The Great British Budget Challenge: Are You in?

Lots of people are jumping on board the budgeting ship for February and as I love to save those pennies I'm tagging along too. In fact, I've just become a panel member with The Great British Budget, a campaign to get Britain budgeting effectively to save money for the future (or those things we'd really like sooner rather than..well never!)

The campaign, from Yourwealth.co.uk, hopes to see as many people as possible grab hold of their finances and give them a good look over. I know one area I could make savings in would be my weekly food shop as I'm just totally lazy, so this will be my focus for February's budget challenge. By signing up you'll get emails with hints and tips to help you save money and budget better in many areas. You'll also be able to view the Money Hub where, among other things, you'll be able to get help with setting up a sensible budget for the month.

You can also join in with the February photo challenge on Twitter which is just a bit of fun (that could win you £50 in love2shop vouchers!) Do join in and follow the lovely folks @yourwealthuk on Twitter too. Dont forget to use #GreatBritishBudget when tweeting!

So, who else is up for some budgeting this February? What would you like to save up for? Let me know what you'd like to achieve whilst doing this challenge!

Cupcake Mumma

A-Z Challenge- N

N is for Need for Change

I'm going through this phase at the moment where it feels like the walls are closing in on me, that nothing is simple or tidy or in its place. That everything is a mess (not just in the home) I feel I'm not being the best Mother, the best wife. All those stupid things we feel. I don't think I'm rubbish at anything I do, I just don't believe right now I'm giving it my all.

I am in need of change. I need to change how I think about things. I have to change how I deal with situations that arise in the family home. Why add more shouting to the bickering? Why hold a grudge just because Husband didn't cook you a meal? Why upset the atmosphere for something so stupid?

I need to change my diet. My health is not going so great at the moment. I know what's wrong with me, I have digestive 'issues' which cause me grief sometimes for a whole 2 weeks! I need to find a good diet, a healthy one but not too healthy because that actually causes me more problems! I need to cut down on the junk, go back to baking. Exercise! Dammit, how hard is it to do a quick  workout?

I need to have more time for me. I haven't been on a charity scavenger hunt in ages. I have only tonight managed to paint my nails a lovely colour of pink and it's taken me a month! So at this rate it'll be another month before I get to tame these eyebrows of mine! 

I'm the only one who can sort these things. I wish I had more support but do you know what? I can paint a room and put up photos and you never know, I may even risk everything by watching a few 'DIY how to drill' you tube videos! I'm the only who can put the right food in my mouth and get up to work out.

I have an eye test appointment this week to see if I need new glasses and to find out if there's anything going on 'behind the scenes' because they've been a bit weird lately! I'm enduring the dentist on Wednesday which is awful but ultimately a good thing, get a check up, fill a filling and go home pain free *Hurrah!* Lastly, I have finally booked an appointment with a local Osteopath to sort this back of mine out because in all honesty it is really, really hurting and I'm getting fed up of late nights, pain killers and hot water bottles.

Do you need to change anything? Are you putting it off?

CupcakeMumma

'I'm Bored'

It's been a long old day. A boring one at that. I used to drive my parents mad when I would spend every hour of the day announcing just how bored I was and now it would seem I'm starting to drive myself mad.
You see, it's not that I don't have anything to do- blimey there's washing up, laundry, hoovering (you get the picture) but those things are so boring. They're necessary though so they have been done (except the washing up, I refuse to do the washing up as it's the one job for my husband and he's still not getting the hint) it's cool though, I have a 4 and 19 month old so there's plenty of patience left in me...

I guess I just didn't really know what to do today. Husband and Midge had gone out, Little Man was really sleepy and still not feeling all that well so I just popped him to bed. I was lucky that my mother in law dropped over with an old case of beads and sequins so that took up some time.
I then Skyped my sister which is always an event. It went well until the sound delayed and the webcams were blurring up. We had a brief catch up and it's always nice to see her happy so that was a good half hour or so.

Making faces to make me feel better about looking
at my ugly mug! Just couldn't not laugh!

Then nothing. Just sat there on my arse doing nothing but watching friends and eating soup...which was delicious. I don't know is that just a good, old fashioned lazy Sunday? Maybe Ive become so uptight I can't even relax properly? I just feel I shouldn't be relaxing. That there's always something to do but why not just sit there and not give a hoot?

I was thinking the other day,(actually it was 2am and I was talking to my husband) just how laid back we were only a few years ago. The town changed us into something we've never been before: a pair of uptight, stressed out morons not thinking to just live like we used to!!
We used to have a massive box of a tele, a playstation 2 which was hardly played and a tonne of paints, paper and books. We read, we used the TV for a bit of In The Night Garden and as a radio. We had a laptop which I used to go on forums whilst I was trying to conceive and to catch up with my friend by e-mail (as I had a normal phone, pay as you go, lived in the middle of no where and had no credit with crap signal) we were so HAPPY.

There was the smallest patch of front garden Midge used to burst onto totally starkers. We walked the woods, cycled to the beaches. I miss all of that. I miss the old ladies and our once a week trip to town to buy our groceries (which we were strict on) I miss painting with Midge and not caring about mess and neither would her Daddy (he gets really miffed about stuff on the carpet).

I find the town so useful and it's such a wonderful place to be for doctors, schools and shops. I can walk everywhere which is good because we'll never afford a car! But I feel like I've built myself a mini prison. I hate baby groups, I have to take a bus to any decent walks because they're just too far with the kids, I've even looked into Geo-Caching which looks like great fun but there's only a few nearby and after that it's just shelling out money I don't have on transport to get me as near as possible to some box!

I think I need to think this through some more...I''ll let you know how I get on!
CupcakeMumma

Bye Bye Mum Tum *Waves*

It's 2012 and there is one big thing happening this year that I have to look wonderful for.

My Big Day.

Eek!

The other thing about it being 2012 is that I'm sat here feeling heavier (that's because I am) and pretty fat in all honesty, yes I'm feeling more fat this year than last year. And last year i was pregnant! After I had my son I kind of pinged back and felt amazing.....Then I started eating junk...again.

Yep, the Junk Monster has returned. So has the Lazyitus (serious condition you know). But anyway, I am fed up of feeling horrible and sluggish and not feeling confident like i did in early 2011. After a recent nurse appointment I was weighed...I wasn't happy. I am not overweight but I am not how I should be for ME. 

I thought I'd do something about it.So here I am joining Liska at New Mum Online for MUMenTum- Mums loosing their Tums in 2012!

I want my jeans to feel looser, I would LOVE to go clothes shopping again and not just assume everything would look awful on me and so leave the shop immediately and then feel crap about myself (thus leading to more junk gorging.) I want to feel healthier. I feel so slow and sluggish it's unreal and I am so tired. My body is clearly telling me to get my life sorted and it's about time i listened to it. I only have one right!

So they're my goals, I am going to measure myself, I am going to sort out an exercise regime (at home nice and simple and probably not a dvd workout as I always feel pretty useless at them) and watch the inches fall off! I would like to see this Mummy Tummy less wobbly (it is honeslty capable), my thighs need to rein themselves in a bit before summer so I can wear those nice denim jeans that look nice with my wedges (but my fat arse won't go them just yet Oh Nooo) The waist could do with nipping in but I feel fairly positive about my body plans especially with the support of the blogging community! 

Here goes!

Hannah

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