Bonfires and fireworks - NST November challenge

f0xh0les

NSD 10 (still!)
Organise - have written a list of names of people who need a gift and jotted a few ideas next to each
Value for money - cashed out proliiiiifiiiiiic academic, have checked all other bits and bobs I do for cash, am entering free competitions like a crazy person
Exercise - none, even though I am spending £25 a month on an all inclusive swim, gym and classes package. Will get back onto this I promise.
Mental health -love this time of year. I must have been a scarf in a past life.
Be Xmas ready - bit more ready today than yesterday. Two butt ugly 3" high trees have gone upstairs to kids rooms as they have no taste and they steal all the tat ornaments anyway. Ornaments will be coming down from the cupboard up high that they cant get into tomorrow morning - mwah ha ha ha ha!
Eat well - went out for lunch with DH today (£18) was great, lovely chinese meal. No kids (they were at school) I really do like my husband, even though it will be our 18th wedding anniversary next year. He really is a lucky chap.
Report in daily - I am!

Gratitudes - warmth (tis blimmin' cold in L'estershire today - I have the heating on now), not being flooded! we always buy at the top of a hill, and never anywhere pretty enough to be near a river, I have a list ready for the weekend! So that counts as a plan.


I got the HPotter potions led lights from Pr1marn1 for s-i-l, will post tomorrow to the land of Swiss. Bought some for me too. Might be gifts. Might not. Got sent to three different floors by staff members, but the SIXTH staff member sent me back down to the ground floor where they were by the tills. It pays to ask, ask and ask again. They should just have a Harry department.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for good buses, for clear skies, for a beautiful bright moon, for getting the shopping done (using a voucher / qualifying for free money, of course), for bumping in to an acquaintance on the high street and having a nice chat, for taking dd up the high street after school and coinciding with the lights being switched on, for seeing santa arrive, for dd getting a balloon, for walking home with dd and chatting non-stop.

BadBookkeeper

Day 24 - No 18 Checking in....
So we had 5 days in C Parcs all budgets gone over so here to report it and draw a line!
NSD - 10/12
Organise - Grocery budget way over!
Value for Money - Yet again Argos toys 2 for £15. Also c@rd factory.
Exercise - Lots of walking & swimming
Mental Health - Good really needed the break. Feeling raring to go.
Xmas/ DS birthday - Needed a T-shirt with stars on for DS xmas concert. He has a white T-shirt already so ordered iron on stars from Eb@y.
Eat Well - Hmmmmm not at all but ready to prioritise this next week.
Be Grateful - Family holidays, Eb@y and Arhgos
Declutter - Actually added to it! Holiday souvenirs. DS even brought drinking straws home!
O/D Overdraft was £1482.10 unfortunately added £80 to this. Gutted but accountable. It could have been so much worse and I can correct this on 1st Dec!

Kerry_Woman

Day 24
Was a spend day.
Organise - Lunch and flask of tea made. Shopping list sorted out for tomorrow. Plan of what needs to be done for tomorrow. A few bits done around the flat.
Mental health - could be slightly better. Did order a self care box for December for mental health. The mental health organisation does a different themed box each month. Just order the one off box which cost £21.50. Should include a book about self care.
Grateful for:
My sister coming from Norwich to see my Mum and having a coffee with her as well.
Support from my sister and brother.
Support and help from people on this thread.
Ordering the self care box for December.

DancingDragons

Lost most of the day again to Mum’s “Drop everything and sort” needs, but did manage to finish a story and get a bit of laundry done. I had to break out the fairy lights I'd bought as a stocking filler. DD2 is having real trouble with nightmares. £2.50 heart lights from Primarni made her dark room all pink, and safe. (Amusing considering she hates too much pink ) The boys at school are very much into Five Nights at Freddies. She's terrified. I've already been in about so many things of late:mad:

NSDs:7/12 Food spend yesterday. I think I’d counted mum spending as mine earlier, don’t know. Must write this stuff down.
Organise: Plenty to list on fleabay this weekend & DH hired Rugdoctor for the weekend. The carpet looks like an Old English Sheep dog that’s been for a mud bath. Last time we had a cleaner come in, ruined the carpet and the underlay turned musty. So we've stocked up on Bicarb to help dry things out.
Value for money: Making DD’s party food last a week! Using up last year’s mulled wine spices from English Heritage (still two packs left!) Soaking up atmosphere without buying all the food at the light-switch-on. (+free chocolate and Hot Chocolate samples!!!)Watched fireworks from the quiet safety of DD2's window.

Argued the point with amazon, they wouldn’t refund the full value of a returned item because it was a “Promo voucher” used, but I got my £5 back in the end!
Out at a free coding club with DDs tomorrow. I plan on packing lunches so it’s only their money they’ll be spending. One has a games store voucher. The other has some unexpected birthday money.
Exercise – Gym, 2/3 YAY! Plus a 4 mile walk this week.
Be Christmas ready Bring it on
Eat well still eating leftovers from DD2’s party so not happening! Brewed up some Mulled wine after going to the ‘City’ for the Christmas light switch on. More importantly, I have remembered to drink more water with meals. I'm up to about 3 pints a day now.

Gratitudes: Being sent free books.(That I actually want ) DD2 coming home with a book from the school library – and cherishing it. Central Heating.

Not having to deal with carpet cleaning, DH has volunteered!

ilovetea

Bowing out of this months challenge. Completely lost the plot!
Have hardly checked in though I reckon I've had 18 NSD.
Christmas is organised and I've decluttered/sold a few bits.

Will try harder next month.
ilovetea xx

mothernerd

As no one has said anything else, I will gladly accept your kind offer to do December apple.

I have followed the no buying day several times (sometimes I had an appointment which required taking a bus) but epic fail this year.

Yesterday evening I spent several hours working on the kitchen, finding homes for things, washing up and transferring loads of rubbish to various recycling bins. The floor was a lot clearer but not a lot of progress on the table (some but not enough to give it a good clean and I squirted any visible bits earlier in the week - before DS3 and Beloved decided to helpfully move all the shopping in the front room into the kitchen and all the toilet roll multi packs onto my bed).

Confession number 1 - I decided the only way forward was to go to the SM and buy cakes for mum's church Christmas Fair and use any extra time to continue with the kitchen. Was going to clean and then shop but because their guest had arrived and would be sleeping in the front room I went shopping first so that I would not disturb the guest if she decided to go to sleep.

Except the SM has changed from 24 hour opening and now closes between midnight and 6am. Walked back again, sat on the SM smokers' bench, had another sit down at the bus station and stopped to hold onto the traffic light post after crossing the road.

Did a bit more cleaning then decided to have a bath and attempt to sleep, managed a couple of hours with another couple lying on the bed with my feet propped up (to get the blood flowing back from my feet and ankles).

Got up and headed back to the SM before 9am (not just for the cakes, I have put together a largish list of random items). Pound emporium opens before nine so nipped in to buy lolly sticks and a mixed pack of santas, Rudolphs and snowmen to make signs to put on the various trays of cakes - noticed earlier in the week that mum has deviated from what she was supposed to be doing and is making random batches of cakes (some of which she has thrown away).

Went through the shopping centre to get to the SM and the shopps at the far end were open by the time I reached them, so nipped into Pe*c0cks to look at pull on boots (compromise of smart footwear for holiday but not the sandals mum wanted me to have). Tried some on to get the right size (black suede look with grey fake fur interior). They were £12, £9.60 because of the BF discount.

Carried on to the SM, bought essential toiletries plus extra for the food bank box (thinking about doing the reverse advent calendar with FB donations), looked at socks (one pair ripped in two as I was pulling them on last week, several are so faded that I cannot tell what colour they were and in addition, I wore several of them whilst painting last year and they are covered in spots). In addition I am trying to draw up a list of things that make me happy and decide some new bolder socks would help - I would not be seen dead in a Christmas jumper but I now have 2 pairs of santa socks plus some with touches of glitter.

Confession number 2
Needed the boots, 2 sets of socks and extra knickers plus wanted to find a couple of extra long sleeve t-shirts but have also bought grey velour lounge pants, similar in black (slightly ribbed), a loose cardigan (have one overdue for retirement but love it so much I keep pulling it out again), 2 vest tops and a linen top (last 3 for next summer or possibly layering up in winter) but quite a few were from the sale rail (navy velour pants and much loved cardigan were purchased in their previous sales and both are great) and the rest had the BF discount. I did move away from the sale rack when I thought I might go into 'Christmas Eve mode' - the point where you can't remember what you have or have not bought and just start chucking things in the trolley just in case (me pre-MSE). Bought a book from the charity stall for 50p (suggested donation), put things in the FB box, chatted to the man from the Dog charity whose website I keep looking at. Came home, repacked and went to mum's.

She had obviously done too much and was exhausted and very snappy - started shouting at me as soon as I went through the door, calmed down when the hairdresser arrived (I had tried to make her sit down).

I made her sandwiches and a cuppa. Showed her my boots and told her to try them on (she also has a list of items she needs/ wants for our holiday). I had taken some of my cardboard stash to make trays to put the cakes on and started covering them with Christmas paper (more things back on my bed as I emptied a couple that were just the right size) and then our taxi (I pre-booked it) arrived to take us to monthly cinema club.

When we got there, she asked if I would go and get some cash out for her and then race across town to get her some of the boots, so she would get the BF discount too. Did that, she has the grey ones now. Was a bit worried about the film as I remembered a soppy (sub Doris Day) film I saw years ago with a drippy theme tune (sang it for mum and the hairdresser). The moment the film started so did the theme. Film was better than I remembered though (might have been a different version of the same script) a bit sassy rather than drippy. Very young Leslie Neilsen and Debbie Renolds playing a 17 yo when she was actually 25 and pregnant with Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia). Cinema Club have just won 3 awards.

Back to mum's. More tray covering then food, then cake decorating. Stressful. Mum had ideas in her head for how things should be decorated, but can no longer do most of it and blames me if they don't turn out the way they were in her head. Not very good a t adjusting to allow for the limits of the materials. At one point she sat down exhausted and I tried to move things along. She wanted me to melt chocolate in the microwave then objected to me spooning it over 6 cupcakes. She took them away and spent ages 'neatening' them by which time the chocolate had set again and I couldn't add the decorations. Ended up putting them in and out of the microwave and adding decorations (had to keep taking them off as I wasn't sure if they were microwave safe).

She wasn't keen on the way I did the 'Christmas trees' either but her ideas were impractical. I did say remember this moment and next year do fewer things better (she is quite capable of throwing more things in the bin overnight). Watched the end of cupcake wars, was falling asleep, got sent home 'to sleep' but may make up the signs for the cake trays. will cut up cakes tomorrow, then back to mum's and then to the Fair (only setting up).

Today I am grateful for all the things I did manage to get done, for filling lots of gaps in the holiday wardrobe (might have had to spend several days in my nightie in order to have enough clean clothes to go away with), for all the lovely volunteers at Cinema Club, for mum feeling better even though she does silly things sometimes, for food banks and all their helpers, for it being cold enough to remind me to look for my gloves or buy another £1 pair but not cold enough to be painful, for all that I have.

DawnW

Evening all
Checking in day 24/30
NSD - still on 12/12 as today was supermarket shopping day
Organise - Not very organised today as I didn't sleep well last night, and was tired. Sorted out a query with one of OH's pensions though, made a shopping list and did the shopping. Sadly gone over budget (again) but not disastrously so.
Declutter - two ebay items posted off, and some old paperwork shredded
Value for money - Bought Christmas gammon which was half price in Sainsburys. Now in freezer Used Christmas budget for this, as opposed to November food etc budget. Hope that isn't cheating, but something I only need to buy once, and would rather buy it on offer than have to pay full price! I always buy one as it is handy for unexpected visitors, grown up children casing the fridge, people popping in and staying for a sandwich etc.
Exercise - Just 2 dog walks today
Be Christmas ready - Well, I have bought the gammon
Eat well - Been quite good today
Gratitudes - Grateful that OH seems to be a bit better, getting a good price on a Christmas food item and a nice sunny (if cold) day

laurenh1

Today I am grateful for- double discounts.I Have been eyeing up some pjamas for my little one for a few weeks & last week hub brought home a money off baby clothes voucher & I used it with 20% off black friday.making them half price. Woo. For my big snuggly scarf and for makinh plans to go and look round the towns Christmas lights.

Timetopullmysocksup

Friday

12/18NSDs shopping today so not a nsd, in addition to that something unexpected happened today. So I have been working with a cash only budget since August (it is something I have done in the past so not a noob) I have not once gone over my allocated spends. Today I did, I knew I was going to because I bought the Turkey and Pud for Christmas Day, I only had to add £10.31 paid by card but I had a panic attack! Like a genuine heart thumping, dizzy, room spinning, chest gonna burst panic attack!! This actually happened at the point I knew I had gone over budget, not when I got to the till. I have justified it by telling myself I will take £10 less out of Christmas weeks budget and have just settled down ( I went shopping at 6)
I have only ever suffered from panic attacks in both of my pregnancies and once when I had Bronchitis but I do remember feeling anxious earlier this week with no apparent reason. This is not me and I wonder If I'm creating a monster by being an uber budgeter (sp?) yet I'm scared to losen the reigns. Annnnnnd breathe.

Organize - I went shopping with a load of coupons that I had checked I was getting the maximum amount of discount from by shopping where they were the cheapest, I saved £19.15.

Value for money -as above.

Exercise - nothing.

Mental health - feeling stressed and I have to say this is so not like me at all and that's getting me angry

Be Christmas ready - shopping included a gift so what the heck is wrong with me.

Eat well - not today, daughter has a friend over and it turns out she's fussy so the dinner I had planned went out the window, I wasn't cooking 2 dinners so I had pizza and chips with them.

Thankful for - saving even though I went over budget. Having enough money to even have the opportunity to go over budget and be able to pay for it.