NST: Standing Firm in November

littleskintdragon

Extra money made for nov - £20 selling old sky box
£2.19 3bay
£45 m4zum4
£5 survey

£77.19!!!! Plus i have a £46 bid on fleabay finishing tomorrow. Very pleased with that!

And ive made apple and pear crumble, aling with the shepherds pie, lasagne and cawl.

Great day

Justforme

Evening all x I have had a not to bad day, lunch taken from home walked to and from work, not a Nsd as had to pick up some squash but that was out of grocery budget, and some planned Xmas gifts out of Xmas budget, hoping park vouchers are back tomorrow or Wed to finish D'S bits in 3 for 2 Argos this weekend.
Things I'm grateful for today are fab music on the radio to help me clean kitchen, my boss backing me 100% in my job and most importantly my hubby not actually killing my son playing on mine craft arghhh! !

Bipex

What a novel challenge, apple muncher! And some great ideas for how to keep to a set budget!

I'll give it a go - best wishes to all in the running!

mothernerd

Hugs for crazy cat lady and anyone else who needs/ wants one.

A busy and tiring day but mostly good (I will be on the naughty step later). Woke before the alarm, was having trouble sleeping from 4am. Gathered all my supplies and used the bus ticket (£5.20) for a preliminary run to the next town in search of American sweets (DS3's beloved is here at weekend and I am not allowed to buy her a present but some of her favourite sweets are okay).

Took time to admire the beautiful dew dusted spider web on my back fence but when I got off the bus wow. A low wall topped by metal railings (plain bars about 6" apart and 2' high) with webs between almost every pair of bars, absolutely amazing. Sweet shop has closed down though. Didn't despair as had already found another via the web, on the street outside the bus station which was my next destination.

Did stop to weigh myself (bad but not dreadful, but machine also lopped 2 and a half inches off my height - getting old but not shrinking age surely) and broke the journey home to rummage through the shed at the 'up for sale' house (which does not have a sold sticker on?) and pick up post.

Taped crutches together (today's giveaways include three crutches - pair + one from the shed - returned to the hospital, one broken alarm clock disposed of and battery put in pot on windowsill - will take to a disposal point when the pot is full) and set out early on mega trip. Second sweet shop no longer in evidence. Buses to hospital now only once an hour (lovely scenic journey) but I chatted to a man doing a trial run for his wife's upcoming op. He was traveling across two counties so it put my trip in perspective.

Went straight to my x-ray appointment and had that and the crutch drop-off (other side of hospital, of course) done with over an hour to spare before my other appointment. Weather was good (although the fog never left the fields and trees) so sat outside on a bench (someone had kindly placed a bin bag on it) and ate and read until I got cold. Found a corridor with comfy chairs until it was time for my appointment (very busy waiting room).

Was pleased to see the woman who had the next bed to me in pre-op. I saw her on the ward afterwards and then on the Saturday night she started having problems and had to be transferred by ambulance to another hospital. So very happy that she was ok in the end.

Appointment was brief. I have to go back in another six years (probably no bus service at all by then). Rushed straight out to the bus stop as it was about the time (same part of the hour) as we had arrived. Published bus times made no sense but bus arrived and driver (I was kind to another driver earlier and he was very appreciative) explained that he had a break and bus would not go till published time.

Did my daily fresh air by walking round the wooded areas of the grounds, then more reading. Chatted with another woman I'd met earlier on the return journey - I'm socially shy but have no problems talking to people at bus stops and hospitals.

When I got back to town I went in search of food bargains. Wasn't impressed by the market - it was always a bit strange and now it's worse. Outside is good but they were mostly packed up for the day. Looked in a cheap veg shop but some of the quality was dubious so did a quick YS search in the Morries (we have one but it's in a difficult place for me to get to).

I have spent £13.94 on food, some YS, some good value and lamb bones (looked at every pack and have 2 packs with chunks of meat) and diced lamb. Was undecided on a tuna salad (YS 59p but a lot of pasta in it) as by this time I was tired and aching and knew I was coming straight to bed when I got home and someone else picked it. Only had a banana left from the food I had taken with me.

There were problems at the checkout (till behaving badly) then headed straight for the bus. Unfortunately there was a pie shop on the path and I bought a beef and onion baguette. It was £2.52. I nearly died. I am so ashamed that I didn't tell the girl to keep it, I expected them to be half price at that time. The salads I rejected were cheaper than that (I thought they were overpriced) and if I had known I would need something, I would have preferred to spend some money at the friends of the hospital tea bar. Or bought a pack of cooked meat to go with the YS potato/ coleslaw.

However I was too embarrassed (will never go in that shop again). It was good (not £2.52 good) and I did eat it in the 5 minutes before the bus came (waited for the one that stops round the corner rather than a walk across the square and car park).

I will now go to the naughty step (is the naughty chaise longue still available as have taken ibruprofen and done breathing to get the pain under control). Tomorrow will be a cleaning and cooking day.

Today I am grateful for
Spider's webs
Autumn foliage - glossy green rhododendron leaves on a carpet of orange fallen leaves and a fern like thing in someones garden which changed through yellow to orange with loads of shades in between.
That a very nice lady came through her operation safely too.

apple_muncher

mothernerd - no naughty step for you, m'dear! I'd be too scared you wouldn't be able to get back up from it! And the chaise longue is being re-upholstered... You have done a super lot of exercise so just relax. Tomorrow is another day. And I'm glad they don't want you back for another 6 years - yay!

Bipex - you are added.

Dimcanada - mega jealous of your snow!

Fmess

ccl - hope your dad is feeling much better today

rawdinosaur - you do ballet? how exciting, are you a beginner or a pro?

dincanada - snow? where are you? I'm so jealous!

black cat - congratulations on debt freedom, if you're willing will you post your story to inspire those of us who are in debt?

lsd - wow on the money making!

Hope you're all watching BBC1 'Hugh's War on Waste', I'm loving it and its only been on a few minutes.

Today and yesterday were SFDs :j and I have done my three new habits (3 pieces of fruit/veg, glass of water with every meal and being completely gf).

Today I am grateful for:-
1.) My job providing me with a wage
2.) Friendly colleagues
3.) Students who were very complimentary about my new hair style!

short_bird

Took lunch to work and prepared a meal (that contained vegetables...) from the contents of the fridge and store cupboard. This is something I haven't done for some time. Only spend today was bus fare to and from work: the fog is really not pleasant.

I'm grateful for

• Finding a warmer and cheaper flat
• Feeling more optimistic.
• Having experiences to look forward to.

498louise

Good evening, I am super tired and ready for bed, I also noticed last night that I have a red eye, I think a blood vessel has burst in my eye - not sure what's caused it. Anyway, onto topic at hand...

Managed my 1st NSD today, yesterday was a spend day as I was paying things and bought an online food shop but managed not to spend any extra. Yesterday I set aside 8 items to donate to a tombola at my work and put 64 items into bags for charity. Plenty more stuff to go through so 80 items is not going to be a problem for me.

Healthy habits - yesterday and today I avoided the cans of coke and did not eat after 8pm (except mindlessly eating a couple of jelly beans without thinking last night!). Not made it to the gym yet, won't make it there till Wednesday.

Not managed the extra walks, need to work on that.

I am grateful for:
1) My hardworking husband
2) It's his birthday today and he bought us an Indian takeaway for tea out of money he was given for his birthday
3) My Mum who helps us with childcare, it's great to have that support

Night night all

The_Only_Girl

Good evening turtles!

Day 2 of our challenge and it's so inspiring to read all your successes. I think overall, it's a win-win situation for all of us. Well done guys!

Dincanada and lsk congratulations on your sales, won't be long before you reach the £80 target. And Jenner and dizzybind for the decluttering success.

Hugs to ccl and misstara for your dad and your health issues. Get well soon to your dad ccl and I hope your migraine is better misstara. I also woke up with a migraine this morning but unfortunately I couldn't call in sick. Somehow despite the very busy shift at work, the migraine has decided to disappear before midday. Oh sorry about the taxi fare misstara.

Dolly congratulations on getting your debt under 6K and being £195 in credit with your energy bill.

:T:T:T for being debt free black cat.. Enjoy the freedom!

Hurrah on the success of your business welshkitty.. May your success continue.

Three things I am grateful for today:
1. I bagged NSD number 2!
2. LTW no. 1. I was nearly tempted to go to the staff canteen for lunch today. When I woke up this morning and prepared my sandwich I was horrified to find that the wafer thin chicken in the fridge expired on the 29th! I have also ran out of cheese. But in order to keep my money in the purse, I made do with a wholemeal bap with only mayonnaise as spread. I had a piece of banana and pear for afters. When I got home at half four, hubby has already made tea, corned beef hash, using up stocks in cupboard.
3. Managed to make a big dent in my ironing mountain. One more session tomorrow afternoon and I'm all caught up.

Most of the direct debits have gone out of the bank today, a few more still pending but I have reconciled the bank account and the budget and it looks like we have a bit of a buffer or breathing space to the tune of £12.37. Fingers crossed, we can keep within or below budget and we can transfer the buffer amount to the EF.

Another good news, I had a look at the current account that holds the EF and it has gained £1.45 interest. The EF now stands at £1207.13

crazy_cat_lady

Hi everyone
I have survived relatively intact. I only lost my temper once and it wasn't until 4pm so I'll take that. :j Thanks everyone for the kind wishes - I spoke to my dad today and he sounds pretty much back to normal thankfully. He has an outpatient appointment tomorrow and has promised to start looking after himself a little bit better.
Bagged another nsd in spite of going to Mr M on the way home. I did a YS shop and the one non reduced item I bought was paid for with a voucher :T I am totally getting the hang of this.
Debt and charity payments all gone through today - bank looking fairly empty but the big stuff is gone.
Took my lunch to work as usual. I had made (last night) brie, bacon and red onion toasties with a leftover one for my lunch. Imagine my surprise this morning to get downstairs to find that one of the cats had helped themselves - and all that was left was red onion and a bread roll... :mad: Thankfully, I had leftover meatloaf in the fridge so bunged that in my bag and all was well....
Went out to my friend's exercise class and made the most of a foggy but mild evening to get my outdoor time. Got home and dh had stayed on top of the housework, so ds and I spent half an hour decluttering some books for recycling. It's nice to see things being decluttered and moved on.
I am grateful for lots of things today but
my dad is doing ok
I survived an exhausting day at work without totally losing it
The advice, support and kindness from likeminded people on here continues to make me feel humbled.