Frump to Fab 2022 - The Big One

helensbiggestfan

Good morning lovely ladies. 

Love the idea of a birthday advent calendar in the run up to big birthdays.  

Chanie had to chuckle at the idea of your daughter regarding 10 as a big birthday because she goes into double digits.  And why not. 😂.  Life is short, I think we should all take every opportunity we can to celebrate life and feel special.  Extra special treats don't necessarily need to cost a lot of money.  I think it's often about forward planning, the way SUgarbaby does. 

SUgarbaby you are right about sourcing bargains on the likes of EBay.  I have decided that whilst I do have enough clothes for now I might treat myself to a couple of nice handbags this year.  And maybe some jewellery.....

I often see the most amazing furniture bargains but have never bid. I know you bought quite a few pieces.   Can I just ask pick your brains and ask how you went about shipping.  How did you find couriers.  Any tips or advice would be very much appreciated.  🙏😁

Well today I have decided I am going to join WW.  It's time. 

Now that the house has warmed up nicely my fibro is a little easier so it's also time to get back into exercising.  I managed a few stretches yesterday so will take it from there, building up gradually.  

I have got the EA coming this week so need to give the house a "little tickle". I do still have a few outstanding jobs to tackle before the house is market ready but I'm aiming for around Easter.  I have got my "little man" coming on Friday to run through my list and give an idea of prices and timescales.  I say little he is 6ft 4", blond and Blue eyes.  He's like a Viking.  Shame he's married. Only joking.......  

I am really looking forward to putting my plans  into action this year.  I'm soooooo ready for a new challenge.  I have been feeling quite lethargic of Late. Not boredom  as such but definitely lacking "oooomph" 😂🤣.  

Covid has been a long hard stretch and I'm tired of putting my life on hold.  I know it's not really "over" and we've got to learn to live with it but I'm hopeful that I can kickstart my life again.  I want my Va Va Voom back. 

I'm not getting any younger...... 

Watty1

Finally joining in.   Got sick with a virus (not that virus) New Years Eve and spent first two weeks of the year in bed and then migraines kicked in and pretty much continual migraines.  For reasons I've shared elsewhere but wont bore you all with the last 2 years have been awful for me.  My skin looks dreadful (reading here I've been wondering if i should change my routine a bit), I'm unfit, still struggling with headaches and I'm sitting in my office about to start work in a thermal polo neck and old cardi and jeans.    Am looking forwards to going to my own home tonight (I rent somewhere I love but say at the ex 'marital' home when the ex is away as my office is there) having a lovely hot shower (there is no gas here so no hot water) and washing my hair.   

My skin itches continually (any ideas?)  and I am so in need of feeling fabulous.  My intention is that this will be a great year, if the ex won't settle (we are not married) then I will simply start over.  Which at 60 is a challenge but if I feel fab I can rise to it.

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

Welcome Watty1   

Chanie, I am planning a 60th birthday party in the pub, I go to regularly and also some family and friends 60th birthday meals in restaurants that I particularly like. 

Then I will most probably just have a family birthday party for my daughter's 30th birthday, as she does not want too big a celebration. I normally collect the appropriate number of birthday presents for big birthdays and give the family member 10 times the number birthday in money. So for my daughter's 30th, I have to find 30 inexpensive gifts and will give her £300 in her birthday card. 

LL I used Shiply to find a local removal man for my 1st furniture buy on eBay on the advice of the business seller I was purchasing the item from. I had to pay Shiply a £12 fee on top of the removal man's quote. So for all of my further furniture eBay buys, I got a direct quote from my local removal man. He and his colleague were so professional, courteous and took such care with my 1st delivery of the oak sideboard and the oak shelving unit that I knew they would be reliable for my other furniture deliveries. 

chanie

@helensbiggestfanyour description of the Viking is conjuring up all sorts of images of him turning with a Viking helmet and giant hammer.  

I did one of those jokey ancestry facial recognition apps and I got some Viking in my analysis, which made me laugh as despite having mixed heritage, Viking certainly isn’t on the list.  But I’m a history buff, so I love my fake Viking heritage  and so I’m keeping it.

@Watty maybe you should start again with your skincare.   Start with a basic face wash and moisturiser and providing your skin doesn’t react, start to introduce other products.  I use The Ordinary products, which are cheap.  You can email them for a personalised routine:
https://deciem.com/en-gb/theordinary/regimen-builder.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq-rGsb7K9QIVG-rtCh04HwYLEAAYASAAEgJ6AvD_BwE

@sugarbaby125 I like your idea for present giving. OH is 50 this year and I did consider getting him 50 gifts to open, but I’d  struggle to think of 50 things.  I think he’d prefer a fewer but more expensive gifts, so I’m going to get him a bottle of his favourite tipple, some aftershave and a few other bits and sort out his main present nearer the time.

helensbiggestfan

Thanks for that SUgarbaby.  

welcome Watty.  you are never too old to make a fresh start.  💃. 

Agree with Chanie maybe time for a rethink of your skincare routine.  

Sadly skin drying out is part of the ageing process.  Great if you were cursed with oily skin when you were younger but more of a problem for those of us who had normal or combination skins.  Winter is harsh on skin, cold winds, central heating.  Sounds like you need to "go gentle". Tbh it's trial and error, just a case of finding what's right for you.  

I too have very sensitive skin. For years I got away with the "Simple" range. Cheap as chips and available from any supermarket.  Then my skin revolted (don't know if they changed the composition or ingrediients) I kept trying different products until I have recently settled on dermoligica. Unfortunately not cheap, but a little goes a long way and you can often get offers on eBay.  

I've not tried the Ordinary range but I have heard good reports so I think I might give it a go myself, now that mine has calmed down.  

Maybe try drinking more water.  It might also be worth trying a supplement such as evening primrose oil or starflower oil. You will need to take it for a few months before you see a real difference.  What are you eating......you do need to make sure you are eating enough fats, especially omega 3 found in oily fish and olive oil. Going for too strict a low fat diet can really affect the skin. 

Re the itching.......sounds like it could be excema or pre excema.  For emergencies you could use 1% hydrocortisone cream. You can buy it OTC without prescription. You aren't supposed to use it on your face very often (actually not at all but I have cheated occasionally) and certainly not for long periods of time (it thins the skin) but if you avoid the eye area it should be ok for extreme emergencies to stop you scratching and causing more damage.  

Avoid products containing SLS sodiumlaurelsulphates, including shampoo and hair conditioner.  Herbal essences are budget friendly SLS free. Be careful with bubble Baths, shower gels etc. Maybe look at Oilatum, Aveeno or Sanex. 

And......at the risk of sounding contentious......you might need to reduce how often you Bathe or shower.  I'm not suggesting we need to go around being dirty or smelly, but if your skin is really drying out maybe go easy on the hot baths and/or showers.  The odd "strip wash", concentrating on our more intimate areas, and underarms and feet, wont do any harm. In fact our skin might be grateful.  

I know cleanliness is next to godliness, and theres nothing nicer than than a leisurely soak in a luxurious bubble bath but we don't always need a daily bath or shower to ensure we are clean and fresh.  When you do bathe or shower than make sure you have a good old slather with lashings of body lotion, body butter or body oil. 

If you want a cheap body oil make your own.  Mediterranean women swear by olive oil. They use gallons of the stuff. Personally I don't like the smell so I use Grapeseed oil, slightly more expensive but still much cheaper than the premium beauty brands and just as good.  For a luxury scented body oil, add some of your favourite perfume or some natural oils. I love Neal Yards orange blossom oil.  Do a roughly 1:10 ratio. 1 drop of natural oil for 10 ml Grapeseed/olive oil.  

Always store perfumes, body oils etc away from direct sunlight, they will go rancid very quickly if they are sat on a sunny bathroom windowcill. The darker the storage the better.  

Did anyone watch Trigger Point.  My mate VickyMcClure is back, this time as a bomb disposal expert. Preposterous of course but huge fun. This time I won't be copying Vicky's hairstyle - she wears it scraped back in a top knot - not even remotely flattering. 😂. She's also ditched her bra and not a scrap of make up.  She wanted "authenticity".   Even so she's still gorgeous. Damn her. 😂🤣

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

I went to watch the fil The 355 at my local Odeon cinema yesterday and loved it. For me personally it was a 9/10 

I woke up this morning to no central heating and hot water again!    Condenser boilers are such a pain. As I have more than one from of Arthritis, my housing association has agreed that it is an emergency repair. Lucky for me, I have an electric heater to keep my Living room warm for these emergency occasions. 

I wrapped all of the presents for my Great grandson's 1st birthday this morning. 

My daughter found herself a part time job in our local Primark. She started work yesterday.   

[Deleted User]

Hello fabbers, apologies that I haven't posted in a while.  I've been thinking about specifics that I want to focus on for the month ahead.  

Firstly, my hair needs some TLC.  I have fine hair and it's getting even finer as I get older, breaking easily.  When I wash it alot of hair breakage occurs.  My plan is to use Philip Kingsley elasticiser regularly - weekly if I can fit it in and see how that works.  There is also a bond builder which I might try as well.  I'm also going to do scalp massage to see if this helps.

My facial skin - I am in the process of switching over to Dermalogica as my old skincare runs out. I am quite lazy with skincare and often don't do any nightly routine at all.  But I need to up my game as I am noticing some fairly major signs of aging.
My plan: Bulid in a proper night time routine for skincare
               Do a weekly/twice weekly facial
               Start doing regular facial massage/possobly some facial exercises

My weight is an ongoing issue.  I have lost my new year mojo and am back into old bad habits.  I want to reset and start fresh today.  I 
My plan:  Walk daily - indoors to a YT video if need be
                Reset the 'mindfulness' aspect of my plan - read the book, listen to the CDs, journal daily

I'm going to make an effort to log in and update more often here as well to keep myself accountable.

Wednesday2000

Hello everyone.:) Too many posts to comment on!

The person buying our house now is a BTL investor and has already come for a second viewing which I took as a good sign! The estate agent said if they move quickly they could be ready by the end of March. I am just keeping my fingers crossed.

Anyway, I am just ordering some new clothes from New Look. I was going to go and look around charity shops but I really can't be bothered and I saw NL have an offer of 20% when you spend £40 and over. I have picked some new black ankle boots, trainers and I'm just looking for some basic long sleeved tops and maybe a jumper.

My skin is looking quite good as I have been sticking to a new skincare regime religiously. I'm drinking tons of water and green tea too. I need to go to Superdrug to stock up on things like skin scrub, cotton buds etc... I have been sticking to cutting out alcohol too and haven't found it that hard at all. I think the magnesium salts in my nightly baths are helping my sleep as well.

I am going to go out next week to see a film and go for a meal again as I didn't really feel like the last time really counted as it was quite frenetic as we were walking around a lot. I did see Jimmy Carr is in Essex soon but the tickets were sold out.

I started watching a show on Netflix last night. Archive 81. It is a spooky thriller and I am quite enjoying it. We got into bed to watch it as it was so chilly last night. We have watched 4 episodes and are half way through.

I'm just going to finish this order and then have a bath and get dressed and go for a walk. I'm going to come back and make us lunch and watch another episode before my husband goes out.

chanie

@Wednesday2000 fingers and toes crossed for your new buyers.

I’m super excited because I have a meeting tomorrow just down the road from home, so I get to walk there and back. I’m not a walkable distance to anywhere of interest, so it’s a real novelty for me.

sashybo

Hi all, my word for this year is consistency and it’s already going to pot. 😂

I had covid a couple of weeks ago, luckily not severe, I was achey and very tired. Somehow my DH & the kids all managed to avoid catching it.

I weighed myself this morning and have put 4lbs back on. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I know this is due to lack of exercise and comfort eating whilst being stuck in the house again.

Last night I did 15 mins of bedtime yoga and this morning have done 25 mins of get fit with Rick walking on y0utube. 

Still feeling tired but only a bit more than usual so hoping it will pass soon.

I think it was Watty who was asking about skincare. I like a lot of the Superdrug own brand stuff, the vitamin E hot cloth cleanser and naturally radiant one are both good. 

If you look up Sali Hughes, she is a beauty writer who gives some good skincare and makeup recommendations. 🙂