NST A Gentle Jog Through July

apple_muncher

Yay to your first nsd f0xh0les! Hope the re-clothing of the children is successful.

Toni'sfriend

NSD No 9

Today is the day that I take out the weekly food/housekeeping from the bank. I am pleased and frankly amazed that last week I spent less than £10. Obviously this is a consequence of trying to use up the huge amount of food we have in store but I am so pleased that having put my mind to it I've managed to buy so little.

So today we defrosted and tidied the larger freezer. More sausage, pizza, a huge amount of cheese and cooked meat and the cooked chicken mountain has hardly reduced. Chicken pieces, pork, etc, etc, etc. However, I have been making sure that we have been using leftovers and and not adding them to what we have and forgetting about them. Had a long talk with HImself and he has agreed that we have to make a plan and use up what we have so tonight is Pizza and tomorrow is chicken and a spicy tomato sauce with rice all of which are already there. Nothing else needed. Couple of sausage based meals next week and a chicken soup to use up some cooked chicken. Did I mention we have 20 ciabatta rolls and quite a lot of things called butteries. Oh and four tarte au citron, two chocolate and ginger puddings (we don't eat dessert!), scones, crumpets - the list goes on. Tomorrow's treasure hunt is the fridge - yes, he has a whole shelf of jars in there as well.

It's been a lovely warm day today and very quiet. Don't know where all the children has disappeared to but I hope it's going to stay that way.

Don't think the weight loss is going too well but I'm plodding away.

Kerry_Woman

Was a spend day. Tiny food top up and other items. Had to replace flasks as the other ones were not keeping hot drinks hot. Got recycled tissues in MrS. When got to till they came up as 20p each. Hope they will not discontinue them as they have plastic free packaging. Also soap.
Grateful for:
Watching the mens tennis on tv.
Nice weather.
Plenty of walking whilst shopping.
Finally donated the items to charity shop.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for the gym being very quiet while I was there, for the nice lady on reception, for am email from a friend, for finishing making the posies, for dd enjoying her days away (though she is full of cold and exhausted!), for another peaceful day, for a little sorting out of some papers.

mothernerd

I'm back and I had a lovely time. Tried inputting the wifi code several times but it said the signal was too weak, then said something else was wrong and then it just said the site could not be reached (think the laptop had failed to do it once and wouldn't try again). Lots of you seem to be in need of hugs - be kind to yourselves.

Travelling was a bit tiresome but we survived. Had quite a bit in common with several of the other guests and bonded well. One woman was travelling with two of her daughters and another woman was also companion and carer to her mother so we've been swapping stories and exchanging looks over mothers getting lost/ stuck in the lift/ not doing what they were told/ and going off at a tangent.

Hotel was lovely. Only 34 rooms but still privately owned and everyone was so helpful and kind. Food was glorious, enough but not the enormous portions some hotels have.

The garden visit was interesting, Monkey World was fabulous and on the day we stayed near to the hotel to rest we ate a light lunch in the hotel garden then walked through the 'park' (large grassed area with pine trees behind our hotel and extending in several blocks each way). I left mum on the grass (but near to some trees in case she got too hot and needed to move into the shelter) and walked down the (many, many) steps to the promenade and across the sand (very dry and soft, my feet sank several inches with each step) to have a paddle then walked back to a bit of extended promenade and let myself sink onto the sand, knowing I'd have to use the stone wall to pull myself up again. Then went all the way back with lots of breaks and also managed to catch a dog's ball after he dropped it - it bounced down one and a half flights of steps and would have gone all the way to the bottom if I hadn't scooped it neatly into my sun hat.

Today's journey went on forever, especially after we left the coach and had to wait for the 'feeder' mini bus. I think I've seen all the posh bits of Cheshire and the very poshest bits of Greater Manchester, meandering down country lanes enclosed by ten foot hedges, where most of the 'houses' are farmhouses called things like Wigsy Cruck with the odd thatched cottage and horse box thrown in. We also went over a toll bridge, a tiny bridge with a booth not much bigger than a phone box, staffed by a single teenager collecting money from cars going in both directions - the toll was 12p. Much nearer home (3 villages across into the 'posh part') I saw alpacas.

Set off at 8 am this morning and the clock chimed 6 pm as I turned into my street. I think I have enough leftover picnic for tomorrow and maybe Sunday too. I've showered my feet with cold water, eaten and had a little doze. I fell a couple of times on the coach home - didn't hit the floor but slammed hard into solid bits of coach, will have some interesting bruises in the morning.

sashanut

Hi all :j


A Adventure No adventures today.

G Get creative in the kitchen Simple supper from stores as just 2 of us.

N NSDs Will go for low target as we are on holiday as well as DD this week & another week when she goes away later in the month. NSDs now 5/12

T Take care in the sun Not out in the sun today

L Live on what is left Will do.

E Exercise: Gardening & cutting the grass today.

J July food days abound , French Fries (13th), Hot Dogs and Peach Ice Cream (17th - No not together), Caviar (18th) Daiquiris (19th). My favourites are Fresh Spinach Day (16th) Vanilla Ice Cream (23rd). Other Ice cream days are available. Use these as a jumping off point to add some summer fun to your meal plan. Will pick a couple of these.

O (H2)O Water fun. Dogs have made holes in their pool, not sure how to get them in otherwise as they are so large. May have an old plastic one somewhere lurking in the shrubbery. Still to locate. Only water is the amount drunk by me. Now have food diary so water can be logged. Not started yet, will start tomorrow. Started with upping water & whilst I didn't drink all that I am supposed to, I did much better. keeping up with the water but not as much as I should do. Dug out dogs pool (half a clam shell type) from shrubbery & cleaned it out, then refilled with water. 2 dogs ignored it, the other had a drink out of it.. Found other half of dogs pool, now needs cleaning out, although they probably won't go in it.

G Geeks May struggle here.

T Think of those who are ill Both elderly uncles are now suffering from terminal illnesses. Do think of them often. Had email from elderly relative, seems OK. Friend came who has been ill, spent 4.5 hours here so must have enjoyed himself..Thank you email from friend. Asked him back.

H Help those in need. Will do my best.

R Relax. Have lots of books & projects to do so need to make a time each do to actually DO them. Did a bit of knitting today but need to get organised with projects now. Knitted in car whilst DH had a meeting but forgot book. More TV knitting tonight. Took myself off in the midst of the chaos (DD back from hols) & sat in the quiet finishing some projects. DH has downloaded all the podcasts for my project that I will do on holiday. Mostly be on my own so need something complex to concentrate on. Knitting at the dentist, sparked a few conversations.

O Our Bodies Our Selves: Will deffo be doing this & am starting this week with a pamper day. Pampered self by putting on make up etc. Only pampering was a shower & putting some make up on. Self care tomorrow. Still need to make time for myself.

U Useless On this, will take some to CS tomorrow. Am still sorting & binning. Got rid of some bags of rubbish for collection tomorrow. CS tomorrow, have books to go & some rags if I can smuggle them past the head honcho. Not done

G Get out and about:Out to dentists, not really in the spirit of this point.

H Half Year Review: Good idea & will work on this. Some progress but much more to do. less than 3 weeks till hols.

J Just a couple DH already looks like a combo of these two.

U yUo All meals taken at home

L Look at each purchase: No purchases today.

Y You should check in daily Here I am, hello folks!

crazy_cat_lady

Pleased that you have had a good time away mothernerd
I'm a little bit jealous of you being off school already f0xh0les - I have another 5 days to get through. However, I keep reminding myself that this time next week I'll be sunning myself on a beach and no more work for weeks...
So, today is the first weekend I've had off from exam marking in six weeks, but I also have no tutoring either (for the first time since last summer) so I'm really, really pleased that I have a weekend to myself. However, my real life has been somewhat neglected so I have a bit of a list of things I can't put off any longer... I must put my expenses in from my last London trip as I'm approaching the deadline there. I also need to help ds sort through his clothes and make a start on packing (we are going away literally as soon as school finishes on Friday), and plan meals very carefully for the week ahead to minimise the cost of the top up shop I'm going to have to do over the weekend.
I've got bestie coming over soon for a coffee and a catch up - looking forward to seeing her for the first time in a fortnight. Best go and get some clothes on then as I'm still slobbing about in my jammies.

Karmacat

A Adventure - do something that scares you, just a bit.
Looking at some really intense holidays next year. Don't think there's anything scary this month

G Get creative in the kitchen.
I'm so rubbish at this - I can bake a few things, but if I try to do more than the basics, I end up throwing food away. Sticking to baking for now.

E Eat Beans Day is on the 3rd July.
I have half a dozen types of dried beans on the go all the time

T Take care in the sun especially if you know you have problems.
Use my Factor 50 and my hat, and I'm having a GP practice-based operation in 10 days on a mole that has to go.

E Exercise
So much gardening!

O (H2)O Water fun.
Erm, I'll keep the birdbath full :rotfl:

G Geeks Unite. July 13th is Embrace Your Geekness Day.
:j:j:j I'm off to a National Trust place just now, but when I get back, its full on Geek Day. Firefly!!!

H Help those in need. International Day of Friendship is on July 30th.
I think some food bank donations are in order.

R Relax.
Not bad at this, actually, until the tinnitus gets me.

O Our Bodies Our Selves.
Oh, that was a good book. Lifechanging. Will pay attention.

U Useless and ugly objects need to leave your home. Keep up the clutter clearing.
Absolutely.

G Get out and about. Explore your neighbourhood. Do you have a local town trail and have you been on it?
Also "absolutely" - working hard at this.

H Half Year Review. Have you any family birthdays or significant events to celebrate in the next 3 months?
Did the review on my mfw diary, which was really helpful, and my brother texted me a note from his phone updating me with birthdays and anniversaries of his children and grandchildren. Happy days

Y You should check in daily, if possible (especially when things go wrong).
Not a chance I pop by daily, but posting ... sorry

f0xh0les

Good morning! Today will be school uniform buying day - DS4 is easy, just white polo shirts and a pair of trainers, everything else is recycled from DS3 and I nabbed a new-to-me fleece from the lost property pile at the very end of school, after most people had vacated the playground. His two have gone walkabout so I do not feel bad, and the pile was headed to the ragman, so I have reduced by not buying one and reused by nabbing it.

I need a blazer, shirts and trousers and shoes for DS3, and he can move up into DS2s cast offs for the rest, I will sew the badge on from other discarded blazers.

So a pretty boring shopping trip, but DS3 is dead excited about the whole thing. yay! (or not).
Booked the ferry to Ireland, forgot to go through the cashback site - boo. Did remember to use the cashback credit card - yay!
Tomorrow is Monkey Forest day! scrubbing kids to within an inch of their lives, in readiness for in-laws. Possibly one to the barbers for haircut.

Toni'sfriend - I love it when I can eat from the (ys) freezer for a fortnight. Sadly it does not happen as much now as the kids can open the freezer door. Stuff just disappears. Pouf! and the food is gone (bit like Sillyt Bang). It makes such a huge difference in the food budget. It is what we raid the ys for.


Much love and hugs to those who need them.

Congratulations to those who have made it to the school holidays, it will roll around soon to the others.

That it is the weekend is reason enough to be happy.

f0xh0les

Karmacat wrote: »

G Geeks Unite. July 13th is Embrace Your Geekness Day.
:j:j:j I'm off to a National Trust place just now, but when I get back, its full on Geek Day. Firefly!!

I cannot decide between Farscape and Battlestar Galactica, either way I know once I start I will not want to stop. Either way I will be a Starship Turtle, which has now made Abba play in my head. :rotfl:My reward for braving the shops.