Frugal Frump To Fabulous Summer Solstice to Autumn Equinox

NoahsPennilessMummy

Thanks for the welcomes.
Today's fabbing is hairdressers. Currently sat with copper hair colour on!
I have long chestnut hair and taking the plunge and brightening it up.... Slightly scared!!:eek:
It will be a relief to get it straightened again as its naturally ringlet curls and I hate it!

When DS goes back to school the alternate days of Pilates and yoga will start with a vengeance:-)
It's not weight loss so much as toning up really. I had big babies( ds was 11lb 2oz) so skin stretched a fair bit.
Am hoping this does the trick as feeling crappy about myself at the mo.
Went for date with DH last night as my mum is here this week. Ended up in tears beforehand as nothing fitted nicely etc.
DH bless him says I always look hot and gorgeous but it's in my head I need to feel right.

Healthy eating front... Have had no chocolate for a week and have been eating proper lunches instead of grabbing a handful of biscuits!

Lizzie ... When you say changes have you lost lots of weight?
Glad you had a good day at the wedding.

podperson

Hi all,

Sorry have been a bit MIA, things have been a bit manic (just for a change!). Have been trying to catch up on your news - don't have time to comment on everything but:
Bitsy and LL - hope the moving is going well
Lizzie - so glad you enjoyed the wedding despite a certain person's attitude. Do try not to take things with the kids to heart - sadly I think we all go through that stage, I remember several years of not wanting to be seen in public with my mum - it makes me cringe now!

Anyway, as mentioned been quite busy. Am still doing a few days a week at the admin job, it's okay and they do keep telling me they love me lol! Unfortunately that also means they keep trying to put extra responsibilities on me, so I end up in charge of the other admin people in my area and getting stuck with the more advanced work, etc. I suppose it's a compliment but I didn't want a 'responsibility' job, just a 'show up, do the work and go home job'. Still got a mini payrise (very mini!) and a bonus already so suppose shouldn't complain too much. Got a few photo and video jobs coming up and have the new book out in October so keeping very busy with editing, promo stuff etc. Also got a new small job doing bookkeeping for a shop, only just opened so not sure on the exact hours yet but thinking maybe a session every few weeks to start out with.
OH hasn't been too great unfortunately, has been put on higher pills by the docs and don't think they are helping at all. Has been struggling to get out or to do much at home - and while I know it's not really his fault it's a little frustrating for me when I was hoping for him to be able to help me a lot more now I'm working from home more. He's gone back home for the weekend so I'm hoping that a bit of a break will help him and of course it means that I have a few days of peace and quiet to catch up on everything (I say this and by tomorrow I'll be missing him and thinking it's too quiet :rotfl:).

Hope everyone is doing well - have missed you!

Teacher2b

Lizzie glad the wedding was a success and you enjoyed yourself. Why don't you try and plan a couple of things in your diary to look forward to? People to visit friends to see or just something lovely for you to do!

Hi Pod sounds like you've been super busy. Sorry to hear your OH has been struggling. Do you live together, when you say he has gone 'home'? Try to make the most of your weekend of you time, I'm exactly the same I don't live with my OH but we've both been working round my place quite a bit due to him having rennovation work done at his and he sometimes drives me mad but as soon as he's gone I miss him!

Today's fabbing- went to a super intense gym class this morning (why I am the youngest but most purple person in any exercise class?!) and very exciting I'm just waiting for the arrival of some friends for the weekend. We're going to a 'twilight spa' this evening- no treatments just enjoying the facilities but it means we can afford to go to this super posh place for a quarter of the normal price which should be nice.

Bon weekend all! xxx

podperson

Hi Teacher,

No, we live together but we live in Scotland while most of our family and friends live in England so he's gone back to visit them for a few days. Am rather jealous as one of our good friends had a baby last night so he'll probably get to have newborn snuggles now
Oh, and not to laugh but I'm so happy that someone else does the 'face change' thing when doing exercise - I always go beetroot red at classes or even just runs and have all the retired people looking at me with concern. Hope you enjoy your spa night x

lizzie157

NoahsPennilessMummy wrote: »

Lizzie ... When you say changes have you lost lots of weight?
Glad you had a good day at the wedding.

Not lots - about a stone - I've been doing the 5:2 diet, don't really know if that's suitable for you with a young baby but having tried other things it's the only one that worked for me. My weight was round my middle, I'm never going to be as slim and toned as those who haven't had kids but I feel much better in myself know- even had a few wolfwhistles which hasn't happened for yrs!
The fabbing sounds good bet you'll feel loads better for it. xx

Teacher2b wrote: »

Lizzie glad the wedding was a success and you enjoyed yourself. Why don't you try and plan a couple of things in your diary to look forward to? People to visit friends to see or just something lovely for you to do!

Yes that's a good idea probably have to be something on my own because I have v. few friends -due to lack of cash, H's attitude etc.

Enjoy the spa! xx

PP- lovely to hear from you sounds like you're v. busy on the work front. We've missed you too. Sorry your OH is struggling, it's hard not to let it drag you down too isn't it. At least you've had a short break and it will probably have done OH good too. Hope he's brighter soon. xx

Have a good weekend all. xx

lessonlearned

Hello Everyone

Pod - how lovely to hear from you - glad everything is ok although sorry to hear your OH is struggling. Just hang in there - all will be well in the end.

Well today I made some serious inroads into the clutter. Took some of the better items to the auction house to go in their next sale. Great estimates of £60 to £80 in total. Not bad considering they only cost me £15. So it's fingers crossed for a nice little profit.

lizzie157 wrote: »

Unfortunately am feeling a bit less positive now - have hurt my back and our last intended day trip went pear shaped due to ungrateful kids. Just made me realize that although I may have changed inwardly nothing much else in my life has changed. Felt very weepy and upset yesterday - the thought of life going on like this for yrs to come is v. depressing. The kids are at an age where they don't really want to go anywhere much with me prefering the company of mates and of the couple of friends I have I haven't seen one for over a yr ( she moved house and although we've txted we've only met up once since though she is still only about 45 mins away). So unless I go alone I can see the trips coming to an end. A shame when we still have the passes cos if I do manange to get a business going we'll lose them.

[/I]

Just to say to Lizzie - first of all I'm so glad to hear that you had a good time at the wedding. Loved the description of your OH's face and you are right - as long as the bride and groom had a lovely day that's all that counts.

Perhaps you feel so low now because it is just a bit of "come down" after all the excitement. What's that saying "Your son is your son until he takes a wife, your daughter is your daughter all of her life". I think that there is more than a grain of truth in that one. When a son gets married you do "lose" a part of them and that has to be a bit unnerving.

I do wonder how my son's marriages or long term relationships will change my relationship with them. I just hope that they choose nice girls. I regret to say that both of MIL's (God Rest Their Souls) were absolutely awful. They were both vile to me. I will endeavour to be a nice MIL.......And if I don't agree with my DIL's then I will just keep my mouth firmly closed and my opinions to myself.

Re your kids not wanting to spend time with you - I think that is pretty normal. Try not to take it personally - it's just a stage they go through. It's normal and natural. Of course they prefer the company of their mates at times. You would worry more if they had no mates and preferred your company to that of their peers. It wouldn't be right.

Remember we don't get to keep our children, we only get to borrow them for a while. They are not "ours" to possess. You have to let them go, so that they can come back to you.....

If you have done a good job of parenting then as they grow into adulthood then they will be happy to enjoy your company once more. As I write this my two are sat in the same room with me.

We have spent the evening watching reruns of Game of Thrones, the eldest is now playing "Batman" on a games console, the youngest is texting his mates on his mobile whilst sorting out his music playlist on his lap top and is just about to make us a cup of tea. They are 27 and 29 years old and seem perfectly happy in my company!!!! When they were in their early teens they wouldn't be seen dead walking down the street with me. :rotfl:

You say that whilst you have changed inside nothing around you has changed. I think any change does have to come from you and you have already started the process. The fact that you have noticed that your situation remains unaltered is testament to that.

Clearly you are now able to take a step back and look at things more objectively than you did in the past. That has to be a step forward.

You say that you cannot bear the thought of life continuing in the same vein, that you find it very depressing. This is a clear sign that you are now viewing your life in a more critical and detached way. You are starting to make judgement calls. I would suggest that this is a very positive sign, you are reviewing your life in a dispassionate and rational way.

There is no reason why your life should continue to disappoint you, nothing is ever set in stone - change can and will happen. You just need to find your courage and embrace the challenge. I have every confidence that you will.

NPM - the hair colour sounds fab. I used to have auburn hair, it's now white. I console myself by saying that whilst I was a bit of a fox when younger I am now a "Silver Fox"...... I do miss my hair colour though.

lizzie157

[QUOTE=lessonlearned;62

Just to say to Lizzie - first of all I'm so glad to hear that you had a good time at the wedding. Loved the description of your OH's face and you are right - as long as the bride and groom had a lovely day that's all that counts.

Perhaps you feel so low now because it is just a bit of "come down" after all the excitement. What's that saying "Your son is your son until he takes a wife, your daughter is your daughter all of her life". I think that there is more than a grain of truth in that one. When a son gets married you do "lose" a part of them and that has to be a bit unnerving.

I do wonder how my son's marriages or long term relationships will change my relationship with them. I just hope that they choose nice girls. I regret to say that both of MIL's (God Rest Their Souls) were absolutely awful. They were both vile to me. I will endeavour to be a nice MIL.......And if I don't agree with my DIL's then I will just keep my mouth firmly closed and my opinions to myself.

I suppose this could be it though I think the 'losing' part of both my older sons happened before the wedding as both have lived with their girlfriends for a while now. Having said that both have chosen to live quite close to the childhood home and although not in each other's pockets we do see both quite often. My MIL was also vile to me, and I have already adopted the mouth closed attitude ( H however is another matter and makes remarks constantly-) I actually really like both sons chosen partners, which makes it much easier, (my MIL didn't like me at all!) sometimes I don't like the things they do/say but that's what famlies are all about isn't it. I want both of them to feel part of the family and to be relaxed around me.

Re your kids not wanting to spend time with you - I think that is pretty normal. Try not to take it personally - it's just a stage they go through. It's normal and natural. Of course they prefer the company of their mates at times. You would worry more if they had no mates and preferred your company to that of their peers. It wouldn't be right.

Remember we don't get to keep our children, we only get to borrow them for a while. They are not "ours" to possess. You have to let them go, so that they can come back to you.....

If you have done a good job of parenting then as they grow into adulthood then they will be happy to enjoy your company once more. As I write this my two are sat in the same room with me.

We have spent the evening watching reruns of Game of Thrones, the eldest is now playing "Batman" on a games console, the youngest is texting his mates on his mobile whilst sorting out his music playlist on his lap top and is just about to make us a cup of tea. They are 27 and 29 years old and seem perfectly happy in my company!!!! When they were in their early teens they wouldn't be seen dead walking down the street with me. :rotfl:

I know this is true -perhaps it's the fact that I'm feeling it more as my two youngest are becoming grown up, I am not yet comfortable with exploring strange places alone which is my only other option atm- perhaps this is something I need to work on.

You say that whilst you have changed inside nothing around you has changed. I think any change does have to come from you and you have already started the process. The fact that you have noticed that your situation remains unaltered is testament to that.

Clearly you are now able to take a step back and look at things more objectively than you did in the past. That has to be a step forward.

You say that you cannot bear the thought of life continuing in the same vein, that you find it very depressing. This is a clear sign that you are now viewing your life in a more critical and detached way. You are starting to make judgement calls. I would suggest that this is a very positive sign, you are reviewing your life in a dispassionate and rational way.

There is no reason why your life should continue to disappoint you, nothing is ever set in stone - change can and will happen. You just need to find your courage and embrace the challenge. I have every confidence that you will.

Thankyou
.[/QUOTE]

Glad the decluttering went well LL, DS3 and DD2 helped me blitz the downstairs yesterday so although still lots to do it looks much tidier. Will have a go at upstairs later if I'm up to it. My back is really painful to the point I feel nauseous so if there's no change by the beginning of next week I will consult the drs. Unfortunately fabbing has gone by the wayside due to this but normal service will resume ASAP. :rotfl:

Bitsy_Beans

Just a quick line to say move went really well. Up to eyeballs in boxes and crap but it feels great to finally be here. No internet so am doing this on phone. Catch up when i have a proper connection. Hugs all round x

Ps Lizzie i shall have to do lots of exploring solo too for the most part. Jump in with both feet and give it a go. You can do it;)

Teacher2b

Bitsy glad the move went well!

Lessonlearned- that's so lovely about your boys. It's true, I had such a volatile relationship with my mum and the minute I went off to uni and lived away from home we stopped winding each other up and learned to enjoy each others company as it was voluntary rather than enforced!

Lizzie- I guess in a way you can be totally selfish then! You can explore the kinds of things you've always wanted to do. Museums, new places to go and wander round, films you want to see etc. You could try and join a local group to meet people close by to you or some kind of volunteering. Hope it's a return to fabbing soon!

Pod - has the other half returned yet? Ahh lovely baby snuggles- a close friend had a baby in Jan and I was looking forward to seeing him the other week- he promptly vommed all over me when I picked him up for cuddles- charming!

The Spa was lovely thank you! Came out feeling relaxed and sparkly clean- a bit dangerous knowing that something so lovely is actually on my doorstep I'm going to try and organise to go back in a few months as the evening package we had was a real bargain.

Something made me laugh today when I received my Groupon email this morning- two offers slap bang next to each other- Colonic Irrigation therapy and Gutter clearing! :O

Tad hungover today... managed to clean the freezer with the enthusiastic help of the OH he's just sat next to me working on his laptop.. what an exciting pair we are!!

Here's to another good week!

WW - which day do you go back? Can't believe it's over already!

Willow92

Haven't been on here for ages, been keeping up with the fabbing though.

Haven't done much today but I'll be having a shower tonight and using my Soap&Glory body butter