A Year of Living Frugabulously

RosaBernicia

Do you have a bike workshop locally, or a good cycle shop that would find you a second hand one? I'm still putting off buying one but may look in the spring and that's what I'll be trying.

I'd go for a set temperature in offices, that way it would solve all the silliness over who's too cold, who's too hot, who wants to sit by the window etc... it's THIS warm and anybody who's too cold brings a cardi

Rosa xx

Lula-Hula

Hey Rosa,

hope you're ok ? Will pop over to yours in a bit, I've just been having a declaration & confession session over on the CC after I was assaulted by both figleaves & joe browns today

After my last post on here I worked really hard at home. I stripped & remade the beds, did another load of laundry, scrubbed the bathroom, hoovered everywhere, washed all the floors, completed 3 surveys, received a £3 paypal payment for one, finally got my mojo back & beat Grumpy at WWF & tidied everywhere, it feels great to have all but the ironing done .

Before walking DD to guides I ran myself a bath & loaded the dreaded dvd.

Came home & caught up with Davina. She's fine, looks just as toned as when I last saw her :rotfl:I on the other hand, was a wreck after half an hour of supersculpting . I had a long soak in the bath & just know that my legs are gonna ache tomorrow.

Thankfully, DD has chosen Sunday to go ice skating, so I do have a day to recover. I'm really not looking for the quick fix weight loss, it's taken rather more than a month to gain 20lbs so I certainly don't expect to lose it that soon.

I think that trying to sort out my body while trying to clear the debt was just too much for me to deal with, both physically & mentally - the extra hours at home-job often meant working late into the evening & I needed the energy to do that & of course had less time & energy for exercise. The contant pressure I put on myself to keep paying the CC just meant I really couldn't stay focussed on anything else for longer than a few days.

Thankfully, I no longer have that pressure so can concentrate fully on enjoying life & making sure I'm in the best health & fit enough to do that .

I really do need to shift 20lbs to be comfortable & healthy & I've measured myself to day so also know that I want to shift 4 inches off my waist, 4 inches off my hips & at least 3 inches off my thighs. That's a lot of inches to lose so I know I need to stick at it & that it will take a few months to achieve.

I know I can do it & have the fitness & figure I had 5 years ago. Ok, so I was 5 years younger then & went to the gym 3 times a week, but I also smoked, had a rotter of a BF, paid my gym membership on my CC & wasn't very happy, other than with my body :rotfl:.

I'm not paying someone else to get me fit; my money is for treats & fun I'm doing it the MSE way now; walks in the fresh air, yoga & exercise dvds & weights that I already have.

I will be Fit & Fabulous by Frugal means :j

Off to catch some Zzzzz s now,

G'night
xx

RosaBernicia

Lula-Hula wrote: »

Hey Rosa,

hope you're ok ? Will pop over to yours in a bit, I've just been having a declaration & confession session over on the CC after I was assaulted by both figleaves & joe browns today

Doing OK thanks - having one incredibly complicated week and just hoping the rest of 2012 will be peaceful and fabulous.

Lula-Hula wrote: »

I think that trying to sort out my body while trying to clear the debt was just too much for me to deal with, both physically & mentally - the extra hours at home-job often meant working late into the evening & I needed the energy to do that & of course had less time & energy for exercise. The contant pressure I put on myself to keep paying the CC just meant I really couldn't stay focussed on anything else for longer than a few days.

Thankfully, I no longer have that pressure so can concentrate fully on enjoying life & making sure I'm in the best health & fit enough to do that .

:T ooh can totally relate to that. Spookily enough was just musing how odd it is that I've had no time or enthusiasm for any kind of exercise for years (oh yeah, those would be the years of doing a full time job plus a degree), but one lesson and class of pole dancing and suddenly I have actually been doing push-ups of all things. Daily :eek: Proper ones :eek::eek: (though not very many yet ). And Pilates DVD, and checking out gyms near new flat. I think the idea of getting fit just seemed like too much more hard work and not enough fun... might have solved that problem now

Might trial Davina if she gets the Lula-Hula stamp of approval ... think a buddy has her DVDs so might borrow one for a go. The Pilates is effective (and painful) for some things but not so much the heart rate.

'Night

Rosa xx

fedupandskint

Hey missus!

Slow and steady wins the race with inches and weight loss. Don't go mad with measuring all the time - try it once a fortnight. I have finally lost 4 inches from my waist and its taken since May to get there. Why is it always the place you want to lose it that goes last eh? I STS this fortnight which is a bit of a downer but as I keep eating treats probably not that much of a surprise really. Bizarrely though as I've more or less STS for the last 5 weeks I have lost another inch from my waist. Weird huh?

What else? I splashed out on some bright purple jeggings for £7 and a short sleeve white jumper for £5 for a spring outfit in the next couple of months, leaving just a pair of casual shoes to get to wear once its time for the boots to go away for a few more months

Life is getting very tight here with more eating what I already have and trying to wear what I own. Have been wearing beads and jewellry I have instead of buying more. So as I continue to reign in the spends and stop stocking up and make anymore changes I can I hope I get to where I want to.

As for you, I hope you get to where you want to and the approach you're taking sounds a good one too x

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, purple leggings?! What fun!

Sounds like you've found your exercise mojo Lula! :T :T :T Good

Lula-Hula

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Ooh, purple leggings?! What fun!

Sounds like you've found your exercise mojo Lula! :T :T :T Good

Totally agree with the purple leggings :j

I bought some purple tights last year - they were a random M&S sale item for about £1.50 & I do love them. I felt a bit self conscious at first but now I relish their very purpleishness :rotfl:

Right now I'm wallowing in my self-induced muscle pain. I have been incredibly lazy today; wandered about in 'jamas till about half eleven & have really just been pottering indoors.

I did poke my nose outside but was driven back in by a cold bitey wind & the realisation that there was actually no need at all to venture out.


Tea has been drunk, toast has been eaten, books have been read, emails written & a curry is soon to be cooked .

I did top up DDs lunch account & was rather surprised to discover that she apparently has £180 in her account :eek:. Bearing in mind that I put about £15 in each week & she generally uses it all up, I was a bit perplexed.

I checked through the history & it seems that a payment of £150 was credited to her account at the beginning of January. Very odd, as last week when I topped up, her account showed the usual £4 balance left on a Friday.

If it's still showing on Monday, then I'll have to get in touch. So much for it being the 'safest way to pay' :rotfl:

We're off ice skating in the morning so fully expect to be in muscular pain again tomorrow. Never mind, back to brisk walks again on Monday

ZTD

Lula-Hula wrote: »

My kitchen light fitting has been down to 1 and a half bulbs for ages - 10 year guarantee my @rse :mad:, I've had them for 4 years & one is dead, one alive & one flickers. No, of course I cant find the receipt . I went inot my favourite electrical place & after some humming, hahing & a phone call the guy advised me to sit down while he told me the price for replacements.

£12, yes that's twelve freaking pounds for each bulb :eek::mad:. Sod the environment, what about my purse !

The bluddy lightfitting with bulbs included only cost me about £40. He advised I go to somewhere like homebase or another large supermarket as apparently they are subsidised by the government for supplying supposedly eco bulbs, whereas he, as in dependent retailer is not :mad:.

Anyone who has lingered on my threads will be in no doubt as to my feelings about the completely & utterly ridiculous issue of energy saving light bulbs.

Actually I'm completely unaware about your feeling about them. I have vented once or twice, but usually on KC's thread, which given that she is "Green" is probably not the best place... :whistle:

Lula-Hula wrote: »

You know, the ones that use more energy & materials to create, cannot be easily recycled

And can't be legally landfilled as they have mercury in them.

Whatever you do - don't break them.

Lula-Hula wrote: »

& NEVER, I repeat N E V E R last as long as they say they will,

Apparently this depends on how far away from the substation you are.

Lula-Hula wrote: »

or provide the amount & quality of light to which they profess.

And can't be used in dimmers either.

Lula-Hula wrote: »

It infuriates me & I seethe at the way we have been forced into buying these expensive essential items rather than being allowed to choose,

That's because we are serfs. We need to be on our knees and smelling the glove.

Lula-Hula wrote: »

I also ventured in to the bike shop & nearly passed out after a conversation with the sales guy revealed that a bike in his shop would cost about £380 :eek:

What about Halfords? Specialist retailers tend to cater for people who take their speciality too seriously. And hence spend too much on them. I refuse to wear shorts which are so tight as to enable people to verify religious beliefs at 5 yards.

Lula-Hula wrote: »

It is an unfounded rumour, that such was my shock at the price of lighbulbs, tuna & bikes that I came home, brewed a large coffee & then bought some pretty lingerie from the figleaves sale with the £25 gift money that was going to be the start of a savings fund for a new bike ... :whistle:

Oh yes, and who are they for?

polesalot wrote: »

Same here. I was stockpiling the 100w and 60w 'normal' bulbs for yonks but sadly since they've stopped sellimg them my stash has been running out.

You can still get real bulbs, you just have to look a bit more carefully. It's all in the definitions.

RosaBernicia wrote: »

I'd go for a set temperature in offices, that way it would solve all the silliness over who's too cold, who's too hot, who wants to sit by the window etc... it's THIS warm and anybody who's too cold brings a cardi

I find they sit the people who are always too cold right next to the radiators because they have managers with the brain of dessicated coconut.

vasseur

ZTD wrote: »

You can still get real bulbs, you just have to look a bit more carefully. It's all in the definitions.



.

Well I will be on the hunt for them soon to replenish my stocks. Another weekend lost to a bl00dy headache

Lula-Hula

Good evening to all,

sorry to hear you've had a headache poles :grouphug: hope you feel better soon.

Fedupandskint - thank you for your advice & encouragement on the weight / inch loss .

I really admire how you've tackled your weight loss & fitness. How you have managed it alongside making all that delicious food really baffled me, but then through regularly reading your diary, I've come to realise that regular exercise is the key :T with a lot of persistence & acceptance that a long term lifestyle change is required & most importantly, all that takes time to take effect.

Z - the undies were meant to be for me, but you are most welcome to borrow if you think that underwired balconette is more your style ?

Clearly you have not been devoting your every waking hour to my threads if you are unaware of my feelings on every single matter I have ever mentioned . Honestly, where has your sense of duty gone :eek:.

Moooooooving on, we were up & out by 10 this morning & heading towards the skaterarium. I am still hobbling a bit due to Davinicated thighs but managed to skate fairly succesfully & without sitting down at all.

DD was rather nervous at first, as it was her 3rd visit only, but she did actually listen to advice & within half an hour was making her way round unaided. I felt very proud of her & she only toppled over 3 times, is a bit bruised now but keen to go again soon.

The skating & boot hire for us both was £14.70 so cheaper than the cinema & no parking fees either :jalthough we were ravenous when we came out so shared a meal deal from fast 'food' outlet for £4.10, won't do that again, it was nasty .

The cost all came out of the entertainment fund & we nearly went to local gallery on the way home - drive past it - but neither of us felt able to manage the stairs so decided not to

We spent the afternoon being quite lazy, pots of tea, books & toast were the main features & then I had a whirl of activity about 7 & made up a bowl of tuna, peppers & pasta salad to take into work this week. I even went so far as working out how many calories each portion contains so I can easily enter it into my diary

Back to the after work march tomorrow & looking forward to it as well, DDs school has an inset afternoon on Tuesday so I'm entrusting her to come home & be on her own for a couple of hours. Strict instructions to text me on arrival, not answer the phone, door etc. Sure she'll be fine .

I've decided to make use of the interest free overdraft & have finally got paid in all the overdue amounts for the online savings funds, balances as follows :

Gas & Electricity £170
Car Tax £80
Car Insurance £75
Car Maintenance £135.

I feel much happier now, it was gnawing away at the back of my mind.

Now that I'm up to date with all the funds, I can start thinking about how best to approach repaying the emergency/buffer fund & then starting to pay a regular amount towards The Future & most importantly .....

the Escape from Reality Fund :j

I'm not sure I can wait until the Emergency/Buffer Fund is full again to start on the ERF so I might start off with making just small regular payments to whet my appetite & make it feel as though I am actually getting somewhere .

I'm off to research savings accounts,

bye for now
xx

Karmacat

Sounds excellent, Lula! Thats a good idea to experiment with DD on her own for a couple of hours - daylight, you're back soon, all the conveniences of texting - it has to be done sooner or later, and she sounds so responsible in the issues where it really matters.

Escape from Reality Fund - woo hoo, is all I can say to this!!!

And as to pots of tea, books and toast on a Sunday afternoon, all I have to say to you is this ...




















Congratulations!