Frugal frump to Fab - Astonishing Autum Exquinox to Wondrous Winter Solstice

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  • WelshWoofer
    WelshWoofer Posts: 5,076 Forumite
    Evening all - hope you're feeling a bit better EH? Must be a real shock to the system.
    Not a lot in the way of fabbing gone on here today apart from wearing a nice suit, make up and doing my hair.
    Does cooking a proper meal and have 5 a day count? Hope so because thats about the sum of it today:rotfl:
  • Bitsy_Beans
    Bitsy_Beans Posts: 9,640
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    Had a day of family friction :( so am kinda looking forward to getting today over with :o

    Had feedback on viewing......lovely house but downstairs too small. Not sure how they come to that conclusion with a ruddy great big conservatory on the back but hey ho. Suspect I shall have to grow a rhino hide when it comes to selling this house :o
    Rightmove ad has 215 hits (not all my friends and family ;)) so fingers crossed this translates into viewings.

    Not much other fabbing going on :o

    Rummer welcome back xx

    LL hugs for you, sorry yesterday was such a bad day xxxx

    EH positive vibes that the "something better" is on it's way for you xx

    Hugs and high fives all round xx
    I have a gift for enraging people, but if I ever bore you it'll be with a knife :D Louise Brooks
    All will be well in the end. If it's not well, it's not the end.
    Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars
  • podperson
    podperson Posts: 3,125
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    Hi all,

    ww - glad you got your house back, I'm the same, love it when my family come to visit but by the end I'm usually needing a rest and my house back to myself! :rotfl:

    Rummer - welcome back

    LL - glad you're having a bit better day, hope you enjoy your meal tonight x

    EH - it must be weird hun, try and enjoy the free time a bit while you have it, am sure you'll be back into something soon x Oh, and I absolutely love War of the Worlds, we saw the live show a few years ago and it was amazing (though think they have made a few changes recently) hope you enjoy it.

    Bitsy - hope you're ok hun, shame about the viewing but guess you can't expect the first people to take it, am sure someone will fall in love with it soon :)

    Anyway, busy as usual! (one day I'll say I'm not and you'll die of shock :rotfl:) Managed to get my rewrite and pre-edits in for late Sat, apparently my new editor is super fast as she sent me the next round back very late Sun night! Was rather hoping they wouldn't come in until next weekend or something so I could get caught up a bit on everything else. Am on with the dissertation at the moment - very dull and rather slow going. Fingers crossed I can get it done soon and can get back to my stuff! Very wintery weather up here - canal is frozen and we had snow last night! Rained this morning so that got rid of most of it, it's pretty to look at but bit of a nightmare to get to my work when the weather's bad. Going to do a quick touch up on my nails I think and then back to work!
  • bratz81
    bratz81 Posts: 673 Forumite
    EH - I know how much of a shock it is, I found focussing on looking for more work kept me busy. Plus the house got a great clean!

    Hair is fabbed after the henna (bye bye greys ) and got my eyebrows waxed in preparation for the work Xmas do on Saturday. Still trying to decide what to wear, I've two dresses in mind but one is pretty tight and I don't feel confident in it when I'm bloated...which considering aunt Irma is expected this week will probably occur. We'll see on the day just I reckon.
    carpe diem :cool:

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  • mineallmine
    mineallmine Posts: 3,053
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    Morning all. Hugs all round.

    Bitsy, I nose at houses on rightmove all the time! You will probably get contradictory feedback. But do you need to declutter the downstairs at all? It's ridiculous but buyers like to see a version of real life that in reality doesn't exist, we all have clutter/stuff we use every day. Feel free to join the Declutter thread for inspiration http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3698567&page=143 I also find watching YouTube videos about decluttering inspiring too. Happy to take a nose of your Rightmove ad via PM :)

    After brekkie I need to fab like mad today.

    Keep fabbing :A
    :) Declutter 300 things in December challenge, 9/300. Clear the living room. Re-organize storage
    :cool2: Cherryprint: "More stuff = more stuff to tidy up!"
    Less things. Less stuff. More life.
    :heart: Fab thread: Long daily walks
  • fedupandskint
    fedupandskint Posts: 10,358
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    Fabwise today - talked myself into going for a run after work while it wasn't freezing cold tonight. Went better on the way back and was surprised that my time was as good as before for 4miles even though it was quite hard work and only 3 - 5mins slower than my best.

    Have been making some Christmas pressies to get them done and not be too flustered at the end and told a few friends at work about them and they all said they sounded great! That was a nice response. Yesterday was lip balms and tonight was the first attempt at bath melts - halved the recipe so not too sure if these will look a little tiny and slim but really the ones you buy in a shop are too big for one bath. Really enjoying this and tomorrow might have a go at handcream if I have enough in to make it otherwise it will have to wait until the weekend when I go off to find some other fragrances to use.

    Diet wise not too bad now have factored a run in to burn off some choccie and flapjacks!

    Hope everyone is ok as a few of us sound a bit down at the moment.
    final unsecured debt to repay currently £8333
    Proud to be Dealing With my Debt
    DFW Nerd 1154 Long Haul 155
  • Rummer
    Rummer Posts: 6,550
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    Evening All

    I feel a bit deflated this evening. As planned I wore a nice dress got my makeup etc done and felt quite good today. Then I was shown some photos of myself that were taken a couple of months ago and it really hit home how much weight I have put on. My weight gain was due to illness a couple of years ago however I now have no excuse for not losing it.

    So I am going to turn this into a positive. I am clearly unhappy with my appearance and whining and feeling sorry for myself is not going to shift the pounds (unfortunately ;)). The time has come to really make some big changes and I am looking on them as an exciting adventure (instead of sugar deprivation) that will leave me looking and feeling fabulous.

    Now I need to really look at my diet because although I have reasonably healthy meals I think my portions are too generous and I certainly have a sweet tooth, especially in the evenings, so I need to make sure I am not taking in too many calories. The 10k step challenge will help in a small way but I clearly need to up the exercise too, shudder.

    Phew I am going to have a think about small changes I can make and then build them up gradually as I know that if I change everything all at once I will chuck it all in in a few days.
    Taking responsibility one penny at a time!
  • podperson
    podperson Posts: 3,125
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    Morning all,

    Rummer - I feel your pain, I hate all photos of me! It's good to use it as a positive though. I need to do the same thing I think, changes needed to diet and exercise - I've been so busy lately I've just let things slide completely but I need to stop making excuses and get back on track :o

    Not the best day yesterday, was 4 mins late into work due to major bus issues and got basically screamed at and threatened with sacking from my boss. Am so sick of this place, really am going to have to start looking round for something else in the New Year I think :( Wish the self-employed things were coming on faster but really don't have any more time I can give them at the moment.
    Ah well, was choir last night which was quite fun - though was heading there in the snow which was a little worrying! Realised today is less then 3 weeks to Xmas!! Need to really start getting organised, only got a few pressies so far.
  • maman
    maman Posts: 28,493
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    Been MIA as very busy here but today's plans got postponed because of weather so have a day free to please myself!:)

    I have been keeping up with reading but left it too long to respond to all so I'll just jump straight on in.

    I haven't done much for Christmas but don't intend to. DH has cards sorted, foreign ones sent and others ready I just have to do some for personal friends. I did have a declutter and found all the cards left from previous years/sales so they got used before any new ones bought.

    Great to read that sparkles is well enough to get back to exercise and that others are following their own exercise plans. I admire you hugely. I've had the odd walk but rather sporadic I'm afraid.

    On the fabbing front I am maintaining all the good habits. I'm doing my make up for going out and enjoy putting smart outfits together for various occasions. It's a huge confidence booster. have been using the Aldi serum for a couple of weeks and very pleased. Not only does my skin look well hydrated but I feel good giving myself that extra bit of attention.

    Back soon.
  • lessonlearned
    lessonlearned Posts: 13,337
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    edited 5 December 2012 at 4:50PM
    podperson wrote: »
    Morning all,


    Not the best day yesterday, was 4 mins late into work due to major bus issues and got basically screamed at and threatened with sacking from my boss. Am so sick of this place, really am going to have to start looking round for something else in the New Year I think :( Wish the self-employed things were coming on faster but really don't have any more time I can give them at the moment.
    .

    Screamed at for being 4 mins late?? :eek::eek::eek:

    What about all the times you've stayed late, skipped lunch, taken work home........Bet you didn't get screamed at for that.

    PP - get yourself out of there as soon as you can. You a smart cookie and a damned hard worker. You deserve better than that. Get those mulitple income streams going asap. That's your goal for next year. Go back to matched betting - whatever it takes.

    You are a wonderful person and you have done everything you can to help your partner, doing his course work and thesis for him. Dammit girl it's as much your degree as it is his. Time to devote more time to your own needs.

    EH - glad to hear you made it to the end of the week. Yes being made redundant is a huge shock to the system and you need time to lick your wounds, but onwards and upwards my dear. Regroup and come out fighting.

    My OH was made redundant once. He had given them his heart and soul for 10 years, working like a demon, making them a fortune. His part of the business was so profitable they sold it off for a huge profit and then, as a thank you, made him redundant.

    He was angry, hurt and bitter and rightly so. It was at that point we said that's it - we're going to form our own company. We did and, until his illness, we never looked back.

    He made a lot of money but more to the point he had fun doing it. He controlled his own destiny and called the shots.

    There is no such thing as job security any more, and sometimes the jobs we are in are so awful that they make our lives unbearable.

    My advice to anyone is - if you can - stand on your own two feet, work for yourself. Why line the pockets of your employers, working yourselves to death so they get rich and you just stay afloat.

    Get yourselves into a position where you call the shots. Think multiple income streams for safety. Build your skill sets, widen your horizons - whatever and however long it takes.

    Today I have taken a good look at my occupational pension (the one I forgot about). I have two options a small lifetime pension or a lump sum.

    I waded through the paperwork - wasn't sure so rang them. Is that monthly pension index linked or will it always remain the same amount.

    It will always remain the same amount. It's not worth having. Within 5 years or so inflation will have eaten into it and it will be almost worthless.

    I've opted to take the cash lump sum. I will invest it - some towards my next property - some in shares. I will make the money work and increase in value.

    A risky strategy??? Maybe. However, money which stays flat and doesn't even keep pace with inflation is not worth having.

    Which, unless you are very lucky, is exactly what seems to be happening with wages. My DS had his hours cut and therefore his wages cut. This is happening all over. No job or wage is
    safe.

    Take some advice from an old "War Horse" like me. It's time to look after yourselves, physically, mentally and emotionally ie continue fabbing but also financially. Time to get smart.

    Here endeth the lesson.:rotfl::rotfl:

    It's a beautiful day, am off to see my parents, via the charity shop. No I'm not buying.I'm arranging for them to come and pick up some unwanted furniture.

    The declutter continues and Oh Boy I'm loving it!!! I never realised how embracing minimalism and the simple life could be so good for the soul.

    Who needs stuff??? It just weighs you down and gets in the way.

    From now on my life will be simple, clutter free and full of Zen like calm.;)
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