NST February A FOREST ADVENTURE

laurenh1

mothernerd well done on the grapes. our YS shopping used to be AMAZING , everything reduced to pennies. Not now though, 75% off at best. still worth it though & it allows me to give my kids fruit I wouldn't have the cash for otherwise. they regularly eat a full tub of raspberries/ strawberries/ blueberries in one sitting & at £2-3 a tub , I would struggle, at 50p thet can dig in:D plus Im more willing to try things .

today is a huge spend day, I have already booked tickets for LOs 3rd bday, paid for cinema tickets next week (only 2.95 though) & bought my kids reins for when we go away. I have £50 left & i still need get kids hair done & go Aldi however I had budgeted 50 pound for bday celebrations :beer: so come April it will balance out :cool:

have a lovely Saturday folks

DawnW

f0xh0les wrote: »

Today I am a cork,
bobbing on the surface of deep water.
I will keep afloat,
although I might get dunked
I will rise again.

My mantra for today is
Not my circus, not my monkeys.

Love your mantra F0xh0les, I will have to remember that one

dolly84

mothernerd - thanks for the mention of the Liqourice Festival, I think we might try to get to that.

Had a lovely day out in the sunshine yesterday, did a long walk, had a picnic, pottered around the charity shops and got DD a lovely clock for her bedroom for £2.50, bought some chips, DS got an xbox game he has been after for £1 also from the CS. Identified some locally made vegan soap free soap I want to buy when all my bottled shower gel and shampoo is used up, it can be used on body, face and hair, they made two types, one was sandalwood and one had citronella in it which is helpful for bugs in summer.

Tried out my new razor last night and realised just how rubbish the other plastic type are - even the expensive ones. Very happy that there will be no more plastic razor heads leaving this house.

abundant1972

:j OMG - There's a liquorice festival ?!?!?! :j

Ahem... Morning... erm... afternoon!!! Liquorice is my most favourite sweet ever! How did I not know about this haha?

Thur, Fri both NSDs so now at 8

Exercise is going well - do some most days even if it's just some HIIT stuff at home. Joe Wicks is my new idol and am following his recipes and exercise regime (not paid up to his course - just doing it from the books/TV show). Highly recommend him (though not loads of veggie recipes)... plus... he's very easy on the eye # EYE CANDY :happyhear

Where was I... exercise... Joe... hmmm - what day is it?

I'm off to do some more exercise, then going to rustle up something yum later on...

Catch y'all later x

laurenh1

good afternoon Turtles,

so...I officially have nothing left of my tax free child care compensation but I do have a new (to me) dining table. nipped into our new British Heart Foundation furniture store & got one for 25 quid :j its actually quite nice too.hub got his suit for the funeral , LO got hos hair cut & after getting what we needed from Aldis our funds ran out :rotfl:

budgets are 1000pound in emergency fund
700 paris
100 xmas 18

6pound spends :eek: plus a little change in my purse. :rotfl: oh well, I have a table so who cares

shabbychic12

Stalled a little this week as it was half term. I was still mindful of my spend and logged it all down but could have done better. I did find my charity for February though so could tick that off my list. Managed to do a deal on the TV and broadband but l had to threaten to leave and l did give notice too 4 days later they can sort me a deal out glad l stuck to my guns.

apple_muncher

Another licorice lover here!!!!!! But I can't eat it - boooooo. It contains gluten. Sigh. Gluten-free licorice is available but rare - and so expensive that it's hardly worth it.

F0xh0les, hang in there...

Greent - bunny slope 1 uses toes a lot, so try for #2 instead. It looks much more toe-friendly.

Today I am grateful for getting out and about with dd, for our library, for the lovely librarian sorting out our cards, for cloud bread (AWESOME recipe), and gf df choc chip cookies (from LILTY), for getting some tidying up done in the garden, for catching up on my workouts, for the beautiful birdsong this morning (but not so much that it was at 6.55am...), for dd finally making her mayan temple.

mothernerd - I've not done anything yet to spruce up this shabby dwelling, but thank you for planting the seed.

Kerry_Woman

Was a spend day. Only a top up of what I need. Did get an apple pie, reduced from £1.25 to 31p. Notebook updated.
Grateful for:
Did some walking.
Having a chilled out day.
Self care.
Reasonable weather.

sashanut

Hi all :j

Didn't get on yesterday evening due to DDs flight being delayed by 2 hours, so very late home & then all of us needing to eat, very pleased I managed to make food ready before we left tbh. Not an NSD as visited shops before driving to airport, wandered round JL & marvelled at all the lovely stuff, but resisted buying other than reduced wool...then Sains with some YS items & a few bits, but nothing much.

Always : Will try to make sure I can make/save some money this month instead of always spending up to the max..No NSD yesterday, but one today.


First : Agree

Organise : Lunch was sandwiches for us & soup for DD, supper was chips & HM French bread pizzas, which used up a lot of the fridge contents..


Reserve : Already make a charity donation each month from joint acc. Will also set up a DD for an animal one.

Environment : Lots of green shoots poking through the ground, pleased I planted the bulbs now though it was a pain at the time. Have some primroses & pansies to plant out, have had for ages.


Stock take : Still lunch & dinner all from stocks in fridges/freezer Need to stocktake all other food stocks (kitchen cupboards, pantry, larder, cellar ) will start tomorrow. When is this mythical tomorrow when I am going to inventory?? not done today either, spirit willing but flesh weak..f0xh0les thanks for the alternative way of looking at it, I do agree. Am finding lots of stuff I had forgotten we had - and of course bought more.. have an alternative method which I will be trying tomorrow..

Takeaways are forbidden (unless as part of family entertainment night/ birthday choice). Coffee shops, vending machines, works canteens etc are also banned (pastoral exceptions): Not planning on any takeaways, too much food here to need any.

Always take your lunch to work and snacks and drinks for outings or appointments: will do.

Do something different. If nothing changes, nothing changes. We want to see small positive changes which become habits and then just part of who you are. Pick 2 or 3 things you want to change. Start with one small change and after five successful days, add another: Surface still clear but still the only one!! Cleared another very large surface & also under sink space, yuk.. Looks far better though & now its needs to stay clear, have warned DH. Surfaces have stayed clear & returned flasks to up cupboards using ladder. DH had done some clearing whilst DD & I were out (looking at some kitties!)


Exercise 5 times a week please: Could well be gardening or clearing, cleaning etc but will aim to be active. Active most of day.

NSDs are staying at 18 this month: NSD today so now 9/18

Big push on this, much clearing needs to be done but refuse to toss useful stuff, will freecycle or CS - but preferably sell! Have photos ready to list now, will list this weekend. Will tackle this tomorrow as change of plan means we may be eating out, we are definitely eating out on Monday as that is a Christmas
treat that we are only just getting round to.

Use what you have. Fix something : Have some knobs on drawers cupboard etc in bedroom that have come adrift. Need superglueing or I have already bought 4 new ones if not fixable. Not done yet. Maybe will need to buy more outside paint, the one I used was rubbish...Cord that open curtains has broken, have to get up ladder to try & see how to fix it. Need DH to hold ladder as ceilings so high. Took photo of pulley effort from upstairs so I can see how to bodge the downstairs one. DH fixed hoover from where I inadvertently sucked up a plastic bag. Used risotto rice & almond milk for rice pudding, surprisingly nice..although not cost effective in the long term I shouldn't think. Have used 'glutinous rice' mountain for rice pudding, seemed to work fine. That would be cost effective as have probably 2 large bags..Tried to fix curtain track as DH held ladder but too tricky & high up to manage without moving furniture...and taking down massive curtains. Will do. No progress.

Refuel properly: Will do this, already am taking some steps to improve health & sleep patterns. Taking supplements now & bedtime tea, seems to be working. Tea combined with pillow spray etc got me to sleep, no bother, just have to remember to make tea an hour before bed. OK today

Elephants and Frogs: Frog printer tackled today & is now working, albeit intermittently. Elephant - sorted out some of DHs old polo shirts that will only be ragged at CS but that's fine, he won't wear them again as he found some that actually fitted him & never wears the old ones.

Frogs: Cleared fridge & identified smell - DDs ready meal pushed to back of fridge & gone off, yuk. Now disposed of.

Thanks mothernerd for running the challenge, it is very much appreciated even though I am not a model turtle pupil yet

mothernerd

If you are reading this you have survived your whole life until this very moment. You've made it through your darkest days,experienced heartbreak and sadness, love and happiness. Take a deep breath and know that you are doing a superb job. Look at you go. You're a superstar.

The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you are not going to stay where you are.

Don't take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a reflection of their own reality, their own dream.When you are immune to the actions and opinions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

What other people think of you is not your business. If you start to make that business your business, you will be offended for the rest of your life.