How to Pick Your Next Pair of Boots

Image Credit: UnSplash

{This is a collaborative post}

When it comes to footwear, few items are as versatile and essential as a good pair of boots. Whether you're heading to the office, tackling tough weather, or preparing for a weekend out, boots offer both style and functionality. With so many options available, choosing the right pair can be overwhelming. From selecting the perfect material to ensuring a comfortable fit, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know. Plus, with Charles & Keith discount vouchers at Latest Deals, you can find quality boots without breaking the bank.

1. Consider the Purpose

The first step in picking your next pair of boots is to consider the purpose. Are you looking for something that will carry you through wet and muddy walks, or are you more focused on a smart pair for work? The occasion and setting where you’ll be wearing the boots will heavily influence the type of material and style you should choose.

For example:

• Work boots: If you need sturdy boots for manual work, go for durable materials such as leather or synthetic blends that offer support and protection. Steel-toe options are worth considering if you need extra safety.
• Casual boots: When looking for something more versatile, ankle boots or Chelsea boots are great choices for both smart-casual and casual outfits. 
• Outdoor boots: For hiking or outdoor adventures, opt for waterproof boots with rugged soles for extra grip and durability.

2. Material Matters

The material of your boots will determine not only their look but also how comfortable and durable they are. The two most common boot materials are leather and synthetic materials, each with its own pros and cons.

• Leather: Leather boots are classic, durable, and breathable. With proper care, they can last for years. However, they tend to be more expensive and may require a break-in period. Leather is a great option if you're looking for something stylish and long-lasting.
• Suede: A type of leather, suede offers a softer, more luxurious feel, but it’s more susceptible to water damage. This means suede boots are best reserved for drier conditions unless they come with a waterproof finish.
• Synthetic materials: These tend to be more affordable and offer a wide range of colours and styles. Synthetic boots often require less maintenance and are easier to clean, but they may not last as long as leather ones.

When deciding, remember to factor in where and when you’ll wear them. If you’re after versatility, leather might be your best bet, especially with a classic design.

3. Comfort Is Key

No matter how stylish your boots are, if they aren’t comfortable, you won’t want to wear them. The perfect pair should feel good from the moment you put them on, although some boots (like leather) may need time to break in. Here’s what to look for in terms of comfort:

• Cushioned insoles: These can make a huge difference, especially if you plan to wear the boots for extended periods.
• Arch support: Choose boots with proper arch support to avoid discomfort or foot pain.
• Breathability: Look for boots with moisture-wicking linings to keep your feet dry and fresh throughout the day.
• Toe room: Make sure there’s enough room for your toes to move without feeling cramped. This is especially important if you plan to wear thicker socks.
  
  

4. Style and Versatility

Boots come in a variety of styles, so it’s essential to pick a pair that fits your wardrobe and lifestyle. Some of the most popular options include:

• Chelsea boots: Known for their sleek look and elastic side panels, Chelsea boots are ideal for both smart-casual and semi-formal wear. They’re easy to slip on and off, making them a practical yet stylish choice.
• Ankle boots: These are great for everyday wear and can be paired with everything from jeans to dresses. They offer a more casual look and come in a range of heel heights and designs.
• Knee-high boots: Perfect for winter, knee-high boots provide extra warmth and coverage. They look especially stylish paired with skirts or dresses and can be found in both flat and heeled options.

Get recipes delivered to your door: The new app that lets you do a weekly food shop in 5 minutes or less

{This is a collaborative post}

Are you tired of supermarket trips every week? After a long, hard week of working and parenting, the last thing you should have to worry about is doing the weekly food shopping. Getting up, getting ready and going to the supermarket is just another chore on our long list of things to do, never mind the tiring process of deciding your dinners for the week ahead, making sure your fussy eaters will be satisfied and writing your shopping list. You deserve to spend your weekends relaxing and doing activities you enjoy... And that’s exactly what you can do with the new Plate Up app! 

Launched just last year, the Plate Up app lets you order the ingredients for recipes by top culinary experts and get them delivered to your door by your preferred supermarket. They are currently partnered with Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado. There are over 300 meals at your fingertips (with new recipes being added all the time) and you can complete a weekly food shop in just a few taps. Better yet, you can get your weekly food delivery from the comfort of your sofa and in 5 minutes or less! 

How to Save Money on your Groceries

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

{Collaborative Post}

Christmas is over now, but you may still be feeling the financial effects of the season and you’ve been to the Creditfix website to find ways of spending less this year. One of your main expenditures will be groceries and it’s perfectly possible to reduce your food bills and still eat well, if not better, than usual.

Here’s six ways to spend less on groceries and maintain a full fridge (and stomach)!

1.  Have more plant-based meals

Those pesky experts all tell us to eat less meat nowadays, not just for our health, but also because a vegan or vegetarian diet has less of an impact on the environment. Getting more protein from plant sources also means you can reduce your spending too, so explore the vegetarian versions of your favourite stews. At the very least, replace half of your usual minced beef with some lentils or pulses.

2.  Go shopping in the evening

You don’t have to get all your shopping from the reduced aisle, especially if you’re looking for meat products, but some items are perfectly safe to pick up from there. Pasteurised cheeses and dry goods are good bets, as well as ready meals that you’re planning to eat when you get home. You might also find bargains like bottles of bubble bath with small cracks in the screw caps. Always be ready to swoop in and grab a bargain.

Stepping up to the Challenge with One4all Gift Card

Red Wine Image, thanks to Shutterstock

I do love a good challenge. You know how it is, someone starts off a sentence with 'I bet you can't...' and that's it the competitive spirit in you rises above the parapet and snaps 'challenge accepted, of course I can!'

So here I am with a loaded One4all gift card and the challenge to do something really special for one of my children for Christmas. Now of course that doesn't sound too difficult, does it? We can all make our children smile but my challenge is to sort out the whole gift experience by just spending money off the One4all gift card and that means I can only shop with retailers and outlets signed up to their scheme.

I must admit I was a little worried, how many retailers could they have where I am able to use the One4all gift card without any issue? Surely not that many I'm thinking, maybe about 50 but the little voice in me is wondering if they will be big retailers that I know and what to shop with.

You Can Spend it Everywhere (well nearly!)
Well let me tell you, worry not! The One4all gift card is accepted by over 120 different High Street brands and you can spend it directly in more than 50,000 branches or use it online with many of them too. And these are not just random shops these are massive names like M&S, Argos, Clarks, Carphone Warehouse, Pizza Express, TK Maxx, The Body Shop, Red Letter Days, ToysRus, Halfords and I could go on and on, as there are so many reputable and fantastic brands.

Indian Feast Budget Family Meal #Shop #Cbias

I do love a bargain when I am shopping, in fact I hate to pay full price for my food shop so you will always find me with a fistful of vouchers if I'm in store or trawling the cashback and voucher sites if I'm doing an online shop. I think it is half the fun to see how much you can save, I'll share with you my top three tips to make your money go as far as possible -

1. Shop around, see what special offers are on and don't be afraid to split your weekly shop between 2, 3 or even 4 shops and make sure one of those is somewhere like Aldi or Lidl. Those Germans have very high standards and the food is fabulous and cheap.
2. Buy value brand and frozen products. For a long time I was a snob and only bought the premium brands and then I discovered that for certain products like rice, tinned pulses, tinned tomatoes, vegetables and pasta there really is little difference except price.
3. Don't feel you have to eat meat with every meal. You can make some substantial dinners that are vegetarian and I promise you won't feel cheated, take a look at my Indian feast -

Last weekend I was challenged by CBias to create a meal for my family (that is five people) for under £10.  Immediately I thought veggie and Indian as these are things I know I can save money on whilst no-one would have any idea it wasn't an expensive take-away.

I had headed off to Tesco to buy the ingredients I needed but I also made sure I used what I had at home, it is important to have a well stocked store cupboard when you are cooking curry as the spices can be used time and time again. I have also recently discovered some fabulous frozen items at Sainsburys. They do a 1kg bag of chopped spinach in handy little portions. The bag is £1.50 or you can mix and match (I got sliced mixed peppers too) for 2 bags for £2.50. The amount of spinach I used in the curry cost about 13p. I also recently bought some frozen ready crushed garlic and ginger portions, 2 packs for £2.50. These are not necessarily cheaper than the fresh but they make life much easier and my hands stay fresh smelling!

For our Indian feast, this is what I chose to cook -

When I worked out how much it had cost me to produce this meal for the five of us it worked out to be £9.88, less than £2.00 a portion and I even managed to freeze some of the dahl too.

I got all the ingredients out ready to cook and you'll see that there is a mix of branded and value ingredients there. Some of the things like the Knorr stockpots I was lucky to have in the cupboard but often I'll just buy shop brand own stock cubes as they are far cheaper and once you add spices to an Indian meal you do not need premium items.

I enjoy cooking curry and once you have mastered the basics it is really easy I find. Keeping it simplistic all you have to do is - finely chop your onions, add those and the garlic (& ginger if you are using it) to a pan and lightly fry. Once the onions start to become transient add in your dry spices and cook for another 2-3 minutes, this is when the flavours really start to release. Then it is time for either the stock or passata, whatever you are using as a base for your curry and the main veggie ingredients and cook for however long it takes for the veggies to become tender.

As well as cooking from scratch I have no objection to using some shop bought items, especially when they are on special price. We enjoyed Pataks Poppadoms for half price (just £1.00 for 10) and Tesco own light naan breads, which were surprisingly good and only 80p for 5.

We all enjoyed our Indian feast the other night. I need to get brave and try to make my own naan bread next time.

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Trying out the Tesco Price Promise

When Tesco contacted me and said that they had a new Price Promise I basically asked them what the fuss was about. 'Tell me why this is different to what Sainsburys and Asda do?' said I.  So they invited me along to my local Tesco store to meet a couple of Price Promise Champions and what lovely ladies they were and super happy to help me understand why the new Tesco Price Promise is a really good deal. I'll share with you what I learnt -

So what is the Price Promise?

Basically if you could have done your weekly shop for cheaper at Sainsburys, Morrisons or Asda then Tesco will issue you a voucher for the amount different to be used in store on a future shop.  Or equally the promise applies for online shopping too and you will be emailed the result.

Where this differs to other supermarkets with other similar schemes is that the Tesco Price Promise covers practically everything - the big-brands, own label grocery produce and also fresh foods. It also includes household and health & beauty products. If products can't be compared it will be down to a difference in brand, size, flavour or quality.

How much do I need to spend? 

There is no minimum spend but for the Price Promise to be active you need to have a basket of at least ten different items and one of those has to be a comparable grocery product (comparable basically means that one of the other 3 big supermarkets - Sainsburys, Asda or Morrisons have to sell an equivalent product in terms of size, weight and volume).

How are Tesco's checking the prices?

The prices on the websites for Sainsburys and Asda are being checked on a daily basis and in store collections are happening twice a week for Morrisons. Tesco are ensuring their price information is the most up to date and reputable by using an in dependant agency to verify them.

How do I spend the voucher?
If Tesco calculate that your shopping could have been done cheaper elsewhere they will give you a voucher for the difference, up to £10 in value. Then next time you shop, either in-store or online you can use up to 10 of these in one transaction and receive the cash straight off your total amount.  You can also use them alongside other vouchers and special deals which is pretty good.

What about special offers?
Yep I'm pleased to report that in the main you will still receive the Price Promise even when there are special offers, you know the type - 2 for the price of 1, half price etc. The only exceptions that are not included are what they call category -wide deals like 5% off 6 bottles of wine and food meal deals.

How long does the voucher last?
This was the first question I asked as I get frustrated to find that my Sainsburys one run out before the 14 days are up but no worries with Tesco as I have a full 28 days to spend my voucher and cash-in.

How did my Tesco shop go?
All went smoothly, I shopped as per normal with no problems and then at the till I was pleased to find that my shopping was cheaper at Tesco and I received a small slip to confirm I had saved 35p today in comparison to shopping at one of the other big three supermarkets. I spent just over £70 in total and did a varied shop so it just proves that the Price Promise works. I was also impressed to receive a Helping Hand Coupon for £5 off my next £40 shop for the next week.

Here is what I managed to buy from tesco that day for the sum of £70.47 -

What else do I need to know?

• The price promise is not available in homeplus or Tesco express convenience stores
• You will still receive Clubcard points on your shopping in the same way you do now
• Price Promise vouchers can be used alongside any other vouchers and the result will be calculated before your vouchers are taken off
• You can read the full terms and conditions on the Tesco website

And that is it - nothing hidden!

I'm happy to say that I believe the Tesco Price Promise is a good deal!

Tesco paid £50 of my shop to allow me to undertake this review. They have not instructed me what to write and I remain honest.

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Reasons to be Cheerful, Year 3 - week 3

Happy Thursday everyone. I hope your week has been a blessed one and if not then I pray it improves and you are able to find the joy in whatever your situation is.  There are always glimpses of what will be, even in our darkest days.  I personally know that things I have thought will be a tragedy have been an opportunity for change and a time for me to grow.

All is well here at the moment, I had a lovely weekend away with my JJ and since Sunday 10.30am I have not been on this computer at all. I have had a week away from blogging completely to just think and be. I really need to get on with sorting my weight and allowing myself some time to be able to exercise and get early nights. So anything appearing on the blog this week has been scheduled and written prior to Sunday morning. There is nothing like being organised, lol!

This week I am grateful for my growth in relation to money. When I first met dh I believed all money was meant for instant gratification and it never ever occurred to me to save and to spread out my spending. I have changed a lot in 20 years and now I am pleased to have a good balance - I spend and treat myself sometimes and at others I save and enjoy a larger, more fulfilling purchase like a holiday with my family. January/ February are expensive months for us with various insurances needing paying and the balance on our Easter holiday and I feel so blessed that we are able to meet these payments.

I am also smiling a lot about my recent purchases with the Christmas money I received.  I do love a bargain, especially a shiny one -

And now it is your turn, what is making you cheerful and grateful this week?

Why don't you join up with Reasons to be Cheerful this week? It is such a fabulous opportunity to stop and reflect on your life and to see the good in it. Have a read about what I believe and why #R2BC started, it has literally changed my life to have this weekly focus on what is god in life.  How easy is it to allow things to become doom and gloom?

There are an amazing group of people who join in with this linky, I call them my Cheerful gang and I am so grateful for each and every one of them. Some of them have been here since the very first post back in January 2011 and others just linked up for the first time last week but they all mean the world to me.

So if you want to join in, go for it.  We are a no rules kind of linky - you link up what you fancy (well as long as it is not just a blatant advert), a recipe, the simple things in life, photos, a story - whatever! Add in the blog hop code so people can travel around and then visit others and share the comment love.  I'll come and visit everyone at the weekend and do my bit....

Have a great week, Mich x

Memories of pregnancy...

There I am, pregnant with twins.  31 weeks + 5 days.

I was listening to a show on Premier Christian Radio the other day and the presenter and her guest were chatting about being pregnant and the different challenges and joys we face in each trimester.  I found myself nodding along and enjoying the walk back down memory lane.  I don’t expect I’ll be walking that journey again but I have to feel privileged to have done it twice already. I think I have finally come to terms with my experiences not being the rose tinted dreams that I had hoped for.

Here, I'll walk you back through my pregnancies and what I recall -

First Trimester

My overwhelming memory is one of the elation I felt at being pregnant.  I had early bleeding with both pregnancies so there was a bit of apprehension too but early scans put those fears to bed and of course in my second pregnancy revealed the joy that I would have twins.

I have to laugh when I look back at my pregnancies and just how tired I felt.  I recall the first time I felt pregnant, the day of my first positive test, I actually fell asleep at my desk briefly and that was the kick up the bum I needed to go and buy a test kit! From that big fat positive result I was unstoppable and a woman on a mission, to provide the best in life for her baby.

Shopping was a big part of both of my pregnancies, but especially for my first.  I can recall starting to buy small toys, neutral clothes and baby supplies even during this first trimester. I had so many books and magazines, guiding me week by week as to what to expect and advising me how my baby was progressing.

I suffered the ‘ill-named’ morning sickness and felt pretty queasy at most times of the day, thankfully by about 14 weeks this was leaving me and I started to feel a lot better.

Second Trimester

The blooming stage; this was my favourite part of being pregnant, I started to look pregnant rather than just fat and of course you start to feel all the flutters and movements too.  Not to mention getting to hear your babies heartbeat (s) on a regular basis too. And as for bigger boobs, yay!  Something I have always wanted and sadly no longer have.

I think this is when pregnancy became real for my husband as well.  It can be so hard for men to engage with the pregnancy, as obviously they are not actually feeling all of the hormones or changes, just seeing them from the outside.

In general I just felt on a high during this part of pregnancy and really enjoyed it. I found BabyCentre and started to chat to other mums expecting their babies at the same time as me, this was the start of some friendships I still have now, 9 years later.  Becoming a Mum is a very unifying process.  You start to share so much more than you ever did before, your dignity and privacy disappears out of the window!

Third Trimester

This is when pregnancy started to take a toll on my body, especially during my twin pregnancy.  I had put on a lot of weight and was suffering with bad oedema in my legs and feet, making movement hard.  Thankfully my hubbie became a dab hand at foot massage.

Heartburn was another thing I suffered with and I would walk around with a large bottle of Gaviscon in my bag and swig from the bottle, I just needed a brown paper bag to complete the look! Lactulose became my friend as well, as my body seemed to bung up and not want to do what nature intended!

With the twins I was in hospital from 34 weeks pregnant with pre-eclampsia so it was very lucky I had got organised and sorted out the practicalities.  I do adore shopping and checked out so many shops but in the end I went with the advice from my friend D to visit Argos for nursery furniture. JJ had a gorgeous set of Winnie the Pooh nursery accompaniments from there and the girls had girlie pink.

Another big buy for us during this trimester for both pregnancies was the buggy/pram and I went through just two with JJ but six with the girls. Six, how crazy is that?  A mix of double and singles as sometimes it was far easier with one baby in a pushchair and the other in a sling. We hit lucky at one point though as another friend, S had bought her Quinny at Argos and passed it on to us, so appreciated when you have loads to buy for twins.

I enjoyed the birthing and breastfeeding classes that were a regular occurrence in my first pregnancy and I loved writing that first birth plan.  The one where I would have a perfect vaginal birth in the water with soft music playing and dh by my side.  Not quite what happened but still… I have my 3 perfect children and what more can I ask for than that?

Over to you, what is your favourite memory from your pregnancy?

Keeping my Sanity about the MAD Blog Awards

I am getting rather excited, at the end of September I am going to the MAD (Mummy and Daddy) blog awards ceremony in Soho at the TalkTalk Customer Experience Centre.  I am a finalist in the MAD Blog about family life category and I intend to have so much fun, I am under no illusions that I will win but being there and joining in the with the evening will be reward enough.

Today, I have been shopping and that is one of my most favourite activities in the whole wide world. My Mum and I set off for an enormous M and S that is near us and we hunted for something glamorous for me to wear.  Luckily M and S have decided they would like to sponsor my outfit for the night and help to make me look tip-top! On the flip side sadly the fashion at the moment seems to have all dresses being not suitable for someone who has a rather large belly!  So dresses seem to be out but I have got myself something nice, so far!  Notice that 'so far', there is still 24 shopping days until the awards and I intend to use them fully, my outfit could get swapped right up until the last moment.

One thing I won't be changing though, is the shoes. I was super chuffed to walk into my local M and S last week and see the perfect shoes for the awards.  I wanted evening glamour and they are black patent with velvet trim and I wanted heels, which they do have but being me I am no good for long periods of time in very high heels, so whilst I would love to have worn my 4" platform patent shoes (also from M and S, yes it is my favourite shop) it means more to me to be able to walk all night and to be able to have a good dance with some fabulous blogging mates that I will see at the awards like @nickie72 @SAHMlovingit @ChristineMosler @allaboutheboys @northernmum @seasiderclare and so many more.

No jeans on the night though!

As well as going to the ceremony, I also get to spend the night at the Radisson Edwardian Bloomsbury Street Hotel, sharing a room with the super @Kykaree that I have only chatted to a few times before on twitter but I just know we will get on so well.

I am amazed at how different I feel now to the weeks that were the run up to CyberMummy.  By rights I should be more nervous now and worried about what to wear and how the evening will go but I just know that the @Swhittle and @Mum_Themadhouse will make sure we all relax and enjoy ourselves.  No going MAD for me this time!  Well unless I win the award and then who knows what may happen!

I am linking this post up to this weeks Gallery over at Tara's place, it seems to fit this weeks brief of shoes!

#R2BC - Bargain Shoes, Neat Gardens and Soft Skin! Wk 30

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Evening all,

How are you on this fine evening?  It has been a lovely week here in the Home Counties, what about for you?  My boys have been away camping with the Cubs and Scouts so I am so pleased it has been good for them, how miserable to get rained on for a week when camping with 30 odd kids, it has happened to dh on many summer camps in years gone!

I am super cheerful tonight, my week has been good and I think much of that is down to my choice to be in a good mood and my handing over the crap to God. For example I found a leak earlier this week and my new insurers impressed me by getting someone out 4 hours after I called them, yes they stopped the leak but they also broke my toilet and now I am still without an upstairs loo!  I pray they will call and book me in soon.  Add that to the broken front door and all the ripped out carpets upstairs and things are mounting up but lets be honest I am sat here watching 'Help my house is falling down' as I type and this poor woman's water logged house is making me feel immensely grateful for the small problems I have.

See how tidy my garden is looking, there is another reason I feel good tonight.  The girls and I spend quiet a bit of time outside today getting both the front and back gardens in a good state - roll on twinnie play date tomorrow.

We also popped into town today to buy a pressie for one of their friends and we popped in M&S to use the loo and Miss M really made me laugh, she started to properly browse and show me dresses she liked.  Ohh a lovely glimpse of the future as we have a girls day out shopping, nothing Mummy (and Nanny too) love better than a good shop, especially when there is a bargain to be had.  And oh yes, big bargains to be had in M&S today. I spent £8.00 and got 3 pairs of shoes for the kids, all 1 size bigger, so they can grow into them.  JJ's are £28 leather school shoes!  Whoop, whoop - mega pleased with £8 for them all.

Lastly I have only just logged on here tonight as I took a lovely long shower and then pampered myself for an hour whilst watching TV.  My skin now smells gorgeous of Paris and is completely soft too.  Rachel reminded me the other day that when we take the time to pamper ourselves we then feel so good we do not want to spoil that feeling by eating and I sure hope to prove her right tonight. So I am doing this post and heading off to watch a chick flick, 'Love and other Drugs' and enjoy and evening alone.

So there is me, happy Mich!  (Trying not to think about next Monday and Tuesday and the busy time I have ahead at work, I can get through it, it is just 2 days and then I am off for 2.5 weeks).

Over to you, what is making you cheery this week? If you are new to Reasons to be Cheerful, then check out HERE and then link up a cheery/ gratitude post from the last week.

Thanks for joining in, leave me some comment love. Visit others and leave them some comment love and don't forget to tweet with #R2BC. I hope to be able to visit everyone this week and offer some comment love, I have managed it the last 2 weeks now!

As far as guest hosts go, I think the people who have offered are Bod for Tea, Seasider in the City, Celebrating Mums,  Glass Half Full, Mum of all Trades and A Matter of Choice. I think everyone except Mum of all Trades has let me know when they can't host, so if you read this please email me on mummyfromtheheart @ virginmedia .com  so I have a contact for you and know which weeks suit you.  I will then send out an email in early August with dates/ instructions/ badge code/ linky code etc. 

Cheers Mich x

Grace in small things

1. I have been to the gym this morning and burned off a ton of calories
2. I forgot my shoes and I am sitting here wearing sparkly white trainers with my black suit! lol No I am not particularly grateful for that but I am so grateful at God's work to change my attitude. A few years back if this had happened to me it would have been a big deal and I would of stomped around and been agro about it but today I am serene and smiling!
3. My kids are at home enjoying time with Daddy today.
4. I had a great house group session last night. What a wonderful bunch of ladies. Thank you Lord.
5. I am going to see my Mummy and Daddy on Thursday - yay I can not wait. It must be about a month since I last saw them.
6. Today I am abstinent and my attitude around food has been so much better for the last few days.

Right to do some work now and then off out at lunch time to treat myself to a nice new pair of black shoes...

Update from yesterday & shopping addiction!

In 100% better mood today. I did not enjoy yesterday at all, I tried not to allow myself to get too low and to wallow in things but I did end up eating a bar of chocolate that was not planned for. Did I feel better for eating it? not really. Did I really enjoy it? not really - must remember that for next time.

Dh and I had a good old chat last night and got some stuff in the open and I feel better for knowing his views but am so sorry I have inadvertently hurt him. He has enough issues without me adding more, so I will try and actively remember to curb my spending and to be good. What is it they say - look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.

I think I am starting to identify that spending/ shopping is my other addiction. I like the thrill of having something new. Where I have lost weight recently I have got all excited and bought a few new things and because they have individually been cheap £3 or £5, then I have told myself it is OK, but I forget it all adds up. So I have some bits to take back and put the money back in our bank account.

It is really crazy as I get seduced by the fact that something is reduced and therefore a good deal but I must stop. I think I will just have to stay away from the shops for now and keep temptation out of my way until I have done some more reading and worked the steps more to learn to see the difference between want and need.

I did not realise but it appears that I am even being compulsive with the food shopping and overspending there. I really do not mean to do that. I said to A last night that maybe I will have a food list which I agree with him and then I can not deviate off it or he can go shopping.

So for now I am on a spending ban. Luckily my gym membership is taken care of out of my salary so I can continue to enjoy that and things like toddlers cost just £1.50 so I will keep going there, but meals out need to be minimal and nights out with the girls stopped etc etc. We are on holiday next week and there will be a cost there and then it is time for the car service and car tax very soon - £400 out the window. I must keep this bigger picture in focus.

I have decided I will look at our spending and the bank account more often, so that A does not have to feel the responsibility is all on him. We are a partnership and we need to strive to do things together.

Getting a buzz!

Been thinking this morning about how much I look to stupid things to 'feel better'. Nothing too untoward you understand, basically at the core I am a good girl and of course nowadays a good Christian girl (we need to use the term girl quite loosely, as I am now 35, coming on 36! lol).

The buzz I am talking about tends to be sought from either food or shopping and the more I think about why I seek either it seems to be to try and make myself feel better about me. I am really not so sure what I have to feel glum about but somewhere along the line I am not as happy as I should be. I do find that quite hard to come to terms with as I know so many people have far harder lives than I do.

I am sure if there was a psych here they would say that we are all different and I must acknowledge my problems and deal with them, not compare them to other peopels as we all have different needs and tolerance levels. So in a hope of being a more rounded person and a better parent/ wife/ friend I will try and acknowledge my problems and I think attending my Thursday meetings is a big step towards that.

Might be back later to add to this......................... will think on it.