What A Difference A Day Makes

Wow what a difference a day makes I was feeling pretty blue this morning but am now on top of the world. I took myself off for a walk earlier and with views like the one below how could I not be cheered up.

This lake is just a five minute walk from my house and is so pretty. If you go at the weekend you will see all the youngsters having sailing lessons. I like to go in the week and just sit on the dock and relax. There's something really calming about being next to the water and it was just what I needed today.

The sailing clubs notice board with all the upcoming events

Shortly after getting home I received my delivery from approved foods I was suprised but very happy as I had an email this morning saying it would not be delivered today after all and I would be contacted to arrange a new delivery day.

I got all this for just £35 the boys were amazed and very happy that the treat cupboard has been restocked this will keep us in treats and puddings for a good 3-4 months.

And tonight Matthew I am going to be an evacuee 

Ben is studying world war two at school at the moment and yesterday they had a trip where they visited a world war 2 museum. It was very authentic by all accounts. They all had to dress as evacuees and were given a rationed lunch. They had a mock air raid and had to bunk down in a real air raid shelter. Ben also had to send a letter home to his parents talking about his experience as an evacuee (I cant wait to receive my letter). We have spent a lot of time talking about a relative of mine who was shot and killed in the war. His name was William "Willy" to family and friends and he was my great grandma's nephew. Here are some pictures of Willy they are so old that the photos were actually done on postcards.

You can see how young he looks in his basic training photo and then how much more grown up he is in the other two pictures

My dad also lent Ben a book that is almost 100 years old. It dates back to August 1916 and is a collection of all the press and media information published during the first world war. Ben has been fascinated by this topic and I am really pleased he has been able to learn something about his heritage.

This book is almost 100 years old and belonged to my great grandmother by all accounts

I am now smiling from ear to ear and all the negativity of this morning has been forgotten put in a box and locked away. Sometimes all you need is a good walk, stunning views and you are back to your old self again.

Much Love

Claire xx xx xx

Feeling A Bit Down

I have been feeling a bit blue since discovering something last night it has really upset me. Anyone who knows me knows I am a genuinely nice person I don't speak about people behind their backs and would help anyone in anyway I can. So to find out that someone I have been nothing but nice to and made things for and given things to has publicly slagged me and my children off has hurt quite a bit. There is no reason for the person to have done this which makes the hurt even more difficult to swallow. The really sad thing is they had  the cheek to do this in a forum where the Mr can see it and he of course told me what had been said publicly. I realise that my children are not the best behaved and that at times they can be rather loud but that's the joy of having 2 autistic children. I do the best I can to keep them quite but aside from gagging them and putting them in a straight jacket I am not left with many more options. They are always tucked up and in bed asleep by 8.30-9pm so its not like there is a rave party going on in the middle of the night. The really sad thing is she text me to ask "how are you" talk about being two faced how do you bloody think I am I am angry and very hurt right now (I didn't say this I just ignored it). I don't have room in my life for a two faced back stabbing so and so so I am afraid from now on your words will fall on deaf ears you are non existent in my world now. I hope you have a very good life and wish you no malice what so ever but as for you having a place in my life I am afraid you blew that well and truly out of the water.

Sorry about that rant over with

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

Saving on Electric

As I have mentioned in the past we are an all electric house no gas at all. I moved to this house for a number of reasons one was that it was close to the school so Ben can walk there by himself, one was the wonderful allotments at the end of my garden, one was that it was so much bigger than my last house, and one was that it is an all electric property (I hope to install solar panels once my debt is cleared). I miss my old house terribly but was left with no choice but to move thanks to my MD and if I was going to have to move it was going to be to a property that would work for me and the boys. In my old house we spent on average £1200 a year on gas and electric. Since moving here my yearly utility bill comes to around £900 and I hope to reduce it even more. This is a list of some of the things I either already do or intend to do to reduce my electric bill even further.
1 Make sure everything is switched off at the mains
2 No heating on ......we already use electric blankets and extra clothes to save here but I will be buying a halogen heater to replace my electric fire which we only have on for a few hours in the early evening to warm the frontroom when its really cold.
3 Only have the hot water tank on every other day (it lasts really it does)
4 5 minute showers
5 Set the timer on my washing machine just before I go to bed so that the washing machine comes on at night when the electric is cheaper.
6 First thing in the morning put the washing on the line to dry if its still damp when its brought in or if its raining and cant go on the line put it on airers around the house to dry
7 Use a mini oven instead of a main oven (I have read that these use a lot less energy and can be purchased at quite reasonable prices)

I cant think of anymore at the moment but if you know of any I have missed please feel free to leave me a comment telling me what else I can do to save on electric.


Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

Some Times I Miss Having A Car

I have been wanting a family portrait done for some time now but I am not willing to pay the astronomical fees that are charged. Today whilst reading my pay to view emails (I get paid 1p for every email I read) I was offered 20p to enter a competition to win a years free shopping. I entered the competition gaining my 21p (I of course never include my phone number otherwise my phone would be ringing off the hook with people trying to sell me "stuff"). As a thank you for my participation I was given a reward of a free photo session and one free print. I had a look at where the studios are located and there is one not to far from me a 10 minute drive in fact. However I don't drive any more and what would cost me a couple of pound in fuel would cost me well over £15 in bus fares. I can not and will not pay this so the family portrait will be put back on hold indefinitely. Now I do realise that the idea behind these offers is to lure you into buying additional prints however I have a will of iron when I want and would have said "thank you for our day of pampering, thank you for my lovely photo which I will now go and frame for £2" (buy a frame from wilkos) and left the studio with a smile on my face and money still in my pocket. So today just for a few minutes I really missed having a car. I then reminded myself of the huge amount of money I am saving by not having one and suddenly felt much better.

Dinner today was "what can we scrap together" its like old mother hubbord here at the minute until the big monthly shop arrives tomorrow.

This is what we scraped together sausages and scrambled eggs cooked in cream with a little "stinky cheese" as the boys call it served with spaghetti and bread roll.

Reduced bread rolls 5p for 8 rolls

The end product which tasted a little like carbonara but less creamy

The costing was 4 eggs 40p, 4 sausages 20p, 1/3 bag of spaghetti 8p, cream 60p, cheese 15p, bread rolls 4p total cost was £1.47 there was enough to serve 5 so this works out at 30p per person for dinner bargain and not bad for "what can we scrap together".


Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

My Frugal Sunday

Sorry for the delayed post I had a throbbing headache last night and just wanted an early night with some pain killers. Also sorry for no pictures today I forgot my camera at home and no the above chicken is not the one we had for dinner I got it from the internet but ours looked just as good if not better. I had a lovely restful day yesterday. The bestie picked me up and took me over to her house where we sat and chatted whilst she cooked the dinner. We had roast chicken, boiled potatoes, green beans, carrots, peas, and gravy it was delicious and I wiped the plate clean and even ate a few of the left over potatoes saving them from the bin. I was stuffed and did not have to eat anything for the rest of the day. The bestie commented on the fact that I ate all my veggies as its something she has never seen me do. I explained to her that I wont let anything be wasted any more and that since I started padding out meals with veggies and bread I have learnt that actually I really quite like them. We then spoke about me being frugal for a bit and I shared some hints and tips for her to try I also showed her the approved food website recommended by frugal queen (I get my first delivery this week and I am just a tad excited). We watched a few funny videos on youtube and had a good old giggle before it was time for me to get home for the boys return. So I had a wonderful Sunday with dinner cooked for me and no washing up lots of fun entertainment and the total cost was £0. We will have Karen and Leia over to us one Sunday soon and I will show her how to cook a Sunday roast for 7 on a budget with homemade cake for pud. 

The boys will be on school holiday's again before we know it so last night I sat down on my laptop and looked for free up coming events in the area to keep them amused. I was so upset to see that the local country park has closed its doors to day visitors. Its just a 3 mile walk from our house and they have some stunning country walks as well as a woodland adventure play area and educational center all free. They have decided to stick with campers and school visits but no more day visitors "bah humbug". Anyway I have managed to find a few nice country walks around our area and if we are feeling particularly energetic we may even do the steep hike up to the white horse and have a day over looking our wonderful village with a picnic and watching people jumping off the side doing their air sports. I will also pop into the library and information center next time I am in town and see what they have planned for free or at very little cost.

Much Love 

Claire xx xx xx

Number Crunching

Most of today has been spent number crunching and my brain is now well and truly fried. I started my day by getting Brandon ready for a birthday party I wrapped up the £2.99 spiderman backpack filled with mini marshmallows (bought in the sale after xmas and stored for such an occasion) in the blue tissue paper I had lurking in my craft draws and a piece of green ribbon I found in there to. The card cost 10p as I had previously bought 10 cards for £1 from the card factory especially for party's the boys get invited to. We walked there and back to drop him off 15 mins either way and then we did the same again to pick him up. Total cost £3.09 for that Brandon got to spend an hour and a half playing at the soft play center with his friends from school, got fed lunch, and bought home a party bag filled with cake little toys and some sweets and mummy got an hours exercise free of charge.

When we got home I made the eldest 2 boys some lunch and packed all their belongings for a night at daddy's. Once the boy's were out of the way and I had the peace and quiet needed to concentrate I set about my number crunching task. I started by making a list of all the meals I make well, ones that we all enjoy eating. I then set about making a list of every item we use in this house food, drink, toiletries, cleaning products, animals food and bedding, vitamins and medicines, baking products etc etc. I then spent hours price comparing everything making a note of the store it was cheapest at and the cost. I then made a one month menu plan for march using all the items we already have in which involved a bit of stock taking. I went through my list and made a note of all the items needed that we don't already have in and then went through the price list I had already made making a note of which store to buy it from and the price. I then added it all up and it came to just under £89. That's our main shop for the month and will feed and take care of the house and 5 people. I will do a weekly top up shop but that will just be milk, bread, and veggies. I will do my weekly shop half an hour before the store closes in the hope of getting some of the needed items at a reduced cost.

Although I have the night off from the boys I am baby sitting my god daughter tonight which I don't mind at all. I love having her and its so nice to have a bit of female company instead of always being surrounded by arguing boys. I have enjoyed every minute watching Leia grow up from being a new born baby to the lovely 10 year old young lady she is today. I was never fortunate enough to have a girl myself but Leia is the daughter I never had and I love her as if she were my own. When the bestie comes to pick her up in the morning she will be taking me back with them and cooking me a lovely Sunday roast which I am really looking forward to. I will have to pop to the shop in the morning and buy a cake or a vienetta (which ever is cheapest, the invite came at very short notice otherwise I would have baked a cake to take with me) as my contribution to the table.

Anyway I am now running round like a headless chuck getting all my housework done so that I can enjoy my Sunday lunch and catch up with 2 of my favorite people and not have to worry about getting things done when I get home.

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx

Prezzies On A Budget

I have been making mum's birthday prezzie today I did the costing and it works out this lovely handmade gift will have cost me £2.35 to make bargain and so much more personal than a gift bought from a shop.

As well as the toiletries I have knitted a washcloth and headband and will also pop in a little tea light candle and a small bar of chocolate so she can relax in style

Washcloth and headband ready to be put in a pillowcase and washed

I also made her a birthday card and a mother's day card. I would have liked to have made her a coffee cake as her mother's day present but as she is in London and i'm not paying to go all that way I had to settle for a few nice little items from Poundland I got her a small teddy, small box of chocolates, framed poem, and a cute little snowglobe total cost £4. I will post these off to her on Wednesday when I get the free bus into town.

I was given a Bench jacket a few weeks ago for Brad my friend was going to throw it away because the stitching had come undone under the arm. Me being me I asked if I could have it and I have stitched it all back up and popped it in the wash ready for Brad to wear. It's very rare that we wear brand names unless they are given to us or I pick them up very cheaply from the charity shop. I had a look and similar jackets from the same make go for around £35 so i'm very happy that we got this for nothing and saved it from the landfill. Brad will get plenty of use out of it. I also mended a pair of Brads trousers today. The stitching at the crotch had come undone so I sewed it up with my trusty needle and cotton saving me £9 on the purchase of a new pair. I have another pair to mend also so in total I will have saved £18 and got a free jacket for him all thanks to my needle and thread. It amazes me what people will throw away when with just a bit of time and effort something can be mended and its life extended.

After reading frugal queens blog recently I visited approved foods (a website that sells food that is close to or past its best before date). I was so excited by the site and have placed an order with them and eagerly await its delivery. I spent a little under £45 which included delivery costs and have ordered an absolute mountain of food. I will post a picture just as soon as it arrives.

This weekend will be spent doing easy jobs around the house as i'm still laid up with the lurgy. Thankfully the boys are at their dads for the night so it will give me chance to rest and try and shake this bug off.

Much Love
Claire xx xx xx