NST: January 2021 – the Turtles do the Jitterbug

misstara

Not posted for a few days, work continues to be manic.  NSDs Thursday and Friday which takes me to 12 (I think).  Food budget is looking particularly good, we've still got over £130 which is unheard of for this time in the month.

Grateful for a few days off work, a walk with a friend yesterday, coffee, good work colleagues, pain au chocolats for breakfast.

lcc86

Afternoon all

Up to 13 NSDs here and bank balance looking good, not often we can say that in January! 

Stayed indoors all day yesterday as the weather was absolutely foul. Cooked some soup and meatballs in the slow cooker and made a panettone pudding which was yum!

Been out horse riding this morning, was given an apple by a lovely little girl just as we got back which was really sweet. Weird to actually speak to strangers (socially distanced but still!). No real plans for the rest of the day, will run the hoover round and then just chill with a book. 

facethemusic

Sunday- NSD 11/15. Yesterday I bought milk and bread, but nothing else. Today I will spend nothing! 
I have plans to ride this afternoon (yeah for slightly better weather), DD has been crafting this morning, all is good in the world. 
ditty definitely speak to the school, I know our head teacher has been providing tablets or laptops to families who need them. The systems should be in place to help. 

ditty1234

Went on a lovely sd walk w friend, and now off to do shopping, and then back to do some work work and some future work( job application and personal statement for new course). Quite exciting really. 

greent

Small spend of under £15 at Smith yesterday to top up on milks , some veggies and fruit - and choc (DH was by himself....) Collected some potatoes and lots of various bakery items this morning from an 0li0-er. No spends today.

DH and I both had our (regular) flu jabs yesterday morning and then both felt really groggy and nauseous later on. We both had a nap and then still went to bed at a decent time and slept in this morning.  I feel less woolly-headed today but my arm is still rather sore. Dinner plans changed last night as I didn't want to cook curry when feeling rough - mostly because neither DH nor I wanted to eat it

Exercise this past week has been good.

Thankful for 0li0 items, playing a game together as a family (unstable unic0rns- good fun) a lazy day, a dry day, using food up for dinner

ldee2111

Reached NSD 9 today.

After my post this morning saying I didn’t get out for many walks this week, I got up and went for a decent 45 minutes walk. And I am not long back from an hourlong walk with DS albeit at toddler speed. We did race each other at bits and it felt good to be a bit breathless from the run. 

Had a lovely video call with DS’s grandparents / OH’s parents who he’s not seen since Christmas Day (in normal times it would be weekly, sometimes more). He loves spending time with all his grandparents and it’s really quite saddening that he can’t right now. They played some games and we all had a laugh over DS’s deliberate silliness. 

Homemade pizza for dinner tonight. 

Grateful for family, technology to connect with family, and decent local walking routes. 

f0xh0les

NSD 14  (toot toot!)

Still trying to get DS4 to finish his Friday schoolwork - so far this afternoon I have managed to get him to paint a tree.

We completed Wednesday and Thursday this morning. Had (not)chicken and noodle soup for lunch.

Hour long phone call with step -gran (What is the point of it all? Why am I still alive? Everything is terrible, Can I get z00m through the telephone wires? How much does  an Internet cost? Will I be able to use a computer?  Is it complicated? ......etc ).   I have had enough of today already!! 

Gratitudes - I did not bake a cake. I would have fallen face first into it by now.  All those calories saved!!

Getting much better at this chinese soup lark, today's lime/miso/soy  creation was pretty spectacular if I  do say so myself. So quick, so simple, so cheap, so flippin' tasty!

also........ Central heating/hot water bottles/shunting another bit of furniture about and it looking fab - slowly I am getting there.

Tomorrow another week starts afresh - only 14 days of the month left. Make them count Turtles.

ldee2111

14! Well done @f0xh0les. Chinese soups sound good - lime, miso, soy. That’s the kind of food I enjoy. Is it based on a recipe? 

Toni'sfriend

Sorry, didn’t post yesterday. I had just finished reading The Night Manager by John le Carre. Really enjoyed it and then I found a TV adaptation. Pretty good one too. So I spent most of yesterday watching it. Anyway, that brought me up to NSD No 14.

Tesco delivery came today and I’m pleased to say that even with the delivery charge and buying a few bits and bobs for the Boy (He did offer to pay) it’s come in under budget. Think I might be getting the spending back under control and the cupboards and freezers are full. Like the sound of the soup, Foxholes.

Early night for me, I think.

mothernerd

I have to report some food waste this morning. I made mum bacon, mash and cabbage (she was offered a choice of cabbage or beans and said whatever), then used the same plate to lay out my bacon (I had decided on bacon butties). Lifted it up to put it in the microwave and don't know what happened but the plate crashed onto the worktop and then part of it went to the floor. Hate waste but did not want to risk having glass in my bacon so swept it all together and bagged it in a multi use bag which is coming undone down one side. I have had to extricate a glass splinter from my foot this afternoon - possibly on the bottom of my slippers and then on the floor when I stood up again. Felt it straight away, pulled it out by touch and then sat down to check if there was more.

Think I am on 8 NSDs, food came today but I count that on the day I order it. This afternoon I banned mum from the kitchen (I gave her a cup of tea) and have done brisket in the oven with butternut squash, potatoes and sweet potatoes (substituted for my Mediterranean veg), celery, carrots and onion; pasta sauce (for a bake) with carrot, onion, red pepper, celery, the other half of the squash, sweet potato and potato medley and the last 5 slices of aubergine cut into chunks (had plans for that but want lots of stuff mum can eat portioned up so I can make progress on other things) and finally chicken in black bean sauce with another two onions and 2 green peppers (one old slightly wrinkly one and one that arrived today. 5 chicken breasts so two will be roasted and the other one and a half will be made into another dish. Want to make a curry for me with the leftover brisket and have a small cauli chopped up. Nearly all the veg were chopped and lined up in dishes when the delivery arrived.

Clutter clearing is going well. put out the kitchen bin bag this morning and also a bag of 'rubbish' I have been digging out over the past few days. One bag of paper (another half full) and a bag of veg peelings/ skins and soggy bits. Tree is back in it's box and on top of the wardrobes. Going through the tray next to my bed this morning and found £4.49 in coins in a small box and on a lid so I have put it in my tin and noted it on my 365 penny challenge (just using the month to a page bit in the front of my new diary rather than writing all the numbers out and crossing the amounts off as they go in the tin - think it went over 3 or 4 pages last year and got very messy).

I will be being creative later as I want to write the card for the new parents and I have a card that is in need of doctoring. My cousin's daughter has had a baby girl but her husband has a small boy from his previous marriage (think he is nine). I was lucky to get cards at all - card shop was shut but newsagent's was open so got my puzzle book, some sweets (spanish yay) and 3 cards (£1.99 each yikes) but could only get a 'brother' birthday card. Going to play with it later to turn it into a 'Big Brother' card, for the little boy. It has stars on a separate sheet for memorable birthdays (30/ 40/ 50 etc) so will either use the reverse or one of my glitter stars and stick a 'Big' over the bit for 'happy birthday' and then alter the wording or write a verse - I have done this before but it was many years ago (28 I think). Want to get them in the post box before the 9 am collection tomorrow.

Grateful for line dried washing, lots of food to play with (no bacon, not sliced or cooking bacon), for watching a serial which had a happy ending (was grim and miserable at various stages).