Frump to Fab - Summer Solstice Sizzler

WelshWoofer

Everyone out doing more exciting things on a Friday night then?:)

Had the end of the first week weigh in this morning and I'm down by 3.5 lbs:j As my aim is a stone I'm a quarter of the way there! Quite pleased as I haven't been perfect but much better than I was. Will have to go food shopping later but will be restrained (hopefully!).

I've just taken the dog to the park and its much colder here today, not at all like the lovely week we've had.

I'm officially on holiday now but will work on Monday morning doing some revision classes, I will get paid about £100 extra for it so not too bad.

Not a lot planned for today apart from shopping and cleaning and I'm really rubbish at being bored so I think I'll have a look at somewhere to take the dog this afternoon for a nice yomp around just to pass some time really. I suppose it will do me some good too.

Just on the fab front, I'll wear some dark jeans, a bright red cardi and white vest and a nice bright scarf to cheer me up a bit - looking a bit ragged so an hour tonight will have to be spent on scrubbing, polishing and defuzzing.
Off for a quick shower and tidy up then off to the shops. Hope everyone has a good day.

lizzie157

thanks WW and PP, some good ideas - can you tell I'm out of the habit of going very far. Have decided on York for one trip, I'd like to go somewhere else too but tbh kids aren't keen when they know it has to be somewhere we wouldn't spend anything( except perhaps a cuppa in cafe or something.) Funds just won't stretch to 2 days out where money needs to be spent. They're secondary school age PP so not as easy to please as when they're little. I'm afraid the days of them being happy on the beach for hours have gone:(, although we've spent many happy days at the some of the places you've mentioned. Quite fancy an adventure myself where we just went to train station with no clear idea and just got on a train to wherever we liked when we got there. Anyway at least we are going somewhere.

Positives:
Am up to date with OU course so can have an Easter break.
Had pot changed on finger and it seems to be healing ok
Shoulder also seems to be improving- might try a bit of gentle yoga next week and see how it copes
Have decluttered some more of the house
Am managing without spending too much money (atm)

Morocha - I too hope you get the result you want

LW- Is the dog sitting your own business? Apologies if you've explained before. It's something I'd like to do -just wondered if you could advise me whether you know if living in social housing may prove a stumbling block?

Have a good weekend everyone- back soon:)

LameWolf

lizzie157 wrote: »

LW- Is the dog sitting your own business? Apologies if you've explained before. It's something I'd like to do -just wondered if you could advise me whether you know if living in social housing may prove a stumbling block?

No, it's not my own business; I'm just signed up as a host for a dog-sitting service that is pretty much nationwide; I work with the franchisee for this area - when she has a dog booked in that she thinks would be suitable to holiday with me, (I generally get the little oldies who want peace and quiet and lots of tlc);) she sends me an email to see if I'm available (in fact, I tell her in advance my holiday dates and such like).;)

The thing is, I don't have to worry about insurance and stuff like that; if the dog falls ill she collects it and takes it to the vet; and if I were to be taken to hospital, Mr LW would let her know, so she'd just mark me down as Unavailable til I was out, and if I had a dog with me at the time, she'd find another host who could take over from me.

Also, I only have to deal with her; she collects the dogs from their owners and brings them to me, and picks them up at the end of their holiday - so for someone who is very nervous of people, it's ideal.:o

I don't in all honesty know how it would sit with social housing; we own the bungalow, so we don't have to worry; I imagine different councils and housing associations may have different rules.:cool:

I got started when the landlord of a pub we used to visit a lot told me the franchisee had just started up in our area and was actively looking for hosts to put on her books; so it was just a question of me being in the right place at the right time.;)

I do not make a heap of money at this, I have to say - I get a small sum per night that I have a dog staying, to make it a formal contract, but really and truly, what they're looking for in their hosts is people who love dogs for their own sake.:o For me, having my own dog isn't practical (should I be hospitalised, Mr LW works full time, and any dog we owned ourselves would then be alone for a good 12 hours during the day, which is not acceptable by any means) and doing this means I get canine company some of the time, at least.:o

lessonlearned

Just a quickie to say Hi

Morocha - Good luck. Hope you get the result you want.

Lizzie - enjoy York. TBH I couldn't remember the age of your children.

lessonlearned

Hi again

Had to abandon the post because the phone went.

Weather has turned so no gardening today.

Today's positives

1. I realised that I have not taken any Omeprazole for four days and have not had any stomach problems with my new herbal anti-inflammatories that I am self medicating with.

My tummy usually reacts violently to any kind of prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs - even over the counter Ibruprofen. Still early days to see if these herbal ones actually improve my muscle pain but at least they are not making me feel ill.

2. I've done all my ironing and the basket is actually empty.:j

3. I've managed to avoid food shopping - apart from milk and cheese. I'm determined to have a "use up" month, save some money and free up some cupboard space. Hopefully I have no need of the "winter stockpile" now.

LW - I found your reasons for dog sitting very interesting. I've toyed with the idea of getting a dog but it just isn't realistic or practical for me. Sounds like you've found an excellent compromise.

WW Great news on the weight loss.:j:j Cracking start.

Right off to put all the laundry away and have a little declutter. I'm still chipping away at it. Little and often.;)

Some great positives. Keep 'em coming - there's far too much doom and gloom around - petrol strikes, hose-pipe bans, rising prices, the usual political scandals and nonsense - we need to stay positive and fight back.

WelshWoofer

My little positives.....

1. The little bit of weight loss
2. I plucked up the courage to go to the cinema by myself and watched The Hunger Games, quite good - brave of me I thought:eek:
3. I chatted to a woman in Tescos about a dress we were both looking at and she said I had a good look on and if I liked it then it must be nice:rotfl:Before I came to you here I used to go food shopping in scruffs and didn't bother making an effort and even though I'm not out and about in a tiara I think I may have cracked the smart casual thing, so thank you:)

xxxx

maman

WelshWoofer wrote: »

My little positives.....

1. The little bit of weight loss
2. I plucked up the courage to go to the cinema by myself and watched The Hunger Games, quite good - brave of me I thought:eek:
3. I chatted to a woman in Tescos about a dress we were both looking at and she said I had a good look on and if I liked it then it must be nice:rotfl:Before I came to you here I used to go food shopping in scruffs and didn't bother making an effort and even though I'm not out and about in a tiara I think I may have cracked the smart casual thing, so thank you:)

xxxx

Lovely post ww! Can you show us the tesco dress? I'm a fan since I bought one last autumn but I haven't been in there for a while. Is it worth a trip.

I've been making sure I keep reading but haven't posted for a few days. I can't stop now as I need to get dinner sorted but I'll be thinking of my list of positives while I'm cooking and come back later!

WelshWoofer

maman wrote: »

Lovely post ww! Can you show us the tesco dress? I'm a fan since I bought one last autumn but I haven't been in there for a while. Is it worth a trip.

This is the one - wasn't quite long enough for me (have very yukky knees!) but it was quite nice.
http://www.clothingattesco.com/all-dresses/f+f-floral-print-shift-dress/invt/bd212202/

Had quite a nice day - took the dog to a country park this morning to look at the baby deer. They were soooo cute - all Bambi looking.:) There was hardly anyone there as it was early and so we had a good hour long stroll around the grounds looking at the birds and wildlife - not usually my cup of tea but it was a lovely day and a shame to waste it indoors.

Then faffed about cleaning and tidying and came to the decision that I am fed up mooching about on my own and I am definitely joining the Spice social group. I can't see me skydiving but the social evenings, a few of the less death defying sports activities, cinema outings and such like may be a good idea to try.

I need to meet more people and not let my life revolve around work. Being a teacher, I have long hours during the week and then lots of long holidays that can seem endless with not a lot of company (divorce was definitely the right thing to do but it is quite quiet here now).

There's a pony trekking/horse riding for beginners thing on Saturday so that may be my first venture. I'm always comfortable with animals so even if the people are scary I'll have a horse to talk to!

Fabwise, I've had a long bath and done a face scrub and body exfoliate, walked the dog twice (total of about 90 mins) and had a short sunbed for the psoriasis that's nearly cleared up on my body now:T:T The diet is still going ok, not had any naughties yet today and hoping not to.

I'm working tomorrow morning but should be finished by lunchtime - £100 extra for the living room fund;).

fedupandskint

I'm back now from holibobs last week in the marvellous summer sun week we had. A great time had and lots of high hill walking all day and lots of treats too to repair after all that hard work!

So today I have face masked and exfoliated and had a nice bath. Also meal planned for most of next week and cooked some work lunches ready to go in the fridge all portioned up now

Lots of fruit to eat next week too to try and overcome some of last week's treats!

This week will try and get back out running again after a couple of week's off and try out the 10k route at some point this week.

Hope all is well on here and everyone enjoyed the summer sun last week before the snow and rain arrives this week!

Callisto

Podperson - I really hope you manage to get everything sorted tomorrow.

Lizzie - Sorry to hear you are also still being messed about with ESA, how long have they kept you waiting? Have you considered contacting your MP? Sorry if you have already talked about this previously and I missed it. Pleased to hear your finger and shoulder are on the mend.

LL - Can you recommend any positive psychology books that may help with depression/confidence issues? Hope the herbal tablets continue to help.

WW - Your walk sounds lovely and good luck with your Spice meeting, you'll wow them with your fabulousness I'm sure.

Morocha - Hope you have bought yourself something amazing for your anniversary present.

Evilsquid - Thanks for letting me know about the Environmental Science/Studies similarities. I didn't need to have any formal qualifications to start studying with the OU, so although I did Access to Higher Education (Arts) several years back, I've done no Maths or Science since school. I have really struggled with the Maths on this course and it will only get worse when I start the higher level courses. I will be ringing them this week to talk through the options.

I have had a mixed emotions day today. I think that I will be asking the doctor to go onto anti depressants as my mood seems to be so up and down.

Re travels, I would like to go to so many places. If my sister is still in Australia when I have saved up (she qualifies for an extended work visa) I could spend the maximum time there (think it is 3 months for a holiday visa as I'm too old for a work visa) and then onto New Zealand for the same time. I would think I would need to come back to the UK after that and save again to go to the USA, a lot of Europe, China and Japan!

I am still only in the early research stages. I will effectively be homeless when I leave the UK, so will need to get rid of as much stuff as I can and work out where to keep the rest (some kind of storage facility?) Also need to think where I am going to stay when I return, if I only come back to save up to go away again - can't expect to stay with parents if younger sister is home from her travels, actually I don't know if I would want to move back in with my parents, lovely though they are! I will also need to be disciplined to carry on with my studying while I am away and make sure I am in the UK for exams.