Frump to Fab - A Whole New World.

maman

Can only echo what you said about strength in adversity chanie and LL and a huge cheer for coming out at the other end!!
Being a tourist in your own city is a great thing to do. Since my DH qualified as a tour guide locally I've certainly learned loads. 
We're planning a short break next month. Just a few days and haven't yet decided whether it'll be in UK or further afield. Before that we're having a day in London next week. Trains have an offer on of £18 return instead of usual £50+. DH wants to go to the Maritime museum in Greenwich and I want to see the Elizabeth 1 Armada paintings in the Queen's Gallery. That's the beginning of our day's plan. It's good to have something to look forward to. 

sugarbaby125

Wow LL,
Huge congratulations on finally being able to face the photos.:D

When my Mum died it was such a resounding shock even though it was expected after she had her final, massive stroke. The photos I took of my Mum in her latter years are so invaluable to my own mental health. Being without either parent is extremely hard, but I feel connected to my Mum when her photographs are constantly on show in my living room and in numerous photo albums that I own. 

podperson

Hi all,

Some very heatfelt posts on here and I am in awe of how strong and brave you all are. I must admit I have struggled quite badly with depression and I don't think it's something that ever fully goes away. Sometimes all you can do is take it one day at a time and try to be kind to yourself (I don't think anyone has ever been as nasty and hateful to me as the voice in my head).

LL - what a lovely idea to be tourist in your own town. I'm quite lucky to live in a city with some beautiful sights and plenty going on, and don't always take advantage of it.

Maman - we had a great day out in Greenwich last week, visited the Maritime Museum, had a look at the Observatory, stood on the Meridian line, wandered through the park - even saw some deer

Been quite a good week so far. Back on the healthy eating and have just been to a new Pilates class - got a 'first visit free' offer through an app and did enjoy it. Feel nicely stretched out if that makes sense lol! Now watching rubbish tv and waiting for my Asda shop to show up.

Moll

Theres a lot of heartfelt posts ..........  love to you all from me xxx
Got the gate and fence repaired today . that was damaged in storm Ciara . It held up when "Dennis" came ,  but we did get water leaking in a downstairs window , and also the conservatory roof then ,   Still its nothing to what some poor souls have had to contend with , in the floods , 
Valentines Day  was a beautiful sunny day here,   so me and DH went for a ride up into the countryside , and stopped at a friends house to see thier new puppy , It was gorgeous ,  Talking of illness's , the owner of the pup has terminal cancer( Its in his bones)  and he knows hes on borrowed time , but you wouldnt know it , to look at him , He has such a positive attitude, and says on his good days he intends to live life to the full . I need to take inspiration from him ,      Then on the way home we stopped off at a local country pub for a meal ,  Two men run the pub , and they was in a right tizz,  as the gas had stopped working ,  Said they was still serving meals , but a limited menu as all they had was a microwave and a camping stove  Lol , Bless.
 Actually they did well , and we enjoyed our meal . 
Out tomorrow with friends for a meal , If we all turn up there will be 7 of us , and we try and meet once a month ,  its raining heavily tonight , so hope it will be better tomorrow when i go out ,  My 6 week spa membership has run out now, but i have used it quite a bit , so think i will renew to use the pool . 
, I know the days are dark and murky , but we arnt , Keep fabbing everyone . right im off to do more de cluttering , 

pollypenny

Just back from America where I had a bombshell of a question from grandson, aged 8. Why do you look older than grandad?   

He's four years older than me, but overweight, so no lines on his face. 

Time to seek out some affordable facials, I think! It might mean going to the nearest college, but parking is a nightmare, there. There's a fabulous salon in the town, but it's expensive and, having had the ultimate impulse buy of my new car, we need to watch the finances. 

helensbiggestfan

good morning lovely ladies.   

Moll.....love the "Blitz Spirit" shown by the pub still cooking in such difficult circumstances.  Just goes to show - where there's a will there's a way.  😁

Polly.....ouch.  Out of the mouths of babes.....

Just come out fighting and start turning back time.  

Even if I do say so myself I was aging well until my husband got sick but the stress really took its toll on my looks.  But I've fought back and whilst I've never been able to completely undo the ravages I think I do look a lot better than I did.  Hope you find some good treatments to help you and there's a lot you can do yourself. 

Remember the big 5 

 Sleep, water, fresh air, exercise, healthy eating. Then throw in good skin care as a bonus.   Luckily the big 5 are free.  😂

I was reading something the other day about how one of the biggest giveaways of aging was the way we move our bodies.  The way we walk and move apparently speaks volumes about the way our bodies are aging. Staying  supple, agile and flexible as long as possible will help slow down the aging process and help us keeping looking younger for longer. 

Im trying to move more, now doing regular yoga each day.  It's still difficult, I'm very stiff and my muscles and joints hurt but exercise is the only way to loosen up and improve my flexibility.  I am taking it slowly and gently, hoping to build up over time. 

Filthy day here.  Strong smell of paint which is having its usual effects on my tummy.  So, despite the howling wind I've got windows open.  Brrrr. 

Wednesday2000

There have been some thoughtful posts on here.xxx

There is a lot of mental illness on one side of my family. I said on another thread on here that I have had to go back on medication recently. I was diagnosed with depression and BPD years ago but I have been off medication for 10 years. I did start getting panic attacks a while back but there hasn't been any trigger for why my moods have changed so much in such a short time. I think they think it might be bipolar disorder too now.

Anyway, I am on a low dose and not really noticing a dramatic change although I do feel calmer. I know this med can make me gain weight but I am not really bothered about that at the moment.

On the fabbing front I wet my hair earlier and put conditioner through it. I need to have a hot shower to wash it off. I have my psychologist tomorrow and I want to drop off a donation bag at the chazzer and also buy some clear nail varnish.

I have been catching up on The Real Housewives of Atlanta the past few nights and I am enjoying watching something quite frothy and mindless. My new Psychologies magazine arrived today so I will read that after my shower. I saw that they have a feature on panic attacks in there.

I am sipping a matcha latte I made. I bought a milk frother and it makes such a difference.

chanie

Hi everyone,
Back to work tomorrow, following a few days off with the children.  I’m tag-teaming with OH and he’s off tomorrow.  As it’s half term, many of the children’s activities aren’t running, so I’m looking forward to not having to rush around so much this weekend.

I work in HR and I have seen a significant increase in poor mental health.  It really makes me think about my own and that of my children.  What helps me is having nice things to look forward to - a new bag, a holiday, a new book, a bath bomb etc.  

I try and talk to my children about keeping healthy both mentally and physically.  Whilst I was off, I tried making doughnuts for the first time.  In a lesson in resilience, I told DS that it didn’t matter if they didn’t turn out well as I would just try again and it was fun to try something new.   I realise that making doughnuts isn’t the way to good physical health though 

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

Chanie my sister H worked in HR for 20 years but was able to retire early. Now she gets to live a comfortable life with a lovely 4 bedroom new build home in Birmingham that is mortgage free with a great pension. She has become a really good gardener and discovered that she loves line dancing.

Like you Chanie, I also make sure that I have things to look forward to that keep me feeling joy in my life. I am going to visit my eldest daughter and my son-in-law tomorrow and my younger son is coming with me. I know how much fun and laughter there will be when we are all together and my daughter is a fantastic cook. 


I am fed up with the on going drama with my wisdom tooth.   The temporary filling fell out, less than a week after it was put into my tooth. Eventually it will be extracted, but that could be months away. I did get a lovely compliment on my last visit to my dental surgery. The female dentist apologised for the terrified screams of the young girl next door and I just explained that I understood as I have children and grandchildren. She said:I cannot believe you have grandchildren! when I replied that my grandson was 20, she was open mouthed with shock , then she said: you don't look old enough. I said thank you with a wide smile. 

LL when my Arthritis is very painful, it affects the way I walk and move my body. That is when I feel like my body lets me down and makes me look older than my chronological age, but when I am having a good day, I know that the way I walk and move suggests that I am younger than 57 and with a wrinkle free face, neck, cleavage, hands and feet, it certainly helps most people to get my age wrong to my advantage. 

maddiemay

Hello lovely ladies, I am another one who was ageing very well until about 8 years ago when I began to be ill. Like many of you I look after my skin, have a good haircut and try to dress well according to my day's activities.  A fellow group member told me last week, in front of the rest of the crafters that she thought I always looked elegant and well pulled together, so nice of her and gave me a boost.  A lot of days I wear smart jeans and tops/cashmere sweaters and ankle boots, but I enjoy playing with my accessories and love splashes of bright colours with my base colours of black and greys.
A couple of weeks ago I had my brows and lashed tinted, but not sure I will repeat the process, I did ask the beautician to play it safe, and I wouldn't have really wanted brows to be much darker, but it seems to fade quickly. Her suggestion of having it re-done every 4 weeks would add another £28 pm to my personal spending (nails 3/4 weekly, hair 8 weekly, PT weekly and Osteopath every 4/5 weeks) eeeek that would then cost approx £65 pw, definitely not cheap to run LOL
Sugarbaby what a great time you have with your family, cannot beat family, food and laughter.
Wednesday I hope that the medication continues to ease things for you.