NST March 2024: The Magic Roundabout

Flying_By

@beanielou Phew! Reassured to know I'm not completely incompetent!

f0xh0les

NSD 2 yesterday,  Still Stripping!! But it will be all glossed and done by bedtime tonight. Well, that bit will.

Future Me Planning :  the carpet man is coming to measure up tomorrow, and possibly 2 carpets going down before the weekend.

 @Thrifty_Taylor he will be feeling like he is not the bear-wrestling-hunter you signed up for, Can you put him in charge of the broad beans sowing? and whatever you can grow up there.  Nearly potato planting day (Paddy's Day for planting spuds).  It is hard for them when they can't work. Divert his attention....

I remember using olive oil for cradle cap when the boys were tiny.  Worked like a charm.

laura_lau

Love the cat pictures!
Today is NSD #2 for me. We had a lovely Sunday, taking advantage of the sun to go to the big park with friends, so that we could go for a proper long walk and the dogs could socialize. We then had a nice pub lunch before we came back home. I'm particularly happy the walk went well, as my friend and her partner offered to take care of our dog this coming weekend, as we will be away in Paris from Friday to Sunday. Very excited about the upcoming trip, as it's the first holiday (although short) I am taking since early September, can't wait to fully forget the daily troubles.

Today I am very busy and really want to catch up with all work during the early part of the week, so I had a very short lunch break. Had a performance review chat with my manager and found out I am going to be rewarded with a fair bonus (I kind of had an idea about that late last week, but now I know the exact amount and can plan for it) and a more than decent payrise, so I have spent a few minutes doing some calculations. I am going to use half of the bonus to do a big overpayment on one of the credit cards for which I don't have a fixed payment agreed, and so doing the overpayment on that one is going to impact my monthly budget more significantly than paying the others, as I still continue paying the fixed amount. Also, I believe that this is the first one for which the promotional 0% rate will end, so it makes even more sense. I am going to use part of the rest to pay the water bill, so it will not impact my monthly income, and will put whatever is left in the emergency fund pot. I know I will not receive it until March payday, but having a plan for it already makes me feel lighter, and all the steps above are also all in the right direction for March goals, so I feel very good about it. Also I hope that the payrise will finally allow me to not have to use the credit cards anymore, so that the debt will not creep up again.

Tomorrow I am in the office, and I have snacks to bring, but I'm not sure I will be able to bring lunch, as we are due a new grocery shop. 

Gratitudes: 

1. sun yesterday
2. friends offering to take care of my little dog while we are away
3. being able to slowly pay my debts and seeing progress 

Toni'sfriend

Love all your cat pictures. I love cats. We don't have one ourselves but a student nurse moved in nearby recently and her cat has been adopted by the whole block. He's such a character. Wanders around in and out of all the houses getting fed, having treats and a snooze on any available bed or sofa. Fair cheers you up!

So, I got out of hospital yesterday, Unfortunately the op didn't quite go to plan. It turned out to be a lot more complicated than anticipated. So I may have to have another. I admit I was a bit down because I thought I was nearing the end of this saga but it is what it is and on the positive side I have more knowledge of what to expect next time. I haven't told anyone yet as we won't know for definite until the pathology results are available. I wouldn't have believed that going to a GP with something as simple as a rash could have resulted in all this.

Positives - Himself can now use the washing machine. That is a giant leap for mankind. :

DawnW

Sorry to hear that you may need another op @Toni'sfriend

Hope the pathology results are favourable, and in the meantime, make sure that Himself doesn't forget how to use the washing machine!

Still on NSD#3 as I bought compost from the garden centre this morning, and some nice bread flour from their farm shop while I was there. Then stopped off at L*dl on the way back to pick up bread and milk for my brother, and got sweet potatoes and grapes on offer. I will do my own shop tomorrow or Wednesday, but the offers sell out quickly and there may be none left.

Did a little bit in the garden as the sun was out, and it wasn't raining. I tidied 2 hanging baskets full of strawberries, removed the dead leaves, topped up the compost and added some organic fertiliser. Also pruned one of my clematis. I want to move some things around out there tomorrow, so hoping OH is in a good mood to help me

Also did a small load of washing and dried it outside      

Went to see my brother this afternoon, took the bread and milk he had asked for, along with portions of the meals I made over the weekend. Brought back his washing, but that is a job for tomorrow. He seems ok, his neighbour was there with him and they were watching TV so I didn't stay long.

Dinner was easy, I just cooked some rice and frozen veg and we had some of the chicken Creole I made yesterday.

Grateful to see the sun, even though it is raining again now, that my brother is ok and for easy food.

lcc86

Wishing you a speedy recovery @Toni'sfriend, and some positive news soon.

Planned spend day today.

Ordered a mother's day gift for my mum, a bottle of toner for my hair, and some stuff I needed for my aquarium. 

Cycled to the gym, worked out for an hour and then cycled to the farm shop for lunch, something I'd planned as a bit of a treat for my non-working day. I also bought a few bits for dinner as we were short one meal between now and when our shopping delivery comes. Not the cheapest way to shop but very much a one off. I also got a too good to go bag of muffins this afternoon. 

Edit - also just got notified that I've received £200 from my bank switch, popped that into my savings with the aim of using it towards a car repair that needs doing.

beanielou

Hope you are on the mend soon @Toni'sfriend.

I feel bad even saying this.  I am struggling.  I am sick of falling, being in pain & worrying about money.
I fell over today trying to hoov er part of a room.  There is st uff needing done in the garden & I have no money to cover it.

apple_muncher

Laura, congratulations on the bonus. Your plans for how to use it are great.

Toni'sfriend and beanie, lots of hugs to you both.

Today I am grateful for sunshine, for getting a spot in the step class (it kicked my butt!), for a f+v box  from liddle, for Pip coping with school, for jigsaws.

Starlight_at_Sea

Sending love Beanie, it sounds like a tough day. We're here if you want to vent, you don't need to feel bad about it. Your a good friend and encouraging to us all, let us give that back a bit x

Strolling in a little late to the month, does that make me Brian maybe? I'll have to swot up on my characters. Last 10 days have been a bit of a blur and i've not had the bandwidth for screens in the evening. Will catch up with the end of the Feb thread (thank you grandmanerd) and the start of this (thank you apple) and update properly. For today, let the record show that I have at last submitted my expenses (well 2/3 of them, there is one category to go) for the whole financial year - it took a while but I got there, thank you for the encouragement last month @f0xh0les. 

Thrifty_Taylor

Thanks @f0xh0les, we've got lots of seeds to plant, so it'll keep him busy! Plus 4 new doors to paint & put handles on 😊
Sending hugs & positive vibes @Toni'sfriend & @beanielou. We're here for you both. Sorry you've had a fall @beanielou, wish I was closer x

I've had a carp day too. Didn't sleep very well, then felt low all day. Went to bed for half an hour when I got home 

Had a phonecall from a lovely lady, asking me to make 4 memory bears for her. The lady was a regular when I worked in a tearoom, & after hearing my take of my car tyre blowing out on my way to work, had unbeknownst to me, left money at the garage towards my repair bill ❤️ we gave her lots of lupin plants for her garden the following year. Anyway, it cheered me up a bit 😊

Finished sewing one of the current memory bears & started assembling another one. Made sure I stopped sewing at 9pm & did more of my Moomin jigsaw. DS3 even joined me for 10 mins.

Grateful for joining the 5 year olds in a Jo Wix workout, snapping out of my funk, supportive friends, a sunny day that dried my washing, 2 days of healthy eating

NSD#2