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

Bitsy_Beans

Skymist wrote: »

Morning girls....I'm just bursting, and as I haven't anyone in RL to tell, I'm telling you.....

I'VE JUST BECOME A GRANDMOTHER :j:j:j to a little girl, Isla, born yesterday morning at 10.52am in New Zealand!!!!

Sad that she's so far away, but thank goodness for Skype!!! :T

So, this news has FABBED me up no-end!! :j What a great email to start the day with, which included 3 pix of her at an hour old, breast feeding in her mummy's arms........ I'm over the moon!!

Have a great day all!

S

Congratulations Skymist :T:T:T
Her name is beautiful xxxx

Hello ladies, sorry I've been MIA just not had time between looking after kids, H being away and redecorating. Not really fabbing, am just too exhausted. Can't wait to put this house up for sale and just bl00dy move

I tried a lemon juice and cinnamon face mask :eek: had it on for less than a minute and it was burning :eek: never considered myself to have sensitive skin but boy oh boy I had to break out the natural yoghurt and then milk to calm it down! Skin however felt lovely so perhaps it's a more :money: than paying for a chemical peel!!!! I think in future I shall limit it to just putting on spots rather than all over my face.

Sorry I can't reply individually regrouting beckons and if I sit any longer I shall be asleep

lizzie157

Skymist wrote: »

Morning girls....I'm just bursting, and as I haven't anyone in RL to tell, I'm telling you.....

I'VE JUST BECOME A GRANDMOTHER :j:j:j to a little girl, Isla, born yesterday morning at 10.52am in New Zealand!!!!

Sad that she's so far away, but thank goodness for Skype!!! :T

So, this news has FABBED me up no-end!! :j What a great email to start the day with, which included 3 pix of her at an hour old, breast feeding in her mummy's arms........ I'm over the moon!!

Have a great day all!

S

Congratulations!! Lovely news!!:j:j

Mooloo - you both look gorgeous!

LL Take care with the back.

PP Am toying with the idea of writing for publication at some point in the future but where do I start?

Spent yesterday trying to sort out another course with DS3 but with no sucess, it appears this course review should have been carried out earlier so everyone has shuffled around earlier and now there are no places left on any of the other things he's interested in. He has decided to stick with it for now whilst looking for a part time or full time job and then maybe switch to something different next year. We talked about him joining me in starting out on our own but I'm a bit concerned that when Universal Credits come in we won't have enough business or hours to make it viable without other paid employment as well. I'm lead to believe you have to be making the equivalent of 35 hrs at min wage to qualify for working tax credits which if correct makes it much harder to make a go of things. Of course the ultimate aim is to be free of these benefits altogether but that takes time and the changes this government are making just don't seem to help with that aim!

Haven't managed to go to bed earlier will try again next week.
Am getting on with the house decluttering/fabbing well just need to try and keep it that way! Will post a couple of new mini goals next week.

podperson

lizzie157 wrote: »

PP Am toying with the idea of writing for publication at some point in the future but where do I start?

Lizzie - it depends a lot on what you want to write and where you want to get it published really. Are you thinking more of articles/short stories for magazines/websites or longer novels/novellas to be released as actual books? Do you have a genre you prefer to write in?
I'm aiming more for the books at the moment. I do a bit of a mix of writing my own things and looking for subs - so publishers asking for a certain theme/style etc.
There's also self-publishing, which a few friends of mine have done. It's much easier now with ebooks, Amazon etc and obviously gives you a lot more control, but then you have to do all the promotion yourself, which is what puts me off a bit.
Feel free to pm me if you'd rather as I can probably go on a bit

maman

congratulations skymist. I'm sure you're going to be a wonderful grannie. Remember only glamorous ones allowed here (just look at mooloo's photo if you want proof;)). Any chance you'll be getting out to NZ?

Welcome back bratz. Great to see you posting again, and well done on keeping up the fabbing. You sound very upbeat.

I'm glad your boy is staying on his course while he sorts something out lizzie. I think that's an important lesson for life (to look for a new 'job' before you pack in the old one) although it's such a shame he can't move to something more suitable.

:wave:to everyone else as I shouldn't be posting really as I have things to do. I love reading everyone's news.

Off to second wedding tomorrow. Last week was the Primark/Tesco outfit recycled from last year. This weekend it's the new £17 dress from Sainsbury's sale!:D I bought the £10 Asda shoes in black suede in the end. Last of the big spenders!:rotfl:Having my hair done in the morning will [STRIKE]probably[/STRIKE] definitely cost more than my outfit!

I'm keeping up with fabbing reasonably well. Hair and make up all in routine now. I need a few bits for winter (new jeans, maybe short wool jacket, black jumper to go with some coloured skirts) but that's not essential. Would love to hear more about your wardrobe plan happycrafter. I've pruned my wardrobe of things dont like/scruffy/don't fit and taken a big bag to CS. Next I think I need to start putting outfits together to really see where the gaps are. I want to present my exisiting stuff as looking - not exactly trendy but not frumpy IYSWIM. Any advice on current 'looks'? How to find out?

Back soon.

lessonlearned

Good morning ladies.

Phew - is all I can say after reading all your news. I'm sorry but like Maman I shouldn't really be here I am up to my neck in "stuff".

So .........sorrhy if I don't address you all personally. Congrats to everyone on all the wonderful news - especially a new baby!!!!!

To my mind there is nothing more joyful in this world than a new baby. Skymist I'm a little envious - in the nicest possible way of course. I would love a grandchild (boys are you listening.....). In the meantime I will "make do" with my lovely 13 year old niece.

Well done on all the weight losses, all the projects and all the writing (including PP's desertation for her OH) - do you get credits for this too.:rotfl:

To all those who are still battling - keep going - you will get there.

Well this week has been my week. First the win against DWP re OH's overpayment, then my victory with SS - finally getting them to get their finger out and improve OH's care package (still go some way to go but we are finally on the right track).

Then the chat with the Pensions Service, letter of confirmation received this morning so all AOK there. And finally.......

The icing on the cake .......

Yesterday I received a very generous cheque from my FIL.

My ship has finally come in. I can breathe.

For the last 6 years my finances and my patience have been stretched to breaking point - several times;) There have been times when I felt was in danger of losing my home but I kept my head down, ploughed on and somehow got through it.

I'm safe now.

In the long term I still need to downsize etc but the pressure is off.

Last night I slept 9 hours solid.

Ladies to all those struggling - just keep going.

Now it really is time for me.

Today I'm taking one of OH's friends to visit him. His friend is lovely, a real raconteur and wit so it should be a fun filled afternoon. I will Fab Up for the occasion.

Re the skin care - my skin is dreadful at the moment - really sensitive and itchy. I'm running out of things to try - it looks like I'm going to have to put my hand in my pocket and go for either Clinique or Dermoligica:eek:

But first I might try and mix up some Rose Oil and try that.

I shall raid my small change jar.....

Don't forget ladies Fab Friday

fedupandskint

Right then time for an update from me

Feeling better today at long last after not doing anything over the last week - cold coming out but still feeling pretty run down overall.

Anyway - while off work and not up to much have spent most of this week devising repayment plans for credit cards, budgeting and so on. Plans set up and ready to go now then I will be absolutely completely fabulous once this final part of my life is addressed and the cards are repaid in full. Plus I will have the biggest smile and glow from within when I get there - the journey has begun. No need for artificial glowing from quick fix beauty products for me anymore! That's all in the past now.

I'm keeping up to date with basic fabbing not too much though this week but next week will be back to normal when back at work. Think I might need another week off exrecise though as still don't feel up to it yet.

skymist - congratulations! I bet you are full of joy at this moment!

maman - your outfits sound brill. Have a little look online eg newpapers fashion sections or shops trend section on their websites and it mught give you some ideas on how to fill in those gaps and then you can have a look for a cheaper item!

LL - Well done on your ship coming in too!

Hope everyone else is ok too.

I have a massive amount of dissertation work to do over the next month - its going to be a lot of work and that's just the start of things to come!

Cherryprint

Good morning everyone,

Since I've been getting up early to go running during the week, my body clock now wakes me up at 5:30...on the weekends!!:eek: I'm not one of those people who can lie in, so I thought I'd come on and give an update!

Skymist - congratulations! :beer: :j

LL - Ooh what do you do with rose oil? Before you invest in Clinique I recommend investigating the OCM - http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/

Maman - you could do some online window shopping to see the 'look book' that a lot of them create where they take a piece of clothing and make it work in a more interesting style.

bratz81 - I've just done the first two weeks of Paul Mckenna and loving it! Let me know if you want to have a chat about it - maybe we can motivate each other to keep going.

PP- I will have to look into call out and submissions because they sounds intriguing and a good way to get experience of how the industry works. It might also be good to try writing in a different way. I love hearing about all your projects. Do you enjoy writing for call outs as much as the ideas that pop straight into your head?

My issue is that I have lots of projects that I start with great passion and enthusiasm because an idea pops into my head. And then somehow, I struggle to finish. I'm probably thinking too big and should be starting with short stories and learning to finish those instead of getting midway through a novel each time. Nano is good for me because it makes me focus on one thing.

I love your OH's logic of being able to knock out a dissertation like that! I hope he finished it by Christmas so you can both relax!

Bitsy - your facemask sounds so painful!! :eek: Well done for trying something new but that must have been scary!!

This weekend I'm not doing anything social, which is fantastic!!! I'm going to sort the house, do a bit of fabbing and unwind after a stressful week.

Take care all xx

fedupandskint

Good morning from me too! I get up early at the weekend too as I don't lie in either and my body is used to getting up before 6am too.

Feeling much better today although quite snotty (sorry!) but I can cope with that! Today will be the usual - trip up to town to collect sale jacket and see if that fits, collect a few bits, then back home to do a few jobs at home - sweep and mop floors and sweep up outside and then list on ebay for free listings weekend.

Have a good weekend everyone

podperson

Hi all,

maman - hope you're enjoying your wedding, and get lots of compliments on the outfit I really must get round to a wardrobe sort-out, one of those things I keep putting off.

LL - am so so pleased that things are finally working out for you, after all the soldiering on and the set-backs it must be a huge relief. Hopefully you can relax a little now, take a bit of time for you - and then on with the millionaire plans!

Cherry - you are making me tired just thinking about getting up at 5.30am :rotfl:With the writing I do quite like callouts - it's like someone giving you a prompt and you seeing where it takes you. I don't specifically think 'I'll work on a callout' I just usually see one and it sparks an idea. I can be quiet bad with getting distractions as well, most of the shorter ones are say 10-25k so not a bad length to just get on with and get finished relatively quickly. I've been working on a full length novel for a while and I must admit I get distracted much too easily from it

Anyway, OH was out last night so did manage to get a bit of work done. Had a few drinks with him when he got in, which was quite nice. Been to see his gran at the hospital today, she's not doing too badly but still no word on when she can go home. They're meant to be assessing her on what help she can get when she goes home - the guy came to visit her earlier in the week and his gran in typical fashion told him she was fine and could manage :mad: He spoke to OH's uncle saying that he wasn't sure if she needed anything putting in place or not - thankfully the uncle kicked off and said she might say she was ok but she obviously wasn't and they need to do a proper assessment. She's much too independent for her own good! Not much planned for tonight so I guess will go try and get some more work done

Cherryprint

Good morning everyone!

A bit later from me today. I had a terrible night's sleep. Hope I can summon the energy for a run later!

Here's how I did on my mini goals this week:

1.) Go on 3 runs = no, but hoping to have done 2 by the end of the day

2.) Eat what I want (and take time to enjoy it), stop when I am full, complete the journal every day and drink water Done! Although I'm finding it harder now than in the first few weeks and have to concentrate on it more. I've started giving myself food on a smaller plate because I just can't eat as much now.

3.) Epilate my legs Will do today

4.) Keep on top of teeth whitening, flossing, exfoliating, moisturising, nose strips, nails, and eyebrows Done - I bought an amazing 15x magnifying mirror with a light (the light in my house is rubbish) and it's made plucking my eyebrows much better

5.) Start writing ....Nope..need to start planning for National Novel Writing Month in November

6.) Sign up with at least one recruitment agency ...NOPE!! I'm now having doubts over whether to leave my job because my manager is trying to help me sort my workload.

7.) Keep my wardrobe tidyDone!

I also started a new face care routine and started mixing up my outfits a bit. I tend to always wear the same clothes together so I'm trying to see what else works with my wardrobe to stop it getting boring!

fedupandskint: are you feeling any better? Haven't seen you on here this morning so I hope you've got plenty of honey and lemon if you're still feeling rubbish.

PP - prompts are good!! Okay I'm definitely going to look into this new exciting world of yours next year when I'm in a routine, etc. What's your novel about (if you don't mind me asking)? Having said that, I hate it when people ask me that question! I'm not very good at writing a synopsis I don't think. Although I saw an amazing blog post with tips on how to write a synopsis so I ought to give it another go.

Have a great day everyone xxx