NST May Challenge Living on the planet of the teddy bears

Thrifty_Taylor

Oops forgot to do my grateful for! Today I am grateful for a fun time with my mum, getting some lovely things to craft with & the joy I heard in the voices of the secretary & head teacher, when I told them I'll be returning to work on Monday 

ditty1234

Well this morning I am grateful for a negative test so I can get on with teaching remotely and put my head back on my shoulders. Also I am grateful I will now have my second vaccine today, and get a haircut. That should put me in a better mood. And remember to vote everybody.
And on the debt side of things I used my day in bed yesterday to set up extra payments for my smallest loan, and now that I have a bit of money in my emergency fund, it's time to start whacking some extra money on my debt. 
I am so excited I can vote today - it's my first vote as a Brit - but only for local police commissioner - so not the most exciting choice in the world. 
Can't wait for weather to get warmer over the weekend. 

mothernerd

Thursday 6th May 2021
International No Diet Day
National Beverage Day

Voting Day UK - vote for something better

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for being able to vote, for sorting some stuff out with the exams officer at work, for collecting a happy dd from school, for finding a new 'thing' at the gym that I lurve, for popcorn.

lcc86

No NSD here, I forgot to defrost the dinner, I probably could've made it work with pasta or something but OH and I fancied takeaway, £14 spent. Walked up to collect it and it wasn't an unhealthy one. I have a shopping delivery coming this evening too, and I haven't voted yet so need to get back outside and do that!

Absolutely mental day at work with a couple of crises, but we got it dealt with in the end. I feel absolutely drained this evening, I need a bath and an early night!

Grateful for a nice walk this morning, getting everything dealt with at work, and a tasty treat for dinner. 

Kerry_Woman

NSD 3 today.
Grateful for:
Nice staff at polling station.
Free on line event tonight organised by my favourite shop.
Chilled out evening. 

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

NSD 3 for me too.  Only went out to vote, got drenched and cold.  Boss called me at 5pm to ask if i wanted to work on the election verification from 9pm till about 3am!  Thankfully i'm working on the count tomorrow so he said i can't do both and to stick to the count which is more civilised hours   My colleague also told me it was snowing there today so i hope it has stopped that nonsense when i go tomorrow....
Made veggie hotpot with my free veg to have for tea tomorrow.  I don't know when i'll be home and it will stop me eating my go to quick tea of cheese on toast with jam on top !  Delicous but veg hotpot is better for me.  
Finished some work for my self employment this eve.  Can't wait to get into bed with a hot water bottle.  
gratitudes - i haven't been working on the election; plenty of food; quick visit from DD1
Deni x

Porridgecat

Hmm Thursday! it was better than Tuesday so that's a start. Although I got in today to find that someone had moved all the spare school uniform into the one spare room in the school that we can use to make up food parcels on Wednesday as they needed to make the uniform room into a meeting room, the joys of a new build school. The families that we support were probably a bit bemused by the parcels yesterday, I think someone at Fareshare had reset us back to breakfast club provision: we had loads and loads of fruit and lots of different types of bread but little else, emailed them to see if this has happened. 

I watched a video today from an American woman who vlogs as 'frugal money saver' very American and probably not to everyone's taste but this one got my attention. She was talking about things that they 'splurge' on, saying that they lived frugally to have money to do this. One of her things was helping other people, which got me thinking.  Our financial position has improved a lot over the last few years but we haven't really upped our giving much apart from some largish sums given to get stray cats in our favourite holiday village in corfu neutered. I think we need to increase this part of the budget and decide what we want to support. 

Today I'm grateful for working with good people (grateful for this everyday to be honest), for being able to help people and that tomorrow's Friday   

mothernerd

A spend day. Got myself in a bit of a panic will all the things I 'had to do' and the rain keep doing stair rods, then calmed down and told myself I could only do some. Phoned the drain people - one DS3 had been looking at, phone just went bip then dead, the one I found earlier in the year (truly local firm rather than one with a local number that feeds calls through a centralised system with people coming from miles away, talked to a lovely woman who said someone could come between 5 pm and 6 pm (later revised to 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm or otherwise it would be tomorrow.

Waited until nearly 3 pm and then had a taxi to one of the charity shops (first two bags only). Delivered those, went to the corner of the main shopping street and bought two steak bakes (took drinks, bought food) and sat on a bench to have a late lunch. Then onto B**ts for meal deal - barely remembered how to put my card in the machine. Saw 2 items I'd sneaked out of the house in my bag so took those into BHF shop. Went to cash machine for mum - stupid machine wanted to give me £20, made a request, still opted to give me £20 (at least it was 2 x £10 notes which mum wants to finish off the birthday cards). 

Then round another corner to Wilco's. Bought the padlock and 2 packs of sweet peas (mum killed all the first lot). Nearly made an impulse buy. Saw a bird feeder online - a central column for nuts and seeds and then a wider 'cage' surrounding it - small birds can slip through the bars to get at the food but wood pigeon or squirrels wouldn't be able to. However they were oos online. When I reached the counter one was sitting behind the cashier. It had been returned by a man who was still looking for something in the shop. Cashier couldn't sell it to me because she had started but not completed the process of crediting him. She was worried about me and told me to go and sit down on their bench (I usually do and noticed it was raining again so took out my owl rain poncho). 

Return remained unresolved so left the store. Next bit nearly completed the circuit of the block but went down a side street and across the car park to check out the recycling point. Had done it online earlier but wanted to check if there was space in the containers. DS3 and Beloved have had issues with rubbish but also their bins (at my house) have not been collected for the past 2 weeks - DS3 has put in a complaint this time and been promised a collection next Monday (next week's collection is Wednesday).

Then went to my house (diagonally across the Town Hall/ library square and then across the car park. Went inside (not sure if that's allowed yet but we all had masks and none us has done much 'mixing' in the past 13 months). I would have been happy to sit in the yard but everywhere was dripping wet. Collapsed onto a chair just inside the door - only to find it was a cardboard box so went down nearly to the floor (4 large bags of chinchilla food inside so no pain just hard to get up again, even with DS3's help. The thing next to it was definitely a chair, so sat on that, had a drink, told DS3 about the recycling available, then went and voted. Quick chat with mum's cousin on the way there.

Back to the house, sat on my chair, ate and drank. Started to fill a large paper bag with junk mail, bank statements (torn to shreds) without moving from the chair, junk mail from behind the door. Turned the chair round and started with stuff on that side, then behind the exercise bicycle which is still in it's box (and unopened boxes on top and on either side). Ripped up some small cardboard boxes and piled them on top of the stuff that was already piled up on the sofa - told DS3 boxes could be collapsed and folded flat and stored under the couch cushions and mattresses until their disposal can be sorted properly (Do this with any boxes the manufacturer's insist must be used to return any item for repair - but also tell them firmly that the clause is invalid as it's patently ridiculous that they should not repair a £1000 computer (f'instance) because you neglected to save a box which cost pennies for X number of years).
Went to the bathroom. Squashed flat approx 7 dozen toilet roll middles and put them in an empty toilet roll pack (I lost count) Beloved said "well it has been a year". She had some recycling bags so told her that aerosols and drinks cans could be put in one of the recycling point bins (described two approx 1 m squared bins which were all but empty) and if they take all the cans/ tins etc out of the brown bin, more plastic bottles could fit in. She started a tin bag (went to speak with her before I left and she had several pickle jars near the desk so told her there was also a glass bin (clear/ brown and green glass bins actually). DS3 had gone to take a full bag of paper and a bag of cans and I suggested if she filled another can bag and emptied the pickle vinegar down the toilet and separated the metal lids from the glass jars, he might possibly make another trip, later this evening.

Kondo folded about 20 plastic carrier bags, used one of my cube boxes and another bag for life to hold cardboard which I've brought back to feed into mum's bin (box emptied and will weight it down tomorrow. Whilst DS3 was out I sat in his place on the sofa, started a new junk mail/ statements bag (some for DS2 as well although he hasn't lived there for 6 nearly 7 years and lived at least 3 different places since) and gave him back the newly emptied sack and pointed out several cans I'd spotted on that side of the room. Rolled and folded 4 large pieces of bubble wrap to bring back with me as I have two vases to add to the cs pile and some things to post off later.

Well past the appointed time for the drain man (after telling me he was having problems talking to people on the phone, DS3 had contacted someone who had unblocked the drain but left a lot of 'mess' on the flagging). They declined to have the camera as it would have been over £500 which my man was going to do at a much lower cost. My phone started to ring but stopped before I could get  back across the room. Checked the call log (expecting it to be the drain man) but it was DS2. Mum was in a panic as I was not back yet and she did not know my number (I had told her 7 pm). He said he would phone her back to say I would be abck shortly, then I noticed DS1 come up on DS3's monitor, probably part of the great mothernerd hunt.

Went to the nearest cash machine to collect the cash the first machine denied me, then back to my house to call for a taxi back here. Very tired, don't know if I will be able to move tomorrow but have cleared about 4 square yards of the front room and made a few spaces in the kitchen ( and arranged for several bags of recycling to be dealt with).

Grateful for an amicable visit, some of the mess dealt with (DS3 said he understands I will want my bedroom back at some point - I thought I was going to have to build myself a cave out of cardboard), I voted (for our lovely Mayor and a reasonable Councillor - I understand some people are having to make 'least worst' choices), easy and delicious food (and the caffeinated coke certainly kept me going), £26.50 in Tessimo vouchers (3 separate envelopes/ quarters), a 6 pack of crisp (DS3 said they'd already been stood on twice) and apparently I've been discharged from the weight management service as they sent me two letters last August (quite pleased about that as I was finding the prospect of a review embarrassing). They had this address but reverted to my home address at some point (last August?). I have lots of info, the exercise sessions were lovely but I will carry on (I get knocked down but I get up again). 

Will add up my receipts later. Miscellaneous total now £27.76/ £100

f0xh0les

Grateful for holding it all together today at work, for getting two tyres replaced on my car,  actually making someone's life better - a lady skipping meals to feed her kids but did not want to come to the food bank because there are people out there who need it more than her -  ????    Need is need. You don't have to be in sack cloth and ashes!

Anyway, she has enough food to keep her going for about a week without having to think too much about it.  I helped someone = Priceless.  It was not a NSD, so remain on NSD3.