Live Below the Line - Over

Well that's it .... my Live Below the Line challenge is over, and in all honesty I think this will be my final year.  I have a feeling I may have said that last year ....but this time I mean it.  It has taken a lot out of me, but I can't complain, it's only been a week, some people live this way week in week out, I know I did for a while.  But now I am lucky .... I have the choice, and it was my choice to take part in this challenge for the last five days, so I'm not complaining.

The food has been boring, even with tinkering around with herbs and bits and bobs of seasoning there is only so much you can do to spice up plain boring claggy rice.  The one wonderful thing coming out of this week is the fantastic people in blogland that have support me with their comments, emails and most wonderful of all their donations.  Cold hard cash that will go to make a huge difference to the people that really need it, and for that I thank you.  My final BIG THANKS of this week go to two more lovely donators ... Claire Perks and Hazel Owen, your donations helped me through a final tough day.  Thank you so much.

I have to say my last meal of Live Below the Line was probably the worst one, ...and poor Lovely Hubby choose to join me in it.  

The idea was good ... using up the half tin of beans and the half tine of potatoes from the fridge, adding some chopped fresh herbs and salt and pepper to try and spice things up a bit .... it didn't work.  Bland 'bean burgers' on claggy rice served with plain boiled vegetables is most definitely a meal to be forgotten.

Now left lurking in the freezer is two thirds of a bag of frozen vegetables.

I checked the weight after I tipped out the veggie for the last meal, I'm turning into an obsessive!!

In the cupboard there is about a quarter of a jar of peanut butter and the onions ....

... nine onions in fact.  

I should have made better use of them, I am ashamed I left them languishing there,  My only excuse is lack of vitamins and unsatisfying meals somehow dried up my inspiration and my desire to experiment flew out of the window.

And I forgot all about my little saved carrot!!

I kept tabs on what I ate and what each days meals and drinks cost me, maybe I should have left the paper workings out and concentrated more on just making the food.  Oh well it's too late now.

I did what I said I would do and shopped for the local Foodbank.  

My plan was to spend the twenty pounds that I would normally have spent on my food and donate it to the Foodbank, to keep some of the benefit of Live Below the Line in my local area, but I got a bit carried away and it came to just over thirty pounds.  But fate had a pleasant surprise in store for me and the till spat out a voucher for £9 off my next shop, it gave me a smile.  Karma if you believe in that sort of thing.

Here's a final link to my fundraising page, just so you can nip over and see my brilliant final total, I'll tell you anyway just in case you don't have the time to visit.  Between us, me and all the fantastic folk that donated their hard earned cash, we managed to raise the sum of £411, that is a whole one hundred and eleven OVER my target. 

I would like to say a massive thank you to all of you.

Have a good weekend.

Sue xx