Bonfires and fireworks - NST November challenge

mothernerd

Hugs to all who need them (or just want one) and many thanks to all of you for being there. Had a bit of a low mood hanging around, so mainly been reading along. Was up until 4am this morning, fixing the paper landslide. Not complete but all the 'not needed until January' stuff is in a box, my paperwork is in a small washing up bowl, found my 'code' book so checked my bank balance (wrote myself a note telling me how much of it isn't mine) and informed the WTC people about the new benefit (code for accessing gov serices was also in the book, but took some finding). This morning

:j:j:j My bounce is back:j:j:j.

Not sure how long it will last as still sleep deprived but aiming to get through 'till after crafts. Will then rest and then continue plodding (still finding sequins, buttons, pens etc everywhere). I am so grateful for the designated places I have managed to set up - zips, tape measures, another full bag of cotton reels all went straight into the little drawers. As I cleared the craft papers (mostly from magazines) I used some small baskets to hold stationery and other bits.

Located so many bits I have been looking for - Christmas embroidery (gifts for other people) is in one pile (there are bags with material, patterns, leftover scraps but this is the 'urgent' stuff - have to work out how many hours input is required before committing to any more). Found reindeer heads, scraps for antlers, more heads, felt brooches, safety pins for brooches, foil paper (old gift bags) and my phone - set it to charge overnight then needed it for the access code for the gov account.

Will get on now. See you later, wonderful turtles.

Toni'sfriend

NSD 6/12.
It was so cold today I have stayed in and done absolutely nothing apart from make a long list of things that I need to do:o
On the plus side I haven't spent any money and lunch and dinner have come from freezer'
Really must do better!!!!

greent

Clear Out - recycled a k1lner type bottle - don't know why I was holding onto it, as I was never going to use it as it had a lousy seal and was awkward to clean. Also recycled a jam jar from my stash as the lid had 'gone' and it has awkward nooks and crannies in the jar anyway (fancy one with fruit shapes in the glass which get stuff caught in them from the inside. I must go through the rest of my stash (in the garage), as I'm sure there are more which can go (didn't make any chutney this year, so I can afford to be a bit more selective in what I'm keeping )

NSDs - 3 - got one today!

Organise - set your budgets now, pay to your debt/savings first
Food - £202.44/ £400 -
Fuel (me) - £54.45/ £65
Social - £125.74/ £150 -
Toiletries - £2/ £10
Clothes - £96.48/£100
Gifts - £248.91 -

Value for money -haven't spent anything.

Exercise - hmmm.....

Mental health -Same as yesterday (and the day before, and the day before....)- more sleep than usual is helping here, as it's helping physical well-being. Getting some Xmas stuff sorted also helping.

Be Christmas ready - Lists done on laptop. Can now start to fill in gaps and know exactly what is still to be bought. Got everything out from under my bed, sorted it, even wrapped 4 presents and wrote half a dozen cards.

Eat well - Yes Last of the veggie-loaded bolog tonight - must make up another huge pot for the freezer

Report/ Gratitudes -
* plasterer turning up - yeay! (only for quoting)
* very garlic-y, chilli-y bolognaise
* getting some washing line dried (not sure how much longer I can do this!)

Electrician re-booked for tomorrow......

DawnW

Checking in: Day 15/30

NSDs: Still 8/12 as I had to buy bread, bananas and teabags today. £4.50 spent, and I have updated the total in my signature

Organise: Not feeling very organised today (again) Did the ironing that was hanging around, took OH to the hospital for an x ray, and made a nice mushroom risotto for dinner

Decluttering: Just scraps of paper etc got rid of when tidying up. I still have the charity shop box on the table - I think I will look for a few more things to put in it tomorrow morning, and take it to the CS

Value for money - Shopped in Iceland, thought £4.50 was pretty good for branded teabags, a huge bag of bananas and a large loaf

Exercise - Just 2 slow, short dog walks Only excuse is that I have a slow, short dog! I really wish he would do long walks... sometimes I do, and have to carry him most of the way. He charges about like a mad thing at home, but just wants to sniff in familiar places when out, which is maddening!

Mental health - Not so good today

Be Christmas ready - Finished precooking all the Christmas puddings. DD took 2 of them as arranged. I will put the remaining one away in the larder tomorrow morning when it is cold. Wine arrived and all put away.

Eat well - Not bad, porridge, stewed apple and yogurt for breakfast, rice cakes and hummus for lunch and lovely mushroom risotto for dinner - I will say nothing about the 2 mince pies But they were only little, HM ones, not the huge bought ones that come in their own foil dishes.

Gratitudes - Struggling a bit today, but I am grateful for DD2 coming round to cheer me up this morning, getting the first of OH's tests done and nice mushroom risotto (and naughty mince pies )

DancingDragons

Here miss!

Clinging to sanity with fingernails...but still here!
Everything went wrong on Tuesday. I had it all planned out, and I got a call for help from mum. Lost the entire day. After just saying to Mothernerd last week about it, it seems PIP is coming to get my parents. Fight one. Neighbours trying to claim land that isn't theirs. Fight two. Mum wanting to go to a shop, turned into every bargain shop in a 10 mile radius. Fight three. Lost the entire day, hoped to salvage some while waiting on dd1's after school but not to be, battery died. Ended up completely drained.
Today hasn't been much better, I resent loosing time. Its daft I know but when I have a plan and no one else will respect my schedule it makes me so cross. A simple route to pick up things for DD2 birthday party went so wrong...ordered a cookie from More Reasons and its the wrong one - they told me I could have that and they'd deliver to my door the right one... It should have been here an hour ago.

Geez.

The word of my week. Wrong.
I haven't got near the gym and am currently feeling 100% a failure. Hate this low mood.

Carpet fund has increased, but not exactly sure how much. I need to add it all up. At least I managed to post the items sold! Bank card arrived so back on track there.
Organise I desperately need to plan food that I can cook during day/weekend and then reheat. Kids turn their noses up at anything DH cooks. Too spicy, or too weird.

Need a list and I will feel like I am making progress again. Right now all I am doing is digging a hole.

Florence_J

Did a good amount of wombling today, it was a spend day though. Walked 4 miles again, mental health is ok. Not great, but it's ok.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for a good long walk, for podcasts, for finding some cotton reels in a ch shop, for a cheerful time with y7s, for good chats with 2 colleagues, for finishing my bunting, for prepping some labels with dd, for dd coming to meet me off my bus (in the dark - eek), for dh having a more relaxing day than of late.

Kerry_Woman

Day 15
NSD achieved 7/20
Value for money - took my own lunch and flask to the hospital.
Organise - Just did a few bits around the flat.
Christmas - Not even thinking about this at the moment.
Mental health - Had a reasonable night sleep. Will be going to bed soon.
Grateful for:
My Mum being looked after. A few other issues that are being dealt with.
Being able to stay a little over the visitor hours.
Being given some advise by a gp friend of one of the patients on the same ward as my Mum who is a retired gp.

mothernerd

Hugs Dancing Dragons. If you can think of a couple of shortcuts that will get you ahead, take them. If going to the freezer shop and buying a few sling it all in the oven things will help, do it (here comes Kat with a brick bath). Do make time for yourself, have a bath, or sit in the garden for 10 minutes (I used to do this when one of the babies would not stop crying, sit on the back doorstep for 5 minutes quiet). Then take a deep breath and start a list of problems and look at what you can do about each one. I find sitting at the kitchen table (since my hip op I alternate standing and sitting tasks) with pen and paper makes me calmer than trying to juggle it all in my head.

I have had a good day. Nearly 6 hours sleep (4 + 2) which was a bonus. The craft things were semi-sorted so putting things together to take to crafts was fairly easy. Have left some more things there (think adult shoe box size but with envelopes/ card etc standing up in it) but also brought some home to work on.

Lots of things done, 2 reindeer cards (antlers cut freehand) and 2 more completed. One participant made two tealight holders - glasses were bought for glass colouring but the paints did not work (don't know what the problem was, I wasn't there but the results were smudgy). Glasses have been sitting in the cupboard ever since, so I saw no reason not to glue things on the outside (lace, stars, rows of embellishment and ribbon) so that people can take them home.

The book-folded nativity continues. I was told on Monday that we were on the last wise man and had only the inn-keeper to do. She lied. I set her to glueing the book for the wise man (pages were very dry so I wanted a coating of glue on it before we tried to attach the robe, she had someone else stapling hands and sleeves and then 'needed' another angel making. I cut the dress (interfacing), used the last of a pack of embellishments to avoid sewing trimmings on but made her do most of the sticking herself.

I also suggested that the inn-keeper be bald but she wouldn't have that - made him some felt hair rather than hanks of wool hair and
finally :j:j:j fixed the headgear for the wiseman. Most of them have wooden spoons for heads, this wiseman has a pingpong ball. The last 3 or 4 weeks have been spent thinking up possible solutions for what he could wear on his head (felt was far too stiff, other fabrics have been tried, 6-7 ideas last week). Today I cut 3 small strips of ribbon (about half an inch wide). Put them on his head in different directions, to cover the spots I expected (due to problems with previous attempts) to cause problems. Then put a generous amount of glue on the remainder of the ribbon and did a sort of turban with it. Lastly glued the strip of gold paper 'crown' we cut last week.

Did a little bit more tidying - only a couple of drawers but if I can do it every week it will be done, particularly if my plans for using some of the excess 'stock' come to fruition. We are going to have a glitter week - not my favourite thing but we have 5 or 6 of the tubs with different colours (like a bicarb tub - the kind that you get multi sprinkles in for baking) + 2 larger tubs of gold and green. Did think about filling up the ones that are part used but it will be easier to do if we use up some of it first. Will use some on cards, make snowflakes from lolly sticks and will think of something else too.

I have been relaxing since I came in, may do an on-line food order (or two) for next week. Not liking the crowded shops already. DS3 and Beloved are sorted. Following on from the success with his diet (down to 2 takeaways a week and sugar free sweets, slushies etc, Beloved has now persuaded him to go to the gym. So the purchase of new trainers was necessary and I offered to pay (I have asked him to write a list of things he needs, clothing wise, or better still find them first and just let me pay - he's large all over, so it's not straightforward).

Today I am grateful for good company at crafts, for the centre I go to and the organisation behind it - they offer help of all kinds to so many people and for my bed (it supports me, gives me a sanctuary and a place of refuge and always enfolds me with a warm welcome - that bit is the duvet really).

sashanut

Hi all turtles :j

Checking in: 15/30

NSDs: 7/15 hoped to have an NSD today but had to pay for the carpet & fitter...

Organise: Well on here later than expected as DD just came off her late shift, wanted to eat something & then we had lots of tales of her work, usually entertaining!! Finally this morning got all the stuff out of dining room in good time for carpet fitter to turn up - luckily he didn't come till 3pm. He took the old ruined carpet up no bother at all, very nice young man & gave him a cup of tea (and a tip) when he'd finished. All other rooms are filled with stuff from dining room, but it looks lovely. Somehow the new carpet looks much better than the old one, obvs no huge stain - but the colour goes better with the d!cor. Very pleased and now wondering how much furniture etc to put back into dining room.

Value for money - Carpet plus fitter was very reasonable, probably because carpet is made locally.

Exercise - might as well sack this off because I never take any formal exercise & can't see me ever doing it.

Mental health - Very good, can see big improvements although to the casual observer every room is a mess :rotfl:

Be Christmas ready - Nothing done on this front today unless you count a bit of knitting. Managed to get friend to try on a pair of HM socks on a pretext, so I know the pair I've made for her will fit..

Eat well - Ah best to draw a veil over this one today. Did make healthy meal but it wasn't ready when we were as visiting friend was so comfy she didn't leave till 6.20....had to then have fish & chips......bonus though a healthy meal already prepared for tomorrow :T

Gratitudes - Good friends popping round , DD happy in her work, lots of reminiscences from all of us about our student days..so a good laugh, dining room being more or less finished & looking good. Worth the effort.

Glad to hear you were able to be better rested & that things are a little more hopeful with your Mum Kerry Woman, long may it continue. BTW can I ask if you are from County Kerry - we are often in County Cork