NST Awesome August

thriftylass

Hello from Germany. Online for the first time in ages, did a wee detox from that too. 

Could I please join for August, we'll be back in Scotland from next Tue and I'll catch up then and post. 

Hope everyone is well 👋

Swayingseaweed

Can I join please? Need to be more focuse this month. 

abundant1972

Greetings one and all !!! Please could I join you for August? (and hopefully beyond...)

I hope you are all well - it would be lovely to be back on board. 

Abundant x   

grandmanerd

A warm welcome to all turtles, old and new but abundant I have been so worried about you . I never know what to do - whether to send a private message or not, if it helps or will  make things worse.

beanielou

Indeed @grandmanerd
so many things for people with chronic conditions are a feat that people with out said chronic conditions have no idea about. 

That’s the sad reality 😿😿

2sonmum

can I join please sounds like an awesome challenge 

ditty1234

Hmm I thought I already posted ... but can I please join, I am really needing to be very conservative. It is hard when away, and I won't be back home until the 15th. but I have mostly managed to not go out and stick with simple foods. I borrowed a bicycle, but then my friend fell off her bike and broke her leg and is in hospital waiting for an operation, so am now less keen on bicycling. 
My financial and health down fall has been bakery pastries, and traditional lunch stuff (very unhealthy). So lets just say that I will give that up for now. Hope everybody is taking the time to grow - spiritually - in the rain - as what else can you do:-)

Toni'sfriend

Hello, Abundant. I was wondering where you were. I was just thinking about you the other day. Hope all is well with you. Welcome back. xx

I must admit I wasn't feeling very awesome first thing this morning. I think I dived in at the deep end last week and maybe was just a little ambitious in what I could manage. It was lovely, though. to see my cousin and our weekend with the Boy and his beautiful girl was amazing. So, living the moment.  . My awesomeness has returned as the day went on and I've achieved quite a lot.

Budget done, banking done and money moved to where it should be. Charity standing orders all been transferred. Ordered the bulk item stocks which were running low, bought cards and some gifts which will be needed for later on in the month. Washing done and drying upstairs, freezers tidied (a bit), and meal plan done. I was hoping to focus a bit on healthy eating and some lifestyle changes this month but the Boy bought us some amazing cakes yesterday so it's gone a little awry. But just for the moment.

Himself collected some medication for me this morning and did the shopping complete with list. Amazingly he stuck to it apart from two packets of reduced fish which he couldn't resist. 

Couple of hospital appointments this month which I'm pushing to the back of my mind for the moment. A whole month staycation in September and if I'm feeling up to it we might fit in a couple of trips out this month (Day trip, lunch?)

Cat sitting for the next few days. He's gorgeous. Like a black panther. Apparently, one of my little friends is helping me?  

Must get on to the decluttering/donating.

Well, that's been my day. Hope you've all had a good one. xxxx

grandmanerd

Right you should all have a number - please let me know if I've missed anyone out.

I found another £1.21 today, I think there are still oddments lying around.

I need to focus on my health this month. I wasn't happy when I weighed myself in Bolton. My weight has been worse but it's also been a lot better. I have several long term (chronic) conditions and a whole host of side effects due to various medications and complications caused by clashes of illness and medication (furry tongue, hand trembling and at times whole body shaking, bland foods improve the furry tongue, curry spices help with the arthritis pain). My mobility went downhill rapidly towards the end of last year, then I had the September - March cough/ cold/ sore throat bugs (I feel stupid when I end up in bed for 'minor' ailments but I think last year, many of you had a taste of it with bugs that wiped you out). An old sprain injury (pre 2000) flared up earlier this year and although I've got the swelling down and can move my foot quite well, I'm still having difficulty walking and standing. An increase in prescription meds and a new tablet did not help one bit (all the side effects I'd just about got under control went to pot and the new tablet has taken 2 very uncomfortable months to start 'co-operating' with the other pills.

Nothing I have will kill me this week or in the next few months (2 of them might if I stopped taking my tablets) but there's a lot more I could be doing (eating sensibly and not shoving food in when I'm upset, bored, frustrated, happy, depressed, angry) and some things I need to be doing (exercise) but I'm not sure how or what. The impact of a relatively minor injury on top of everything else has been extremely frustrating. So my challenge

Awesome Positive self talk.  I am awesome. I'm a warrior and a survivor. All those life events that are supposed to tip you into a major depression if you have 2 or 3 - my life has been running at 3.5 + for as long as I can remember (sometimes it's about 6). I am not fat. I have fat but fat is not who I am and it does not define me. I'm a mother and grandmother, a good friend and emotional support to many.  I don't love the way I look but I've been patting my tummy, telling it that it's served me well but it has to go now (this is accepting myself - i won't lose weight if I hate my body and starve or punish myself or go into a spiral of self loathing). 

Wellness I'm still a newcomer to the concept of being 'disabled' (imagine my surprise when I was queue jumped at DS2's masters graduation). i wasn't even allowed to be 'disabled' when I needed a total hip replacement - I struggled for 2 -3 years, then had a month's bed rest followed by several months (Feb- Aug) of physiotherapy before being referred and getting a diagnosis - the acute period of recovery (when I couldn't put my own socks and shoes on) was only 3 months and the severity of my problems rushed me to the head of the queue so I didn't meet the six month minimum criteria for disability status.

I've followed the 'Old style and Poor health' thread for years as they had lots of useful tips that helped me cope (a lot of housework tasks have been difficult to impossible for about 7 years (I found ways to do bits after my operation nearly 9 years ago, mainly by pacing -15 minutes standing to do washing up then 15 minutes of  a sitting down task like meal prep at the kitchen table). I need to keep a close watch on my mental health (giving up sugar altogether can cause a slump. Someone at the doctor's surgery suggested reducing my anti-depressants last month - I'm not ruling it out but there's still a lot going on so I want to keep them at the current level for the time being

Exercise But everyone's 'chronic conditions' are different - yesterday I read a blog for fibromyalgia and CFS (constant fatigue syndrome) suffers who can be bed bound by flare ups and pain and 'brain fog'. This was about exercise, but the woman was suggesting adding squats and other exercises into your normal housework routine and working up to a 15 minute daily walk if you could already do 10 minutes walking on the treadmill. Treadmill - I'd be afraid of falling off if I were to venture onto a treadmill - I struggle getting down the yard most days.

However i need to do something and I've thought of some things in the bathroom (I'm supposed to do standing on one leg, the injured one, as recommended by the physiotherapist). I'm supposed to do a minute (then there are further stages when I can do that comfortably). So far the longest I've managed is 45 seconds and this week I start wobbling and break into a sweat from about 20 seconds, despite clinging onto the towel rail with both hands. But I'll keep doing that and I can do modified 'squats' - just moving my knees outwards and lowering myself a bit (again holding on to the towel rail or trolley for safety) but a little bit is better than nothing (I reserve the right to stop if my knee cracks or gives way). I am doing leg raises on the bed (alternate legs, on my back and on my sides) and writing the alphabet with my foot (can do that on the bus or sitting in a waiting room) and a couple more I'm going to attempt and I'll add in a couple of the mindfulness exercises from the course I did last year. I'll do those several times a day and add more as I think of them - just need to keep it simple and do it consistently. And don't give up - if I miss a day, I need to get back to it without missing a second day.

Stay in the moment My walking is poor atm but I will try to get outside each day even if it's only sitting in the yard to eat a meal or have a drink and chat with my little robin friends and the other birds, watch the butterflies and the bees. Eating slowly and with awareness is good for weight loss too.

Overwhelmed The recent injury has caused this (days when I couldn't do anything and felt the house descending into chaos around me. I've also 'parked' some of my challenges at the back of my head - I had enough things to do (or worry about not being able to do) so any looking at houses/ talking about mortgages/ steps to moving out 2 x 33 year olds and the 3 chinchillas and half the furniture has been put on hold. Last week DS3 catalogued a batch of classical vinyl (part of the boys' inheritance from their father) but I need to keep him going at this and get DS2 organising the auctioneers. Looking for a house with a 10 or 20 k deposit should be much more doable. I also had a wobble last month as my brother was pushing to sell my grandma's house (mum's lodger has lived there for nearly 30 years). I really hadn't recovered from selling mum's bungalow. There are still some bits of mum's estate to deal with but I made a start on those last week. 

Meal planning and preparation are vital. need to get my head around this. I don't feel much like cooking, the kitchen is a hell hole (well not disgustingly dirty but messy and too many things in the way). I'll plod on with clearing and cleaning it (I got the kitchen table back) and start with some simple things. I bought several 'stir fry' bags to use instead of leaves for salad (I had several lovely meals of mature cheese slices on wholemeal seeded bread, heaped with a coleslaw mix with low fat dressing). I want to make inroads on mum's remaining stash of tins/ jars and packets, aiming for 23 a week (many are things I wouldn't normally use or buy - packet cheese sauce and jars of curry sauce but I need the space and it's something I have control over. I have a curry made for the next few days and will add fresh and frozen veg. There are some things I can use 'as they are' (tinned soup, tinned fruit, need to go through the packets of nuts and carry on using up the pasta with sauce and microwave rice) and that gives me a few days grace to start using the cook books I recently purchased (A Girl Called Jack, Feed Your Family for £20 a week and Eat, shop, cook) as other things come out of the fridge and freezer. 

Everyone has things they can live without. If the 3 for £14 dresses I bought yesterday don't fit, I have 14 days to take them back. i'm going to continue putting pennies in collection boxes. I'll go through drawers one at a time and round up things for the charity shops and keep a look out for other things people might need (disaster appeals, there might be things suitable for raffle prizes at mum's church). I'm planning to hand over some photos and all the birth certificates etc to my younger niece. I also have some bits and pieces of very little monetary value but she might like them as mementos (she likes heirlooms). If i can get at least some of that organised this week I could hand them over after her granddad's funeral (I want to write little notes explaining what they are and she's free to dump them if she doesn't want them. Some clothes will be relegated  to painting clothes and some bedding may be turned into rags for cleaning.

An Attitude of Gratitude I find this helps with my mental health, remembering the good bits in each day, looking at what I've achieved not what is still to be done.

U need a budget. Food budget is set at £105.10 for the month. This is totally inadequate but I need to use up the stuff under the stairs and the contents of the freezer. I need to curtail the fake sugar beverages and this will happen sooner rather than later because none of the decaffeinated ones came in my last delivery and I didn't make it as far as any of the shops that stock them yesterday. Travel I have an appointment on Friday and will need a taxi (next town up and not on the main road but several blocks away, appt is at 9.20 am. I'm going to allow £20 for that but I still have 2 appointments that I need to make so. I'm hoping to go on several bus journeys (even if I only ride round scenic places) but will allow £25 for train tickets and ice cream money. I'm hoping money for new glasses/ lenses will fall in next month and I topped up my phone on Monday (calls re mum's estate. DIY lots to do but should already have the materials required. Need to open a savings account (or two) and move my money. 

I may need to pay for drinks at the funeral as niece's bf bought me a drink last time. I want to offer to pay next time I go out with my grand-daughter and her parents (they have much more money than me but I've always paid my way so I need to make a point of offering) and I still haven't met with DS1 and darling d-i-l - we usually take it in turns to pay.

Goals I still don't know where I'm going, everything is on hold until DS3 and Beloved move out. i Ihave several house improvements pending (it'll be easier once they have gone) including the long awaited kitchen. I want to spend at least a  year on my own to see what obstacles I encounter and what support I need (people and gadgets). i have lots of short term goals and things to do. I need a lot of organisation to tackle household chores etc. I may have 'themed' days of the week (domestic day/ self care day/ going out day etc not 'dressing up as a cat' or 'digging for treasure in the back yard' days). 

Use What You Have  Already covered food use ups. I want to try finishing the last few cross stitch wips and there's a new one I want to do. I have some things to try making greeting cards and am going to 'wrap as I go' for December - I had things ready last year and then DS2 phoned to say they'd be at my house in 10 minutes and things got thrown in bags. I have plain coloured craft paper for wrapping and bought a snowflake stencil last year. These are less stress crafts if I can't manage the cross-stitch. Also need to get to grips with various tech bits and practice.

Staycation I've been promising myself a holiday for ages but some quality 'me' time would be very welcome. I'm not up for camping in the back yard but I wouldn't mind a day sitting reading with a long cool drink (I have lots of non-alchoholic wine to use up). I have a list of mini adventure suggestions somewhere which I'll put up later in the week (they suggested back yard camping).

Treat yourself (and others) kindly  this will be fun.
  

Toni'sfriend

Grandmanerd - You are such an inspiration. Lots of things in your post that I should think about. xxx