NST February Challenge : A Winter Voyage

Massa1982

Secret stowaway coming out of hiding from behind the secret stash of valentines chocolate someone had hidden.

Ran out of time for posting in Jan's challenge and hope to be better at keeping up this month.

Have a busy week coming up with relatives visiting so will need to take stock and have some shore leave.

So far have bagged 3 NSDs, only used £15.76 of allotted £200 food budget and have a £95.40 left for personal spends. Everyone has been recovering from the lurgies in this bunk so lots of rest and taking stock needed till everyone is 100 % full steam ahead.

Today I am grateful for,
1) monster having massive nap 4 hrs!
2) catching up with finances and being under budget for nearly everything in Jan
3) Spending Quality time with OH like we used to when we first met.

crazy_cat_lady

Today has mainly been about my being a slob. I woke up with a headache (not rum related Captain as I don't even drink alcohol) and feeling a bit grumpy and anxious so decided not to try too much today. I've cleaned my deck, cooked up supplies, and am ready for the week ahead at work, as are the smalls.
So busy with the cooking and cleaning that I haven't bothered getting dressed or leaving the house today, which means I've chalked up nsd 3. I have enough food prepared that I shouldn't need to worry about eating or even preparing meals in the short term - no sirens calling me for shore leave. Fingers crossed the stress doesn't get the better of me.
Today I'm grateful for:
My chest freezer for all my pre prepared goodies
My slow cooker for letting me prep with minimal effort
Paracetamol

x_raphael_xx

NSD no4 today.

Didn't post yesterday, I spent all day on shore leave. I enjoyed a full 8 hours of video games, broken only by cups of tea and my dinner cooked for me. I've not played for so long it was great to have nothing to do but kill bandits and dragons without stressing that the house needed cleaning or something.
I have another day of shore leave planned, when I will sit down in peace and quiet and read for a good few hours. Not sure when yet, but it is on the cards.

I am grateful for: completing a few 'achievements' in game yesterday, a nice chilled day in work, an easy spag bol for tea (BF is sick, so I have to cook:()

Moll

f0xh0les wrote: »

Looking forward to Dolphins at 3 o'clock.

Sunday is usually quite a good haul.

Foxholes
did you get any .? none in our Tescos this time

lozzy81

Evening ship mates,

sadly not a NSD, which i knew as Sunday is shopping day, i did however make a list of what was in the cupboards and only spend £27.68 so food is sorted out until Friday... so may need to spend then unless i can rustle up something from the dregs.... we shall see!

Today i am thankful for finding 6p road kill
Thankful for yellow sticker fruit
I am also thankful for my DD finally cleaning her room and returning the dishes to the kitchen (maybe next time she might wash them?)

:beer:

Moll

Had to do a shop as needed ingredients for our taster day at SW, (Im making slimming world trifle) not the cheapest meal but at least its edible ) so I stocked up on needed supplies and should have a few NSD form now on (Only got 1 so far with being a late starter , but im not worried ill catch up ) , Stocked up on parsnips and onions in Lidyl , (Parsnip soup is my favourite) whats everyone else making with the onions ? I use tons of them .but havent tried making onion soup yet so that might be the next thing to have a go at.
Had an extra for tea most nights as Dad comes for company, but im still well within budget, (Only spent about £30 so far ) . Didn't get a walk today as DH left me asleep in bed and took the hound of the baskervilles at the crack of dawn without me, Still got to do a stock take of the freezers,,,,,,,,, and defrost . but im dreading as they are so full and im sure ill never get it all back in again ,,,,,,,,,,,plus its now full of parsnips.

Today im thankfull for


My old computer ....still works keeping me in touch with everyone
All the money saving ideas on here
Reading what everyone else is doing is keeping me motivated

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for the rugby, for dd being a canny shopper in primarni, for the lovely servers in the coffee shop, for seeing the bottom of the laundry basket (at least until dh started to fill it again), fordd looking cute in her hogwarts jamas.

f0xh0les

Moll wrote: »

Foxholes
did you get any .? none in our Tescos this time

Nope, no sign of dolphins, took the dinghy out and came back again. Very strange behaviour. Maybe a storm is brewing.....

So accidental NSD3 for me. :j I came home and made a cherry loaf and a chocolate loaf that the smalls can slice bits off and have for pudding tonight with ice-cream and it will do for after school snack and probably pudding tomorrow too. :T And all because I wanted to use up the end of a sack of flour.

Won't be a NSD tomorrow, I will have to pay to park the dinghy while I go and pay some cheques into the bank from Christmas (all for the cabin boys not the QM), it will probably only be £2, but Monday is a very good day to get bread at 19p, so will take advantage of a spend day.

Have been looking at where to sail to for half term, there are plenty of parks and nature reserves we have not yet visited. Depending which direction the wind blows. The city farm is 20 minutes away and always a lot of fun for a 25p bag of animal food. The Art gallery/museum usually has lots going on, if I can convince the cabinboys to leave the bloomin' cabin. Plus kidsclub at the cinema, we have a ticket to The Space Centre which is valid for a year, not surprising as it is expensive to get in, it is only worth it if you can use it again. I have NT family membership (birthday present) and English Heritage membership (used a voucher code) and YHA family membership - can sometimes get a 6 bed room for £39 a night (- £3 per person members discount and sometimes a special offer voucher code on top) plus you can use their self catering kitchen and communal lounge. So really, apart from one of the cabin boys scuppering my ship (and they are more than capable!:mad:) there is no reason why I should not have a very cheap half term. :T

Five school days and counting.....

abundant1972

Evening crew!

It's gratifying to see so much activity and hard work on-board. You're all doing yer Captain proud!!! What be this? It seems we have two land lubbers who missed the departure! Welcome aboard Ladykernow and Massa1982. There be a few cabins spare still. Go unpack and settle in. Try and post your goals in the next few days, and if you want to still do the pre-boarding tasks there's time!

So - as we approach the end of week 1 of this voyage - it's not been too bad. A few ups and downs for sure - but a clear sea and a good wind in our sails. My maps show that we should be able to reach 'The Isle of Aphrodite' by weekend. Grab yer Sea Charms me hearties because you're going to need all the strength and determination you have if we are to make it through...

'The Isle of Aphrodite'

It be a mystical island, overflowing with abundance... There be fish aplenty and fruit and nuts growing wild for the picking. The air is said to be imbued with magical qualities that calm the mind, and there is a stream of water blessed by the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite herself, rumoured to bring longevity. I aim to bring us there by weekend, and we will drop anchor for a few days.

However... the isle is shrouded in a thick, fog, and there be razor sharp reefs surrounding it. Lore states that Sirens inhabit these waters and there are even legends of a gigantic Kraken in the deep, that has sunk many a ship that strayed off course. Once a year however... at around this time - a safe way becomes clear by the light of a full moon - and by my reckoning that'll be around Friday/Saturday this week.

This week ...

Ye must resist the call to spend! The Sirens will try and lure us off track. Keep your money safe, and your purpose true!!! Every penny saved brings you closer to your goals - and towards a well deserved rest!

For 5 days - Aim to limit your food spends.

As the moon waxes and grows full - it is a time to be busy, active and creative whilst we have the light...

• Batch cook where possible
• Stock up your cold stores with meals
• Use up fruit and veg that might otherwise spoil
• Take packed lunches every day

In addition... try and pencil in one day (or part of one day) from Friday to Tuesday where you can put aside some time. More to follow in the week...

abundant1972

It's really nice reading all of your posts. Loving the feeling that as a group you are pushing each other to swim with Dolphins (YS buys) and save money! Maybe we should co-ordinate our shopping trips on a Sunday and compare our YS bargains after haharrrrrr!!!

It's lovely to see people taking pride in their goals too, and really putting in 110%. Of course life goes on around our Voyage... and it's not always easy. Coming back here though to touch base gives me strength. I mean that! Only a few months ago my spending was out of control and I'd slipped into bad habits. I felt bad about myself for my lack of control and that spiralled into feeling low which lead to more comfort spending...

Instead - today, I had a nice walk and a actually managed to switch my head off and enjoy some stillness up there. I did a double mindfulness session (20 minutes) and a huge batch cook - 12 portions of 2 different meals now in the freezer, using up what I had in, and clearing some of the veg. Very pleased with myself haharrrr. Also bagged an NSD. My success is in part to all of you keeping me moving in the right direction! So a heartfelt thanks to you all. As you can see - I am leading by example this week and setting the tone for this week's 5 day low/no-spend food challenge! Are ye with me???

Today I am grateful for:

• The crew of the SS Abundant
• The motivation I get from being in this forum
• My walk in nature, and feeling 'at one' with life again - at least for today!

Today also = NSDnumber 3