In my dreams I have a plan

London18

Good news - friend's scans & biopsy are clear :j :j So releived. Am impressed how quick they got the tests done and news back - somehow doubt it's the same here in UK.

So sister & friend are busy starting to pack and make final plans for their Europe trip. It will be all the more sweet now, knowing what might have been.

Finally bought new running shoes £110!!! Also got arch support insoles to try instead of old orthotics so another £25. Ouch. Yet again took ages to find the right pair to fit weird feet and running style, and I still have reservations about them. Will see how they are after the first decent run I guess, my achilles will let me know fairly quickly.. Expensive mistake to make if they are not right **crosses fingers**.

At least Friday night farewell drinks at work were free, - a Company credit card tab on the bar paid for 2 glasses of wine then after that ran out someone bought me a soft drink. And free bar food on the company too so dinner was lots of random nibbly things.

Was "good" at farmers market today, only got some chicken, fruit and a little bit of salad & veg. The sad single peson amount for 2 meals maximum as otherwise it goes bendy or mushy before getting eaten. Managed to avoid the baking stalls which are just groaning with gorgeous cakes. I do feel a bit out of place - it's full of yummy mummies and wealthy types spending loads. I live in an area with a very wide socio-economic mix and the market seems to attract more people at the top end. 'Tis very nice though.

Also bought some wraps for making lunches this week - plan is for at least 3 days of making/taking own lunch - see how that goes.

Went to the gym for a personal training session - (hence avoiding cakes) yes it's horrifically expensive per hour but it keeps me motivated to go on my own regularly. I find it helps enormously with both mental and physical health if I am fit & controlling my weight. Speaking of weight, only 2kg off goal though bodyfat is still over 30% so not so great. It's nearly all round my middle-aged middle too which is not a good look or good for health. Very hard to shift without drastic action - and I used to be so hour-glass when younger!. Legs and shoulders are a bit achey now - need to move about a bit more to keep them from stiffening up.

One more week for me to go on hols to meet brother, SIL & other family for a week. And my boss is on leave this week so hopefully it will be a little less manic - unlikely but a girl can hope.:)

egoode

That's great news about your friend and I hope you all have a great time on the holiday

giblet1979

Hi London,

Sorry I've been AWOL - very poorly mum and haven't been able to face being online tbh.

Really good news about your sister's friend! Horribly worrying time for you all tho - sending hugs.

It sounds like you've got a great plan in place in terms of saving for hols - I think there has to be a 'point' or it's difficult to focus i.e. when DH and I were saving for our deposit, it was easier to focus on avoiding the dreaded takeaway etc spends, but when saving for loan OP's, there doesn't seem to be the same driving force. At least the house repairs are ensuring the money isn't wasted, but I think getting back to the idea of paying the loan OP first, and living on what is left is the way to go.

You do sound very motivated with the gym. Care to share that? Also, I think a good pair of running shoes is definitely an investment to save killing your feet!

Really sorry to hear about the dental stuff. Sounds horrendous. Do you have a teeth savings fund in mind? Horrible but necessary as I'd imagine after a certain point, it might get worse without being done? Lots of sympathy from over here!

Hope you're having a good week otherwise,

Gib x

London18

Thanks egoode & Giblet, it was a difficult few days, way worse for her and my sister of course. So relieved. I was also feeling a bit selfish for worrying about possibly cancelling everything and losing the airfares and deposits. Anyway now they just have to worry about making the plane on time **first world problem **

Giblet, I see from your thread your Mum’s at home now - hope she’s on the mend. And that you’re OK too, hope your hospital stuff goes as well as is possible.

Yes I do have a dental fund, it's basically already saved up and sitting there [not earning much interest] in savings. It's just I resent spending it (and am a coward about dental work hence the procrastination!). I do have to get it done soon before I have an emergency as that will be worse both financially and pain-wise.

Am not that good about gym, should go at least once more per week than I usually do. I don't win the willpower battle as often as I should to get out of bed and into trainers, especially at 6am on a workday! Happy to send some 'you can do it' vibes your way though if that will help. I just find any kind of regular physical activity helps so much with staying positive (I think the lovely endorphins kicking in have something to do with that) and with the dreaded IBS symptoms.

Take care all, remember that "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

giblet1979

Thanks London - very much appreciated!

Just think how great you'll feel once the dental work is all done and dusted, and you don't have to worry about it at all Easier said than done hey.....

Thanks for the positive vibes. Not done any exercise, but I have been more productive with work tonight, so I'm taking that as a victory lol x

London18

Well the good news is the holiday came in under budget. Not sure how much yet but will add it up and the balance can go to the mortgage. And we had lovely weather most of the time (this was Ireland so expectations were set realistically low!) and it was nice to see the family.

Bad news is I was starting getting sick with head cold and a chesty cough just before I left, so I spent all week feeling steadily worse. Put a wee bit of a dampener on things.

And it hasn't got much better - it's now feeling like bronchitis which I've had a few times before, and sleeping is only possible with large swigs of Night Nurse. So have had to take today off work. Which is a bit embarrassing straight after holiday but as I am so rarely off my boss and colleagues have been very nice about it.

So spending the day watching TV and vegging on the sofa doing marathon reading of MSE diaries Looking on bright side I guesss it's a NSD.

Worry_Wart

Oh dear, it's rubbish when holidays are spoiled by colds. Hope you feel better soon.
Where did you go in Ireland? I'm from there originally and I was talking to my dad yesterday who said they've had amazing weather recently. You were lucky!

London18

Thanks WW, I was a bit grumpy since haven't had a holiday for nearly 6 months. Still it slowed me down rather than stopped me.

I went to Dublin & Galway, with side trips . I did manage to have a fun pub night out in both cities with live music and very friendly locals - I just drowned the cold with Guinness! (Probably did not help my recovery I admit)

My family love driving so we did a lot of that. Just as well as sitting in a car was not too energetic. It's an amazing place with so much history and we visited our share of castles and ancient sites and beautiful places. We were marvelling at the very low 'sheep per acre' ratio the land can sustain (we are from New Zealand - we have a lot of sheep!) I've been to Ireland a few times now and one trip I swear it stopped raining once for about an hour in a whole week. So I knew how lucky we were even if the family didn't.

Was such a shame as Friday in Dublin was a gorgeous sunny day but I just wasn't up to doing what I'd planned. Instead I wandered around Trinity, saw the Book of Kells and sat in cafes reading - there are worse ways to spend a day.

gallygirl

Hope you're feeling better and that day in Dublin sounds far better than running round doing 'stuff'.

I hope you don't mind me correcting you on the farmer's market

London18 wrote: »

I do feel a bit out of place - it's full of [STRIKE]yummy mummies and wealthy types spending loads. [/STRIKE] people who appear to have no thought for the future. I live in an area with a very wide socio-economic mix and the market seems to attract [STRIKE]more people at the top end. [/STRIKE]people spending money they don't have to impress people they don't like

Worry_Wart

Sounds like you had a great trip anyway! Galway is lovely, as is TCD. I need to get back to visit the rellies but it's too depressing in winter. Although as my cousin says, it never rains in the pub!