Jem's field notes

We had some sunshine here in jemjabella-land today, so despite the chill in the air, everyone was wrapped up warm and shoved into the garden (and as such both kids were asleep for 6:30pm despite Oliver having late nap!) I’ve re-potted my strawberry babies from the runners last year into their allotted tyre and did… read full entry »

I’ve been watching the Free Our Kids project with some interest over the past few weeks and my feelings are a mixture of ‘hoorah’ (for the effort) and a smug ‘so what?!’ I don’t mean to be smug, really. I am genuinely interested in what Harriet is trying to do, but overwhelmingly I feel like… read full entry »

When I was approached about reviewing Silly Slippeez, the first thing that crossed my mind was “do these come in adult sizes?” I like to call it being in touch with my inner child. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which way you look at it) they only do children’s sizes. My feet continue un-slippeezed :(… read full entry »

Or the closest I’ll ever get ;p I’ve been interviewed by Ryan Gibson for his home-working site Generation Y Working; you can read the interview here » Interview with Web Developing, Home Working Mum Jem Turner

Eagle-eyed visitors will notice some slight changes here: the addition of a third column, changes to the footer, etc. I’ve converted my theme to run off the genesis framework (mostly for the power of the widgets and templates and all that crap). In theory it means easier maintenance in the future, and has taken about… read full entry »

I figured that if we’re going to be serious about this mortgage free in 5 years thing, I should be looking at where our money is going before we look at how much we can start moving over in overpayments. This is made slightly more time-consuming by the fact I have the joint account AND… read full entry »

Sorry about the cheaty back-dating of this one ;) I’ve got several posts in the works re: my new goal to pay off the mortgage etc but am poorly so not getting time / energy to finish them :( 01st: (Homemade) Pizza night 02nd: Frugal cake-fest 2013 03rd: Bangers & mash 04th: Poached pollock &… read full entry »

I’ve been holding off commenting on the Government’s proposed changes to childcare because it means admitting that I still feel guilty over a fairly major part of her upbringing so far; that there isn’t a day goes by when I don’t question whether or not I did the right thing… whether or not I’m still… read full entry »

One of the things I see other people fall into the trap of too often with this budgeting lark (no, not me, far too smart.. cough cough) is buying into false economies. In other words, investing in something that appears to be a bargain but doesn’t really benefit or save money in the long run…. read full entry »

Last meal plan post of January, huzzah (and only slightly late). Not as tight on the veg this week because I wanted to use up leftovers and bought a cheap chicken to get February meals in for as little as possible (more on that at a later date). 27th: Chilli & rice 28th: Wraps with… read full entry »