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

lizzie157

Hi everyone, welcome to the newbies.:)
Hope you are all doing ok.

Have had a busy couple of days fabbing my home and my son's home.
Had aclear out on top of the wardrobe and the bottom of the wardrobe. Needed to move it a bit as it was catching on the wall so I couldn't open it to see or get at my clothes. hopefully as i now can I might wear some of them a bit more. Found some things I've hung on to that need to go, will go through them and just keep a few items rather than the shedload I was hanging on to.

Not a fab friday as i spent the day painting at my son's and then came back to clean my house and carpets. Am a bit achey this morning as a result. So as it's the weekend apart from the usual washing and cooking and dogwalking am going to chill.

PP and anyone else that may know. I wondered what you though of youngwriters.co.uk. My daughter's school had entered her into a short writing competition and we received aletter saying could we sign a form to enable them to publish her piece that has been picked from hundreds. As you can imagine I was very proud though I did think the cost of buying the book was a bit steep at £16 :eek:. Then we find that at least half of her class and a significant number of children in other classes have also had a letter. This has made me wonder if the primary concern isn't encouraging the kids writing but making money from the proud parents who obviously want to buy a copy. Maybe I'm cynical but it's taken the shine off it a bit.

Anyway must put the washing out I've rambled enough. Enjoy you day!

lessonlearned

Ah yes - the young writers thing. We got suckered into that one too:rotfl:. Like you I think it's a bit of a money making exercise.

Did I ever mention that my OH wrote his memoirs. He self pulished through a company called "Lulu" - £5 per copy. There are loads of self publishing companies - it's all done on line and it's quite simple. You can include pictures and photos too.

Oddly I enough I awoke very early this morning and couldn't sleep, so I spent an hour or so on my memoirs. My sister uses Lulu too, so far I've not published anything yet.

Desperately tired today, so just a gentle potter about. Was going to go clothes mooching but can't face it.Borrowed a couple of healthj and beauty books so will visit OH and curl up with a book later.

podperson

Hi all,

Lizzie - it sounds like it's what known as 'vanity press'. One of their main schemes is running 'competitions' and then you'll get a letter saying, 'sorry you didn't win the prize but your entry was so good we'd like to publish it in our special anthology anyway, you can buy a copy for xx' and basically they make money from it by squeezing in as many people as they can and encouraging them all to buy as many copies, for 'family and friends' etc. They very rarely actually promote the book anywhere or put it for sale in bookstores etc - all the profit is from the authors buying their own work (hence the term). Think it's a shame they use it on children as that seems much worse to me. Hope it doesn't put your dd off writing, am sure there are lots of more legitimate competitions and avenues she could try.

Very late up this morning, not sure why as I wasn't all that late last night. Did have a few drinks, tried the Baileys biscotti, really nice but didn't dare look at the cals on it Not much to do today, need to get on with some writing and have a mystery shop in town this afternoon that I must drag myself out for. Feeling a bit 'can't be bothered-ish' today. Need an energy influx from somewhere

sexyjacksparrow

Thanks for all the welcomes.

LL - well done on speaking out to Social Services. Hopefully they will start to give you and your husband more support.

Lizzie - well done on the wardrobe clearing. I so need to do that too. Mostly my wardobe is rammed full of clothes I don't wear (either because they're tatty or because they're too small) and I can barely get at what I do wear.

Not done too well on fabbing today. Did do a face mask in the shower this morning and did wear my hair down. Failed to do perfume or lip gloss though.

Eating has been going badly this week so not going to lose any weight this week. I'm not actually dieting but trying to eat more mindfully and deal with the reasons behind why I overeat. I'm using the Beyond Chocolate methods (has some similar ideas in part to Paul McKenna for those of you doing that - eating when hungry, stopping when satisfied/full, sitting down and focussing on what you eat etc).

Think I need to think in terms of setting some non-physical fabbing goals as well. E.g. things I'd like to do (hobbies etc) and organising and tidying the house type things. And parenting-related things too maybe....

lessonlearned

Good morning

Misty at the moment but the sun is lurking:D

Having a problem with an electrical socket so my little handy man is popping round later otherwise I would go out this morning. Never mind if the weather holds I'm planning a trip to the garden centre tomorrow. That will be my "Monday Magic".

Don't forget ladies - make tomorrow "Magic Monday". Plan to do something nice - just for you. Ease yourself into the working week with a little treat - a little bit of "you" time.

I have noticed that many of us seem to be struggling with food again at the moment. Me too. I'm also feeling exhausted - last Tuesday's meltdown didn't help.

For the last few days I've felt fragile and delicate and my eyes have been very sore (all those salty tears:rotfl:). I've also been ravenous and I've eaten more than my fair share of crap.

So this week the plan is to "eat for energy". Try and stick to good proteins, vegetables and fruit, avoiding as much processed food as possible and of course cut right back on wheat and grains.

Now that the house has been fabbed to within an inch of it's life - apart from a couple of doors that need painting I can concentrate on putting myself back together.

So - going to start with food. Some good home cooking this week.

Do you fancy a new game.......

lessonlearned

How many weeks till Christmas. I can't count this morning.

So as my Countdown to Christmas - I am going to set myself a new health and beauty challenge. I'm calling it Top to Toe.

Each week I'm going to target one area for special treatment. On top of the usual fabbing (no slacking ladies) I'm going to have an extra treatment - possibly professional - but more usually it will be DIY.

This week - to kick start Top To Toe I will get my hair done. Not just the usual trim and colour. I'm going to be a bit more daring...

Not sure what yet but I need a new look;)

Right time for that soak in the bath.

Have a good day X

fedupandskint

Morning everyone - a lovely Sunny Sunday here and bright blue sky - how come the summer didn't look like this on so many days?

Magic Monday - hmm, what can I do? A face mask I think - either moisturising or deep cleansing and an exfoliate and some new exercise - either No More Trouble Zones or 6 Week 6 Pack.

I finished Ripped in 30 yesterday - phew! That was hard going. Went out last night and had a very pleasant night. A couple of drinks too many but not a load over all, still very restrained overall. Also managed to not buy anything new for the night out apart from a nail varnish for £1.

A little fuzzy this morning and took the dog out for a head clearing walk in the low mist and bright sun and after seeing people out running and cycling decided to come home and get ready for a run. It went really well! Ran 6 miles in a pretty good time considering I've had quite a break from running. Really enjoyed it too - that makes a nice change!

As a little treat I think I fancy a sausage sandwhich for lunch, might have a walk up late for some if I still crave them

So today will be a little bit of cleaning, usual washing, bit of sweeping up outside, long dog walk and if I can be bothered a bit of uni work ready for the next deadline on Friday

A pretty relaxing day in order I think overall finishing off the last of the birthday cake too ready for the week ahead

LL - good luck on your top to toe challenge. I had a think about mine and decided the next challenge for me was to run 2 or 3 times a week, and do 6 weeks on each of the exercise DVDs before Christmas which I think is around 11 weeks away

Everhopeful09

Morning all,

Aching today from an aerobics class yest it was hard and then went for walk along coast as was so sunny and nice. My eating habits were back to normal too. I can see my eating habits are linked to work and being unhappy there. But its come to point where I need to address it my jeans don't fit, i always put weight on round my middle and i feel frumpy.

Mini goals for week:
Eat healthy and i'm allowed 1 treat per day!
Drink 2 litres of water daily and take vitamins.
Deep condition hair & face mask.
Moisturise body 3 times (skin suddenly gone dry)
Update cv and apply for 2 jobs.
Keep eye on finances.
Smile, be confident and believe in myself!

Think that will do for my first proper list on here

Off to do cleaning, too nice to be in will see how quickly I can get it done.

Eh xx

Cherryprint

Hey everyone,

LL - I really like the idea of top to toe. I might do that once I have made a habit of all the new routines I'm starting.

Lizzie & SJS - wardrobe clearing really is the way forward! I feel like I have more options for things to wear now so definitely recommend it.

I went out last night and am currently suffering from a cider hangover so my plans for exercising have gone out the window! I mostly just want to sit under a blanket and watch an easy film. Fedupandskint, you have put me to shame today!!

Today is day 2 of not being on a diet! It's been fine so far and lovely to take time to really taste all the flavours in my food. I am getting a bit frustrated though at how long it is taking me to eat things. The idea of being able to eat anything I want without labeling food either 'good' or 'bad' though is liberating. Can't wait to throw out the Splenda!!! Vile stuff.

Mini goals for this week:
1.) Go on 3 runs
2.) Eat what I want (and take time to enjoy it), stop when I am full, complete the journal every day and drink water
3.) Epilate my legs :eek:
4.) Keep on top of teeth whitening, flossing, exfoliating, moisturising, nose strips, nails, and eyebrows
5.) Start writing
6.) Sign up with at least one recruitment agency
7.) Keep my wardrobe tidy and continue to pay more attention to my clothes/appearance

WelshWoofer

Afternoon all!
Back from Wales and what an exhausting few days! Spent about 7 hours yesterday washing walls and skirtings, sweeping, hoovering, lugging things to the tip, and generally scrubbing my late gran's house after the tenants from hell. They really did leave it in an awful state - they couldn't have even flicked a duster for 4 years let alone done any proper cleaning - it was almost as bad as those houses you see on Grimebusters:eek:
Its now ready for the decorator and new windows - at least its clean now and emptied. Mum would have never managed it by herself - she was completely overwhelmed by the whole thing and just spent most of the time looking upset and not knowing where to start. Poor mum.:( Its done now though.

After a long 4 hour drive back I took the dog for a 45 min walk around the water park to stretch our legs and get a bit of fresh air. Feel quite tired now. Looking forward to a nice tea and a sit down - don't forget Homeland is on C4 at 9pm - I really liked the first series and am looking forward to the new series.

I should be doing a bit of schoolwork but can't seem to summon up the enthusiasm and energy to do it - I think my brain wants a rest:p

Magic Monday? Hmmm - its the longest work day of the week for me so maybe a nice long walk with the dog to destress followed by a nice long bath.



This week's little goals are...

• Stick to the diet - no more faffing about, there are still 4 or 5 lbs to go.
• Go for 3 runs - if I can drag myself off the sofa I may go for a short one later
• Stick to the budget - payday is next Monday and if I stick to it I've managed to pay off the little overdraft, pay a chunk off the CC and put a bit into savings, so the next payday I'll have my full salary to distribute around the accounts and not owe the bank anything:)
• Sort out my make up bag
• Book some activities with Spice and the meetup groups
• Get the cases in the attic! Didn't manage this last week.

Right I'm off to update my spending diary....