NST March 2023 LIONS and LAMBS

grandmanerd

Friday 31st March 2023

I hope this spring brings you
Colours that touch your heart
Creative ideas that surprise yourself
Clarity to quit what's  not working
Courage to move on from the past
Confidence to go with your gut
(OurMindfulLife.com)

Stop SHOULDing Yourself
X   I should be further along now                            Say    I'm right on track for my own path
X   I should do what makes them happy                Say    I don't have to live up to others expectations
X   I should look more like them                               Say    I don't need to  look like anyone but myself
X   I should be working harder, longer                    Say    I'm allowed to listen to my body and take breaks when I need to
X   I shouldn't be thinking about what I need          Say   It's not selfish to care for myself
(the pathtomyheart)

SUNNY THOUGHTS
Lyrics to your favourite song
Coming home to a really cosy bed
How much beauty there is here
A stack of books to be read
Cloud-less skies
A time you cheered someone up
Snacks for later
All of the dreams coming true
That time you couldn't stop  laughing
Knowing more now than you did then
Two people falling in love
All the cats and dogs who are friends

grandmanerd

I got downstairs before DS3. I have done some work but I am soooo tired and can barely walk (mostly my back, I think).  Lots of plodding - cleaning a bit every time I visit the bathroom, 33 bags, buckets  and boxes gone to various bins over the last 4 days. Doing what I can, however I can - sat on a garden chair and used an old hoe to drag soil, sticks and leaves together into a heap and sat with bags around me, sorting them out (lots of sticks and leaf mould, only a bit of soil).

Thanks to everyone who participated or read along, congratulations apple, I hope next month is better for everyone and remember to have fun

DawnW

Thanks for hosting March @grandmanerd

apple_muncher

I'll not be getting any cuddles from the baby as they are all situated in Melbourne! One day...

My trip to France went well, thanks. Due to P&O doubling the check in time, we had to meet at school at 4.45am! I didn't sleep well the night before, and not at all during the trip (the joy of being trip leader!). I was home by 8.30 pm, and in bed an hour later, but up again at 6.30 (a lie in) for the last day of term. And tomorrow pip has a dance show so I'm out from 9-9, as are they.

Thank you for March grandmanerd. It seems to have been a trying month and I'm pleased to get to the end of it. I can now start my countdown to leaving work!!!

Today I am grateful for all the turtles, for not getting soaked in the rain, for a chilled afternoon with y11s who wanted to work, for getting lots of niggly jobs done, for now being on holiday.

Thrifty_Taylor

Thanks for this month's thread @grandmanerd. Happy holidays for those working in a school, & for the start of your countdown @apple_muncher 😊

Did yoga & Norwegian this morning (got 3 perfect lessons, & another tonight with no mistakes - go me!🤣) Had a great day at work, despite my pupil's angry start. The class held a bake sale, with side tables to raise money for equipment, it went really well. Got lovely hugs from both work besties, & some of the 1:1 pupils, even a little bag with a few chocolate eggs in 😋 received a phonecall from Norway, re our lunch invitation, so phoned back once I got home. 

Finally got a reply back from yesterday's unhappy customer, I've unpicked the hems & hand stitched them, then pressed them. She was happy with the photos I've sent, so see if she is when she sees them in person. Did the ironing, dropped DS3's GF home.

Grateful that I've got the sewing sorted out, for the school secretary reminding me of something I'd forgotten to do, that it's now the holidays, my pupil telling me he loved spending time with me (no promoting required!), it being the holidays at last! 🎉😃

Starlight_at_Sea

Thanks for March GrandmaNerd & to all turtles & lurkers for your company. 

I'm another who is glad to have navigated through this month with my humour intact and to now be within moments of a new month! 

 Finances haven't really recovered from the six week gap between monthly pay due to changing jobs, so I am behind schedule for savings for the  scary SDLT bill that is coming my way soonish as I gain, temporarily, a second home.

Luckily, estate agents have dragged their heels too, so hopefully there will be two full pay periods prior to completion. April and May will need to be properly stingy months, the latter not aided by DD passing through the UK briefly, and our trip to Eurovision Semi Finals. 

Some £ successes that feel notable this month: 

Have registered for extra work - election officer! £225 income in May. 

Have recouped the deposit for a hotel stay we couldn't take due to COVID, and am rebooking for a night away with a friend. 

Have had first payout from Airtime & am close to the second. 

Have extended the network of friends, neighbours and until-recently-strangers who are benefiting from the olio collections I am doing, and have got into a rhythm with these. 

Have completed my first bank switch for reward, and instigated the second.

Have remembered to claim delay repay on all train journeys delayed longer than 15 minutes. About half of the trips I took this month fell into this category. I got £58 repaid. 

Have built up points balances on nectar (£6.75), clubcard (102 points) and advantage card (£7.72). 

Have had a £13 payment from ziffit for books. 

Some family/social event successes too: 

Night away with a good friend & her boys, did them a good turn and got to share the boys excitement at their first hotel stay. 

Unplanned trip home from DD, one extra car journey to Heathrow to drop her off, and a lunch out more locally. 

Supported 🇺🇦D to work a shift for experience and wages; this replaced an expensive day out. Have also got Eurovision tickets for her and her friends as it's a special birthday for her next month.

Supported some of mum's oldest friends to visit her, I think that has meant a lot. 

Lets see what April brings! 😍

Shrewbie

MARCH ROUND UP

Life -  In March I definitely made progress towards figuring out a life plan or at least what I want and some ideas of how to get there. 

Outdated ideas - I continued with making space in my life - I sold some possessions and continued my social media break. I maintained a healthy relationship with alcohol. 

NSDs- only did 10. Would like to do better in April and it should definitely be possible. 

Set all budgets - I tracked budgets closely in March. My 4-day hol to Tenerife was slightly over budget but I’m not concerned about that, food shopping was within budget (surprisingly)

Less - drank booze only when I'd planned to. I donated some money to earthquake fund.

Notice the world around us - I definitely spent time doing this on holiday - sunrise swims and seeing whales. I want more of this in my life! I wanted to take myself off on walks at lunchtimes in March and breaks outside and I didn’t manage to start this habit. Will try next month.

Time - I kept up my daily writing practice. I wanted to spend more time nurturing connections with family and friends and I don’t feel I really did this to the extent I want to in March, it’s true that I spent quality time with my best friends on hol but I need to keep up the connections when they are at a distance and face to face with people in Madrid. Will try harder in April

Advance planning - I actually managed to send presents and cards for birthdays on time in March which is highly unusual for me!! I’d like to keep this up and think of more mindful presents for people.

Manifesto for a simple life - I bought some second hand clothes in March and a pair of shoes which are new and are cheap but comfortable as I really needed some - will try to purchase better quality to last longer in future. I kept up my exercise and meditation practice. 

Be happy - i think I’ve achieved this in March!! I had some very happy moments. This is obviously a work in practice, as is being kind. I will try to remember this in April.

small habits - I’ve definitely achieved adding some new small habits into my daily life. Will try to add more in April but slowly, to avoid getting overwhelmed. 

Super grateful for all of you turtles for the inspiration and motivation and especially for @grandmanerd’s quotes which really helped me this month. (I also enjoyed reading them to friends and bf so thank you so much!!) I too am excited for what we can do (and be!) in April.