Frump to Fab 2022 - The Big One

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies, 

I have lost another pound in weight this week now, so now I have lost 11 pounds in weight. 2 stones and 3 pounds to go. 

Chanie even though you and your husband still have 4 rooms to decorate, you have achieved so much so far with your house renovations. 

Maman thank you. I am really enjoying going to the theatre and other events while the sun is shining. 

I am concentrating on getting more of my play written over the next few days. I should have done it last week, but I got too many opportunities to buy cut price tickets to the theatre, the cinema and other events. I have cleared these days in my calendar to make sure I had time to write. 

Wednesday2000

That is good progress with the weightloss Sugarbaby.

I really like that dress Maman.

I just got my pedicure. They used a foot file, then a scrub, then moisturiser and then painted my toenails. It is the first pedicure I've ever had! I chose a dark red colour.

I found a wicker room divider that I am going to use instead of a headboard. I saw that idea on Instagram. I then found a wooden loveseat that was reduced to £69 from £200+ so I am getting them both delivered in the next few days. A very productive morning!:)

Wednesday2000

Oh yes, I called up about pre-paid cremations yesterday and was told I'm too young as they only take on people aged 50 and over! I did look at my husband's paperwork and while he is working his employer gives a grant of £1,000 towards bereavement costs. I did send off for a brochure for the cremation details as I said my husband was 51.

sheilavw

Just back off a cruise today. Me and my Sister took my Brother who has Downs syndrome. We had a lovely time. We took a lightweight wheel chair for my Brother who isnt a great walker. We found the pavements very difficult especially in Porto. Just thought I would log in and 28 posts to read!

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies, 

Wednesday thank you and you found some great bargains for your home. 

Shelia, it is great that you and your siblings had a lovely time on your cruise. 

I have been getting on with writing some more of my play over the last 2 days, so now I have written just over 5,000 words. 

chanie

Hi fabbers,

we cracked on with decorating two more rooms, as they didn’t need much work, or so we though….  As we started, we realised that one of the rooms needs more prep work than we realised, so we haven’t finished.  

I told OH that I couldn’t face decorating another room, so we decided to have a break over the bank holiday weekend and tackle some other projects.  Most of the rooms we’ve decorated need some finishing off, so we will focus on those.  It’s nothing major - putting up shelves, hanging pictures, door hooks, securing furniture to the wall and minor paint work. 

Once that’s done, we only have two rooms left!!!

maman

Good idea @chanie. You'll feel a real sense of achievement to give the finishing touches to those rooms before tackling the final two. It's been a mammoth task but relatively quick by some refurbishment standards. How long since you first started the loft conversion? 🤔

chanie

@maman you are right, it hasn’t been long (we started towards the end of April).  Your post has helped me to see a bit of sense.  We are saving thousands is pounds (that we don’t have) by decorating ourselves and it is slowly starting to come together.

Im also starting to think about how we can weather the cost of living crisis. We aren’t on the breadline, but we are looking at ways in which we can reduce our bills.

 I’ve taken on a part time job, helping my sister with her business - it’s actually in my area of expertise and flexible, so that’s a start. 

I’ve got a decent stockpile of cleaning products, but I really need to look into our food shop, as that seems to be running away with us.

how is everyone else doing?

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

Chanie you and your husband have done so much in a relatively short time with regards your house renovations. Good news for both you and your sister that she has been able to take you on in a part time post that will allow you to use your existing skills and experience. 

I do feel that unfortunately due to food and household goods like cleaning product prices rising each week, that no amount of cutting corners is stopping my overall grocery shopping budget from increasing. 

I am buying cheaper cuts of meat, like swapping lean steak mince for lean stewing steak, buying chicken legs, chicken drumsticks, chicken thighs or chicken wings instead of chicken breasts. We have tried some cheaper brands of food items and if they are good taste wise, we are sticking with them. 

I had a huge stockpile of soap powder, Comfort Intimate Care fabric conditioner, cleaning products, toilet rolls, packets of tissues for my handbag, packets of wipes for my handbag, handbag size hand santisers, sanitary towels and panty liners, Dove and Lidl hand lotions, Dove body Lotions, Lidl herbal bath and Lidl hand washes, Red Door perfume, Red Door body lotion, Red Door body powder and Red Door shower gel. I have lots of new make up items still sealed that I bought in the past from Poundland and also lots of other items of No 7 make up sets that were free from Boots with other No 7 purchases and a suitcase full of Molton Brown products that are for birthday and Christmas presents. 

I have bought Christmas presents for my brother H, and for my Great grandson and my Great granddaughter. I have also started buying Christmas presents for my son and daughter that live with me. My older son and daughter, my 2 granddaughters and my grandson will be receiving money as their Christmas presents, as I literally have no space to store more presents even if I could be bothered to buy any more presents. 

I went to Andover to visit my older daughter, my son in law, my grandson, my grandson's partner, my Great grandson and my Great granddaughter yesterday. I had a fabulous time with my family. 

I had a nightmare journey travelling home, as my train to London Waterloo was cancelled. I had to wait almost 40 minutes in Andover station for the next train to Basingstoke, then change at Basingstoke to get another train to London Waterloo. I arrived in London more than 1 hour and 20 minutes late.  It was particularly a nuisance, as I had bought a ticket to watch a film at Ritzy cinema and I barely got there in time for the start of the film. It is only because of the advertisements and the film trailers that were shown before the film, that I got there in time. Anyway, I enjoyed the film. 

I used £2.50 of my Clubcard vouchers to get a £7.50 Picturehouse voucher. 

I was pleasantly surprised to get a £50 Post Office payout voucher from Lambeth Council today to help with my fuel costs. I will be putting that cash on my electric prepayment meter tomorrow. 

Wednesday2000

I have the hairdresser this morning. I wanted to go in the morning this week so I had to book the senior stylist which is £60 for a wash, cut and blow dry. I didn't know if that was reasonable or not?

I was thinking how MSE I have been with my hair over the years as my mobile hairdresser used to cut both our hair at my old house for £20 for both of us! We used to wash our hair beforehand and dry it ourselves, obviously. This has been since 2006 so I must have saved a lot by not going to a salon in all those years. I'm hoping next time I need my hair cutting she will be available to travel here.

I wanted to go through our bills and check my hand written notes with the online bank account to make sure I have added it up correctly. I am worried about the difference in our energy bills when we switch our heating on. I do have a hot water bottle, thermal tops, a heated blanket and a heated airer. I might get some more tips on the Old Style board about what else might be useful in winter. They have a long thread about it so I might read it one day this week.

My husband is putting £2,000 towards the funeral which is a big chunk, but we have the money after our house move.

My shoulder is still hurting a bit so I haven't done much exercise at all. I did do some walking at the weekend, But I ate so badly while my brother was here. We ate out twice in restaurants as well as getting a takeaway! Too many fries, lol!

I did some decluttering this week and went through our airing cupboard and it feels more organised. We are going to York next month and have booked the kennel for my dog for 4 days. I think we will sort out the garden then. We need to stain the decking, paint the shed etc... and it will be easier without my dog being there to let it dry properly.

I still need to join a local GP and NHS dentist! I did call a few dentists yesterday but they weren't accepting NHS patients, annoyingly.

I'm going to walk to the salon to get some exercise and listen to a podcast.:)