Frump to Fab 2017 - A Whole New World

lessonlearned

Sugar baby - you are so right, life is both short and precious.

And if a chance of happiness comes our way then we need to grab it with both hands.

Carpe That Diem!!!

Have a lovely weekend with your rekindled love.. ♥️

I am not actively seeking romance but if it came into my life I wouldn't close the door and hide. .

I know my husband would approve.

I can't believe it will soon be three years since he passed. Like I said the other day I do feel that I have turned a corner with my grief. I am ready to start my new life and I know I have his blessing. I am happy.

You know, we only pass this way once. And many are denied the priveledge of getting old. We need to drink from the cup of life right to the very dregs

So gather ye rosebuds where ye may..........have fun, find love and be happy.

It's better to wear out than rust away through lack of use. :rotfl:

ScarlettMcCain

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all the good wishes, and sorry for the delayed reply - we've been away on holiday for a week ('celebrating' my 40th :eek:) and then there has been tons to do since getting home. The builder's been busy working on our utility room which is handy, but brings with it lots of dust!

A big thank you LL for your recommendations about tiring out boys I do find it difficult with twins, if I just had one I would walk/ use the trike more, but with two it's much trickier. I walked them (using toddler reins) to the polling station on Thursday and DS1 played up no end….. he's such an active little boy and more than capable of walking, but kept sitting down and refusing to move. In the end I had to carry him like a rugby ball under my arm as he wouldn't move/ be carried any other way! Plus of course at this age they have no sense of danger/ caution near the roads…..

I loved your butterfly analogy too, completely empathise with that. If I'd gone back to work I think I'd feel far more like me and have more patience with the boys when I was at home, but now it's not financially viable for me to work. This time next year the boys can go to pre school which is cheaper than nursery, and I think they will get their free hours from January 2019 :money:

So pleased to hear that you are happy again too and looking forward to the future - including your lovely cruise, of course! - and the Jolly Dollies sound great

Thank you for the Palmers tip maman, it's fab stuff - I'm not too keen on the smell either but will live with that! I did lots of holiday shopping at Primarni and bought their cheapy body oil and face powder, both were pretty good actually.

Hello and welcome to CumbrianCelery - our boys are 18 months old now and holidays definitely aren't the same as they were - hoping it will get easier in a couple of years!! We did get a bit of down time when they napped during the day but there wasn't a lot to do in the evenings, we were stuck in our apartment once they'd gone to sleep and as they were in the living room we didn't have anywhere to sit. They did sleep well though after all the fresh air, LL!

Hello to TF too and I'm glad to hear that you've made a start with a new haircut! I had mine cut just before we went on hols and it made such a difference to me too. It's a little bit shorter than I wanted but better that than paying £££ for there being no discernible difference. Good idea about writing down your morning routine too! I'm on the side of threading by the way, where I used to live it cost £7 for the whole face and now it's £17, which I can't justify so often. But it's only £5 for the eyebrows so I justify that occasionally…..

Happy belated birthday Sugarbaby and I hope you are having an amazing time with Wayne; you seem like such a lovely lady and you deserve someone who treats you very well.

Great to hear your enthusiasm for dancing and life in general indie! I lived in shared houses for years and was desperate to live by myself for a while, only managed it for a year before moving in with OH, still miss it sometimes….. but then it sounds like you're out/ away on breaks quite often, maybe the money would be more useful? Either way, do keep posting about your dancing and dating nights out, it sounds like you're having such fun!

chanie and Lainey, I'm in dire need of losing some weight too. My aerobics teacher is running a 'clean eating challenge' next week which I'm determined to join as a kick start! I'm uncomfortable in most of my clothes now and my confidence has taken a knock too. I actually only put on 2lb whilst we were on holiday, and as we were all inclusive I didn't think that was too bad, but obviously could have been better! Can't remember if I said before but my local SW groups are fairly uninspiring, otherwise I'd give that a go again. Are either of you following a definite 'plan' or are you going for healthier eating in general?

Hope I've pretty much caught up with everyone now; I still haven't caught up with our post-holiday washing unfortunately, we took a big service wash to the launderette thinking it would save us loads of work, and instead we've got back our washing (still damp) with lots of someone else's stuff too!! So now I have to sort out what's ours from what's not, and take theirs back - how annoying!

sugarbaby125

So good to hear from you again Ruby. With regards to your service wash at the Launderette, Please make a complaint when you return the other person's washing. Ask for a full or partial refund. The service attendant was obviously trying to make herself some extra money, by throwing someone else's small wash in with your large wash. (I have seen this happen many, many times when I did not own a washing machine, or it had broken down, here in London.) Also you are never supposed to receive a service wash returned to you damp. Even if they had to charge you a little extra when you went to collect your service wash, it should have been bone dry.

Thank you for saying I 'seem like a lovely lady'. I do try to be a good person, but like everyone else, I am a flawed human being.

Hello Ladies,

I had the most amazing time with Wayne last night. He is a fantastic lover and although I have not had a lot of other partners throughout my life, I am reveling in how fantastic a lover he is. He is not selfish at all, he really concentrates on giving me maximum pleasure. I consider myself very fortunate to have such an unselfish lover.

I have been so busy this weekend, but I want to spend as much time with Wayne as I can. It will not always be easy, as he works so hard for 6 days of the week. He has to travel further afield for his current construction job, so the travel takes up 3 hours of the day. I am proud of how hard he works and how conscientious he is when he works.

He still finds it hard to accept that not only can I afford to pay my way, but I want to. The night in the Hotel room was more costly than usual at £129, so I tried again and again to get Wayne to take £65 off me, but he would not do so. He insists it is the 'man's job' to pay. Jamaican men are notorious for being really tight fisted with women, but in this way Wayne is not atypical of his fellow country men.

lessonlearned

Happy for you Sugarbby.

Ruby.....good to hear from you. See I was right, wear the little devils out with lots of fresh air and running about. Obviously they are a bit young yet but once they are dashing around playing ball games etc you'll notice a big difference.

Had to laugh at the little tyke who wouldn't walk. I had one like that. He would stand in front of me, arms raised demanding to be carried. :rotfl:

Well I'm all packed. Early start in the morning so just going to take it easy now. Checked the weather forecast. Doesn't look too bad at all.

See you all later. X

Toni'sfriend

LL - Have a lovely time on your holiday. I love going on holiday. I get excited even if it's only an overnight stay somewhere
Sugarbaby - I don't know much about Wayne (being new here) but quite lot a of men of a certain age and background have this attitude that it's the man's job to pay for certain things (mine included). I would say just accept this (at least for the moment). Why don't you buy him a surprise present now and again. Nothing expensive just something you know he'd really like which shows you've put some thought into it. I often buy my OH a book or CD. Even a really nice bar of chocolate. Believe me it works wonders. Glad everything is working out for you,

LaineyT

Am aiming for an overall healthy eating plan Ruby and a better relationship with the food that I eat.
I can clearly remember moaning to my Mum at the ripe old age of 19 that I weighed all of 9 stone so I was going on diet and I honestly believe that from that point on I no longer had a healthy attitude towards the food I was eating? I have fluctuated anywhere between 10 or 14 stone but never have I felt entirely happy and comfortable in my skin for very long.
So, my loose guidelines are wholesome, organic food, relatively low carb but if I fancy a slice of bread or a couple of potatoes that's fine too, the same goes for a glass of red wine or a couple of squares of dark chocolate. I guess the most important thing to me now is to enjoy every mouthful, to relish the fact that what I'm eating will fuel my body and to provide the nutrients it needs for me to live a full and healthy life. To love me enough to look after me properly

indiepanda

Floss wrote: »

Indiepanda me & DH met on the internet in February 2003, but didn't meet up face-to-face until 6 April. Because we gad emailed, and then spoke on the phone before we actually met, we both felt that we had a solid foundation when we did meet up. I moved 50 miles in 2006 to move in with him, and we married 4 years later on the anniversary of his proposal I think your mentor is right, take it slow

That's a nice story... reassuring to remind myself there are some guys who meet on line that are looking for love not just fun. I have to admit after my first experiences of internet dating a few years ago I tend to go for meeting up quite quickly - some guys just wanted to message back and forwards for ages and then not meet up - suspected they weren't single in the end - so now if they seem promising I will make plans to meet promptly. Plus there are some guys that seem decent on line and then you meet and within seconds you think "no way". Superficial perhaps, but big beer guts that didn't show in profile pics are a bit off putting.... But there's a difference between meeting quick and falling quickly and am going to avoid doing the latter.

CumbrianCelery wrote: »

Beards. Can't stand the things. It's a little bit lazy in my opinion... we are expected to shave/wax ourselves within an inch of our life yet the lads get away with not even being bothered to put a razor to their face! lol

Exactly. On the dating site I am on you can answer a bunch of multiple choice questions to see how well you match with your potential date and one is about whether a women has an "obligation" to keep her legs shaved. The number of bearded guys who think it's ok to say yes to that!!! :rotfl:

LaineyT wrote: »

Think you are very sensible to take things slowly with the nice guy Indie, I knew my beloved for years as a friend before we finally got together, we used to go out for lunch etc and then one day was sitting across from him and it hit me that I was in love with him, scared me silly. Took me a while before I had the courage to tell him, luckily for me he felt the same way and had for ages, the rest is history!

That's a nice story. I have to admit there's a lot to be said for getting together with a friend. Although I did that years ago and it turned out I hadn't known the real him as friend - he only showed his true to self to his parents, best friend and girlfriend. And the real him was actually a bit of a git! I remember saying to him once "why are you so nice to relative strangers we meet when we are out and yet not nice to me" and he said he shouldn't have to keep up an act with the people he was really close to. (I really do a bad job of picking the right guys!!!)

indiepanda

Rubyslippers77 wrote: »

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all the good wishes, and sorry for the delayed reply - we've been away on holiday for a week ('celebrating' my 40th :eek:) and then there has been tons to do since getting home. The builder's been busy working on our utility room which is handy, but brings with it lots of dust!

Great to hear your enthusiasm for dancing and life in general indie! I lived in shared houses for years and was desperate to live by myself for a while, only managed it for a year before moving in with OH, still miss it sometimes….. but then it sounds like you're out/ away on breaks quite often, maybe the money would be more useful? Either way, do keep posting about your dancing and dating nights out, it sounds like you're having such fun!

Happy belated birthday Ruby.

I think I've lived on my own more than with others since I left university. Mostly I've preferred living alone - living with the right person would be nice, but living with someone selfish, like the git I mentioned earlier, wasn't much fun. Wouldn't rule out living with a boyfriend again one day but I have to admit I am getting a bit set in my ways, like my house and the part of town I live in and wouldn't be overly keen on moving.

I was paying the mortgage on this place on my own before the lodger moved in so I know I can manage it, just had a rather expensive year before she moved in and was also feeling a bit lonely after my ex got deported and we lost our appeal on his visa declinature (not sure I've ever told that story on here?).

Need to decide after she moves out whether I want to switch bedrooms. At the moment I sleep in the converted loft purely because that room had more fitted wardrobes when I loved in. However, the bedroom on the floor below has nice high ceilings and bigger windows so I am tempted to get some nice fitted wardrobes built in when I have it redone and then take it over as my own bedroom... Lots of options. Of course, paying to that get work done might encourage me to get another lodger.....

Had a quiet weekend socially - had deliberately not made any fixed plans as been a bit too busy recently and wanted to get a bit more sleep. So yesterday I went to Hampstead and to two different National Trust properties, one an old Merchants House and one a modernist house built by Goldfinger (I gather Fleming named his villain after him). The latter was more interesting as there was a guided tour but I don't think I could have lived in either house, first too formal, latter too sterile.

Spent the evening at home for the first Saturday in ages - caught up on some TV. Says something about how little I've been home that I only just got round to watching Sherlock - am sure that came out around Christmas / New Year. Anyway, I spent the evening doing the manicure and pedicure I didn't get round to on Friday so my feet are nice and soft after a good going over with my micropedi and I've changed the colour on my toes to my Chanel Peridot.

Today I did a guided tour round the backstreets of Earls Court and Kensington, focusing on the mews houses. Was really interesting and took me down a bunch of streets I've never been down before and wouldn't have found on my own. Afterwards I went to Whole Foods on Kensington High Street for lunch then to T K Maxx to look at workout gear. Got a couple of pairs of leggings in a smaller size, didn't see any t shirts I liked. But then my t shirts being a little baggy is no big deal, having my leggings too loose on the waist is rather more risky!

Went back to whole foods beauty department and got some shower gels and body lotions on discount, lucky that some of my favourite brands were reduced. Home now and feeling a bit tired... For a quiet weekend I've kept myself quite busy.

Got a facial tomorrow afternoon and then am out for a talk on the Science of Sleep in the evening. Dinner with some friends on Tuesday, Ceroc on Wednesday, Cinema with a friend on Thursday, Comedy night Saturday and a day out with some of my friends on Sunday. The date messaged asking if I was free at the weekend and I said Friday evening and Saturday day and he said he'd get back to me with ideas, so I should have something else to fit into that space in the diary too.

Better get my batch food prep done tonight or tomorrow, not going to have much time to do so during the week for sure!

Have a fab week all xx

chanie

ruby happy birthday.

indie you are making me tired just thinking about your busy social life. London has so much to offer and much of it is on a budget. I'm guilty of not taking advantage of London. That's one of the reasons that me and OH are doing Go Ape - to get out there and try something new.

sugar I know what you mean about Jamaican men!!! I've found this behaviour has certainly rubbed off on the UK born and bred second generation.
Maybe you could suggest to Wayne, that rather than going Dutch, you take it in turns with paying for your dates. Me and OH feel into that routine when we first stated dating and it felt less 'clinical' that way.

cumbriancelery I buy things for our holiday as I see them. We do our main shop in Lidl though, so it's mainly toiletries. I did pick up some swimming shoes this weekend from Lidl for us all. I remember us all burning our feet on the hot sand at the beach.

toni a tip I read about cleansing is to do it as soon as you get in from work/before you eat your dinner. The advantages are the earlier you wipe the grime from your face, the better and leaving it later means you are more likely to get lazy and skip a day.

lainey good luck with your healthy eating plan. Let's help to keep each other motivated.

indiepanda

chanie wrote: »

[
indie you are making me tired just thinking about your busy social life. London has so much to offer and much of it is on a budget. I'm guilty of not taking advantage of London. That's one of the reasons that me and OH are doing Go Ape - to get out there and try something new.

If it makes you feel any better, the social life is making me tired too. And yes, what I did yesterday would have been very cheap if I hadn't eaten out as I am a National Trust member anyway. Today's walk was only £10 too. Mostly I think if you are bored in London it means you lack imagination / organisation or are incredibly hard up. After all, there are all those free museums and galleries to be explored for just the price of a bus fare. Not that I do that much of that - but it's one of the reasons I don't think I will want to leave London when I retire.

Definitely good to try something new anyway (am so glad I started Ceroc, which is another cheap night out), hope you enjoy Go Ape.