NST February Challenge : A Winter Voyage

Evening everyone
Meal planning and massive weekly shop done - £79.63. This is a massive chunk of the monthly food budget so I'm really hoping that this all works out for us. Bought lots of useful stuff rather than fancy stuff
I decided to spend my tenner in Aldee on wool. Not that I need any more at all, but when you can get 4 balls of wool in there for the usual price of one then it has to be worth doing. My shore leave will be spent watching Netflix and knitting or crocheting.
Today I'm grateful for:
spending some time with dd (this is precious to me now she's far too cool for her mother)
naughty tortie eating again (she didn't yesterday)
having taken the time to meal plan the week ahead.

What a lovely challenge from Captain abundant.

No my bedroom is not a tardis (I wish it were). That is why everything ends up on the bed with me. Could be worse. Three years ago I was sharing my bed with a crowbsr. The attic stairs had been dismantled for repair. They were in the room I was using as were all the tools being used. I felt safer with the crowbar on the side of the bed I wasn't sleeping on, rather than falling over it or stubbing my toes on it in the middle of the night.

Fmess excellent weight loss and good luck with the clear out.

Marmalade, jam and chutney mountains - a foreign land to me as the are all verboten.

Nannyg crafting is so relaxing and absorbing, isn't it. I am quite glad that I no longer have to make things with the boys to give to all the people who helped us out.

EE well done on the no evening cooking.

mrshubbard DS3 useed naans to dip in his soup last week. I gave him the choice of naans or crispbread (keeping my NSD).

FurryBeastOz be kind to yourself when the black dog is around but when you are feeling stronger write a list of all the (non junk food) things that help raise your mood. It's difficult to think what to do when you are in the midst of it, so it helps to have a list to refer to.

x-raphael-xx well done on adjusting your wardrobe to suit the new you. I only do simple (match 3) games but the penguins are rather addictive - I was stuck on a particular level on my regular games and found these new ones. All similar but all a bit different.

ccl well done on the meal planning (something I am a bit lax about - I batch cook then put eg 6 chilli on my freezer list, always portion it up, then cross off as I take them out and use them). If wool is what makes you happy then it is money well spent.

Went for my morning walk before the sirens started calling to the crowds. No snow here but the 'rain' drops were like ice needles.

I ahve reached the stage were the embroidery stuff could be sorted into piles (about 7 - patterns/ patterns with wip/ finished goods/ material (most of it is away in baskets and boxes, this is mainly the off cuts I was trying to use up - the baby blocks before Christmas were cut from them)/ my own patterns (wip)/ books, mags and booklets/ stationery (mainly graph paper for designing)/ regular sewing bits (cotton reels, zips, ribbons) and a pile of domestic (events, activities, places to visit + things like the card for the locksmith in case I need him again). Added quite a bit to the other categories and have a huge pile of recycled plastic pockets from discarded patterns.

I can see parts of the mattress. Just as I think I am getting to the end, I find another container full. However the end is in sight.

Today I am grateful for the gammon joint I cooked a week ago (has fed me once a day, all week), for the prospect of a proper bed with clean sheets and lots of room just for me (hopefully the sorted embroidery stuff can go on the shelves in the front room, maybe with one piece in the bedroom for when I can't sleep) and for making sense of the jumble and being in control again.

Hello all. I hope you all had a wonderful Saturday, and that tomorrow will be even better.

First of all a million thanks to abundant for being such a great challenge leader. Your attention to details is second to none. Re: Valentine's Day, Hubby and I have already agreed not to get sucked in by the commercialisation of Valentine's Day, or any other special days for that matter. We know that we love each other and we could express our loves in many ways other than material things. We don't have to give each other any presents for the sake of giving presents because it's what everybody does. We both know what we want and what we need.

My aches and pains are gone now bar my left knee which is throbbing like mad at the moment. I don't think it's due to the exercise class we attended last Tuesday because it's a different kind of pain. And it's swollen and hot too and I cannot bend or step on it either. I've taken an anti-inflammatory tablet this evening (naproxen plus paracetamol) so if it doesn't subside tomorrow, I might see the out of hours doctor.

Today was not NSD. We had to go out and buy a new backpack and school shoes for DS2. We were lucky to get them for a very good price of £20 each in Tk Mx. We do have a budget for clothes and shoes but luckily we didn't have to touch it. £30 came from the change we got from the boiler maintenance fees (we budgeted £100 but the boiler man only charged us £70) and we had £10 cash back from our bank for our utilities bills. While we were at the shopping mall, hubby and DS2 commented on how infrequent we visit the mall, the last being more than a year ago, it's been that long we can't remember exactly when. Outside the mall, a road traffic accident happened just as we were leaving which blocked one of the major routes in and out of the shopping centre, my hubby decided to wait for the traffic to subside by going to ikea and have our evening meal there. Meal, dessert and drinks for 3 for £20 is not bad. We didn't have to take it from the dining out budget as we still have £20 for this week's grocery budget.

When we got home we looked at our budgets and bank accounts and I am excited to declare that the EF has now grown again from £8172.18 to £8285 which is due to £90.15 transferred from quidco and £22.86 savings from direct debits.

With regards to the Isle of Aphrodite, I have a budget of £30 in our budget to spend however I like, but I am yet to decide what I want to spend it on, or if I want to spend it at all.

Before I head to my cabin to have my beauty sleep and recharge myself for cabin duties tomorrow, busy day plannned, I want to ask if any of my shipmates here have had any recent experiences with the teletext holidays as it exist right now. It's our 20th wedding anniversary in April and we are thinking of a short getaway to somewhere a bit warmer than the United Kingdom. I went online and I found this great deal on teletext, for 4 nights in Algarve, all inclusive, hotels, flights and transfers for £340. Being a NST I'm reluctant to part with my money. It looks like a very good deal, but is it too good to be true? I've seen some reviews on teletext but as we know online reviews are not necessarily the true representation of the truth as most of the people who comment as those who are disgruntled but the ones who are happy with their holidays don't necessarily comment. Please help me with your insight before I make the mistake of losing my hard earned and hard saved cash. Thanks.

Hello,
Spend day today. Big shop and stuff for my diy passion. Also visited FIL, he'll be 80 this year and is doing great esp after just having had a bad fall and another cataract op.

I don't dread valentines day. It's my birthday and the day DH proposed three years ago

Night night

The_Only_Girl wrote: »

I will check if there are any groups in our area running classes like that. My friend is suggesting we tried Zumba next Tuesday. Here's wishing my knees good luck....

If you're unused to exercise (I have no idea whether you are or not, so please don't be offended if you are a regular exerciser) perhaps consider Zumba Gold - tends to be aimed at older people or none exercisers/ returners to exercise - less high impact moves but can still burn 300- 325+ calories in a 45min session, for example
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