NST April 2021: Diamonds and Daisies

Toni'sfriend

NSD No 15

Really well done, Deni. And I am so pleased for your daughter as well. I'm glad your friend got her cottage booked. There is very little holiday accommodation around at the moment and it  all seems to be so much more expensive this year. Understandable since the owners have gone so long without any income so good that she got it at a reasonable price.

No side effects at all from the second jab.

Got rid of lots of cardboard boxes to the recycling bin today. Himself has a hospital appointment tomorrow so my plan is to attack cupboards and dispose of what I can whilst he's out. I would go to the hospital with him because it's a really good long walk but they don't let another person in with the appointee so I could just be hanging around outside for who knows how long. Nowhere even to sit and have a coffee at the moment. It could take a few minutes or he could be there for hours. I am a little bit concerned because I think he's going to be told to make big changes to his lifestyle and I'm not sure how he'll take that. But I'll wait and see what happens.

May or may not get another NSD for the last day of the month. Could do with going to the fruit shop but I might leave it until Saturday.

f0xh0les

NSD 13 - bought 4 ys aubergines, but nothing else. Sat in the car on the school carpark and read my c/s book after volunteering while waiting for kids to come out.  I think I finally have Thursdays sorted.  Volunteering is over for the week, and I have only the school run to do tomorrow and then I am on holiday for 3 whole days.

I seem to have acquired rather a lot of peppers.  I got 2 x Herr Leedl's magical mystery boxes last Thursday, and I still have 4 green peppers, 4 yellow peppers, and 8(!) red peppers in the fridge .  I was horrified when I cleared out the fridge into a very nice veg stew last night and I kept finding another pepper, and another, and, surely not,  yep,  another one!!.  So I will make a chilli, a sweet and sour, a green peppers in black bean sauce,  and lastly some garlic peppers to go in wraps with hummus.  Then I will only have a few left

Was given a surprise basil plant today, so a pesto pasta and a pesto gnocchi will also magically appear.  I seem to have  tentative plan - plus emergency sausages in the freezer for a 's0d it' meal.   Inhabitants of the fruit bowl will be chopped up and made into a fruit salad with a tin of peaches.  Also have 3 bags of potatoes to use up (more magical mystery box treasure)

Can't make the NSDs add up to the right number without time travel, but nearly got there, and there is still money in the bank, and nothing owing on the credit card. There is a ridiculous amount of food in the pantry, I need to stop buying it, and start eating it.

I am heading into May in a very good position though, thanks to all the lovely Turtles and the fabulous bargains.

Good luck with Himself's hospital appointment  @Toni'sfriend

You should be so proud of yourself Deni.

Toni'sfriend

Have you thought about red (or any other colour) pepper soup. Tin of tomatoes, an onion, some chicken stock and a bit of chilli (or chilli powder). Put in on the hob or in the slow cooker, blend it. Delicious with some hot bread. 

lcc86

Evening all

No NSD here as shopping being delivered later. Work was a bit up and down today but still on top of things and that's what matters. Going to be spending an entire day with a colleague tomorrow for the first time since the first lockdown!

Grateful for a sunny walk this morning, a quick lunchtime workout and my mum getting a date for an operation she needs. 

Thrifty_Taylor

Nsd#16

A cold day here today. Walked 2 miles with hubby, then helped middle son prepare for a job interview. He heard in the afternoon that he was unsuccessful 😐 I dug up & moved a shrub, then turned the compost heap & dug over the last raised bed. All set now for planting onions in. Hubby planted some flower seeds in the greenhouse.

It'll be dialysis again tomorrow, I'm going to meet up with a friend from work whilst hubby is at the hospital, then take mum shopping. 

Been watching lots of different videos on UToob when washing the dishes. Thinking I might do a 31 day challenge of selling as much of the stuff I've gathered together as I can, possibly sorting out even more. It's been sitting in a pile for too long & I've been saying for the past two years that I need to clear some things & try to earn some extra money with it!

Sorry for the long post. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart, for all the support you have given me this month. Who'd have thought on 1st April, what the month ahead would bring!! Thank you also for all the inspiration you've shared in your posts. Together we can achieve our goals! 🏆

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for a good day at work, for getting to the gym, for chilling time with dd, for remembering my headphones for the gym, for yummy food for tea.

mothernerd

A quiet day. Went in the yard this afternoon. Did some soil shifting but only used my smallest buckets and only half filled them. Very glad I had done it because we had a downpour later (so noisy I wasn't sure if it was hailstoning). I have been walking about with the keys in my pocket because mum had locked us in again (ridiculously early). I was planning to go for a walk but the rain put me off but even if I'm only going outside with recycling, balancing odd shaped objects and getting into my wellies and then finding out the door has been locked - pah! The door is unlocked during the day because if the handle is turned up, no-one can get in from outside.

Gratitudes paint arriving (very helpful delivery man), a book arriving (pre-order from last year just come out in paperback), second half of the cauli cheese.

facethemusic

Thursday- NSD 17. 
Busy at work all day, so no opportunity to spend or do anything exciting. 
Grateful today- its payday today 🥳, DD went back to a sports club 🥳 and a plan has come to fruition 🥳. 

f0xh0les

Last day of the month - and payday too - yay!  Happy last day of April to all you lovely Turtles.

Still having money in the bank when pay goes in  = Success.

Losing 5lbs in the last 2 weeks = Success.

Not making all the NSDs this month = mildly annoying, but I am still getting used to the school run and now have a book in the car to keep me distracted and out of the shop.

DrCarrie

Dear Turtles...the last day of the challenge. Thank you for joining it!

I am certainly ending on a high with the enhancing income aspect of the challenge. Yesterday afternoon I was informed that - in my new job- I am performing so well that they believed I was on the wrong pay band - an increase of 1.5K per annum. Only been thin role 3 months and - probationary period not even completed! So very good news indeed. Starts from tomorrow, which happens to be my Birthday. Proseco tonight I think as DGF got a new job this week as well, with a nice pay hike. 

Todays gratitudes and delights:
- clean kitchen
- good supervision session 
- sunshine