NST JUST JUNE

f0xh0les

Pinch, punch, first of the month, and no returns!

Money has hit my bank account, all bills paid, nothing on cc, shunted £500 to savings - quite optimistic, but as it is my birthday this month I am hoping for a cheque, otherwise it is the usual £100 budget for everything a week (for 6 of us ) or less.  Today's fun and thrilling installment will involve a trip to the petrol station (oooooh!) a spot of volunteering x 2 (aaah) a swift jaunt to the supermarket at y/s o'clock tonight (gasp!), and a mega trip to the loo roll shop (I only buy it once a month) (swoon!). 

Will make a mortgage overpayment later on, once dh has got up and I can check the balance to make it into a 'tidy' amount (I am a tidy numbers freak). 

But right now, it is my  last cup of coffee, petrol station, and f/b.  

Abundant, be careful of keto unless you are diabetic  - I would go for 'clean' with very limited carbs - it is one of those which are loved by people who need to 'control' something in their lives.  Like all diets it will work, but is it really a sustainable thing you can see yourself doing long term? Otherwise the weight will just come back on.   Anyway, give it a go, but don't discount a drop in mood with your new eating plan.  Eating should not make you sad.  It will only make you eat more carp.

Don't forget your sunblock

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Morning all
DD1 has returned to work (she's a Teaching Assistant) , she's a bit nervous especially about lack of interaction with other staff.
It's a short half term though so deep breath and fingers crossed...
My job continues at home and i'm grateful i can do nearly all of it at home and still get full pay.
I've got washing in the machine and now off to switch on my work laptop.
Wishing everyone a good day
Deni x

mothernerd

Just June Day 1  
Dare Day or Toss a coin Day.
So today make three decisions by tossing a coin OR do something daring/ out of character. This might be a good one to try with the offspring f0xh0les - you could pick the alternatives in advance (a task or an extra half hour on the games machine).
J Just do your best
   Everything is weird atm (good word weird). Wars and disasters (tsunamis, school shootings, drought and famine) tend to happen 'somewhere else' and our own are rather 'domestic' in comparison. So we are all a bit at sea and all our 'usual' ways of doing things have been disrupted. So if things go awry, cut yourself some slack. Most of us are spending more time at home and in close proximity to our loved ones than we are used to. More than the December festival and we all know what that does for the divorce rates. More than the school holidays and in closer confinement (no days out or swapping/ sharing with other parents).
So to paraphrase my usual advice 'Don't be a martyr in the lockdown'.  If you aren't feeling the love, if you are tearful, frustrated or just plain fed up (especially if your family assume you will continue to provide 24 hour hotel, entertainment and emotional support service) hide in your room, take yourself off for a walk, go on a 24 hour strike and then demand fairer conditions. Do whatever you need to do to protect your own mental health. Your children and your partner (as well as other family members isolating elsewhere) may need your support but 'you can't pour from an empty cup'.
You might want to boycott beans in protest at the lack of availability of six packs (since Mr H found they were second only to tp on everyone's most wanted list) or the opportunistic/ inevitable price rises (demand/ scarcity economics) but there isn't a lot you can do about it. I'm prioritising getting food into the house over worrying about price rises atm. As I can't physically go to the shops myself without endangering mum's life I'm dependent on those places where I can get a delivery from with 3 relatives delegated to hunt down 'in store only' and 'out of stock' items including otc meds. I am aware that it is mainly mum's money that I am spending but I have also bought things she has asked about and am including little treats (next Saturday's shop includes 'Italian' bits - stuffed pasta, garlic bread and pizza as we will be 'holidaying' in Italy/ the back yard the following week) mainly for mum (I currently have 9 bars of her favourite chocolate stashed in various locations, I had one - I have put iced lollies and ice cream for me as well as mum on next week's list).
In nearly every case where I have hesitated over purchasing the items have been unavailable when I went back and delivery times on those things I have ordered are uncertain. Mum suggested getting an aerosol paint to paint the old bin 'even if it was more expensive' - I had to explain patiently that the store in question had 187 suitable paints on it's inventory but only 8 were in stock (the most boring fence paint colours). If you are confined to your house (let's be positive - in the sanctuary of your humble abode) for most of your waking hours, you will notice the bits that are getting shabby or the bits that 'niggle you'. Fix them yourself if possible but don't agonise over relatively small purchases that make things better. Just don't let it become an everyday habit.
Do your best quotes
No one else knows exactly what the future holds for you, no one else knows what obstacles you've overcome to get where you are, so don't expect others to be as passionate about your  dreams as you do.
Do your best and let the rest go. You can't be perfect, no matter how hard you try, so give yourself credit for making the effort and try to stop stressing about the outcome.

Calling14

Can I join please Mothernerd? Been back in work a week now and trying to get my mind back to focus on normality. Count me in please ;-)

[Deleted User]

Pinching you all kindly for the start of the month. 
I share the thought thst when you spend so long in the humble abode places that have worn do niggle and therefore I mention that I am in the middle of renovating the meter cupboard at the bottom of the stairs. It's isn't yet finished but already I feel appeasement having changed it up.
My grocery budget is set, I shop on Thursday, or rather Sainsbury see that I can shop without leaving the house - which is a bugetting problem all in itself but eat we shall so I'm thankful.
To the month ahead. 

Toni'sfriend

Afternoon and very hot one it is too.

NSD No 1

I was up really early and did all sorts including the ironing before 8.00 am whilst Himself was still in bed. That's probably why I was so productive. I didn't have him asking me what I was doing every five minutes. Made my list and nearly everything ticked off although some things are not quite completed ie reorganised the kitchen to make it a bit more user friendly but it still has things needing done to it. A little bit of cupboard and drawer sorting out tomorrow, I think. Written the birthday cards and wrapped presents

I walked to the post box to post repeat prescription. It's not very far but it's the furthest I've been in ten weeks. It was actually too hot to go much further anyway. Hopefully, it's cooling a little bit tomorrow so maybe a little bit of a walk then. I must say I'm quite disturbed at the pictures in the press and on television of crowded beaches, parks and beauty spots. I could even see around here that people were ignoring the guidelines. I just hope we're not forced back into lockdown.

I had some lovely fruit for breakfast and a prawn salad for lunch. Might have some antipasti later but at the moment we're just not feeling hungry.

Made some food for the Boy yesterday. He might come and collect it later if he's finished working but he still won't come into the house. He's still scared that I might catch something.

Off to watch Midommer Murders. Have a good evening.

misstara

Gorgeous day here, just having a quick walk round the park before tea.  Made a big salmon and tomato omelette yesterday so leftovers for tea tonight.  Braved the supermarket today so all stocked up for the next few weeks.  Managed to get a few ys goodies including a garlic flatbread that will go very nice with the omelette.  Also put petrol in the car - a tank is lasting a whole month at the moment whereas normally I'd go through 3.

I paid off my credit card last month so just my car loan to go now although first I'm going to focus on getting all the savings pots filled up.

Weight wise I have dropped another pound still a long way to go though.  I think lockdown makes it harder though as I don't want to be popping to the supermarket regularly to get salad and fruit.

apple_muncher

Fraid I read the flip-a-coin-for-three-decisions today too late to do it - will try to remember it tomorrow. Sounds wild, depending on what I use it for...

Today I am grateful for more fine weather (due to cool down significantly on weds), for re-discovering podcasts, for dh being super busy, for dd getting some great exam results, for having so much more than I need.

DarknessIntoPower

I don't really have any decisions to make today as it's a working day, however I am grateful for the following:
-fighting against the temptation of ordering food 
-standing up for what's right
-selling things on Depop

Today was a NSD

greent

Today I am grateful for another gorgeous day weather-wise (4 loads of washing line dried), a relatively successful shop in Sains (inc getting some speciality flour for my neighbour), DS2 being in a fab mood, we all being safe and well, yummy food and still coming in under my daily calories (have put 4lbs back on of the stone I lost - so it's back to watching what I'm eating)

Just off out for our usual meander around the local area, taking in part of the canal path - where we stop and watch ducks & ducklings, swans and cygnets, rats swimming, fish, squirrels or even just the seagulls squabbling, depending upon what is around


Eta: both DD and I are wearing up/ out clothes with holes most of the time - it's only the neighbours who see us most of the time   Also continuing with decluttering 'things' and this month I'm going to make an extra effort to eat random things up which wont then be replaced but will create room.

Two boxes of cereal identified for foodbank - 1 was an incorrect purchase (picked wrong thing up, realised when home) and one is an Azda own brand which DS2 doesnt like the open box of (but is quite happy with the Tesc0 and Sainz versions) (DH will eventually eat up the open box but the extra box may be a push too far - plus our local bank were asking for cereal anyway)