Lemons to Lemonade!!

Hopefuljoy

Thank you wonderful people!! You are all very supportive and I have promised myself that I shall keep posting through the not so great times as well as the better ones.:j

I saw my mother today and she was hilarious about clothes for the wedding. I have developed a very rhino style skin over the years as she has all the subtlety of a brick bat. In true MSE style I want to carry on slimming down so I can wear a very nice pale lilac linen suit I bought over a year ago and which my son has never seen me in. I can then inexpensively accessorize and will look potentially really nice!:T My mother (who is a force of nature) has vetoed the whole plan and wants me to buy something (she wants to subsidise it which is really kind of her) 'in case you let yourself down'.

I am determined to do it my way as even with a subsidy I cannot afford a wedding style outfit at the moment. They all seem to cost hundreds and my lilac suit is really lovely (and was dramatically reduced in the CC sale as well).:A It'll all sort itself out in the end.

She means well but her delivery of messages and advice is guaranteed to knock gaping holes out anyone's self esteem!!!:eek:

In other news my mum also has the full results for her lung condition and is very encouraged. It is terminal but she has the best prognosis possible at three years. The consultant was very impressed with her as she does everything he says and it hasn;t got any worse in five weeks. I am convinced that her home made from scratch appraoch to cooking has really insured her health over her life. Even though she was poor by modern standards as a child they always prioritised good nourishing food and warmth over anything else. It's paying off now.:rotfl::rotfl:

My own efforts at home cooking have been going well too. Am down to the last ten or so frozen homemade meals now but DD and I are still going strong and resisting the lure of Sainsbobs. The food bill is down to £25 average per week and my total weight loss is 6.5lbs. Mind you last week was a car crash with the diet and I am making more effort now. Back to counting and tracking!!:(

All in all everything is going well and the only area of life which causes me issues at the moment is work. Unfortunately a close colleague is the source of this so I am keeping smiling and hoping they will come to their senses. I don't want to say any more than that!:eek:

The wedding is preccupying me nicely though. I want my DS and his fiancee to have a better experience than me. Both sets of our parents were totally against us for religious and racial reasons (although to give her credit my mother did actually see what an awful person he was!). My parents only decided to come two weeks before and managed to avoid any form of communication with the 'other side'. My dad made his whole speech without mentioning that I was even getting married or who I was marrying! It was all a little stressy to say the least.

Fast forward to now and DS and Fiancee are saddened by the negativity of her parents who object as she is ten years older than my DS. They say they won't come to the wedding at all. I have learned from my experiences that love is love and as long as theirs lasts I will be supportive and non judgemental. :T:T There's so much awful stuff in the news that a bit of perspective is needed. So cheers to love when we see it and hurrah for them!!!!:A:A

I have rambled on long enough now and will take my leave of you. I'm off to bed early as I'm pooped!

Have good days tomorrow everyone!

please-let-me-be-lucky

Sorry to hear your Mum is a bit 'bull in a china shop' with her opinions. I truly believe you should wear what YOU want to wear, however if you are interested, BHS have some lovely stuff in at the moment greatly reduced due to their administration. It might be worth a look for accessories if not a new outfit.

Hope work colleague gives themselves a shake.

DS and fiancee are lucky to have you Xx

Hopefuljoy

Hi there Lucky!! BHS is a genius idea and there's one ten miles away. I shall have a look. It's such a shame they are going under. A real institution and it's not fair that so many people will lose their jobs. I will go on their website tonight.

So nice to see your debt at zero still!! Hope you and yours are all well and I shall catch up with you tomorrow.

milasavesmoney

Wonderful post. My mother was always a bit opinionated but she loved me dearly. I have always been able to cope nicely with strong willed people as a result. It sounds as though you have learned the same skill as well.

I think setting a goal to be able to wear your dress is very feasible and quite fantastic! We need these things in our lives to keep it interesting. Why buy a dress that will be too big very soon? Even if you are work stressed now, you have a great goal that will stop you from comfort eating. Hurray for that! Lemonade anyone?

Hopefuljoy

:rotfl:Yes please Milasave!! A cold cloudy lemonade with a parasol please!:rotfl:

Today was slightly better at work and my manager is going to deal with the tricky colleague tomorrow. The person concerned is rather explosive and my manager is going to shield us from any fall out.:o

I went to weightwatchurrs tonight and lost a whole pound!!!!!! I also got my silver 7 for my first half stone gone and made sure I called my mum to let her know. She was very pleased!! I've decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and at least go and look at outfits for the wedding this Friday. Bluewater here I come!! I love shopping on my own as there's no pressure so I will just amble about.

Have no news to tell you apart from I start teaching the brand new GCSE for RE tomorrow. A lot more work but also vastly more interesting than the previous effort. We also get a brand new manager of the dept in September and I'm really really nervous about it. I am a real worrier and feel very vulnerable whenever change happens. Nevermind, only ten years to go!!!:j

Am waiting for £50 cashback to filter through to my account after renewing my car insurance and am also saving for a tent so me and DD can have a holiday next year. I am totally confused between cotton and polyester and which brand and price to get. Any advice will be incredibly welcome!!:A

Need to update my sig now and go to bed after a nice evening watching Law and Order etc. Do love a crime programme!

Nite nite all. xx

Sun_Addict

Great to see you back HJ. I also got my silver 7 last night at WW.

My cousin's hubby is the same age as her son. His family didn't approve at first and neither did her son. They've been married 20 years now so just goes to show. Re your outfit - there are plenty of bargains to be had at the moment - no need to spend a lot for something nice.

milasavesmoney

How is your meal planning going? I'm more or less cooking out of my freezer, and pantry with some fresh veggies thrown in for good measure.

I've lost two lbs and so you are really doing great!
I'm not sad about the slow loss. It better than the other direction.
Congrats on half a stone.:T:T:j

Are you dress shopping this weekend? I'm happy you are excited for your son and his sweetie.
They have been respectful of her parents and waited for them to come around. Now it's their time!!! If she is older, she is certainly capable of making a great decision for herself.

Wishing you an enjoyable weekend!

brizzledfw

Great to catch up on your posts. Wonderful news re the wedding and hey am sure you'll look fabulous in whatever you choose to wear

Glad your mum is chirpy too re her prognosis

Have a great weekend

Hopefuljoy

Good evening MSE world! I can't believe it's three weeks since I last posted. It's been bedlam as I've been running loads of GCSE and AS level revision sessions at school as well as helping DD with her revision. She's doing really well and I'm very proud of her!

On the MSE front the wheels fell off this month so I am trying to get back on track. I'm up to my overdraft limit of -£250 so something definitely went awry. Looking at YNAB I did do a lot of stress related spending on magazines, cakes and sweets and trash so I have nothing to show except that I've missed weightwatchurrs for two weeks and my girth has expanded.

So resolutions for June are

1 Stick to the budget:mad:
2 Don't buy anything I have not planned for:money:
3 Avoid Sainsbobs like the bubonic plaque!!:eek:

I have allocated money carefully this month as there are some extras coming up as follows.....

£70 for my share of DS's wedding breakfast
£50 for shoes and 'foundation garment' for DD for DS's wedding (don't worry she is also wearing a dress!!)
£25 towards savings for a new bedstead for DD

In good news my £50.50 cashback is confirmed from the car insurance so that is allocated to the OD. Also I get paid a small honorarium by my school this week for extra pastoral work I do. Until the tax is taken off I'm not sure how much it'll add to my pay but all of it will be allocated to the OD as well.

Also, in a spirit of optimism I have opened an instant access savings account with Tesc0. I'm going to start putting something in there monthly to build a cushion.

The meals I cooked last holidays haven't stretched all the way to the end of term so there'll be more batch cooking this half term which is in a week!!!!!!!!!!!:T:T I think DD and I have come to the conclusion that we are pasta fiends. By far the most popular were the tuna pasta, lasagne and the spag bol meals with the chicken casserole coming in a close fourth. Only I have eaten the pork burgers and soup so there are lessons to be learned there. I shal be researching new recipes this evening.

I hope you are all well in MSE land and life is treating you well.

Tonight in celebration of the wonderful Greying Pilgrim who has returned to us married and with a surprise baby:A:T:j here are three things I am grateful for....

That my DS has found someone to settle down with and love.:rotfl:
That my DD is coping well with her exams.:T
That Greying has returned safe and sound. :j

Sun_Addict

Great to see you are back with us HJ