Sunday, 25 June 2023

Wash #3 of 4

So the reusable nappies started arriving and I have very quickly learned that many of them will be far too big for a newborn. So I have had to spend a few more pounds to make up the number I will need in the first weeks. In total it's been about £140, which is less than the cost of disposables, and afterwards I should be able to recoup most of that by selling them on.

The washing machine is trundling along, getting them all fresh.

Today I popped in to Old Fave supermarket and bought myself two black t-shirts, a light blue t-shirt and two new bras. I had already bought a few looser items second hand, but the difference to new was only a pound, and black for work isn't really negotiable. I also grabbed a few food items I needed, oh and a donut I definitely needed. On the way out I saw the plant section, and since my tomato plant from last week is doing so well, I chose out some lettuce and a cucumber plant. When I got home to plant them, I realised I'm the proud owner of a courgette plant 😂 But not to worry, I've grown them before and they're a doddle.

I found a better pram! I had to shell out a fiver, but It's slightly smaller so it fits better in my boot, and also comes with more accessories. It still comes with an unneeded car seat 😁 but I'll give that to the baby bank along with the travel system that I don't need. The same seller also kindly gave me a baby carrier, I'd already bought one for a pound at a charity shop but we'll see which one works better.

Tuesday, 20 June 2023

Duh-Moments

We have a new employee, who I'll call Dunstan, or Duh for short. Duh is a handsome young chap, but he was definitely blessed with too much attitude and not enough brains. In his opening three weeks, Duh has excelled with the following Career-Limiting Moves (and far more, but I've chosen the best):

  1. shown up for work in a ripped t-shirt with profanity on it, on his third day in the role, and felt this would be ok to serve customers in;
  2. given out a large, bulky item for free because he couldn't be bothered hefting it up and putting it through the till (Duh got his first demerit, that is, a warning);
  3. asked to go home because it was nice weather outside; when told no, suggested that he might just leave anyway.
Since Duh somehow thinks that I am ok, I suggested he be careful, considering he's on probation. It turns out that despite several warnings that he was in danger of having his probation ended, Duh didn't have a clue what probation is, that everyone starts on probation, or what happens if he gets another demerit (ie, he'd be out of a job). Cue the shocked face.


On the plus side, I've been running the floor now and then lately, and they finally seem to be vaguely thinking about giving me some additional training. Which I fully expect to get shelved/forgotten as my belly gets bigger, but for now, at least I have some variety and a bit of a challenge.

A few successful bids on eBay for more reusable nappies, for about a quarter of the retail price new. I hope they work well and that I can stick with them.

Sunday, 18 June 2023

Searching

I cancelled my gym membership (again) because with my new job, I simply don't have the energy. I feel like the hoovering and scrubbing there each day keeps me a little bit in shape 😁

Road trip again yesterday, this time with boss man. It was a good day despite the early start and we made a dent in their workload. The store seems in a slightly better state than last time.

I went back to the baby bank today to spend a little bit more time and to donate some items that I don't need (tiny clothes in summer weight are the wrong season). They had some lovely romper suits so I think I'm now mostly set for baby clothes. I also popped in to a couple of charity shops and managed to get a baby bouncer chair, a carrier, another plain t-shirt and some books and DVDs. Still no luck on maternity trousers, though.

Spendy McSpenderson: 75p on a tomato plant 😁

Thursday, 15 June 2023

Entitled and Greedy = Me

I managed to find a pram, kindly gifted to me by another mum. Actually, it's a Travel System™, a three-wheeled frame with two interchangeable seats (a baby capsule plus a fancy adjustable standard seat section). Plus accessories.

But... the tyres are flat so I will need to buy a pump. It is a VERY tight squeeze to get it into my boot, basically you need to force it in. And you can't even fold it up without removing the whole seat assembly every time. The other car seat I have is a better model which will last years longer, making the baby capsule seat part useless to me.

Do I bother with this Travel System™ or do I just keep looking and hope to find a boring, standard pram? I think I know the answer and am just asking myself permission to decide that I don't want this very kind gift after all. 😕

I have been running the washer non-stop this week to get on top of all the new clothes I brought home. And some of them are taking so long to dry that I'm resorting to the tumble dryer as well. £££

My plants are starting to fill out and hopefully they will be a riot of colour soon.

Fail: the interest charge on my cheapest credit card took me over limit. I have thrown enough at it to take it back under, but I'm quite annoyed at myself right now. 😠

Monday, 12 June 2023

Very Very Pleased

A kind lady gave me a bag of baby clothes - there are about a dozen items in there and they are in as-new condition. I was so, so pleased until I realised they are all summer items 😂 but that's ok, the vests will still be useful. I have also been to a clothing bank today and I am beyond happy with what I found. There were certain things I hoped might be there, but I got some nice surprises too. Three huge bags altogether. And currently sorting out the ⭐ two sleeping bags and large bag of reusable nappy bits ⭐ neither of which I actually expected to even find there and which are quite expensive to buy new. Some of the nappy wraps are too big for newborns, but it looks as though there will be about five-ish complete assemblies to start off with.

Not the set I brought home, but close.

I had a look through the toys and found a handful of board books, plus a bag of Duplo blocks which I will put aside - blocks are one of the few "colourful plastic crap" items I actually want my kiddo to get their hands on. I was pleased to find a good whack of muslins and also got hold of four small blankets.

Me being me, I timed it poorly and didn't spend as much time looking through as I would have liked, so I may visit again to search more thoroughly. There were no prams there today, but next time I might be luckier.

Cashed out: PaidViewPoint.

Best thing: I felt baby move today 😀

Saturday, 10 June 2023

Blooms and Things

This week I've been to a free local supper club for expectant mums. It was so nice chatting to people! Although I felt a little awkward when they asked about my other kids' ages and then their mouths dropped. I should have paid a bit more attention to the fact that it was named a supper and not a dinner, because it was mostly dips, vegies and bread. Lovely, but essentially I feel like I've had a salad sandwich for dinner, so I've come home and am about to devour a yellow-stickered chicken pie from my freezer.

Received more payments from Testable Minds and Prolific Academic

Went to Food Club today, hadn't been over in a few weeks (I think I was burned out on casserole with baked spud) but the house really didn't have a whole lot to eat, apart from fruit or cereal, so it was time. I have treated myself to lemon biscuits and a bag of crisps and am over the moon that they had fresh, normal, white bread that wasn't best before yesterday. 😍 All up, five pounds well-spent. Also popped into Fave Supermarket and spent £16 on essential fresh stuff. It feels good to have a full fridge 😀

This afternoon I have spent some time in the garden, rearranging pots (grrrrr DilEmma and your inability to arrange a gardener to remove the vines and weeds). I planted out a bunch of my little petunia plugs into my hanging baskets. I have put far more seedlings in this year and the weather is being far more cooperative, so I should be able to advertise them for sale soon. Hopefully there will be eight or ten that look good and I can make about £50 in profit. I also kept some for myself, a few lovely buckets of colour for a bit of cheer, and they are mostly doing well.

Wednesday, 7 June 2023

I Got It!

Firstly, I got a call back from a reference I was offering to a former colleague, or more accurately she emailed to say she couldn't call me as it constantly cut off after one ring. To my immense disgust, an employer emailed me today with the exact same news. How many jobs have I missed out on because they couldn't call me when the phone was sat beside me and never rang nor showed a missed call? Grrr. I'm updating my phone and hoping the issue goes away...

Anyway, I got a nice reply about a job I applied for - it's 7.5h hours per week as a cleaner. The manager seems nice, it's a company I worked for in the past, he sounded very keen to meet me tonight on site and there is no problem if I do the work around my main job. I've had a tour of the workplace and I'm pleased as punch that I start on Monday. 😃

Especially since I have had to miss two days at Main Job this week. I injured my hand. I don't even know how! The x-ray is all clear but it's terribly painful and swollen and I can't take any anti-inflammatories, I just need to wait it out. 😩

Cashed out from surveys: one supermarket voucher for £5. Spent: £8 on flower plants. Planted: none yet, because although I managed to get them home, I don't feel nimble enough to plant them out. Treat: a chili con carne ready meal to celebrate my new job!

Sunday, 4 June 2023

Survey Payouts

Four of them this week in fact. Two of them took a whole ten days to show up, but I suppose it's not so different to work pay which is a week delayed itself. I have slapped an extra £60 onto my most expensive card and soon the interest-bearing balance will be gone on that one, and I avalanche to the next card.

I've been pretty grumpy this week and sick to death of the repetitive work in my job. I have started looking more closely at Indeed. This is not a fun exercise in any way. I've also scraped my knuckles today while moving furniture about in my flat, grrr.

Current mood: not yet, not yet, soon. I keep seeing newborn clothes and bedding that is gendered in colour, but I really do not need to get things this early when I don't know what I'm having and I honestly do not need pink and blue crap at all. As progressive as I am, I also do not feel the desire to explain to strangers that no, my kid in a pink frilly jumpsuit is a boy, or my kid in a blue racing cars jacket is a girl. There will be appropriate clothing available when I'm ready for it.

The fix: my pay this week was lower as Good Boss sorted out the overpayment. At least it's done now.