Thursday 30 April 2015

Mitzi's up to date with her walks now

Yesterday it was hosing it down so only took her up and down the road once yesterday morning because we were too wet to walk any further.

I took her for the standard 4 trips up and down the street this morning and we've just got back from doing yesterday's 3 lengths that we didn't do because of the rain so we're now up-to-date with the lengths.  Yay!

Webmistress woes this morning

I'm trying to upload the webrings page to my domain but I can't connect to the server for some reason  :-(

Maybe there's something wrong at Namehog?

Wednesday 29 April 2015

My Deities were looking out for me this morning!

I had a fasting blood test booked for 9.20 this morning and I was going to go down there in Patrick.

I walked the pup at 7.30am and it was hosing it down like I posted about this morning, so Steve asked his dad to take me instead.

My FIL couldn't take me because they were taking E to school today.

I poked my head out of the door at 8.15am and the road was clear, it had stopped raining and it looked like I was good to go, so I closed the front door and went to get Patrick and wheeled him into the hall then squeezed past to open the front door.

The whole road was packed with cars!  I'd only been gone for about 10 minutes, but that's all the road needed to be full again!

So I stroppily took Patrick back into the kitchen while Steve cancelled the appointment for me.

My MIL has just been on the phone and said that the clutch had gone on my FILs car so they had to be towed home.  They are hoping to get it fixed either today or tomorrow but nobody could have known that would happen...

...except my Deities!  They did everything they could to stop me going to the blood test this morning and the clutch going was why!  They didn't want me to get stranded there!

Whichever God or Goddess it was, thank you so so much!

Shoulda known! :-(

I should have had a fasting blood test this morning, but the rain was pissing it down until about half an hour before the appointment time. 

I went to put Patrick up, but there were 2 cars blocking the way out.

That put me in a foul mood so I asked Steve to rearrange the appointment for me.

It's now next Thursday (7th May) at 9.45 instead.  I'm going to book a taxi to take me there and back so that I can go for sure, whether it's raining or there's a car in the road or anything else!

Not a happy bunny this morning!

Tuesday 28 April 2015

Tomorrow



This is my plan for tomorrow... I can almost guarantee I'll forget to go to the Post Office and Subway!  lol

8am – wake up
8.15am – take Mitzi for her walk
8.30am – take Patrick outside and put him together
9am – get to GP for blood test
9.20am – have blood test
9.30am – make way into town
10am – take a tenner out of my account for breakfast
10.15am- find somewhere to have breakfast
10.30am – eat
11am- text Steve… what does he want from Subway for lunch?
11.15am – Get lunch from Subway
11.30am – find out how much special delivery costs at Post Office for my provisional driving license form, birth certificate and marriage certificate and also for their return.
11.45am – come home

Monday 27 April 2015

Shopping came nice and early tonight!

The shopping was due between 6pm and 7pm.

It's already been and gone!

Marie is being a star and putting it all away for us which means I'll be able to have an early night tonight!

Achieved so much today, going to have a really early night tonight and tomorrow, then I'll have to be up early on Wednesday for my blood test then that's it for the rest of the week!  Yay!

Just gotta remember not to eat or drink anything other than mineral water tomorrow!

Community assignments all done now... yay!

Just finished my invites so I can have a long, relaxing bubble bath tomorrow in preparation of my blood test on Wednesday... hopefully I'll be up in time to put Patrick together to go down there in time on Wednesday!

Fast work by Pets At Home!

Steve ordered 2 leads for Mitzi from Pets At Home yesterday late afternoon/early evening and paid a tenner for next day delivery.

Considering yesterday was a Sunday and it was after High Street shops close, they were here about 17 or 18 hours after he ordered them!

I took Mitzi for her walk with one of the new leads and she loved it, didn't pull too much, but got a bit lost when we only went half of the way we usually go, then down to the other end of the street!  lol

I definitely approve... just got to get IE to behave and do 5 invites before the shopping comes tonight and I'll be able to have an early night!

Sunday 26 April 2015

Cheeky cat!!!

I answered the door to our tea and a stupid, cheeky cat walked past my legs and into the house then up the stairs and jumped onto the bed in the main bedroom!

I shouted at the top of my lungs for it to get out of the house and it just ignored me and carried on as if this was it's home!  It's Mitzi's home, not the stupid cat!

Like Steve said, the police would have been called and they would have gone to the papers and sued us and stuff for not having control of a dog, but because it was a cat no-one thinks anything of it!!!

A dog taking over a house uninvited would cause all sorts of problems for not being under control and a dog pooing in public areas is against the law, but a cat?  Nothing wrong with them inviting themselves into a house and taking over!

*mutter, mumble*

Mitzi bit a little bit off her lead this morning, so...

...I asked Steve if we had a spare lead, he said no, so I got paranoid about taking Mitzi for her walk this morning and we only did a quarter of it before my paranoia took over  :-(

Steve's ordered 2 leads from Pets At Home and paid a tenner for next day delivery, so as soon as the leads arrive tomorrow I'll take our little pup on 7 lengths of the street instead of 4 to make up for it this morning... she'll be wiped out when we eventually get home!  Technically though, today's mini walk was covered on Thursday when I took her on a marathon walk while Steve had his railway meeting in here so technically today is covered but I'll take her on a longer one as soon as the leads arrive and next time Mitzi bites through her lead and I ask Steve if we've got a spare one, he'll be able to say yes!  lol

Saturday 25 April 2015

Just ordered a replacement...

...birth certificate and marriage certificate so that I can send them along to the DVLA when I apply for a replacement provisional driving license... just got to remember to send it via guaranteed delivery (or whatever it's called) when the application form comes!  It was under 20 quid too, which is brilliant!

I'm considering...

... phoning a dentist that is literally just down the road from me to make sure of 2 things... first is that they are wheelchair accessible as they are on the 1st floor of the building and secondly to be sure that they are prepared to take on a petrified patient because that's what I am!  If they can honestly answer yes to both of those things and they're taking on new patients, they will find me on the books pretty swiftly!

I used to go to a different place, the other side of the centre but Steve said there were stairs last time we went so I won't be able to get to the appointment if that's the case - that dentist was wonderful but the one I've just found the website of has a Dental Therapist so hopefully they will be good too?  I hope so!

I'm also pondering on taking driving lessons again, but with my brain (yes, I've got one!  :-P) damage, I'm worried that I won't be able to remember what happened the previous lesson or what different road signs mean or whatever and the theory test will be a nightmare with my crappy memory!  I sailed through my first theory test but I was healthy back then!  The closest I got to being ill was colds and hayfever and minor things like that!  I might ask Andrew (my BIL) who he went with because he passed first time!

However, I've also found a page that lists disabled driving lessons instructors around here, but they seem to only be for wheelchairs which I won't be using most of the time, unless I need to go into town to get to meet them or whatever!  It'll be my brain damage that is the biggest disability, not my legs for a change!

Yuckerama!

Warning to UK Postal Voters...

The envelopes you have to seal are ones you have to lick and they taste gross!  Have a strongly flavoured drink to hand... you'll need it!

Yesterday afternoon

I met my little nephew for the first time yesterday and held him for a while... what a little cutie!

I definitely felt my maternal instincts waking up and wanting my own little cutie but Steve says he's too old now  :-(

I also had my hair cut and it looked good yesterday, but now, like when I was a child, my hair forms a triangle which I really didn't want - if she'd taken the inch off then it would have been fine, but nope, she "took off a little bit more than an inch" and my hair now looks like a triangle because of the thickness of my hair not being stretched out by the heaviness any more.

So, again, I'll not have my hair cut by her any more.  She's a good hairdresser, I'm not denying that, but I know how my hair goes when it's short so from now on, I'll grow it again.  *sigh*  I'll wait until it's shoulder length then have it trimmed if I feel like it, but shoulder length is the shortest I'll go from now on  :-(

Friday 24 April 2015

So worth it!

Just got back from having the replacement belt fitted to the chair and it was a perfect fit with no adjustments to the belt at all!

I was waiting for an extra half an hour because the bloke who fitted the belt was stuck in a traffic jam or something but it took him all of 10 minutes to do it... and it was only a fiver for the labour!

Steve's in a foul mood but I don't care.  I feel safe again and my knees aren't aching so I'm happy and I'm going to have a shower and wash my hair when I've stopped shaking from bringing the batteries in, ready for having me hair cut this afternoon!

Another busy day in the George household!  lol

Does it sound strange to say...

...my knees hurt more after being in the wheelchair than they do after taking the pup for her walk?

Steve reckons it's because I hold my knees in one place while I'm in the chair, but I move them when I'm walking Mitzi?  That they get stiff in the chair?

What do you reckon?

Forgot to say in my previous post...

... Mitzi got stroked again, by the lady who lives opposite us!  So many friends in 24 hours!

Also, I'm going to get the belt fitted when Assured Mobility call.  My safety is more important than putting Steve in a good mood and leaving me feeling grumpy!  So, I'll go down when they call and sod putting Steve in a positive frame of mind.  I'd prefer to be safe and get on the wrong side of Steve for a few hours than put Steve in a grumpy mood for not doing what he wants and me to not be safe!  He'll be grumpy no matter what I do, so I'm going to get my safety net in place and sod Steve!

Sort of know Mitzi's boyfriend's name now!

I take Mitzi up and down her street 4 times every morning.

Mitzi's boyfriend lives at the end of the street.

We'd been up and down the street once and everything was quiet.  On the second time, the dog started barking and a young child of maybe 4 or 5 years old used the name Satan.

Not good.

I turned Mitzi around and we walked down the other end of the street instead.

The third time up the street, Satan was quiet until we got to the last house, so we turned around and walked back and went back to the other end of the street again

As we turned around, the dog at the other end of the street was shouted at again, but this time he was called Sampson.

Better but not brilliant!

By the time we got back to Mitzi's house, Satan/Sampson was quiet so I took her up the usual end and all was quiet so he must have been taken in.

We came home and I fed and watered Mitzi.  Within 5 minutes, Steve's carer arrived and I remembered to correct myself from yesterday when she asked about the spasming eye thing... I told her yesterday that it was because of tiredness but corrected myself this morning and said the eye was tired, not the body!

Steve's just informed me that he doesn't want me to get the belt fitted today, so I'll have to call Assured Mobility and find out when the next convenient day is for them... *sigh*  Nice to know my safety is important to Steve, eh?

Thursday 23 April 2015

Belly ache :-(

Just had a lovely, warm, relaxing, lavendar-scented bubble bath but when I dried myself and got dressed I had belly ache!  :-(

I've been farting for the last few minutes so hopefully it's just that but Steve reckons it could be a pulled muscle or something like that?

I've got a craving for egg sandwiches or egg on toast or scrambled eggs or something but apparently our eggs are a couple of days out of date and neither of us are willing to risk it with eggs so it's something else for tea... I'm not hungry, but I haven't eaten anything today so I suppose I should have something to eat for tea!  Maybe jam sandwiches or something?  I don't want a late night tonight, so cooking is pretty much out and I don't want much... I just don't think I should have something to give me energy for tomorrow is all!

Much bizarreness!

Just had an error message coming up that said that there had been a critical error and Windows would re-start in one minute.

Steve got suspicious and I got paranoid but I didn't have much choice about it!

Everything seems to be OK now that I'm back, but I'm still paranoid  :-(

Going to brush my teeth now

Just seen a mouthwash ad on the telly which reminded me that I haven't brushed my teeth yet today!

Going to do it now before I forget again!

What a sociable little pup!

Took Mitzi for her walk this morning and she met the brood at the end of the street with 4 children under school age and was a spectacular girl, just stayed close to me wagging her little tail.

Then we met someone on the other side of the street who said good morning to me and made kissy noises to Mitzi whose little tail started wagging again.

Then the third walk up to the top of the street saw our little pup watching the mini traffic jam at the end of her street and, just to round off the walk, a lady who was going past the end of the road asked if she could stroke Mitzi so I said to go for it and the pup's little tail was a blur!

She's now fast asleep on the sofa... she had a busy morning walk!  lol

Wednesday 22 April 2015

1.5 times Mitzi's normal walk today!

I usually walk Mitzi up to the top of the street and back 4 times every morning.

That's our normal routine.

Steve had a couple of people from the railway coming over today and her boyfriend was having a noisy conversation with her this morning so we only went up and down the street once this morning.

When the railway bods came over, I took the pup up and down the road as normal, but I took her the full length of the street instead of to our door this time which Steve reckons is half the normal length again.

Soooo, Mitzi had her normal 4 times up and down the street plus 2 more lengths from taking her for a longer walk while the railway bods were here.

The poor little pup is totally wiped out now!  Bless her little furry paws!

It's a gorgeous day out there, hot with a gentle breeze blowing and a cloudless blue sky that is "my blue" right now!

I'm going to jump in a cool bath later on... just got to rest my poor legs first so that they aren't frozen solid when I get in!  lol

According to Steve,

my tunic and trousers combination look good!

They are both new and Jess (Steve's carer) noticed my new shoes this morning too!

So, I'm thinking I'll invest in more tunics and trousers of different colours and make the combination my clothes of choice instead of living in t-shirts and leggings!

Steve's got a meeting of the railway bods this morning so I'm going to take the pup for an extra long walk when they arrive to give them some space, peace and quiet to get on with it then I'll have a bath tomorrow to help my poor legs to recover then on Friday I'll wait for Assured Mobility to call about going down to get the belt on Patrick sorted out then come home, have a shower and wash my hair ready for having it cut in the afternoon!

It's all go for the rest of the week and beginning of next 'cos I'll have to do my assignments on Monday, fast ready for the blood test on Tuesday, have the blood test on Wednesday then I can relax! 

Busy 7 days!

Tuesday 21 April 2015

I also found out...

... that I can get through normal sized doors in Patrick too - just got to take things really slowly!  lol

Great stuff!

Just got back from town and I've got to go back on Friday to have the belt fitted as the lady that was in there didn't feel able to do it herself so she's going to call on Friday when someone is on his way so that I can get it fitted then.

I had a med review too and I've got to have a fasting blood test next Wednesday to check my cholesterol because apparently my AP can raise it so I need to have it checked yearly.  They will only call if there is something wrong with the results, so if I haven't heard from them a week after the test I've got to call them to make sure everything is OK.

Dr F said about the pharmacy doing electronic prescriptions so I signed up for that too... just got to phone the pharmacy a week before I run out of pills and magic will happen!

I'm having my hair cut on Friday too... busy 8 days!

Someone read my morning's blog posts while I was in town... thank you, whoever you are!

Had a second reader of my blog overnight

Thank you both for reading my dribble!  It means a lot that you take the time to read what I write!

Fast work by Betterlife!

Betterlife called at just gone 9am yesterday to find out my address to send the replacement belt to.

Just gone 11am today and it's in my hands!

26 hours and they'll send out one of their engineers to fit it for free if Assured Mobility won't!

Totally awesome or what... for a big chemist like Lloyds Pharmacy to be with Betterlife who work so fast that's amazing!

I'm a fan now... just got to get it fitted now!  lol

Monday 20 April 2015

Apparently...

... Harrison's home now and all he seems to do is eat, sleep and poo!  He's a newborn FFS, that's what they do!

I just hope he doesn't cry too much tonight so that the new parents can get some sleep - Harrison will get his parents trained soon, I'm sure!

What timing by Marie tonight!

The groceries had just started coming into the house when Marie arrived so she helped Steve bring the shopping in then went to get 3 chairs out of her car for Steve's railway meeting on Wednesday that I didn't find out about until yesterday and we're going to get our hair cut on Friday and I've just seen the first photo of Harrison (my first nephew) with his eyes open, looking at his granny.  He's going to be so spoilt!  lol

Mitzi is now laying on my foot so I can't move even if I want to!  lol


Betterlife have just been on the phone...

...and they are going to send a new belt out for me that'll be here in about the middle of this week.

Getting Assured Mobility to fit it won't invalidate the warranty, but if they charge anything then I've just got to phone Betterlife back and they'll get one of their engineers to come out and fit it for free!

Apparently the belt just goes around the back of the seat so it'll be a simple job that should, in theory, take 5 minutes to do but I'm not going to mess with it... I want Assured Mobility or Betterlife to do it so that I don't break the whole chair!

Going to be another busy week for Patrick!  lol

Not sure who is more tired this morning!

Mitzi is fast asleep.

Steve's snoring.

I want to go back to bed!  lol

Sunday 19 April 2015

Welcome back, regular reader!

Just finished chatting to my mum on the phone, hit F5 and saw that my regular reader is back!  Welcome back, whoever you are!  :-D

Is my regular reader OK?

I'm worried about my regular reader again.  S/he usually reads my blog at least once a day but they didn't yesterday or so far today!

I hope they are OK, just busy, whoever they are!

Just saved meself about 65 quid

It's amazing what you can find when you look!  lol

I was going to get myself a couple of trousers and a multi-pack of knickers.

I knew I had at least 5 knickers upstairs so I went to have a look and found 15 new, never even taken out of the pack knickers, 2 trousers and 2 tunics!

The trousers were £17 each in the BHS sale and the knickers were about £10 for a pack of 5 so just the knickers saved me £30!  Then another £34 for the trousers and the tunics were, in effect, free!  That's just sale prices too, so imagine how much I would have saved myself if they'd been full price!

So, basically, all I've spent today is £5.99 for the sign and postage of it!

The glasses were free too because the total came to less than I moved back into my account after paying for the bathroom roof so that saved me about £25 too!

I'm ace, me!  lol

That's the sign ordered...

Just ordered the sign from eBay to go on the house so that I can get in and out of the house in Patrick without denting any cars accidentally, just got to order the clothes now!

Can someone remind me to...

...find somewhere online that makes external door/wall signs so that I can put one up on the house to ask for a bit of space to get the electric wheelchair in and out of the house, without denting any cars.

Can someone also remind me to get some new trousers or jeans or leggings too please?

Saturday 18 April 2015

So sharp!

Just been to get my new glasses and everything is suddenly really sharp and defined!  The living room door has a sharp edge to it, I can read things on the opposite wall, HD TV is almost 3D and everything is more precise now!

I didn't think my vision had changed but it has... not by a lot, but definitely noticeably!

My left eyelid has stopped twitching and I can just see more detail than I could 2 hours ago!

What's even better is that my glasses are guaranteed (or whatever the right word is) for the life of them so if the nose pads come off or the arms get loose or whatever, I've just got to pop in and they'll sort it for me!

I've got to go back in a year, or sooner if I notice my vision changing again, but in 10 days I've gone from asking about the arms of my previous glasses being floppy to having 2 new glasses and clearer vision than I've had for a very long time!

It's not even like these are expensive frames... they were £79 each with the lenses included instead of well over £100 just for the frames and another £200 for the lenses and no insurance or guarantees or advice or anything like that... all my previous optician was interested in was my money!

If you or someone you know notice a change in their vision, take a trip to Vision Express - IME they are an amazing company!

From the new mum, on my Facebook wall thing

"Master Harrison George arrived at 3:31 on the 17th April by emergency c section! Mummy got to 7cm but Harrison's cord was around his neck and his heartbeat was dropping. Luckily we are both fine and he is the most beautiful creature I've ever seen!!!! Xxxx"

Congratulations to the new, first-time, mum and dad - enjoy your new life with Harrison!  Can't wait to meet him!

New shoes

I bought myself some new shoes on Thursday when I had my vision tested.

I wore them all day yesterday and since I woke up this morning and it's like they were made for me... no rubbing, no blisters, no pain!

Usually I get blisters on my heel and rubbing under my ankles for 2 or 3 weeks with new shoes, but not this time!

Yay!

Friday 17 April 2015

It's only taken 12 years and 1 month, but...

... my size 12 leggings are loose on me, which means I'm back to being a size 10 at last!

It also means I'm less than half the size I was when I came out of hospital on 17th March 2003 when I was size 26-28 and size 10 is the right size for my height!

Just got to find a way to loose the belly and thighs and I'll be the right shape too!


Achieved so much already this afternoon!

I was going to call Betterlife and Vision Express this morning but kept putting it off.

Since being called about my new glasses being ready, 20 minutes ago, I've called them both and sorted everything out!

It's amazing how brilliant that call about my new glasses made me feel and how much it motivated me to do everything so quickly and easily!

Betterlife are going to get someone to call me on Monday to help me get the right part for the lap belt and Vision Express are going to pass the message on to the Optician to put my diagnosis' in my notes!

I'm going to email Chris now to see if we can meet up on Sunday or if he'll still be at the conference... either way, it's all sorted now... I'll get my new glasses at the weekend, whether Chris and H are with me or not then I'll get the call about the lap belt on Monday, med review on Tuesday and then I'll be used to my new vision by Wednesday.

Like Steve said, I might be able to tell the difference between HD channels and non-HD channels on the TV when I get the glasses!  lol

Less than 24 hours!!

Less than 24 hours after having my sight tested and my new lenses are in with my new frames and ready to be picked up whenever is convenient from now!

Literally 8 days ago I was told I needed new frames because my current frames were corroding so I went down there on Tuesday this week to register as a new customer and book my appointment to have my sight tested that I had yesterday. 

23 hours later and they are ready to pick up! 

Only 8 days ago I didn't know where they were and now I'm sorted for 2 new sets of glasses for just over £150 all in... less than half the price of just one set of lenses at the other place without frames and eye test and a second pair of glasses! 

I should have gone to Vision Express years ago!

As of the early hours...

...you can call me Aunt Amanda!

My little nephew put in an appearance at 3.30am, weighing 7lbs 13oz by emergency caesarean.

I've seen 2 photo's of him on Steve's phone and he's a cute little guy, fast asleep in both photo's and 2lbs lighter than the midwifes thought too!

Can't wait to see the little guy for real and hold him... welcome to the world H and congratulations to the new mum and dad!

Thursday 16 April 2015

What an adventurous 2.5 hours!

I went into town at about 2.30pm but something has come off the belt, so it clips in but doesn't keep me safe if the chair tips over... doesn't keep the belt secure and in one place?  I went over to Assured Mobility who knotted the belt and pointed me to Lloyds Pharmacy.

On my way over there, I was stupid and stopped paying attention to where I was steering the chair and hit a kerb at full speed instead of going 10cm further over to the left where the curb was dropped.  D'oh!

I found the pharmacy and they gave me a phone number to call to get a new bit that I needed.

Then I went into a shoe shop and took most of the display down, trying to turn around.  Talk about embarrassing!

I went sheepishly over to the corner of the outside of Debenhams and called Steve.  I still had half an hour to kill before my optician appointment, so Steve suggested I go back to the shoe shop and stay outside with the shoes and got someone's attention so that I didn't break anything.

Why didn't I think of that?!  lol

I went back, found the shoes in a basket outside the shop and got someone's attention to pay for them... £9.99 instead of £14.99 - bargain!

I then slowly went over to the optician, 10 minutes early but I was seen, tested more thoroughly that I've ever had before, handed over the vouchers to the poor lady who was setting it all up for me to pay and saved over £30!

The poor optician had a hard time doing all the tests because I kept moving and getting paranoid but he was patient with me and we got there in the end!

The result was that I needed new glasses but they'll be ready in a week instead of the 3-4 week wait at Optical Express!

Vision Express have a customer for life with me now!  Also, I won't be so paranoid next time now that I've had it done once and know what to expect now!

Took 2 attempts, but...

... the pup eventually went on her walk.

She was misbehaving and chatting to her boyfriend on part one at 7am so I brought her home and tried again at 7.30am.

The boyfriend had gone indoors so Mitzi was a good little pup this time.

We got home and Mitzi jumped straight up on the sofa and fell asleep, Steve soon followed her lead!

Very early morning walkies for Mitzi this morning

For some reason I woke up at 5.30am this morning, read a magasine for half an hour then came down to charge up Patrick's batteries and take my opal upstairs that arrived yesterday morning.

It's now 6.30am and I'm going to take the pup for an early morning walk then watch Masterchef and The Bill and make a start on catching up with my emails before going slowly down to Vision Express at 2pm... gotta remember to use the vouchers I printed off and ask how long it'll be before I can pick up my new glasses.  You watch me forget now!  lol

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Brilliant stuff!

I've just had next door on the phone to say the roof is sorted now, so Steve moved the last payment of £325 over and I moved the rest of the money that I'd paid in for the roof into my account.

That means that I've got my glasses paid for as well as most of the sight test ready for tomorrow and then taking off £300 for my direct debits leaves me with well over £1,000 in my account and I'll be getting paid my benefits in 2 weeks too and again 2 weeks after that to more than cover May's bills and I'll be able to comfortably pay off £1,000 on one of my credit cards or save up for Steve's car, I haven't decided yet, but this will be my year of getting things I want and need without going overdrawn at the bank again.

You and me head on in 2015, spending addiction!

I'll still be able to get everything, just...

...2 weeks later than I thought!  I'll be able to pay for the sight test and glasses with the money that's in my account and I'll get my benefit money in 2 weeks time which will pay me back then I'm back on track!

Yay!

Tuesday 14 April 2015

That's a point!

I've got 2 vouchers for 50% off the sight tests and 10% off the frames which makes it even better value for money!

You watch me forget to use them on Thursday now!  lol

The more I go down there, the more I appreciate them!

Just been down to Vision Express for the second time (first time was last Thursday) in a week and I'm impressed just how much they value their customers!

I'm now a new customer with my first appointment on Thursday afternoon and I've already chosen the 2 frames I want with the lenses included!  I've got 2 frames for £79 each and the only extra's to pay are for thinning the lenses and anti-glare coating and things like that, as well as the sight test because I'm a new customer is the only extra and it's under £30 too!  That means it's all in for less than I used to pay just for 1 set of lenses!

I used to pay £200 for 1 set of lenses, £25 for the sight test and £300 for one set of frames!  Minimum!

With Vision Express I'll be paying less for 2 frames, 2 sets of lenses and a sight test for less than I used to pay for one set of lenses!

They also offer faster appointment booking (2 days instead of a week) at a time that suits me (3.45pm) instead of crow-barring me in to whatever time suited them and it sounds, from what I've read on their site, like it's a more comprehensive test too!  They do 3 or 4 tests compared to just the sight test for only £5 more!

Why didn't I go with them from the start, FFS?  Assuming they put me at my ease and answer any questions I have on Thursday, they'll be getting a 5 star review from me!

The batteries are charged up now, so...

...I'm going to register online with Vision Express then head into town to check they've got the new registration and book an eyesight test with them.  In an ideal world they'll have one going for this afternoon but if not, that's OK, I can go down any day except Sunday and Monday!

Update on the spending because...

... I need to get my sight tested and new frames and lenses for my newest prescription, so...

... I'm going to use the £1000 I've already got in my account to pay for that then save up for Steve's car for the rest of the year so that I can get it for him at the start of 2016 and just keep paying off the credit cards without worrying about paying a big chunk off any of them and not being able to afford the glasses or car - they are both more urgent atm!

So, as soon as the batteries are charged up, I'm going in to town to register with Vision Express and book a test at the same time.  I'm hoping I'll be able to go down at some point this afternoon but I'm not going to worry if the batteries aren't charged up by 3pm.  I was going to go into town tomorrow anyway and they'll definitely be charged up then!

Basically I'm going to make good use of the money instead of paying a chunk off a credit card and not being able to afford the glasses and them breaking on me so that I'm not safe even in the house alone.

Monday 13 April 2015

My Deities are fantastic to me!

I was in the bathroom, brushing my teeth this morning, trying to avoid my Monday assignments of inviting 5 females to 2 online communities.

Things weren't looking good at that point... I'd already spent 3 hours of the morning and hadn't found a single site at that time.

I sort of semi thought/semi prayed that I'd get the invites done before the shopping arrives tonight then came out of the bathroom, sat in front of my laptop and within 2 hours it was totally done!

If I hadn't connected with my Higher Powers this morning, I firmly believe that I wouldn't have got the invites done today!

I know I need to make an offering to them as payment for answering the prayer for me so quickly but I'm totally lost about what to offer to them!  I'll definitely say a huge thank you to them tonight, but I'm thinking that they should have something physical too?

Maybe they are keeping track of all the prayers they've answered so that they can request a huge payment at some point in future?

Sunday 12 April 2015

OK, so I've decided what to do with the money

I've decided what to do with the cash and the things to buy with my money and I've already started too!

I've just moved £1,000 back into my account from the joint account, leaving £500 in there for the roof.

I've got just over £1,500 in my account.  £300 to go on my direct debits on 15th April, leaves me with £1,200 yeah?

Then I pay £1,000 on my credit card which leaves me with just over £1,000 left to pay on it

I'm then paid 2 weeks later (end of April), plus the £200 left over and the mid-May pay days will leave me comfortably able to pay the May direct debits then pay off another £500 at the end of May for the credit card.

So at the start of June I'll have paid for the roof and I'll only owe £500 on the credit card so I'll get Steve an anniversary pressie at the end of June and have a month off from paying more than the usual direct debits.

July will hopefully see me able to pay off the final £500 on the credit card which will leave me paying CO and B credit cards at £100 a month but I'm not so worried about them until next year... AFAIK we are both happy with the current situation so I'll keep on keeping on and be able to put an extra £300 a year better off!

So, starting in August, I'll be able to put £300 aside for Steve's car again, which he'll be able to get in the middle of 2016 and I'll have £85 a month to pay with too!  Then I'll move over £200 from my secondary account to cover insurance and breakdown cover then that's it!

If I manage to just spend on those things for the rest of 2015 and the first half of 2016, then I reckon I'll have well and truly beaten my spending addiction!  Yay!

Not only, but also...



Not only have I got great calf muscles now, but I’m also losing my belly too!

My size 14 leggings need to be pulled up at least twice on Mitzi’s morning walks but I also have to hitch them up in the house too, just going from the living room to the bathroom (both on the same level) sees me pulling them up at least once, sometimes twice in each direction too!

I’m not doing any exercise other than walking Mitzi every morning up and down the street 4 times every morning, but those daily walks seem to be doing wonders for my shape… and my mood – they set me up for the rest of the day, clear my head and wake me up!

Those 150 yards every morning are helping me to lose the stubborn weight I’ve had since coming out of hospital in 2003 without being on a diet or going to the gym!

Just got to slim down to size 10 and get rid of my huge thighs that I’ve had since childhood and I’ll be a happy bunny!

My diet and exercise tip?  Only eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re nicely full and walk at least 100 yards more than your current normal a day, every day, no excuses!

It’s easy but very slow so don’t expect to lose weight fast but don’t be a gym bunny either, unless you want to!

I came out of hospital in March 2003 a size 26-28 and it’s now April 2015 so it’s taken me 12 years, but I’m size 12-14 now, so I’m now about half the size I was a decade ago!  I’m disabled so can’t do much exercise but just Mitzi’s morning walk has helped me to slim down so if I can do it, so can you… as long as you’re prepared to be patient!

I recommend taking a good quality multi-vitamin every day too, but I haven’t got a clue whether that helps you lose weight, it’s just a general piece of advice that works for me.

Saturday 11 April 2015

What a waste of money!

I signed up with Betfair half an hour ago, deposited £10 and tried to have a quick game of online bingo.

No go.

I just got a message to say they were having technical difficulties.

I let it be for 15 minutes then tried again.

Same message.

I let it be for half an hour this time but the same thing happened so I've given up and lost £10 into the bargain too  :-(

The right team won the men's university boatrace too...

... by 20 seconds!

For the first quarter it was anyone's race, they were so close, but the right team won the men's race too!

Next year I'm gonna maybe stick a tenner on both races (women's and men's) just to support the students who train so hard for the races as well as studying!

You watch me forget now!  lol

The right team won the women's university boatrace...

... can the men make me an even happier bunny?

Just had a poor bloke from one of the political parties at the door...

... he introduced him by the party he was with and I just shook my head and closed the door in his face.

I know which party I'll be voting for at the election in May so I don't want to waste his time trying to get a vote that won't happen.

I've voted for the same party from the start and I can't see that changing any time soon!

What do I do please?



There are 3 things to be bought by the end of the year.

The bathroom roof needs to be paid for.
I’ve got 1 credit card that I’d like to pay off.
I want to get Steve a car.

I’ve already put £1500 into the joint account which was originally for Steve’s car but the landlady next door came over last week and said we needed to get our bathroom roof fixed because it was affecting her outside wall.

I got a letter from one of my credit cards this morning giving me an update on how much I still had to pay off.  That’s £2,100.

I want to get Steve a second-hand car to go over and see my mum because we haven’t seen each other since the end of 2010 because neither of us can drive and Steve hasn’t got a car.

So, I’m going to use the money that’s already in the joint account to pay for the roof.  That takes out one expense which leaves me with a clean slate to start from.

I can only do one or the other this year and I’ll do the other next year so it will be totally done by the end of 2016, but do I pay off my credit card first and get Steve’s car next year, or do I get Steve his car this year and pay off my credit card next year?

I’ve already asked Steve and he said “it’s your money, do what you like with it” which really didn’t help… can you help me decide on what to get first please?

Friday 10 April 2015

Didn't work :-(

Maybe I need to reboot or something, but I tried to set a setting that stopped my blog views being counted but they still are so I don't know what to do now  :-(

Just trying something out...

Feel free to ignore this post, just testing out a setting I hope I've just made to my blog!

We've got to fill in a waste audit form and wait to hear back from the Council

Amy has just phoned back and said that because we haven't filled in a Waste Audit form, they won't collect the second bin until we've filled it in and sent it back, then someone from the household waste team will interview us and we'll take it from there.

So, it's back to asking the bin men to take extra bags of rubbish every fortnight until we've had the assessment.

I've achieved more in the last 30 minutes than Steve has this whole week!

It's amazing what a woman can achieve in 7 minutes that it takes...

... a man over 4 days to even attempt!

Just been on to the City Council about our second wheelie bin not being emptied and spoke to a wonderful lady called Amy who was going to find out what was going on and why the bin men only emptied one of the bins on Monday, then she's going to call me back and let me know what's going on!

It's amazing what a woman can achieve in 6 minutes 57 seconds that a man still hasn't done, 4 days after promising he would!

My rings

I was born at the start of October so my birthstone is opal.

My twins were born at the end of September and beginning of October, so their birthstones are sapphire and opal.

The 2 opal and sapphire rings on my right hand are in memory of my twins - the huge ring on my right index finger is a big opal surrounded by dark sapphires that Chris got me for Christmas 2014 and the other one is small oval opals with small oval sapphires.

Now I've got to try and work out how to put the photo in this post!  lol

As soon as I can find something to have them upright and close up I'll take a better photo of them all!

Apparently the builder was working until...

...it got dark at about 8.30pm last night! 

Steve said it sounded like he was putting new boards down, so ours must have been bad but it means that it'll be more expensive than we were quoted  :-( 

There's £1,500 that I've put into the joint account for Steve's car so hopefully it won't come to any more than that and then I can start saving up for Steve's car when the bathroom roof is sorted... might have to wait until the end of this year or the start of 2016 though  :-(

Ho hum!