Guilt

Who says we have to work 5 days a week? Who says life can't be fulfilled by staying at home with the kids, being a housewife or working part time? Well me actually.  I have always believed that if you don't work fulltime you are less of a person, I think the belief developed from being left on the 'girls' table at posh dinners in my late teens and finding myself surrounded by girls of the same age as me or a little older who had no ambition to have a career or those that did just assumed they could buy their way into it, non of them went to university or worked fulltime, I was doing both at the time and as a result could not find any common ground.  I could not involve myself in their conversations because I only felt disgust and bitterness towards their view of life.  I would sneak away and join the male element of the party all of whom had worked hard since they left school and some of whom had even gone to university (for a farming community university is not necessarily an expectation)
So it is my own fault that I feel guilty for not going to work every day, it is not because I can't afford to pay my mortgage and bills (even if the hubby leaves me I'd be ok financially) or go out for meals and buy new clothes.  I can afford at least two holidays this year (not to the carribean obviously) I think I might have enough money saved to finally get the kitchen done up or at least french doors put in and the room properly insulated. I have bought new clothes and shoes having relegated several elements of my wardrobe to the wheelie bin or the loft (incase one day its back in fashion or fits) And nobody is pointing and laughing or sneering in disgust at my new lifestyle (not openly anyway)
I have maintained this preconception about women that do not work or have any real career ambition throughout my life and have bowed out of social events and conversations because I believe they will have nothing interesting to talk about (conversations solely about children do not interest me especially as they usually result in the question of when I will have one) and now I find that I am scared that I will have nothing to say anymore, no interesting view points or anecdotes other than to express my devotion to the puppy and relay stories of how cute he is when he rubs his face with his paws (it is an adorable sight!)
Will hubby and I have anything to discuss once he's told me how his day was and I've explained how dirty the floors were even though I only mopped them a couple of days ago and asked what we should have for tea?
So ultimately I feel guilty for not working full time, I feel even more guilty for going on a mini shopping spree earlier this week.  Having picked up several items that looked lovely on the hanger, but couldn't possibly look that nice on me, I dragged hubby to the changing rooms so he could be judge.  I tried on, I twirled in front of the mirror, I twirled in front of the hubby and I loved every item/oufit.  Having chastised hubby for allowing me to buy them all we left the shop, happy but guilt seeping through and me justifying in various inventive ways why I should have bought 2 skirts, a dress and jacket (for £65!) when I might not have a job come September! Hubby reassured me that I deserved a treat and that the pain and suffering (I am still having physio) I have gone through as a result of some silly bint running into us before Christmas should be treated with just this kind of retail therapy. Obviously I decided on this occassion that hubby is right, but I haven't worn the outfits yet and may still return an item or two to ease my conscience.  The payout for my injuries came through today however and made my bank account look healthy for the first time in months, but I'm being sensible, I paid off my credit card and put the majority safely in a savings account, I may need it come September so no more treats for now.
On the subject of work and September, I am no further along in the 90 day consultation period as HR have said that nothing can be done until me grievance is setttled.  Conveniently for them they are still 'investigating' my complaint, it has been 6 weeks! So I can not apply for voluntary redundancy, I can not apply for the available posts that after 37 days of consultation they still have not identified and they cannot say whether ultimately I will have any future at the college.
Yesterday however I had a little epiphany, having accompanied a colleague to her grievance appeal hearing (we made quite a good team, we certainly fought her corner) I was determined to work out what my employer was gaining from postponing the inevitable, they are clearly going to find the 'investigation' in their favour not mine so why take so long about it?  Having done a little research into time limits (we love google) I found that if I wanted to take my calim to a tribunal I had to do this within 3 months of the event I am complaining about happening, panic very quickly set in! I phoned ACAS, very useful people when it comes to employment law issues and free of charge and I am arranging another appointment with Citizen's Advice Bureau (again a free service) so they can take as long as they like concluding my grievanace I now know I can't afford to wait for them and will be putting a claim into the employment tribunal as soon as I can.
The whole episode has provoked my fighting spirit and for that reason my guilt has subsided or at least been masked by determination not to let my employer 'get one over me'   As my colleague recently stated 'we are intelligent people, why do they treat us like idiots?' It true, surely they wouldn't have employed us in the first place if they didn't think we had at least a modicum of intelligence? They seem to hope that no one in the building has any employment law knowledge (they clearly do not share my fondness for google) but besides my limited and somewhat out of date knowledge from my business management degree, consequent managment experience and my expertise in google based research, they employ law lecturers! Surely they expect someone is going to question their methods eventually? Having said that the union reps who are allegedly employed and  paid to do such questioning have done very little despite weekly meetings with the HR department. The phrases jumping through hoops and ticking boxes springs to mind although the rumour is they have employed the highest paid employment law specialists in the land to fight their corner. Money to blow on fancy lawyers, but not pay fair redundancy kind of sums up the ethical stance of the place.

Contemplation Time

Its strange to think that when I was a teenager (a decade or so ago) coffee culture did not exist in Yorkshire. Yes, yes I know many of you will think that ten years ago electricity and the internet didn't exist in Yorkshire, and yes you'd be right about broadband perhaps, but other than that elements of this great region are just as civilised as those south of Birmingham and to my knowledge the popularity of coffee shops was low in all aspects of the UK in the late 90's.
Now however it seems to be the cool hang out for anyone aged 12 and over.  Yes I said 'cool' which is probably very uncool, but I'm an eighties baby so I grew up saying things were 'brill' and 'ace'!
My geekiness aside, how do these children, and the ones on the table across from me are definitely only children, afford it? A drink and snack from any of the main coffee brands would have used up a whole weeks pocket money for me when I was 16, prior to that I would have been lucky to afford a biscuit.  Even now I count it as a treat, although Cafe Nerro is definitely cheaper than Starbucks and Costa and their Milano Hot Chocolate is my new addiction, hence I've had 3 this week (Its Easter Holidays, I'm allowed!)
Having gulped down my latest Milano I'm left with a smile on my face, aided by the sun shining through the window (I think I suffer from SAD) The shopping trip that prompted the coffee shop stop has added to my contentment today, a new jacket bought with 35% off thanks to signing up for the H&M newsletter and I've still got a 10% off voucher to use online. And for this evening a  free three course meal at Frankie & Benny's courtesy of a mystery visit.  Free food in exchange for filling in a questionnaire? I'd do them every day if I could find them within a 20 mile radius, I think being on the edge of the country on the way to nowhere limits the availability somewhat.
Before the food we are heading to Primark, Hull has the biggest one I've seen and its guilt free shopping, I can satisfy my need to shop without spending very much at all, another thing that when I was a teenager couldn't have been further from cool.  If you were seen in or wearing Primark it was social suicide, I like that society has evolved.

In other news, I received the minutes from my intial grievance meeting. although its taken them 15 working days which was actually the deadline for the investigation to be complete. There were many mistakes and omissions in the minutes, considering the meeting lasted nearly 2 hours, the write up seems incredibly brief, I quickly amended the important bits and sent it back.  Needless to say the investigation and subsequent decicion will clearly be taking longer than 15 days.
In the mean time however I am learning (slowly) to enjoy the freedom of not working full time, although some of my spare time is still spent finding resources for the students revision, the exams looming closer, rather than finding new hobbies for myself. 
I have entered another 10k race though. Prior to the trip to France I was impressed with my stamina and speed and was regularly running 10k, on my return though I had lost the ability to run, much to my distress running or rather jogging 1.5 miles nearly killed me and the subsequent two runs weren't much easier although I managed to get to 3 miles.  Hubby has now been enlisted to train me in preparation for the race, he did after all get me ready for a half marathon in a measly 6 weeks last summer so 10k should be easy right?
I am finding it difficult to go from a life where I had to fit things in to a busy schedule, without really having enough time for anything, to having so much time I don't know what to do with it.  Doing nothing was never an option before, although teaching was a huge slow down from the hospitality industry that used to be my career, I filled the spare hours with extra exam marking and bringing work home.  Now the extra exam marking isn't extra at all its just a fulltime job for a few weeks and in the other weeks I find myself struggling to write a to do list to fill my days.  My diary is evidence in itself of this new life, the pages used to be filled with scribbles and reminders and ticks to show I'd completed some tasks, the remaining ones (and there were always ones not finished) were transferred to the following page which quickly filled. This process simply repeated and repeated, now the pages on some days are entirely blank, only on the work days is there a noticeable list which I actually manage to complete.
As a result I can't help having moments when the hubby is at work and I'm at home with the puppy that my life is a little empty.  I have always been a career girl, movng round the country for the next job, everything else came second to work.  I admit this changed when I met the hubby, my priorities altered and I realised that work wasn't worth ruining a relationship for (some ex-boyfriends will be suprised to hear that) and so we both agreed that if work got in the way we would leave (we both worked at the same hell hole at that point and place does posion your entire life not just the time you spend in the building) I just have to keep reminding myself that there is more to life than work, but when you spend most of your adult life working its a difficult habit to break and I started fulltime work at 16 so its firmly engrained that you get up and go to work at least 5 out of 7 days a week, you stay there all day and when you get home you try to squeeze in the rest of your life and the people in it.
I have good days and bad days and I think the good days are getting more frequent, the news that my department will cease to exist after the summer did open up a huge gaping hole labelled September though.  I have the next few months to work out what I want from life, I know I can live on a drastically reduced wage, I'm doing it and still buying new clothes and as many hot chocolates as my conscience will allow, so what else? I will return to the wishlist and work from there.

En Francais!

Firstly apologies for the delay, French life is so laid back it practically stands still so my week away caused me to lose track of time, not because I was relaxing in the sun of Southern France, more because my mind was consumed with the frustrations of being faced with a world thats does not seem to be open for business and the stresses of being on best behaviour for the in-laws. 
I know I should have appreciated the slower pace and taken the opportunity to chill, but its not in my nature or the stepsons (he bores easily if things aren't happening) and despite the in-laws best efforts to welcome me I feel that I've been holding on tight all week, with my stomach in a knot and my shoulders up by my ears. 
I have worried about everything from whether I locked the door at home, to how much the motorways in France cost (£11 each way from Bordeaux to Aulnay) and whether we would manage to return the hire car in exactly the same condition we picked it up (800 euros to pay if not)  and of course whether the inlaws like me.
This was intended to be a budget holiday, accomodation was free, the inlaws being very hospitable to hubby, stepson and I, but France generally is expensive.  The supermarches are full of amazing foods that in England are only stocked on the tiny speciality shelves and the out door markets are full of colour and bustle, but the prices are high and even with a slight improvement in the £ to Euro rate (we managed 1.14 Euros to every pound) it still meant I was watching every penny.
These concerns were not helped by news from home that my little car had a massive crack all the way across the windscreen (possibly caused by a faulty fitting of a new screen after a pigeon fell off a lorry and cracked the original screen last summer)
It wasn't all bad I had a personal tour guide (the hubby grew up in France and is fluent in the language) we toured Chateau's (those that were open) shops, markets, beautiful countryside and the hubby's childhood memories including the baby photos.  My own French was also tested and not found lacking (I understand more than I can actually speak)

 One of three prison towers in La Rochelle (once owned by the English)

 The Roman Ampitheatre at Saintes

 Chateau at Crazzanes (can be hired for weddings and is truly beautiful)

The hire car we were given (a little Chevrolet Spark) was incredibly economical with only a 30litre tank it lasted all week and we covered a lot of miles (the South of France is very sparce) unlike the car I borrowed from a friend to get down to Luton which cost £73 to fill up!
I have to say despite the worries I slept incredibly well, the bed was soooo comfy, my dreams however were bizarre, ranging from adopting one of my students to heated debates with my so called boss.  I'm guessing these were provoked by the news a couple of weeks ago that my department will close in September.  Having already felt that I lost my job before Christmas when my hours were so vastly reduced this didn't have as much of an impact on me as it did on some of my full time colleagues.  It was gutting though when many of my students said they would not be returning after Easter as they didn't see the point since they would not be able to finish their course the following year.  Each name added to the list wrenched my insides, it means a lot to me to see them succeed and on a more selfish note my track record of results has been excellent for the last 3 years I don't really like the idea of it being tarnished.
The announcement also means that voluntary redundancy is an option again, but while my grievance continues with no update as yet, I cannot make any decisions, so again we wait.

 

Employment: Parttime 0.33 of a fulltime contract
Lodgers: 1 (new lodger moving in at the end of the month)
Eating out: all week in France! (we have eaten well)
Hubby: 1 (9 months of married bliss minus one argument and survived meeting the inlaws)
Dog: 1 (bathed and clean in honor of his holiday at my friends while we were in France and still smells good a week later)
Stepson: 1 (After a week on a family holiday it has been confirmed that I am not a natural stepmum, I like my hubby to myself although stepmum was chosen over dad to sit next to on the plane home!)
No Spend Days: I admit I have no idea (nobody's perfect)

Bathrooms & Budgets

The bathroom is complete! And yes it has taken nearly two weeks thanks to paint that takes 24hrs to dry between coats, and the need for three different types of paint depending on whether my brush is aimed at the ceiling, the top half of the wall or the bottom half of the wall, I have turned into some kind of mad obsessive when it comes to my bathroom and driven the hubby mad with colour charts although I think he enjoyed the many trips to B&Q.
The best news is I managed to come in under budget! £85.24 total cost which included new bath mat, shower curtain and mirror.  It has to be said however that buying the cheaper B&Q paint rather than splashing out the extra £7 for Dulux was a false economy.  B&Q took three coats before the walls stopped looking patchy, whereas having used Dulux on previous, less stingy occassions covers perfectly well with just one.

Before                                                                          After


The time involved has kept me occupied and out of reach of boredom, along with the continued good weather and subsequent runs to the seaside or round the woods, now the bathrooms finished though what am I going to do? My £100 budget won't stretch to refurb of the kitchen which requires new doors, plastering, flooring, cabinets and paint.
The next project is making a bathroom cabinet, although my belief that it must be cheaper to make my own than buy one is being thwarted by the cost of wood which seems ridiculously high, is there a shortage of trees that I haven't heard about?

Having stuck to my own budget this week, I watched George Osborne's Budget for the 2012 with trepidation, but was very relieved to hear that there is a commitment to keeping interest rates low, with two mortgages both on variable rates even a small rise would be hugely detrimental on my new vastly reduced income.  My hope for a lower fuel bill was not answered however and as such we will still be limited to local acivities for entertainment.
It seems that if my income stays the same next year I will no longer be a tax payer thanks to the new persoanl allowance increase, which is nice, but gave me a peculiar feeling as though I am no longer a contributing member of society, having worked fulltime since the age of sixteen I never thought or planned to be a part timer let alone someone who didn't pay tax!
In other news my grievance at work continues, having had the first meeting earlier this week the case is now being investigated with an outcome expected in 15days although I suspect they will take their time and drag it out.  The meeting took two hours and although not as unpleasant as expected it was emotionally draining and clear that my employer will use any loophole they can find to ensure that they come out on top.  So now we wait.

Good vs Bad

Thursday demonstrated the advantages of working part time gloriously well.  With the assistance of some gorgeous sunshine I got out of bed at a decent hour (a downfall of not having to get up for work every day is that it is all too easily to stay in bed for most of the morning) took the puppy for a long walk and then went for a run to the seaside and back (its quite nice having the beach only a couple of miles from home) The run and the sunshine really boosted my mood and kept me motivated through work in the afternoon and beyond.  These are things I would not have had the opportunity to do while working fulltime, by the time I'd have been on the way home from work the sun would have been fading and I certainly wouldn't have had the motivation to go out for a run (the puppy has ways of dragging me out for a walk however) The other benefit is that it didn't cost a penny!
The weekend brought rain, persistent rain, and a reluctance to do anything outdoorsy.  The problem being that anything indoorsy costs a considerable amount of money or is at least an hours drive away (as is everything from here) which means costly petrol and with hubby still only working a few hours a week and my wage so reduced I managed to talk him out of every suggestion based on the costs involved.  I worry that the goodlife can only really exist as long as the sun shines and in Britain that isn't all that often.  As a result the weekend time was used up with DIY, cleaning and snuggling on the sofa, not bad, but not ideal.

This weekend we're going to redo the bathroom (on a budget of £100, I'll let you know if we manage to stick to it)

Picture of bathroom as it is now and as its been since I moved in 18months ago, could be worse as I'm sure my best friend will tell you, green suite and orange walls are a little more difficult to live with!

I have just put a coat of primer on the window having spent many, many hours stripping the old paint off.  Admittedly we started stripping the paint at the end of last year, but soon got bored. 
So far though it has not cost a penny just a lot of elbow grease, some leftover paint stripper and the primer I used on my bedroom drawers.



I don't mind DIY its quite therapeutic and when the local decorators quote anything from £90 upwards just to paint the hall and landing (which with the right equipment would probably only take half a day) I find spending the day doing it myself very satisfying, although it does make me question whether I should have been a painter and decorator rather than a teacher as I know I have never been paid £90 for a days work despite being required to have a degree and a teaching qualfication!

The sun returned yesterday though and having walked the puppy I put my trainers on and returned to the sea front, much quieter than Thursday and I am definitely getting faster.  Hubby's work has also picked up a little and hopefully will continue to do so, for this reason we are treating ourselves tonight with a date to the cinema (Orange Wednesdays of course!)

Employment: Parttime 0.33 of a fulltime contract
Lodgers: 1 (potential lodger viewing this week)
Eating out: 2
Hubby: 1 (8 months of married bliss minus one argument)
Dog: 1 (all healed and fur growing back nicely)
Stepson: 1
No Spend Days: 6/14 (must do better!)

Progress

Okay so progress does not mean I have been perfect, my challenge not to buy anymore clothes until an existing item is relegated to the bin or the charity shop has not quite been met this month.  I confess I spent money on not quite essential items.  I did only spend £10 though! Yes I know I'm trying to justify it to myself, but I have some nice new running shorts and a vest, two things for £10 is a bargain right?
Other than that minor slip I think I've been quite good and as a result I have money left with only a week to go until payday.  Hubby and I are still amazed that we are more than surviving on a severely reduced income compared to the when we were skint on two fulltime incomes.
The puppy has also curbed his spending, he's healing well and has resisted the urge to scratch at the wound, for that reason he has been rewarded by not having to wear his silly plastic collar for the past few days and he can now play frisbee again.
The exam marking is finally over, having spent every evening, every weekend and the days inbetween when I wasn't teaching, attached to the computer I am glad its over.  It was however incredibly satisfying to see the extra money appear in my bank account and beable to transfer it straight away to the credit card account therefore paying off the vets bill, the two new car tyres and the flights to France in one fell swoop.  Don't worry I haven't forgotten about the laptop and the puppy didn't manage to spend every penny I earnt, I am still owed another payment, hopefully at the end of this week.  Now I have to decide whether to buy a laptop or something else, I have already treated myself to tickets to see Dirty Dancing at the theatre (something I've been longing to see) but that still leaves a nice amount to play with.  Hubby has recently upgraded his laptop however and mine has not died yet so I'm thinking the new laptop can wait and hopefully prices will continue to fall over the next few months as they tend to do with technology, in which case I may buy one for the exam marking in June.
I am still in search of another lodger, but supply appears to have dried up, that and I think I'm being quite fussy, one because I have to live with the person and two because we are not desperate for the money, to be honest the extra money would either be saved for a rainy day or spent on treats so I'd rather wait for the right person.
There are other downsides to lodgers besides living with a practical stranger.  Having just read the electricity meter, prompted by one of those little cards through the door, it would appear that our electricity usage is considerably increased.  Not suprising I suppose when at the point of having two lodgers that meant 3 televisions, 4 laptops, a minimum of 4 showers a day, 2 extra lightbulbs left on, not to mention the lights accidentally left on in the kitchen, hallway etc. over night because they are not paying the bills so are not a conscientious about energy saving as a billpayer is.  Happily I get to keep control of the thermostat (I have lots of warm socks and jumpers) and the weather has assisted in reducing the gas bill a little compared to last winter.
My employer has thrown a complication into my endeavours however by deciding that maybe I should have been made redundant back in September! Funny that considering I had a fulltime permenant contract and they couldn't provide fulltime hours! Trust me I did argue for several months before taking the cut to part time and many people would question why I didn't continue to fight, the answer to that is that for a few hundred quid (I had only worked there 3 years and it was statutory redudancy pay, about £400 for each year) it wasn't worth the stress and misery caused by the uncertainty, and the threat of making working life difficult.  Now however after so many grievance procedures against them (I was not one of them) they have been forced to investigate their actions, I'll let you know how that one progresses, but I do feel like its opened up a can of worms that I thought I had neatly packed away.

Puppy vs The Good Life

The puppy it would seem is fighting against me in my quest for the good life! He is spending money faster than I can make it.  The exam marking is still in progress in a stop start fashion, which means most of my time is spent with the laptop attached to my knees, much to the puppy's disappointment as this means he cannot sit on my lap as he prefers.  He does spread himself over so that his paws are on the laptop and his nose on the keyboard in an unsubtle way of getting my attention.  It is for this reason that I believe the morning his stitiches were due to be removed he ripped them out himself leaving the wound freshly parted and the quick trip to the vets turning into an hours session of cleaning up, injections, another bill and more to come for antibiotics and anti-inflammatories.  The new laptop I had planned is slipping away, but surely this was his cunning plan.  He may not have realised that his plan involved wearing a cone arouund his head and not being allowed off the lead for the next two weeks.  Hubby also plans to gaffa tape a sock to his back paw (the puppy's paw not the hubby's) every night to avoid any vigorous scratching.
My car (Tiglet) also seems to be joining in this war against the Good Life, having only just been returned from the garage after the Pre-Christmas accident she needed new tyres and the tyre garage helpfully informed the hubby that the car is not roadworthy due to some problems with steering components.  Surely the repair garage should have picked up on this and not let me drive the 100 mile round trip to Doncaster and back?  Don't worry I have made my self very clear to the garage and the insurance company that sent poor Tiglet there, strong words and tone were involved and I await at the very least an apology for the lack of care and attention.
It is for these reasons that, despite managing a few no-spend days, this has been a very expensive month and I have concerns that this months wage (newly reduced) will not spread over the next 29 days.
I have arrived at the point (after a couple of Tia Maria's) where I am considering what is is I wanted from 'The Good Life' I feel this needs assessment as I have after all given up a fulltime teaching career in the pursuit of said life.  My wishes at the start were as follows:
1. To travel
2. To visit nice restaurants
3. To beable to cover unexpected bills without stressing
4. To be able to treat myself now and again (posh food, nice flowers, clothes and shoes)
5. Not to work my contracted 37 hours a week and bring home the same amount of work to do or worry about in my own time.
6. To take long walks with the puppy
7. To take time to look around and take a breath (corny I know)
8. Not to be stressed and miserable

So far I think numbers 1,2,3,5,6,7 and 8 are pretty much covered, some days more easily than others, but despite the heavy load of outgoings over the past couple of weeks I am not panicking about money and wondering how I will cover the bills even though I only work two days a week.  Yes we are still budgeting and I am certainly not throwing money at luxuries, but I don't feel like I can't treat myself if I happen across the perfect pair of shoes.  Hubby is still not in fulltime employment and I have one less lodger so there is certainly room for improvement, but the quest isn't about being greedy, its not about having as much money as possible.  The intention was to find a better way of living.
I'm still holding on to the hope that I can buy the new laptop (it will be essential for the exam marking in June, mine won't last) and the puppy seems suitably upset about his situation not to continue sabotaging his treatment.
On a good note my little iwallet app is working well, over the past eight weeks it has shown me that me biggest non essential spends (vet bills count as essential) are:
1. Pertrol
2. Clothes
3. Snacks (mainly chocolate)

The petrol I know I can't do much about, we barely use the car as it is and the biggest journey is the bi-weekly trip to Doncaster.  Clothes however I have a wardrobe full of, to the point that if I buy any more I will have to start borrowing some of hubbies wardrobe space.  I know I don't need anymore clothes, but I love buying them! So my decision is not to buy anymore until I have to throw an item out because it doesn't fit, can't be altered or is worn out (unless of course there is a special event the calls for something particular)
Next item on the list, Chocolate. I'm a chocoholic, but the pennies spent at the local shop and the work refectory are not helping my waistline or wallet so second decision is to cut back (there is no way I can deny myself completely)
So I would advise the use of the iwallet, its nice to see the non spend days and the guilt works its magic when I see how much I have spent on things I didn't really need.
The newly reduced wage is holding up okay so far, I have money left after the essential bills have gone out, not enough for anything spectacular, but I am happy I can pay for Salsa classes once a week for the rest of the month, buy a special lunch after our spa day next week (£10 for 2 from lastminute.com) hopefully find a table at the auction we're going to on Saturday morning and still have enough for a few bars of chocolate :-)
So situation to date:
Employment: Parttime 0.33 of a fulltime contract (have been much better about only going in on the paid days)
Lodgers: 1 (finding the new lodger is proving difficult)
Eating out: 0 (lack of a car for part of the month and exam marking have scuppered my availablility)
Hubby: 1 (7months of married bliss minus one argument)
Dog: 1 (vets bill approximately £500)
Stepson: 1
No Spend Days: 8/14 (helped by the exam markign which has kept me tied to the house)