NST Join In January 2019 - In With The New

apple_muncher

Mothernerd - I have visions of the branches forming a lovely twinkling arbour over you as you sleep.

Ladykernow

4/10 so far. Woop! Making sure i'm not tempted to buy lunch out.

Dickenslass

I’m quite jealous of your arbour Mothernerd, I hope its twinkling away beautifully tonight. Am struggling to keep up with news on the thread on phone screen, but hope all who were under the weather are recovering.
Didn’t post yesterday as at aged relatives and really quite weary by the close. Slept better, but still woke around 4, but did get back to sleep this time!

NSDs 2/15. Today was a spend, on luxury of beauty treatment. Pre-planned and part of looking the part for work. Have come up with a plan to reduce spend significantly this year and to rally stagger out paid for treatments. Yesterday was a NSD, not a penny spent!


Plans for month - am settling into the year now. Waiting for some updates from work and f&f that will shape my month ahead, but managing to nudge plans towards cheap / free activities first date tomorrow...just a cuppa, and somewhere I’ve been meaning to try!

Debts first - done! Just need to keep doing!

List frogs - list to be done this weekend. Have been chewing them up though. Am impressed at speed and text updates for online passport renewal. Will be back with me within a week of submitting form! Recent frogs include dropping stuff for extended family during visit to AR last night - one bike and one bag of kiddy clothes dropped off. Several bags of theirs and mine gone to cs today.

Little savings - did find change for tin yesterday, today has been missed, but have barely been home!

Chill out, gratitudes and use it up..- lovely evening with DD on sofa watching a free film having eaten a speedy dinner of healthy things we each like, from within our freezer use it up drawer. What’s not to love about all of that?

New to you - found some meal sachets (rice etc) in work drawers, that a previous me must have left there. Enough for the basis of a weeks lunches I think!

Exercise - not going well, must do better! Return to work has interrupted all efforts!

LavenderBee

Thanks dolly and wanna bee free - I'm surprisingly pretty mended! I'm normally big on salt water but this has been a job for something medicated and brightly coloured with warning labels in the box! I am feeling very sprightly as, on top of my dramatic recovery, we are doing really well with DD's sleep; as such I'm the most rested I've been since before I was pregnant. I write this on my laptop. That's right, there's a laptop on my lap rather than a cranky baby. It's like a whole new world!

NSDs: Stuck on 2/15. Small spends of £5.95 in Wilko today on blank cards for making personalised thank you cards for DD's Christmas gifts and a couple of household bits and bobbins, and antiseptic cream for hubby (realised I don't have a stationery or medicine category in budget. Thinking of making a slush fund instead)
Make plans for the month: Meal plan back on track, I made an easier to swallow version of tonight's dinner as my throat isn't 100%
List your frogs: Have tried to clear a few this evening with limited success. Going to have to do some things in person I thought I could do online. Started DD's thank you cards, wrapped her birthday presents (for summer but they were in the living room and it was bugging me), got some cleaning done
Chill out: Braved the cold and walked with DH and DD to fancy pants new library to renew and return books. It's only a 10 minute walk and I thought fresh air would help.
Helping others: Set up two new regular direct debits, Red Cross and Bliss
Always be grateful: It's that bluddy library again! For DD sleeping and for lovely supportive husband. Heck, let's have 4, Jack Monroe's aubergine and lentil vindaloo recipe (there's no such thing as a safe aubergine in the beehive, it will be put into a vindaloo!)
Get involved – Am here, struggling to keep up with posts this month though!
Exercise – Only a short walk to town and back today, we were due to go for a proper country walk with DD in her carrier but I'm not that recovered. Did get pretty stuck into some much needed cleaning!
Sort it out - Started my living room tidy, couple more little jobs to do in here.

364ab

Wow. I was a bit ambitious thinking I would post every day!

The good news is, doing well with the challenge. Hope everyone is having fun with it too.
Frogs - Had a blitz this week, as got a busy weekend planned, so crossed 10 things off the list.
Chill out - Day 3 of yoga challenge, I can really feel the difference (though a few aches and pains!)

Tonight I am grateful for:
It being Friday!
Catching up with an distant friend online
The animal I have agreed to sponsor being well enough to visit soon

:j also - with regards to debts and budget -
received a cheque from a train refund which I finally managed to get to the bank to cash, and received some money back that I'd lent to a friend (for a birthday event that I'd paid for in advance for all the attendees). Always pays to chase things up!

sashanut

Hi all:j


NSDs – Aiming for 10 as am going away on 22nd for a few days (Christmas treat) : Now 2/ 10

Make plans for the month – Planned visit to Barcelona later in the month. Rail ticket & plane already paid for. DH sat down with me & planned a few trips, not sure which if any to be taken this month, watch this space. No more plans as yet

Always pay your debts first – No debts but do use a cc which is paid in full every month...need to rein this in, spending has been frightful of late..CC paid off in full, now need to make sure it doesn't rack up to those levels this month. Little more on cc today, will keep an eye on it. No spends today, DH treated me to a new diary, calendar, 5 year plan book:eek: - and a fish supper...gah

List your frogs – Need to do this, although dealt with a massive frog which was working out the amount taken out of business ac as it had to be paid back in order not to incur a lot of tax. Took me ages & was very shocked at amount needing to be repaid...will take this in hand as of NOW. OK took some time today & listed a fair few frogs at long last. Actually dealt with a small one, many more to come..Dealt with another small frog today (froglet???)

Little Savings – Put in a £2 coin that I had in my change the other day, will get cash out & pay in to bank. Joined 1p challenge..

Chill out – working on this. One of my frogs is to start doing some complex knitting...as I am supposed to be doing a 'knitalong'. So far have not even started.

Helping others –Regular shift in CS.

Always be grateful – Grateful for today:

- Cosy warm bedding (big draughty old house)

- Easy visit to dentist & nothing to pay (this time)

- DD coming round (again) and bringing me lots of sachets of porridge she doesn't want (quick if I have to go out in the morning)

- watching another of DHs box set Christmas presents..hence the lateness of posting every day now



New to You – Have more than enough of pretty much everything clothes wise etc but still looking online, forced self not to purchase. Will need printer ink soon as all run out. Will be shopping tomorrow but don't need much. Done food shopping but still will be going to the big store tomorrow with DD....do not intend to buy .. OK did buy so no NSD again today. However, DD wants a sofa bed so offered her the one in the sunroom...if it works will get more space & she gets a free item win-win. DD brought some packets of porridge she no longer eats but I will.

Get involved – Late but here! Again.


Exercise – Lots of walking round enormous shop - not helped by having to retrace steps several times as missed something the first time round. Enough exercise for me. Dealt with dog again, this will be an ongoing project. Plus more garden tidy up. None to speak of today. Had a wakeful night, then hard to get going this morning - had a knock on effect.

Sort it out – Need to do this & will be eating from stuffed freezers & cupboards for January. Will need fresh food milk & animal food, but that should be it. Got fresh food & animal food for this week at least. Its on the frog list! Froglet dealt with as the oven maintenance visit didn't suit me on Tuesday morning as I always work that day. They did call me to cancel & rearrange, but I was in Ireland & just out of hospital so that's probably why I agreed to it. Now coming on the 31st, much better.

GO Turtles!!!!

Dickenslass

Getting my gratitudes in early, for having a car to give DD a lift to work today, which has fantastic de-icing heaters (five years ago we had no heater at all and I used to have to de-ice the inside as well as the outside, then pile blankets and hot water bottles all around DD), and the sight of a beautiful wintery sky as the sun came up today.
Current defrosting more things from freezer use it up drawer for tonights dinner and bracing myself for the morning frog-eating - a very very boring very very time consuming online admin job.

dolly84

Morning all.


Small spend as planned yesterday, 60p on car parking and £6.90 on lunch for the kids. No other spends whilst out.


Spending again today, DS is having his hair cut this morning and we are having a takeaway tonight for his 13th birthday. I won't actually have anything, I will be making my first vegan pizza to have instead.


Upgraded our broadband to fibre last night, it is only costing £2 a month more than the shocking broadband we have now.


Not sure what else we have planned for the day but it is dry and bright so I will be getting outside that's for sure.


Lavender - I detest aubergine which is a shame as it features heavily in vegan meals, I think it is the food of the devil along with walnuts, an aubergine and walnut bake would be my worst nightmare.

f0xh0les

This morning has not been good.

DS2 has managed to run up a £50 bill on his new phone in 10 days, that is above and beyond his call / data allowance. We even made sure the phone did not automatically connect if the wifi went down. He has ignored all the messages sent to tell him he was over his limit. , he has a laptop for computer stuff. There was no need for it. So he knows what he was doing and I am livid. Vesuvius has nothing on me. I am so disappointed in him. Sometimes I really feel like I am working alone on this.

I am the only turtle in a house full of sharks.

Nice to know I can come on here and swim with other Turtles. Apologies for whinging.

Pantry inventory made, menus planned, shopping list made, went off and did the shop for less than £50 this week. All stuff bought in for lunchboxes, and then hit with that bill. I could cry, but I won't as Turtles are made of sterner stuff. I can absorb the loss, but it is the thoughtlessness of it all. Grrr.

I also love aubergine, in all its forms, it is a thing of beauty. Maybe it is the vegetable equivalent of marmite?

dolly84

f0xh0les - if one of my children had done that they would be paying back every penny of that £50.