So.... 2013 has gone...... It was a hard year for us here at the Green House. DH's contract came to an end back in May and he has not worked since. Initially it was a lovely break and we were able to enjoy the lovely summer weather we had with the children in the holidays. We figured he'd get a job come September... but although he's had many interviews these are sadly not turning into any job offers :( Needless to say, this has not been brilliant for his state of mind at times - but we are surviving, even if it is somewhat stressful at times and tempers between us can get rather frayed!!
He has a couple of possibilities at the moment, but we are acutely aware that, realistically, nothing will happen for the first part of January, meaning that a job offer is unlikely to materialise before late Feb at the earliest. Still, we are all healthy and the children are all faring well at school - I've seen some of the challenges some of my friends have faced health-wise in the last year (and some still continue to face) and I am truly grateful for what we have!
I'm proposing to keep a spending diary in January - I will look at setting it on another page, but I'm blog-technologically challenged! So will post it in the 'regular' posts in the meantime! :)
Today's spending: £7.42 in Tesco - £3 on 12 pints of milk and £4.42 on reduced meats (pork loins and sirloin steaks!)
I'm unsure about when to totally de-Christmas the house - I'm itching to clear some things away and have a good clean, but am aware that the children are keen for the decorations to stay up longer. I've taken down non-family cards at the moment - they're displayed in the playroom, anyway - and chopped a few into tags - not many, I have to say, as a lot of the cards were not what I'd call 'festive', featuring Moshi monsters, Angry Birds, Disney and similar :) All uncut cards will be recycled at a local supermarket. I've also put the cut holly (from the garden) which was festooning the mantelpiece in the garden waste green bin. The Christmas runner has been removed from the dining table, along with the gold chargers and napkins. The table cloth will come off for washing when I've removed the Christmas table confetti and lots of Lego! (I have to wait for DS2 & DS3 to sort which Lego belongs to each of them!) That still leaves family cards, lots of decorations in lounge, dining room, playroom, 6 trees, a few decorations in the children's bedrooms and one in the kitchen to take down. Oh - and the hall! (not to mention the outside lights.... although we need a less blustery day for that!)
We have a glut of parsnips, sprouts and carrots to deal with (all bought for 18p/ 20p bag) so I feel more soups coming on! (today's was lentil and bacon, with yummy garlic-y croutons - was fabulous!)
On that note, I'm off to the kitchen to finish inventory-ing the freezer! Happy New year to one and all - may health and happiness be yours xx
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