Ways to save money

With summer holidays coming up and lots of us going away for short or long breaks abroad or at home, it's easy to over spend. I, for one, have been finding out that stretching the budget too much isn't good at all; not for the long term especially. So, I have been finding out ways to save or even to make some extra doh.
Maybe these will help you too, mums or busy parents and especially if you are job hunting:

1. An easy way to make some extra cash and declutter your house, garage or shed is to flog things that you don't need on eBay. The best and most rewarding way is to wait for no fee auctions (when you don't need to pay to sell something). These come up quite often; just keep an eye out for them.
2. Take online surveys and do reviews of products. They often pay you per survey or review and although it doesn't sound like much at first, it does add up since it doesn't take long to complete a survey or do a review.
3. Become a product tester or mystery diner. Search for these terms online and you'll find websites coming up that give you the option to sign up to eat at restaurants or test a product or even to shop at certain shops for free, with a reward in cash or gift vouchers.
4. If you have a talent or a skill, why not try and sell it? If you know a language, or play an jnstrument, post an ad for tuitions/lessons for a fee of your choice (keeping it reasonable and local is your best bet). Similarly if you have a hobby such as crafting, try selling your crafts online  (e.g, greeting cards, crochet items, knitted wares, sewn or embroidered items to personalise belongings). 
5. If you are a blogger or have a website, you can make money via adverts too.

OK,  hope that helps....If I missed anything valuable, I will update this section soon. See ya!

Nat x

Life is busy and it's all about fitting in some quality family time. My daughter and myself have been busy lately. I, for one, have been cooking and baking and my daughter has been helping sometimes. Together we made jewelry and lots of going out and visiting friends and places. We saw the Jungle Book at the cinema this half term break. The break is nearly over; after the weekend, we are going back to school and work. Here are some pictures to show what we have been up to. Some photos are on my phone and haven't transferred them to my tablet yet...above are the quick but yummy cupcakes we made on Thursday morning to take to my friend'save place to share with all of them.

Right above are the delicious naan bread I made to have with the scrumptious chicken curry I concocted. Then just beneath the picture of the naan bread is one of the lovely pancakes. We filled them with honey and lemon juice or chocolate spread of even jam and butter.

Hi there readers! How are you? Hope you are feeling better than
I am because I have a sort of cold/bug that is making me feel pretty ill.
However, I did promise some friends a couple of recipes and I wish to share them now. I will give you the one for Mauritian style curry and maybe fried rice noodle as well.
For the curry, you will need those ingredients and it will serve 2 adults easily:

• Curry powder (hot, mild or medium) - 2 heaped tablespoons 
• Vegetable oil - 2 good turns
• 2 fresh tomatoes or 2 tinned ones
• a bunch of coriander 
• 3 curry leaves
• a quarter of a large onion or half a small one
• 1 big clove garlic or 2 small ones
• 1/2 cm piece of ginger
• any meat or fish that you wish to curry (you can alternatively use hard boiled eggs)
• Seasoning (salt and pepper)

Method:
Start by cutting you meat/chicken/fish into pieces, seasoning them with salt and pepper and frying them in oil. Drain and put aside, leaving the oil in the pan. If there is more than 2 tbsp of oil, get rid of some or if there is too little, then add some.
Blend together the tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger and coriander until well blended into a puree. Now heat up the oil on medium low and place the curry leaves and curry powder in it, stirring quickly and adding some water to make a thin paste. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato blend to the curry paste and cook on medium high heat for about 5 minutes then reduce the heat and let the whole thing simmer for 15 minutes. Check occasionally that the mixture is not becoming dry; if it is, then adjust the consistency with hot water to get a runny paste. At this point, it is good to check the seasoning and to add salt if required. Near the end of the cooking time, transfer the meat/chicken/fish or hard boiled eggs to the pan and simmer 2 more minutes before switching off and letting it stand for about 10 minutes before eating.