Well I had a bit of a road trip this last week, I went from Essex over to Dover, then to the top of kent, and over to Salisbury & then finally over to Wales. Am absolutely exhausted now and boy was it an expensive trip! I must have spent over a weeks wages on petrol *insert super shocked face*
The idea of the journey was to spend the weekend with e'strange'd dad in Wales, but obviously had to pick up hubby & older son on way through....turned out it was hardly on the way through and i ended up going a few hundred miles out of my way! Now of course doing all this travelling I was being super organised (for a change) and decided to print out directions to all of these places & back again :D
Until, of course, the printer ran out of ink. Great. So, not one to be deterred, i sat there for hours on end writing them all out in ink! Next morning all ready to set off, i load up the car, settle babies into car seats, even have dvd player ready for them with hundreds of hours of Peppa Pig, Ben & Holly, back to the future & toy story ready (super mum!) So i go back into house after doing all this to fetch the directions, and make sure I haven't forgotten anything, and ahh, the directions are missing. Bloody brilliant! I find them several minutes later on the kitchen table, under kids books,where I had stupidly left them to peruse over breakfast, found them with porridge and nail varnish all over them. Hmmm. I desperately try to scrape as much off before leaving as possible and then realise that i actually can't read my own writing. B*gger. Now I remember why I print EVERYTHING! So anyway I set off, and head to get son from school then stop at mums overnight, I go back onto driving directions website and again try to write it all down. I eventually crack and hastily drive to tesco and pick up a half price sat nav. Job done! No more writing! Yey!
So i get sat nav back to mums, plug into computer like man said and hey presto i can't even get the damned thing to switch on. I end up sitting there for over an hour fiddling with buttons and actually reading the instructions to still be none the wiser as how to use the stupid thing! Again i crack and ask 12 year old son to come and work it out for me *very embarrassing, but I knew it would happen so am unsure as to why I didn't just hand over to him in the first place* five minutes later and he has programmed in the home address, the address in salisbury and dad's address....ok, ok, no need to show off. So next day we set off after figuring out how to get to screen with map *felt like knocking head on brick wall several times trying to figure that one out* and the stupid bl**dy thing decides to take us through London on a bank holiday Friday over battersea bridge, instead of just saying to us, look the M25 is longer, sure, but hey you know going through London at this time of day, at this time of year, well you'd rather pull your own teeth out.....so for all it's clever cloggness (yes probably made up word, beware) it doesn't think very smartly! Of course my son could argue, and did in fact argue, that if i had let him do it he could have zoomed out and told me it was going to take me that way before I reached the point of no return (south circular)...whatever. It was my toy and i was determined to have the first play of it. Of course, sensibly after that fiasco, I did actually hand it over to him and ask him to direct us whereever we needed to go after that!
We finally made it to dad's house, and my goodness it's not really a house but actually a mansion (no really) so of course the first thing I want to know is where the ghosts' reside, and take a tour to the exact spot they have all been spotted in. This of course resulted in a 32 yr old very nearly wetting the bed that night because she was too scared to get out of bed for ghosts killing her *sigh- i never learn*
So the next day the news is broken that we are going to spend the day on dad's fishery, I almost run for the hills, or indeed the south circular again, but realise i don't have the skills necessary to find either, even with a sat nav :/
So off we go up to our room (we all shared one- even though there were 12 to choose from- i was scared the kids might get eaten by ghosts, or countryfied monsters) and it is then that I realise we 1) have no coats, and 2) no wellies oh and 3) i have left my jeans at mums. F**k. I'm in the middle of the welsh valleys, it's freezing cold and I have hot pants & wedges (ok slight exaggeration, but i was not prepared) so off I tottle to town, Cardigan, lovely place and had some very cheap charity shops which thankfully had jeans in my size & cheaps coats. I guess the name of the place should have pre-warned me of what sort of attire I should have brought...alas i'm not the sharpest tool in the box when it comes to ruddy great big hints though!
After dressing for the arctic we set off to Lampeter and find there that the weather is even colder than in Cardigan. Brill. So i sulk off to find the club house, make the manager turn on all the heating and sit there holed up for pretty much most of the day, apart from when I enthusiastically walked round the lakes, and of course by enthusiatic I merely meant I tried to run round them as quick as possible to get back to the warm hut!
Later on back at the house and I have the same issues with the dark and the loos, oh and also the spiders, they are frigging huge in the country, they look like they actually could eat me. So luckily for me there were about 6 toilets to choose from so I avoided the spider's den and went in search of a spider-less one each time. Even though it was pointed out to me each time, 'there is one there why are you going all the way up to the third floor', me- 'oh i like the view thanks whilst sitting on the loo'....This little trip if nothing else, made me thankful i live in a tiny house, with minimal cleaning (compared to that house!), my house was warm (do you realise how much energy you can exert trying to warm up a big old house) ..THE only thing i wanted to pack up and take home was the garden! It was huge and the kids loved it! Oh and I could fit THE biggest trampoline in there ;)
So the final day of our trip was spent at the beach, it just has to be done really doesn't it, if you are British and you are on holiday you simply MUST go to the beach. EVEN if the sand is actually being picked up off the floor and being thrown 10 feet in the air and into your face. Even if the sea is too cold for the fish to swim in, never mind you, and even if you have to go in coats, scarves, gloves, it just has to be done. So we went and sat there all padded up in clothes to build sandcastles. The sky was black, the sea was out, yet the beach was surprisingly (or not) busy??! Just goes to show we are all as mad as one another! After that we headed to the only restaurant for 10 hundred miles, well it felt like it, and had lunch. I had a small heart attack as a side dish when I went to pay the bill too. seems when you are the only restaurant for miles you can charge whatever the hell you like. Even if the food is rank. (actually food was O.K, but nothing special, and certainly not worth what we paid)
On the way home that night we had to detour back to salisbury to drop hubby off, and I found THE most beautiful village full of thatched houses, looked just like the shire from lord of the rings! lovely! Not that i could afford it of course but i could still dream! After dropping hubby off I had to do the rest of the driving, I still didn't trust the sat nav so after cancelling the journey several times and resetting it, i finally followed it (it didn't change once so i assumed all was well) and great, it took me over the M25 right where all the road works were. great. So it being nearly midnight and me being up waaaaaaaaay past my bedtime i decided to ignore the speed limit (which had been dropped cos of roadworks, BUT roadwork men were tucked up in bed & noone was on road) so I am expecting a ticket in the post this week....oh and I made it home with 1 mile of petrol left. Now how is that for exactness! So i've learned my lesson here, don't go back to wales unless i'm am either dressed like an eskimo or global warming has hit there a little more and it warms up to the temperature that the rest of the country is!
But all in all, a good trip, one most definately to remember, AND i now LOVE my sat nav :).....couldn't imagine even going to tesco without her now ;)
Happy Bank Holiday all!
Welcome
Monday, 30 May 2011
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
arghhhhhhhhh....and breaaaathe!
Well this evening I think Tabitha would have had me voted best mum of the year! I was a nice mummy and made cakes, and let her have one before bed, I let her watch a whole dvd of Mr Tumble, and then 6 episodes of Peppa Pig, each time one finished I would say let's go to bed & she would plead for another so I gave in.....little does she know that I only made the cakes because i'd run out of chocolate and needed to feed my sugar craving once they'd gone to bed, and little did she know that I gave in to a whole dvd of Mr tumble because I was playing bejewelled blitz on the Ipod behind her back ....and once that had finished I had no energy to get up and get her undressed, bathed and put to bed, so peppa pig went on for (ever) 6 episodes....but hey ho, i'll let her think i'm brill and let her tell me how much she loves me rather than the fact i'm a lazy fat (well will be after all those cakes ar eaten) biatch!
After peppa finished I managed to crawl off the couch and grab some old p.j's (well last nights) that had been rammed in a toy box after one of my *ahem* cleaning frenzies earlier, they were sporting this mornings breakfast on (don't raise your eyebrows like you've never done this lol) and it was only as i was putting them on that I remembered exactly why Tabitha had needed the bath that I had blatently dodged (on their behalf)...she had pen marks from her ears down to her toes, oh well, i'm sure pens must pass standards now and not contain poison???? (let's hope so anyway, as a few were pretty deep on the skin, almost like she tried to tattoo herself)
After chucking them both in bed and telling them if they got out a big spider would eat them, i trundled back downstairs, debating whether to watch a film in bed, or watch eastenders & some catch up on sky down here....opted for down stairs as the cakes were nearer, and the emergency cider!
So settled with cake, i decided to check my emails, AND i had waiting for me the best news ever :) the case of wine that i had tried to cancel wasn't cancelled as it was done too late *secret yey!!!* and they would still charge and deliver to me *yeyeyeyeyey* Then for the next 5 mins -didn't take long- I tried to justify to myself why i deserved the wine out of the tight budget we are on.....of course like i said that didn't take long, and after working out that each bottle cost only £4, and were yummy, i practially had to stop myself getting on to M&S for 10 more cases! Ha!
Whilst waiting for my emails to load up i scanned the damage to the living room, debating whether to clean today or whether it would suffice until tomorrow....and noticed the toys were no where to be seen?! Oh MY God, i thought, the kids have finally listened to me and cleaned up after themselves! Of course i was wrong, and after a bit of investigation, they had in fact moved everything they could lift into the garden! great. I was in my p.j's, had taken bra off, sorry too much info, but they swing so low when bare, I almost went upstairs to get dressed before entering my own garden. Of course I saw sense and just ran into the garden like I was looking for cover from lightening, only to be immediately stopped by the neighbour 'hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii' *sh*t* ..........So after the most embarrassing conversation and me trying very subtly to hold up the boobies I went back inside and berated myself for not getting dressed like i had first thought!
Rest of the evening will follow as planned...I will go to bed after eastenders and not eat all the cake nor emergency cider...bah, who'm I kidding, i'm putting a film on and eating so much i feel sick and searching the house for emergency alcohol after the cider has gone....then tomorrow i will wake up and b*tch about how tired I am! same old!
After peppa finished I managed to crawl off the couch and grab some old p.j's (well last nights) that had been rammed in a toy box after one of my *ahem* cleaning frenzies earlier, they were sporting this mornings breakfast on (don't raise your eyebrows like you've never done this lol) and it was only as i was putting them on that I remembered exactly why Tabitha had needed the bath that I had blatently dodged (on their behalf)...she had pen marks from her ears down to her toes, oh well, i'm sure pens must pass standards now and not contain poison???? (let's hope so anyway, as a few were pretty deep on the skin, almost like she tried to tattoo herself)
After chucking them both in bed and telling them if they got out a big spider would eat them, i trundled back downstairs, debating whether to watch a film in bed, or watch eastenders & some catch up on sky down here....opted for down stairs as the cakes were nearer, and the emergency cider!
So settled with cake, i decided to check my emails, AND i had waiting for me the best news ever :) the case of wine that i had tried to cancel wasn't cancelled as it was done too late *secret yey!!!* and they would still charge and deliver to me *yeyeyeyeyey* Then for the next 5 mins -didn't take long- I tried to justify to myself why i deserved the wine out of the tight budget we are on.....of course like i said that didn't take long, and after working out that each bottle cost only £4, and were yummy, i practially had to stop myself getting on to M&S for 10 more cases! Ha!
Whilst waiting for my emails to load up i scanned the damage to the living room, debating whether to clean today or whether it would suffice until tomorrow....and noticed the toys were no where to be seen?! Oh MY God, i thought, the kids have finally listened to me and cleaned up after themselves! Of course i was wrong, and after a bit of investigation, they had in fact moved everything they could lift into the garden! great. I was in my p.j's, had taken bra off, sorry too much info, but they swing so low when bare, I almost went upstairs to get dressed before entering my own garden. Of course I saw sense and just ran into the garden like I was looking for cover from lightening, only to be immediately stopped by the neighbour 'hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii' *sh*t* ..........So after the most embarrassing conversation and me trying very subtly to hold up the boobies I went back inside and berated myself for not getting dressed like i had first thought!
Rest of the evening will follow as planned...I will go to bed after eastenders and not eat all the cake nor emergency cider...bah, who'm I kidding, i'm putting a film on and eating so much i feel sick and searching the house for emergency alcohol after the cider has gone....then tomorrow i will wake up and b*tch about how tired I am! same old!
Sunday, 22 May 2011
wow time flies...
WOW the last few weeks have gone so fast, and hubby is now safely back at work for the week....they bring him back from Afghan and chuck him down to Larkhill instead...where, ironically the reception for the internet & phone is worse?! Go figure that one out huh?!
My hair disaster is now rectified *phew*....The mother-in-law came over for a few days and 'nicely' said that the 'blonde' didn't suit me (was never blonde anyway, dark blonde/light brown/ginger is how I would have described it at best)....oh the shame, it is now RED!!! I suppose I should keep it to myself that I actually trained as a hairdresser 13 years ago......I bet you're all thanking the lord I decided I didn't want to be one after qualifying - yes they actually passed me...with distinction *insert shocked face here later*
So whilst I haven't been blogging I have been silently fuming with the family (by this i mean the ones who think they are mafia/royality what ever you like to call spoilt, ungrateful members that think they can help themselves to whatever they please). My dear Nan passed away last week & she was staying with my aunt & uncle. Because they don't really get on with everyone we haven't seen as much of her as we would have all liked, by 'we' I mean me, my sisters, my mother & probably my father! Anyways, she passed after a week or so of being in hospital on life support & a collapsed lung & only 30% of her heart working...I personally think she did very well lasting that long with all that was wrong with her.
And I for one was glad to finally get the news that she wasn't in pain anymore, no longer drugged up on morphine but finally at peace with grandad.... However, whilst all this was going on my conniving cousins & aunt & uncle were praying for her to hang on in there because they had decided to strip her house bare & settle themselves in for the long run- (it is a lovely 3 bed council house in south east london, so highly expensive to live there, and no houses left basically) -and not tell anyone!
Well by anyone I mean me, mother, father, sisters! EVERYONE else knew, and not one had told us. We were of course upset, and then even more so when we found out her savings account had been cleared by said family members also. So who believes in Karma.........me, me, me!
The funeral is in a couple of weeks, and knowing what I know now, I don't really want to go. Only because I don't want to speak to certain family members (as mentioned above) because they do not know that we know their 'secret'....hmmm what to do huh!
And the funny thing is, my nan, bless her was the most rambunctious person I had ever come across...she spoke her mind to everyone & would not take no for an answer. She reminded me of the nan from Catherine Tate's show, to the tee! I remember seeing it for the first time and ringing my sister & mum to tell them to switch over to it, only for them to say to me, omg have you seen the exact replica of nan on T.V! She also swore as much as that nan, and I swear she used to say, 'so&so is taking a F**ing liberty doing that'; the only difference was the accent & the hair ;) a truly memorable character!
I remember speaking to her after her husband, our grandad, died. She specifically stated that she did not want anyone having her house, it was to go back to someone on the council list who needed it. She also said that her life savings were not for one son in particular but to be split between the 4 remaining sons. And it saddens me now to know that her last wishes were trodden upon out of greed, spite & never knowing when enough is enough....
This blog is very doom & gloom, for that I'm sorry, (if anyone reads) but it feels better than telling said family members how I feel & is far cheaper than a therapist ;) so I will be back a little more regularly now hubby is back at work, partly because I am always bored in the evenings & partly to keep me away from the chocolate (am still on diet, booooooooooooo)!!
My hair disaster is now rectified *phew*....The mother-in-law came over for a few days and 'nicely' said that the 'blonde' didn't suit me (was never blonde anyway, dark blonde/light brown/ginger is how I would have described it at best)....oh the shame, it is now RED!!! I suppose I should keep it to myself that I actually trained as a hairdresser 13 years ago......I bet you're all thanking the lord I decided I didn't want to be one after qualifying - yes they actually passed me...with distinction *insert shocked face here later*
So whilst I haven't been blogging I have been silently fuming with the family (by this i mean the ones who think they are mafia/royality what ever you like to call spoilt, ungrateful members that think they can help themselves to whatever they please). My dear Nan passed away last week & she was staying with my aunt & uncle. Because they don't really get on with everyone we haven't seen as much of her as we would have all liked, by 'we' I mean me, my sisters, my mother & probably my father! Anyways, she passed after a week or so of being in hospital on life support & a collapsed lung & only 30% of her heart working...I personally think she did very well lasting that long with all that was wrong with her.
And I for one was glad to finally get the news that she wasn't in pain anymore, no longer drugged up on morphine but finally at peace with grandad.... However, whilst all this was going on my conniving cousins & aunt & uncle were praying for her to hang on in there because they had decided to strip her house bare & settle themselves in for the long run- (it is a lovely 3 bed council house in south east london, so highly expensive to live there, and no houses left basically) -and not tell anyone!
Well by anyone I mean me, mother, father, sisters! EVERYONE else knew, and not one had told us. We were of course upset, and then even more so when we found out her savings account had been cleared by said family members also. So who believes in Karma.........me, me, me!
The funeral is in a couple of weeks, and knowing what I know now, I don't really want to go. Only because I don't want to speak to certain family members (as mentioned above) because they do not know that we know their 'secret'....hmmm what to do huh!
And the funny thing is, my nan, bless her was the most rambunctious person I had ever come across...she spoke her mind to everyone & would not take no for an answer. She reminded me of the nan from Catherine Tate's show, to the tee! I remember seeing it for the first time and ringing my sister & mum to tell them to switch over to it, only for them to say to me, omg have you seen the exact replica of nan on T.V! She also swore as much as that nan, and I swear she used to say, 'so&so is taking a F**ing liberty doing that'; the only difference was the accent & the hair ;) a truly memorable character!
I remember speaking to her after her husband, our grandad, died. She specifically stated that she did not want anyone having her house, it was to go back to someone on the council list who needed it. She also said that her life savings were not for one son in particular but to be split between the 4 remaining sons. And it saddens me now to know that her last wishes were trodden upon out of greed, spite & never knowing when enough is enough....
This blog is very doom & gloom, for that I'm sorry, (if anyone reads) but it feels better than telling said family members how I feel & is far cheaper than a therapist ;) so I will be back a little more regularly now hubby is back at work, partly because I am always bored in the evenings & partly to keep me away from the chocolate (am still on diet, booooooooooooo)!!
Thursday, 12 May 2011
Do blondes have more fun?
Well, well, well. I finally decided that I had had enough being a brunette, I've been talking about dying my hair for a LONG time, and in my defense I may have actually done it one day....Anyway Liam comes home, with grocery shopping, and in the bags are a baby blonde permanent hair dye & bleach....err?? He has obviously had enough of me being a brunette, either that or my moaning about wanting a change (oops)
So i told him it wasn't enough as my hair is very long and thick. So it sits on the shelf for a week or so, and one day I finally plucked up the courage. I enlisted Liam's help whilst the kids were in their rooms....and off we set for blondehood! Ah well if it were only that easy huh!
I decided I had dyed my hair enough times not to read the instructions, this was my first mistake. I set Liam in charge of mixing products up, this was my second mistake. SO Liam starts applying the hair dye, roots first down to the ends (the pre-lightening stuff) 'Oh' I say, 'I don't think that it should be going that light, that quick?' Quick flick through the instructions (by passing the first few steps....) ah ok maybe it's ok?
Half hour later and the dye is all on, all two boxes of it. This is stage one. I then realise that Liam has mixed pot A with B but left pot C on the side, which should have been mixed with pot A& B after you have given them a vigorous shaking. *Bugger* so with the dregs of pot A&B we mix pot C and quickly massage into A & B which is already on head, 'Sh*t, Sh*T, Sh*TTTT'.
So a few pics later and a few conversations on facebook later, I realise that I should have started from tips to roots, 'oh' Liam says, 'I'm sure it will be fine'- famous last words I think!!!!!
So I finally go back upstairs, and look for instructions. Ah-ha, yes I was wrong, liam was wrong and said friend is right, we had f*cked up royally, and gone and made the roots, white, the middle bit orange, the ends dark blonde/brown/orange/copper. Brill! Liam again says, 'it's fine' and 'just tell people you meant to do it like that'...'Ah yes,' I could say, 'well you see my children absolutely loveeeeeee Mcdonalds, so I thought I would try and look like Ronald bloody Mcdonald, just for them, aren't a great mum'..next ensues a mini argument which gets me nor my hair anywhere nearer to being blonde. The Dye has been on over an hour and half, the roots are see through now, the tips no where near being blonde *oh God*....so we wash it off, and I silently cry & pray!
Look in the mirror, and OMG even worse than I thought with dye on, so next step is dying *Blonde* hair to the shade you want. So i see if in the instructions it says anything about bolloxing up the making it blonde part, and says something like, 'well so in this section you do this if you f*cked up the first stage, that even a 5 yr old could do', but no it's more like, 'if you don't have light enough hair already, you are screwed and have just wasted your money'. But being an optimist (did I have any other choice) I put it on, leave it for double the time it is supposed to be on, take it off and yey it's blonde....no actually that's the happy ending I never got. It's actually Carrot/orange/disgusting. F*ckity F*ck, F*ck well the tourettes carried on for far longer....but you get the picture. Moi= not happy.
Liam reckoned i still looked beautiful (aww) however a trip to Boots to buy more hair dye has actually confirmed that 1) he doesn't pay the blindest bit of notice to me, or 2) he is blind. Never had so many *odd* looks in one shopping trip, even when once I wore Bright green flares did it not attract this much attention *shame*
This blonde (carrot/ginger/orange) head does not have more fun. Should have stayed boring but safe brown......! If you are considering doing this at home, TIP 1: start from the ends and work up to the roots. TIP2, read the instructions! TIP 3: go to a bloody hairdresser, after you f*ck it up and try to fix it several times you will have actually spent the same amount of money, and probably shortened your life instead of extending it but chillaxing in a hairdressers chair!!!
PICS: (remember this is a work in progress)
So i told him it wasn't enough as my hair is very long and thick. So it sits on the shelf for a week or so, and one day I finally plucked up the courage. I enlisted Liam's help whilst the kids were in their rooms....and off we set for blondehood! Ah well if it were only that easy huh!
I decided I had dyed my hair enough times not to read the instructions, this was my first mistake. I set Liam in charge of mixing products up, this was my second mistake. SO Liam starts applying the hair dye, roots first down to the ends (the pre-lightening stuff) 'Oh' I say, 'I don't think that it should be going that light, that quick?' Quick flick through the instructions (by passing the first few steps....) ah ok maybe it's ok?
Half hour later and the dye is all on, all two boxes of it. This is stage one. I then realise that Liam has mixed pot A with B but left pot C on the side, which should have been mixed with pot A& B after you have given them a vigorous shaking. *Bugger* so with the dregs of pot A&B we mix pot C and quickly massage into A & B which is already on head, 'Sh*t, Sh*T, Sh*TTTT'.
So a few pics later and a few conversations on facebook later, I realise that I should have started from tips to roots, 'oh' Liam says, 'I'm sure it will be fine'- famous last words I think!!!!!
So I finally go back upstairs, and look for instructions. Ah-ha, yes I was wrong, liam was wrong and said friend is right, we had f*cked up royally, and gone and made the roots, white, the middle bit orange, the ends dark blonde/brown/orange/copper. Brill! Liam again says, 'it's fine' and 'just tell people you meant to do it like that'...'Ah yes,' I could say, 'well you see my children absolutely loveeeeeee Mcdonalds, so I thought I would try and look like Ronald bloody Mcdonald, just for them, aren't a great mum'..next ensues a mini argument which gets me nor my hair anywhere nearer to being blonde. The Dye has been on over an hour and half, the roots are see through now, the tips no where near being blonde *oh God*....so we wash it off, and I silently cry & pray!
Look in the mirror, and OMG even worse than I thought with dye on, so next step is dying *Blonde* hair to the shade you want. So i see if in the instructions it says anything about bolloxing up the making it blonde part, and says something like, 'well so in this section you do this if you f*cked up the first stage, that even a 5 yr old could do', but no it's more like, 'if you don't have light enough hair already, you are screwed and have just wasted your money'. But being an optimist (did I have any other choice) I put it on, leave it for double the time it is supposed to be on, take it off and yey it's blonde....no actually that's the happy ending I never got. It's actually Carrot/orange/disgusting. F*ckity F*ck, F*ck well the tourettes carried on for far longer....but you get the picture. Moi= not happy.
Liam reckoned i still looked beautiful (aww) however a trip to Boots to buy more hair dye has actually confirmed that 1) he doesn't pay the blindest bit of notice to me, or 2) he is blind. Never had so many *odd* looks in one shopping trip, even when once I wore Bright green flares did it not attract this much attention *shame*
This blonde (carrot/ginger/orange) head does not have more fun. Should have stayed boring but safe brown......! If you are considering doing this at home, TIP 1: start from the ends and work up to the roots. TIP2, read the instructions! TIP 3: go to a bloody hairdresser, after you f*ck it up and try to fix it several times you will have actually spent the same amount of money, and probably shortened your life instead of extending it but chillaxing in a hairdressers chair!!!
PICS: (remember this is a work in progress)
 |
| NATURAL HAIR COLOUR |
 |
| AFTER STEP 1 |
 |
| AFTER STEP 2 STILL NOT BLONDE *SOB* AND 4 HOURS OF HAIR DYE ON HEAD, STILL GINGER! |
 |
| HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM- HELP! |
OH WOW FABBY DOO DAH, BLOODY BRILLIANT, NOT *SOB*
Friday, 6 May 2011
Credit...
Well for anyone that's read all my blogs, you'll know that I am on a DMP. I have to say I spend a fair bit of my spare time nowadays checking my bank balance, doing spreadsheets trying to balance everything & reading & soaking up info on MSE (great site for all sorts of reasons- check it out).
And after reading a post on there over the last week (was a long post) it made me realise that all sorts of people get into debt, some people consider £1,000 a debt, to others it's £500,000. To me £1k was me doing ok, and not that far into my main overdraft. Debt is relative to situation, income & outgoings...i didn't really believe this unti i read that post. My personal debt was accrued whilst DH retrained for his new job, his old self-employed work dried up, I also started uni at the same time. I made a bad investment which added a huge amount to my debt. And we got married & had 2 babies. That is it in a nutshell. We didn't buy flash cars, holidays, clothes (unfortunately, at least then we would have something to show...)
Instead i was paying for a mortgage at the height of the hiked interest rates, because my tenants buggered off and my 'spare' house was empty. I tried to sell, the housing market quite literally crashed the day after!! (this was said bad investment)
We needed cots, prams (all bought ebay or second hand else where or half price in sales) clothes were from primark or tesco...yet we still added to the debts! Interest rates are crippling, that much I know.
Our wedding, i borrowed a dress, hired a cheap leisure centre room, had lovely friends do it up on the cheap, and did the food myself with mum & friends. Was tiring, but it only cost £500. However, when I am out of the DMP i would love to do it again, properly. Preferably abroad, so I know I will get my honeymoon too (didn't get that as we moved and were broke!) lol
Our move we hired a smallish van and drove from london-wales-new home ourselves to move everything was very tiring but much cheaper than paying someone. Being poor is no fun!
Finding out about the CCCS was our lightbulb moment as some call it, I realised that for 2 years I had been robbing peter to pay paul and we were still no closer to paying anything off (frigging interest rates again). In fact because I was using all spare money meeting minimum payments we then had to buy essentials such as food shop, birthday pressies (okay not essential but...) petrol etc...and this is always a bad idea (so i've been told)...
I have completely trashed my credit score now. BUT I kind of did it on purpose, I knew going on the DMP would do this, and i kind of wanted to trash it. Creditors were literally throwing money at me for some reason, tempting me further into debt. I had no job since quitting just before uni, now had 3 kids instead of one and DH was on low income whilst retraining in the army. Yet i had a nearly 5k overdraft, 10k on credit cards, 115k mortgage, 4k on loans and this is just me....DH had an overdraft & credit cards too. I know for sure after this is all over I will never willingly take out a loan, credit card, just because it is offered...! Obviously i doubt anyone will offer me anything for a good decade yet lol
I have since done research on it and found soooooo (cant emphasise this enough) many people in the same situation. No wonder the country is in recession, we all live on credit, companies, people, you name it...
"A recent report has suggested that there are now many people in the UK who are hiding their debt problems, with many of them struggling to make ends meet financially and hiding their debt issues from their families and loved ones. It is thought that around one in three people could be hiding problems relating to their debt levels and struggling as a result of their debts.
According to the report the value of this so called hidden debt mountain could be an astonishing £55 billion, adding to the already huge level of personal debt that consumers in the UK have overall. The average personal debt in the UK is now said to be just under £10,000." (glitec.co.uk)
I'm sure that some people reading this are in debt, although manageable so not considered debt to them. I urge you if you are, not to over extend yourself. one or two tough months could see you where I am now.
Also found this...which made me laugh because it seems men always want to wear the trousers, be in charge of money etc, yet in reality who is in the house most of the time, knows the bills & dd's inside out and knows how much a loaf of bread is....women!!
"Recent research from a leading Australian bank has found that almost half of all couples row over money. And as more women take control of their household finances, arguments about money are on the increase." (creditcards.com)
At least seeing things like this makes me realise that i'm not alone in trying to take over the money situation ;) lol...might have to show hubby this one...
Anyways I hope you found it interesting, and please feel free to comment, would love to know people are out there :) and perhaps know i'm not the only one that hate credit card companies :D (haha)
And after reading a post on there over the last week (was a long post) it made me realise that all sorts of people get into debt, some people consider £1,000 a debt, to others it's £500,000. To me £1k was me doing ok, and not that far into my main overdraft. Debt is relative to situation, income & outgoings...i didn't really believe this unti i read that post. My personal debt was accrued whilst DH retrained for his new job, his old self-employed work dried up, I also started uni at the same time. I made a bad investment which added a huge amount to my debt. And we got married & had 2 babies. That is it in a nutshell. We didn't buy flash cars, holidays, clothes (unfortunately, at least then we would have something to show...)
Instead i was paying for a mortgage at the height of the hiked interest rates, because my tenants buggered off and my 'spare' house was empty. I tried to sell, the housing market quite literally crashed the day after!! (this was said bad investment)
We needed cots, prams (all bought ebay or second hand else where or half price in sales) clothes were from primark or tesco...yet we still added to the debts! Interest rates are crippling, that much I know.
Our wedding, i borrowed a dress, hired a cheap leisure centre room, had lovely friends do it up on the cheap, and did the food myself with mum & friends. Was tiring, but it only cost £500. However, when I am out of the DMP i would love to do it again, properly. Preferably abroad, so I know I will get my honeymoon too (didn't get that as we moved and were broke!) lol
Our move we hired a smallish van and drove from london-wales-new home ourselves to move everything was very tiring but much cheaper than paying someone. Being poor is no fun!
Finding out about the CCCS was our lightbulb moment as some call it, I realised that for 2 years I had been robbing peter to pay paul and we were still no closer to paying anything off (frigging interest rates again). In fact because I was using all spare money meeting minimum payments we then had to buy essentials such as food shop, birthday pressies (okay not essential but...) petrol etc...and this is always a bad idea (so i've been told)...
I have completely trashed my credit score now. BUT I kind of did it on purpose, I knew going on the DMP would do this, and i kind of wanted to trash it. Creditors were literally throwing money at me for some reason, tempting me further into debt. I had no job since quitting just before uni, now had 3 kids instead of one and DH was on low income whilst retraining in the army. Yet i had a nearly 5k overdraft, 10k on credit cards, 115k mortgage, 4k on loans and this is just me....DH had an overdraft & credit cards too. I know for sure after this is all over I will never willingly take out a loan, credit card, just because it is offered...! Obviously i doubt anyone will offer me anything for a good decade yet lol
I have since done research on it and found soooooo (cant emphasise this enough) many people in the same situation. No wonder the country is in recession, we all live on credit, companies, people, you name it...
"A recent report has suggested that there are now many people in the UK who are hiding their debt problems, with many of them struggling to make ends meet financially and hiding their debt issues from their families and loved ones. It is thought that around one in three people could be hiding problems relating to their debt levels and struggling as a result of their debts.
According to the report the value of this so called hidden debt mountain could be an astonishing £55 billion, adding to the already huge level of personal debt that consumers in the UK have overall. The average personal debt in the UK is now said to be just under £10,000." (glitec.co.uk)
I'm sure that some people reading this are in debt, although manageable so not considered debt to them. I urge you if you are, not to over extend yourself. one or two tough months could see you where I am now.
Also found this...which made me laugh because it seems men always want to wear the trousers, be in charge of money etc, yet in reality who is in the house most of the time, knows the bills & dd's inside out and knows how much a loaf of bread is....women!!
"Recent research from a leading Australian bank has found that almost half of all couples row over money. And as more women take control of their household finances, arguments about money are on the increase." (creditcards.com)
At least seeing things like this makes me realise that i'm not alone in trying to take over the money situation ;) lol...might have to show hubby this one...
Anyways I hope you found it interesting, and please feel free to comment, would love to know people are out there :) and perhaps know i'm not the only one that hate credit card companies :D (haha)
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
....Zoo......
Well today was a NSD (No Spend Day) :-) My aim is to get 10 of these this month! I'm on 3 i think already, tomorrow is shopping day and i've been good, and been on My supermarket to compare prices! £97 quid at waitrose....and only £59 at Asda...how can that be?! I wonder if the foods at W/R really are of better quality than those at Asda for that price difference....I could have probably chosen top brands at Asda and still come in around the same price as w/r *shocking*
We spent the afternoon at the zoo today getting use out of our year passes, we arrived about 1pm and Tabitha & Caleb headed straight to the Park, we managed to co-erce them out of the park to actually see some animals by around 2pm, and by 3pm she wanted to go back to the park & Caleb was flat out in the pram! I may as well have saved the petrol money and walked them to the park at the back of the house, kids eh!
Caleb is going through a biting stage at the moment, earlier he actually bit Tabtiha so hard she is now left with permanent teeth marks & a big purple bruise. I don't think I've ever heard her cry so much the poor little thing. I told Caleb off and he just turns around and says 'NO' and tries to smack you in the face :/ The naughty step doesn't work, perhaps maybe he is too young (21 months) or perhaps he is just naughty and doesn't care .*phone is ringing BRB*...just had a phone call interrupting my mumbling train of thought there, from Ethan :) He reeled off a list of things he wants bought for him, cricket whites, pokemon tins, pokemon games, ds fixed oh and he told me he loved me and then had to go...i'll say it again, KIDS!
So as I said we went to the zoo, and I find it quite depressing sometimes. I look at some of the animals and their little enclosures and I just think, they should be out in the wild, with vast amounts of space not a little wired enclosure with not enough space to break into a run. Then I see the signs up 'only 600 left in the wild' (Tigers), 'nearly extinct' (gorillas) and I think, well the Zoo's are doing their bit to encourage the extinct species to copulate and reproduce with one another....so they are doing good. BUT I just can't shake that feeling off that animals should be in the wild, we should stop hunting them, we should all become vegetarians, we should all just stop tearing down rain forests, and hunting animals for their skins, furs, tusks etc ...I read that tigers are hunted down by Chinese people mostly for medicinal purposes, they believe nearly every part of a tiger is useful in curing some sort of illness, disease or problem. I'm not so sure myself, but obviously this blog isn't written by Doctor Victoria so i'm not really qualified to say this.....
oh God how depressing, i'm now wondering if anyone is bothering to even read this lol...i'm debating now whether to chill my plum wine from Dover Castle.....i can hear it calling me, and I know I have chocolate left upstairs....Hmmmmmmm ..right-o i'm going as otherwise I will just rant on about animals....oh and also I read on one of the visitor notices...'we know that one of our chimpanzee's rocks back and forth, she was saved from a laboratory and was being tested on, we think she has past traumas that she can remember, hence her depression & rocking to comfort her' (ok not word for word, I don't have a photographic memory unfortunately) but how sad???? :(
We spent the afternoon at the zoo today getting use out of our year passes, we arrived about 1pm and Tabitha & Caleb headed straight to the Park, we managed to co-erce them out of the park to actually see some animals by around 2pm, and by 3pm she wanted to go back to the park & Caleb was flat out in the pram! I may as well have saved the petrol money and walked them to the park at the back of the house, kids eh!
Caleb is going through a biting stage at the moment, earlier he actually bit Tabtiha so hard she is now left with permanent teeth marks & a big purple bruise. I don't think I've ever heard her cry so much the poor little thing. I told Caleb off and he just turns around and says 'NO' and tries to smack you in the face :/ The naughty step doesn't work, perhaps maybe he is too young (21 months) or perhaps he is just naughty and doesn't care .*phone is ringing BRB*...just had a phone call interrupting my mumbling train of thought there, from Ethan :) He reeled off a list of things he wants bought for him, cricket whites, pokemon tins, pokemon games, ds fixed oh and he told me he loved me and then had to go...i'll say it again, KIDS!
So as I said we went to the zoo, and I find it quite depressing sometimes. I look at some of the animals and their little enclosures and I just think, they should be out in the wild, with vast amounts of space not a little wired enclosure with not enough space to break into a run. Then I see the signs up 'only 600 left in the wild' (Tigers), 'nearly extinct' (gorillas) and I think, well the Zoo's are doing their bit to encourage the extinct species to copulate and reproduce with one another....so they are doing good. BUT I just can't shake that feeling off that animals should be in the wild, we should stop hunting them, we should all become vegetarians, we should all just stop tearing down rain forests, and hunting animals for their skins, furs, tusks etc ...I read that tigers are hunted down by Chinese people mostly for medicinal purposes, they believe nearly every part of a tiger is useful in curing some sort of illness, disease or problem. I'm not so sure myself, but obviously this blog isn't written by Doctor Victoria so i'm not really qualified to say this.....
oh God how depressing, i'm now wondering if anyone is bothering to even read this lol...i'm debating now whether to chill my plum wine from Dover Castle.....i can hear it calling me, and I know I have chocolate left upstairs....Hmmmmmmm ..right-o i'm going as otherwise I will just rant on about animals....oh and also I read on one of the visitor notices...'we know that one of our chimpanzee's rocks back and forth, she was saved from a laboratory and was being tested on, we think she has past traumas that she can remember, hence her depression & rocking to comfort her' (ok not word for word, I don't have a photographic memory unfortunately) but how sad???? :(
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Back to business
Well the Bank Holiday weekends are over, kids back at school, post has resumed (bills landing on door mat lol) so back to business as usual. Only I can't seem to get out of holiday mode, I've been having lie in's every day for at least a week, lazing around on the sofa, not wanting to go outside (i'm allergic to the cold, no really) and even Liam has noticed now, damn! This means I will have to make a concerted effort to get up before 10am, get dressed, and go out from now on. Suppose I could make use of the zoo passes we have, or the English heritage card?! I missed play group today because I was still in that holiday mode, luckily my children are too young to realise what a useless and forgetful mother they have (phew)....
I had a phone call from Ethan earlier, last term it was little army things that kids were collecting (from game workshop??) and now this term it is pokemon cards, which I am sure he was collecting when he was 7, then grew out of it, threw them all away and now 5 years later has suddenly decided it is fun to do again (until next term)....If I hadn't have wasted my money on a tennis raquet he will never use I could have probably got him 10 packs of these blooming cards, oh well....
My posts are a little flaky lately. No real point in them, but this is actually exactly how I am feeling. I can't put my finger on it, but I'm really not feeling myself....I think now I have Liam home after 7 months alone I have kind of just flaked out and not managed to pull myself together yet...hopefully this will occur sooner rather than later!
Good news on my DMP, we contacted lots of creditors this morning and most have agreed to terms if they receive letters from the CCCS (the company dealing with it for us)...I just wish they would send the letters out when they said they were going to! But if this happens interest should be frozen on all accounts and we can pay off what we owe rather than just interest that accrues ;( <----angry face!
Nothing else to report apart from dodgy dreams regarding my postman, milkman (we don't have one???) and a bin man....they all came round to celebrate the royal wedding with me and I have to say they were full of conversation I couldn't shut the postman up in fact! I saw him this morning after said dream and almost asked him how his dog Daisy was....thought I better not, just incase he didn't have a dog called Daisy, or even more worringly if he did actually have a dog called Daisy.....hmmmm
Ok enough rambling, off to sort out bank budget! (deep joy)
I had a phone call from Ethan earlier, last term it was little army things that kids were collecting (from game workshop??) and now this term it is pokemon cards, which I am sure he was collecting when he was 7, then grew out of it, threw them all away and now 5 years later has suddenly decided it is fun to do again (until next term)....If I hadn't have wasted my money on a tennis raquet he will never use I could have probably got him 10 packs of these blooming cards, oh well....
My posts are a little flaky lately. No real point in them, but this is actually exactly how I am feeling. I can't put my finger on it, but I'm really not feeling myself....I think now I have Liam home after 7 months alone I have kind of just flaked out and not managed to pull myself together yet...hopefully this will occur sooner rather than later!
Good news on my DMP, we contacted lots of creditors this morning and most have agreed to terms if they receive letters from the CCCS (the company dealing with it for us)...I just wish they would send the letters out when they said they were going to! But if this happens interest should be frozen on all accounts and we can pay off what we owe rather than just interest that accrues ;( <----angry face!
Nothing else to report apart from dodgy dreams regarding my postman, milkman (we don't have one???) and a bin man....they all came round to celebrate the royal wedding with me and I have to say they were full of conversation I couldn't shut the postman up in fact! I saw him this morning after said dream and almost asked him how his dog Daisy was....thought I better not, just incase he didn't have a dog called Daisy, or even more worringly if he did actually have a dog called Daisy.....hmmmm
Ok enough rambling, off to sort out bank budget! (deep joy)
Sunday, 1 May 2011
New month, budget time
Blah I hate doing the budget, think i'd rather go to a dentist and have teeth pulled. It's a good job I never became an accountant, I get bored just at the sight of statements & budgets & numbers *yawn* So cos hubby is back from Afghan, tax kicks in again, less money blah blah blah, I had to reassess budgets & DMP *groan,yawn, is it wine o'clock yet*
I wonder if I would be as bored if I had millions of pounds in my bank, I think I might actually like to log on to my account everyday in that case, and instead of breaking out in a cold sweat, palpitations, wondering if cheques, Direct Debits have bounced I can count how many pounds I have made in interest, instead of how much interest they have made out of me *yeah I know dream on*
So we're on budget this month, first month for hubby since going away, wondering how he will cope with pocket money in his pocket rather than a bank card, several credit cards & an overdraft.......i'm reckoning he will crack a week in (will update next week on this)
He is doing very well on the homemaking part though, he has baked yummy cakes & biscuits with the kids for the weekly treats *which were kind of too yummy and ended up in my tummy oops* and helping me do the food planner, I guess it's true the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, no matter what the situation lol.
As Ethan is back at school things should be cheaper now too as I won't feel compelled to have to take him out everywhere to bonus mummy points, cos his life is boring, and all his friends have better mums, dads, and brothers & sisters! Tweenagers eh!
So anyways have a whole list of people to phone, write to to try and get some cut charges & interest rates on Tuesday, and well,..... oh would you look at the time...it is wine o'clock after all....guess this boring numbers rubbish can wait until tomorrow! Have a good evening all (sorry short'n'sweet, just realised both kids fell asleep watching Toy Story 3, aww how cute, and Liam is sat watching it by himself!- he's not complaining mind...)
I wonder if I would be as bored if I had millions of pounds in my bank, I think I might actually like to log on to my account everyday in that case, and instead of breaking out in a cold sweat, palpitations, wondering if cheques, Direct Debits have bounced I can count how many pounds I have made in interest, instead of how much interest they have made out of me *yeah I know dream on*
So we're on budget this month, first month for hubby since going away, wondering how he will cope with pocket money in his pocket rather than a bank card, several credit cards & an overdraft.......i'm reckoning he will crack a week in (will update next week on this)
He is doing very well on the homemaking part though, he has baked yummy cakes & biscuits with the kids for the weekly treats *which were kind of too yummy and ended up in my tummy oops* and helping me do the food planner, I guess it's true the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, no matter what the situation lol.
As Ethan is back at school things should be cheaper now too as I won't feel compelled to have to take him out everywhere to bonus mummy points, cos his life is boring, and all his friends have better mums, dads, and brothers & sisters! Tweenagers eh!
So anyways have a whole list of people to phone, write to to try and get some cut charges & interest rates on Tuesday, and well,..... oh would you look at the time...it is wine o'clock after all....guess this boring numbers rubbish can wait until tomorrow! Have a good evening all (sorry short'n'sweet, just realised both kids fell asleep watching Toy Story 3, aww how cute, and Liam is sat watching it by himself!- he's not complaining mind...)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)