Nst; fearless february

Synonymous

Hey everyone, hope the weekend has gone well - good work on some fantastic debt-busting guys, and only six weeks into 2015. Pippy don't be worried about posting when you're down, sharing our problems makes us closer and everyone needs to vent sometimes.

Well, I did get invited on a date last night, but I had a migraine (and I still don't want to 'do' valentine's day, even though people think you're just bitter because you're single!). I have planned my week and mostly stuck to it today - Was at Aldi when it opened, then got stuff for the allotment and returned some curtains I don't need which will pay for the PJs and wool jumper I got in the Next sale and are my new best friends Scoped out some cheap bikes but a friend has recommend I check out a recycled bike place nearby which would be cheaper but better quality.

Made soup in the slow cooker, ate had loads of veg fri and sat and had at least five today too, and went to the festival and remembered a friend who passed last year which was beautiful and calming and puts everything into perspective in our short and fleeting lives.

Finished off with some exciting spending and have booked everything for my trip to Oslo, Norway in May! I'm presenting at a conference, and it is covered by my research funding once I've claimed it back so very exciting and hoping to get a very cheap student ticket to the Opera whilst I'm there (Never been! What do I wear!? Do I get binoculars on a stick!? Who knows!) Will have to take most of my food as it's one of the most expensive cities in the Universe or something.

Will update all my totals later, I'm having a pamper session and doing my physio before bed in accordance with my strict plan for this week!

Hugs to all turtles, and apologies for any excessive exclamation marks (!!!:eek:!!!) I didn't realise I was this giddy until I started typing.

Synonymous

Forgot to also say, Loveadove glad to see you're fighting your corner - looks like your unique experiences and potential added value to the uni above the hoards of teenagers has come up against a 'computer says no' worker drone - with your proactivity I'm sure you'll get around them and in contact with the big cheese in no time.

mothernerd

Dizzy Imp it's fine to keep paddling, every turtle is amazing.

Calling14 :eek: to dentist's. I was also tempted by the takeaway but settled for a butty and a handful of peanuts (I should be stuffed anyway). Congratulations on the debt clearing (and to Fmess) and bird watching adventures (sazzlebegood also).

WelshKitty DS2 was using his phone to keep up to date on the rugby (U) score and also on our local rugby (L) match - one of his friends (old U team-mate) was at the game. On the strength of today's win (we beat Bradford after trailing early on) DS2 and my mother have decided they are going to Wembley.

Apple muncher why are you making more bunnies? I know you were making one each for various nephews and nieces for Christmas - did you get orders for more of them. Wasn't sure if you had posted about it and I had missed it. Are you going to make bunny clothes for next year? - I made a waistcoat for my brother's bear when we were young (think mum asked me to 'help' him but his part was giving specifications).

pippy1971 we all have times when it seems to be one thing after another (my kitchen ceiling fell in, due to a leak under the bath, just after I had spent all my money on a damp proof course and at exactly the moment when my builders were at the airport flying off on their holidays). That's when we turtles help one another through. Keep following the thread even if you don't feel up to posting.

I have had a lovely day. It was my cousin's 60th birthday celebration and quite a few of us went for a carvery meal, 6 cousins, my mother and two remaining aunts, one uncle and various children and grand-children. Birthday cousin and one aunt and uncle live down south and we agreed a while ago to try to get together to celebrate every now and then (we had reached the age when we only got together at funerals). The last one was DS2's 21st (seven years ago) and a slightly different mix to today.

Lovely food, good company (sat opposite boastful cousin but near to auntie I most wanted to see) and even had a glass of prosecco late on (not banned but prefer to save my empty calories for cake) and I was pleased with the way the present turned out. Only spent £1.90 and had allocated £10. Now have the added task of writing out a family tree for DS2. Going to do my optimism practice now (thinking of adding a toyboy today).

Today I am grateful for family, for gentle comfortable socialising and lovely weather.

liltdiddylilt

Hi guys

Stewby thank you, that is so sweet. I will be back. I just have a shedload on my plate and it wasn't the safe place it has always been. It is getting back there now.

As for all you sarcy sods... still no bank card. Lucky I have 4 more and an empty credit card to play with lol. How can she do away with it when she is on one floor in a flat with no way to get it outside! :rotfl:

SFD again today. Was naughty yesterday and spent £40.66 on some 200 thread count king size bedding. Fitted sheet, duvet and 2 pillow case set, and 2 other pillowcases. Slept so well and was warm and comfortable without the leccy blanket. I did get a nasty migraine which woke me at 1:30am and kept me so until morning. I couldn't move to get tablets as I felt so sick. Washed out day. Cleaned, cleaned more, mopped the floor twice thanks to Jellytot spilling an entire cup of tea, and then *helping* me mop up by tipping the bucket. Used 500g of mince and made 4+ portions of shepherds pie, and4+ more of chilli. red lentils to bulk both out and black eyed beans and red kidney beans in the chilli proud!

Sleep tight all. xx

SFD: 9/15
Groceries: £92.17/£150

MagicCat

Hello Turtles,

Hope everyone is OK and having a good Monday. I retreated into my shell rather over the weekend - it feels like cold/virus is never ending, and I was feeling a bit low. I did manage to grocery shop, realised halfway round asdal that cold has affected my asthma so my breathing was really not good, sounded like my dad (who sadly has COPD and is a lifelong 40 a day smoker) - not good! And I'm over my grocery budget, mostly as we had inlaws round for a meal on Saturday, and bought them wine and cheese.:(

Anyway, I have finally updated my totals - no more SFDs, as yesterday I had to go and get hoover bags - OH had 'helpfully' emptied the last bag, found we'd run out and...done nothing, it took me a while to realise why the hoover wouldn't go when I tried it. Men! :mad:(with apologies to abundant and any other guys on this thread who obviously wouldn't do anything so useless!)

Thriftylass - hope you had a nice birthday, how was the home made beer?

Loveadove - so sorry to hear about uni response. As others have said, I think you're quite right to chase and get more info - at the very least, they should help you understand what you would need to do in future to be considered. Fingers crossed you get better news. Re the house - I am a great believer in the 'feel' of houses, I think it's definitely worth seeing and thinking about how it 'feels' to you. My parents bought the house we lived in when I was a teenager after it had been on the market for a long time, because the previous owner had sadly taken her own life there. We were really unsure, but from our first visit it felt 'welcoming' if that makes sense, and was a lovely family home. But previous to that we lived in a new build that had had (I think) only one other family living there before us, no problems we knew of, but never felt safe or home like - we were really glad to leave.

Lilt - sorry to hear thing s have been difficult, hope you're OK and can still pop in here at least. Love Jelly's MSE ways with your bank card!

Mothernerd - so nice to hear your family party was good.

Pippy71 - so sorry to hear things are particularly tough at the moment, it always seems to feel like everything happens at once. Hang on in there, things will get better - and all the changes you've made over the past few months are still so positive and getting you where you want to go.

Fmess :Tfor debt busting and :T:j:T for Harry Potter World - I would love to go there one day!

Have a good start to the week everyone.

SFD: 7/15
Groceries: £209.80/£200
Dentist/optician £5/£20
Petrol and travel: £51.05/£110
Birthdays: £25.76/£30
Social: 0/£40
Food bank donation - done
15 mins/day - this will be decluttering or mindfulness meditation 7/28
Exercise 7/25

thriftylass

Arghhh. Weekends are overrated esp with kids. Never feel relaxed any more. Birthday was alright, beer was flat. Sorry just fed up today with not being my own boss anymore but my life being dictated by other people. I know I wanted two kids but I just don't cope very well at the moment with never ever being alone anymore (only child myself, bit of a loner and only met OH at 26, used to/need time on my own for my sanity). I can't just go in the garden and weed, can't just do what needs doing there and then. Same chores day in and out. Sorry in a foul mood today. Anyway....

Did a weekly shop on Sat and will update my figures any minute.

EDIT My apologies for whinging. Went for a quick walk in the sunshine to pick up a repeat prescription I had forgotten about and feel better. Think I will need to make a list of things to achieve every night after work after the kids are in bed so I don't feel like I'm constantly chasing my own tail. Even if that means no spare time after work either. Part of my problem is that I see jobs needing done everywhere and most jobs like cleaning are hardly worth it as all my effort is undone within a day. I think things will get easier as the days get longer. The short dark days up here get me down. Come on Spring, hurry up

mothernerd

Weekly mini challenge week Three

Fears and Frogs

Sorry it's late - fell asleep last night. This was going to be next week's challenge but poor old brain won't work on an alternative.

As it's Fearless February I thought we should have a go at facing some of our fears. I am not expecting anyone to have a go at bungee jumping but we all have things that make us uncomfortable, so just want you to try something slightly out of your comfort zone.

If you can't think of anything or if you can only think of big things that would need to be tackled in stages, then the alternative is to eat a frog. For those who haven't heard the term before there is a story of a man who would start each day by eating a frog. When asked why, he replied that after eating the frog, everything else he had to do that day was easy.

So a frog is any task that you have been putting off - something that continually slips to the bottom of your to do list, an awkward phone call, someone you should apologise to (or thank - the gratitude practice suggested writing a letter or personally thanking someone from your past but it was a bit too 'American' for me). When we put things off like this, the task gets bigger and harder in our minds and by doing it (eating the frog) we feel so relieved and it makes our other tasks easier by comparison.

Share your experiences if you want to but if it is personal and you don't want to talk about it, just tell us that it has been done.

One of my things is that I am very bad in social situations and as it has mostly been me and DS3 for the past few years I am very out of practice. I wanted to go to yesterday's party more than I was afraid but have still had to work on not letting 'the fear' escalate over the past few weeks. I have a couple of other things I want to try this week and the frog is writing two more e-mails to the energy company detailing my disappointment at their latest bills (£88 worth of gas for an empty house in a month), and listing the errors they have failed to put right - it's going to the ombudsman next week as all they have done is give me a 'complaint number' for each account. The credit they have 'given' me has been wiped out by further extortionate estimated bills, despite having been given readings (3 in January).

See you later turtles.

WelshKitty85

Mothernerd I have been told twice in the last week (by two different people) to 'feel the fear and do it anyway'. I think it's going to be my mottto for the next year or so whilst I apply for new jobs, attend interviews and (hopefully) leave the comfort of my current job.

Calling14

Can we have whinging award? Feel like moaning today, its not just you Thrifty. Understand where you are coming from can't get anything done with kiddies in tow. I am just still full of cold, sore throat and teeth feel horrible.

Faced my frog / fear without much success. Took out a contract with talktalk for 14.72 a month and for ages taking over 18.00 out of my account. They had to explain in lots of detail which elements had incurred price rises still not happy, but at least I know now.

Today had spent money by 8.15 early morning trip to lidls. Needed milk, bread, will up date my signature later.

Hometime for me in a bit and have booked a day off tomorrow to enjoy the sunshine?

NinjaSavingKat

I like seeing this. All the way in Vietnam. Well done Turtles! x