Meals for the week.

I have not had time at all this week to get online really, so not had chance to write a post. I've not really done much, except work has been really busy, so spent most evenings doing stuff or sleeping as I'm shattered. 

Our meals for this week are:

today - roast lamb with veg and gravy

Monday - spag bol with garlic bread

Tuesday - pizza (DH) soup (me)

Wednesday - summer-in-winter chicken with rice

Thursday - pasta (DH) slim fast (me)

Friday - grilled pork chops with apple sauce and mash

Lots of simple recipes this week that require little concentration and effort, which is always a bonus. 

I've had a bit of a financial wobble this week. I'll post more on that tomorrow, and perhaps ask some advice on various things. Ho hum. 

What I wouldn't give to be somewhere warm right now, for a relax....

Meals for the week.

As per usual, Sunday's post is about the meals for the week and food shopping.

I was disappointed last week when we spent quite a lot at the supermarket, and was determined not to have a repeat of that! Due to using some of the things in the freezer and careful planning, our spends at the supermarket this week was £38.31 - that's more like it! This total even included some beer for DH, so I'm very pleased with that. 

Our meals for this week are:

today - out at the in-laws for Sunday dinner

Monday - coconut prawn curry

Tuesday -pizza 

Wednesday - chicken fajitas and salad

Thursday - pasta and sauce (DH) slim fast (me)

Friday - spaghetti bolognaise with garlic bread

Lots of stuff to be used from the fridge and freezer for this week's meals. 

A little confession next... I've given up chocolate, crisps, biscuits, cake and sweets for Lent, as I do every year. This year though, I'm finding chocolate especially hard, not sure why. So, I've been planning (as you do!) for when Lent is over. DH has a chocolate bar every day with his lunch, as he walk 7-8 miles a day in his job, so he can eat quite a bit. We buy chocolate bars on offer/whatever the best deal is. Over the past two weeks, I've been snaffling some of DH's chocolate bars and keeping them safe in a box.....:

Mmm.... the only thing I haven't bought in this box is the bag of peanut butter cup miniatures - they were a Christmas present - and all the rest were on good deals. I'm especially looking forward to the peanut butter kit kat chunky - yes, I'm cool! 

Have you given anything up for Lent? How are you finding it?

Happy Sunday everyone. 

Good intentions.

When I went out this morning, I had every intention of buying a coat. I researched on the internet last night, and found one I liked the look of. I had £30 worth of vouchers for the store, and it looked like it would last a long time and worth the money. 

But, as I was driving into town, I was thinking, do I really need to buy a new coat now? Hopefully the cold weather is behind us - the sun is shining today and I didn't even need to wear a coat this morning. So, do I really need to buy one? 

I didn't, in the end. When I get into town, the shop didn't even have the coat in stock, so I couldn't try it on. I'm always wary of ordering online, as I like to try clothes on first. I did look at some alternatives, but I didn't particularly like them. So, no coat purchased. 

I then took my time over a cinnamon latte and bacon roll from Costa, which was a lovely Saturday morning treat. I read a newspaper whilst slurping my coffee. 

I then went for a browse, and ended up buying a scarf from Fat Face:

The material is so soft, and the colours are just lovely. To be honest, I could have bought a lot more from there, but restrained myself. This was enough! Not sure what the husband creature will say - I have quite a lot of scarves already... I'm a scarf person apparently. 

Right, I'm off to read my book in the conservatory, where two cats are snoozing in the sunshine. I love weekends. 

Monthly aims: March 2013

I don't know about anything else, but I can't believe it's March. 2013 is going so quickly!

My aims for March are:

- lose 4lbs

- Overpay £600

- Put £300 in the Emergency Fund

- Have 18 No Spend Days

- Buy a new coat!

I'm going to try and lose 1lb a week this month. I'm getting on the right track/right frame of mind for this, so it's just a case of continuing and being strong and staying away from certain foods....

I'm going to aim to overpay £600, but it might not be as much as that this month, we shall see. I have worked out that our daily interest on our mortgage is £10.98 which seems like a high amount, so the sooner that can be under £10 a day, the better! 

Still plodding along with the Emergency Fund. I was hoping to get it to 25% by the end of the month, but that means nearly £400 to put in by the end of the month, and I think that'll be pushing it. 

I desperately need a new coat, but I'm hoping not to spend too much (as always!) I've got a couple of vouchers to spend, so I'm going to have a browse. 

I am looking forward to March; at the end of the month it'll be our first wedding anniversary. I can't believe a year ago began the most stressful month ever, ending with a perfect day. It's almost a year away, and yet it doesn't seem that long ago. We're going to Bamburgh for a long weekend, where we'll spend time looking at the sights, enjoying meals out and having a relax. DH proposed at Seahouses, so we might pop there too, we shall see! 

I can't wait! Here's to March. 

A month in review: February 2013

The end of the month, again! February has definitely gone fast. It's been up and down again this month, though work is getting slightly easier, so should see that as a positive! I keep toying with different ideas, work-wise, but it would take an awful lot of courage and lots of planning, so I think it'll have to sit on the back burner for now... 

My aims for February were:

- Lose 4lbs

- Overpay £700

- Put £300 in Emergency Fund

- Have 16 No Spend Days

- Make a new type of loaf

I've lost 2lbs this month. Now, again not as much as I'd hoped, but I am getting more into the healthy eating again. I've given up chocolate, crisps, sweets, biscuits and cake for Lent, which is certainly helping! 

We've over-payed £640.40 this month, so a bit short of my target. However, I think that's still a fantastic amount to overpay, and we've done a lot in the house during the month, so that fact we've still managed to pull off a big number is big achievement. 

I've also managed to put £300 into the emergency fund, which just shows that we can do this, if we plan accordingly. I keep changing my mind about what I want our emergency fund to contain, between 6 months, 9 months or 12 months, and then whether it's just mortgage payment and council tax payment in there, or all bills, or all outgoings. Hmm. 

I've had 16 No Spend Days this month, just. Today marks the 16th one. I am finding that not taking my purse to work helps enormously, as I just don't have any money to spend!

I haven't made a loaf of bread, not even though about it to be honest. 

I managed to get a free book today, on freezing food, of all things! It looks interesting....:

There are some interesting recipes in here, which I will have to attempt soon! 

Meals for the week.

Thank you for the kind comments on yesterday's post, I really do appreciate them and thank you for taking the time to make a response. Half the problem with spending and meal planning is that we don't have a lot in our freezer! However, I intend March to be a very frugal month, watch this space....

The weekend is almost over, and so work begins again tomorrow. Today has been a relaxing day, although I've marked about 200 books, and I intend to spend the rest of the evening doing nothing. 

Our meals for the week look like this:

today - toad-in-the-hole with mash and gravy

Monday - mushroom and chickpea burgers with salad

Tuesday - pizza (DH) slim fast (me)

Wednesday - chilli and rice

Thursday - pasta (DH) slim fast (me)

Friday - scampi, chips and peas

I was going to take a picture of the toad in the hole, but it didn't look great. It's the first time I've made it today, and I'm still getting used to our oven, but it was a bit browner than it was supposed to be...! Still, covered in gravy and a side of mash, it soon disappeared from our plates. I'm debating whether or not to make some flapkjacks in a bit, I think I might. 

So, instead of a foodie picture, here's a picture of two cats snoozing:

They really do snuggle into each other when they're sleeping - it's so cute. 

By the way, how gorgeous is that quilt? It was a wedding present, and I love it. Handmade and took months, and one of my favourite things. The cats appreciate it too! 

An upset and an enlightening.

Now, I'm going to say that I might sound a bit over-dramatic in this post, but I'm upset, with myself more than anything. 

You see, me and the husband creature went food shopping today, as we normally do on a weekend, armed with a shopping list and a menu in place for the week. We wandered round, getting what was on the list and only one thing in our trolley by the end of the shop was not on the list. That was a meal in the reduced section, which is now in the freezer. 

Sounds fine, right? But, this shop came to £80.22....! Yep, over £80. I couldn't believe it, yet it was almost £90 before all the offers kicked in. As I scanned the receipt, I couldn't see anything that wasn't essential. [Apart from the supermarket's own brand of amaretto I suppose, but that'll last me months!] We did buy cat food, which will last the month. I got some more shampoo and conditioner, but it was half price. We got some laundry detergent that was on offer, which will last us about two months. But still, I was shocked. That's the most we've ever spent on a grocery shop.

I'm also upset with myself. I feel like I've taken my eye off the ball. Spends keep creeping up. We can't afford to spend that much on shopping each week. That, combined with the petrol I got on the way home, mean we'd spent over £130 in just over an hour, on things we need to get through the week. 

I need to address our spending, Look at outgoings. See where we can make cutbacks again, so that we can continue to over pay our mortgage so that we don't have it for the 25 years it's supposed to run for. 

Why is money the solution/problem always? I'm finding life a bit overwhelming at the moment, if I'm honest. 

This photo shows my current love for breakfast - cinnamon and raisin toast. I'm toying with the idea of trying to make my own, but worry it'd be rubbish. Also, this is with natural light, and a much better photo. 

This is what we've just had for tea and what a rubbish photo this is. I need to get a better camera. It needs to be light [oh summer, where are you?]

Gosh, what a grumpy mood I seem to be in. I think it's the lack of chocolate [I've given it up for Lent, along with crisps, biscuits and cake] That's my excuse, anyway.