So much has changed since my first post 12 months ago on the 4^th January. I am still in debt, not £1920, but £400.

I have met some wonderful new blogging friends and connected with people all over the world and it has been wonderful!

Thank you to everyone who visits, in 365 days I have had over 40,000 hits across 204 posts with new people coming across little old me everyday.

I never expected to connect with so many new folk.

Thank you everyone for visiting. I was hoping today to get an idea of where people were visiting from.

So today, could everyone write a comment, stating where you are based. Nothing specific – Country, County / State, Town perhaps. I will start.

I have been so busy over the last few weeks with packing and moving, I feel I need to reassess.

My new tenant moves in on Monday, so this weekend I will be doing the final clear out and clean before it becomes someone elses home.

Next week I will be writing my mission statement for 2013 and posting pictures of “Southfork”, my new home.

And finally, Hello and Welcome to my new followers - Cheap Chick, Sammy Kaye, and Jackie. Thank you so much for visiting. x

Frugally yours

Abigail

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