NST August 2022: Lights, Camera, Action!

BadBookkeeper

August already!

- Spent time outside to drink a cup of tea this afternoon, and to peg 4 loads of washing.
- Offered support to a friend in need and to look after animals whilst another friend is away.
- Taking time to plan my work week was being kind to myself and reducing stress.
- My DS has a cube bookshelf.  I intend to help him sort & tidy it and get rid of clutter.  His room needs decorating but want to see what space we could have if we had a proper sort out. 

- I have reduced screen time a fair bit as I know Fb posts make me feel guilty for not doing more with DS but I can’t help it!  I have spent the evening scrolling looking for photos for a friends birthday card but other than that not been too bad today.
- By the end of the year I really want to have lost a chunk of weight. So in 5 months I’d like to be 14-21lbs lighter.  Started last week and finding it ok.  

- That December day is 6 days after my DS birthday so it’s a double whammy.  I save all year and put proceeds from selling items to his party pot.  I’m currently at £98 and aiming for £150 to cover his party.  May find items to sell when sorting his room to bump this up a bit this month.
- Trying to be healthy but exercise is nil - I’m aware I need to and aiming to improve this but not sure what to do.
- Will be keeping a close eye on what I’m spending money on especially groceries & petrol, everyday spends and using electricity & gas.  Today I dried the washing for free.  I did turn sockets off at the wall yesterday but forgot and had an uncharged phone this morning! 

- Today was an NSD so that’s 1/15 (my personal target). 

Today I was grateful for working from home, a roast dinner with leftovers to have tomorrow and my ds having lovely friends. 

Thrifty_Taylor

NSD#1
A great day. Met a friend for a walk we've attempted twice before, but never managed due to a) not climbing over a high wall as had gone slightly in the wrong direction, b) pregnant sheep in the field we were supposed to walk through. Anyway, we made it today & the view from the top was breathtaking! Plus whilst sitting in a stone enclosure, a bird of prey flew close overhead & some mating blue butterflies kept landing on me.
After dinner I finished snipping & cutting all the pruned tree branches for the fire & compost heap. Listed more coins on eboy due to receiving stamps in next week's posting pack. Decluttered 2 bags of wool in our bedroom into a storage box & put it in the shed. Pinned a customer into some clothes, did the ironing after tea & picked DS1 up from his work. Spoke to a regular holidaymaker from my time working in the hotel bar (DS works in the kitchen & is also groundsman there). Watched TV with DH & crocheted.

Grateful for wildlife, discovering new places, a tidier garden, chatting with old friends

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for plenty of fresh air, for a smooth journey to our destination, for coffee, for a comfy bed, for phone chargers.

DrCarrie

Happy August everyone. Had a busy day yesterday, NSD number 1, but only got outside for a few minutes - laundry on the line and rubbish out! Oh well! 

Grateful for:
- my yoga class 
- conversation with my line manager and agreed days TOIL for Thursday 
- nice message from an ex-colleague  

My main focus for the month 
1. no bought lunch or coffee 
2. Yoga 3 times a week 
3. No lottery tickets bought

abundant1972

Good morning ☔

Thanks for the add Apple. Had a lovely relaxed day yesterday - budgets all set, credit card payments done and started with my reset to get me back into my good habits. I'm starting small - even if it is just making the bed, clearing the pots and doing my mindfulness. I even got some work stuff done that was outstanding - and might nip in today to finish it all off and get it printed out. 

Yesterday = NSD number 1

Today I am grateful for:
1) The early mornings full of peace and serenity
2) A few days off to re-boot my habits and give me space and time to reflect
3) My little apartment and the shelter it provides me

Have a lovely day folks x 

grandmanerd

Wasn't well yesterday. Very reluctant to get out of bed and my left leg is getting worse. Did a few things downstairs - more washing dried and brought in, more soil sifted (had spread some of the very wet stuff on my potting table tray on top of the bin in the sunshine), a bit of washing up. Every time I went to the bins, I did a bit outside, when I came back in, I did a bit more. Gave up in the afternoon and went back to bed, rested/ read for nearly 4 hours. Managed a bit more work but my stomach was 'off' (grateful for tinned baked beans and soup stock) and I had a temperature so had an early night, hoping to get an early start this morning. I cancelled the veg box subscription (may redo a more modest package once other things are sorted).

No great improvement this morning (will do a test soon). I've had a shower (plus pills, breakfast of oat cakes as I couldn't face going downstairs for yoghurt) but it was more 'have the shower now as you're in the bathroom rather than coming back later'. Severe headache - only discovered it once the painkillers quietened my leg, will add eye drops and ear drops to morning routine and maybe badger balm on my forehead (lavender sleep balm).

Will do my mindfulness session but not going to art therapy.

Not sure what I've done there, can't get rid of the second full stop or carry on writing on that line. Need to do some sort of food order, possibly Icyland. They don't have decaff drinks or 'good' yoghurts but I'll work round that and continue using up the veg in the house. Time to concentrate on mindfulness, self-care and simplicity.

Toni'sfriend

It will take me to the end of next year before my place is ship shape!! It needs a thorough declutter, some decoration and new furniture for one of the rooms. I really need bookcases to store some of the books that we have, But you have to start with a plan and small steps so that's what I hope to do.

Had our day out with Himself's friend or should I say friends because more and more kept arriving. I didn't think that would happen until later in the month so it sort of scuppered my plans for yesterday. But on the plus side we walked into the city along the river bank and we had clocked up 5 miles by the time we got back last night. Not going to manage a walk today as there is a mini gale blowing outside, Not ideal for walking in but I should be able to get all my washing done and dried on the line.

Busy day ahead with cooking and cleaning so I'd better get on.

greent

So..... August plans/ aims/ goals......

Lights!

-get yourself outside as much as possible this month - off to Cornwall next week - that will involve outside stuff Will still do occasional plods along canal path (very short) and have plans to paint more fence - also obviously outside!

-light up other peoples’ lives – be kind, be complimentary, be generous. - I try - I don't always succeed...

-light up your own life too – be kind, be complimentary and be generous to yourself. Do more of what makes you happy. Enjoy life. Nourish your soul. - Aiming to be kind to myself with regards fatigue and aches - I am recovering/ healing, after all. Reading lots - from the library, so free. Holiday will nourish my soul. A couple of social plans will also.

-make your own life lighter: what (who?!?!) can you dispose of to reduce the strains and stresses? - decluttering continues - listed some things on flebay yesterday (1 sold straight off) and started looking in wardrobe today. Have unfollowed some people (friends/ family) on fbook as they are toxic, but work/ family politics means it's easier to keep them on friends list - but this way I never see their posts Oh - and I bought flatbreads for dinner tonight rather than making them - reducing stresses and being kind to myself

-reduce your possessions: we usually have far too much stuff that clutters up our physical surrounding and our mental state. Look at this objectively: if you do not love the item and find joy in it, then let it go! - As above, things will be leaving - hopefully with a few £ made along the way, although that isn't essential.

Camera!

-‘the camera never lies’ is itself a lie! What with photoshop and filters (and all sorts of technological wizardry that is beyond my ken), nothing online can be trusted to be what it purports to be. So don’t believe it. Don’t be comparing yourself to what others put out there. Be true to yourself. - Not a fan of 'insta life' - I use fb00k to keep in contact with friends/ family and record memories - bad and good! And I haven't got a clue how to use filters

-how much time do you spend looking at a screen? Aim to reduce this. - Mixed amounts - there are times I am stuck on the sofa and playing mindless games is easier to deal with than trying to concentrate on a book - although I am conscious of the time spent.

-take time to look at things and see them anew. Find the beauty. - Watching pigeons building a nest in a tree in our garden. Watching a bee on one sunflower yesterday with a butterfly on the next sunflower head - beautiful to appreciate in teh sunshine

-look ahead at where you want to be and set some goals, or look back at ones from earlier this year. It is now 5 months to the end of the year, so have a look at your goals and take some baby steps towards achieving them. Make each day count towards the goals that are important to you. Do something every day that takes you one step closer to one of them. - Original 2022 plans were a bit thrown up in the air. But looking to regain some ground and appreciate what has still happened. Even things like decluttering is a move towards the future - and any monies made are being set aside for 'something' - not sure what, but it may involve next year's holiday Am not focussing on weight/ fitness until Sept, after all chemo has finished - quite frankly, if I want buttered crumpets right now I will have them!

-start thinking about that day in December – can you cut back the spending and focus on a simpler day/period? - Argh! Need to start giving this some thought... Would love to simplify even more

Action!

-get moving! - will focus more on this next month. 

-be proactive about your health. - yes, but with more focus in Sept after this stage is over.

-take action on your debts/savings. Check over your financial plan – does it need any tweaking? Can you bump it up a gear? Prices are rising – make sure you know where your money is now going.- Need to look at energy as fix is due to end this month. Food costs are also rising and we are more aware. Even DH is wasting less - a huge success!

-inaction is also a goal – take time to simply sit and be. Use all your senses. -  lots of sitting/ lying going on!

-eat well to fuel the body you want. Can you batch cook? Can you cook once and eat twice just by cooking a little extra? Keep hydrated. Replace a less healthy food with a healthier one. - Often make deliberate leftovers for another easy dinner/ lunches. Very conscious of food waste - but will not beat myself up if something does slip through right now.  Keeping very hydrated - very thankful for f/f with ice and water dispenser  

 

Budgets: Holiday next week will see us use some Tesc0 CC vouchers for a day out for the 6 of us. 3 of us are also looking to visit another venue next week - sadly no discounts but we've never been there. Spends will include ice creams, pasties and cream teas and a pub meal out - we will be in Cornwall and it is the Law!!! - however, not having a cleaner for 3 weeks (theirs and our holiday) means £150 saved towards that Cottage was paid for by a windfall (although we would have the money anyway)

Main bathroom is being refitted in Aug - this has been budgeted for and items ordered using TCB/ discounts where possible. As bath/ shower have been out of action for approx 2 years due to a leak this is a definite need!

We have a celebratory meal out at month end - but are combining 4 celebrations into 1 meal - we'd usually have 4 separate meals out - so that's a big saving! Plus we will pay using discounted gift cards bought through DH's work scheme. 

1st August:

Thankful for a quick (small) flebay sale, for DS1 & DS2 helping me list some other things on flebay, for library books, for iced water, for accidentally scoring a handful of amazing YS reductions in Tesc0 last night when DH went to collect his prescription, for DD successfully driving herself to her work course in the nowhere (whilst she passed her test a while back her confidence in driving has been lacking - mainly due to lack of practice - this was her longest (both mileage and time wise) solo journey yet

Windy here today, with rain promised - not sure if I'll bother putting any washing on yet.... I do have to take DS2 & DS3 for jabs, though - and will nip into a certain smkt on the way back for cheap fuel. Then hopefully my prescription will be ready to collect from pharmacy.... sigh....! 

abouttime_2

Hi all
Would I be able to join please?
Im back from my holiday. overspent as usual.  Under a mountain of washing and ironing.
Budget done for August of sorts. I do need to improve this.
Girls are on school holiday. I'm going to get the girls to help me with the decluttering. I've put on a pair of shoes today. Made £14 on vint@d, its a start.
I need to take the dog for another walk, I've not got much energy today, busy day at work yesterday.

abouttime_2

I do like Greent's plans, aims and goals. i might steal this idea if i may