I Earn Too Much

So said the council lady about getting a discount on my tax. Ho hum. But in a pleasant surprise, I wasn't charged for my car insurance this month as apparently there's no instalment in January. Nice! My MOT also went through flawlessly. That's never happened before for me with any car. Lovely. 

Since I hadn't watched a single holiday movie so far, I finally sat down with The Princess Bride and quite enjoyed it. It hasn't dated despite it being 36 years old.

My glasses arrived from Zenni... the backup cheap reading ones are exactly what I expected. But the progressives (multifocals) are just not going to work for me, focusing on my phone is so low down in the lenses that it hurts. They've agreed to refund me which is outstanding, since nothing is actually wrong with how they made them up. Zenni doesn't have the low-profile half height frames anymore so for my "outside" pair I found another website and we'll see if they are any good. 

I also ordered myself a head cam to get more pics of Little X but it's way too heavy, so that's going back for a refund too. 

Currently eating my cheap Christmas trifle, and it's delicious. 😋

Tinsel Time

Merry Christmas, I hope you had a peaceful time and were able to enjoy yourself in some way.

Little X scored a pram play chain thingy, a hand rattle, and a teddy to snuggle. Plus some stacking cups for when she is bigger, and some books (The Very Hungry Caterpillar and a Vegemite book). She also got a bear hat. More than the four standard items I mentioned, but definitely no extravagance in our house. For myself I got Bailey's, chocolate seashells and After Eights. 

I did cook my roast and had it with tinned peas and carrots. Still enjoyed it and was honestly flabbergasted that Little X was kind enough to snooze more than an hour while I cooked - which is a gift in itself. 

Way too much on the plate, so of course I couldn't finish it. 

I also prepped snack bowls of cheese and crackers, antipasti, mince pies and sweets, but didn't have room for them. 😂 Nor did I get stuck into the Bailey's, but fortunately it's legal to enjoy special food and drink on other days too.

Tomorrow I'm going for coffee with Poppet and then I'll contemplate a day of housework, since I have the health worker coming in a few days and my flat looks like survival mode. 😜

Yuletide Eve Expeditions

So during the week I went a'foragin' (read: into the supermarket) with a view to finding Christmas grub. I thought that Fave German Supermarket would do just fine, but unfortunately, everything Christmassy was also Deluxified and expensive. When I saw that the miniature hams were ten pounds, I decided I wasn't having ham. But I then I realised I was too early for the Christmas veg bargains anyway, so I can try elsewhere later, right?

Well pfft, today I went into Fave Chain Supermarket and PFFFT. They had no carrots, no cheap veg at all, and as I picked up my ONE POUND TWENTY potatoes I forgot completely to look for sprouts. But considering I saw no retail evidence of a holiday, they probably didn't have any left anyway. (Supermarkets are supposed to have a giant display of chocolate tubs, mince pies and fancy biscuits, assaulting your senses as soon as you enter. It's the law.) In the end I've bought a pork shoulder for a fiver. It's huge, so I'm going to cut it and freeze half. 

I did manage to keep She Who Will Scream chilled for long enough to pop into work and spend £9 on an additional clothes airer. We're battling for drying space. It was nice to visit and see Star, Good Boss, Model and Bluey. But there were so many new faces and I'm reminded how fast retail staff turnover is... and it was slightly odd to see, for the second time that day, a major shop that wasn't overrun with customers doing last-minute panic shopping. I did score a free loaf of bread from Star (surplus, before it got binned) which is much appreciated right now.

It's so late in the evening now and Little X can't unwrap things anyway, so nothing is getting done in that regard this year. I'll no doubt skip 90% of the traditions for tomorrow, but I'm still looking forward to it. 🎄🎁

I Drive!

I managed to get clearance to drive. 👏 Fantastic. We're still not going out much, since we're still getting into a routine. We've seen the midwife and also had a health check this week at the clinic. I even picked up a handful of onesies for Little X there - she is really keeping the washer busy and I'm battling to avoid the tumble dryer (I'm winning so far, but only just). 

The DWP has reduced my UC debt repayments, which is a relief. I've still never resorted to a cash advance from a credit card to stay afloat with bills, and I'm really glad about that.  👏

Konniption Fit

So today I got notification of what my Universal Credit will be. I lose half of it thanks to my maternity pay and UC debt repayments. 😒 I've sent a grovelling note asking if the repayment part (£92) can be reduced... Watch this space.

Anyhoo, my new budgetary quackalations began, and I almost had a heart attack - thankfully I realised an enormous calculation error and was then able to breathe. By February, on an ordinary month I'll be only £100 shy of covering necessary bills. Very survivable via surveys. And if my fuel/food/extras stay under 170 per month from there, the bill costs will begin to reduce. Challenge accepted. 

MOT booked and the dealer is going to kindly collect and return the car for me 👍

Free MOT, Yes Thanks

50 into my bank account this week.
Please and Thank You. 🙏

So technically, my MOT is not "free", but I've been a good girl lately in getting all my YouGov surveys done and reached cashout level of £50. The timing is very good indeed. I have also had a pile of small redemptions that all add up, many of them from games that I play on my phone while trapped under a small baby. Might as well earn something while I can't do much else!

I ended up buying my new bra on credit (well, everything is on credit these days) and the journey was not fun in any way, with Little X screaming the street down as we walked home from the bus stop - and me getting drenched in the process. I cannot wait to be cleared to drive. Right now the closest I get to that is in moving the car around the carpark every few days to stop the brakes/wheels seizing up. Bus trips themselves I don't mind, it's the fact that places I need to go take a long, long time to get to. Little X is not nearly as patient as I am.

We've had three home health visits now and the next one is at the clinic in town. At some point this week I should get to register her with my GP and then we fight to get a timely appointment - mostly because I want to be cleared for driving! It would also mean I can visit Food Club again.

Today I defrosted my freezer. The ice came off in huge slabs which is so incredibly satisfying. Mind you, it means the freezer was incredibly inefficient until I did this. 😖 I must be far more careful not to load it up so full, it's the air getting in the seal which makes it do this, and the door seals perfectly when it's not over-filled. Must think of all the saved pennies.

Reality

I think of myself as someone who doesn't really get stressed easily. And then I realised that it's not typical of me to be looking in my bank account every day to see what has gone in and come out. Normally I trust that I've set things up for the week ahead and don't need to think about it until next pay day. Ponderous. I'm not sure if it's submerged stress or merely knowing that my usual strict money management is currently slightly chaotic. 😁

But in any case, I do a lot of "it'll be fine because X payment is coming in on Y date" these days. I can't wait for my income to become regular again later in the month. Having irregular income is annoying, to say the least, and makes it hard to plan anything, like for example when I can go and buy my new bra (currently delaying this, because [1] pram expeditions so far away are un-fun; and [2] my MOT is due in a months' time and again falls right in the holiday season, meaning I have to find the money to organise it very soon). Related: I'm currently doing Prolific surveys for pocket money. 😉

Job #2 has again given me a £20 tax refund. It's weird indeed, but I certainly won't say no to it. I also got a notification that Poison-Ivy credit card was going to go over limit when the interest charge goes on in the next few days (can I just note, incidentally, that these notifications are outstanding, despite the shitty high interest rate on that account, and means that despite the fact this card has eye-watering costs, makes me think the lender is at least not a complete tosser?). This heads-up gave me the chance to put some money onto the card to prevent an over-limit fee. I'm grateful for that. 🙏

I started another mindless game for InboxPounds which promises quite a high payout and so far doesn't involve any kind of skill or attention to the game, which in my mind makes the perfect "get paid to play" activity.

Mini-spend: I managed to buy four Christmas gifts for a total out-of-pocket of less than £3, thanks to existing Amazon credit and the fact that I'm on a trial of Prime. Right now I'm deciding whether to keep Prime once the trial is over. I haven't used Prime Video at all, but that would be a potential perk. Mostly I've been eyeing whether the site in general becomes more useful once postage is free. eBay is definitely cheaper, but post can be slow and the items can be hit and miss. We'll see.

Not a Visionary

Having spent two weeks focussing on a phone screen in semi-darkness, my sight really is pretty bad. Long story short I've shelled out £30 for a test and ordered varifocals plus a standard reading pair - just under £60 for the two including postage, which is an absolute bargain. Once again I used Zenni Optical (I'm not paid to recommend them, either, I just think they're great). You need a bit of patience, and you need to check very carefully that you enter your prescription correctly, but even if I've gotten it wrong and need to reorder, I'm still miles in front of the usual store prices. So now, the nervous wait, since I've never ordered nor worn varifocals before...

Money Out (in a big way): Crowded House ticket for June at The Eden Project (£65). No, I can't afford this. No, I couldn't resist. It's probably the one band I would choose to see if given all the choices in the world.

Out: £11 for Little X's birth certificate. (Just one of the many things I need to run around setting up, ie, I had to take her birth records to the council registrar's office to prove she exists. This is where I really miss Finland, where everything is automatically connected in the system... I really wanted to ask the UC website, then the registry office, and then the Job Centre, and then the Child Benefit website, why they can't just ask the hospital to confirm that she exists.) Related: about £10 in bus fares running about doing these things. I still have several weeks of not being allowed to drive after my surgery.

In: Council payment of £250 and Universal Credit advance of £360. There will shortly be a further UC advance, for kidlet, of £260.

Also in: payments for four survey programmes, plus two game programmes (about £30 altogether).

Visionary's Observation: I have spent basically zero time on my pc in the two weeks since Little X was born, essentially living my life in my new tiny sofa, and accordingly, using my phone. It's freaky how fast we adapt, since I've been able to do 95% of everything I needed on there, including dealing with my bank accounts etc. I still much prefer a desktop when it comes to most things, but it's surprising how phones can manage so much these days.

Agitation and Time Constraints

So the Barclays switch offer runs out on the 30th, and that's £175 which desperately belongs in my hands. I finally got the required 2x Direct Debits to show up in my throwaway account, then after eight attempts and three phone calls (yes) my Barclays application and switch went through on the app. Half a days' work, but still worth it. 👍

I've been a bit spendy, bought two small toys for little X for Christmas (£2 each), both of which are sorta "need" items. I also bought us Christmas hats (£1 each). I didn't find one to fit her so I am armed with needle and thread to create a baby size from an adult one.

We're getting the hang of the reusable nappies and so far so good. A few damp pyjama patches, just need to make sure the outer wraps cover the nappy properly. 🙂 They really feel lovely and soft.

Cooking: curried sausages.

Hello World!

Little X and I are getting to know one another. That's a phrase I never would have used with my first two - I think like most young people I viewed the newborn stage as a whirlwind to endure, a hell time of sleeplessness and misery that you just somehow hope to emerge from in the end.

But this time? It's been entirely different. Whether that's down to knowledge, experience or just age, this time I know what she's communicating to me and I have more than enough patience. We've had a couple of feeding and sleeping challenges (to be expected) but honestly she is a typical baby, and she is also lovely 😍

Today I have felt organised enough to try a reusable nappy for the first time. Disposables have been a good choice for our first week at home, especially since they were given to me free by Food Club, but I'm hoping to only need them for outings from here on. Incidentally the reusables seem a much better fit! 

It's a good thing I was given all her newborn clothes for free. She's too big for them and is in the next size up - which I also have tons of. People in this world are good and have given all the clothes she needs.

I had yet another episode of outgrowing my bra... this is the fifth time for those playing along at home... to the point where I couldn't even wear my latest one. Beyond ridiculous, and to be frank, completely shit while trying to establish breastfeeding. But being unable to drive plus really not in a fit state to bus it, meant no real options. Well you know what they say, necessity is the mother of invention, so my crafty self cut an old bra and made an extender. It's not a perfect solution but it's a damned improvement on none 😁

I'm almost through my stash of ready meals and I've apparently timed it well, as I'm feeling more human and able to cook or even walk to the shops. The plan is to empty one freezer for defrosting. Let's see how that goes.

Currently waiting for Universal Credit to get their shit together, watch this space. 

Slight Blogging Delays

Apologies for the posting delays on my blogging entries this week. I've been a tiny bit busy. This is little X and me, about half an hour after she arrived via a very rushed and dramatic roof hatch hustle.

I'm the one on the left. 

I'm feeling fairly good and just need to behave myself while I heal from my surgery. So far it's been easier than expected, and my biggest issue is not having enough hours in the day! 

Back soon x

Best Things

Trigger warning: emojis.

A pregnant woman's
perfect accessory.

What's the best thing to do while you wait for a baby to arrive? Sanding, scrubbing and painting. Just kidding, I don't recommend it, but the wall is now primed and this is an enormous improvement from its awful patchwork mess. It's creamy white with pink streaks showing through now.

I also took advantage of work's special staff discount day, and didn't really buy much at all, about £30 worth. It doesn't make sense to stock up on things that will take more than 3-4 months to use, when that money would be more effective tackling the interest on my debts. But I did get to spend a bit of time with Good Boss and even Mogwai, who is a whole different kiddo, well-respected and actually Getting Shit Done™. It's heartening to see.

Mine looks like this one, but
patterned, and think smaller.
Also: think uglier.

I wasn't able to find a decent single armchair for sitting with kidlet, but I did find a tiny two-seater sofa which isn't much bigger. Obviously I paid over the odds for it 😒 but delivery was a flat fee for three items, so I also bought a storage wardrobe, for storing lots of crap. They are happily in place and I'm very pleased (although I have sacrificed space in general, to hide more clutter).

Still waiting for direct debit payments to come out, so that I know they are working in my burner account before I switch. Speaking of payments, yesterday my Universal Credit advance arrived, £360 😲 much to my shock. I have put it to work, some on bills, and the rest plonked onto my poison-ivy credit card. I felt really accomplished. 😊 

Then UC made a new appointment at a different town, one full of hills and empty of all parking, for right when baby arrives, at the time that I'm busy with, you know, being a post-natal mess and not sleeping. I told the work coach that walking miles with a (probably) two-day-old newborn is a problem. He's now made it three days later. I'm clearly dealing with an idiot. Oh how I have missed the joy of dealing with the benefits shit-show. 😂

Long, Long Ago

...I used to buy supermarket gift cards online at a discount. That website is long gone now, but this week, MoneySavingExpert told me to check my employer's rewards programme in case I can buy certain gift vouchers online. So I did. And I can, at a 7% discount, which is not shabby at all!

Unfortunately it has limited options but I can buy a physical card for one "discounter" supermarket that's local. It breaks even on just over £20 worth for the first purchase (£1.50 yearly fee), but if I wait until my C-word bonus goes in this week and spend the lot, I'll be getting a saving and spending "free money" to do it. Plan sorted. 👍

The new direct debits are still not showing in my new account. Ho hum. I know it takes a few days but I need them to appear so I can do my £175 switch. Patience.

Baby has been a bit of a monkey this week but I've been checked over and she seems fine. Just a waiting game now. £25 forked out for a weekly parking permit at the hospital, since I have to be there at least three times this week for more scans and monitoring. Stupid Universal Credit invited me to an in-person interview which lands right on top of an appointment, too. I've told them, but we will see whether they try to argue!

Money Is Really Hard

Never mind the
old pound coins.

And I don't mean having enough of it... I mean getting the brain around what's happening with all my accounts and bills. I have changed payment arrangements so many times that it was all a mess, so I just went through, deleted lots of them, and set some up afresh. From next month it should happily get paid automagically.

Assuming the money exists to pay it 😁

I'm not panicking just yet, I think I'm ok for another month and I can get a wiggle on doing surveys. I'll give those moved direct debits time to shift over and then I'll do my new bank account switch for my next £175. The account I'll be disposing of is a new one, which has never been used, so the only thing on it are three new direct debits for bills (a condition of the bank switch bonus). I should receive the payment by C-word.

Slept like utter crap again (for the third time this week) and am feeling rather worn out in general. I am actively avoiding much meal prep as my freezer space is full. So for this week, I have some easy dinner ingredients like cheese & onion rolls, quiche, prepared salads etc, all from the supermarket.

I figured out one of baby's C-word presents, so that's one thing checked off! 🎁

Time Really Flies

...when you're, er, not doing much of anything at all?

I didn't get the role I applied for in the next store, but that's ok, the timing wasn't great anyway.

I went to Food Club again today, with the mindset that I might not get a chance to go next week. I only did a small shop. I also got a couple of bits and pieces from Fave Supermarket across the road. When I got home to unpack it, I realised I really have too much food in my house (so much of it is still in my shopping bags...). No danger of starving to death this side of C-word.

Speaking of which, I bought myself some soft cheese which I'm not allowed to eat yet. I also bought some yummy foods that I like, but which I will save until C-word. Then there's the tree... which I have wickedly already put up. In my defence, I might not have time to do it if I wait. Must figure out what to get baby for C-word. I have one small very minor item, but the thing is, she won't know what's happening that day and there's nothing I expect her to really need. 💁 Maybe I'll wrap something for myself instead and "ask" her to give it to me 😁

Need to get myself together to do the other bank switch before I run out of time. Lots of weird feelings going on so I do not know if something is happening or whether it's just me being old and close to term 😁

I applied for Universal Credit as yesterday was my last maternity payment. The questions are useless... I had to send a long written journal entry on my real situation. Then I applied for a £300 advance. It was apparently approved, to be paid mid-December. I closed it in annoyance and did a "benefits calculator" on another site and the end result was: no entitlement, too much income. Well that was a nice waste of time, I will "enjoy" my high income of stuff-all, until baby arrives? Or... something. More pushing money around in a circle as usual 😁

Chow Time

Work get-together for dinner happened this week, the food was quite nice, company ok, but not the really great evening I'd been hoping for. Still, I was a bit social, that counts, right? Even if I did fork out £20. Was just a little strange that quite a few of my colleagues walked past me without saying hello. Poppet and I had been talking about that but then she did point out that we also didn't go say hello to them, either. Poppet's wisdom saves the day. I was also really grateful to be sitting with her, since half my "besties" were nowhere near and didn't seem particularly interested to chat. Best remind myself that work is work and life goes on. Big boss and good boss were cheery and happy to see me, that's something. 

Disappointing appointment with the midwife as Little Miss does not look at all ready to move! No problems to report, though.

My bank £175 switching payment has arrived already 😲 much faster than expected but good to see! I'm moving some direct debits around over the next few days and preparing to do my next switch.

Good Girl: I made three meals at once tonight and two are in my fridge. "Good" is relative because I really haven't cooked properly for a week. But here we are.

I keep forgetting to note the payments I receive from my surveys!

Check, Check, Check

✔ hospital bag finished

✔ checklist done for last minute baby stuffs

✔ car seat and pram in car ready

✔ kidlet corner finished and set up, moses basket ready, nappy changing station sorted

✔ large amounts of scented "fabric refresher" in use on somewhat unfragrant shampooed carpet

✔ bathroom cleaned

✔ kitchen mopped and mat washed

✔ surprise tax refund from job #2 of £20. Yes thanks, considering bills this week were tight

...and I must admit there's a sort of relief for most of these, although there are still random piles of "stuff" in my living space which I really don't have a place for, which is frustrating. Those, plus the necessary things (including my exercise ball, for the moment) take up pretty much the entire space. Ideally I need a second wardrobe for storage, which is money I shouldn't really spend - even if I do find one second-hand. We shall see.

Midwife did indeed brush off the baby's weight gain. She has also acknowledged that the current "negotiated" Plan of Attack™ by the hospital is too-little-too-late to actually meet my wants and needs, so she has added some things in to (cross fingers) try to get things going sooner rather than later. This is absolutely the best I could hope for, so, here's hoping.

Currently eating pineapple, which is supposed to be a good idea. Spendy: a small tripod for my phone (£3).

How to save money: Know vaguely that your windows are a huge heat loss area (last year you bought that small radiator to put right there, under your knees, because it was colder than the rest of the flat). Notice (during the huge storm this week) that your curtains are moving, and realise that the wind is coming through their probably-craptastic seals. Go to the Screwfix website (other hardware sites are available) and find a great price on a roll of replacement self-adhesive rubber window seals. Pat self on the back as you place it in your cart, then think, hey, I should just quickly check that I'll be able to fit this. Climb up on your pc desk (irresponsibly, since you're nine months pregnant) and yes, you can feel the wind coming in, an alarming amount of it. Open window, examine frame, think "yes", then latch it, and discover in annoyance that the stupid thing is able to be locked "shut" while open half an inch. Pulled properly, it closes just fine. Ditto on the other window. Smack forehead at own idiocy.

Trash your shopping cart, having spent nothing.

What To Do

My blood glucose test has come back as "normal". What the heck am I supposed to do now? 😂 I mean, I'm sure my midwife will shrug it off, but I'm not convinced I'm not at least pre-pre-diabetic (I felt like garbage for most of the day after that test, which I blame on the long fast). I've decided to at least try to even out my eating and avoid snacking so much. It's only for a few weeks. I got some "more sensible" hospital food today from the shop (protein bars, rice crackers, strawberry milk with no added sugar). Picking up some free freezer bricks from a kind lady tomorrow, to keep everything cold in my cooler bag. 

Got my hair cut, one more thing ticked off and £12 out of my purse.

I have been way too slack in getting surveys done. I am so tired of them right now and I run out of steam really quickly. You'd think that a look at my internet banking would cure me of that.

Maybe I'll go look at it again now, to improve the motivation!

Switchy Switcheroo: I've switched (during my banking switch) from a year of free Disney+ to 6 free movie tickets. I saw on a website by accident that they get posted to you up front and therefore you get the whole benefit even if you then switch away a week later (this is a better deal than the online Disney+ access going poof the moment I move on). The website where I saw this is called Be Clever With Your Cash which also happens to have a great weekly podcast. I recommend you check it out. ✔

Carpet finally all cleaned, so is the rug (draped over chairs in an attempt to dry everything out). Hoping tomorrow to actually put the furniture where it all belongs and get my bag packed for hospital. 

Ehhh and Yay

So, the ehhh news first. Baby is gaining weight - too much weight - much too rapidly. Her length and head measurements are fine, but she is really stacking on the pounds, and there is a suspicion that I've finally lost my extremely lucky streak and might have gestational diabetes. I am waiting on the results of a glucose tolerance test to check for sure but my "last possible eviction date" has been pulled closer either way and it looks as though I'll be having her in the hospital. This is quite ok, because it's not about me, it's about her. Stay tuned.

I managed to get hold of two large knee-length skirts today for £2 because finding huge nightdresses for labour was impossible and I'm not going to keep trying over and over while time ticks over. I also went into a somewhat expensive department store today hoping to get maternity bras that fit - being a Lady Of Size™, I have already exhausted all the cheap-optioned shops attempting this so I didn't have many options left. To my relief, the very first one I tried on fit perfectly (this is a first, in my entire life, since as most larger women will know, the usual caper is trying on fifteen bras and then opting for the least-irritating one in disgust). £30 on a set of two, which is still £30 I didn't have, but it is done. We won't mention the fact that it took three different cards before I was successful and didn't get declined.

I also got an email for a free draw from Rev Comps, for no reason except it's Friday, and no, I did not win the free draw (for a PlayStation 5; well actually, it hasn't been drawn yet) but while checking out my free ticket I saw that I was down to £20 of my free £100 prize credit. So I spent £6 of it on tickets for the prize credit draws. And I won another £250 in credit 😂 so not a bad shout all round and giving me the chance to win about another 25 cars. Well, another 25 lots of cash alternatives to pay out my home loan. Gotta be positive, right?

Hospital Bag Packing in progress. I have also bought a large second-hand rug for a tenner, for the kidlet corner of my flat (had the cash in my purse already) and I'm very pleased with it, hopefully I'll be able to shampoo it in the next couple of days. This month truly is skint. But I've applied for the second council Household Support payment and I'm sure I'll make it somehow until then. There is also money left in my work rewards account which can be used on Amazon, or one of my less-favoured supermarkets, so there are still options. The house has plenty of food, the car has fuel, and I think the only things left to buy will be less than a fiver 👍 Oh! And finally settled on her name 😊 plus I also have a well-overdue haircut booked. #adulting 😂

Postscript: I initiated a new bank account with Lloyds for the £175 switch bonus and in the process I will be ditching one of my useless accounts with Totally Shit Bank. Lloyds will cost me £3 per month, but in return I'll get free Disney+ to watch, so all up I think it's a win (and I can, in theory, switch away again fairly soon, to another existing bank of mine, for another bonus and the end of the Lloyds £3 fee).

Postscript 2: Sofa taken! Goneski. Very relieved to have the space.

Loose Threads

So I went into Food Club once I'd burned through the TGTG haul. Seeing as I haven't really cooked for a week - I had just bought food when I got first the salad bag then the sandwich bag - I really didn't need tinned food from Food Club. But I wanted to make the trip anyway, to get some other cupboard staples, and see what else they had.

Well, they had a lovely array of snacks (it's been a while!) so I've come home with a mystery bag of cakes. Turns out they are double-chocolate orange muffins, croissants, and halloween donuts, and also really lovely. I also went across the road to Fave Supermarket Chain (double duty from the car!) to get some items that I need for my hospital bag. I picked up a family assortment of biscuits, a box of chocolates and some sweets (all for the midwives!) plus, of course, the kinds of snacks I might like to eat during labour. Along with the standard Fave Soft Drink (in cans, so I can take it with me) I have overall spent way too much today. But I suppose it needed doing.

The whole exercise was absolutely exhausting and I am belatedly realising that my fitness is certainly not what it once was 😂 and that's the understatement of the year! But I'm otherwise feeling good and feeling well. And finally, I am feeling organised. I have everything that I need and know where it all is. Plus, I have my final ultrasound and measurement this week to make sure everything's on track. I don't expect any surprises as things have been so terribly routine and boring at every check up for the past six months. 😊 Exactly the way it should be.

Spent: £5 of my bonus from work on Raspberry Leaf Tea from Amazon. It's awful, tastes like grass, but it's supposed to be a good idea. I still have £32 in that bonus account and I get another £20 or so in a few weeks' time. 😊

Outstanding

Thank you, Too Good To Go, and thank you, One Stop convenience store.

So as you can see, my second attempt at a convenience store was incredible. This all cost me £1.99. I have had to play a game of serious Fridge Tetris. I've given away some of the sandwiches, fruit, salad and bread. Yesterday I ate a wrap for dinner and then had another one as a late snack... today I've had one of the chicken sandwiches with my breakfast banana, and eaten the packaged salad as my lunch, and I plan to eat the pasta salad for an early dinner, while cooking the prepped vegetables for eating over the next few days. Here was I hoping to get a sandwich or two, or perhaps one ready meal for a dinner... safe to say I'll definitely be looking out for this same store in future.

Antenatal class tonight where they'll have plates of fruit and cakes... well, I suppose cake is the only thing I didn't get for free this week (and I skipped Food Club today) so I might be naughty and just eat cakes.

Received: £5 from Prolific. Spendy: way too much, on snacks for my hospital bag (including snacks etc for the midwives!).

Not Trusting My Gut

A few years back I joined Too Good To Go, an app where you can buy heavily-discounted food from nearby retailers which would otherwise go to waste. It didn't seem worth it, but lately it looks better. I ended up paying for a "surprise bag" from a convenience store, for £1.99, but sadly, it cancelled. So I then reserved one from a well-known restaurant chain known for £3.00.

Well I arrived right on time and filled three bowls of mixed salads plus got three bread rolls, and to be honest? Dinner was underwhelming. Factoring in my fuel, it wasn't really the greatest value. So I opened Olio and responded to four items, but even after two hours! the girl did not respond to my requests. Tired, grumpy, eventually I left her a one star rating.

I'm going to stick to my earlier idea and try to get a convenience store pickup and see how I go.

Achievements: Finally finished cleaning up the pram frame (scrubbed with soap and is now sat in the rain "rinsing" - see, there's always a good side to the rain). I've assembled all the clean covers on the pram's seat module too and put the belts back in place. In a moment I'm bringing in the baby car seat and will clean that up. All the baby clothes are successfully sorted too. 👍

My payment from PureProfile has landed (£10) and Swagbucks has paid me £20 for Boring Merging Game. Currently playing Irritatingly Laggy Bingo game on a different site, we'll see how this goes.

Several Mistakes Were Made

So I managed to finish washing and drying all the baby clothes, and sat down to sort them all out. At this point I realised: I had tons and tons, but almost none of them in the size I'd need when baby first comes home. This was immensely frustrating, so I took myself back to the baby bank and got a couple more bags of stuff.

Side note: I nabbed a cool baby floor playgym thing (no toys included but it has the mat and stand etc and I can add any that I like myself). I also got a cool booster seat high chair thing, can either sit on the floor with its own tray, or be attached to a dining chair. Exactly the kind I had wanted.

So after my foray into the baby bank, I made double-duty of the driving (yay adulting) and went off to the supermarket. At this point it was after 12 and I wasn't feeling great, having not really eaten breakfast and somehow convincing myself that I'm still about 30 and just fine without food until mid-afternoon. Sat in the carpark shovelling an apple... decided I was ok to go in. I was clearly not, as I bought a few things I needed, but neglected to really buy any snack food (really?!) or meals.

Except for my reduced stone-baked veggie supreme fresh pizza. Which is delicious, by the way. Anyway.

I then fought with the till trying to use a gift card before the kind attendant printed the transaction receipt for it, showing it had been used. I then fought with the too many groceries and somehow lugged them all to the car in a basket and various bags. (Why do I not just treat myself to a trolley? I've even got a token thingy for them.) Got in the car absolutely exhausted. Eventually drove home, lugged it all inside, put the cold stuff away, collapsed (exhausted). Did not move until I'd demolished a Cornish pasty and a snack bar, and had a large glass of water. I then turned and happened to look at my shelf, where I saw... two bags of baby clothes and a box of baby clothes.

Yes, dear Reader, they were, in fact, mostly items in newborn size. Collected, washed and put aside at some point, then completely forgotten.

And yes, the new bags full of newborn clothing are in the washer right now. Do I never learn?

Awareness

Another great (and very informative) antenatal class last night. One which jolted me a little bit on the things I should have already arranged or done. Mostly, the hospital bag isn't packed and really should be sorted out this week. But I also need to clean the new car seat and also the pram base.

I was determined to do so much organising today and then slept like microwaved garbage last night, so I am sitting down now with my second coffee of the day and trying to get myself more alert. The carpet is still damp in the area I had planned to do my rearranging in, meaning stuff is all over my bed instead, which is both annoying but good because it stops me trundling off for a four-hour nap 😁

Another couple of loads of washing done, mostly baby clothes. I don't just have too many, I have too many in the "spares, because I really don't need this many" pile. I did, however, manage to wash the cover and liner of the pram and also the bigger baby carrier, so that's a start.

Spendy McSpenderson: a pregnancy ball off Amazon (£9) and (gasp) a ticket to see Suede and The Manic Street Preachers next year at Eden (£72) - this one's my treat to myself and I can take kiddo with me, who I'm sure will cope ok in ear defenders and a portable bassinet. I might be living in cloud cuckoo land on whether she'll be chill about it all, but there are plenty of small kids at Eden Sessions gigs, it's not an especially loud venue to begin with, and we'll hopefully be able to use the "relaxed viewing area" for people with sensory needs, meaning I can sit with her and there's room for her to sit and sleep safely 😊

PostScript: Got two tickets into the "Relaxed Viewing Area" (at no charge and without even asking for two slots, or mentioning kiddo). Thank you, Eden!

The Concoction

One broccoli & cheese pasta sauce packet from Food Club, two spoonfuls of expired-but-free tinned pinto beans, a third of a tin of corn kernels, a third of a tin of peas, all also from Food Club. Result? Yummy. I sorted the daily protein out with some eggy bread for dinner. Again, an all-Food-Club meal.

I was very slack and skipped the Pregnancy Supper Club last night. Just wasn't in the mood for it, having had a bit of a stressful few days. The last couple of meetups have been ok but I've not made any friends or really been in contact with anyone from them, and there was no "activity" planned except for a "swap meet" which I had nothing to contribute to, anyway. I missed out on fruit, dips, and bread, but I had food here anyway.

I have had a really good day so far, went into Food Club and managed to get a free pack of falafel and a prepped salad to go with it for dinner tonight. I also nabbed some pears, pastries, mini pizzas, and who can resist a strawberry donut with sprinkles? 😊 There are more changes in the shop part... the chili con carne tins are back 😁 but they're now restricting tins 😑 so instead of buying a chicken curry tin like I'd wanted to, I was forced to choose a pack of fish fingers instead. I don't really understand their reasoning unless someone was abusing things, but it is what it is and I still went home with a good option anyway.

I also had a great antenatal appointment with my midwife, she really is brilliant, except she's now thinking the birth centre might not be a good choice - get this - because my last birth was so fast/easy. I told her I might just arrive waaaay early and then walk around the carpark for hours before going in, if they're that insistent on people not turning up in early labour. She laughed, and said, well, if you turn up really early there's nothing they can do about that!

I didn't make level 20 on that game, but I did make the last checkpoint of level 18, which pays decently and should go into my account in the next few days. I've installed a new bingo game (there seems to be a never-ending stream of these) so we'll see how this goes.

I've used more site credit and now have a ticket to win a Jaguar...

Bodybuilding

That was me, yesterday, moving heavy stuff around. Let's pretend that I actually want to win the Mr Universe title. 💪 There was a lot of huffing and puffing, I was definitely blowing like a marathon runner! I definitely did more heavy lifting than was probably a good idea for a certified lazy couch potato. The flat rearrangement is now about half done (and today's hefting took care of the hardest part). Most of what's left is literally bags and random boxes of stuff which needs going through (my clothes, baby's clothes, random junk). Not too strenuous 😊 I also managed to hoover all the floor space which was free (not a great deal) and shampoo one tiny section of carpet - I can only do a small patch at a time as it will need to dry before I move furniture onto it, then repeat with each new section. The flat smells nice and fragrant from the shampoo 😊

Another item I don't need has been discovered today - I will take it back for store credit soon. It's from a supermarket I detest, but hey, if they say yes then it's still free money to spend on some kind of shopping essentials.

Bills all paid for the week ✔

My hip/bum muscles are sore, from, you know, actually doing productive housework but I feel pretty pleased that finally I'm at least getting a few things done.

Enlightenment

I went along to the antenatal class, and what a breath of fresh air it was. It's really opened my eyes as to how lacking the online course provided by the NHS actually is, and I am sad for all the women for whom that's all there is. Why is this brilliant in-person course the responsibility of a charity? It's inhuman. There are women going into labour who don't understand what's going on. We deserve better.

Achievement of the day: I cooked Spag Bol from scratch and even included porridge oats (which I've never done before but it worked out brilliantly). Three meals are in my freezer, and I ate one (absolutely delicious) plus two more are in my fridge. Adulting! 👍

Reached another milestone on the game. I think it's the last one I will meet before the time is up. It's £20 in my hand though, so let's see. Small item sold on Vinted (£3.50). Also spent more free credit on a raffle ticket for an Aston Martin (well, for £120,000 in cash). Fingers crossed.

Manifesting The Jeep

So I did not buy 18 more tickets on the Bentley. Instead, I bought one ticket on the Jeep, and two more raffle tickets on the lucky dip. All free, of course, using my site credit (I still have £85 in credit and I'll just wait for more interesting draws to use it up). I still don't want the car, so I'm only choosing draws where you can take the prize as cash. It will be nice to have a chunk of cash when I win. Manifesting.

I also found an item of clothing that I bought but no longer need or want, and realised it was from Old Fave supermarket, so off I went to get a refund and to spend my vouchers. I got my £7 worth of store credit, filled my basket, then promptly forgot about the vouchers and paid the other £9 by card. I realised what I'd done as I was walking to the car. Never mind, I also forgot 4 items I'd wanted, so back I went and spent some of the vouchers.

The local free antenatal class which I'd missed out on has had an opening come up - meaning I don't need to spend £100+ on driving to one six times in the next town. So I'm very pleased about that. Apparently I've only missed the "getting to know you" session which didn't much interest me in the first place. I attend the second session this week and it's a 10 minute walk. 😊

The tax office has sent me a mean letter and is evidently not happy with my self-created payment plan. I've just waited through half an hour of dog-awful waiting music... 🎵 ...but on the plus side, the advisor was lovely and has allowed me to pay less, and will put the mean letter on hold until January when they'll reassess me. Huge win.

Food club gave me free eggs, a tin of white beans, a bag of bread rolls and a mystery pastry bag - which had two lovely chocolate croissants, eagerly demolished. There's some frustrating substitution going on in the buying section, the loo roll now looks half the size it used to be and the protein options have diminished... so I just bought a small basket full, and will try to remember the price is great, and it still helps me. 😊

Platinum Linings

I feel much better after some proper self-care. 😊

And here I am in the world without internet data. Well, severely speed-throttled. To my absolute surprise, the game is still playable. And I can still read any web page I care to read, it just requires a little patience for it to load. I'll pretend I'm back in the year 2000 and dial-up was the only speed we had. And I'll enact gratefulness that I even have access to the world in this way.

Today I "cooked" chili con carne, as in, I made rice and mixed in a tin, then added mushrooms and carrots. Two meals from that tin, so one goes into my fridge as a ready meal. The other has been eaten for lunch and was absolutely delicious. I'm conscious that the weeks are ticking by so I'm trying to maintain at least a weeks' worth of instant dinners, between the fridge and the freezer. Green veg are now exhausted in my kitchen though so it's off to Food Club for me.

I did a quick check of my bank statement and I've cashed out £110 from my programmes over the past month. Not terrible, but not enough, so it's time to knuckle down. Then I realised I needed to earn eight pounds (and have it actually land in my bank account) to avoid missing my next bill. Prolific is a site that credits instantly for some surveys... a couple of surveys completed, job done! 😁

Freebie: I bought a RevComps ticket in the draw to win a Bentley, using my site credit, which I get just by visiting each day. Well, I don't really want the Bentley, but I can take it as £70,000 cash when I win (I said "when"... manifesting). I also, at the same time, used £1 of the credit on a lucky dip ticket, and I won £100 in site credit! So the important question is... do I buy 18 more tickets on the Bentley? 😂

Sluggy Slugface

I actually cancelled on a social thing with my workmates today - I am feeling seriously sluggish and slept really poorly. It's so frustrating because I know I do need to get out and be around humans on a regular basis, but cursing one's insides is not the best when it comes to being good company.

Despite my self-imposed TV ban, I expect to go over my data limit tonight or tomorrow, which means being throttled to tin can speeds for a few days. I'm not even sure that the slower connection will make life functional on the game I'm desperately trying to hit payout for before the time limit arrives. We shall see.

In my Data Diet, I've been re-reading a blog that I love, The Escape Artist. Barney Whiter is an ex-corporate financial guru who "saved himself free" from the rat race using smart financial tactics. He now works as a freelance financial advisor - but only when he wants to - and his blog is really refreshing reading.

This morning is actually chilly enough to need the heater. I've got the blower on a quick blast, because the large slow one is currently piled in some stuff. Time to do more rearranging, methinks.

Spendy McSpenderson: £17 on a fabric and upholstery steamer. I have quite a few preloved things that can't really be washed, so here we are.

Crankypants

For the first time in forever I'm coming close to my data limit for internet... I know it's all the tv-bingeing I've been at lately. So for the next four days I need to behave, and lay off the documentaries. 😁 I foresee a few days of playing my old games!

Spendy McSpenderson: I have ordered a new mouse for £6 from eBay, as the one I have is dying.

Cashed out: Nielsen £5 supermarket card.

Free: another baby car seat, from the baby bank. This one doesn't fit on my pram base, but it IS isofix standard, so will be simple to take in and out of the car to go shopping, and fit snugly into the car. I also got some bits and pieces which should be useful, like a stacking ring toy, a couple of kitchen items and some more tiny clothes.

Grateful for: Poppet, who chatted to me for hours, was a brilliant distraction, AND also made me laugh.

Finally, Payment Received

I would not call it easy to get myself verified... but it is done now and I have been paid for the first time by ySense, which PayPal greedily chomped into via their poor exchange rate, of course. But all up I have received £40 and will add them to my Surveys list soon.

I had planned to go to the baby bank today but they've changed their opening days. My day is now discombobulated. I should be appreciating the free time, but I'm sat here not wanting to do any of the things that I really should be doing 😁 I did go and get my other two new tyres, though.

I've officially transitioned onto my maternity pay. First week of this (even alongside a £200 pay from second job) I have had to delay one of my repayments to avoid going negative in my current account. I bought fuel this week and also paid my electric bill, both on my cheapest credit cards. Unfortunately, the two new tyres had to go onto my poison-ivy (highest interest rate) card, as it was the only one with room, and my spreadsheet is now shouting at me in red. 😒 So here it is, my wake-up call to get busier earning the extra cash, and properly get more surveys done.

Cashed out: £10 from Swagbucks (thank you, boring merge game) and £40 from ySense.

I've Been Selected

to test some kind of home laundry product. This was through a survey site that I'm a member of. I can't say which one (or what I'm testing - mainly because I don't know yet) but right now I'm just pleased to get some kind of freebie coming in the mail AND that they'll pay me fairly well for my feedback on it. Winner!

Today: actually managed to finally pull the sofa apart and attach new legs. Tomorrow I perform the reinforcement and cosmetic tidy-up. On removing the throws which have adorned it, I realised it has some grubby marks, which is annoying, but I'll attempt to give it a clean up and see how I go. Currently exhausted from the exertion of lifting one side about 3729 times to line the new legs up underneath. (I even did it while sitting on the floor. I think most of the exhaustion was simply getting myself up off the floor! 😂)

When you want to slap someone: our neighbour has been using our backyard (very little proof so we let it go) but this week I see that she is gardening in there and cutting back our ivy (!!!!). I am furious, as are two other owners, and an anonymous polite version of "could you please fuck off" note is going into her letterbox this morning.

Still playing: the ridiculously time-sucking merging game. It's crediting me every few days, but the targets are taking longer and longer to reach...

Cashed out: £5 from Crowdology, 74p from Qmee

Twelve Down

...eight to go. The pin arrived in the nick of time and all 20 transactions need to be done by today. I'm sure the till operator was concerned when I did 12 individual transactions through the self-scan yesterday but to his credit he didn't say a word. All 12 of them are showing as "pending" with yesterday's date in my internet banking and I'll go back and do 8 more today. Hopefully the bank counts them all as on time.

I've been for an antenatal scan and appointment and four separate concerns were cleared during the scan, which is amazing news. Everything looks like it will now have a good chance at going to plan. I get two more jabs this coming week and it's time to really knuckle down and rearrange the things I will need (and rearrange my flat).

I did manage to fit the car seat and I am somewhat unimpressed. It took me more than half an hour and was physically very difficult (my hands are still shaking from the effort required to snap the seat belt retainer into place, and my whole body is now in a state of exhaustion). Not to mention, the seat does not feel at all secure and online reviews echo my sentiments. I'll try to pick up a capsule seat from the baby bank, and who knows maybe the one I donated is still there...

I have done an electric meter reading, since the tariffs change again tomorrow. ⚡

Amazing: after only 24 days, work's IT help desk finally fixed my (broken) training sign-off. 24 days. Seriously. Worst customer service ever.

Cashed out: £5 from Swagbucks. Currently in another help-desk limbo: about £45 from the new programme I joined, which for some reason is doing a second identity check on me first.

Tickety Tockety

Ho hum. I am waiting for my new debit card to arrive, so that I can start spending (what - no - it's an account where you have to make enough separate transactions each month to get a £5 bonus - so I'll use it on very inexpensive things like single bananas and 19p cans of spaghetti hoops).

I have cut the last of the lettuce and whacked the plants down to the dirt. No ripe blackberries at all - the week of heat must have hurt them, but plenty of red ones, so perhaps next week. I also got fed up of looking at my pile of tinned vegies and lamented the fact that I really don't get enough of my five-a-day, so last night I made a hamburger (last beef patty on the last of my freebie tiger bread) and had a bowl of mixed vegetables, mushrooms and kidney beans, all from Food Club.

I've been for my Covid jab and touch wood, no problems. As a reward for having driven that far and enduring the stabbity, I treated myself to a takeaway lunch. I then unexpectedly got given a free cake afterwards. Which came home and is now sat in my kitchen for another time.

Paid: £5 from Prolific, £3 from Pinecone.

Folly

So today I needed to go and get two new tyres fitted... a slight stress-moment in the car park at home as I felt and heard that familiar "one brake is locked!" situation, that growly, gravel-popping, dragging sound as one tyre fails to spin. And this time after only six days undriven! Suffice to say I was very relieved when it released as I did my three-point turn. Being "good", I went to Food Club to make use of the trip, then popped into work, where I returned about £25 of wool that I absolutely do not need, and came out with £26 worth of stuff I do need, so I was very pleased with that one-pound purchase. (Had a lovely natter with Good Boss while I was there, too, so that's a bonus.)

Then I decided to "just buy milk and cheese" from the supermarket and unfortunately it's next to Rival Bargain Shop, which I knew had the child-sized hangers I need. There goes £15, thanks to the silly mistake of Just Having A Look Around. And did I stick to the two grocery items in the supermarket? No I did not. Another £25 spent. So all up, I spent £46. I never learn! At least a couple of items were yellow-stickered. Points for that.

I sliced up my first tomato yesterday and had it on a cheese toastie - it was beyond delicious. (Even so, I grew so few and they arrived so late in the season, I don't think I will plant any next year. Not enough sun in the back garden.)

Paid: £10 from PureProfile

Supper: tomato soup with crusty tiger bread from Food Club 😋

Shocker, Joe Cocker

I've been waiting for an easy/simple switching offer for another bank, to get the bonus, so today I opened a "throwaway" current account with an existing bank, to use for switching. The best switch bonus right now is from Lloyds, it's a £175 offer, but would cost me £3 a month (because I don't earn their minimum deposit requirement) so I'm still toying on whether I will then switch to them, or hold fire and wait for a better switch offer.

Lunch: a packet of cheap pre-cooked Peri Peri rice with some chicken thrown in (and I ate a handful of green beans while it was cooking). It was nice, it was fast, it made two portions, and I'll buy it again.

This evening I listened to The Martin Lewis podcast, which was quite interesting, and I might listen again next week if I remember. I'm always game to learn new money tips.

Booked in: two new tyres, and the other two will happen asap. In the meantime I'm driving as little as I can and making double duty of journeys - look at me adulting with my fuel spending! (Funny how "needing to watch your pennies" will do that for you. 😉) I will pop into Food Club after the tyres are fitted and also visit the supermarket for a few bits and pieces, and touch wood I can burn through some of the food already in my kitchen. I always seem to buy "easy" food instead of cooking from scratch with what I have!

Yet Another Day Has Passed

...and I have not miraculously ended up rich at the end. I have started playing a new game, which I'm quite enjoying, but I can see it's going to take AGES to reach the payout levels.

I have picked two tomatoes (plus a small one which had just fallen off the plant) and they are ripening inside. I also picked two "snack peppers", one looks snackable and one just looks sad. There's also a bit more lettuce, which of course has to be shared with the snails 😑 and is becoming more bitter as the days go on. I might hack it all back next week and call that the end.

I did manage to move some stuff around, the goal is to extricate my sofa from its trapped existence and get it towards the door, where I can fix the legs and then give it away. The flat has been rabbit warren-ish for a while, too many things and not enough space, so this monster item is going. Realistically my flat is plenty big enough, I just need to be more selective with "things". Otherwise, the amount of stuff will expand to fill the space available! 😁

£5 out from Prolific, £5 from Opinion Outpost.

Pro tip: remember that you left boxes all over your bed before bedtime.

Plodding is the Word

Today I've done a bit of financial housekeeping on my spreadsheet, and although there's a terrifying amount of total debt, I was pleased today to see one card fall out of the "red" zone and into the white, that is, under 90% of usage. Sounds awful overall, but I'm pleased with the small step, it's going in the right direction. The bad part is that two cards are coming to the end of their 0% interest deals soon, so we'll just have to see how things go after that.

Spent only £2.50 at Food Club today which I think is a first (I really just needed toilet roll, so I made sure to get milk, snacks and pastries as a reward for making the trip).

Spent a nice evening this week with the neighbours, out in the garden.😊

Cashed out: £5 from Opinion Outpost, £12 from Prolific, £5 from TopCashBack.

Good: Car service done for less expense than expected. I now have a shiny happy car.

Bad: Car needs four tyres. 😭 And looking at the quote for them, I don't really have the funds. It looks as though I'll do the worst two (so that it's at least driveable) and then do the others as soon as I can. So much fun. What did I say about my spreadsheet? Back to the red it is.

Doing Something For...

In an effort not to be completely rudderless, and because the nesting instinct has kicked in, each day I'm attempting to do something for myself, something for the house, something for baby and something for money. Right now my bedsheets are in the washer and I'm reminded all over again how glad I am to have a washing machine. The "something for myself" will hopefully be me doing some more kitchen tidying and preparing a meal or three. Money, well, I have optimistically opened my top-priority folder, which contains my top 10 survey & offer websites to earn cash from (I usually run out of steam half-way, but it's something). For baby, I haven't decided yet, maybe look at more baby names and shake my head a hundred times!

I stupidly went to the Big Supermarket yesterday and spent £25. Well, I had a £5 voucher, but anyway. I need to reign this in, she says, while slurping on her fizzy drink. I bought some peanuts and crisps as there's going to be a Garden Soirée during the week with Owner #8, neighbour #2a and new neighbour #3, and one must have snacks... on the other hand, I will be chilling some assorted useless alcohol from my cupboard and gifting it to anyone who wants it. I also gave my car a fancy car wash this week, which was a waste of time, as it didn't get rid of everything anyway. And then the birds had a huge laugh at me and messed it all up again. This week, before the service, I'm going to do a cheap wash (maybe two cheap washes) then park it on the street away from the trees!

Good: I sorted my cupboards a bit and discovered weight loss shakes I'd forgotten about. Obviously I can't go on a diet right now, but I can sure mix a half scoop into a milkshake and use it up bit by bit. I made a large, lovely decaf coffee, toffee & vanilla concoction, drank it and promptly fell asleep...

Watching: documentaries on Netflix and YouTube. Some of them are cool stuff, some are "How could this have happened to people?" - type. One was a movie I cried through because some people are just such kind souls. 💗 It's called The Bank of Dave and I recommend it.

Off to play the silly bingo game for a bit longer!

Melancholia

I'm not sure why. I finished at main job and this really odd feeling of sad washed over me, when I had expected to feel relief. I haven't completely ruled out returning, but as all the various systems stand right now, I'd be earning £2 an hour at best and that just isn't worth the effort. So it was anticlimactic, to say the least.

Today I've cleaned the toilet, washed up some dishes, cooked my lunch, and cut some lettuce. All things that I certainly had time for even around my work, but often got neglected. I've also done a few surveys and played the crap online phone game (which has gone pending for another five pounds). All while procrastinating about going to second job tonight 😁

The idiot agency which DilEmma was working for has blocked my email address, they've locked our communal electrical door, and even one of the other owners trying to contact them has been fobbed off for five days. The poor lady upstairs has a key meter and can't add credit to her meter. I've advised all owners to stop paying them any money. Maybe they'll deign to contact us when they realise we're not paying them. We still have 2½ months before the new agency can take over. Counting down the days.

One nice thing is that it's pleasant to have the freedom to do whatever I like and to think: yeah tomorrow I might wander down to the supermarket and buy bananas. Because I can, and there is no time constraint on what time I need to be anywhere else. And I can walk along the beach if I want to.

Financialling: I've reasoned that Main Bank, looking at my transactions, sees not much else apart from constant credit card repayments. It's no wonder they never approve me for extending my loan or restoring my decent CC limit, since it looks like credit is my entire life. So anyway, I've now moved the two most expensive CCs over to direct debit my other bank and have set up a regular cash transfer over to that account of £70 per week. Hopefully once I kill the most expensive debt I can move other cards over too and start to make my main current account look more tidy.

Planning to take one last bump pic in the full-length mirror at Job #2 this week. 😊

And The Beat Goes On

(La-di-dah-di-dah.)

Big Boss agreed to sign off my completed supervisor training. Only the system's glitched - great, another email tug-o-war with stupid tech support. Sigh. It seems like second job hasn't got a replacement for me yet, so it'll just be a case of handing the keys to the temp cover.

Car is booked in for a service - free, but I'll have to pay a bit for the bits and pieces it needs, like wipers, globes and the handbrake adjustment it really should get.

Still playing the hateful boring bingo game, mostly because they've credited me for the first tier (five pence! woo!) so there's every reason to hope they'll pay the serious money if I continue to level up. 

Got another supermarket voucher for £5, this one an old signup, happy with that 😊

Mixed Newses

I went for my growth scan at the hospital - all looks good with baby and she is an ok size, small but no panic just yet. They estimate she now weighs about 1kg. 😊 I had a meeting with the consultant afterwards, and he is not concerned about her placement just yet (breech). He told me to do lots of walking and we'll see if we need to shove her around later on.

He also listened to me, really listened, about the previous doc railroading towards very large amounts of medical intervention. He said that I have to consider my own health and recovery as well (bingo!). Right now the plan is to try to get things started at 38 weeks and I'm reasonably happy with that. We just have to hope that baby cooperates.

Boss of #2 job did my risk assessment and was very kind, also scolding me for not telling him during my interview 😂 I mean, his heart's in the right place but the reality is, not all managers are fair like he is and they still often discriminate (they just don't say it out loud - you merely don't get the job and don't get told why). He might have a permanent replacement and if this person is a go, I'll have them on-site with me for my last two days. I hope so, because I'd like to show them how to set themselves up for a relaxing role. 😁

I'm giving myself a time-out from surveys for a few days in the hope that a rest period will make me more enthused once I need to actually earn enough from them. I will drop in income next month and further drop in the two months following that (thank you, Universal Credit, for your "poverty month" of waiting five weeks for first payment). So right now I'm not putting any leftover cash onto credit card debt - I am paying the minimums and building up a bit of survival cash so that I can ensure essential bills are paid on time. Despite the survival cash plan, I'll still have to earn a fair chunk myself to keep afloat. There's already £30 in my PayPal to start with, from various games and surveys.

Plus point: less driving will save me money. 👍

I Am Enduring

Four days left of main job. I'm feeling a little bit sluggish, so the timing is right. And I only have a week at job #2 before that one finishes too.

New Programme's (fun) game has tracked. This is good news, and I completed it in only two days, too. I'll make sure they pay me the £43 and then add the site to my Surveys page. I have a day off work tomorrow and I might just start another high-paying game - but I'll do my research first to make sure it's one I think I can complete, and I'll check which survey site pays the best amount for it. Reason being is that there are a few high-paying games which REALLY don't look like I will enjoy them at all, so I want to make sure they're worthwhile for me 😁

I have one growing pepper on my "snack pepper" plant (the only other one has a deep scar in it which was there when I bought it). I have about a dozen tomatoes growing, they seem to be taking FOREVER and are bigger than I expected, but that's not a bad thing. The lettuce is still looking healthy, although to nobody's surprise I have mostly lost interest in eating it. I'm still picking blackberries every few days. The courgette plant, which I bought by mistake, died in week one because it was stinking hot and someone (me) forgot to put it in the shade while it established. Oops. I still haven't organised myself to go collect apples next door, but perhaps after my antenatal appointment in the morning I'll have an uncharacteristically-clever moment and get out there to look.

Spendy McSpenderson: I am not overall huge by any means, but I'm thinking forwards to when I actually become the size of a house and my biggest shirts no longer fit. So I went into the charity shop beside work today hoping to find, especially, a huge nightie, for hospital. I did not find any nighties at all, but I did find six tees in larger sizes and a nice tunic top dress thing, for a total of £21. I still have a gift card balance for Primark so I might go in and buy a couple of big sized leggings to go with the shirts. #NeedMotivation

Favourite Maternity Jeans are hanging on for dear life - they're under-belly ones and now struggle to stay up without a waist to cling to - and forcefully pulling them up is uncomfortable, because baby responds by lying crossways above the tight waistband, poking her bony head and bum into my sides and ribs, which is just as annoying as it sounds. I'm tumble-drying my over-belly huge jeans with the idea that I can shrink the belly-covering part enough to not feel like I have pulled my trousers up to my armpits. I'll be honest though, I don't hold much hope 😁

Cashed out: Another £8 on SwagBucks, £5 on Prolific.

The Usual Mistake

Essentially, going into a supermarket without a mental shopping list. I then decided that I was sick of denying myself ordinary food and I came out with almost £50 of shopping - and I really didn't buy any truly "indulgent" foods. I don't consider the bottom-shelf varieties of snack food to be indulgent, and there really weren't any brand names in my things, either. I suppose I've lived on quasi-rations for so long that I just snapped? Here's hoping I have a few weeks of satiety via the few "nice" items that came home with me, like a "deluxe" frozen spinach & cauliflower pie and a four-pack of budget ice cream cones.

The upstairs-and-across-the-hall neighbours and their music... this has been ongoing for several weeks now. Owner #8 can't watch tv because the maximum volume on his tv doesn't drown out Tenant #4's music. I could feel their music inside my car with all the windows up. Last night at midnight, Tenant #5 was belting on the door for ten minutes before they answered. By this time there were also me and Tenant #6 from upstairs, and we got a mouthful of abuse about "he already knows he can't disturb us". Nasty letter has now been sent to the owner, and Owner #8 told him to get these guys removed. Let's see what comes of it all. Ain't no way I want to get a newborn to sleep with my windows shaking.

Dinner: blackberries, grapes, ice cream cone, steak pie, mini bag of crisps 😁

Joined: new money making programme as it seems to have high-paying offers for games. We shall see if it's worth reviewing. Still playing the yawnworthy trashy bingo game, it has tracked at least (good sign) but it remains to be seen whether I have the patience to keep going much longer.

Cashed out: £20 on InboxPounds and £8 on SwagBucks, both for playing games.

Yeah And No

So work has gone back to giving me the same exact task every minute of every shift. I'm cramping up at night and sleeping terribly, and I think this is why. I don't have long to survive now - but if I catch Good Boss I might have a word. Star, however, has been kindly helping me complete my training checklist, after our closing shifts, even though it technically can only be done by Big Boss. I'm dutifully documenting what I am learning, and hoping that Big Boss just signs them off. Second Boss hasn't said a word about my risk assessment, and I am assuming it'll just never happen...

Inbox Pounds gave me manual credit for the farming game. And I've installed (yet another) Bingo game to earn some cash. It's trashy, noisy, cheesy and generally unpleasant, but thankfully doesn't have a time limit. Must motivate myself to play.

The subsidised rental scheme has asked for proof of my home valuation and mortgage. Um... so I have neither. Here's hoping they are satisfied with a copy of the original sale paperwork and the loan & credit card balances? Slightly annoying to say the least.

I have been really, really good at not shopping lately. I haven't bought takeaway or a grabbed lunch at work in quite a while. Yesterday I made a chicken and mushroom pasta sachet at work (and made my colleagues jealous) and today it will be cheese and broccoli. But on the flipside I haven't really cooked properly this week. Just not in the mood at 11pm after getting home.

I am pondering whether to visit Food Club this week. I partly reasoned that I didn't really need to go, but mostly I just haven't felt energised to visit on my way to work. There is plenty to eat in my house, if I would also find the energy to make proper meals!

Weird Pay System Is Weird

Seems as if it hiccupped when it allowed me to book so much time off. I tried to move it to an earlier date, and this time it spat the dummy at 2 weeks, 2 days, as it's all I have actually accrued. Oh well. I've told Good Boss I'll go on mat leave straight after that, which means I have about 3½ weeks left at work. Time for me to start prodding Big Boss again to get that training checklist done, I did corner him last week and got almost half way through, so it's still possible.

Our store received a really major award this week and the mood is ecstatic 😍

I've notified Second Job Head Office and Second Boss has approved my leave request right before it.

Council has awarded me a one-off household support grant of £250 which should arrive soon. More than I expected so I am very happy with that!

Stuffing my face for the past couple of days, because I collected far too many free bakery items from Food Club...

I Want My Two Hours Back

I went to a pregnancy workshop today.

Good: bar of baby soap to take home

Bad: nothing social about this whatsoever. Started late, finished early, and was essentially an hour of people pushing their own businesses.

Ugly: one inconsiderate couple brought their toddler, who ran back and forth throughout the entire time across the wooden floors in a noisy, echoey room. It ruined the entire experience.

The "talkers" were a baby masseuse (just talked at us), a hypnobirthing teacher (babbler who is terrible at guided meditation), a yoga teacher (I really did not want to participate but I had to) and a doula (the most interesting by far). Unfortunately I did not hear any reasonable course prices at all.

The biggest annoyance is that I stayed until the end because of the "goody bags" that I could see, but they were, of course, 90% advertising papers that went in the bin.

As a consequence of not gaining anything particularly useful today I will consider looking up YouTube videos on all of these subjects, for free.

Harrumph.

I still haven't been trained at work, and on the system it's listed as overdue. When I told Good Boss that he was running out of time, he started listing all the people who need that training and how he hasn't got time to scratch himself and how it's Big Boss to blame (but, Big Boss is unlikely to care, because the status quo is really not causing him any pain). I'm going to propose that they Delegate™ this into being the supervisors' task to complete. After all, they are best equipped to actually train us, but they'll have no interest or inclination or motivation to spend that time until Good Boss gets on their back and says it's a requirement.

I have received the maternity shirts that I ordered in Work Colour. The colour match is amazing, even if I do say so myself, and even Good Boss was impressed. I saved the company from sending me a second set of useless "official" clothing and he has agreed that he'll accept it as uniform.

I am awaiting my Mat B1 form in the mail so that I can formally notify Second Boss that I'm pregnant. Here's hoping they don't get weird and try to terminate me, because it'll be a right pain to have to argue my case over a 7h job, despite having been scored 96% at my last audit, which is outstanding. And it's worth £450 to me in holiday pay to stay on a years' maternity leave.

I have applied for Devon Home Choice, because evidently, despite "owning" this flat, I am classed as "severely overcrowded" for my circumstances and would qualify for a subsidised rental. This is still likely to mean a wait of several years due to how many are on the list ahead of me.

Bills all got paid this week ✔ so another round of successful adulting completed. Car has had a wash in the auto machine, because the grime was getting to me. 🚗 And of course it's now been shat on. Cheers, birds. 🐦🐤🐓🐥🐔

Toastie!

So for the past few weeks I've been asking a workmate if they want to come to Food Club (because, you know, if I've committed to picking her up that day then I can't get lazy and put it off). The problem is that the workmate kept putting it off due to not (yet) being skint for the month. But this week, the stars aligned and we'd both got to the point of Few Food Options in our flats, so we took a trip up today. We had even decided to stay and have lunch there because we're often invited and it always smells so lovely. She was hoping for pasta bake and I was hoping for a lasagne.

Well, we were both wrong, and sat down for a natter over less-glamorous ham and cheese toasties. Still, we got to have a good catch up and we got a toastie. Win. And not to mention a heaving amount of groceries for a fiver. Me more than her, since I grab all the free bread and veg options while she's more "selective". I got me a bag of carrots, a large courgette, and some apples.

I also went to Big Supermarket and spent my £10 voucher plus another £6. The whole lot should be most of what I need for a month (fresh things aside). My treat spends were a small loaf of fruit bread and a bottle of cheap cola. 😋 It is nice to see my "protein tins" shelf replenished and my freezer full.

Good Boss approved my leave for the last four weeks before maternity leave starts and says if I need to change that mat leave date, it's ok. His partner is absolutely knackered (due the same week as me) so he understands. I feel a little less breathless than last week but I'm feeling pretty "squished". Originally I planned to "save" my remaining 6 weeks of leave to have extra pay in a years' time, but it seems like it will be financially better to do it now, as in a years' time, the leave payments would cancel my Universal Credit... ho hum.

I got the payment date wrong for one of my credit cards by three days (I mixed up the Direct Debit date with the Due Date) and the money ain't there to pay it this afternoon. On the plus side I get paid tomorrow and they've said they re-attempt it three days later, so it should be ok, I'll make an extra payment tomorrow to make sure I beat that Due Date. I also got my payslip for Second Job and there will be a good pay plus a small tax refund which is very welcome. Fingers crossed, all bills will be covered for the next two weeks now. I'm still keeping the surveys windows open regardless! 😁

Sofa Coins

(Figuratively.) This week I cashed out a few pounds at a time on various "little" survey platforms and also deposited £15 of loose change into the bank. I made another sale on Vinted, only £4 but it's something. This all means that I will just manage bills for the week. Next week, I also get paid from job #2, but the week after that I'm not sure how things will go. I'm off sick from work again today - that dreaded throat infection did not actually go away and is now in my sinuses. So even though I get paid for one week in the middle, there will be a deficit again coming up. This is the point where I consider seriously whether I should go on maternity leave early, or at least take my annual leave before I do. I have requested leave for my last three weeks before maternity leave (34-36) and we will see if Big Boss says yes.

The only money I've spent in the last ten days has been £3.11. 💪 This was for groceries, including two dozen eggs and five bananas going cheap at work.

I have started picking my lettuce. Something is eating it, every leaf has tiny holes, which of course is not going to stop me (how dare they touch my lettuce). I wouldn't say it's delicious but hey, it's virtually free. I also got hold of some more blackberries and the church next door now has a couple of small/green windfall apples appearing at its fence - so hopefully there will be some quality ones over the next month.

The custard-and-lemon-muffin concoction turned out to be edible. 😊 I sprinkled each muffin with sugar. I also made the custard with powdered milk, too, so it was a bit of a surprise that they were nice. I have half the muffins in my freezer still and will make another batch of custard to have them with later.

Snacktime: Scuppered

I put off going to Food Club for a day, and just my luck, work then changed my hours so that I couldn't visit Food Club this week at all. It's no real drama, I'll just have to attempt to not buy snack food 😁 I decided yesterday to bake some lemon muffins, but I threw in some bicarb and they are definitely not a taste sensation. I might make some custard and have them warm with that.

On the plus side, today work had a huge pile of eggs past their sell-by date, so for the princely sum of 72p (onto the credit card...) I have brought home two dozen eggs. I really did not need any more eggs right now, but I am looking at it as a stash for my fridge. I can't afford to pass up a bargain like that since right now I'm skinter than skint.

I haven't spent time with Blondie in ages as we've each been off work and he's changed his working pattern. I got to have a great natter with him today, which was really nice. I also had a great catch-up with Pipsqueak and we actually shared some decent laughs for almost an hour. These are the interactions that I must remember next time that Dunstan excels himself in sheer unadulterated idiocy... or, as has been the case lately, in off-the-scale arrogance that gets him yet another demerit. People are now astounded that he's still got a job at all. Watch this space.

I managed to reach cashout on YouGov, which pays directly into my bank account within one working day, so I might, just might cover bills for the week. I've been keeping Prolific open in my downtime and jumping on every study which shows up, and also spending time on Branded Surveys. I've got about four days to find the last £20 without having to resort to a credit card cash advance, so fingers crossed.

Neighbours from #8 have given me a lovely bunch of flowers today 😊

Change of Plans

So what did I do? Rediscovered the t-shirts I bought which don't fit. So I took them back to the shop, and got me £14 in store credit. I also took about £6 in coins with me and was determined to stay under budget. I still went over (you're not actually surprised, are you?) but I am blaming it on buying milk. Also possibly on a packet of strawberry mini trifles for £1.09.

But otherwise, it was a fairly behaved shop of bananas, yoghurt, salad and sandwich fixings. Also a tiny pack of cheese snacks and can of drink for the movies. I just couldn't stomach an enormous bag of too-salty popcorn from home. The movie turned out to be good, much to my surprise, although I'm now exhausted from the five-minute walk in each direction.

Today I cashed out another survey site so there is a £10 supermarket voucher sitting in my email. I shouldn't need it for another week but it's nice to have. I have actually sorted through my cupboards to see what is there... turns out I most definitely do not need tinned carrots or tinned peaches 😂 but the variety of tinned casseroles is sadly lacking (ie: I've got chili con carne and that is all). Partly this is because Food Club has cut down which tins they offer. Last visit, I got myself some frozen pies and even a pizza, which were lovely treats, so here's hoping they have more frozen items this time. They should also have fresh vegies from their allotment 😍

My maternity uniform arrived at work and is both laughable and unwearable. Literally, unless I would care to expose myself. I already own three plain black fitted tunics and now I've ordered three more of the same in "work colour", despite that not being "appropriate uniform" and I will argue with Big Boss if he dares complain. I don't like wearing black because it attracts absolutely every speck of fluff and dust, and that makes me feel constantly paranoid that there's dust on my shoulders as well!

Mood: tired. Getting tired. Actually reconsidering whether I can work for as many weeks as I had hoped.

Sad Face :(

Stupid arsehole Vinted has started deleting my listings for nappies, citing their rule that you can't sell used underwear. It's not used underwear ffs, they are nappies, and there are thousands of listings for used ones. So ridiculous. I've sent them a message appealing it but I don't really expect it to go anywhere. Ima just sit pulling a sad face and will try to decide what to do with the rest of the stash that I have. eBay is one option (a Buy It Now, not an auction listing) but neither the prices nor the fees are as good.

The annoyance of the overgrown and unkempt garden has a couple of silver linings... the majority of what's gone mental out the top of the hedges is Buddleia, so at least the butterflies and bees will be happy. And for months I've been irritated by the occasional scratch and stab of vines, which it's taken me way too long to realise are blackberries. I've collected half a cup of ripe ones today and there's a lot more that are still red. I won't look a gift horse in the mouth.

After four days off work this week my pay next week will be hideous and I'm not sure it will even cover essential bills. I have hauled out my £20 worth of coins and am trying to do some surveys. Worst comes to worst there's one bill I can delay by a week and I could also do a cash advance for the others 😞 which is bad for a credit history but certainly better than missing a repayment. We shall see how things go. It's "eat from the cupboards" this week (and the freezer!) and I will drop in to Food Club on Tuesday.

Tomorrow I'm going to see the Barbie movie with my workmates. No, I don't know what came over me either. 😂 I already have the ticket so at least I don't need to find money for that. I will be taking a bag of microwaved popcorn with me and a drink from home... I can't turn up without snacks or else someone will insist on "lending me the money" and they really don't need to know that I neither want to be buying snacks OR paying them back!

Today's lunch: chicken & veg curry tin mixed with a "golden vegetable" flavoured rice sachet, and also some scrambled eggs mixed in (another portion is in the fridge for tomorrow). Dinner is a cup-a-soup with a hot dog roll followed by half a tin of peaches 😋 All of these things were from Food Club, and I'm kinda pleased with myself for whittling down the stash.

Snot Face

I have come down with a throat infection, and by the looks of things it's spreading into my nose. Oh the joy.

Meanwhile I'm looking over all the Vinted listings for baby stuff to gather plenty of research on what my "overs" pile is worth (the items that I bought, but realise I won't use). I think I can make a small profit from it, I have started taking pictures and uploading, so now I just need motivation to list the rest. I also clearly have too many "good ones" in the smallest sizes but at least having a huge pile will make laundry a bit easier in the first few months.

I received what should be (well, I think) the last bulk buy of nappies and at first was incredibly disappointed that almost all of them are either ancient or else require repair. Just as I was about to leave a yucky review, I picked up the bag and found another bag underneath full of good quality items. I've now glued a couple of items to fix them and I have more superglue on my fingers than on what I was repairing... the rest will be a huge sewing pile and we'll see when that gets looked at.

I called in sick to main job but as I told Second Boss I won't be off sick from the cleaning work unless I'm at death's door, so right now I'm working up the energy to go in. Fortunately I was in the mood to do quite a bit there last night so I can survive this evening just doing the essentials.

Dinner: a mince and onion pie, with vegies, if I can find the energy to open the freezer and then the oven, and then my mouth 😂

Washing machine going, once again.

Postscript: one of my Vinted listings has sold already, for £10. 😮

We've Dumped DilEmma!

FINALLY! And oh my god not before time. She has left her company (and nobody told us for weeks) and their "management" has been so terrible for the past three months that it really hasn't been management at all - there's talk of demanding a refund, but let's see if the other owners can be bothered with that... Anyway, today I've been on the phone to the LOVELY guy who I tried to get to replace her a year ago and he's already taken on another dozen of her clients who've also dumped that company.

Now we might actually get some maintenance and upgrades done, things which have taken a year longer than they should have already.

I mentioned earlier my cloth nappy purchases from eBay, well, after navigating the minefield that is types, methods and sizes, I have chosen out my favourites and bid on a few more of the same. I'm planning on selling the less-practical ones, mostly the "all in one" options. The main reasons are that although they're simple to put on (because they look and function just like a disposable) they take ages to dry, can't be tumble dried and have to be reassembled in fiddly ways after each wash. Luckily, these are still the most popular kind (see above, re: looks like a disposable) so I shouldn't struggle to sell them on. I'm looking at Vinted right now since their prices look good.

I also found out this baby is a girl 😊 and on the same day got given a ginormous bin bag full of baby girls' clothing, most of which looks like it's never even been worn. The whole lot is currently drying and then I'll go through my stash - again - and just keep my favourites. I'm not a huge fan of overly-gendered clothing and certainly wouldn't buy it, but I have no qualms about keeping the best quality items and those which are most practical. Included in that stash were several jumpers and mittens plus a brand new unused cold-weather parka suit (all of which I needed).

Currently cooking some sad and neglected old potatoes, plus some carrots, with a view to doing a bit of meal prep for the week ahead. I've even tidied my kitchen a bit taken out my rubbish and all my recycling! 😮 Now if only I had that kind of enthusiasm for everything else...

Earned today: about £10 from surveys, and also cashed out an extra £16.70 on two sites.