NST September: Sunshine Challenge

Coxy11

Hi everyone,

Set your budgets now - Done
Use up - used up last of the spinach in another SW recipe last night.
NSDs - still only 1/15.
Spread some sunshine - got up early today to make DS1 a cuppa - he has a private job and neeeds to get on the road early
Healthy eating - breakfast and dinner last night were good (SW tuna and tomato pasta bake was great). Lunch not so great. Out at craft fayre and choice was £6 for a wrap (!) or £5 for a freshly cooked burger produced locally. Opted for the burger. I won't mention the coffee and walnut cake
Invest in yourself - bought a new lunch tote, coaster and 2019 diary yesterday. Getting eyebrows shaped today.
No spending on takeaways, drinks out, etc unless prearranged and budgeted for - took water with me to the craft fayre. Meeting bff and her dh for dinner tonight. Planned and budgeted for.
Exercise - managed my 10k steps yesterday.

Have a good day all
Coxy

Toni'sfriend

Just a short walk today. Weather wasn't looking very kind. NSD 6/20.

Himself and I are having a quiet day in watching things that he's recorded with his new toy - the TIVO box.

We're having antipasti with bread for dinner as we have loads and loads of it. Himself said to me today "we have an awful lot of food in the freezers and cupboards". I think that's what I've been trying to tell him for the last year or so. Maybe, he'll help to start using it up now. Having said that he's discovered that Farmfoods have a good deal on baked beans (we don't really eat that many to be honest) so it's off to there tomorrow to buy some. At lease it's quite a walk away.

Think I'll be having an early night.

bizzie

update:

Set budgets – have now finalised my monthly figures, was waiting for the change in child benefit to be certain.

Use up – I still have a cupboard heaving under jars, tins and packets, some will go with DD when she heads off to Uni, but the improvement in fridge and freezer has continued.

NSDs - currently @#5/15.

Spread some sunshine – have let people in go in front of me at the supermarket, taken in parcels for neighbours and run errands for family.

Healthy eating – still need to focus on overhauling my diet, and sleep pattern, to improve overall health.

Invest in yourself – back to school / work has put this on the back burner but as we get back into a routine will bring this to the fore.

No spending on takeaways or drinks out – none spent yet.

Exercise – have gone outside everyday.

crazy_cat_lady

Spendy day today - small top up shop in Aldee and a trip to Pets at H0me for expensive food for the chronically ill cat (she's worth it).
Did my tutoring today for some much needed cash then caught up with bestie, which has been excellent for my mental health...
Not much else going on, just some much needed r&r after a busy week back at work.

Kerry_Woman

Set your budgets now. Have done this.
Use up. Done this today.
NSDs – 6/20 Was a spend day. Got what I needed to get, but a few treats dropped into basket.
Spread some sunshine – Made a donation to the charity whom I did the charity walk today. Also said thank you to the man and his cousin in the newsagent where I get the tv mag and top up/buspass on oyster for their kindness since my Mum passed away.
Healthy eating – Need to be more mindful with what I am eating. Had a few treats.
Invest in yourself. Did wordsearch, mindfulness colouring and watched some programmes that I like.
No spending on takeaways, drinks out, etc unless prearranged and budgeted for. Try to find free activities to do. Brought something to eat and drink whilst out with me.
Exercise – Did a 5k charity walk up London.

lcc86

Quiet day today, woke up with a banging headache which has come and gone all day. Did manage to get hoovering and cleaning done and made some tagine in the slow cooker. Just watching netflix with OH, I think an early night is definitely in order.

foxholes I'm loving the sound of that ice cream, definitely have to see if I can find some, I love all things coconut!

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for a good night's sleep for all of us, for the new venue for dd's dance classes (it's in a park so next week I'll go exporing), for getting some knitting done, for dh doing a wash, for the phlox stil blooming, for finding some tap shoes for dd for £3 in a ch shop.

sashanut

Hi all:j

Out for meal with family today, got up & prepped self & gave DH a haircut...into car. Just before we left, I checked the message about the time of the meal - oops! It was an hour later that I thought, backed up the drive & into the house again....set off an hour later. We still got there super early, but it was nice to see them all even though we couldn't stay long...had to leave before pudding ...sob!!

Set your budgets now. Pay to your debts/savings first and live off the rest. Make sure you're on the best deals for utilities, phones, broadband, etc. Are there any areas in your budget that you could cut down on? Will check CC balance tomorrow - have lots of items to send back that will be refunds, then will make payments to it through the month, statement is ready to print off.

Use up. Have a look through your cupboards and identify any food that's been lurking there for a while and incorporate it into a meal plan. Likewise toiletries, any half opened bottles - use before opening/buying more. Used up some CB & made a type of zinger chicken, turned out really nice plus chips made in recently rediscovered Actifry. It's held together with bits of tape, but still works a treat.

NSDs - there are 30 days in September so a minimum of 15 or 20 for a harder challenge. Usual exemptions for ys items, petrol and medical expenses. Now 3/15 as meal out was a treat by rellies.

Spread some sunshine - be kind to others, help out friends, neighbours, colleagues and strangers. Share your tales of any random acts of kindness. Listened to elderly Aunt & Uncle & invited them out for another meal so that DD can be there.

Healthy eating - up your fruit and veg intake, quit snacking between meals or choose healthier options. Not too bad other than another bar of chocolate that I had today.

Invest in yourself. Make sure you take the time to do things that you enjoy. Try something new that you've always wanted to do. Did face pack this morning before going to meal.

No spending on takeaways, drinks out, etc unless prearranged and budgeted for. No takeaways today.

Try to find free activities to do. Will do.

Exercise - it won't be long before the darker nights start drawing in so make the most of it while you can. Get outdoors for walk/run/cycle even if only for 10 minutes. No outside today, unless you count walk from pub car park into pub - will make up for it tomorrow.
go Turtles!!

mothernerd

Hello everyone, I'm back (more or less). Opened the laptop this morning at 1.08am after getting home and having a bath - very small shower at the hotel (24" square maximum). Some friends of the happy couple had already uploaded photos from their phones.


Lower half of my legs were quite swollen - had no shape below my calves, ankle bones had disappeared and my feet were ugh. Sleep and careful pillow arrangements have helped a lot but still a way to go - should fix it tonight.


Checked photo levels and caught a taxi to mum's (she could not go to the wedding). Bought two bacon barm cakes on the way to the taxi office and asked DS3 to include me if he was ordering takeaway - only if I was buying but it was lovely to come in at 7pm and have hot food waiting. Totally un-turtle but I am still spending the money I put in my purse and wallet for the holiday.


Hoping my feet work by tomorrow and will look through what food (if any) is left in my freezer and cupboards and then go and buy what I need (think DS3 and Beloved are short of money as gaps keep appearing in the food stocks - stuff I wouldn't normally expect them to eat. I did check the toilet rolls before I went and decided 40 was enough.


Lots of positives:-


The wedding was lovely and went splendidly despite being labelled 'non-traditional'. I really enjoyed it and I'm not a big fan of weddings.


The two families (and some of the other guests) are now on friendly terms - full body hugs for the women and hand-shakes and double cheek kisses with the men (that's the way us Greco/ Celtic/ bit of English and a pinch of Viking families roll).


I like flying (never flown before, don't do well [totally avoid and have to stand looking the other way when boys go on some since DS1 was 9yo] on most fairground/ theme park rides). Before I went I clung firmly to the idea that it was going to happen, I had to get to the wedding, plane there was fine and looked forward eagerly to my window seat over the wing (actually front edge of the wing but side by side with the engine) on the way back.


Made peace with my ex, spent quite a lot of time chatting with him and actively looking after him yesterday afternoon. Got to go fast-track but boy did I work for it. Told mum today that we were back to our original relationship (we were friends, I only wanted to be friends, we should always have stayed just friends - but then I wouldn't have my childeren and I will never regret my children).


DS1's chosen 'best man' was female and an old friend. She ran to hug me as soon a she saw me and started her speech by saying that DS1 was the first person to speak to her on their first day of high school. For years I thought that she was the one DS1 would end up with but whenever one of them was free the other was in a relationship. The bride said (in her speech) that she had been taken up to Scotland to be approved by 'S' at a very early stage of the relationship.


Spent quite a lot of time on my own and feel a lot more confident about the prospect of future trips on my own. I think Sorrento has loosened up quite a bit since I was there 12 years ago, but I felt very comfortable.


Managed to squeeze in a visit to the Bacon exhibition (as in Francis not the butty). Did not have long there but bought the catalogue so I can have a glimpse of what I missed - what I did see really filled my soul. It's obviously something I should make more time for going forward and perhaps even try something myself, just for fun.



Loads of good food, 3 star Michelin restaurant for the 'meet our new family members' meal, excellent nibbles, sit down meal and late evening pizza at the reception venue and a lovely cafe next to our hotel who did excellent wholemeal bread sandwiches and had an eat inside menu (c 5€ - good value when many guides said to allow £50 per day for food/ evening meal).


All my sons are talking to me again (DS2 and I had an adventurous and slightly fraught outward journey). I will draw a veil over it (have been accused of 'going on about it too much' ) and say I have more knowledge of the Port of Naples than I ever wanted and never trust a man whose guiding principles are:-
"my phone says it's this way" and
"lots of people are walking that way, let's follow them".


Had a couple of minor confrontations with DS1 but that's more like a junior voice of yourself talking back to you (fluent in sarcasm and film quotes and has anyone ever told you, you're a bit pedantic - no I just like things to be correct)



The new couple have selected an appropriate surname, mothernerd endorsed. (I refused to change my name when I married, argued for any boys we had to use their father's surname and any girls to have mine, had 3 boys and then found out how inconvenient that surname was - it's a common first name so caused endless confusion at appointments and encounters with officialdom. I grew so tired of saying ** is his surname when they got it backwards.


Today I am grateful for my sons, my new daughter and Beloved (for new turtles she is DS3's Beloved and they and my 3 grand-chinchillas live with me - real chinchillas, they have a life expectancy of 20 years so it's about the same as raising a child), for the magic of air travel, for feeling really chillaxed and looking forward to the rest of the year and setting some realistic goals for that time.

Fmess

Great idea for a taster foxholes

Apple some are gluten free but not all, not sure if they’re the same as the df ones but there are several flavours, I looked on their website for the gf ones.

Yesterday was spendy on top up shop and car parking. But I got my contact lenses changed to dailies so that I can avoid the issues with them drying out over the fortnight and I got a free pair of glasses by staying under the £59 voucher I had

School tomorrow with the kids back, so nervous and I’ve been teaching 8 years!