NST Muddy March Marathon

Bobarella

indigowarrior wrote: »

I am watching to!! I could believe she was upset about the car. I would love to own a car like that. I really dont understand people.

It makes me wonder if that really is the average persons way of life? OH and I were laughing that our wardrobes are worth more than our 'wardrobes' :rotfl:

mothernerd

Just did the ys run to buy 4 x 10p loaves - 2 mediterranean, 2 sunflower and honey. Going to make up a batch of sandwiches to freeze.

Today I am grateful for being able to sleep, for finishing my book (3 pages at a time) and for a lovely bath (and an easy clean bathroom).

mothernerd

Day Nineteen
Use It or Lose It
I mentioned the 'leisure industry' a couple of days ago. It annoys me that many of the things that were once done from 'thrift' have been repackaged and are now sold at a premium.

A prime example is patchwork. I recovered a quilt many years ago that had originally been made by my grandmother from my grandfather's pyjamas. So squares of mainly striped material in muted colours (blue green, brown) all in brushed cotton, wonderfully soft after years of wear and washing - my grandfather died when I was six.

All patchwork was originally like this - scraps of reused fabric put together to make something new and useful. Now brand new 'designer' fabrics are sold in expensive fat quarters (or 'rolls' of pre-cut squares). Whilst I can appreciate that cutting squares isn't the most exciting job, I still find this 'new patchwork' is against the whole ethos of using what you had, not wasting anything and extending the useful life of the things you owned.

Knitting wool can be very expensive and one of the reasons I stopped making clothes was the availabilty of cheaper ready-made items - now I am astonished by 'going out' dresses made from fabric that would have been deemed to flimsy to line a dress, some things are obviously made to wear and throw away.

So what crafty hints do the crafters have. I know Apple finds bunny fabric in charity shop and I am envious of tog's free fabric (no I'm not, if my fabric stash was as big as it used to be there definitely wouldn't be room for me in my bedroom. Bicycle repairs is another one - decline of small local shops/ rise of the internet (friend or foe or a bit of both).

Day Nineteen Wellbeing
Do one thing you have been putting off. Oh dear, it's frog day and I have one that has been nagging me.

Frogs
There was a man who ate a frog every morning. When he was asked why, he said that, if he ate the frog first thing, everything else he did that day was easy in comparison.

So for us a frog is something (a task, a difficult phone call, having a 'talk' with someone) that you have been putting off (so the 'fear' grows).

If you really can't face it (I may bottle this don't hink it is a good idea to disturb the people concerned on a Sunday) write a frog list and aim to do one of them before the end of the month.

Inspiration

Beyond fear lies freedom.

abundant1972

Morning All,

So I know I have been A.W.O.L for a few days. March has been such a funny month for me. So I finally sat down last night to just STOP and reflect on what's going on. I know what I need to do now to get myself back on track... So I'm pairing it all back, and starting with something small. When that becomes routine, I'll add something more etc.

Today I am grateful for:

• Finally feeling I have gained some clarity
• All the comforts of home
• A sense of direction and purpose

Total number of NSD's so far = 10

Use it or lose it (Thur) : Charity Shops - I don't really buy anything right now, other than food and online games as part of my spend allowance. I take stuff to them, but rarely buy clothes from them. Books/CDs I'd be ok with.
Use it or lose it (Fri) : Craft Box - I don't have kids so this one is kind of N/A.
Use it or lose it (Sat) : Random - I'm choosing toiletries. I'm not buying anymore until I have used all the ones I have. If I really don't like them I will gift them to colleagues or a charity shop.
Use it or lose it (Sun) : Repackaged for £££ - I don't craft, so can't comment. On a similar vein though is Supermarkets that have cheap/value (e.g.) Teabags that re-pack and sell for more - same product, different box I'm sure. Grrrr! I always buy value stuff now.

Wellbeing (Thur) : Don't complain - Ooops! Will try that one today... and be more mindful here on...
Wellbeing (Fri) : New Playlist - I recently got 2 new CDs from my favourite band and I play them non-stop right now. Love them. I do them to death then root out old stuff.
Wellbeing (Sat) : Hearty Breakfast - I'm not a morning person, and will skip and have an extra half hour in bed. NOT GOOD <slap!> I need to have an earlier night so I wake up refreshed, and eat something nutritious.
Wellbeing (Sun) : Frog Day - I'm going to a garden centre in a moment to get some stuff for my houseplants (see previous Use it or lose it challenge). I've done a bit of research online, and am going to see if I can nurture them back to life. Green fingers definitely skipped a generation with me :rotfl:

That aside, I am doing lists everyday now, and so have a bit of a structure so I feel I have achieved something. Big hugs to all... Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

mrshubbard

I'm on a mini catch up too

So very nearly a nsd, used a mcdonalds card with scavenged stickers for a free brew but bought a doughnut, why?!! Not expensive but I wasn't really hungry and we always get a pud at mils on Sundayanyway and have a cake hubby & little man made at home.

Use it or lose it

Craft box - I have bought bits for little mans craft box as I've seen stuff discounted and he's been bought lots for pressies so no need for replenishing for many moons yet. We've got stuff in for stamping with like random lids and pot noodle pots for paint mixing.

Best examples - Probably that we like a good scavenge - made a plant pot holder for our yard out of an old bathroom corner shelf someone whizzed on our skip, took a neighbours old demolished wall and using stones to make ours, found a kids bike abandoned in a hedge with a puncture which hubby cleaned up, did some maintenance and sold for £30, got a bbq made out of some kind of cart/trolley and an old oil drum he was given by a skip company he'd bobbed into & spied in a skip.

Priced up thrift - There's an Aberkahn near us which does actually little scraps of left over fabric, all the other craft shops are lots of neatly cut squares of coordinated fabrics that'd be cheaper to buy by the metre. Ebay can be good now and then for fabric.

Wellbeing

Playlist - I don't have any playlists. I like to be surprised by what's on next and hear things I'd forgotten about so just switch about on the radio whilst I'm driving/exercising

Breakfast- with starting early I used to always skip breakfast and snack throughout the morning. Now I always make sure I eat before work - usually cereal or something to toast. On my days off I always have a more substantial breakfast and make porridge a lot ( cheap, healthy and my lttle boy loves it ) pancakes and fruit or scrambled eggs on toast are also favourites.

Frogs - there's prob a few frogs I can think of. Making a list and doing one a week is prob the way to go for me.

SkintTeacher

What a weekend. A bit spendy for my liking but all affordable, within budget and I got a dress for my hen do that bought so much joy.
Grateful for
1) swimming with my little family
2) messages with my sister
3) a heart to heart with OH

crazy_cat_lady

Hi everyone :wave:
I've had a lovely afternoon out catching up with a friend who I've not seen in ages. She'd put on a surprise afternoon tea for me, which was fantastic - an early birthday surprise. I went without kids and it was just brilliant because I didn't have to fret about whether or not they were behaving etc.
It's made a massive difference to me - always enjoy a day out once I work up the nerve to do it.

FurryBeastOz

Greent Could I have the low carb oatmeal recipe please?

I'm back at home. WM/DW on overload. DH hasn't eaten much so I have meal planned using up what's there. Only spent about £40 this month on food. I stocked up on F&V today but I don't think I'll need much more this month. Yay.

Holiday much more frugal than I expected/budgetted for. Probably something to do with only skiing on 2 afternoons rather than the entire week:D. I was enjoying chatting to others too much. They spent a fortune on coffee/hot chocolate and pastries. I had a flask a bottle of water, and some snacks from home:rotfl:

I'll have a look back through the Use it or Lose it Challenges.

In terms of Wellbeing I'm feeling great. I ran and went to the gym every day while I was away and have come back weighing the same amount as when I left. I also got LOTS of sleep and time to sit and just think.

I need to do a little bit of 'life planning' over the next few days. But my head is a lot less busy than before I went.

Off to tot up NSD's. Don't think it will be great, but I only withdrew cash once on holiday, and had a no fee CC, so that should be ok.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for dd being happy to walk plenty when I messed up the buses we had to catch, for the blustery wind making us giggle, for a lovely chat with an old neighbour who is moving back into their house that they rented out for several years, for playing 'red nose football' with dd (she has 3 of them!), for sewing, turning and stuffing of bunny limbs and bodies, for dd coping well when I told her that I am going away for 5 days this week, for getting my 12-week plan finalised, for 85% chocolate, for longer days, for a good book to read.

apple_muncher

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

Can I just check that I am still running the April challenge?

Was going to make a start on it this weekend if I am.

Thank you for taking on April. Looking forward to it!