NST February 2020

dolly84

Yesterday was spendy.  I took the kids to see 1917, we used Meerkat Movies but booked online which we didn't need to but it is a small cinema and you just never know - 3 of us watched the film for £12.23 and we all loved it.  We were going to go by bus and meet DH in town later but the bus for 3 was more expensive than the £4.40 I paid for parking.  After the cinema DH met us and we had tea in Frankie & Benny's, we used Meerkat Meals but it was still £48.33 for 4 of us, it would have been another £30 without the 2 for 1 - totally not worth that at all.  No wonder we don't eat out often, when your kids get older and you pay for 4 adult meals it is just too expensive and I never come away thinking it was fantastic.

Not spending any money today (well apart from grocery money but I don't count that), DD's boyfriend is coming round and I will do them mini pizzas and chips for lunch, am making a batch of coleslaw for my lunch today and for DH tomorrow and for tea we are having a harissa chickpea pepper thing I am making which will be served with rice.

f0xh0les

Good Morning Turtles!

2/3rds through the month, so time to re-evaluate your goals, what have you achieved? what can you still get done?  

Parent/.grandparent turtles - half way through half term now -in case you have holiday homework or any special plans.  The weather is supposed to be pretty wet and yuck for us for the rest of the week over here.  Added to that the fun of 5 strike days for DH, so he will be hanging around the house 'shirking from home' and complaining about his lack of routine - so he is off to the pub tonight after work so they can all complain together. I think they call it a 'critical evaluation meeting'

My kids have vetoed leaving the house today - not sure why, they have been happy to leave it the last 2 days, so they must feel like chillin' in their nice tidy bedrooms, in their nice clean beds, with their nice new hair.

I am still well within budget, with food in the house to do until Monday.  I will fold and return school uniforms today while I am in the house, might do a bit of recreational baking, just going to go with the flow as it is my last day as unobserved responsible house adult.

crazy_cat_lady

Hey turtles I'm still here - swimming along and trying to keep up. My head isn't great at the moment and mood following suit. However, I'm going to keep going as I always do. I have much to be very grateful so always feel bad when I sit and wallow for a bit. However, I'm here and keeping the faith as well as I can.

mothernerd

Thank you , I had a lovely sleep. It's going to be another slow day. I think mum was wrong, the cough and clod she had was a different variety which she has now given to me. Meals have mainly been wraps with low fat cheese spread and tiny tomatoes. When the wraps ran out, I switched to mini oatcakes (preferred brand but mini ones bought cheap at HB and put away for Christmas - that Christmas box has been very useful, must think what to do with the chestnuts. Didn't do a lot as I'm still needing to sit down and rest after each task but I brought toilet rolls in from the shed and restocked the kitchen cupboard and bathroom thingy, put more soup and baked beans in the kitchen (from the soupery), washed my mask and hose for the CPAP machine thoroughly and put the clothes I had worn into mum's machine and left them drying on the radiators. Made tea of mum's choice (bacon, croquette potatoes and beans, I added the last of my mushrooms to mine).

Packed bit by bit during the day (CPAP machine was first but I left the bag open as the mask and hose were drying in the kitchen) and took the bin bag from the kitchen bin and put the black bin out for collection.

Weather was horrible as I waited for the taxi so stayed close to the corner of the bungalow for shelter. CPAP bag got wet and some birthday cards I brought home (some for posting, some for the boys) needed to be left out to dry overnight. Mum asked if I would lose the boys' cards if I took them (birthdays March 9th to April 24th). I had just spent half an hour going through two drawers and emptying out a cupboard to find out where she had put them.

Today will of necessity be another slow day. Tried to message DS3 to get him to bring me a knife for the cheese spread but he was asleep so used the handle of a plastic fork (not sure where the fork came from but getting as much use as possible from it). Will need to get downstairs soon as my drink supply is running out. Will take each job as I can manage (aiming to be showered and dressed before lunch). Want to get my WTC renewal done - it's fairly simple but the accounts book, renewal forms (4 separate letters they sent) and supporting paperwork all ended up in different bags when I took them to mum's last week. Was too ill to find them all, even though I knew I had packed them.

Probably need to think about food. Brought two portions of curry and one stew from mum's (I made them, she froze them using a special cake tin I bought years ago and then she complained because she couldn't get them back out of the freezer) and there's still the remains of the fish mountain at the bottom of my freezer. No yoghurts, very few eggs, only a tiny bottle of milk and not sure what the bread situation is - Beloved seems to have taken a whole pack of burger buns from the freezer (doesn't she know you can take out a few at a time).

Today I am grateful for having food in the house even if it means peculiar meal combos, for having time to rest (at least until I go back to mum's this evening, ready for tomorrow's appointment) for the library being so close. They sound like very ungrateful gratitudes, will try harder later.

mothernerd

1917 is on the film club programme for the end of this year, along with JoJo Rabbit and Knives Out (all the evening showing). Lots to look forward to.

Also grateful for losing weight. Stomach is getting smaller. Still an awful long way to go but doing the right things most of the time seems to be working.

f0xh0les

CCL - you are out of your routine, sometimes routine provides stability, have a lovely afternoon out.

Is fish pie on the menu mothernerd? I love the idea of a fish mountain at the bottom of the freezer. Puts an image inside my head. 0 degrees under the sea. 

I am starting to get a bit concerned - I have not had any post in a week. Properly no post, not even for dh and his rainforest shopping obsession.  Must be worried about strike pay coming out next month. ...

Calling14

Hi folks, Sorry I have been missing.  Got knealed over by flu. Didn't feel great Friday but by Sunday felt awful, Monday and Tuesday spent either on bed or couch. Back in work today, still feel bit feverish.

Positive points, gained some spend free days.

Negative points bit of spending of iron vitamin supplement as I seem to feel tired all the time and just catch every germ.

2/3 of the way through this challenge, eek how did that happen. Tried some clothes on yesterday but too snug so went back in wardrobe and I crawled back into my sick bed. Food spend is down and freezer looks decent. Need to make a soup as veg mountain looking tad saggy.  No spend days will have to count them up, as seems to be a month of little and often spends.  Have bought odd thing for the house and spent out on repairs, plumber.

Mothernerd - glad your drains are sorted.

Foxholes - get well soon

Crazy cat - keep going we need your inspiration on here.

Dolly - might try 1917 I won some cinema tickets on facebook before xmas unused yet but daughter keeps hinting Peter Rabbit 2 out soon. She will probably win. I did like first Peter Rabbit film and gk watched it again Saturday, free on netflix now.

Grateful for

Recovering from nasty flu bug.

Not too much work to come back to.

Debts now at £980 under 1K woo hoo

ditty1234

Good afternoon all, so this holiday is moving forwards very quickly without much happening. Have done a lot of walking, which is nice - mainly social walking with ds and dog. Car sorted yesterday £100 including some essential work. So very good really. All outings cancelled though and am trying to go and see movie - but hard to find right time. Partly as have to look after my French teacher, who is ver nice. 
Cooked for 5 French teachers very nice people but lightly awkward as they were too tired to speak English. Managed to cook for all for about £15-20 including pudding and most of our dinner tonight. 
Had to buy revision book for ds that was a bit of a blow, in particular as can't sell his old revision books from last year. People ask and then don't get back to me. Annoying. 
Have not done well with dancing challenge so far!
Am still grateful for talks w uni son, other ds doing his training and a bit of training. And grateful for having a visitor in the house keeping us on our toes.   

f0xh0les

Thank you Calling - I actually did not cough last night, so full of beans and happiness this morning. Made up for it when I became vertical but I think that is it pretty much gone now.  Congratulations on being sub-£1k.(cartwheel emoji / pom pom emoji)  Are you doing any 1% challenges? They appear to focus the mind and seem to be very successful.

Just a gentle reminder about the major religious festival coming up on Tuesday - so try and remember it if you are doing a shop between now and then.  Nothing worse than not being prepared for Pancake Day.  What would the advertisers say???  Anyway you have been warned it is coming on 25th. If nothing else at least it is funny. 

Rebels may of course remember pancakes are for life, not just for pancake day.  Super cheap and filling too.

I have 2 cakes in the oven, so must dash!

mothernerd

I'm claiming NSD 10, subject to f0xh0les approval. Went out to post cards (my brother's, my neice's and two of my cousins' children), hobbled to the cash machine - took a detour as the community shop was open. I've been meaning to join this new one and the one that's fairly well established (both aimed at cutting waste with ood/ near to date low cost items) for ages. Paid £2 to join and bought chocolate biscuits, a toast loaf, 4 seeded sourdough rolls, a marinade and 500g of turmeric for a total of £1.03. Also meant I did not have to go to little Arseda. Went to the library, picked up ten large print books and took part in a 'scam' awareness session (the two women had been there an hour and I was their first customer).

Glad to be back home (miserable drizzly weather - not proper rain, but very dispiriting) in the warm. Will be going to mum's sometime and probably won't take my laptop, just the CPAP and a couple of books. It should be my day off tomorrow so may ask to be dropped in the town centre on the way back from the infirmary. We don't know if the cleaner is coming tomorrow, Friday or not at all (grandchildren on half-term and their mum is pregnant again and very poorly with it).

Today I am grateful for supporting local shops, having chocolate biscuits, my bed and books and enforced rest - sometimes your body not only tells you to rest, it demands it.