1 Monthiversary In Belfast!

Hey friend!

The manic working of the last few days has died down and I can finally get back to the blog so of course I have writer's block! I have a list of about 15 or so blog ideas in my planner and not one of them is calling to me to be written today, typical! Although as we've just ticked over to September that means I've officially been living here a month, so perhaps a blog to celebrate that and also reflect on what's been going on over here is in order. :)

I guess the most obvious place to start is our living situation. We're still living with family friends while a lot of complicated back and forth goes on with the house, but we should have news by the end of the week there. Hopefully we're not being too disruptive, I'm doing my best to tidy around each day and minimise the chaos I usually cause working from home! While we're here we're just focusing on saving as much money as possible to get a nice buffer behind us and also doing as much as we can to be ready when we do move.

I'm still on a bit of a decluttering spree. Not on such a big scale, but being surrounded by our things certainly makes you realise how much of it you don't really use that often. Having cycled through mostly the same clothes for 2-3 weeks while my case was in storage I have a much better idea of what I do and don't wear. There's some stuff I really missed having, or clothes for special occasions that need to be kept, but some of my summer wardrobe didn't even make it out once this season and they'll be going to charity very soon!

Health wise things are slowly improving - I'm coming to the end of my steroids soon (just 3 weeks to go!) and their side effects are slowly wearing off. I have gained a bit of weight since starting them and my sleep has been quite disrupted, but both of those are getting more under control as the dose reduces. :) I'm generally in less pain and starting to get my energy back too, so yay!

As for living in Belfast, I'm loving it! We haven't had a chance to explore as much as I'd like yet, weekends always seem to get eaten up with errands or we're so tired we just want a chill day. But we have done a few walks in Hazelbank Park and visited Carrickfergus Castle which was cool. :) I'm getting on well with all of Chris's friends too so we spend evenings with them pretty frequently playing games. Yesterday was the first time I had a touch of homesickness really and it was more to do with not being able to pop round to see people than anything. Communication hasn't really changed since I got here - I still get to spam everyone daily on Facebook, haha!

Riggle is settling in well too. She loves her new cage, especially with all the different ladders and platforms for her to climb all over. She still spends all her time climbing onto the roof of her cage then back down again, I'm not really sure what she's hoping to achieve but it's fun to watch! I'm working on another Chronicles of Riggle post but she's tricky to get non-blurry pictures of...

We're off to Bristol for the weekend and I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone. Mum is away on holiday which sucks, but I'll be catching up with friends and most of the fam while I'm back. I'm excited to show Chris a little more of Bristol too, since I wasn't well enough to do much other than pack when he last came over. We'll be enjoying the Chilli Festival, going to one of my favourite restaurants and maybe some other bits and pieces too if there's time. :)

Then once we're back there'll definitely be more exploring to get done! We'll (hopefully) have an idea of when we'll be moving, plus Kassi will be visiting in a few weeks as a birthday treat so there'll be adventures there too. I had very few doubts before I moved over here (I currently can't think of any but there must have been some), but now I definitely have no regrets. I'm super happy here and once I can really indulge my homemaking side it can only get better!

So here's to Month Two in Belfast. I can't wait to see what it brings!

What did you get up to in August? Let me know in the comments!

Love,
Ami
xx

Challenges of Working From Home

Hello!

This is just gonna be a quick post to apologise for how quiet I've gone at the moment! Over the weekend we had two birthdays to celebrate with friends, then Christopher was ill on the bank holiday so there was little time left for blogging!

It might be a day or two longer until I get back on it - being the end of the month I have quite a few things to tie up in my business (invoicing, reporting, the usual admin-y minutiae!) and the guaranteed money has to trump the hopefully-one-day money right now.

Working from home while extremely convenient when you've just moved to a new country, also comes with its downsides. For example when you're living with other people and their days off don't coincide with yours... Chris was still meant to be working yesterday (he has to book bank holidays as actual holiday so we weren't gonna bother) but in the end he was home ill, along with the other people we live with who had the day off. It made for a fun, sociable day, but wasn't very conducive to the day of blog writing I had planned!

It's also difficult to stay focused when you have your home comforts around you. Why not just watch a quick episode of Pretty Little Liars on Netflix over lunch? Or get some tidying done to save time later? Personal admin can seem incredibly urgent when your work deadlines are far away too. I'm getting better at managing these things, but on a day when you're tired or feeling under the weather it's so easy to convince yourself to take a break!

Today I managed to get a good 4 hours of work done so I was very pleased with myself. Now if only I can repeat that tomorrow I should be back in blog writing mode by Thursday. All in time for a trip back to Bristol this weekend for Rachel's birthday and the Chilli Festival! :) You will definitely be getting a post all about that!

So until then my friend, have a wonderful week and don't get into too much mischief!

Love,
Ami
xx

Making Meal Planning Easy: Recipe Spreadsheet

Ohey!

I have a little confession to make - on Tuesday we ditched the meal plan and had a Dominos. It was completely indulgent and did break the food budget we set for the month, but we've been so good at cooking every night and doing our best to stay healthy that a lazy meal just sounded too good to pass up. We did apply some sensible principles to the splurge though - it was Two for Tuesday meaning we got 2 pizzas each and lunch was sorted for the next day. Also upon seeing that his pizzas cost twice the price of mine Chris even swapped to getting gluten free pizzas himself, so it was under £15 for 4 pizzas. Not cheap, but not break the bank either.

Even though it was contrary to our budget, it did make me appreciate how our routine since moving over has helped us save a lot of money, time and hassle just by keeping us organised. It's only when you stop using something, even for a moment, that you realise just how useful it is! So I wanted to share with you just how we're planning our meals and keeping things on-budget.

Introducing our recipe spreadsheet..

It's a work-in-progress, but it's working well so far!

This is one tab of a much larger spreadsheet where we keep our entire lives organised. It contains everything from our meal plans and recipes to our monthly budget, upcoming travel plans to home maintenance tasks to keep on top of. Basically if there's something that needs to be planned or organised in our lives, it has a tab!

There are two tabs that relate to our meal planning - the one above that contains all of our favourite recipes and another where we plan our meals for the week and create our shopping lists. I say lists because even those are broken down further - regular shopping, a list for the market (there's a weekend market nearby that has some amazing food when we want to make something special!), and lists for pantry items, cleaning items and misc. At the moment we also have a furniture list, but that will go once we've finished furnishing the house (and no news there either I'm afraid).

It sounds a little extreme to be this organised, but with so much going on and such variation in my fatigue it has really helped me remember things that would otherwise be forgotten. We also keep this spreadsheet on Google Docs so that Chris and I both have access to it and can edit it from either laptops or our phones when we're on the go. It's been incredibly useful for coordinating when he's at work!

So how do you set up something like this? It's quite simple and quick to do if you already have some favourite recipes bookmarked but even if you don't it doesn't take long to put together.

The set up

First you'll need to decide on a spreadsheet programme - Google Docs is easiest to access from anywhere, but Excel or Sheets works too. Then set up the top row much the same as I have, with the following columns:

Recipe Name - This might be the name the recipe book/site gives it, or the name you've given it yourself.

Main Ingredient - By having this column you can quickly look up recipes with a specific ingredient if you have an excess of something to be used up.

Cooked On - Similarly, having this column makes it easy to see what equipment you'll need for a recipe. For example if you're going to be out for the day and want a simple meal waiting for you then sorting by slow cooker will be useful!

£/Portion - This is something we're interested in as if we like a recipe and it has a low cost per portion it's gonna fast become a family favourite! We're aiming to get most of our meals to £1/portion or less.

Rating - This is what you and other family members think of the recipe. If anything gets less than a 3 then just delete it - over time you'll want to be cultivating a spreadsheer full of low-cost 4s and 5s.

Notes/Changes - These are changes you make to the recipe - for example we use sweet potato instead of normal a lot, or switch out beef mince for pork. Or if you add extra seasoning, be sure to mention it here so you can make it the same next time.

Link - This is simply a link to the recipe online. You could also keep a note of which cookbook/page the recipe is on if you have a physical copy.

Filling it in

This can be done all at once or over time. I've been keeping a folder of bookmarked recipes on my laptop for a long time anyway so I went through those and copied across ones I knew we would use regularly. Then it's just a case of keeping it updated as you find new recipes you like or want to try. I'm thinking of adding a baking section as we've got quite a few recipes we want to try like Apple Granola Bars and Sweet Potato Muffins.

It's also a great excuse to discover new recipes if you have an excess of a particular ingredient or find something on sale at the shop. We usually use the weekend to make something a little more ambitious, so we'll pick something we have in the freezer and maybe a style of cooking and see what the internet has to offer us. Chris searches for recipes during downtime at work and this was how we ended up with an amazing Harissa Chicken recipe! :)

Using it

I'm planning to write a blog on meal planning sometime soon which will go into this a bit better, because it's one of my favourite ways to get organised and save money. There are so many little tricks you can use to cut down your food budget without losing out on amazing meals it definitely deserves it's own blog! But the beauty of this spreadsheet is in its' simplicity.

Need a chicken recipe? Sort by the main ingredient column and select one. Looking for something to throw in the slow cooker and go out for the day? Sort by the cooked on column. Budget looking a little tight this month? Pick all the lowest cost per portion recipes you've collected over time (if you've bothered with this one)!

The hardest part is getting into the habit of using it, but once you see how easy it is and how much faster it makes everything I'm convinced you'll be as sold as I am. :)

How do you keep your recipes in order? Or do you just wing it? Any you think I should add to the list? Let me know in the comments! I'm always looking for yummy new recipes to try, especially on weekends when we can put a little more effort in. :)

Love,
Ami
xx

Homemade Hummus Recipe

Good Evening!

Sorry for the lack of a blog yesterday, I was feeling a little under the weather over the weekend and got a little behind on writing! It's the first one I've skipped after being back for 2 weeks though so I'm pretty pleased with myself. :)

Today I wanted to share with you a recipe we've been using over the last few days to make our own hummus! We've been going through 3-4 tubs a week since I moved over, dipping carrot sticks and apple slices (seriously, apple in lemon hummus is amazing) on an almost daily basis, so it was getting expensive. £1.80 for 2 from Tesco was easily approaching a £15/month habit! Having made hummus in the past I knew we could cut down on the price and have a much healthier product to boot so off to the shops I went.

For our first batch the plan was to keep it simple and go for a lemon and garlic hummus, plus I'd looked up a tahini recipe and decided to make our own there too as it would be even more cost effective.

Your shopping list will look like this:

1 Can Chickpeas

Garlic

Tahini (or sesame seeds if you want to make your own)

1 Lemon

Olive Oil

Salt

Smoked Paprika (we added it at the end for some extra flavour)

The Recipe

If you're making your own tahini do that first as you'll need to wash the blender (we used one of the small chamber blenders as we're making small quantities at a time). Making it is really easy - toast the sesame seeds until they just start to brown, leave to cool and then blend with olive oil until it's a runny paste. It smells amazing!

Ingredients:

1 Can Chickpeas

1-2 Cloves of Garlic (to taste, we used 2 tsp of Lazy Garlic)

2 tsp Tahini

1/2 Lemon (or more/less to taste)

3-4 tbsp Olive Oil

Salt (to taste)

Smoked Paprika (to taste)

1. Drain the chickpeas and keep the water to one side.

2. Add all the ingredients to the blender, including ~5 tablespoons of the chickpea water.
(Note: It might be easier to add the chickpeas half at a time if you're using a small blender.)

3. Blend until smooth, adjusting consistency by adding more olive oil or chickpea water if it's too thick.

4. Taste and adjust flavour with more lemon, garlic, salt or paprika as you like!

Our first batch was quite thick which worked well for carrot sticks but not so much as a side dish with cous cous (another thing we've loved doing!). We made a second batch yesterday using lime instead of lemon and without the paprika. We made it a lot thinner and it went absolutely perfectly with Walkers Sensations Moroccan Spice & Sweet Tomato crisps (I'm currently in love with these as they're on offer for 75p at Tesco!).

Another great way to save money is to save old shop-bought hummus pots and clean them so you have perfectly sized containers to put it in! Although this recipe makes enough to fill 1 and partially fill another so you'll want a few before starting.

I've not done the official sums yet as we're still adjusting the recipe each time and finding ways to make it even cheaper (for example next time we'll be buying a giant bag of sesame seeds from Amazon to cut down on per-batch cost). That said, I've estimated that each batch is costing us about 80-90p - almost the same as the Tesco hummus but we know exactly what went into it and we get about 1/3 more with the homemade recipe, so already worth it.

Once we've finished adjusting and finding the cheapest way to make it I think we can get it down to about 75p a batch - coming in at a much more reasonable £6/month for hummus. Happy Ami and happy bank balance. :)

Have you made hummus before? What recipes do you use? I'm always looking for new ones to try! :)

Love,
Ami
xx

Creating Home Away From Home

Hello again!

By the time you read this I'll have been living in Ireland for almost 3 whole weeks which seems crazy! But despite having moved here with the plan to be in our new home within the first week, I'm still homeless in a philosophical sense, if not a physical one.

Since my last update things got a bit more complicated and it could now be anything from 1 to 4 weeks until we move in. In the meantime we're staying with very kind family friends who've let us move into the attic bedroom and donated use of their dining room/study as a lounge for us. Despite it being a difficult situation to be in, everyone I've met since moving has been so lovely - I've been made so welcome it's unbelievable.

But all the loveliness in the world can't take away the stress or awkwardness that arises from not having your own home, and here I'm more talking a place that you feel comfortable and can just relax. The house we're staying in is better than we could hope for as an in-between place to live, but we're still guests and no matter how lovely our hosts are I'm still conscious of not getting in the way or making mess etc. (That's a me thing - they've made it more than clear we're welcome and to use anything we need!)

At first it was quite distressing not knowing when I'd get a place of my own (again, a philosophical "home", not a place to stay), but once the dramatic side of me shut up for a moment I realised that it's exactly what I'll be signing up for when we go travelling so it's something I'd better prepare for! Plus if we're talking in a philosophical sense, can't home be anywhere you want it to be? Which leads me to today's blog post: creating home away from home. This is exactly what I've tried to do and so far it's done wonders for my stress levels, so I wanted to share some of my tips with you!

1. Mind matters

This is probably the most important step (and possibly the hardest) because if you don't get your head in the right place none of the others will work. I wanted somewhere I felt comfortable - like I could relax without having to worry about anything and eventually I realised that isn't location dependant. My ability to relax comes from me and my worries about other people, which is something I can (and am trying to) let go of. So first up decide what it is about home that you want - somewhere to relax, somewhere your belongings are? Somewhere you can talk to loved ones? Then you can go about creating that wherever you are.

2. Create your "Home" spot

Wherever you're staying you need to pick a spot to be home. It doesn't need to be big - for mine I've chosen the bedside table in our room. This amount of space could feasibly be found anywhere we stay - just a little square next to my pillow whether that's a bedside table in a room or a patch on the floor in a hostel/tent.

Pick items that either remind you of the home in your head (your childhood bedroom for example, or reminders of family and friends) or create the kind of home you're aiming for and have them in this space. Since my goal was a place to feel comfortable and relax I chose to purchase a plant and a candle and have them alongside a "New Home" card my sister gave us when I left England. It doesn't matter that the room, the bed or even the table aren't mine - those items are and that means I have a little place of my own. Plus it looks super cute and tidy in a slightly chaotic room (we're surrounded by boxes and bags of our stuff right now) so it can be calming to see when you walk in.

The plant is called Steve.

3. Time to relax

There's no point creating home if you're not spending any time there. Even if it's only 5 minutes, spend some time in your spot (or next to it might be more appropriate..) and just relax. Whether it's reading, talking to a family member or friend, listening to music... whatever it is that made you want a 'home' in the first place. Today I wasn't feeling my best so I lit the candle (vanilla btw, yum!) and spent an hour reading. I still don't feel great, but it left me feeling a little more relaxed and able to take on my tasks for the day. :)

4. Get into a routine

Most people associate routines with getting up and ready for work or weekend plans, but routine can apply just as much when you're travelling around the world or moving a number of times in a short space of time. This regularity can really help with your sense of home and belonging so it's important to create one, just make sure it's flexible enough to suit your changing situation.

For example mine is to wake up and spend 15-20 minutes cuddling/snoozing with Chris before the day gets busy. Then he goes off to the shower while I head downstairs and prepare breakfast. We eat together and then he leaves for work, leaving me to take my medication and plan my day out. Altogether it takes about an hour and even though it's incredibly simple, it sets me in a good mood for the day.

5. Keep it simple and tidy

The beauty of a having a home spot is in its simplicity - just a few items can make anywhere feel like home, so it's counterproductive if you then let it get messy. Don't go overboard on items and turn it into a shrine either, as that's difficult to recreate in any environment. A quick tidy up could even be part of your daily routine - even though it's not a conscious thing, I grab any rubbish, glasses etc. from the bedside table before I head downstairs each morning.

I found this image just hours after writing this blog!

Being without a physical home isn't always easy, but it doesn't need to be as stressful as I first made it. After all - home is where the heart is! What does 'home' mean to you? Is it a place with all your stuff, somewhere you can relax? What do you do to make your space feel like home? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Love,
Ami
xx

Top Tips For Decluttering Before A Move

Hello!

Hopefully by the time this blog goes out we'll be in our new home and I'll have some more interesting updates for you (update since writing this: we're not in our new home.. more on that in this blog), but as I'm writing it's moving day for Chris's mum and I've found myself a quiet corner to get some work done. The good news is we've got a place to stay for the next few days with internet so I should be able to prepare things a little more before I disappear to the land of no net!

One of the biggest considerations I had once I'd decided to move to Belfast was how to get my stuff here. I knew I was bringing the car with me so I would be able to bring some stuff along with me, but would it all fit? Would I have to ship some of my stuff? How much would that cost? After a mental run-through of everything(ish) that I owned I decided that if it didn't fit in the car, it wasn't coming. Not only would it prove far too expensive to ship (we're talking between £1-200 just for a small pallet of things), I was convinced that a significant portion of my belongings were just filler. I wasn't using them or getting any lasting value from owning them, so why was I storing them?

Over the course of about 3 months I systematically went through all of my possessions (seriously, all of them) and sorted them into the following categories: bin (this was stuff that just wasn't good enough to be passed on in any way), sell (things that had a rough value of more than a few pounds), charity (things good enough for re-use that would be tricky to sell) and keep. The keep pile was then sorted into must come to Belfast, would like to come and could probably wait until someone visits.

I estimate I got rid of about 60% of my possessions in some manner, as what took us multiple trips in multiple cars to move out of the flat took me just one (very full) car to transport to Ireland. But getting rid of anything you own can be tough - it doesn't matter if it's clutter, at some point you decided that you wanted it in your life so letting go of it can be tricky. There were some things I threw away with no remorse and others really tugged at my heart strings before I set them aside. So today I wanted to share with you my top tips for decluttering!

1. Set yourself some rules and categories

Before you even pick up the first item, decide what your goals are. If you have a very limited amount of space (the back of your car?) you'll need to be more strict than if this is just a space-clearing exercise for a new home. Set up your categories (along with keep/sell etc. you could also have a re-gifting pile, or a pile for things that you 'acquired' from friends with the intent to give them back...years ago!) and then set some simple rules to go with them. Examples could be getting rid of anything you haven't used in a year, items that you could easily borrow or rent (eg. DVDs), or setting a limit on how many 'skinny clothes' you can keep (because you really might fit back into them one day!). If you are the kind of person who will actually mend things instead of putting them back in a cupboard for months you can also make a pile of things to fix, but be really honest with yourself on this one or you might just be throwing it out in 6 months..

2. Have back up

Have a close friend or family member with you when you're doing this and let them know all the categories and rules you've set. Pick someone who can be supportive through the process, but also remind you of your rules when you stumble across that sparkly top from 8 years ago that didn't even really fit at the time.. This isn't an opportunity to reminisce though, so don't pick someone who will get stuck down memory lane with you.

3. Set up your space before you start

Have some boxes prepared in advance labelled with each of your categories. This will allow you to keep everything organised and by labelling them your "keep" pile isn't going to accidentally end up in a charity shop. It has a secondary benefit of letting your companion put things in boxes while you do the decision making so they're not sitting around bored. Yay for teamwork!

4. Break it up

Don't try to do it all in a day, or even work through an entire room in a day, unless you really have to. Decluttering is a draining process so pace yourself and break your possessions down into logical groups to sort through; room by room or by item type (clothes, kitchenware, memories box etc.). I had a giant clearing session early on when I moved out, followed by another sorting session about 3-4 weeks later, and a final push in the last 2-3 weeks before the move. I knew when I was getting overwhelmed and needed a break because I'd start getting snappy with my partner (try not to do this!) or I'd feel the beginnings of a migraine. Know your limits and make a plan beforehand so you don't overdo it.

5. The decision making itself

Hopefully by preparing as much as possible before you even look at your possessions this bit should come a lot easier. You know your rules, you know where you're going to put items as you sort, now it's just time to do it. Key things to remember here are; you're not there to reminisce, if you find something you want to talk about or look through set it aside for a later date or during a break time. No one is forcing you to do this! When you get to a tricky item to get rid of it can help to remember that you've chosen to do this for your own peace of mind and space. Remember all the positive benefits you'll get from this extra space rather than the negative of not having the item anymore. You don't use things half as often as you think - borrowing is a legitimate option in a lot of cases.

6. Have a plan for where it's going after

The keep and bin piles are obvious, but where is everything else going when you're done? And how frequently will you deal with it? If you have set a number of sessions aside to sort through everything there could be days or even weeks between them where items can easily sneak back into your cupboards. Out of sight is out of mind and that's exactly what we want here! Know which charity shop is getting your stuff and take it there immediately (or as soon as is realistic). Plan sorting sessions before a car boot sale or a day off when you can list everything you want to sell online. You might need to do this a number of times, but it'll be well worth the extra effort when you see all the space you have after!

I was really lucky that a family friend enjoys selling stuff on Facebook in her free time and was willing to sell my things for me, so I made a giant (and I mean really, super giant) pile of bags and boxes that went over to her one weekend. As far as I know she's still going and has already made £40 from my stuff! If you know someone who sells online already ask them if they'd be willing to split the money with you in exchange for doing the work (after all, it was just going to sit in your cupboard anyway!).

7. If things get tough..

Take a deep breath and think about why you're getting upset. Do you really want to keep the item in question, or does it have an attachment that isn't healthy for you? Many people hold on to things because of a memory or feeling attached to the item rather than the item itself (think of souvenirs from other peoples' holidays) and it's not always good for you. If you're struggling, try to work through the cause of your emotion rather than avoiding it altogether. One solution could be to take a picture of the item, write the memory on the back and keep that instead.

If you're still getting upset or start to get overwhelmed then stop immediately. This isn't an exercise to traumatise you at the thought of getting rid of your things, it's a clearing process that will be good for you mentally and energetically in the long run. It'd be counter intuitive if you hated every second of it! Take a break, do something completely unrelated and come back to it when you're fresh and ready to start again.

8. Don't let things slip

Once you've gone through everything and each category has found its' new home it can be tempting to treat yourself to a few new things. You've got all this new space (and if you sell some things some extra cash too) so it couldn't hurt, right? Stop! It's best to adopt a "one in, one out" rule or something similar at this stage - for every new item that comes into the house another has to be donated or sold in its place. Otherwise in 6 months or a year you'll be back to square one and need to go through this all over again, only this time the things you kept in round one will still have valid reasons for staying and you've only just parted with your cash on the new items so you'll be loathe to throw them away.

The only exception to this rule is what we've had to do, and that's anything you need for the new house that you can't borrow or source some other way. We currently have an entire garage full of stuff for the new house - from cookware to bedding - but not all of it is new. We've been lucky that Chris's mum donated her sofa and a few other bits and pieces when she moved, along with anything I could fit in the car with me (I somehow managed to bring along my slow cooker, blender, tagine and a new knife block from my Nan in amongst my many belongings). As for the rest, we've gone for budget items on anything that was essential but not worth splashing out on and saved the majority of our furniture budget for things we'll get the most value out of the extra cash for. Since we're creatures of comfort at heart this has mostly consisted of extra fluffy towels and comfy bedding. Are you surprised?

Those are my top tips for decluttering, but what are yours? How do you cope when it's time to pare down your possessions? I'd love to hear in the comments below, especially as I still feel like I need to own less stuff! (I don't know where this minimalism drive is coming from but it better go away soon or I'll have nothing left!)

Have a fab day!

Love,
Ami
xx

Date Night On A Budget: A Month Of Dates For £25 Or Less

Hey there friend!

I'm really getting into the swing of this blogging thing again and I'm loving it! Yesterday I spent an afternoon in the sunshine brainstorming ideas, so now I just need to flesh them out a bit and get writing. :) I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

As this is month one of living together Chris and I have set a pretty tight budget (to allow for extra moving costs etc) and our date budget is no exception. We put a total of £25 to last the month, which isn't even a meal for two at a restaurant half the time, but you know I love a challenge!

Why is this relevant you might ask? Well, last night Chris and I went on our first date night since I moved over! Things have been so busy with moving, along with still working and all the other normal life things lately that we just haven't had time until now. So I was delighted when I got a message through the day to say we would be going to see Suicide Squad that night.

(No spoilers, don't worry! But if you haven't seen it I would really recommend it. It's getting a lot of bad rep from people who read the comics, and if you're a comic fan you might be disappointed, but if like me you're only vaguely aware of the original storylines then you'll definitely enjoy it.)

With such a small budget for the month I was a little concerned that this might also be our only date, after all I've been used to paying £9.30 a ticket in Bristol! Luckily tickets are only £6.50 here, but that's still not cheap. This got me thinking about different ways to stretch the budget without losing any of the fun or romance of a date. 

Here are 4 ideas for keeping date night on a budget - I've gone for a budget version and a 'splash out' version, so you can choose which dates to splash a little extra on!

Movie Night

I absolutely love cuddling up and watching a film, whether it's with friends, family or a partner, so movie nights are a must on this list for me!

Budget Version: Grab your favourite DVDs, a blanket and some snacks and cuddle up in front of the TV. If you're feeling extra fancy you can light some candles or even a fire if you have one! Cost: £2.37 (Based on a bag of microwave popcorn and a 1.75L bottle of coke from Tesco.)

Splash Out: The cinema doesn't need to be expensive if you plan ahead. Aim for off peak viewing times, grab snacks at the shop before you go and things can be pretty reasonable. We bought 2 500ml bottles of Pepsi and 2 bags of Magic Stars (I don't share chocolate well) for £3.98 and paid £13 for our tickets (we couldn't go off peak due to work). Cost: £16.98 (obviously this will vary based on cinema prices)

Personally I'll take the budget version 9/10 times unless there's something I really want to see, like Suicide Squad (totes worth imo!). It's cosy, cost effective and even better - when the movie is over you're already cuddled up under a blanket so nap time is go! (Anyone else get really sleepy after films? Just me?)

Picnics

Picnics can be as cheap or expensive as you like by making food at home or picking up pre-made convenience foods from the shop. Here I've gone for roughly the same menu but one you'll buy ingredients for and the other will be shop bought. This menu is based on the picnic lunch we had in the garden today, keeping it current. :D

Budget Version: Sweet chilli tuna rolls (2 each), carrot sticks (2 carrots), apple slices (2 apples), houmous (1 pot of plain organic houmous) and cheese cubes (from a bigger block). Plus water or squash to drink. Cost: £3.30

Splash Out: Tuna & cucumber sandwich (1 each), carrot batons (1 bag), apple snack pack (1 each), houmous (1 pot of plain organic houmous) and cheese slices. Plus a bottle of Oasis each to drink. Cost: £10.40

Again, I'd take the budget version any day, but sometimes you don't have time for making things at home or the tupperware needed to transport your homemade goodies so a combination of the two can be useful!

Going For A Walk

Some nice weather and a pretty spot is all you really need for this date, and even then only if you're a fair-weather walker! There are some beautiful parks around Belfast and I can't wait to make the most of the good weather we're having. :)

Budget Version: Walk out of your front door, wander around and see what views you can find! You'll be surprised by some of the pretty spots around your area if you start looking. Cost: Free!

Splash Out: Most parks, beaches, trails etc are free, but you could always combine this idea with a picnic or drive somewhere a little further afield for some nice scenery. On a recent trip before I moved here we visited the Giant's Causeway which was beautiful and had a little picnic on the beach. Using the entry fee for that as an example... Cost: £18 (includes tickets and parking)

Meal For Two

Good food and good conversation go hand in hand when it comes to date night, so sharing a meal is a great choice when you're trying to keep to a budget. Chris and I love cooking together so we don't often go out for food, but it can be done on a budget when you want to go that extra mile! :)

Budget Version: Cooking at home can be so much fun when you leave your comfort zone and put a little planning in. We absolutely love researching recipes, giving them our own twist and then bringing them to life in the kitchen. We're already developing favourites after 2 weeks and coming up with ways to make them even better! Our current favourite is Pork Ragu with pasta, so using that as an example with a bottle of fruity wine... Cost: £8.12 (bonus, this recipe actually serves 4 so you get leftovers! Cost per serving is £1.04)

Splash Out: You could still eat at home but buy something like the Tesco Finest offer: 1 main, 1 side, 1 dessert and a drink, if you didn't want the effort of cooking at home. Cost: £10

Go Out: I did promise you could get a meal at a restaurant for under £25, so here's how. Head to a restaurant at lunchtime instead of during their peak hours and many will offer a lunchtime deal. For example we went to Chiquito for lunch on one of my visits and it was quiet, the service was extra attentive and we still had the afternoon to explore. Cost: At Chiquito you can get 2 main meals, 2 soft drinks and share a dessert for £22.95 (or if you're greedy and want a dessert each it'll put you over budget slightly at £26.70...).

Feasibly you could do all of the budget versions of these dates in a month and only have to pay £13.79, leaving plenty of budget to pick one and splash out a little (or squeeze more dates in!) for a special night. We've already been to the cinema and we're planning a picnic if the weather stays nice by the weekend. I'm looking forward to coming up with more budget ideas for next month too! :)

What are your top tips for dates on a budget? Anything I've missed or something you could make better with a little more thought? Let me know in the comments!

Love,
Ami
xx

Chronicles Of Riggle: Travelling Long Distances With A Hamster

Hey there!

As I mentioned in a recent blog I had a new addition to the family last November - the beautiful, quirky and highly entertaining Riggle the Hamster. Since she joined the fam we've started our own little hashtag #ChroniclesofRiggle on Instagram and Facebook (although I've largely given up in IG since it's weird new algorithm.. I just want to snoop on celebrities and see the weird selfies my friends take guys, what's wrong with that? Sorry, side rant..) and I've had great fun sharing some of her weirder antics.

Yes, that is Riggle defying gravity on the cage roof...

So what better way to continue sharing her craziness with everyone than giving her her very own series on the blog? So I present to you Chronicles Of Riggle Part One.

While researching how wise it would be to bring Riggle with me to Belfast I was quite disappointed at how little information there is out there about travelling with hamsters. Most people kept the hamster in the cage (seriously not safe with a climber like Riggs!) and didn't go more than about 30 minutes - not even close to the 10+ hour journey we had planned! There were a few reports of people making longer journeys, but they didn't include much in the way of logistics. So to remedy that here is my experience of travelling with a hamster for 11 hours in a car and on a ferry. The things I did before, during and after the trip to keep her happy! Sadly I didn't get to take any pictures of our travel set up on the way, so I'll just be super descriptive where necessary.

1. Get them checked by a vet.

This may seem obvious or even unnecessary, but Riggle had never been to the vets before so I thought it was time she popped in for a check up. Her coat had been losing some of its shine in recent months anyway so it was largely to put my mind at ease.

The vet was really helpful - she gave Riggle a clean bill of health and reassured me that my plan for in the car was a good one. Her fur issues are because it's been a bit toasty in England lately, so that stopped me worrying too and I made a mental note to make sure we were even more vigilant about the car temperature.

Bonus: because it was her first visit and it was just a check up we didn't have to pay, woohoo!

2. Find fruits and vegetables that they like with a high water content for snacks.

This one sounds a little weird, but you might not be able to give them a water bottle during your journey in case it leaks, which is where this tip come in handy. Riggs is mostly a cashews and sunflower seeds kinda girl when it comes to snacks, so the week before the trip we tried her out on strawberries and cucumber to make sure she liked them. The strawberry was gone in seconds and the cucumber got eaten... eventually, so we knew we could keep her hydrated and would offer her the water bottle whenever we stopped for a break ourselves.

Warning: Strawberries will make your hamster's paws bright red. They will then run all over their bedding, staining everything red. Remember this and don't panic that they're dying when you check up on them! (Sorry Kass, I really should've warned you..)

3. Pick your travel case carefully.

This will depend on the length of your journey, but I'm assuming you're not just going round the corner if you've found this blog! Your average hamster carrier assumes you're only going to the vet and doesn't allow you much space.

I opted for a larger carrier, possibly designed for rats or guinea pigs, so that she'd have space to stretch out and move around on the journey. It also meant I could include a toy, her litter tray (more on that in a minute), some bedding for comfort/padding and her food bowl (waste of time, she stuffed her face in seconds then spat it on the floor).

4. Give them something stable to sleep in.

I stumbled upon this one by accident, and by I did I mean Riggle worked it out. A few hours into our trip I noticed she had not only tipped up her litter tray (I believe she did that on minute 5 actually..) but she had filled it with bedding and was sleeping in it. Confused at first, I then realised that the bottom of the travel case was plastic, so prior to that she'd been slipping around each time we went around a bend or braked, poor thing. She's a clever cookie to have worked it out on her own - the tray didn't budge an inch and she slept soundly the rest of the way.

5. Speaking of sleep...

Remember if you're travelling through the day your little one will want to sleep. Initially they'll run around like crazy trying to eat everything in sight (at least Riggle did), but eventually the excitement will wear off, they'll realise they're in it for the long haul and they'll want to curl up and snooze. Have a blanket ready to cover their travel case so it's not too bright for them. Ideally you want to find a balance between thick enough to block the light, but thin enough that it doesn't trap too much heat. We didn't think this far ahead, so all we had was a denim jacket.

6. Keeping them cool.

We covered hydration, but another issue is that hamsters can't regulate their own temperate very easily. They mostly do this through water and controlling how much bedding they have around them, neither of which is up to them in a carrier. We kept the air conditioning on most of the time in the car (even when slightly cold ourselves) to keep it comfortable for Riggle - especially as the less-than-ideal denim jacket trapped a lot of heat in on an already sunny day.

We also turned the car into a bit of an ice box prior to getting on the ferry as we knew we wouldn't be able to do anything for the 2 hours we were on there.

7. Attention and when to give it.

Finally, you will be tempted to check on your furry friend frequently. It's natural to worry about them over such long distances - at one point I considered opening the carrier because Riggle was so still I was certain she had died. A yawn and a stretch a few moments later meant I didn't have to disturb her, but I was arguing with myself for a long time over whether I was being silly or not. Remember #5 - they will probably sleep through a lot of your journey, perhaps waking up whenever you stop for a break yourself. Just make sure to offer them water whenever they're awake, watch for signs of stress and then leave them to it. Overdoing it will just stress them out further. Then get ready for a big hug that night when you reach your destination!

8. The main cage.

I was in a rather unique situation that Riggle's cage wouldn't be coming with us as it wouldn't fit in the car. The plan was to have the new one shipped directly to where we'd be staying, but we left it too late so our final solution was to have the new (much bigger) cage flat packed in among the boxes of my things and to build it when we arrived the other end.

You'll need to think about where their cage is going in the car; remember to store loose pieces separately, empty and clean the cage before you leave and bring plenty of bedding and other bits and pieces with you. There's nothing worse than bedding flying everywhere and if you're on a longer journey things can get a little smelly in the carrier (sorry Riggs but someone had to say it) so they'll want a fresh bed to move into.

And that's everything! You're now set to take your hamster with you on a long drive. Do you think I've missed anything? I'd love to hear your travel stories in the comments! And also whether your hamster is as weird as mine in her love of being upside down.. I look forward to sharing more Chronicles of Riggle with you over time. :)

Love,
Ami
xx

A New Chronic Illness

Hello again!

I've alluded to a new chronic illness a number of times in recent blogs, so it's time to actually explain myself. It's not really a mystery (and people who read the new blog description might have already spotted it!) but with so many ideas and topics to cover since relaunching the blog I didn't want to overwhelm you with essays too soon. And let's face it, even my short blogs are kindof essays already! This one really is a long one though, so much happened in such a short space of time and I don't want to skip anything in case it's useful for other people with similar experiences, so you may want to grab a cuppa and get comfy...

Jumping straight to the "big reveal", at the end of July I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease; an inflammatory bowel condition that can cause a whole host of symptoms that are less than fun. You get phases called Flare Ups, similar to Endometriosis, where your symptoms are worse and you generally need to be under the care of a specialist team during this time (though not necessarily in hospital) and phases of Remission where you're in better health. Another similarity to Endo is that peoples' experiences of Crohn's vary widely - some enjoy normal health during remission whereas others still struggle with a variety of issues and flare ups can range from digestive issues that are treatable with drugs to severe complications that can result in surgery.

So far I have only had one flare up - which resulted in my diagnosis - so I can't really say which of these categories I'll fall into yet. My flare up has been quite bad, lasting a number of months with quite a lot of the 'classic' symptoms making an appearance (including swollen and blotchy ankles and a severe sensitivity to light in one eye - not something you'd expect of a largely digestive-based illness!). However it is all being treated with drugs and I haven't had any of the severe complications, so I still count myself lucky in the grand scheme of things.

Early symptoms

Looking back initial symptoms started mid-April, when I noticed some appetite changes such as not being hungry at all and feeling sick whenever I did eat. I was eating between 200-600 calories a day and just couldn't stomach anything more despite knowing it wasn't good for me. At the time I put it down to the stress of my break up, but I now know this is one of the early symptoms of a flare up. Gradually this eased and I didn't think any more of it.

The next sign didn't happen until early June on a visit to Belfast. Without going into too much detail I simply thought I had a stomach bug and didn't feel well, but when the symptoms continued for several weeks it was becoming apparent that wasn't the case. I was also having appetite issues again, with some foods sending me running to the bathroom in minutes and other times I just couldn't face food at all. I'd been gradually losing weight since April already and by the end of the month I had lost 1 stone. I was delighted as it's a goal I've had for a while now, but it was also starting to ring warning bells in my head.

I was also noticing pain in my wrists and ankles - one night my wrist even swelled up for no reason - this was something I'd experienced after having tonsillitis before but I thought it was unusual to be happening without an accompanying virus...

Heading to the doctor

Upon leaving Belfast in mid-July I started suffering from what I assumed was a cold that I'd caught from Chris - in my mind this explained the joint pain, but I really wasn't having much luck! I saw my doctor about the stomach bug symptoms but failed to get anything else checked as I was sure the cold would pass on its own. She thought I was suffering from a bad IBS flare up. I didn't agree as it was nothing like any IBS issues I'd experienced before, but as samples were being sent for testing "just in case" anyway I didn't bother to argue. I was also sent for a blood test at the same time to check up on inflammation and see how my anaemia was doing (this becomes relevant a little later in the story).

Within a few more days I had what I was now certain was the flu - a fever had joined the mix, I wasn't sleeping and I'd started vomiting. Plus I'd waved goodbye to my appetite once and for all, struggling to keep sips of water down. My joints were all swollen or sore and my left ankle had reached more than twice it's normal size, with purple bruising appearing on the sides and sole of the foot. I had 14 ulcers lining the insides of my lips and on the day I finally decided it was time to head to the out of hours doctor about the vomiting my eye had become so bloodshot and sensitive to light I had to wear sunglasses indoors and cover the eye to leave the house.

As you can imagine I was not a happy bunny. By this stage I was only able to lie pathetically wherever someone helped me get (usually the sofa) and my mum was acting as full time carer - bringing me fresh water, food when I wanted to attempt it and doing her best to help when I was sick.

The nurse I saw in out of hours was a huge help, prescribing me an anti-sickness drug that thankfully stopped the vomiting and was the first to suggest that Crohn's might be my issue. She suggested I head back to my GP urgently and relay my new symptoms to them (this was already the plan, but now I could tell the receptionist a medical professional had told me it was an emergency so she couldn't ask "Are you sure it's urgent?" in that annoying skeptical voice she has...).

The next day at the GP only some of my samples were back and while they looked suspicious it wasn't quite enough to confirm Crohn's just yet. I was given some more advice to help me cope with the symptoms and given another appointment 2 days later to give the lab time to finish everything. It was also at this point that I found out my anaemia had reached pretty dire levels and the doctor was pretty worried about it (at this stage I should mention this was a different doctor to my usual one who I see when mine is fully booked). I was given iron tablets and a repeat blood test, but as I wasn't keeping anything down I had to hold off on taking them for the moment.

The diagnosis

Jump forward to my next appointment and things got a little dramatic. The results were in and my doctor had even called a Gastro specialist to discuss what to do with me - they were now pretty sure Crohn's was the right diagnosis and I was packed off to A&E for some tests there and then. Until this point I'd known I was ill, but I wasn't particularly worried. I'm no stranger to severe symptoms and dramatic illnesses, they always work themselves through and after I'm left wondering what the fuss was about. But on my way out the other doctor caught me for a chat and the concern both of them had for me really hit home how serious this was. I now know that it's because I could've had a blockage in my bowel, which thankfully wasn't the case, but at the time it really spooked me and I became quite disstressed by it all.

In A&E things went from bad to worse. A nurse trying to be 'helpful' sneakily put a cannula in my arm while telling me it was a blood test. Not a good idea for someone with a severe needle phobia I can tell you! Queue lots of tears as everything just got a little too much for me and I was asked to sit patiently in the hallway until a doctor was ready for me.

Ever the drama queen I promptly fainted in the hallway - giving them just enough warning that two nurses managed to haul me into a bed before I went completely out. Admittedly this might have been a little extreme, but it did mean I got to a bay and seen by a doctor faster than it would've otherwise happened!

After talking through my symptoms I was sent for an X-ray of my abdomen (clear) and it was discussed whether I should be kept in overnight or not. It was touch and go, but they managed to secure me an appointment with the Gastro specialist the next day and that sealed the deal on my ticket home for the night. I was to come back first thing for an iron transfusion (something I'd been arguing for since December, result!) and to see the specialist who would decide what to do with me.

The next day we arrived bright and early - entirely unnecessary as everything was running late as usual and it was 3 hours until we saw the specialist. More discussing of symptoms and while I had a verbal diagnosis of Crohn's confirmed, we needed to do all the tests that would tick the official boxes... ideally before I moved to Belfast in just 11 days. They told me to leave it with them, so I had my iron transfusion and went home to start the steroids they'd given me and wait for the appointments to roll in.

Nothing happened over the weekend except for steroids and the first signs of recovery - a little scrambled egg here, less swelling there.. I was still weak and being cared for, but it was a start. Then I got my timetable through for the following week and it looked like this:

Monday: Riggle went to the vets for her check up (even when your baby is furry you put illness aside to take care of them!) plus an emergency trip to the GP about my vision going completely blurry. Apparently a known complication of steroids and something that should ease over time.. still waiting for it to be 100% normal as I write though!

Tuesday: An MRI of my small bowel, the 3rd cannula in less than a week.

Wednesday: Back to work for a few hours as it was my last day and I couldn't face missing out on my leaving lunch! We had a celebratory meal with everyone from work and it was also the first time I ate an actual meal instead of a snack, woohoo! It was also time for cannula #4 for the second installment of my iron transfusion.

Thursday: A day at home to finalise packing (yes, through all of this I was trying to pack boxes with huge help from Momma M and Nan) and take a whole host of drugs in preparation for...

Friday: Cannula #5 and my first (and hopefully last) colonoscopy. It was also the day Chris arrived to help me pack up and move!

As you can see it was a busy week for me! It was hugely overwhelming in every sense of the word and I'm taking a moment out here to say a massive thank you to Kassi, Nan, Chris and especially Momma Marshall for the support they gave me that week. I literally couldn't have done it without them as I would've been a pile of mush on the sofa! From packing boxes, feeding me, listening when I needed to rant it out and even doing my make up so I didn't feel like a complete zombie, they did everything they could to take the pressure off and help me cope with all that was going on, so thanks guys, love you! <3

What next?

Here we meet up with the blog all about moving day so I'll leave the story there as far as timelines go. As for what's next for me medically, the first step is that a specialist will be reviewing all the results from the tests and I assume giving me a final, official tick on the diagnosis. In the meantime I'm in the middle of registering with a new GP over here in Belfast who will then get my notes and my shiny new diagnosis and in theory pair me up with an Inflammatory Bowel Disease Team (IBD Team for short) at the nearest hospital. From there it's all a mystery to me. My understanding is that the IBD Team will be able to give me more information about ongoing management of the condition, information about if/when/how I can get a job over here and how to tell my employer etc. so I'm really just waiting on that now! And taking my steroids of course.

On the health front I'm finally starting to feel close to normal again. There are some lingering symptoms and the side effects of the 'roids are taking some getting used to, but I'm back to looking after myself at last and my appetite has returned with a vengeance, haha!

And now I can stop alluding to a mystery diagnosis, because now you know! Being a predominantly digestive-related illness, there is a dietary element for me to learn about which at first filled me with dread but I'm now actually looking forward to. There's a lot of overlap with the Endometriosis diet and in general it's mostly about keeping up nutrition and not losing too much weight too fast during flare ups, so it's not going to be terribly strict. More an education in even healthier eating, which can only be a good thing!

In terms of the blog I'll be sharing any helpful information related to that journey, as well as any tips for keeping healthy and coping with symptoms where I find them. (note: as always these will be my experiences and not medical advice - never try anything without the help and advice of your doctor!)

So... questions? Comments? Experiences from people who've shared a similar journey? I'm completely new to this so I welcome any and all advice!

I'll wrap things up here because this is possibly one of the longest blogs I've ever written and Chris is waiting to plan food with me, haha! So until next time my friend...

Love,
Ami
xx

7 Things To Remember Or Plan When Moving House

Howdy!

I did have a different post planned for you today, but due to some changes to our plans I'm writing something new instead of the post I had scheduled, how exciting!

Up to now we've been waiting to hear from our landlord about when the house sale is going to complete and therefore we can get the keys to move in. We're not sure what the hold up is, but the date has gone from the end of July to an unknown at the moment, although we're assured it's imminent - possibly any day now.

At the same time Chris's mum has been preparing to move house too and initially that was going to happen a week or two after we'd left. But as time has gone on the two dates have got closer to each other and we've now reached the point that she's going to be moving before we get our keys - ie tomorrow. Yep, tomorrow. We only found that out this morning too - it was meant to be Friday but for whatever reason, we now have to move along with his mum to her new house first thing in the morning.

"Ami, why are you blogging instead of packing, you crazy woman?!" I hear you ask.

Well, two reasons. Firstly, I am about to be going without internet for an unknown amount of time. We can't arrange a supplier until we have a move date and they'll probably take at least a week or two (I'm being optimistic) to get us all hooked up. So I need to get all the work I can in now before I have to find cafes and generous friends to let me use their WiFi. Trust me to re-launch the blog right as my net disappears! Secondly, the blog I plan to write is going to help me get my head organised just as much as it's going to help anyone else who is moving house - whether it's as rushed as ours is going to be or a well-thought-out process!

So here we go... 7 things to remember or plan when moving house! I've skipped the obvious things and gone for the little bits and pieces that sometimes get forgotten in the chaos of a move.

1. Pack yourself a weekend bag

This is possibly the hardest thing for us as we don't know how long we're gonna need to live out of a suitcase, but usually when you move home you'll have things organised within 2-3 days at least to a stage where you'll have essentials set up. Until then it's a great idea to have a bag packed with a few days of clothes, toiletries, things like your laptop, phone, MP3 player, chargers etc. Basically pretend you're going on holiday for a few days and pack for that.

2. Pack yourself a bed!

Sounds odd, but in the confusion of moving you might forget the obvious things you'll need when moving is over... like bedding. You might be organised enough to have the bed set up by night time or it might be a blow up mattress/nest on the floor, but none of that will matter if you packed up and promptly lost the bedding. Keep this with your weekend bag and you'll at least be cosy when you collapse into bed at night.

3. Have food planned for the first few days

Moving day is stressful enough without having to worry about unpacking your kitchenware and cooking something. It might even be a few days before you get to unpacking everything you need in the kitchen if you have to work, or other more important boxes to get emptied. This is why it's a great idea to have a few meals cooked in advance - simply move them from one fridge to the next on moving day and make sure to unbox the microwave. Eating directly from the tupperware is fine, so all you'll need is cutlery. You could just eat takeaways for the weekend, but if you're on a budget this is a great way to keep things super simple and stress free!

This is exactly what we're planning to do - we usually make batch meals and keep leftovers for lunch the next day, but we're keeping last nights' leftovers and any from tonight to feed us tomorrow and Friday night instead. (Now just to work out what we're having for lunch...)

You might also want to have a packed lunch ready for moving day - no one wants to get to the late afternoon and realise they're starving, but need a trip to the local shop for lunch..

4. Have a catch-all area for things you need frequently and don't want to lose

Keys, wallet, phone, chargers, important paperwork and contact numbers will be the first things to get lost with boxes flying everywhere. Your pocket seems like a great place until things start jabbing your hip when you bend or falling out as you reach for things. Instead have a container somewhere near the door where everything can be kept safe - a large tupperware or basket is perfect for this. That way when it's time to close the door and leave you pick up the box on your way out and put it straight by the door (or somewhere easily accessible but safe) in the new place.

5. Pets and small children

Parental duties don't pause on moving day which can add to the stress immeasurably. One way to keep children or fur-babies out of the way on the day is to pack them an activities bag and set them up in a quiet corner, somewhere away from the action but in your line of sight. For kids this can be colouring books or electronic games with a little fruit snack and drink. For pets it will vary by animal - bigger pets you might want to have someone pet-sit for the day, but certainly for Riggle we'll be putting her in a quiet room, giving her plenty of her toys and her wheel, plus some yummy snacks and leaving her to it. She might be kept awake initially, but once the excitement dies down I'm sure she'll go back to snoozing the day away.

Also combine this with tip #1 - pack them a bag to cover the first few days and some bedding for the night too. Nothing worse than getting to bedtime and a beloved toy is missing, or worse still for Riggs.. the bedding itself is in a box downstairs!

6. Important papers, numbers and keeping organised

Moving day comes with a million things to think about and your belongings are just the big, distracting boxes getting in the way of the important stuff. There might be documents to sign, people to keep informed of progress, last minute expenses you don't want to forget.. I briefly mentioned a solution in tip #4 but if you have more than one or two things to keep track of it might be better to invest in a folder for keeping yourself organised. You can have plastic wallets for the important documents, a list of all the numbers you need to hand (suppliers, solicitors, landlords, other people in the chain etc.) and it'll be somewhere you can throw receipts in to remember when the chaos is over.

7. Entertainment

Speaking of suppliers, you could be without your usual home comforts for a while (I'm thinking internet here of course) and you don't want to be left bored. In the run up to the move you could download a box set of a good series you've been meaning to catch up on, some good films, load the Kindle up with books or head to the library.. (nothing that's gonna be taking up extra packing space unless you're fine with carting it all along with you). Don't fall into the trap of thinking Netflix will bridge the gap - Chris has done this twice already forgetting that you need internet to log in!

And there you have it! Now while I go pack boxes, schedule blogs for as long as possible and try to remember my own advice, you head to the comments and tell me if I've missed anything. Any tips from your own experiences?

Until next time (which could be a while, but I'll do my best to find solutions), have a great week!

Love,
Ami
xx

Pack Up The Car, I'm Moving To Belfast!

Ohey friend!

In my last blog I casually dropped in that I've moved to Belfast as if it was no biggie, when really it was quite a spur-of-the-moment decision that happened very quickly. From making the decision to moving was actually under 6 weeks - only 3 of which were spent in Bristol preparing to move (and to be really dramatic, 2 of those weeks I was either too ill to move or in and out of hospital to boot) so you might imagine things were a little hectic!

Not one to skimp on the details, I thought you'd like to know the story of the run up to the move and moving day itself. Once again we're going to skip over the romance element, except to say that it has been chick-flick perfect in it's butterfly-inducing, weepy-eyed soppy-ness. Instead we're gonna jump straight to the the whys, the hows and the journey itself.

The Whys

Aside from wanting to move in with Chris there were a few other reasons that this move made sense to me. Like I mentioned before, I've never lived outside of Bath & Bristol, which seem quite big until you look at the much, much bigger picture. I'd call myself pretty adventurous, but I know that in reality I'm rather timid and my adventures are limited to my comfort zone (or a teeny bit outside it at best). Moving not only away from my family but away from the country I was born in altogether is by far the biggest and scariest thing I've done and that can only be a good thing for me.

It also comes at a stage in my life where things are very open. I was (and still am) only working 6 hours a week for Discover Your Bounce, along with a few other clients that still only add up to a small amount of my time. I was moving back in with the 'rents, so I had no ties to bills, contracts or major responsibilities - not something you experience often! So all in all I was full of possibility and the world was my oyster! My job has come with me - I do all of my tasks virtually so there was no issue on the income front. In time I may get something part time here too or expand my virtual hours, but I'm lucky that it's not essential. I'm planning lots of visits back to Bristol and everyone is excited about visiting here, so seeing my loved ones is not the issue I originally worried it might be either.

What I'd really like to do is focus more time on getting this blog running again and making money on here. I had a little success in the past with this so I've got somewhere to start. :)

The Hows

When it became clear that we were going to be spending a lot of money on flights (and delaying flights when we didn't want to part) the actual decision to move was a rather obvious one. I booked a slightly longer visit (and then extended it by another week while I was here) and we started the house hunting process.

Housing is way cheaper here than in Bristol so we were looking for 2 bedroom houses close-ish to Chris' work. While a lot of them fit our requirements, very few lived up to expectation and a lot of estate agents expected us to have all of the paperwork ready to go the second we were ready to apply. This wasn't something we were prepared for and a lot of my stuff was still in Bristol - past experiences had said I would have time to supply all of it at a later date so I didn't think to bring it just for the viewing phase.

As fate would have it someone Chris knows is in the final stages of buying a rental property that ticks all of our boxes and then some, plus it's absolutely beautiful, so at the last minute we had somewhere to move when I returned with a car full of my belongings.

And I really do mean a car full of my belongings. We worked out that by putting the seats down the back of my car would fit 8 stackable boxes, 1 large suitcase and 2 cabin bags, plus anything we could squeeze into the gaps. So my task was to either sell, give away or throw out anything that would not fit into that space. It took a monumental effort, but with the help of my family I actually succeeded. There is now 1 box of my things at mum's to be brought at a later date, but everything else is gone or in Ireland and I consider that one of our biggest achievements to date! We didn't manage to get a good picture of the car loaded up but I promise you there was not a single gap left when we were done. Chris even had to save me at one point from falling debris - it was stacked right to the backs of our chairs! Here's a selfie I took from the Port before we got on the ferry:

Happy, smiley people!

You might be wondering why we would go to this much trouble when I could've just shipped my stuff over and hopped a one hour flight. You see, I haven't introduced you to the newest member of my family yet and she wasn't someone I would be willing to leave behind. It is with absolute delight that I introduce you to Riggle!

Just look at that face!

Riggle is a Syrian Hamster who has been with me for 10 months now and she is very aptly named. She's a little lightning bolt with the quirkiest of personalities and there was no way I was going to Belfast without her, which meant we would need to travel by car and ferry.

Not wanting to leave her unattended in the car for too long we opted to take a longer drive (7 hours) but shorter ferry (2 hours 15), meaning we had to drive to Cairnryan Port in Scotland. That is no mean feat I am telling you, especially when I was suffering from intermittent blurry vision due to medication and recovering from a week of medical experiments.. I mean tests.

The Journey

But on 31st July at 11am that's exactly what we set off to do with Riggle in a carry case on the passenger's lap. Not wanting to burden Chris with all the driving I took the first stint, while my eyesight was reliable and my energy at it's peak. I was hoping to last 2 hours, unsure I'd even make 1 but in the end I managed to rack up half of the drive myself - a whole 3.5 hours in the drivers seat! It doesn't sound like much, but I was really pleased with myself (and very tired).

Chris took the second half of the drive and we made it to the port with half an hour to spare. Chris gets a special high five at this point because the playlist he set up for us (full of 90s classics and roadtrip must-haves) was only 2 songs short of being long enough for the entire journey and that's an achievement all of its' own!

The ferry ride was uneventful - we had some food, wandered the shops and settled in the lounge until it was time to head back to the car. Leaving Riggle in the car was tough for me - I worried she would get too hot or too thirsty and the trip would be too much for her, but she was a little star and was alert and waiting for us when we got back. I've got a whole blog coming up dedicated to travelling long distances with hamsters as there's more to consider than you think!

The port is only a 15 minute drive from Chris's mum's house (where we're staying while the sale on our new home completes) so it was a quick drive and then the reverse of our morning - unpacking all the boxes and building Riggle a cage so she could sleep for the night.

Tired, boiling hot and giggling like children at how everything had somehow worked out, we eventually landed in bed at 1am.

It's been a week since I arrived now and things are going as smoothly as I could've hoped. There have been challenges (sleeping with a hamster in your room is not something I recommend) and learning lessons (finding a GP is harder than it looks if you want them to have a specialist interest in your conditions - another post for another day) but also lots of laughter and not a moment of regret.

So there you have it! I hope you had as much fun reading the story of my move to Belfast as I had trying to keep it this short. My wordy blogs have not improved with time it seems, although I promise I have some shorter ones planned for you too!

Until next time my dear..

Love,
Ami
xx

Relaunching The Blog!

Howdy! Hi! Hello?

After such a long hiatus from writing it's difficult to know how to start once again. Do I carry on like you're all old friends and we simply lost touch? Start fresh as I'm sure there's no one checking back for new content anymore? Should I apologise for my absence, pretending for a moment that anyone really noticed or cared? Or just brazenly carry on like nothing happened and the last year didn't really exist? I've gone with ramble on like a mad woman, so nothing has really changed in all this time has it?

You can guess from the title why we're here; I've decided to revamp the blog and breathe some new life into it. There are a million different reasons I stopped writing in the first place, but there's one main reason for restarting it: I've moved to Belfast! In fact, it was just a week ago.

Crazy right?

Hold Up...

So I should probably rewind a bit and explain for those who actually have read the blog before, or for any crazy people who have gone through the archives and want to understand the big jump in time, location and situation. (I doubt anyone other than me does this, but you never know..)

Earlier this year I split with my fiance Tom and moved in with my grandparents while my parents got my old room ready for me - a new paint job, a new bed, just to make it feel a little less like a backward step, y'know? I won't go into the details - this isn't a gossip blog after all. All you need to know is that it was for the best for both of us and we remain friendly, if not friends.

A huge amount happened during that time - a big family trip to Arizona, health issues that I'll discuss in another blog (I picked up a new chronic condition!), new friends were made and old ones were lost, and then there's Chris. We've been friends as long as I can remember (okay, 9 years if you want specifics) and he's always been incredibly supportive and generally awesome to me. You can tell where this is going can't you? I'll save you the rom-com style girl-falls-for-best-friend story and skip to the obvious; we are now together and you guessed it, he lives in Belfast. And now so do I.

"But Ami!" I hear you cry.. "Isn't that a bit fast?"

Why yes, opinionated stranger, it is a bit fast. But hey, life's too short and all that right? I mean, we've known each other 9 years so it's a new romantic relationship but not a new relationship in the slightest. And having spent my entire life living in the very small bubble of Bath & Bristol, I thought it was time I went on a little adventure and spread my wings. Belfast seems as good a place as any for an adventure if you ask me!

What This Means

Essentially it means I'm blogging again, but there's a little more to it than that. I'm not just picking up where I left off, I'm working on all new topics and trying to make things a lot more interesting for you guys than they were in the past. There will still be elements of the old stuff - I still love cooking and want to continue bringing you recipes that are endometriosis-friendly. I'm still planning homemade gifts, so you'll still get guides on those (if they turn out well at least..) and of course I'll carry on updating you with the more interesting elements of my life.

New elements will be related to travelling as that's one of our major goals this year: we're gonna be saving up over the next 18 months and then setting off on some kind of soul-searching adventure hopefully in 2018. So expect savings tips, planning tips, musings on the philosophy of travel and all those other obnoxious posts that people who travel share, because I'm nothing if not a stereotype!

I'll also be sharing my experiences of moving to a new country! Even though I've only moved within the UK you'd be amazed at all the things you need to think about and plan for and the things that aren't as straightforward as you'd think. Example: did you know you can only have a Tesco current account if you have a mainland UK address? I only found out while trying to switch to them (clubcard points, yo) that I can have their online saver account, but their current account will be forever out of my reach. Random, right?

I'll still be writing about my experiences with Endometriosis, fundraising for Endometriosis UK and all the wonderful things that come with it, along with new topics for my newly diagnosed condition (I really will leave the big reveal to another blog, this one is getting long!) and musings on living with chronic illnesses in general.

Summing Up

So that's all there is to it really. I'll probably aim to post 2-3 times a week at first, aiming for every day always falls short and I'd rather surprise you with bonus posts than disappoint. Hit me up in the comments if you have questions, suggestions, things you'd like to see? Just to say hello even! It's been a while after all.

Much Love,
Ami
xx