NST Sweet May 2023 - Pick 'N' Mix Challenge

thriftylass

Spend day today, big shop and new school jumpers. 

grandmanerd

Very gentle hugs all round.

Worked very hard yesterday,  didn't get everything done but happy with what I did. Foot hurting a lot this morning but I needed drinks and food (half a flat lettuce and 2 baby leeks weren't enough) and DS3 was fast asleep so I strapped my foot up,  put on protective/ supportive boots and got myself downstairs (with multiple bags - none very heavy but lots of thing to go to recycling or out of the house). 

Ate  and then went outside, did sitting down digging and a few other things. Came in to rest, then felt unwell, there was an explosive incident and it took me half an hour to clean myself, the floor and various surfaces. I hobbled downstairs to collect my book (DS3 was occupying the couch by then) and I've spent the afternoon on the bed reading and had an hour or two sleeping. Going to stay here now. I only have to get myself to a lunch time optician's appointment tomorrow (only round the corner) and will rest and tidy from where I am.

Grateful for making it upstairs before the explosion, that I'm up to date with the washing and washing up and have easy things to eat if and when I feel like it.

KajiKita

Hello 😊

I reckon these NST threads are the most positive and motivating on MSE - please may I join?

In terms of the ‘Pick ‘n Mix’ these are my themes for this month:

Money - I’ve got to 10 NSDs in May already but my last payday was 25th April and we had a fairly spendy session in London at the end of last month around a family funeral, so I am aiming to make the rest of this month before the next payday, as non-spendy as possible. 

Monitor savings and budgets - I am still learning my way around the YNAB way of tracking, budgeting etc so I will continue focusing on that. 

Mindfulness and meditation - I learned a new technique for stress release (TRE) on a retreat last weekend so want to practice that at least three times a week. 

The other thing I am seeing a lot of you doing is counting your blessings, so I want to do that here too 😊

I have spent a lot of time in my garden today. Done quite a bit of ‘battling with bindweed’ and planted my main crop spuds 😊

Did a TRE session whilst Mr KK was cooking dinner for us. The first time I did it at home I did it after my shower which was about 8.30pm and I struggled to get to sleep as I was still ‘fizzing’ with it! 😂 I did my session tonight at about 6pm so I am hoping that I will have time to ‘land’ again before bedtime at 10pm. 

Gratitude: 
- Mr KK cooking so I could have an early shower and do my TRE practice. 

- That I have been working with bindweed so intensely for so long that I have come to admire both its red stemmed beauty and its absolute tenacity - you know how they say that cockroaches would survive Armageddon? I reckon bindweed is the plant equivalent! 😉
- My garden being full of birds
- That my insect repellent worked and I haven’t been bitten by the tiny black flies that cause me to react horribly, in spite of wearing a dress to garden in today 😊
- The new recipe I tried today for pine nut and crystallised ginger cookies was lovely 😊 
- Better weather then the original forecast. 

KK

Thrifty_Taylor

Welcome to the turtle gang @KajiKita!

Sending hugs @Toni'sfriend, you've got a lot to deal with just now, so don't beat yourself up. Take it a day or an hour at a time, factor in lots of self-care & rest. Your drink & book 4 this afternoon sound perfect!

I've had a lovely day, it was raining this morning, so I did 3 sewing jobs. Popped some money in a birthday card & walked to the village with DH, to deliver it, then go a bit further.

Spread some homemade mulch/compost under the apple tree cordons, transplanted rosemary into the new herb bed, then weeded another raised bed & planted the 9 asparagus plants that have been in pots for 2+ years. Read a magazine I'd been given yesterday, can pass it on to someone else tomorrow.

Had a nice bath with my book & a facemask.

Grateful for time in the garden, not seeing any big vermin in the compost heap (though signs they had been there at some point), blossom on the apple trees

ditty1234

Evening, 6 nsd days so far, not great, but won't need to spend much this week. Am in the process of completing a couple of frogs that have hung about since before easter, so well overdue. About an other hour to go, then I'll be done. 
Grateful for a walk with ds1 this morning and a weekly planned shop and a bit of tidying in the garden this afternoon. 

grandmanerd

I started to feel human again before bedtime but it took several hours. I've had my pills and my shower (+ hair wash), going to finish reading my book and do gentle tidying.

Grateful for feeling better, the bed looking fairly tidy, good books to read.

ldee2111

Welcome @KajiKita 😁

I missed checking in for a few days but was keeping notes, so here goes:

Reached NSD 5 on Thursday when I was working from home. I listed some items on V!ntD. Not much interest in them so far. I also lowered the asking price on our wooden high chair on the gummytree. Whatever doesn’t sell by Sunday I’ll hand into the charity shop next week. 

Thursday evening I helped out at the school disco, then Friday morning I was back at the school to do my paired reading.

Lost my NSD on Friday evening to a takeaway for us and my outlaws. We then won £50 at a quiz night which was given to DS for his holiday. 

Saturday was grocery delivery day so stayed on NSD 5. I also turned down the thermostat again after seeing that my energy bill took us into the red this month… only by £15 but I can’t remember ever being in debit so it did surprise me. Will see if it balances out next month but if we go more into debit, I’ll pay it off and up the nagging at OH re energy usage because I’m not the one who overfills the kettle,  turns on lights when they’re not needed, or runs the shower for too long before getting in! 👿

Sunday was a lazy day. OH fixed a tap that was about to blast off, and then we all went for a walk around a local park which was around 2 miles. And then we needed ice cream! Bye bye NSD. However, I did have a good Sunday sweep this week from underspends - £90 added to our holiday savings. 

Grateful for quality time with OH and DS, for a fun quiz night, for OH managing to fix the tap, for living near a great ice cream place, for nicer weather, for being in a happy place in my head this morning… maybe I should do gratitudes more often in the AM?! 

Starlight_at_Sea

Glad you are feeling better @grandmanerd - sounds like an exhausting experience. My bar for success yesterday was having a shower and washing my hair, we had had a tiring and emotional 24 hours before that and I really didn't feel like I could do any more than that. I did pop over to a cousins for supper and a chat, and did munch one financial frog. 

Have finally initiated the switch for an account that I opened end of march but then got understandably distracted by all our hospital admissions. Forgot my online password etc set up during the opening of the account, couldn't reset it because they had sent the info like sort code and account number to the app, which I couldn't get into! 

I made time during our Eurovision trip to pop into the Liverpool branch and the staff were so helpful. Reset everything and got me up and running, also refunded me the account charges for the 2 months I hadn't been using it, and - unexpectedly and not really deservedly - they also gave me the reward bonus for actively using the account for that two months. I was very impressed. 

Switch now initiated, should be done in a week or so, the switching bonus then pays out in another week, so by early June I expect! Am greatful to @f0xh0les and other posters for posting about their switching as this is the second one I have done this year, so will be about £400 in bonuses! 

Starlight_at_Sea

I am back to work now after a week off. Just holding onto the last of the holiday vibes by savoring a cuppa in bed. I did peek at emails and schedule last night and there is nothing too griefy waiting, I don't think.

I've taken inspiration from @Sun_Addict diary and created an exercise schedule for this week, and carved out opportunity in my work schedule to mean I plan to attend a class each day. I'm sure things will come up on one or two days but at least I'll get there more often than not.

I have one more financial frog to try to untangle today, and two frogs hanging over me that are logistical/tech things I need to master at work this week, but which are taking up brain space worrying about them.  I will feel better when they are sorted out. 

Also need to speak to various medical professionals about events of the last 3 days to get some advice. I think that's plenty for today. It should be a NSD I think - yesterday wasn't, I ordered some new slippers and am much looking forward to their arrival. 

thriftylass

Good morning,

not a great start to the day as I slept in and we had to totally rush this morning. But got everyone out in time. Today will be a good day.

Writing a trustp1lot review is the way forward if you're not happy (and of course if your happy with the service). Not only did it help sorting the W0cher situation but also with Th0mpson & M0rgan. MSE advertised their £9.99 offer for 9 tomato plants and 10 seed packets which is a great deal. Unfortunately, they sent the live plants over the bank holiday weekend and 6 of them died. I still gave a decent review as the value is still good but unexpectedly got a full refund.

Gym today, LO stovies for tea and maybe some more decluttering tonight.