NST DECEMBER Don't Be a Martyr for Christmas

mothernerd

ACCEPT - then Act
Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as though you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy. This will miraculously change your whole life.

Self-forgiveness
I am human
I acted the best way I was capable of in that moment
I have grown as a person
I am grateful for increased insight and opportunity to make a better choice from now on
I accept this about myself
I allow myself to be at peace with this
I forgive myself

Talk to yourself as if you were someone you love
(I love this one). I think it's really important . If you have done something wrong (overspent, ate something 'naughty', didn't do all the things you said you were going to do - probably because you piled too many things on your shoulders to begin with) don't beat yourself up. You did, draw a line under it, do better next time. If there was a reason for it - you saw someone in need and helped out, you were lending an ear to a friend in need, remember that. If it was totally unnecessary, forgive yourself and move on. One slip shouldn't turn into a landslide.

If you are trying to lose weight (you have fat, you are not fat - it doesn't define you) there are enough people around who will criticise you, even perfect strangers will feel free to make comments about the way you look and voice the assumptions they make based on how you look (not to mention mothers). Don't join in. Accept who and what you are. I sometimes rub or pat my tummy, thank it for keeping me warm and comfortable and then tell it (in a Marie Kondo way) that it has served it's purpose and and it's time for ti to leave. I know that going on about how dreadful various aspects of my appearance are (I've reached the stage where it takes several hours to be presentable enough to leave the house without frightening small children or horses) the self-recrimination will often lead to compensatory over-eating to 'make myself feel better'. So this is my body, it is what it is, the pains and aches are from all the work it's done over the years and it deserves to be treated kindly.

I was always aware of the 'playground mothers'. Not the 'yummy mummy' types. The ones who had found time to do their daughter's hair in elaborate plait arrangements, whose children were clean, clothes neatly pressed, wrapped up warm whilst they had obviously left the house without passing a mirror, wore clothes that looked as though they had been dragged on or slept in with inadequate top layers (or whose children were wearing their gloves/ hat/ scarf when they had been unable to find their own). They cared but their children got the care and they had none left for themselves.

So accept your imperfections, your mistakes, the things you did wrong. You are kinder and better than that. Accept yourself as you are now, then work towards the person you are in your head or your dreams. If all else fails, remember, as DS3 once said to me "You're beautiful on the inside, that's what matters most."

Shrewbie

Thank you Mothernerd, that was beautiful. I have saved onto my computer.

Happy birthday to toni’s friend!

and welcome threepenny bit. 

I am still on 3 NSD.

Just paid €60 for the privilege of exchanging my driving licence to a spanish one due to Brexit. We have had a while to do this but due to covid it was extremely difficult to get an appointment. Finally me and bf got one and the deadline to exchange is the end of the year, so it was all a bit of a stressful rush.

I’m always nervous when having to deal with any red tape but thank god bf was with me because as soon as we turn up to the driving office they say we need to take a psychometric test first. Nowhere on the official literature does it mention this. So… no problem says the guy, just pop next door to the doctors and pay for a health check. there was also one that tests your reactions and reflexes. I was convinced i’d failed, my hands were shaking from the stress of being late for the appointment! But the rest of the process was fairly smooth thank god. 

Stocked up on some festive treats from Leedle on the way home. Huge bottle of vermouth for €3, cava for €1.50, god knows what it will be like but I thought it was worth the risk . haha. Only going to mix with OJ.

Grateful for the civil servants being in a good mood (they can totally ruin your day  if you make a mistake with a form or use the wrong colour pen) for being allowed to stay in this country and for how excited bf got when he spotted those chocolates you can hang on the tree in leedle. 

Have a great weekend turtles

greent

Happy birthday,  @Toni'sfriend     🎂🎂🎊 x

Kerry_Woman

Toni'sfriend - Wishing you a Happy Birthday.

ldee2111

Still on NSD 7/15. Spendy day today.

Met a friend for lunch, however, she is also quite frugal, and we both skipped having a starter and dessert which kept our bill down a fair bit - still £16 a head though. The mains were so huge and filling themselves that it would have been pure greed and a waste to have ordered more. It wasn’t so much about having lunch though - it was just nice to see my friend and have a good catch up in person rather than on a device!  

Visited MandS this morning to get our Christmas dinner. Spent £13 in total on a turkey roulade and pigs in blankets for the three of us. The plain turkey breast was £16 whereas the roulade with bacon and stuffing was only £7.50! OH asked if I was picking roulade because it cost less (he’s on to me - haha) but it did also sound quite tasty. And, yes, being half the price did play a part in my decision. I’ve never bought turkey before and was quite surprised at the price of some - up to £50 for a crown! 

1000ml water, no walk despite good intentions of walking to lunch place - it was raining and I decided to wear heels (for the first time in about a year!) I thought this may be the one time in 2020 I ‘get out’ so why not?! I went even further - mascara and lipgloss! 

Grateful for seeing my friend, a tasty lunch cooked by someone else, and having the willpower to not order more food in the restaurant.

f0xh0les

Happy Birthday @Toni'sfriend

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for dh doing a tip run, for not getting too soggy, for dd getting to see her friend again, for my needlefelting, for a lovely hot bath and scrub.

Toni'sfriend

NSD No 13

I had a lovely day. Not  many cards but lots of messages including one from a lady I haven’t seen for more than 20 years. The power of Facebook. The girls did bring me their cards (which I will treasure always) and a bottle of rose (Mother’s idea, I suspect). Had my first glass of wine since the beginning of November and that’s me until Christmas and then nothing after that. I’m not often at home for my birthday and I’m pining a bit. Would like to go to Paris and I watched a programme about Vienna yesterday which has made me quite nostalgic for my train journeys across Europe but needs must and I am thankful that we are well and don’t have any money problems. You have to really count your blessings, don’t you? Himself is reading a book about the blitz in London during WW2 and it fair puts things into perspective. When I think that my Father was away for 6 years, never saw my brother before he went and my Mother coped all throughout, never knowing if he was alive or dead, I think I can cope with this.

Enough doom and gloom. I’ve got an enormous block of chocolate to eat. Stay safe. Xxx

facethemusic

Friday- NSD 10/15, money-wise things are back to being not quite terrible! I see no reason to spend any money tomorrow (and may have arranged to sell something tomorrow which will help as well). 
School is done for the holidays, I have the weekend off and the weather is not terrible. We have a gingerbread house to build tomorrow and DD has plans for Christmas movies, I will try to tidy what I can and get the housework caught up so we are sorted for next week. 

f0xh0les

No more alarm clock!  fa la la la la! to all the teachers. 

Got all my lists written for the weekend, not wrapped a thing yet, but not worried, because it is on my list - I am aware of it, and I can joyfully bound from my bed in the morning, and get on with scrubbing things off the list.

Today I found a big ceramic Bundt dish in a c/s for less than £3, so I nabbed it, and then spent half an hour laughing my face off at Nigella going on about her moist and fragrant bundt .   DH announced how much he likes the look of a bundt, I told him a gentleman wouldn't mention it.  So it seems my bundt is really his Xmas gift bundt. A surprise bundt.  Serendipity.   The ceramic orange juicer thing is mine though. You can take my bundt, but you'll never take my juicer! (that's as Braveheart as I get).  Easy come, easy go.

Went into H+B and bought lots of red sticker things ( why does the health food shop have to be different??) anyway, lots of 20p boxes of oatcakes, and half price bars of Veg0.  I think the stockings are sorted now, but will have a much better idea once I start wrapping stuff.

Found a pine chest of drawers in a flying ambulance shop for £25, they wanted £15 for delivery so I put the back seats down on my n1ssan m1cra and told them to shove it in there. DS4 thought it was hilarious.   Everything is hilarious now that term is over.

Gratitudes :  dh fixing my boot wiring on Tuesday, it had not opened since September, 2 second fix. clever boy.

New to us chest of drawers for a decent price, no trees were harmed in the rehoming of this furniture.

Sausage and chips for tea, easy, quick, everybody happy.

Feeling like I have a plan, but if I want to go off piste, I am going for it! One week to go.

Happy Weekend Turtle friends.