January blues?

Wow this has to be the longest I haven't posted anything new, I have been really down lately, I don't know if it is January blues.  If you haven't been reading my twitter updates, I received a letter over the weekend from my university accusing me of plagiarism, I spoke to my academic adviser yesterday and the whole point behind this is that mine and someone else's work looks similar which is incredibly upsetting as I spent ages on that piece of work and I know for a fact I have not copied off anyone as I always do my work at home to avoid this but for some reason last term I've been helping people out and I think it has come to bite me in the bottom as it looks like someone has just copied my work :(

Now I have to go sit in-front of a panel or just my head of school and they will judge me, I will either be let off, have to re-submit  the work or I will lose marks from that assignment, it is just so unfair.  Okay enough of that subject as it is just depressing and I have decided that I am not going to mope around about it, what will be will be after all I can't change what has happened or what someone else has done.

I so wanted this to be the husband and mine yeah, January has been rubbish but I am going to make sure that February is amazing, I am going to try and be positive about university even though I am disliking it at the moment and I will try my hardest in my coursework this term, maybe even start them this weekend.

I have been off ill today, personally I believe it is down to stress as the home life hasn't been amazing since the husband decided to give up smoking.... not the best time since he has SAD as well... but he has decided to try again in a couple of months.  The whole reason behind him quitting is one of my exciting news, in about 9 months the husband and I are going to be trying for our FIRST BABY, I am so excited and he is even more excited about it than me, we would like a little girl and would call her Daisy.

Also having the bathroom finished, the kitchen being re-done and me learning how to drive (booked 30 hours worth of lessons!!) is so we can try for a baby.

The plan is for me to hopefully get pregnant this October - December time, finish my final year at university, give birth and take a whole year off to be with the baby and then return to university to start a postgraduate in IT teaching secondary school level.  I have decided to become a teacher! In ICT (IT) at secondary school level so 11 to 18 year olds, I've always wanted to be a teacher since I was 14 years old and I can't believe I will hopefully be going for it, I have an interview/chat with the postgraduate department at a different university next Monday.

Well that's all my secrets out :) I am very excited, I just hope that this year goes as plans, so far so good in the money saving area... Do anyone of you know of a  good on-line monthly cycle calculator? I am rubbish at remembering my dates and I need to get on top of my cycles asap.

Kitchen

As you know I am so excited over the kitchen, I would love to have a kitchen that hasn't got open cupboards! Who on earth thought this was a good idea, I have three cats who climb everywhere so when I get pans out I have to wash them again because there is always cats hair. I also have another problem of the youngest kitten Onion eating dried food, pasta, lentils and loads of other random things, at least I got a new bin with a lid so he isn't doing bin diving anymore!

I have some idea about it so I will share them in a second, but I wanted to say I have been off today because of food poisoning! I've never had it before and oh my god I have no been in so much pain last night before, all because I brought a bagel from uni yesterday and didn't eat my homemade pack lunch :( stupid me!

Husband did promise me that tonight that he would take me out in HIS car which I am so shocked at as he told me I would never ever drive his stupid car! But yay! I am so pleased, he must trust me, I wanted to do some driving before I take my first lesson in 4 years tomorrow, but he is all poorly as he isn't sleeping for certain reasons which I know what they are and he will get through it yet again.

Other boring things I have managed to complete all the forms that I needed to do like 2 months ago so I am so happy might mean more money for me and more free healthcare :)

Okay point of this post not for me to rant for 300 words but to show my kitchen ideas :) At the moment my kitchen has green walls, the floor is wooden and I have space under my stairs which I am planning on using as a cat area. I love this design, what do you think?

I love this because it for having tumble dryer off the floor, might even get one for the dishwasher too.

Corner units are amazing as I have one corner under the window that would need one of these

I love these styles of cupboard doors as well :)

I want this table and chairs as well :)

Also I am getting tall freezer and have sold my 2nd fridge/freezer to the best mate.

Okay I'm off to tidy again...

Decisions

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile, loads of things are going on right now and I can't really discuss them on-line, but they are not bad in anyway but wonderful if it all goes to plan, I have an interview/meeting regarding one on Tuesday so please keep your fingers crossed for me, the other things well I am sure I'll discuss it when I have talked about it with my parents and a few others. Even at 24 years old, I still worry what my parents think of my decisions...

But I do have some good news that I can talk about, the kitchen is definitely going ahead!!! I have been waiting to hear from my mother-in-law about it, she came over today and asked me how I wanted my kitchen and where have I been looking for cupboards and things like that, I am not suppose to know that she is paying for it as the husband was not suppose to say but he can't keep a secret to save his life! But I am so excited about the whole thing that means the bathroom and kitchen will be done soon :) Other news, I start my driving lessons on Wednesday, I am hoping to pass by September this year as I really need to learn to drive asap!

What else is new? Well the money saving is going well but I think we are having to put our total up to £6,500 after June for a certain reason (am I bugging you about these secrets yet? I am sorry I wish I could talk about it, I will tell you all), we made £210 from ebay today and we have a spare £285 so the savings and car fund are going to look even more impressive, I am so pleased with it.

I am making cupcakes at the moment so I am off to take them out otherwise they burn :(

Yet more snow...

Where have I been this week? Well uni started back up again so I am so busy with that at the moment that relaxing time has now become a thing of the past for the next 10 weeks, already having to deal with the amount of work we have to achieve over the term :(

The snow kept us in the over the weekend, we did manage to get out for food, Monday I returned to uni and the husband to work, same for Tuesday but this morning woke up and we are under yet more snow, I am getting pretty fed up with all this white cold stuff! URGH!!

But I didn't get to talk about my trip to Scotland which was really good fun minus the worry about getting home in time, I love seeing my family up there and it was nice to spend quality time with the sisters.  I hope to go back up in about 10 weeks after this term finishes.

Since the idea of being stuck in the house for long period of time, I came up with an emergency food list which you can keep in your cupboards and freezer, this also helps to save money because you know what it is like when you get to the end of the month and you have no money for food you can whip something up with the items you already have in your house.

So here's the list, feel free to add any you think I have missed, I am going to go through my cupboards soon to see what I already have:

1. Flour


2. Yeast


3. Tinned plum tomatoes


4. Tuna


5. Pasta


6. Mixed herbs


7. Dried Onion


8. Garlic (chopped jar version for the fridge, unopened in the cupboard or garlic puree)


9. Red lentils


10. Vegetable stock cube


11. Rice


12. Tomato puree


13. Kidney beans


14. Baked beans


15. Part Bakes


16. Tinned/Frozen veg


17. Frozen berries


18. Tinned fruit


19. Bread in the freezer


20. Porridge


21. Sugar

Arugh can't think of any more right now but I have found some great links for recipes:

• Vegan Lentils Recipes


• The Cheapest Healthy Meal Ever


• Cheapest meal

Also update on my goals:

• Savings 800/2000


• Car Fund 468/1700


• Holiday Money 300/900

We paid off our water bill so all that is left is the Gas bill of £228.

How are all your goals going?

Returned

I made it home! Thank you all for the very warm comments.  It was very very scary, managed to get down to a couple of towns near my own and there was a very scary snow storm but lucky for me I had the only Russian taxi driver who went 60mph through it.

This is was my home street looks like and it has been snowing none stop all day.  My flight was delayed and it took me about 7 and half hours to get home.

Other than the snow and my terrible journey home, I have been inside trying to keep warm and watching desperate housewives season 6 which is really good :)

Putting all my details on spendingdiary.com and it is surprising how much you spend on random bits, I am looking forward to seeing the results at the end of the month, okay maybe not excited about it but it will be really interesting to see where we both spend money and what we can cut back on.

Green facts and tips coming tomorrow plus how to make your own shampoo and bath bombs :)

Scottyland

So i got here on late Monday night and wasn't planning on blogging until I got back but with all the snow everywhere I wanted to share plus I have added stress on this:

All flights from my dads house to Gatwick airport have been canceled, I don't fly until Friday evening but still with more snow coming I am worried I won't get home in time for uni, it might be later next week...

Scotland is good, I only go to see my other half of my family not really to visit Scotland itself but there has been some snow up here but not as bad my house has been hit down south with the husband.

My sister filling the bird bath with some hot water to melt the ice so the poor birds can have a bath and a drink.

Little bird :)

Roads in Scotland

Hopefully we will have lack of it tomorrow :)

Frugal Tips

I am away from tomorrow until next Friday, visiting my dad in Scotland, really looking forward to going but I will miss the husband loads, he will miss because there will be no one to wake up at 6am to make his pack lunches. I am trying to do a on-line food shop but I was reading a few tips on being frugal, here are some of my favourites:

• Old Christmas cards often cut down into nice gift tags for the following year


• Save old wrapping paper if it hasn't been torn of course


• Use freecycle (I don't know they do this in the USA but in the UK it is like a swap shop and you sign up to the one in your area, got some great free items)


• Using a dishwasher, funny enough it saves time, water and energy than it would do to hand wash dishes. (Run a dishwasher only when it’s full, and don’t rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher! Also don't use a dry cycle as if you leave the door open after washes it will dry just as quickly).


• Energy saving light bulbs


• Have showers than baths


• Add cheaper brands to old rinsed out brands bottles, tastes the same and no one will know the difference


• Buy the value products/shop at value supermarkets or pound shops


• Slow cookers (I want one!)


• Washed out the main filter on your tumble drier so that it works more efficiently


• Mend clothes instead of throwing them away


• Make home made presents like bath bombs or soap


• Growing your own food


• Make your own shampoo


• Pack lunches


• Switch off the oven for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking time


• Make contact with friends and family abroad almost exclusively by email, saving money on phone calls and postage


• Wash clothing 30 degrees, except bed linens which are 60 degrees


• Making own cleaning products from basic ingredients such as white vinegar and lemon juice


• Charity Shops

• Meal plan


• Use up the store cupboard


• Stop habitually shopping


• List the food you throw out for a couple of weeks


• Make a shopping list and stick to it


• Grow your own veg/fruit and swap with neighbours


• Use on-line shopping if you are vulnerable to the shopping psychology tricks


• Ditch the ready meals


• Keep your meter readings up to date so you don't get nasty surprises


• Put on socks and an extra layer if you are chilly, rather than turning up the heat


• Don't use credit if you can't afford to pay it off at the end of the month


• Put soap/fairy liquid into a pump dispenser


• Cut my Brillo pads into quarters


• Use cash only


• Bulk buy

Okay I'd better get on as I have been writing this for a while now... and I need to go and tidy the house before I go away :)

Fast Fried Rice Recipe

[caption id="attachment_1775" align="alignleft" width="222" caption="Fast Fried Rice Recipe"][/caption]

I have found this great fast fried rice recipe (which I had written down in my cookbook) and it is really yummy! And even better low fat!

Ingredients

* 2 tsp oil
* 1 egg , beaten
* 2 pieces of bacon , chopped
* 175g mushrooms , sliced
* 200g frozen peas
* 1 garlic clove , crushed
* small knob of fresh root ginger , grated
* 2 tsp dark soy sauce , plus extra to serve
* 1 tsp sugar
* 250g cooked basmati rice

How to

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan, then tip in the egg.


2. Leave to set for 30 secs-1 min, swirling every now and again, then tip it out and finely slice.


3. Add bacon and mushrooms to pan, then fry until golden, about 3 mins.


4. Add peas, garlic and ginger, then cook for 1 min.


5. Mix the soy sauce and sugar together.


6. Turn up the heat, add the cooked rice to the pan, heat through, then splash in the sweet soy sauce.


7. Stir through the egg and serve straight away, with more soy sauce if you like.


8. Enjoy :) Mmm yummy

One step forward, three steps back

Oh this is just so annoying, so as I have said before, my husband and me are on the saving goals till June 2010, I did this to our whiteboard:
Well today I paid in my Christmas money and the savings is now £360 and my car fund is £330, that is great, really pleased.  I updated my gas and electric readings and I now owe then £220!!! Seriously!! They owed me £360 and now we owe them money, I hate it, I keep trying so hard and I get this.

This pissed me off, as long as they don't put up our direct debit then we should be fine as we always have loads of money owning after the summer, the funny thing is that it was not the gas (which I thought would be huge!!) it was the electric... Hmmm maybe having two fridges isn't a good thing... will have to get rid of one..

Okay enough of my complaining, I am chilled :P But I did get to page rank three on google, it took me 3 months!! But I am so happy.

It snowed on New Years Day, the cats were going crazy!! Also I have start 365 again, will have to pay for my flickr account... this is my first picture :)

[caption id="attachment_1761" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="Onion and Arthur watching the snow"][/caption]

Anyways I am off to Scotland on Monday  to see my daddy and that side of the family so I will be away for a week but I am taking the laptop so I should be able to update :)