Frugal Frump to Fab/Winter Solstice

MrsWoolfe

Morning Ladies!

LL sorry to hear you are having such a tough time of it not sure what I can do other than offer you another virtual hug? You know even a saint would lose their temper under the pressure you've been under and I can only imagine the mix of emotions and stress you are going through. Hope you had a decent night's rest and that things are not looking so bad today- but by all means come on here to vent as much you need to.

Willow- let us know how you get on with the Kinect? I am always curious as to how much use people get out of these- I've been thinking about getting myself a zumba DVD- have tried to find a class locally but the times are a bit awkward for me also we are now heading into our busier period at work which means my hours are going to be a bit all over the place so might be better for me to have something I can pick up and do anytime...of course this will mean I have to actually get of my bum and do it!:D

Tru-sounds like you have a lot of exciting ideas planned! I think ( well actually through my work I know) that most businesses take a couple of years to really settle and start making a decent profit- or in many cases to simply break even- but you sound like you are motivated and excited about it all which is great! do keep us updated!

I managed to do the OCM last night- Ninou was fascinated lol- and take off the old chipped varnish- didn't quite get around to putting a new colour on but just put a clear coat on and my hands at least look tidy IYSWIM.

Also took the time to plan today's outfit- grey shift dress cherry red cardi with matching chunky beads, black patterned (you know those sort of lace type ones?) and....black wedge HEELS! I do have an emergency pair of flats in case but thought it was time I started pushing myself to wear them more, I tend to wimp out and go for my trusty comfy flats so doing well today- also got up early enough to style my hair ( as opposed to just chucking it all up in a bun as quickly as poss) and do my make-up....so thinking that today I'm not too far off my fab target:D

hope you are all having a good day and big Hugs to all that need them

MrsWoolfe

podperson

Morning all :wave:

Mrs W - your outfit sounds fab, very organised - are the shiny new wardrobes helping already Your new kitten sounds very cute - I think we may need piccies! Bless her, my kitty must have missed me while I was away as she wouldn't leave me alone Sunday night, every time I sat down she was on me lol. Was expecting sulks like I normally get for daring to leave her for a few days :rotfl:

Tru - sounds like you are doing great! I really need to get back into a rotuine with things. Yay on all the new business ideas, I'm having a few Christmas related ideas but am worrying have left it a little late to get sorted for this year. Glad the decluttering is helping, definately need to have a bedroom clear out then have more space to work on things!

LL - hope you're having a better day hun, don't apologise for ranting - sometimes you just need to get things out and I know we all have tremendous respect for you for coping as well as you do with everything.

Bratz - ooh, stripey shawl sounds lovely, keep thinking I should try knitting again, used to do it when I was little - both my grandmas were knitters and would show me how to do it. My nana especially was a wonderful knitter and would always make us cosy jumpers and things for gifts. Don't think I would remember how to start now and my nana is sadly no longer with us and I don't think my grandma would manage it anymore

Maman - glad you're keeping the dress, it looked lovely yay on the back being a little better, fingers crossed! I had visions of my mum being out as well, texted my brother during the day and he said he thought they were doing lunch out not tea but was thinking would be just my luck if they changed it.

Bitsy - hope the skin's cleared up, I have random little outbreaks it's very annoying (usually when I have somewhere nice to go as well!) I tend to use a combination of cleansing wipes and toothpaste on them - slightly random but it usually works for me :rotfl:Regarding the incident with the friend - I have been trying to tell myself it was just that he'd had a drink and he has got a lot on his plate at the moment but tbh it did really upset and although I did say to him to just forget about it then I don't think I will be able to look at him the same way again. Also since I usually go and see him when I'm down on my own I don't know if I'd feel comfortable now. Bit of a mess

Anyone I've missed, big hugs and keep up the fabulousness

Managed to make it to my portrait class on Monday with the hurricane winds! Was quite enjoyable, was nice to be able to have a live model as I generally work from photos - no one has the patience to sit still for me :rotfl:Thought it might have been a little more tutored if you know what I mean but suppose is only the first lesson and he was perhaps trying to get us used to things. Off next week as well for bank holiday or something. Anyway had nice quiet night last night, which I rather needed after hectic weekend. My materials have come for my new OU course which starts in about a month, they look quite good so am getting excited now Also finally got back on my matched bets so made about £50 yesterday from 2 bets! Must try and get some on today.
Hope everyone has a great day x

lessonlearned

It's Good News Day

Tru & Mrs W

Congratulations :T:T:j:j Sounds like you've both just crashed through the Fab Barrier

Tru - Fantastic about your surge of creativity - you're right sometimes we need to just step back and thoroughly declutter - our homes, our lives and our brains.

We just get so bogged down with everyday stuff - we clog everything up. We need space - physical, mental and emotional to free up our inner selves/creativity whatever.

See this stuff works.:rotfl::rotfl:

Told you - Persistance Pays Off.

Gotta dash - I think I may have some good news for you all myself in a bit.

Fingers crossed.

MrsWoolfe

:beer::j

More Good news Ladies!

Today I have just had my annual catch up/review with the Big Boss Man normally just a quick ten minute chat about the year/progress etc.

went in expecting a "you did well, are you happy? thanks for the hard work" which is the usual...but....

1) he and HR manager commented that they were impressed with how I had dealt with being ill this year, and thought it showed a lot of character- re-irerated that I have their full support andif there is anything that can be done to help say so:D

2) Said that they had seen a real difference in my confidence levels and the way I approach thigns and carry myself ( this fab thread to thank for that!) and they were pleased with how I was establishing myself as a key member of the team and becoming more independent.

3) That my Bonus will actually be higher than previously suggested:j:beer: it actually equates to a 19% Bonus!!!! - of course I will lose a lot in Tax and will see an increase in Student Loan payments etc but STILL this will be a huge help!

4) As a thank-you and to acknowledge the work I have done througout the year I get a payrise which will date from 1st Sept- now it's no huge increase and really still brings me in a fair bit lower than in my previous role BUT in this climate and with no one else getting a rise it's a MASSIVE compliment and a real vote of confidence in what I do...

I know I've moaned a lot, and I know that this job definately has it's bad sides and can be really hard and stressful a lot of the time. but it has made me feel so good to have that appreciation and definately the comments about how I've handled being ill and confidence have put me on a high!...obviously the outfit did the trick;) looking professional I mean...nothing funny!:D

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

MrsWoolfe

floss2

YAY!! Well done Mrs W!!

Oops, I was going to sneak back in quietly......:D

Oh, well...Hello folks, am back & still Fabbing We had a great time in Portugal, gorgeous weather & lovely healthy food. Well apart from 3 lots of chips, but they were proper potato-made chips, not frozen ones, so lots of Vitamin C! But they were balanced with loads of fresh fruit, heaps of fish, very little bread / carbs and plenty of beer, wine & port

Hair is a little sun-dried so needs some intensive conditioning, but I won't need any highlights for ages Skin is nicely glowing, which I will keep up with a couple of slathers of Garnier self-tan body lotion a week in between the normal firming body lotion;) Eyelashes look fab after their tinting, so I will carry on with this - totally dispells the need for mascara so no itchy eyes

Work is OK...still uncertainty about the future so will just have to wait & see what happens.

Haven't yet caught up properly, so please excuse my poor manners for any lack of sympathy / congratulations!

mugwump79

Hi everybody, hope you all have had a splendiferous day?

Maman I guess I understand the concept of slimming world, but it says in the book I can eat as much rice, pasta etc as I want? eek is that true? I am worried about my portion sizes of all this free food. Any tips on how you kept your motivation going would be truly fantastic.

In all honesty I will be glad to see the back of this week, its been one thing after another, some stupid health and saftey rules at my sons school have really got my back up, its a special needs school with kids who have special needs and a different kind of care, but councils seem to just deploy stupid legislation which can make life really difficult for a child who does not tolerate any kind of change in his world :mad::mad::mad:

Anyhoo, treated myself to some poundshop velcro rollers and stuck them in and feel a bit more bouncy, whether my husband notices when he comes home is another matter

Hope you all have a lovely evening doing something that makes you happy :j

Willow92

Only got Kinect Adventures at the moment which is a pretty good gane to start off with. You have to move a lot more than on a Wii which is whar I'm used to....

tru

MrsWoolfe - fab news :T We're both doing well and it's because of this thread. Maybe we should pay LL commission

LL - there's a Fab Barrier? That explains the rubbish couple of weeks I've just had, the final push through that barrier is hard work :rotfl:

The icing on the cake would be if I was going on holiday on my own. Oh well, at least the kids aren't coming

lessonlearned

tru wrote: »

We're both doing well and it's because of this thread. Maybe we should pay LL commission

Sounds good to me:rotfl::rotfl:

Mrs W - Fantastic news - go girl:)

You deserve your rewards, you've worked hard and are obviously very committed to your work and professional in your approach.

The wardrobe tweaking will of course have helped, if nothing else it will have boosted your confidence.

You've known all along that you could probably do the job standing on your head, one hand tied behind your back. By presenting yourself so well - you have helped your bosses to finally see the light.:D

So again Mrs W - well done - you've earned it.

Now onwards and upwards. Smash that glass ceiling - a seat on the board perhaps??

I think the problem is - at least in the world of work - women do have to really work so much harder than men to prove their worth. A big part of this is presentation skills etc.

Often all a man needs to do is wear a half way decent suit (sometimes the suit is often not even half way decent :rotfl:) However, for women getting business dress right can be quite tricky. And, whether we like it or not, we live in a "lookist" society where how we look is given unnecessary prominence.

Of course we all know that it shouldn't matter how you dress for work but let's face it - we have to live in the real world. So until the world becomes a fairer place and women (and it has to be said increasingly men) are judged by their brains, ability and merit and not on how they look - well - we just have to learn how to play the game.

Learn the rules and play to win - it reaps dividends.

In my past life in the corporate world, once I had grasped this and learned how to play the game, I began to become far more successful.

I reaped huge financial benefits in the form of salary increases, commissions and bonuses. I know this sounds terribly conceited but I am very proud to say that I quickly gained a reputation with one particular builder for turning round the fortunes of an ailing or stalled site.

My bosses would parachute me into a site where sales had more or less ground to a halt. They even trusted me with the sales budgets :rotfl::rotfl: - allowing me to use this as I thought fit and not having to consult them every five minutes.

All because I looked like a professional (and of course followed it up by behaving like one).

Here's a little maxim I was taught by an old boss (the one who taught me about the elephant - he was a great mentor).

"To do business you must mean business" - this includes dressing and acting the part.

Back in a mo

lessonlearned

I am so chuffed that some of you are starting to reap the benefits of our Frump to Fab journey.

To the newbies who are still struggling a little and who perhaps are a little impatient at a perceived lack of progress - don't give up - just hang in there. It will all come together at some point.

Like Tru said - the grooming thing may not be exactly effortless but it does become second nature.

And, don't ask me how, but this gently, softly softly approach, with a little bit of discipline and a lot of TLC really does start to spill over into other areas of our lives. Not just our appearance, but in our health and well being, our emotional and mental strength and endurance.

I may not have completed my journey and still have some way to go - but and this is a big but, without the Frump to Fab ethos of a little each day (ok not every single day but as many days as possible) I would have gone under long before now.

And now - my good news

At last I've found the right nursing home for OH, good quality care at the right price and just an 18 mile round trip from home.

But first - how about this for sheer waste of time, energy and resources, not to mention frustration, misery and heartache.

At the start of my search - months ago - I asked the SS for advice about choosing a suitable home for OH. "Oooh we can't make recommendations". OK Fair enough.

However, the home I finally inadvertently stumbled across on the internet is a highly specialised home - wait for it - in the care of patients with neurological conditions. |They specifically draw attention to the fact that they are experienced in the care of MS, Parkinsons, Motor Neurone and yes, you've guessed, Ataxia.

They are fully conversant with SS funding etc and more than happy to accept SS or NHS funded patients.

Now I accept that the SS cannot "recommend" but why, in all in the name of that's Holy, couldn't they have at least mentioned this home and just simply pointed me in the right direction. Is it really too much to ask - a bit of simple guidance.;)

Anyway - it looks like we are go, a few respite visits over the next few months and then a permanent move in the New Year.

I finally plucked up the courage and broached the subject to OH's father. I was terribly worried about distressing him (he's 89) - I was very concerned that he might feel his son was being abandoned to his fate. However, FIL astonished me with his reply and advice.

He simply gave me his blessing and told me "I think you are being very wise, he will receive very good care and you have more than done enough". How lovely was that.

Anyway I feel that a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders at last. I'm more than happy to continue with OH for a few more months, safe in the knowledge that we've settled things and even if OH were to experience another crisis then we can be up and running very quickly.

So once again - another demonstration - Persistance really does Pay Off. It's been a long frustrating battle but it's practically over.

Onwards and upwards - it's now time to relax a little and back to a little bit of TLC for me.

G'night all x