NST November 2021: Turtle Strength

Kerry_Woman

Am on 19 NSD.
Updated calendar and diary with events that I will be attending mostly in December (four) and one this Saturday. Have provisionally set a budget for the ones in December. Still waiting to hear about the possibility of extension of contract at work.  Decluttered 2 items to cs yesterday. Going to concentrate on using up what I have in the flat and being mindful about what I bring into the flat for the rest of the month.
Grateful for:
Good bus connections.
Really good night's sleep.
Feeling slightly better health wise than yesterday.  

ldee2111

Well done on reaching that number of NSDs @Kerry_Woman!

Staying on NSD 11 as today I needed a top-up shop. Also bought a 2022 calendar with beautiful scenes from Scottish highlands as a sprouts day gift for Mum. Thought I’d finished my shopping in that department but it would seem not. I’ve got everyone’s gifts and £20 left in the budget, but I can see myself getting some wee extras between now and 25th December. 

DS’s nursery teacher called me today for a “parents’ night” type of chat. She gave him a glowing report, commenting on how clever and independent he is, and how well he gets on with the other children. It made me feel so happy and proud. It felt like I was getting a pat on the back too 😂

Grateful for DS’s great nursery report, for staying within gift budget, and for a monthly wage rise of £20 😂

60 items challenge 

1. broken printer (to recycling centre)
2. 2x joggers 
3. baby towel 
4. 2x swimming tops 
5. tube of bubbles 
6. rubber duck 
7. kids tent 
8. kids cardboard playhouse 
9. plastic novelty trophy 
10. shirt
11. holey socks
12. kids playing cards
13. candle
14. recipe book
15. CD audiobook 
16. roll of art paper
17. pants x 2
18. Halloween treat bucket
19. bookmarks x 3
20. kids books x2
21. Pyjamas 
22. Joggers
23. kids bathroom step
24. kids bowls x3 
25. kids sweatshirt 
26. Vests x 3
27. Pyjamas x 2
28. recipe book
29. Broken flip flops
30. t-shirt 
31. Toddler case

f0xh0les

Sticking on NSD 14 - needed carrots, so bought carrots and a few other things, so a £4 spend, but I cashed out £10 on p/a, so I am in credit, although I lost the NSD.

Cleaned top and middle floors, did postal survey admin for the month, did masses of laundry - all the towels are on the line outside, all the other stuff went in the dryer - did not take long. Bathrooms cleaned, bins done, used rum soaked raisins in ice cream for pudding.  Supper was a clear out of the fridge, and now there is more room in there, and a spinach and potato curry on the cards, and a pizza.  DS4 is making every meal into a fight. It is exhausting. No matter what it is, he looks and says, 'well this is disappointing'.  Rude!

I am now running this year's and next year's diaries at the same time, there is too much going on that they need to be kept together now.  Running out of budget - £54 left of the budget, and 6 days left - unless I get paid from last week's work.

Hugs to all who need or want them,  Endurance is as much a virtue as the other more sexy ones.

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent (for those who celebrate such things),  there are 3 and a half weeks left of school, (if you break up on the 17th) and 7 days left until the advent calendars need to have things in them (if you are a self-stuffer)

Grateful for hot water bottles, that my kids can ask me anything (no matter how weird - and it often gets weird quite quickly), rum and raisin ice cream.

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

spendy day.  Sent DD2 some money towards train fare home tomorrow.  Bought a sprouts day gift for DD1 which had 25% off and bought via £co. Did a survey this eve.  Proud that i managed to bleed the radiators so hoping to feel a bit warmer tonight!  Went for a nice walk at lunch.  Had to work late as was waiting for other people to do their job before i could do mine Tried to sort a frog for PT job #2 but am waiting for a phone call back, not impressed with their customer service   Didn't sleep well at all, was awake from 4am - 6am then fell asleep till nearly 8! Been a bit grumpy today as very tired zzz

Gratitudes - appreciative boss who text me to thank me for working late; DD1 finally getting 2nd vaccine; DD2 getting a lift to her boyfriend's tonight which means (a) money saved on train fare; (b) she should sleep well and so will i - she sometimes gets nervous on her own so calls me at silly o'clock !

Love Deni

Calling14

Hi turtles.

Feeling better today not as much coughing yeah.

Stayed in office lunchtime so moved up to shameful 9/15 NSD's

Decluttered some dresses and sweatshirt to CS this morning. Put some old cushion inserts into works bin.

Need to open out some xmas trees in my garage tonight and decide on which ones to keep, need to get rid of them now as last year left it too late for Charity Shops.  Dreading all the fake snow that falls off them.

Only walked 5k steps yesterday decided to rest up after work and went to bed by 9pm but felt better for it.

Contacted water board, so fingers crossed my neighbour lets them investigate the leak further on this driveway. This is so stressful I burst into tears Friday after they left and couldn't find the leak. Crying not helpful but feeling sorry for myself at the time.

f0xholes any ideas what to put into advent calenders, decided not to buy cardboard ones this year and use my home made one from few years back.  Would like something different not just chocolate?

Grateful for

Paying for my new corner couch out of my savings. Maybe able to top savings up next few weeks.

Having a few xmas meals to go to this year. One with new job don't start till Feb.

Feeling more confident for some reason.

f0xh0les

I usually buy a pack of Elizabeth Shaw mints, or coffee creams to fill in the gaps, mini candy canes, tiny bath fizzers or melts, or bath salt cubes that disperse with hot water,  nail varnish (£land!), little round eyeshadow , dice,  a tiny soap, erasers ( I did write rubbers, but that could be misconstrued as more of an adult calendar!), those stretchy men or frogs, to launch across the room, little wind up toys to scuttle across the floor.  You can get sachets of hot chocolate in all sorts of flavours, or coffees, or teas. Scented tea lights? mine always break their headphones so they get one of those, a keyring, a tiny torch (usually a freebie tbh), hair bobbles/chalks / wax etc.  lip balm / vase-oline- packet of seeds, just  daft stuff really that you can get in a multipack and break down yourself, the rest goes in the stocking - oh! and popping candy!

One month today is Sproutmas Eve!  The weather has finally started being wintery.  Still stuck on 14 NSDs, hit a goldmine with ys, so they are in the freezer and will make next week a very simple and thrifty week.  Got next year's wall calendar for £1.50 and some blue tack, and more A4 refill paper for DS2.

DH is in the kitchen making pizza with DS3. I made the dough with him when we got home from school, then DH was draughted in for the actual building process.  I have left them to it as I fear I am getting a cold.  Had a massive sneezing fit a couple of times today, and had a coughing fit in the middle of Sainbobs!!  I was researching pyjamas - I think I am going to buy myself a button down set of pjs in green with robins all over them when I get paid. Also found XS mens pjs that I think will fit DS3 - he is 5' 2" and in that difficult bit between kids and mens sizes when they are skinny and stretched.

Plans for tonight are.. eating pizza, watching football, having a hot bath, and hiding under a duvet watching tv and refusing to have a cold.

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Evening

Not sure how many NSDs or how much decluttering i've done as i seem to have messed up my signature where i was keeping track
I've spent today as DD2 came home  So i bought some food she likes and no one else eats eg bananas and mushrooms; also bought some YS tomatoes and YS individual malty loaves.  Done my 10k steps.  Got washing half dry on the line.  Bled another radiator, go me!! DDs still complain the house is cold (it is, that's why i go to bed early with 2 hot water bottles !)
Managed to call the bank today so made progress with frog for PT job#2.  
Decluttered lots of card and paper and some magazines from 2019, oops.

f0xh0les - great ideas and i wish i was doing my own advent calendars now!  You should definitely get those pjs too.  DD1 always buys us sproutmas ones.  I should do my exercise class on Fb this eve but i think i'd rather have an eve like yours  

Gratitudes - making progress with frog task; good meeting and catch ups at work; both DDs here at the moment 

Deni x

f0xh0les

Deni it is not you, I have become Turtle #55 again, so they must have reset the signatures as I was  Turtle #6 this month I think. 

Just had a mice pie with hazelnut  Oatly ice cream and rum sozzled raisins.  I am not sorry and I would do it again. 

I am making a list of all the things I need to buy when my earnings come in.  We all need new dressing gowns, and half of us need new pjs. I also want festive duvets. 

I managed to keep away from the big mirror I was eyeing up in a c/shop. It was not what I was looking for today.  Hope I do not regret it, but it is £20 I do not yet have and I am not spending money until my pay hits my bank account.

Thrifty_Taylor

Great ideas for self stuffed advent calendars. Another option, would be to put a slip of paper in each pocket, saying watch a sprout day film, make mice pies, go for a walk in the dark & look for festive lights, make a gingerbread house, decorate the tree, make paper snowflakes, a special sprout day card, etc. Would have a whole month (well nearly!) of great memories then. Even take photos of them all & make a scrapbook on sprout day eve.
Very tired today, so glad the pencilled in meeting didn't happen after work. Head teacher told me I was good with one of the pupils, rare praise indeed! Had a nap, then family games night. Did some hand stitching on a memory bear after & watched TV.
Grateful for praise from head teacher, being called in to show class how to do the Macarena, games night laughter

mothernerd

Four bags out here (33/60 this month's challenge). May not sound like much but that paper bag, I had to fight for every scrap that went in. Went to my house about lunchtime, 2 - 3 hours done. £ boxes, 4 small rubbish bags (absolutely disgusting stuff in some cases). DS3 and Beloved were both asleep so had a clear run at it. One bathmat, one bowl, over a hundred toilet rolls, 8 flannels/ rags, a pile of empty cleaning /toiletry containers. Filled the bath and added some badedas (no longer able to go in the bath and they haven't used any of it. Did two sessions of bath scrubbing using a foldy mop - no bending over. Finished emptying the dishwasher and reloaded it - lightly packed as some items were very mucky. Put stuff in the toilet and had a little scrub. 31 declutter points so now on 193/ 2021. Checked times of food bank sessions so hopefully can start delivering the reverse advent calendar.

Had my Covid booster appointment at 5.08 pm so set off just before 4 pm (new timetable is totally confusing), last bus would have been too late, penultimate bus should have been fine but if anything had gone wrong (one bus had been impaled by the bollards last time I was on that route) there wouldn't have been time. Was early but they said it was fine (I would have begged to sit in a quiet corner to read my book - raining slightly but after the wait at the bus station and the walk from the stop I was wet, cold and tired. vey grateful for the 15 minute sit down in the warm. Crossed over to Morries afterwards and treated myself to assorted salads from the salad bar, so if I'm ill I can eat healthily with minimal effort (yesterday was yoghurt for breakfast, yoghurt with the remaining defrosted berries for lunch etc etc). Had intended to walk back (brought the second walker from my house) but phoned for a taxi.

Phone call from mum whilst I was waiting. She has an amazing ability to not just get hold of the wrong end of the stick, but to forget about the stick altogether and run after someone else's ball. I had told her my appointment was after 5 pm so I wouldn't be home before then. She went into a panic about the door alarm as she thought I'd said after ten. I repeated what I'd said (but she still only half-turned towards me). She wanted to know where I was, as I'd said I would be home by 5 pm (NO) and when was this order being delivered and why did we need another order (no order). She's still a bit huffy (as obviously it's all my fault) so I came in my room once I'd eaten.
 
Grateful for little buses (even if there are now far too many of them with similar numbers), Vaccines (I've been put on the list for my shingles vaccine - I'll be able to apply for jobs as a pincushion), Morries salad bar, books, making progress.