long time away.......but always here......

Isn't it amazing how you come on here every day, maybe a few times a day and read all the brilliant blogs and marvel at what all you lovely people get up to.......then you think right! I'm going to start this week....I know I'll make a little plan so I'm not just rambling(note to self...stop rambling!) Then each day or couple of days I'll post something and it will become habit and the words will flow and it will all lovely!

I've done some wonderful things this year and for the most part it's been absolutely gorgeous....there's photos to share adventures to tell you about but life as a working mam with three children, a husband, a dog, there gerbils, a rabbit and a goldfish seems to blow my amazing plans out of the water!

This blog was a form therapy in a wierd and wonderful way...getting my thoughts, some of my worries and ideas I thought might help other people out there into the big wide world!  Events over the past month have made me want to get my blogging mojo back and today is a baby step towards it...

So my famous last words will be  "Watch this space......"

I will  be back very soon

TTFN

Natalie xxxx

Frugal February!

Well hello there,

I have decided that this month is going to be a frugal month.....

A month of no spend days, using up what is in the cupboards days, getting my seeds etc sorted days, planting some seeds days that will hoepfully turn into free food days later in the year...

I want February to be a month of creativity with my finances, my culinary skills and my gardening skills....

I want February to be a month where I save money and make money.......sealed pots will be filled with anything below a £1.... another pot will eat up my £2 coins......I have quite a few bags of clothes that I will be taking to cash for clothes and I will be music magpie-ing my CDs and DVDs and seeing what I can get for some old mobiles.....

I will be giving homemade/handcrafted presents to the people I love....if it's their birthday....Hubster and I are only doing cards, which I will make...with the craft stash I already have.....

These things are my hopes for February!

Here's to a Frugal February!

Love n hugs

Natalie xx

2013........?

Hello all,

Long time no see, as the saying goes....

I was so full of promises last year! Oh well, what's past is the past...nothing can change it!

Well 2013 is hopefully going to be a more frugal, self sufficient and simpler year!

I want to grow as much of my own fruit and veg as is possible in a little garden!

I want to live a more frugal existence(Slimming world and Gym not included, will explain this at a later date!) - eating healthy, tasty meals that don't cost the earth!

I want to live a simpler life, less stress, less clutter, more organisation!

I want to make a little bit of money doing or making things I love.....Dog Walking/pet sitting....craft....boot sales etc!

I will endeavour to make something every week, post a photo that sums up my week and keep you posted on what I'm up to!

I do come on here regularly to see how you are all getting on and to be inspired....

So have a blessed 2013 everyone!

much love

Natalie!! xx

Olympic Fever

Hello All,

Well even the most ardent non royalist must have cracked a smile at the Queen on Friday night..She was a star!  This Olympics has had a positive effect on my family already after only a few days.  All of my children wanted to join their parents(even the teenager) to sit in amazement at the wonderful celebration of the UK that Danny Boyle created! We sat together eating Olympic cup cakes, and Olympic shortcake and all went to bed in the wee small hours of Saturday morning! 

The sports on show have ignited a passion in the kids to seek out new sports that they hadn't heard of let alone watched!  And I have taken a trip down memory lane watching the gymnastics, which I did myself from the age of 4-16!!  My children are amazed that I could do some of the things the tiny little creatures are doing and find it even harder to believe that Mam was one of those tiny little creatures many moons ago!

I can honestly say that I have always considered myself Welsh rather than British but its kinda cool to be British right now!

Have a fun week ahead all,

love

Natalie xx

PS there is a recipe for Gluten free quiches on my Recipes page, cheap and tasty!!

Hello Everyone,

It's been a while!  Here a little bit of what Ive been up to the last few months

I ran for local county & community Councillor where I live! Hectic!!!

Trained as a  Forest school Assistant

My very first fire made by myself!

Had a little weekend break after the election to charge my batteries!

And worked hard on making the Jubilee a fun event at the nursing home I work at, we also took the children to see the lighting of the beaconbs which was a great night!

Well I know its been a long time and please forgive me for not getting on here as much as I could have.  I promise to keep up my blog(s) and keep an eye on what's going in in all your worlds

Love and hugs to you all!

Natalie xx

Valentine's Day

Hello All,

I hope you are all warm and well and happy!!! Not too much to ask is it?!

I can't believe half term is upon us already....since I turned 40 the time seems to be going much quicker!!!  The childcare this week has fallen to my parents for two days, my hubbies parents tomorrow and my husband Thursday and both of us on Friday so we can spend at least one day together as a family!!  It does annoy me sometimes that with school holidays, teacher training and the contingency plan for the chance of 1 or more of my three children getting sick at some point too that my husband and I only manage to have a week or maybe two off together!  But that's life(well the life I've chosen to have!).

My hope of sticking to £300 is a bit shakey but i will only go over getting stuff like milk and fruit so it will be close so I am happy with that!  I have got loads in the freezer and fridge and enough beans and chickpeas to sink a batleship so I will be able to rustle up something tasty in a flash!! This week so far I have made a beef chilli and rice and today we had stick pork stir fry with noodles(Kids had chicken nougats, homemade potato wedges and beans as the pork dish was one I haven; made before and wanted to test taste it myslef before making it for all 5 of us!)!  My mum in law cooks us tea every Wednesday.I have cooked all the meals from scratch and as I shelled out quite a bit of money on herbs and spices I hope that I will see a reduction in my food bill next month as these should last a wee while!

Happt St Valentine's Day to you all, I spend it with the residents in work we had a valentine singalong with the assitance of my dad and my son on their ukuleles and my daughter singing and shaking her tambourine!  My husband is happily watching Shameless in the lounge as I type up here in the attic!!  But I do admit that he is my gorgeous man who I have had the pleasure to have as my partner, lover, friend and husband for the past 16 years!!! He still makes my heart skip a beat with one kiss!! and I love him very much!!!

Nos da/Good night everyone

Natalie xx

My frugal journey so far!!

Well Hello There!

2012 has been a very frugal year so far!!!  I stuck to a £250 shopping budget which I was impressed with as there are five of us and a labrador to keep fed and watered! I obviouslyquite a bit of food left over from December so that made it a bit easier.  February's budget for food etc is £300 and I will hopefully not go over that as I have planned meals etc for 3 weeks!! only time will tell but I will try my very hardest to stick to it ;o)

Reading the blogs I follow has inspred my in several different areas of my life...gardening, crafting, being frugal and trying to live a greener and better life!  Thank you all!!

I am cream crackered so it's off to bed for me!

Nitey nite all

Natalie xx

New beginnings

Hello All,

Today I say a final farewell to a friend, a friend who lived life her way, she did what she wanted, how she wanted when she wanted!  I admire her for that!  Her passing away has made me rethink my life, as you do, and it has been the kick up the a&$e I needed to sort my act out!

I have started the ball rolling in building a better life for myself and all the people I love....Life is too short to stand on the sidelines to nervous to join in!!

So heres to the rest of my life!!

TTFN

Natalie x

Life is precious

Hello All,

Yesterday I found out that a friend died....she was a lovely, sweet, gentle girl who had a refreshing attutude to life....

Her death has made me realise that Life is for living, don't sweat the small stuff and love and cherish all you love and care for and tell them as often as you can how much they mean to you and how much you truly love them!!

Rest in Peace, sweet gentle Alison xx

Natalie xx

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda - Happy New Year!!!

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a quick post to say Happy New Year/Blwyddyn Newydd Dda to everyone!!!  May you all be blessed with Health and Happiness in 2012!!!!

Love to you All,

Natalie xx

1/12/11 A New beginning

Hello All

Its been a while and I apologise......I have been on here reading all my favourite blogs but just needed a break from computers etc.  I have also had loads of work done to the house which meansI have had loads to do but we are over the worse and getting the hous straight again, which makes me a happy lady!

I have to go cook paella so I will be back on to tell you what has happened in the last few months!

Love n hugs to you all

Natalie xx

Countdown to 6/9!

Well I can now say that the children have all they need to start back to "Ysgol" on Tuesday!!! Bought the last pair of school shoes, the obligitry new underwear and socks and waterproof coat for the younger two!!! So, come on Tuesday, lets be having you!!! I just want a teeny bit of routine to get my head straight!!!

Well I'll be fine tuning my monthly meal plan and shopping for it all on Monday.....I visited my mam and dad earlier today and they were eating "Cawl"(Welsh Lamb Stew) and I had a longing for stews and casseroles so I will be sure to include them in the coming months and Aldi's three bird roast is down to £6.99 at the moment so I am going to buy 4 of them and put them in the freezer because we all love it and as there are five of us there is plenty to go around! I am probaby going to stockpile some things that are on offer like washing powder, fabric conditioner and washing up liquid so I won't have to buy them for a while.  So I will get bck to you with them amount I spend once the shopping is done.

We are having a day out as a family tomorrow which will be lovely...The company I work for have organised and end of summer event/ family day at the community farm near where I live and it will cost us £5 for the five of us when it is usually between £10-15!!! there is a bbq, treasure hunt, access to the farm with food for animals, raffles etc so it should be great day. 

Another thing I am looking forward to is the family service in church tomorrow.  My dad and my son are playing their ukulele's and I will be playing my flute to accompany the hymns, my children wil be saying the Lord's Prayer in Welsh and I will be reading a poem that I have written so I pretty excited about that too!! It's gonna be a busy Sunday but i love it!!!!!

Anyway....I'm off now

TTFN

Nat xx

School Shoe Shopping!!!!!

Today is the day I dread every year....school shoe shopping!!!! I took the younger two to the dentist and then bit the bullet and ventured into Clarks...to my surprise it was relatively quiet!!! the ticket machine was on 15 and I was number 17 so I was quite happy....shoes sorted and £65 worse off! and I still have one child's shoes to buy!!!! She is in Year 8 and doesn't want any velcro of any sort anywhere near her feet!!(even the shoes for older girls in there mostly have a whiff of velcro but they also come in the size that my 6 year old wears...not good for the 12 year olds street cred!)  She has seen a few pairs she liked when she went to town with her Nan but none were in her size so I am taking her in to our town to see if they have anything there for her.  Clarks shoes have been excellent for my children over the years and my kids have the slowest growing feet in the world so the girls shoes last all year and my son's until Easter!(football, rugby, superheroes etc mean his fall apart rather than his feet growing!  So although bt the end of the weekend I will have spent near enough £100 on shoes they will serve my children well over the academic year so I see it as money well spent!

I still need to do a proper shop which may be tomorrow...if I can face Aldi and Asda on a Saturday!!!! :o(..
Also the children are all back in school on Tuesday as, you guessed it, there is teacher training on Monday!!! But with the beginning of a new school year comes some normality and order which is always welcome after the mad, dizzy school holidays!  So I can only put off going shopping until Monday anyway.....I will have to get myself psyched up - wish me luck!!

Have a great weekend

love Nat x

Day 1 -Freezer Surprise for tea!

I haven't done a big shop and although I am not at the Old Mother Hubbard stage I am teetering on the edge of it!

However I managed to feed the family a healthy tasty, if a little bit wierd and wonderful, meal so I happy with that!

I will write a menu plan for the month, buy as much as I can at the beginning of the month and buy stuff like fruit etc as and when.

I have started saving the tetra pac as I have found out that the ASDA close to where I work has a carton recycling point so I won't be going out of my way to recycle them!! Marvellous!!

I have spent nothing today so I am happy with that too!!

TTFN

Love Nat xx

New month.....new me!!!???

Once again a month has gone by and I haven't blogged.....I added photos last time and the memory stick they were on appears to be corrupted so I have lost(unless my cousin can sort them out) lots of cherished and special photos.....so that upset me a bit!!!  Also as it is the school holidays I have been rushing around family depositing my children for the 4 hours a day I work...also I have been involved in a fete in work and a family fun day in church as well as the usual crap that life throws at you!! 

So September is the month I give myself a kick up the bum and get sorted....get back to being frigal, planning my meals...not spending money unnecessarily...and trying to save a bit!!! I want to become greener in the way I live and DE-CLUTTER, DE-CLUTTER, DE-CLUTTER my life and home!

So here's to 1/9/11 when I do something each day to become greener, declutter and  save some money!!

Wish me luck!

love to you all

Nat xx

My Blaen Bran Adventures!!!

SORRY FOR THE PHOTOS NOT ALL FACING THE RIGHT WAY BUT I WAS IN A RUSH AND COULDN'T WORK OUT HOW TURN THEM!!

I HAD LOADS OF FUN THOUGH!!

What Ive been up to - Rhodes - July 2011

Hello everyone....I hope you are all well!!

Sorry it has been so long but, as is always the case, life has got in the way of my blogging....I do apologise.  I have also lost my way again with the frugal aspects etc of my life.  Over the past two months I have had two weddings to attend, one locally, where my husband was the best man and then my niece's wedding in Northern Ireland.   Much of the time I have been swimming, going to the gym, or buying outfits etc for myself and the family.  I think what annoyed me was I spent lots of money on a dress, my nails and eyebrows, foundation garments and I feel soooo guilty as I was professing to be a frugal girl trying to live simply etc and this lot has just blown it right out of the water!!!  Don't get me wrong I will wear all I have bought for a while to come and I will get my money's worth out of all the purchases and I ensured the kid's outfits were suitable for regular use too so maybe I shouldn't beat myself up about it!

Any way Friday is a new month and I have decided that this will be my new start back on the frugal, good life, simple living wagon!!

I have been sewing lots of hearts to fill with lavender, I have been making loads of fete makes for work with th residents and I have things growing in the garden.  I have also had the chance to record a poem I wrote for a digital story ;O)

So, heres to a new month, a new start and a new focussed Natalie!!

LOVE TO YOU ALL

Natalie xxx

BOO!!!!

Hello all,

I am still here......I will be back very soon......Love you all

Nat xx

Thank the Lord for the Rain!!

I just want to say that I have never looked forward to rain so much in all my life and it has worked it's magic and things are popping left, right and centre in my garden!!! Hoorah!!!

Thank God for the rain!!

XX