Frump to Fab 2019 - Here We Go Again

humptydumptybits

I vaguely remember hearing/reading something debunking the 10,000 steps a day. As I remember it there was no scientific basis to it and it started with some sort of advertising campaign. I think it was a Japanese campaign but I can't swear to that. I think they concluded that you got all the benefits with fewer steps but I can't remember the figure they used. I stopped counting steps after that. I think worrying about my steps was probably doing me more harm than good, well that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it.


I got great exercise for my arms yesterday, couldn't get GD off the swings. I reckon pushing a swing for an hour has to be good for preventing bingowings. Actually I got good exercise all round, a walk to the park and a couple of hours of swings, roundabouts and slides. Walk home, lunch, then off to the beach followed by a nice walk along the cliffs, hanging on to GD as I don't trust her not to decide to take a run off the cliff, and then home. Unsurprisingly the children all fell asleep as soon as their heads touched the pillow and I assume I did the same, in fact I think I might have nodded off before my head hit the pillow.


It's a bit like hunger being good for the appetite I think, sheer physical exhaustion definitely means I sleep well. I must remember that when they are all back at school/nursery in September and make sure I wear myself out.

lessonlearned

Good morning lovely ladies

Spanish night was simply fab-u-Lou's. Just one small glass of sangria because I was driving, tapas, two live music acts who were fantastic. Danced my legs off, joining the bands on the stage. :rotfl:

The Venezuelans loved it and had an absolute ball. And of course they were a great hit with the rest of the audience because they added "authenticity" to the night.....I think a lot of the audience thought we were part of the show. :rotfl:

Both bands loved the fact that real Latinos were loving their music and knew all the words to the songs and were thrilled that we were all dancing and singing along with them.

Several people came up to me to ask who the "three pretty girls" were. I must admit they are a really handsome family. Typically exotic. Even the parents now well into their 60s are still very striking. However I no longer feel overshadowed by them like I did at first ..... I have come to realise that white hair is equally striking and now I've lost weight I can wear really fab clothes and flaunt my new shape. I think I do my bit to "keep the British end up"......

I play to my strengths. My height, my colouring and my new found svelte lines. I dont try to look young because I don't want to stray into "mutton" territory, so for evening I try to combine elegance with a touch of glamour, for daytime it's usually simple classic chic. My colour choices play to my English heritage and now with my height and colouring .....my slightly "Nordic" look. I love Scandi style with its palette of soft colours, although I do add the odd pop of a bright colour for accent.

I have to say dressing well and looking good is sooooo much easier now I've lost weight and regained my proper shape. There's so much more choice of nice clothing in smaller sizes than there is in larger sizes. There's still a dearth of really nice flattering clothing for larger people.

Humpty .....I too read somewhere that 10k steps isn't necessarily the be all and end all of exercise choices. I also read somewhere that dancing is as good if not better exercise. Certainly more enjoyable.

I dont sew from scratch these days but I'm a still a bit of a dab hand at altering, customising and embellishing charity shop finds. I used to make most of my clothes, designing and making my own patterns. I too used to make a dress a week. Every Saturday night saw me modelling one of my creations........

I am thinking of doing sewing classes this winter as a refresher. I do need a new machine so will need tuition with that anyway. I will be able to set up in the loft bedroom once it's cleared and properly insulated. At the moment it's just a storage room but once it's sorted it will make a great occasional bedroom/workroom. A fold up trestle table will either slide under the guest bed or slip into the eaves storage when I want to dress the room nicely for guests.

Speaking of clearing junk. I've ordered a skip for tomorrow and a strapping young lad to make a start loading it with the heavy items on Sunday so today I'm going to do some sorting and get stuff ready.

Also Need to do a bit of grocery shopping but am aiming for a fabbing session later. Give myself a facial.

right .......time to start the day.

Keeeeep fabbing.

lessonlearned

Oops Maman - didn't answer your question. I have one of those watches that record your activity. Mines made by a company called Withings.

maman

Wednesday2000 wrote: »

I wore short skirts, long skirts, culottes, lol, anything to slightly get told off by the nuns about the dress code.

I was always in trouble for 'customising' my school uniform whether that was rolling up my skirt to make it shorter, rolling up my sleeves or doing my tie in a bow. All of these were misdemeanours but the worse trouble was when I dyed my hair copper/mahogany and the old witch, that was my headteacher, wrote on my report 'We shall have more confidence in Maman when her hair returns to its natural colour'. My dad refused to sign it.

DD1 seemed to follow me. She's handy with her sewing machine so she not only took in her own regulation school trousers but had friends calling round so that she could take in theirs too. They were wearing 'skinnies' before they came into fashion!:D

Glad you had a good time at the Spanish evening LL. You're certainly giving the in-laws a good time.

I'm sure the watch is a good idea as I've not always got my phone with me when I go walking. I haven't set it up to count steps, it seems to be an integral thing that shows on the home screen daily. I can see that there's nothing magic about the 10 000 steps. I think that if you offer people a measurable target then they're more likely to achieve it than something more nebulous like ' Take More Exercise' or 'Eat more Healthily'. Having 5 a day of fruit and veg is another example. It's the same with WW and SW. The points and syns make it much easier to balance healthy eating than just being told something like, 'keep treat foods in check'.

I'm getting to the end of my Clarins serum. I absolutely love the stuff. It feels as if my skin is soaking it up and it smells wonderful. BUT...It costs £78 for 50mls.:eek: Not sure if it makes a lasting improvement but it wakes my skin up every day and I love using it. But it's a lot of money. Does anyone else use serum, and if so, which brand?

Good to have a pottering day after our day out yesterday. I'll be going to Aldi at some point and drop off some stuff for the CS but I've also washed some more soft furnishings and may declutter a bit more. Have a good day all.:)

lessonlearned

Just a quick heads up......

My local Asda were selling off kids summer/garden toys.

Kites, hula hoops, noise tubes etc all 25p. Rounders bats £1. Giant snakes and ladders games, paddling pools, ball pits etc all drastically reduced.

Just as much fun for grown ups too. :rotfl:

Picked up some kites for my 34 year old sons birthday, as a daft fun present. Bought a hula hoop for myself. Great waist whittling exercise if you can do it. I was never much good but for 25p I thought I'd give it a go.

Ouch, £78 is a bit steep isn't it. I suppose it depends in how long it lasts. Some of the cheaper ones don't offer quite so much mileage but sometimes premium products seem to offer good value for money

I am currently using a retinol serum at night, and a Vit C serum in the morning. Both made by Viola skin. The Vit C is lovely but a bottle doesn't last long, about a month. Not noticed any significant difference with the retinol yet, but I think you need to give it time. Around £13 to £15 each so not too bad but as I say I don't know if a more expensive Vit C might work out cheaper in the long run. I also keep an eye out in TK Max. They often have serums for around the £6 to £8 mark. Good makes too. Look out for Vit C combined with Hyrolonic Acid

If you do try retinol products be sure to use daily sunscreen.

humptydumptybits

Hula hoops are great, good exercise and as you say LL brilliant for the waist. I agree about dancing. My DD hated PE and games when her PE teacher moaned about it at a parents evening I said she did five hours dancing a week, 2 of the hours were one to one and she was probably one of the fittest girls in the class. They stopped talking about it then. I've never understood why being able to hit,throw or kick a ball is the be all and end all of school PE. I only know one woman who still plays netball but I know loads who use the gym or dance so they seem much more useful for lifelong fitness.

lessonlearned

I suppose the argument is that ball games help foster a "team spirit" - sometimes useful in the workplace. Whereas some dance can be seen as solitary. And of course ball skills help with eye hand co-ordination but then so do interactive computer games.

Not sure how much of any of that matters in adult life and the real world though.

My younger son is dispraxic and couldnt hit, kick or catch a ball to save his life. Brilliant guitarist though, even if do say so myself. And he can build, make and repair anything, so not much wrong with his eye/hand co-ordination despite being a complete klutz at most sports.

But I think you're right, exercise has to be enjoyable otherwise most of us won't do it......

Apparently, Some of the fittest and most long lived people are keen gardeners. My dad was gardening well into his late 80s and the old boys who had allotments next to him are now in their 90s and still going strong. Some Okinawans are centenarians and still gardening.

I don't think it's about designated "exercise" as such more about keeping active. I used to know a man who climbed Ben Lomond every day....he was well into his 80s. I don't think he thought of it as exercise, to him it was just going for a walk on "his"mountain.

Wednesday2000

I ordered two new lipsticks as the two I have are both running low, I must use them the same amount.

I have a peach one for the day and a rose one for nights out.

I also ordered some more lemongrass essential oil as I use it in my oil diffuser. I love that scent so much.:)

chanie wrote: »

I went the opposite way. My school uniform both in primary and secondary consisted of grey skirts and cardigans and I can’t wear either items in grey. Am fine with grey trousers, but that was because my school didn’t allow girls to wear trousers.

Oh that is funny, I suppose it can work either way. I knew a friend who refused to ever wear navy as it reminded her of school.:D

humptydumptybits wrote: »

I vaguely remember hearing/reading something debunking the 10,000 steps a day. As I remember it there was no scientific basis to it and it started with some sort of advertising campaign. I think it was a Japanese campaign but I can't swear to that. I think they concluded that you got all the benefits with fewer steps but I can't remember the figure they used. I stopped counting steps after that. I think worrying about my steps was probably doing me more harm than good, well that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Yes, I've heard that too.

I think I worked out that 10,000 steps was about an hour and a half of walking.

I was trying to do that for a few months, but it got boring. I suppose with a fitbit you count all the other steps you do throughout the day.

maman wrote: »

I was always in trouble for 'customising' my school uniform whether that was rolling up my skirt to make it shorter, rolling up my sleeves or doing my tie in a bow. All of these were misdemeanours but the worse trouble was when I dyed my hair copper/mahogany and the old witch, that was my headteacher, wrote on my report 'We shall have more confidence in Maman when her hair returns to its natural colour'. My dad refused to sign it.

I was always colouring my hair too, I've had it natural for about 10 years now but before that I first coloured it from about the age of 13 with Sun-In.

humptydumptybits

lessonlearned wrote: »

I suppose the argument is that ball games help foster a "team spirit" - sometimes useful in the workplace. Whereas some dance can be seen as solitary. And of course ball skills help with eye hand co-ordination but then so do interactive computer games.

Not sure how much of any of that matters in adult life and the real world though.

My younger son is dispraxic and couldnt hit, kick or catch a ball to save his life. Brilliant guitarist though, even if do say so myself. And he can build, make and repair anything, so not much wrong with his eye/hand co-ordination despite being a complete klutz at most sports.

But I think you're right, exercise has to be enjoyable otherwise most of us won't do it......

Apparently, Some of the fittest and most long lived people are keen gardeners. My dad was gardening well into his late 80s and the old boys who had allotments next to him are now in their 90s and still going strong. Some Okinawans are centenarians and still gardening.

I don't think it's about designated "exercise" as such more about keeping active. I used to know a man who climbed Ben Lomond every day....he was well into his 80s. I don't think he thought of it as exercise, to him it was just going for a walk on "his"mountain.

My daughter couldn't hit, kick, catch or throw a ball to save her life. Her experience of "team spirit" was being moaned at and nobody wanting her on their team. I think she learned more about team spirit at dancing where everyone got a part in the shows and they all worked hard so that the weakest/newest dancers didn't stand out. Brownies and Guides were also good, the problem with competitive team sports is they don't want people like my daughter, or maybe it is girls? Did your son find the same or were the boys more inclusive?



My sons were all good at sport, played for the county at various sports etc so they definitely got the ball game gene and she didn't.


I'm in the active but not sporty camp. Don't know if it is better but it works for me. I think school PE/games did more to put me off exercise than anything else. Maybe the women in my family just aren't meant to be sporty :rotfl:

lessonlearned

My youngest son just wasn't interested in any sport full stop. Still isn't. He doesn't even watch it. It bores him to tears, always did. Whilst his brother is the complete opposite, sport mad.

He simply couldn't have cared less about not being chosen for team sports. He just treated the whole thing as a huge joke, making fun of himself and his lack of ability. Even the teachers saw the funny side.

He was a very long baby, even as a new born. He was always tall and clumsy, like a long legged colt. But when puberty hit at around 14 he really shot up - 6 inches in 6 months. He grew like a weed. :rotfl: That rapid growth spurt made his clumsiness even worse because he just didn't seem to have any spatial awareness, it was as if his body had outpaced his brain for a while and he couldn't seem to work out where his limbs ended. He was forever bumping into things, knocking things over and tripping up over nothing. It cost me a fortune not just in clothes and shoes for him but also in breakages round the house. He took it all in good part though.

He did get chosen to play most of the time but obviously not for important games but I think he would have preferred not to at times. He would have been genuinely happy just sitting on the sidelines, twiddling his thumbs and day dreaming.

He always did have the gentle art of being happy doing nothing down to perfection......"Dolce far Niente".......The Sweetness of Doing Nothing. Lol.

Oddly enough he was always a great dancer too.....not trained because he realised he would get teased by his school mates if he went to dance classes. I am afraid there was no getting past that one, he knew it so he took the easy way out and didn't put himself in the firing line. He learned guitar instead and that made him the coolest guy in his year, with girls practically queuing up at the door. He was tall, handsome, smart and funny and played the guitar. What's not to like. The girls loved him.

His sports mad brother didn't get a look in in the girl department.:rotfl:

However, although he didn't go to formal dance classes he would spend hours watching Michael Jackson, practising by himself. He has natural rhythm and a good ear so is a pretty good dancer.

I've not had girls so don't really feel I can compare the differences but I do wonder sometimes if girls can be a bit meaner and/or more spiteful than boys, as you say less inclusive, a bit less tolerant. I do think girls have it harder with their emotions, especially when their hormones are all over the place. A lot of them really seem to suffer with their periods too. Mine were a nightmare when I was a teenager.

I always found my boys and their mates to be very laid back and easy going. There was never any drama.

I know this sounds odd but I often liken boys to dogs.......fairly straightforward and uncomplicated - what you see is what you get. I found that as long as they were well fed and allowed to let off steam and burn off some of that energy they were fine. They couldn't stand being cooped up indoors like some youngsters are today. I often wonder if that's why boys get such a bad rap these days. I think they need to be allowed to let off steam and burn off some of that testosterone. They can't do that stuck indoors.

I did find the early years when they were toddlers absolutely exhausting. However, we sailed through the teenage years with just a bit of door slamming from time to time whereas I noticed friends who had daughters seemed to struggle with the teenage years. Thankfully we had no issues, the boys were just huge fun. The house was always just full of them and their mates. It felt like a morgue when they went to university.

Whenever DS2 got a bit uppity I would just gesture him to lower his head down to my level. When he asked why I would say "so I can thump you". I never did of course. He would just ruffle my hair, give me a bear hug and say sorry.