NST September 2024: A Turtle soap opera

ldee2111

Please add me to this month’s challenge. X

Good morning lovely turtles!

Health

In September, I’m really going to focus on getting healthier after a few months of not looking after myself as well as I should. I've put on quite a few pounds, and as a wee woman standing at 5 feet tall, I genuinely feel every extra pound I carry. This month, my goal is to lose 4 pounds—one per week. Now, this might be a bit of a challenge because my September calendar is packed! I have a dinner with OH’s parents tonight, a dinner with Mum (birthday voucher), a dinner with OH (another birthday voucher), a whole weekend wedding, a parent council meeting where there are always tempting treats, an art class with gin with my friend (another birthday voucher), a golf experience with food with OH and DS (you guessed it - a birthday voucher!), and a September weekend off work and school. It’s quite the obstacle course for trying to lose weight! But I still think that if I’m conscious and careful, I can shed those pounds. I also need to get my backside back up to the gym and also go for walks. 

Wealth

Budgets are all set for September, taking into account all the mentioned activities. Pennies have been getting put away every month all year for that day! Thankfully, OH and I have a small gift list that includes our child, our parents, and each other. We’re still on track to pay off the mortgage in eight months as long as we stick to our savings plan, which involves saving a set amount every month from our wages and underspending every week which does take effort (e.g meal planning, spending consciously, willpower, etc). There’s no way I’ll manage 15 NSDs this month, but I’ll keep track of any that I do manage.

A Life Well Lived

As I’ve already mentioned, September is a month full of activities for us, so there’s plenty to enjoy but also to navigate. I’ll also continue with the decluttering, which seems to be an endless task, especially with a young child who everyone insists on treating with unnecessary gifts of toys clothes and bloomin’ sugary treats which Mum can’t help but eat under the false pretence that I am limiting the amount of crap that my child eats! Amidst all the busyness this month, I’ll make sure to take time for myself by going to classes at the gym, reading my library books, and listening to audiobooks while I declutter! 

Have a super successful September, turtles! X

f0xh0les

How about creating a designated Halloween Box 🎁 for  Trick or Treaters sweeties?  It might help you lose lbs this month, and save you ££s next month @ldee2111.  Just an idea. 
Happy September ( Alert!! Alert !! we have entered the  -bers !!!) I was just in the process of pinching DH and solving W0rdle in 3 goes when I was punched by @apple_muncher, in the nicest  way possible 🤣🤣. It did make me laugh.
September will be busy in F0xh0le Towers.  DS4 is back at school, DS3 starts at a new college, DS1 has a 4 week full time  'admin for the NHS' course, DH is back on campus, and I am working for nearly half the days this month!! Woo hoo!
Payday will be Monday (stupid banks!) all the bills  go out on Monday,  💳 will be cleared on Monday, budgets will be set on Monday. 
Supermarket £6 off £40 spend voucher arrived on Friday but must be used by today, so I have made a small list , and I am off to buy loo roll and other essentials after my lovely coffee ☕.  The Christmas fairy has already  been sick in the supermarket aisles.  Be warned, it is still  3 months away, you don't need a selection box yet. 

grandmanerd

Big hugs Betharooni, do what you can but try to step back and take time for yourself and to assimilate all the changes when needed.

F0xh0les I had to wade through aisles of tinsel and tat too.

August ended well. DS3 brought down one half of the bed base - he seems to have taken my plan on board but insists he can only do one or two large items per day and will put them out in the back (and deal with any whining neighbours) so I just have to pick the optimum time for a skip or Waste Wizards. He then carted the exercise bike out of the front room and had only just got outside the gate when one of the skateboarders struck up a conversation. So that went off in the skateboarders car last night.

I don't think DS3 believed me when I tried to get him to put it out on Friday night with a 'free to good home' sign (all the people going out for the evening and all the Saturday shoppers (limited as the shopping centre has moved away from here) would have seen it. So pleased as I've been having to hold onto it and move round it carefully so as not to trip on any sticking out bits. He wants me to deal with more of the stuff from upstairs so the second half of the bed base can go and he can set up his desk upstairs (he extracted it from the corner of the kitchen and cleaned it on Thursday or Friday (lots of enquiries about cleaning stuff from him).

I went outside again later on and have emptied most of a 50cm pot into 3 40cm pots, took them outside and balanced them on the garden wall then added plants, more soil and water (many spare pots now empty). Still have one to finish as it got dark and the danger of falling or tripping escalated. The 50 cm pot has a chipped rim#. I got rid of several with split sides last year but if I ever get the house safe enough for my grand-daughter to visit, pots with broken rims need to go. Already have 3 that I'd noticed but saw a smaller one yesterday.

I'm also going to let the old garden chairs go. They were left by the previous inhabitant when I moved into the 4 bed house nearly 16 years ago. They don't have seats but have been used as supports for planks to hold a row of planters. I think I have enough spare pots that I can have one upside down with another the right way up on top so they will still be at an easy height for me to work on them. I'm undecided on the table - I hate it but it makes a useful 'small greenhouse' and it has the hole for an umbrella (I have one still in it's box). I'll make that decision when I have more space.

Grateful for things leaving the house, DS3 being on board (got to work on Beloved next) and taking time to rest and recover.

beanielou

Hello my fellow turtles. I am hoping for a quiet September. I am plodding on as usual and nothing exciting here. My disability is challenging as always bit not much I can do about that. 

Missing my DS as he’s so far away. 

Cats continue to give me joy. 

Had an attempted beak in a fortnight ago & so now have a eufy setup. 

My birthday passed with out much fanfare last week as I was on yet more antibiotics. 

I in awe of you all & what you achieve. 

Keep plodding. 

Shrewbie

Health:

I am in pretty good health but I would like to change my eating habits. I am veggie and work out quite a lot resistance training, and I'm pretty sure I don't get enough protein to be working out so much. I would like to sort out my macros and meal planning routine, and start this month if possible. 

-have a look at your routine. 

I have just changed my timetable at work so I come in and leave 30 mins later. Otherwise my new commute doesn't make sense. This means that I will have about 3 hours in the morning to work on the things I want to work on (and my actual work at work will probably suffer as I'm definitely a morning person, but it's only a temporary situation) I have set a new morning routine and will be trying it for the first time tomorrow. 

-keep active : bend, stretch, dance…

I will keep up the gym and I also have a pool to swim in now, until it gets colder anyway.

-what are you eating? 

See above

-look after yourself. Me-time is a requirement, not an optional extra…

 Yep. September is about making time for me to work on the things that will drive me forward.

Wealth:

-budget. 

Yep. Money goes on eating out. So that will be a non-negotiable for Sept. No eating out. It should be easy as I now live out in the sticks...

I think I'll suggest a secret santa with close family for that day in December...

-NSDs. 

I would like to try to get to 10 NSD at least.

Life well-lived:

Absolutely no social events planned in Sept. I will however try to get involved in some that don't involve drinking, as I would like to  continue to meet new people, especially since ex and I broke up. We share the same circle of friends and I know that we need time apart in order to be able to move on. I have been to a couple of events organised for expats and will try to do more of that. 

-life admin – are there things that you are putting off doing/checking? 

I like this idea of just doing one of these things. I need to sort out some paperwork here so I will try to get it done this month.

 Get rid of the gubbins! 

Most of my possessions are still in storage. It is expensive to keep it there but i am hoping that my current living situation is temporary. So I don't really have any clutter at the moment! 

-be grateful for all that you have. Post at least 3 things daily that you are grateful for.

Will do! today I am grateful for my ex being so lovely and understanding and for us being on good terms, for free books and for good public transport. 

-do something every day that makes you smile.

Love it! I will have a think about this. 

Good luck with September everyone xxx

ditty1234

Grateful for a lovely lake swim, a beautiful and exploratory walk with ds2 - luckily the cows in the field were friendly, and grateful for clean laundry and a mowed lawn. 

apple_muncher

Belated happy birthday beanie! 🎉🍰🎉🍰🎉

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for the start of a shiny new month, for me and DH and Pip getting stuff done, for great fun cleaning the paddling pool and then trying to tip the water out - it sloshed right back at me!, for the two visiting cats consenting to both be sitting in the garden at the same time.

Thrifty_Taylor

Thanks for this month's thread @apple_muncher, could I please be #18?
Sorry to hear if your loss @Betharooni, as others have said, take things a day/morning/afternoon/hour at a time.
Belated happy birthday @beanielou 🥳🎉🎂

NSD#1
A good start to the month - washed the dishes whilst eating breakfast & watching a Yootoob video. Hung the washing out, then went for a breezy 3 mile walk & listened to the radio. Dug up some turf & planted 4 shrubs in between the fence posts.

Read my book whilst eating dinner, then spent the afternoon sewing. Totalled up last month's spends, our money in sinking funds & read about, then opened a new regular savings account. Standing order set up to transfer money to it each month. Cancelled D1sney+ as free trial ends this month.

Dropped off sewing, collected DS3, then write a long overdue email.

Had a nice soak in the bath & pampered myself.

Planning to have 2 nights free from sewing each week, as I've been doing too much again! This week I'm going to see mum on Tuesday & take my knitting, then on Friday make a start on birthday/sproutmas presents. I have lots of supplies, so shouldn't need to buy much, if anything, & will use up some of my stash too!

Grateful for making time to go for a walk, ticking jobs off the list - both sewing & household, being pampered

Betharooni

Belated happy birthday @beanielou.

Thanks all for your lovely comments.

Today has mostly been spent doing bits around the house, washing, tidying up, etc. I have booked a bulky waste collection for my mums bed (it was incredibly uncomfortable to me and half buckled and mum was going to be getting rid of it soon anyway) which will be the last Wednesday in October, so we have plenty of time to sort it out to go. DB3 also picked up Mum’s mobility aids and commode which he’s offered to his local nursing home so that’s a couple more no longer needed bits out of the house.

Im thankful for DB2 coming over and cooking dinner as he had spare and wanted us to sample a recipe, healing hugs from my nieces and a slightly quieter day today.

B x