NST March 2024: The Magic Roundabout

Starlight_at_Sea

Grateful for you all keeping me grounded and inspired. Work is totally, totally bonkers just now but I feel like I am doing good work and have the space to excel as everyone else is so blooming busy they are keeping outta my way!

Grateful for my health as my mental resilience and stamina is good at the moment,  I am coping well with long hours, just normal tired not fatigue tired. It's interesting that when striding up a hill with DD yesterday I was really puffed out, my lungs aren't working as well as the rest of me at the moment!  I think as I am working more I am exercising less and need to rebalance that.

Er, no spend day as have not left the computer all day. Tomorrow am off some of the day seeing DD but will be a cheaper day than it might have been, we are going to a small local cafe for a late lunch. I am so looking forward to it! 

I did none of the tasks on my post last night apart from delivering the work presentation. It was to some mid level civil servants who were clearly a bit exacerbated about the state of the nation and probably shouldn't have let me into the meeting until they had finished venting. I popped in at the allotted time, heard the type of discussion and exited promptly, emailed them and let them know I was ready when they were! Tad awkward! 

DawnW

Congratulations @grandmanerd on a huge step forward

@Starlight_at_Sea I feel the pain of those mid-level civil servants!

No work today as I worked Tuesday instead

Still on NSD #5 (I think!)

Shopping day today, got a good f&v box from L*dl, which included 3 potted parsley plants in decent condition. I have planted them in an old galvanised bucket and put it in the mini greenhouse for now. It will look really pretty when it starts to grow, and useful too  

Dog had a bath in the sink. He wasn't impressed    

Son came round for lunch. He hurt his shoulder quite badly on holiday last week, and is waiting for an appointment at the big hospital.

Claimed a £5 voucher from a survey company (but may have spent it towards a book... )

Work tomorrow, so hoping to get a decent night's sleep tonight. I have been waking after really stressy stupid dreams for the last week   

Grateful today that I am no longer a mid level civil servant type thingy (though not exactly that...), for a decent f&v box and for seeing my son and checking that he is in one piece

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for DH chauffeuring me and pip to and from the train station, for frequent trains for our route, for Battlebots, for my sister.

Thrifty_Taylor

Thanks @beanielou & @Starlight_at_Sea, it's maybe a good thing I didn't know where he was camping at 😂 though might get him to tell me in future, just do I know roughly whereabouts on the island he is, in case I need to go looking!!

Work went ok yesterday & today, after the initial blips after the first bell. Both nights, I've spent shortening the sleeves by hand, on 2 coats, followed by doing my jigsaw, which I've finished tonight 😃

Left the house early today, as had a doctor's appointment, pleased it was a lovely trainee doctor, as had more faith in her, than the regular space cadets that are there. Saw a pheasant running across a field en route to work, which made me smile.

Grateful for yesterday being another NSD, nice weather today, making the game with folded paper to put your forefinger & thumb in, then count each time you open them & read the message under the flap (sorry no idea what the proper name is 😂), getting another big bag of seeing out if my small bedroom

laura_lau

Thrifty_Taylor said:

[..]

Grateful for yesterday being another NSD, nice weather today, making the game with folded paper to put your forefinger & thumb in, then count each time you open them & read the message under the flap (sorry no idea what the proper name is 😂), getting another big bag of seeing out if my small bedroom

I know that game! no idea how it is called, but you unlocked a lovely childhood memory, thank you!

Today is NSD #6, very pleased to finally add a few more! 

Today I am grateful for 

1. OH bringing home and installing a perfectly functioning and quality oven from his friend who is refurbishing the kitchen. Our one was left by the previous owner and never worked very well! 
2. Friday & manager took the day off, so I can half relax! (strike that, she has already been emailing me during the time it took me to write this message).
3. Flowers on the trees and birds singing

The plan for today is:

• work
• tidy up and clean where pieces of kitchen have been moved around
• clean bathroom
• call the credit card provider as they blocked my card and the access to the online account (crazy, I know) due to suspicious activity (said suspicious activity = buying cheese, salami and chocolate on Sunday morning in Paris before boarding the train back to London and then attempting to pay the bus home with the same card I used in France - blasphemy!!) What annoys me the most is that I have been waiting for the whole week to receive a call as they said they would, and yesterday I received a letter saying they attempted several times to call me and even left voice messages, but I haven't received a single call. And yes, they do have the correct number on file, so they lied.
• browse blinds as I would like to put some blinds before the heat comes (I only have curtains which do nothing to keep the heat out), but first I want to actively budget for it.

lcc86

Evening turtles

Yesterday I woke up super achey from my morning gym session and evening spin class on Wednesday so I decided to relax a little and did some yoga at home. Worked from home in the morning and then made my way into the office for the afternoon. Decided to apply for a temporary acting up position at work, will see what happens. Head of Service has indicated I meet the criteria for an interview so it's down to me how I sell myself and also who else applies in the team. We shall see. OH bought pizza yesterday so I kept my NSD.

Today I woke up in the middle of the night with a flareup of my back condition, was going to cry off from the gym but decided to go. Felt much better for it, plus the walk there and back helped. Worked from home and caught up with everything, I feel very on top of my work and feeling a bit more confident. 

Cleaned the carpets on my lunch break (house bun had an op recently and has been having a few accidents since), really impressed with the product I had bought on my last spend day as had never heard of it before and it was a last ditch effort before having to hire a proper cleaner. Really done the trick. I spent posting a book I sold on ebay but am gonna be cheeky and still claim my NSD as technically the sale of the book covers it! I also got a prescription after work.

Ticked everything off my to do list including a few annoying frogs I'd been putting off. Am on call tonight but just relaxing in the bath and hoping no one calls me!

DawnW

NSD #6 for me today, as I was at work all day and had no need / opportunity to spend.

Swerved a potential big spend yesterday as OH went to shut the garage door (an elderly electric one) and one side of it collapsed    A bolt had sheered off, but OH and a neighbour managed to replace it. It is making slightly odd noises though, and not running especially smoothly, so I suspect we will need to get it replaced at some point before too long.

Strange weather today, we had short periods of really quite pleasant sunshine, interspersed with torrential downpours.

My replacement tree arrived this morning (we had to remove a dwarf cherry tree in the garden that was continually attacked by aphids and suffered from unsightly leaf curl as a result. It would have died anyway had we not decided to remove it. We have replaced it with a dwarf crab apple tree, which I am looking forward to planting, hopefully over the weekend, weather permitting   

Grateful today for not getting wet in the heavy rain, for my new tree and getting home from work to a warm house 0 the shop was freezing!

f0xh0les

Today I gloss painted the skirts, dormer walls, door frame and door in DS3s bedroom. Painted his ceiling again, and painted two walls blue. Hopefully will finish it all tomorrow. It took me from 9am to 3pm, with only a very quick sandwich break for lunch.   
Unsurprisingly I spent no money! NSD 9
 Supper was oven baked and golden ( from le freezer ) and home made chips.  Well, it is Friday, I can stuff the family full of fruit and veg tomorrow. It was quick and hot and tasty.
  I did boil some chickpeas while I was cooking the chips, if that counts towards anything......😉 Preparation is key! 
Grateful to me for filling the freezer on Monday and making a meal plan for the week. That there are only five school days left until Easter hols, for the surprise box of chocolates I was given yesterday, and for 3 🍆 and four red 🫑 I got from the community Fridge for free. 

Thrifty_Taylor

Had a fantastic day at work, my pupil joined in with more things than usual & didn't bat an eyelid! Days like these make my job worthwhile & makes up for all the more difficult days 😃

Caught up with emails when I got home. Made a fire after tea, then made 8 cards for upcoming things the rest of this month & next. My friend from school now lives in Australia, saw an email for a free card on 🌘🐷, so took advantage of that & just had to pay 95p postage, worked out cheaper than if I'd posted one from the UK.

Grateful for a brilliant work day, lunch with my work bestie, & crafting

lcc86

On call again today, woke up with a really bad headache and got called in first thing. Got everything done quickly, and took advantage of being in the office to use the printer for a few bits before making my way home.

I ended up buying a second lunch as I felt pretty rough when I got home and the lunch I made didn't help. As I'd spent, I took the opportunity to buy a couple of bits I needed online. I also sent £5 to my savings.

Had a nap and managed aquarium maintenance but not much else. Carpets are still a little stained now that they've dried so I do need to go over them again but that's a job for another day.