NST March 2024: The Magic Roundabout

Flying_By

Please add me apple!

ldee2111

Can you add me too and can I be #17 pretty please?

apple_muncher

I think I've added everyone to the roundabout list. Do shout out if I have missed you!

Today I shall be Dougal, going hither and thither cheerfully!

leftatthetrafficlights

Had a very lazy day yesterday and enjoyed it immensely!! 😁 it was also my first NSD 🙌 

Today I'm picking my grandbaby up this morning for a sleepover - our day will involve steam train rides, toy shop visits and feeding ducks so we're very much looking forward to it 😍 

Gratitudes for yesterday include dh having a day off, lots of chamomile tea made for me, a surprise gift from a friend being delivered and waking up to birds singing 😁

lcc86

Morning turtles

NSD number 1 yesterday, I was stuck in meetings most of the day and really busy with other work outside of those meetings so the day flew by. I did manage yoga in the morning and gym in the evening. 

Today I'm on call, but so far so good. I'll be getting on with as much stuff at home as possible while things are quiet, need to batch cook some lunches, do some housework and clean my aquarium. Hopefully won't get called in at all and can get to the gym again later.

Rowan9

I’d love to join again please and will try to post more! 

f0xh0les

Aims and Objectives of Roundabout Riding......

Turtle power: Goals this month, 2 rooms to be decorated, and 4 rooms with new carpets.
H- Do the Hustle. Shake your tailfeather, shake someone else’s tailfeather, blame it on the boogie.
Emergency fund – sorted. Last month to pay into the 2023/24 ISA  that I moved last week so I could add to it, so shunted pennies from all random savings accounts into that this morning.  All combined it is now  up to £5k but I have 6 empty accounts I need to go into a branch to close . Moved 2022/3 ISA that matured this morning, into the same 5.05% ISA account.

Me – tried on some c/shop purchases that had got lost in a bag when I was sorting out the duvets and bed linen, they all fit! Very smart, and nothing was more than £3, so my wardrobe is sorted.
Avoid things that drain you – the most draining thing in my life is the state of my house, and how many things need doing to it. I tell myself I have sorted the loft space this year. I decorated two bedrooms in February, the carpets are booked to go down next week, the stairwell is glossed and ready for carpets when I have finished decorating the other two bedrooms. There is progress being made, it is just s-l-o-w progress, just like Brian.  All forward motion is to be recognised and celebrated.
Gratitudes – every day I wake up being me.
Inquisitiveness – learning how to do more diy bits and things. Learning about pensions (I don’t have one) and trying to think more in advance,  not firefighting, or getting caught up in what-if-ery.
Commit to simplifying your life. I can control my actions and reactions. I am not responsible for the actions or inaction of other adult human beings.  

Remember those worse off than you – C/Shop bag on the go, volunteering 3x a week, will look in c/shops before buying anything new.
Offload your excess stuff – c/shop bag on the go. Pantry items are still being used up (Green’s vege gel sachets? I swear I have never bought them), I have a bag of diy bits that were bought and just not right, so will return them for a credit note.  They do not need to be here.
Use it up, wear it out, make do and mend or do without. Old threadbare fit for the bin leggings were saved for doing the painting in. Meals planned for the week.  Looking for a bedframe for free on local gifting sites
NSD count = 16 please  1 so far!
Decisiveness. Make a decision this month that will make future you very happy.

 Short term – sent an email yesterday and asked for work, I got some! 

 Mid term - see ISA planning above.

 Long Term, need to call Future Pension Line and buy 2 years of contributions (less than £350) then I should only need to fund another 7 or 8
Active lifestyle – decorating and humping furniture around the place, and dancing in the kitchen! You don't eat if your hands are covered in paint!
Budget – select one area to reduce this month. Oooh, tricky one. I already squeak! Would like the energy usage to come down, but I am not the main  culprit on that one.
Opportunities -  I need another paid job. I will look into this.
Understand your finances: What is your pension plan looking like? State pension of £208 a week. If it still exists, of which there is no guarantee.
The magic Foxabout needs maintenance – March involves having the top floor completely fixed, and moving on to the middle floor. Where is Mr Rusty when you need him?

 Anyone care for a sugar lump?

DawnW

NSD #1 for me today Don't know why I sound so pleased about it, as I always lose track by the middle of the month

Lazy day today after yesterday's work marathon (well, it was for me, I am not nearly so young as I used to be). But I did make a rice pudding to use up last week's cream and the rest of a bottle of milk, and a plum crumble, using plums and crumble mix from the freezer. All baked and now back in the freezer. Also a butternut squash and white bean soup. Not tried that before, but OH had cut the end off the butternut squash that had been living in the meat safe for months. Once cut, they need to be used sooner. 

Tomorrow we will do the rest of the batch cooking for the week, using up fridge shrapnel and stuff from the freezer. I am planning sausage casserole and a slow cooker recipe called Chicken Creole - basically marinated chicken in a spicy sauce. I will also make a frittata to use up eggs - we seem to have loads! I will then wipe out the fridge and start the shopping list.

Grateful today for a warm house - we had snow this morning! It didn't hang around for long, thank goodness!

laura_lau

So lovely you had snow @DawnW! It has barely stopped heavily raining here, the roads were all flooded this morning, and when I took the bus on my way back from my volunteering, half of the actual route was on diversion because of the flooded roads, so it missed half the stops! Luckily mine was the first after the end of diversion, so my travel home was actually much quicker than it usually is (especially on a Saturday afternoon). We had a bit of sun in the afternoon, which was a nice change, and made me realise I’ll have to fish out the sunglasses tomorrow, as I am so used to winter darkness that I could barely see when I was outside! 

I defrosted a barley and legumes soup I made back in December, and shared it with OH for lunch. Delicious, I will make more when is my turn for cooking next! 

In the afternoon I sat down and knitted a bit watching a few podcasts, and then fell asleep. Had a nice nap on the sofa (I never nap) and felt so good after. I feel like this afternoon I finally managed to really relax a bit for the first time in months. The Rescue Remedy has arrived so I’ll try some! Later I had a short walk with the dog and came home to have dinner (pasta with red pepper sauce) and started knitting again. 

Today was NSD number 1, as I took the bus to volunteering and while there I refrained from buying anything to eat at the cafe and just came home for lunch. 

Today I am grateful for: the nap and relaxation after a long time, the sun and blue sky finally making an appearance in the afternoon, past me making and freezing extra soup back in December. 

beanielou

@laura_lau. Hope you find a positive outcome for the rescue remedy. Remember to give it a wee bit of time.