According to a fair few Calendars, Count Downs, etc, Christmas is 86 days away.  Yep. That’s right folks, Holidays are Coming!
Some shops have their Christmas stock out, cards, wrapping paper, gifts, chocolates, cakes, mince pies.  It’s not even Halloween yet!!

But even still, I have actually started our Christmas gift buying!  Now normally I don’t start until the beginning of November and I like to have everything wrapped by mid-December (cause i’m anal like that) all pretty with bows and crap, however we have (we being my husband and I) 24 people to buy for.  24! (that’s a lot of wrapping this year)

I figured that with so many to buy for, if I buy a few each month in September and October, that by December we won’t be completely broke. (clever eh) plus it means if I can go shopping without pushing my way through harassed parents, screaming kids and annoying tweens and teens, then that’s not all bad.

so pretty soon we’ll be seeing this on our TV screens.

bet you’ve got that song in your head now…. and if not….. here you go!

Holidays are coming
Holidays are coming
Holidays are coming
Holidays are coming
Holidays are coming
Holidays are coming

Tease the season
Watch out
Look around
Something’s coming
Coming to town (Coming to your town)

Dooh dooh dooh…
Always Coca Cola (Coming to your town)

Something magic
In the night
Can’t you see it
Shining bright (Shining bright)

Badada…
Always Coca Cola

Here is today’s recipe for my Chilli Con Carne.

Last Sunday was our 1st Wedding anniversary.  As it was our 1st, we decided to have a weekend away and enjoy ourselves.  We took a 2hr train ride out of London and headed North to the Forest of Arden in Coventry.
As my husband works for a well known International hotel chain, we got a pretty good deal.
We arrived at the station and got a taxi to our Country Club and Golf Resort, and it was BEAUTIFUL.

Long sweeping drive way, gorgeous views, and a helicopter, a nice sleek black helicopter on the lawn in front of the hotel.  It was sleek and awesome and I wanted it.  Then there was this. The Lobby.

We checked in and headed up to our room, and it was pretty and nice and had an awesome view over looking one of the golf courses.  A king sized bed with extra pillows and it was just comfy.

On the saturday we decided to take a trip to Warwick Castle, which is just beautiful.  Makes you want to be a princess and live in a castle.

I mean, how pretty is that?  Doesn’t it make you want to have a castle?  just amazing.  We sat down to watch the Trebuchet in action, and be harrassed by a few ducks.  Over all it was great.  I personally loved the boat house by the river.  So pretty.

Then we headed back to the hotel to relax.  I went for a swim and hot tub.

Sunday it was our anniversary and my wonderful husband arranged for me to have a few treatments at the spa.  It was totally relaxing and amazing.

We relaxed for the whole day and on Monday we had to come home.

Overall it was an amazing weekend.

Today I made spicy cornbread muffins. and they were delicious.

Here is the recipe so that you can try them for yourself.
Makes approximately 10 muffins.

120g of plain flour
20g of self raising flour
140g of cornmeal
2 teaspoons of baking powder
60g of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 egg
240mls of whole milk
60mls of vegetable oil
1 medium sized red chili
1 teaspoon of caribbean hot sauce

Directions

1. Seive the flour(s), cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl.
2. Beat the egg in a small bowl and add to the dry ingredients.
3. Add the milk and oil to the bowl and mix thoroughly.
4. Add the hot sauce.
5. Finely chop the chilli and add to the mix.
6. Spoon mixture into a muffin tray that has been lined with greaseproof paper and bake in the oven (gasmark 6/200C/400F) for 22 minutes.

I find that using grease proof paper for the muffin wrappers gives it a more rustic look than regular muffin papers.You can also add a lot of things to them, such as a tin of corn (drained of course) and red peppers, courgettes, and cheddar, or mix and match.  Whatever takes your fancy!

Enjoy!

So back in August (in fact only 22 days ago) I blogged about the ridiculous bank charges my bank tried to levy on my account.

In my last post I didn’t name my bank, however as I’m about to rant about them again, I think it’s only my duty the public to warn you of who they (the bank) are so you can all steer clear of their money grabbing products and dreadful customer services.

2 days ago I got letter/statement from the bank to advise that I hadn’t paid the correct minimum payment on my credit card, and that I was in fact £1.20 short, and typical of the bank they requested it be paid immediately, and also if I’d already paid it to ignore the letter, and reminded me that in their terms they could just take the money out of my account if they so wished.
At that point (the point where I read the first part of the letter) I realised I must have not read the internet banking statement properly, as I didn’t pay the right amount (by £1.20) and made a note to pay it (the £1.20) as well as the £12 charge they put on for a late payment.

note to self, even if you pay the bill on time, if you don’t pay the full amount, then it counts as a late payment and defaults on your credit score and you get charged £12. fuckers.

So I put it on my list to pay on my day off. (which is tomorrow).
At about 6pm, I got an SMS text from my bank, asking me to get in touch a.s.a.p and giving me a number to call (an 0845 number, which from mobile phones (cells) is like £1 per minute!).  I called, and waited in a queue for about 5 minutes (£5) and then
Bank: Hello.
Me: um, hello?
Bank: hello, this is Bank, can I help?
Me: I received a text asking me to call urgently, please can you tell me what’s going on?
We go through security checks
Bank: Your account had been passed to the collections department as you did not pay the correct amount shown on your bill last month.  Your card has also been blocked so you won’t be able to use it.
At that point I had a massive rant at the guy on the phone, and he didn’t speak to answer any questions I asked, he just stayed silent, perhaps thinking my questions where rhetorical ones, which in fact they were not, and he just seemed to be a bit on the slow side with no customer care/complaint handling training or experience.  In the end I hung up on him.  I don’t usually hang up on people, but I was pissed off and he was freaking useless.

Ok, I admit, it’s my fault.  Had I read it properly I would have paid the correct amount.  I fully deserve a telling off.  But seriously, passing my account to the collections department for £1.20?  It’s a bit extreme. (not to mention that only a week ago they hiked my interest up to 19 odd percent APR, the shits.)
I could understand if I’d not paid the bill for 2 months, but £1.20 default payment?
Considering I have never defaulted on a payment, never paid too little (until now) and according to the branch staff and the telephone banking staff “Mrs Masters, you run your accounts so well”.  or this one “Mrs Masters, you are a vauled customer”.
AS IF.
If I was a valued customer, I certainly wouldn’t be treated in this manner (economic crisis or not).

It seems to be that banks have forgotten that their customers CHOOSE to use them.  We aren’t forced to.  There is no law that says everyone HAS TO bank with XYZ.  So I’m very confused as to why they still have my custom.  After 9 years, you can bet your ass that unless they respond to my complaint letter (oh yes I did – 8 pages!!) with a decent proposal as to how they can retain my custom, then I shall be leaving.  In fact, I think tomorrow morning, I’m going to close my 3 savings accounts with them.

I left the Abbey (now Santander) when they stopped treating me like a valued customer, so I won’t hesitate to do it to my current bank.

I leave you with these.

I realised today that I have a problem, OK OK, so I realised this a while ago, whatever.
I have an issue about things having to be matching.
When I set the dinner table, all the cutlery MUST match.  The plates must match, as must the wine glasses, and the napkins. and the table cloth matching the napkins, and the placemats.  and the colours must all go together.
The serving utensils must match.  All the place settings should match, plates in same positon, napkins in same position, glasses in same position.  You see?
like here.

and then….

The bedsheets must match.  2 pillow cases must match the duvet set, and 2 pillow cases must match the fitted sheet.  The two cushions do not match, this I don’t like, however I suspect that if I went out and bought new matching cushions for the bed spreads (we have 3 different sets, so that’d be like 3 sets of cushions) my husband wouldn’t be too happy and also we’d have no where to store the cushions not in use.

Everything MUST MATCH.

and clean.  not just clean, but CLEAN. like fresh, no germs, pristine kinda clean. I’d say Hospital clean, except hospitals are actually rather dirty/unclean places (seriously, have you been in an NHS hospital recently?!?)
Kitchen tea-towels, if they feel damp/wet/look dirty, they go in the washing machine.
Same with Bathroom towels, and mats.
and plates, and cutlery, and glasses.  IT MUST BE SPOTLESS. i.e. no water marks!
(my husband will tell you, if it doesn’t meet my requirements, then I re-wash it)

I go grocery shopping and come back having spent approximately £25-30 on cleaning materials.  Anti-bacterial spray, wipes, floor cleaner. Bleach, washing detergent, washing up liquid, fabric softner, stain remover, white wash whitener, air fresheners.  Sponges, cloths, mops.  Dusters, polish, limescale remover (don’t even get me started on the kettle!) toilet cleaner, shower cleaner, glass cleaner.
I spend so much on cleaning products, that once Tesco gave me a voucher for £6 off, each time I spent more than £30 on cleaning products!

it’s not flicking the lights on 37 times before I enter or leave a room, nor is it chewing each mouth of food 40 times before I swallow, but it is some sort of OCD. I think.

Ok, so I checked on Wikipedia, there’s not just OCD but OCPD too. These are 2 different things, and possibly I have both… or a combination of the two?  If it’s a combination of the two, is that a new disorder, or is it that you have both, but only borderline for both?  Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ll ever know, because there is no way that I’m officially adding either (or both) of these disorders to my list of illnesses.
OCD (taken from the Wikipedia page linked above)
Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry, by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing anxiety, or by a combination of such thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions). Symptoms may include repetitive hand-washing; extensive hoarding; preoccupation with sexual or aggressive impulses, or with particular religious beliefs; aversion to odd numbers; and nervous habits, such as opening a door and closing it a certain number of times before one enters or leaves a room. These symptoms can be alienating and time-consuming, and often cause severe emotional and financial distress. The acts of those who have OCD may appear paranoid and come across to others as psychotic. However, OCD sufferers generally recognize their thoughts and subsequent actions as irrational, and they may become further distressed by this realization.
OCD is the fourth-most-common mental disorder, and is diagnosed nearly as often as asthma and diabetes mellitus.^[1] In the United States, one in 50 adults has OCD.

OCPD (taken from the Wikipedia page linked above)
Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is a personality disorder which involves an obsession with perfection, rules, and organization. People with OCPD may feel anxious when they perceive that things are not right. This can lead to routines and rules for ways of doing things, whether for themselves or their families.

p.s.  you can’t be sectioned for such things can you?  if you can, then this post is totally fictional. just sayin.