The kids love making color printings of the drawings or games they’ve done online but I don’t like them to print too much. Ink is so expensive and I like to replace it as little as possible. I wish it was cheaper because then they could print as much as they like! I think I would also do a lot more home photo printing if it was less expensive but I think for me, it’s cheaper to actually pay a company for prints. Maybe in the future they will make printer ink cheaper or just generally last longer!

I’m still going through the photos that I took for the wedding last weekend. I’m so bad when it comes to editing. I find it really monotonous and half of me just wants to get it out of the way and the other half of me would rather be playing Facebook games. The photo’s I took of the rings are my favourite ring photo’s that I’ve done in all the weddings I’ve done. The bride and I were chatting while I was taking those photos as I went to their house the day before the wedding to take photo’s of the rings. Her wedding band is very simple; just a plain gold band. She was saying that she didn’t want anything fancy as she has a big diamond engagement rings and she said she didn’t want the rings to look like they were taking over her hand! I told Alex before we got engaged that if he ever got me an engagement ring that I really didn’t want anything big. Mine is a very simple but beautiful white gold ring with three small diamonds on it. I love my ring. It’s very simple and it’s just me.

When I went up to the shops yesterday with my sister to buy bread and milk until I go shopping tomorrow evening, I saw that they had Christmas themed chocolates out on a stand. Christmas. In August. I mean, I am an early starter when it comes to Christmas shopping but early to me is the end of October! Thinking about Christmas now just makes me worried! They seem to be bringing out Christmas stuff earlier and earlier every year. A friend told me that there is a card shopping in a shopping centre that already has all its Christmas cards and decorations up for sale. It does give you plently of holiday gifts and ideas but I don’t like to think about Christmas until after the girls birthdays – 12 and 17th October – and even then it’s more “What are we doing for Halloween?” rather than “What do you want for Christmas?” I definitely need a couple more months to think about this!

I saw an old friend yesterday who I haven’t seen for a while. It was nice to catch up with her. Because it was a bank holiday yesterday, she got paid on Friday instead and she was saying that by Wednesday, she’s going to be skint again because all her car payments will be going out. That’s one reason I am glad I don’t have a car. It costs so much money. I still would really love one for the convinience of them but money wise, there would be no point. She has even shopped around the car insurance companies and has the cheapest one but because she’s a fairly new, young driver, she doesn’t have the cheapest insurance rate as it is.

Like I said the other day, I am starting back to college in two weeks. The reason I am going back to college is to get into university. I could have gone straight to university but the course I am going is specifically for adult learners who haven’t been in education for a long time and its to prepare you for university. I have decided that if money allows it, as I start my second year of university I’m going to buy myself a laptop. I will probably look around at some computer reviews nearer the time but I know I definitely want a laptop and not a desktop as I want to be able to take it to university with me. I am leaning towards a Mac instead of a PC but I’m going to see how I am financially at the time. I really hope I can afford to get myself one as I have been looking forward to it since I decided on it.

I’m so glad I don’t need to sort out health insurance. I could get it but in the UK its optional because you pay for the NHS through your wages anyway. I think the common misconception with people who don’t live in the UK is that the NHS is completely free. You do get all your doctors appointments, hospital stays, blood tests and operations for free but you have to pay for dental care, opticians and prescriptions. I don’t know what I would do if I had to pay for insurance though. I can just about afford new glasses when I need them. If you are looking for health insurance then NC health insurance is probably a good place to start.

Insurance is something that I think you get not only to help you out at those times you need it, but also to clear your mind of worry if anything were to happen. I still need to get insurance for the animals but I guess its one of those things that you think, “I probably won’t need it” and then it hits you in the face. I do occasionally look at online insurance quotes but I don’t like to do to it too often because they usually end up with follow up calls asking you if you want to purchase the insurance. It’s definitely something I want to get for both my cat and dog soon but at the moment financially, I just can’t afford to.

Its my sister’s 20th birthday in just over four weeks and sometime between then and now, we will be taking a trip to Manchester to find her a birthday dress. She decided against the fancy dress party as she wanted to buy a new dress that she could wear again and again and she knew that she would only wear a fancy dress outfit once. She wants to go to Affleck’s Palace which is our favourite selection of stores ever. Its a full building full of alternative, vintage and handmade clothes and accessories and it’s always the first place we think of when we need new clothes. I love all the Japanese stationary and soft toys they have and have to drag myself away from most of it before I make myself bankcrupt! They also have some beautiful alternative clothes including the corsets that I always eye up but have never bought yet. Maybe I will treat myself one day. I would love to own a corset.

I already have what I’m wearing for her birthday but I look forward to just going to Manchester for the day with my sister.

My sister is having a fancy dress party for her 20th birthday in August and ever since she told me about it a few months back, I’ve been trying to figure out what to go as. Last Halloween I really wanted to go as Jessie the Cowgirl from Toy Story but I could only find it in kids costumes not adult ones so I didn’t up going as her. I have been looking for a Jessie costume again this time but still haven’t really found anything that I can afford. My next plan was to go as a superhero but there are no decent female superhero’s! I don’t like Wonder Woman or Cat Woman but my sister did find me a She-Ra costume which I’m now considering. Thinking of a costume is harder than I thought.

I have been looking for a new water bottle for a while now. I only drink tap water because I can’t afford to be buying 14+ litres of bottled water per week since I drink around 2.5 litres per day and I’m sick of paying for water when I’m out and about. I haven’t really found one that I like yet but I’d like something that I can make my own like these custom water bottles. I don’t want anything too bulky because it needs to fit in my handbag and in a way, I don’t want to be paying too much money for it. It would save me money in the long run I suppose. I’ll have to keep looking until I find one I love.