Frugal Frump to Fab - 2015

WelshWoofer

Bath and full body scrub done - feel all soft and supple now.
Make up all off, face mask on - I expect to be 10 years younger by the morning - wishful thinking.....
Have decided to dye my hair tomorrow instead - no need to wash it today as I'm not going anywhere.


Had a very productive day workwise - have broken the back of a big report that needed doing so quite pleased with myself. I've also dechristmased the house - looks all neat and tidy now, I can't stand the clutter. The dog has been for a trot round the park (with me, I don't send him off to walk himself !!) and is asleep so a nice quiet night in store for me now.


I'm also working my way through my work clothes - freshening up some bits that don't need washing very often, checking seams and hems etc. Its really easy to just shove on the same things every day and so I treated myself to a couple of tops to go under suits in the sales - just Next but nice enough and I find that they wash quite well usually.


I've just rediscovered some hair and nail supplements in the kitchen cupboard and so will start taking them again - they were expensive and I never really got into the habit of taking them so I'll have another go - my hair is thinner than it used to be and I'm a bit concerned about it so any help it can get is good. Any fabulous tips? I think a good cut would do it the world of good as its too long now really - half way down my back - and it looks all straggly so a more structured look might give it a bit of life back - need to wait until I'm paid though....

silvasava

When I'm stressed my hair falls out in handfuls & my nails go to pot too. Some years ago I read an article about taking Zinc & Vit C (combined tablet - avail at supermarkets) last thing at night. It really worked for me & I have been taking them for many years & my nails & hair have been fine - apparently they are also good for boosting your immune system. They do take 2/3 months to show results though

WelshWoofer

silvasava wrote: »

When I'm stressed my hair falls out in handfuls & my nails go to pot too. Some years ago I read an article about taking Zinc & Vit C (combined tablet - avail at supermarkets) last thing at night. It really worked for me & I have been taking them for many years & my nails & hair have been fine - apparently they are also good for boosting your immune system. They do take 2/3 months to show results though

Thanks Silva - I'll give it a go!

Kiwisaver_2

Good morning lovely ladies, I have been missing in action for a while on a self-imposed exile from 'wasting' far too much time on the internet reading about other people's achievements and not really getting on with my own. :rotfl: After reading an article a while back it really hit home about how precious our time is and we really do only have '168 hours' per week; I decided to try and focus my time more on using my time more wisely or at least more mindfully - still a work in progress. :rotfl:

I saw Lessonlearned on the savings thread last night which lead me to here and back to reading all your lovely fabness and inspirations - I think probably drawn to it by the excesses of the past few weeks. So after a fitful nights sleep and head full of lists and 'things to do today' I shall update my status and writes some of it down always helps consolidate the plan.

I have the big 'five oh' coming up this year and had already been working on a list of things I would like to achieve this year. At the latter part of last year I have been reading up and approached some professionals for some careers advice (ha ha, never done any of that in my life before) and decided to try and get some better work life balance and be a bit more proactive in shaping my work life rather than complaining about the way things are and waiting for things to miraculously change.

I worked through lots of stuff over past couple of weeks and figured out some things I value and the constant three things keep coming back to my head that I need to work on: being healthy, wealthy and wise. That's no mean feat, eh? I see the same theme in many of the posting in this thread and it's fast becoming a bit of a mantra for me.

Some of it of course has been an on-going and long term project, with fits and starts over past few years aided by lovely folks of MSE. Among other things, I gave up smoking, got fat, saved reasonable amounts of money for past few years, buffed myself up a bit, got my hair into best shape it has ever been with regular appointments, have lovely skincare products and do my daily facial and cleansing routines off pat and lost some weight last year. I have been doing some studies and halfway through an OU paper (exam in February). I bought myself a Clarisonic for Christmas with some contribution from vouchers I got for last year's birthday money.

But of course there's still a lot of work to be done and I still waste an awful lot of time doing pointless stuff and procrastinating. :T

So today I bounced out of bed, head full of shopping list and headed for the shower, brushed myself down, buffed myself up and am ready to knuckle down and take life by the horns today. :rotfl:

I weighed myself and found I have put back on five pounds, not a huge disaster. Mirror test wasn't a total horror story and I am quite pleased with what I see - notwithstanding age and things I can do nowt about.

I have a regular hair appointment next week and need to sort out fingers and toes before returning to work on Monday

I have a Groupon voucher sitting in the wings for 'bootcamp' but feel I need to up my fitness a bit before I can finally commit using that. So exercise is going to be a high priority and back to yoga on Monday.

The fridge is near to empty with the last of the mince pies and Christmas food cleared from the decks yesterday; so no excuses except for a huge tin of Roses chocs still lurking. I'm going to write a list and head off to the supermarket shortly; shopping today will definitely be following that mantra of healthy, wealthy and wise.

So onwards and upwards my friends - hope we can all maintain the focus and achieve all our fabulous dreams in 2015.

silvasava

WW - I'd use up the supplements you've already got & then see how you go. The Zinc & Vit C are inexpensive & its very MS to use up what you've got!

tooties

Hi fabbers,

Not had time to catch up with the whole thread yet as i have been too busy decluttering.


managed all my daily maintenance today so i am happy with that.

Lets keep it up fabbers

Regards

LoLo

Hewie29 wrote: »

Hi all

Lovely fresh day down south, took the dog out for a lovely walk this morning and have de-christmased the house. Looks all bear now but was getting fed up with it all.

Not done any real fabbing yet other than the normal shower, hair wash and moisturise. Must do more as I look really tired and pale.

I'm sat watching 'fat a year to save my life' with the lovely Jessie. Its amazing what can be achieved in a year when you put your mind to it. So I'm giving myself this year to change my life round, I'm fed up of using my weight as an excuse for not doing things and using my condition as well. Although there are some things I can't do there are lots that I can.




Have a good one xx

Ooh I love Jessie and Chris Powell. I find it so motivating what can be achieved in the space of a year. I would gladly let Chris or Jessie put me through my paces.

black_cat

I really need this thread! I haven't managed to read all the way through yet, but I will. Since Christmas I've coloured my hair, had it cut (by mum), joined Slimming World, and dug out and used my skincare products. I just need to keep it all up!
Thanks for the motivation

the_cat

Great to see so many positive starts:T:T. Everyone will be Fab in no time!

I did the mirror test yesterday and hace decided to concentrate first on the things that seemed the worst. Too often I start these challenges and end up trying an unrealistically large number of new things all at once, which ends up being too overwhelming. So I give up..... time for a different approach.

1. Top of my list is general improvement to diet for health purposes, as I've been VERY lacking in that department in 2014. Have started this week following Slimming World plan as I think a regimented approach will help me get in the habit of eating well again

2. My hair was looking fairly terrible tbh. Needing a dye and was frizzy/unkempt to boot. So first thing today, I dyed, washed and styled it and it looked generally more presentable. Was spurred on to do this properly every day by a compliment from my boss on how nice it looked and she isnt the sort to notice!

3. The other big thing the mirror told me was I have huge black circles under my eyes. Now diet will help a bit i'm sure but I have always suffered from these and would love to hear any wonder potions which might dull them down a bit. Have tried concealer in the past but that just looks wrong (full makeup day to day would look silly and overdone for my very outdoor lifestyle)

startingagain8

Hi, Please can I join you all. I have been lurking and reading for a while and you have motivated me to join in.

I am 45 and have been a frump for too long. I need to feel fab again. I have let myself slide into this state over a number of years due to a situation I found myself in. Now after several years of trying to get out of it I am sort of there. But now my confidence is low, my weight high (as I have used food as comfort and lost all motivation to exercise), and I make only a minimal effort in my appearance. So I need to make changes.

Initially I thought I’d failed before even starting as, after reading about wearing perfume, I realised I didn’t have any hiding in the back of a cupboard. So whilst out shopping, I managed to get some perfume miniatures using a loyalty card; costing me nothing. I’ve also got some hand cream out a cupboard to use regularly, as my dd recently told me I had old wrinkly hands, and some of my favourite in shower moisturiser for the rest of me. So my first step is to get into the habit of using these regularly.

At the same time, I need to work on getting more sleep. I have got into the habit of staying up late (doing housework, work or just watching tv) until I finally fall asleep on the sofa, I then wake up a bit later and take myself to bed. As I have to get up 6/6.30am I am getting less sleep than I need. So I guess I need make an effort to go to bed earlier and perhaps find some ways to help me get to sleep.

I will also try to smile more:)

Over time, I need/would like to:

• Work on my personal hygiene routines (they’re not completely bad) but I’m not the best at removing make up every night and cleansing/toning, etc.
• Get into the habit of doing more pampering – feet, nails, face masks, dye hair, hairy bits, finding time to soak in the bath, etc
• Get a haircut (I only had it cut once last year and it really needs restyling)
• Make more effort with my clothes and appearance. I live in jeans which are practical for my work but I normally go for clothes that let me blend into the background.
• Wear jewellery regularly
• Re-evaluate what I eat and when I eat (and also why I eat) to hopefully become more health and start losing weight.
• Find at least one type of exercise that I’d like to do and ways to incorporate into my day/week.

With everything I do, I am telling myself just keep taking small steps and I’m hoping that each step/change I make will get easier and easier. I want to feel good about myself again.