Frump to Fab 2017 - A Whole New World

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

Sukeyboo, that spa day sounds like it did you the power of good. I am glad you enjoyed it so much.

LL, I am sorry you are having a bad time with your health. It must have been a relief to hear that there is nothing wrong with your heart. I am sorry you are experiencing so many distressing symptoms and I hope you will make good inroads into improving your health over the coming months. Are you perhaps finding it hard work living on your own from an emotional point of view and all of your physical symptoms are a manifestation of your anxiety and possible depression at finding yourself living alone?

I went to my local Odeon cinema to watch the film Going In Style and it exceeded my expectations. I laughed from the 1st minute in and could not stop laughing out loud throughout the film. The 3 male leads were a complete riot. I would recommend this film to anyone. I personally would give it 9.5/10. I used my Odeon Premiere card to pay for my cinema ticket, so essentially it was free. :T I got my usual free cup of tea and free digestive biscuits.

I then took myself to Pizza Express down the road from the cinema and had a Classic Diavolo Pizza, chocolate brownie with a fresh strawberry and mint leaves with vanilla gelato. I used my last £20 Tesco Clubcard Boost Pizza Express voucher to pay for the food. I had a small bottle of sparkling water to drink with my meal. I find that as a mature woman, I enjoy dining on my own at times.

I am hoping to return to work on Monday 4th September, but I will have to wait to find out what my employers have decided. My GP gave me a Fitness for Work Certificate that stated that I needed to be put on light duties for 2 month's. I just have to wait and see, but I certainly feel ready to return to work.

Take care Ladies

Floss

Maman i'm having the same quandary over packing - we go off to South Wales tomorrow but I am packing for all weather plus walking gear

LL no worries about the meet-up, maybe Maman has a point about putting it off for a while?

indiepanda

Glad to hear that they've concluded your heart is fine LL, hope the extra rest and TLC you have planned will get you on the road to recovery soon. I am happy to defer our meet up until you are better, somehow wouldn't feel right our first meet up if you weren't there.

I had a fun weekend in Edinburgh, could feel the benefit of the weight loss, spent a lot more time on the dance floor at the ceilidh and was able to stay up later and not flag with all the walking around town.

Another busy week, Ceroc tonight, a talk on "why sitting down destroys you" tomorrow night by a coach and model (this guy). Judging by his instagram he can just stand at the front and take his shirt off and he will have a happy audience (well, among the women / gay men attendees anyway). Friday night I am meeting an old work friend for drinks. Saturday I am due to be going for a day hike with my gardener although I am hoping she is as disorganised as she has been the last times she wanted to meet as I could really do with a lie in instead! Anyway, if I don't get it Saturday I will Sunday, only plans at the moment are a Ceroc freestyle I might go to in the afternoon (it's pay on the door so I don't have to commit yet).

Haven't seen the frog since I got home from Edinburgh. Occured to me he had been somewhat passively letting me make the arrangements / suggest dates for each meet up and whilst I enjoy his company I don't want to fall into the trap of wasting energy on someone who only wants to meet if I do all the running. I also have reservations about him work wise. When we first spoke he made it sound like he had rented out his flat and moved back home to retrain. Now it sounds like he has not worked for some years due to health issues and has no particular plans to ever move out again. He was talking about getting a job to give him money for a social life and not needing to earn much. I am not convinced I could really be in a serious relationship with someone with that little ambition who is happy to live at home whilst approaching 40. Anyway I didn't message him on Tuesday or today and I haven't heard anything from him, last heard from him Monday when he told me about his trip to the Notting Hill carnival. If he decides to make the running I might agree to meet again, but am not much bothered either way.

Right now I am more interested in getting the house in order, decorating almost finished - builder just needs to come back to do some final finishing touches tomorrow night before the carpet fitter comes Friday morning. I then need to pick out some blinds to get made up and once I've had those delivered I can get them installed and start moving my stuff in. Given am going away on the 9th Sept, my aim is to order the blinds before I go so I can be moving in late Sept / early Oct. Ok, the worst of the summer heat will be over by then, but I will still be glad to be out of the eves and not bumping my head quite as often as I do now!!!

lessonlearned

Hello ladies

Oh Indie I have to smile......your amourous exploits and search for mr wonderful would make a fabulous sit com on the telly.

What is that saying.......Feint heart never won the hand of a fair lady. What is it with Half hearted lovers who can't be bothered to make an effort and whilst i wouldn't be looking for blind ambition in a man I wouldnt want someone without a bit of gumption, that vital spark of energy.

Sounds like the house is coming along nicely. I am still busy nesting too.

SUgarbaby......whilst it was bit strange st first when DS2 left I actually enjoy living alone. I am not even remotely depressed just a bit fed up of feeling below par and desperately wanting to be hale and hearty again. I find it so frustrating to be ill and not be able to do everything I want to do. I am afraid I'm not a very patient patient.

The chest pains are actually caused by inflamed cartilage which links the ribs to the breast bone. Sometimes it's mild and sometimes it's excruciating, it does actually feel like a heart attack. When it is at its worst then it really is incapacitating, even breathing too deeply hurts.

Anyway I had a massage yesterday. I told the girl and she concentrated on my upper back, to loosen the muscles. She said they were like ropes of knots. Feel A lot better today.

I watched "Going in Style" I loved it, a nice gently comedy. And Michael Cain just seems to get even better the older he gets. And of course Morgan Freeman is just a legend. I am glad to see older actors still getting a crack of the whip. Only right really when you think of the demographic now.

Now that I am not feeding my hollowlegged son I have decided to use some of the extra housekeeping budget to engage a cleaner. She's been twice now and the house is starting to look lovely. I think I have found a real treasure.

She used to work for the Natuonal Trust so uses mainly natural materials and knows all sorts of tricks of the trade. Very professional. She did my solid dark wood bedroom furniture with proper beeswax and it looks wonderful. A lovely deep sheen and it feels like silk to the touch.

Tonight I am going to try and assemble one of the chandeliers. My fingers have been quite stiff today so Should be interesting. :rotfl:

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

LL I am glad that you are enjoying living on your own now and are not feeling in the least bit depressed. The chest pains you are experiencing must be very debilitating for you. I am glad the massage helped.

Oh LL I am so envious of your lovely, professional cleaner. It takes the pressure off you to do those mundane cleaning tasks that have to be done. If I had the income, I too would indulge myself by having a cleaner, but alas my finances would never support me employing a cleaner. :rotfl:

Indie, If Mr Frog turns out to be a waste of space, as least you will have found out sooner rather than later.

I went to the Vue Piccadilly with my daughter today to see Superman: Homecoming with one of my free Nectar Summer Rewards voucher. We both loved it, even though this genre of film is not my favourite.

I am feeling quite tired this evening, but I just plan to have a restful, relaxing evening and that should do the trick.

My Area Manager is being quite obstructive about me returning to work on light duties on Monday.

lessonlearned

SUgarbaby. Yes I realise I am very fortunate to be able to afford paid help. I'm by no means rich but I have been able to tweak the budget to be able to find the money. It is surprising how much extra I have now that DS has moved out. I'll have even more once his cat goes to live with him after his holiday. Now he does cost a lot of money. He's so fussy only the best premium cat food will do. :rotfl:

When DS was here he did do a lot of the heavy work and although he said he was happy to come and help me I really dont want to lean on the boys. I don't mind them helping with decorating, or diy or once in a while to help with the garden but I don't want to burden them or make them feel guilty. They have enough to do and anyway I prefer to be independent.

I managed to assemble the chandelier. Feeling chuffed.

indiepanda

lessonlearned wrote: »

Hello ladies

Oh Indie I have to smile......your amourous exploits and search for mr wonderful would make a fabulous sit com on the telly.

What is that saying.......Feint heart never won the hand of a fair lady. What is it with Half hearted lovers who can't be bothered to make an effort and whilst i wouldn't be looking for blind ambition in a man I wouldnt want someone without a bit of gumption, that vital spark of energy.

I have to admit when I first started internet dating I did say to my friends more than once that I felt it was more likely I was going to get the material for a stand up comedy routine than a serious boyfriend. And if I have a book in me it's got to be the story of the boyfriend that got deported (this was back in 2011/12 so I don't think I've told it here?).

Anyway, lack of gumption sounds about right for this latest frog. Anyone who admits to being intimidated by me just because I have a good job and appear confident isn't really going to work out as a long term partner.

sugarbaby125 wrote: »

Indie, If Mr Frog turns out to be a waste of space, as least you will have found out sooner rather than later.

Oh for sure, I have little time to waste so am not going to worry about it.

Been mulling over goals for the rest of the year... lots of them and am not sure actively looking for a man will feature. Although they will involve lots of Ceroc so potential to meet someone in real life rather than online.

lessonlearned

Good morning beautiful ladies....and what a Mornjng. Another scorcher....

I am.All bathed and fragrant and Off to go shopping in a minute.

Well what a difference a couple of days rest makes. I feel quite human again. I am off to a BBQ tonight so what with the shopping and all I need to be careful to pace myself and not be silly and overdo things. I can feel a slight niggle In my chest so not quite out of the woods yet.

Perfect excuse to sit in the garden with a nice book this afternoon.

Hope you all have a fab weekend and get to enjoy this glorious weather.

indiepanda

Well, the bedroom is almost done. Just need to pick out blinds - going to get some made to measure. the curtains I had in the room were nice enough but not quite the right colour and then I've had a cupboard build up to merge with one of the window sills so anything that trails below window height won't work anyway. I have a bunch of fabric samples but am waiting on some more from Debenhams. Debating between going neutral, a print with some teal in it (teal is my favourite colour and I have a seascape oil painting in that sort of colour that will get transferred from my old room and my bedlinen always has some teal in the print) or a teal textured one. Intention is to have some blackout Roman blinds (I like the look of them more than rollers, bit more texture when folded up) and then inside the frame go for some magic screen roller blinds which is a modern alternative to nets - let some light in and let you see out but people can't see in.

I am really glad I decided to go for the extra expense of replacing the cornicing, putting decent Victorian style skirting boards and a large plaster ceiling rose in, it really looks stylish. And my bargain chandelier looks brilliant. So glad I went into Debenhams and got that as I genuinely prefer it to any I saw in John Lewis as well as it being a great price. The guy who got the display model down for me told me that Debenhams have recently expanded their lighting range and they are working with the company that used to supply BHS, and I always used to think BHS's home stuff was much better than the clothes. The cheap crystal knobs I got off Amazon for the cupboards are a nice nod to the chandelier too.

I think I am going to treat myself to a new piece of art or two - there are a couple of artists I've seen on my travels that I really love. One was in Dartmouth at a gallery called White Sails that has a few originals (bit out of my price range) and some high quality limited edition prints - more my budget. I've been exploring their website and they have some other artists on there that are also rather good. Originally it was Gillian McDonald's pictures I liked in the shop (and still do) but now I also like Richard Thorn and Lynda Walker too.

The other one is an artist called Claire Gill who does these really cool photo montages. I've bought a small print of hers of Hastings already but yet to get it framed, am thinking I might get a couple more small ones and group together.

Decisions decisions....

I've got some floating shelves in the new room which will in part be used for storage, but I think I will also put some of my glass collection on them - I have bought a few pieces of turquoise Mdina and Isle of Wight glass over the years (the artist behind both companies is the same, although I didn't know that when I bought my first piece of each) and the light in the bedroom will be better for displaying it than on the bookshelves in my much darker dining room.

Am twitching to get decluttering and moving in, but first things first, I need to be completely organised and ready to put things in suitcases by Thursday night for both my holidays, and I am out Wednesday, so that really means all the shopping has to be done by Tuesday night at the latest - so that's the goal for this weekend. The blinds won't get installed until after I get back from holiday anyway and I won't get my bed moved in until there are blinds so I can sleep there - it overlooks the street and I need my privacy!

I put off the friend I was meant to be hiking with as I was tired and needed a lie in and couldn't quite see how I would get everything done otherwise. I made a start last night, bought some snacks for my hiking trip that will be a bit better for me than the chocolate and cake and crisps we will get given. Also got a couple of new pairs of Craghopper hiking trousers with legs that zip off into shorts. They aren't cheap, but they are one of the few brands that do a short leg so am not tripping over the bottom of my trousers and it's worth paying extra to get the versatile zip offs for changeable weather or for when the paths get overgrown to protect against nettles etc. I don't think I will need to get too many other clothes - am good for hiking kit at least. But maybe a bit more underwear to get through 2 weeks without laundry. I need to work out if I have quite enough casual stuff to do both evenings on the hiking trip and day time in Italy... I think if I dress up for evenings in Italy I might just about manage it. I also need to go through all my sample sizes of toiletries to sort out a washbag for each trip - I reckon I should be able to avoid buying anything new if I see what I already have.

Plan is to use my new room to separate out all my holiday stuff so I am not tripping over it all week, and the stuff for my second week can hang in my new wardrobe while I am away on the first trip and just get put in the suitcase on the evening I am home in between the two trips. Starting to get excited now :-)

I cracked and messaged the frog yesterday - decided it was very clear he was too apathetic to chase me and I can't be bothered with people like that. I basically said I hadn't messaged him as I'd realised I was making all the plans to meet up and wanted to wait and see if he was actually keen enough to bother if i didn't. Anyway he replied saying he was keen and he thought I had lots of positive qualities (clever, attractive) but he didn't think we were right for each other and had thought so from Tuesday and hadn't had the courage to tell me. What a wimp!!! I think from what he said when we saw each other on Thursday last week he is just intimidated by the fact I am smart and have a good job and it makes him feel bad about his lack of direction. Anyway, I wan't at all sure he was the one, so no great loss!

I also messaged A, realized I quite enjoyed hanging out with him doing some history stuff (most of my friends don't share that interest) and was a bit irritated by the fact he hadn't been in touch after begging me to be friends. Anyway, he admitted he had been crazy busy and also a bit embarassed about his behaviour but that he had been genuine in wanting to be friends. We've pencilled a date into the diaries for later in October - after I get back from my holiday he will be going away. So I will see, if he now goes through with the arrangement then maybe we can be friends, but I am not going to put myself out too much.

I am now thinking I am not going to bother with any internet dating for the rest of the year. It takes up a lot of time and I'd rather invest that in getting super organised at home, getting back on the diet and getting as much dancing in as possible. The trouble with dating is even if you have fun on the dates, it all seems a bit pointless if it doesn't lead to a relationship. I don't need dates for company, I would rather be with my existing friends. And I would rather have a good night dancing than go on any but the best of dates. When I dance I get real returns from that as I am getting better all the time whereas after all my efforts this year I am no closer to a decent boyfriend than I was when I got rid of the psycho I was seeing early last year.

Right, better get moving! Have a fab weekend all, hope you enjoy the sun xx

greenbee

Sounds like great progress on the house indie. Do you want to come and organise mine?!

Where are you getting your magic blinds from? I need some for the back of my house and possibly one of the bathrooms.