Right then I'll explain, a long post so bear with or ignore...so firstly, I needed a bit of girly help to help me stop panicking and tell me it was easy to look presentable, which I got 
The reason I was worried is because DC3 is only 4mo and I had a horrible C-section which meant I didnt lose the baby weight v quickly. I'm not bad now but a lot of my nicer clothes are still too tight and I am self-conscious about it.
I would OBVIOUSLY look presentable for work but I wanted to look a bit er, cool as well, which I wanted some tips on because I worry about looking a bit mumsy which doesnt go with the job. I know we all lead busy lives and mine is no exception. Studying, working and looking after DC is very demanding and like I'm sure lots of us, I often neglect pampering/maintaining myself. Me-time I guess is the first thing to go for me and I looked in the mirror and thought I needed a hand, certainly to look anything like the standard that I would be comfortable with for this contract, and with a few weeks to go I was hoping for a few tips to help boost my confidence with a limited time and budget so I could just look my best- again job done thanks to the others on this thread.
I have also tried to spend as much time as poss with the DC of late because I know work is going to take me away a lot and I feel guilty about this and will miss them. I suppose I put looking nice on the back burner a bit and hadn't done my hair/nails etc for a while. I have addressed some of these as a result of this thread. ta.
The watch thing is a long story but I did have a lovely watch which was stolen and I have another very nice one which is broken and will cost £££ to fix which I cant justify with Xmas coming and 3DC. So I had an old one on and it was just rubbish and about to fall apart, I have bought a cheap but funky one to wear thanks to this thread
THe reason we can be broke, despite what I do (which BTW I haven't told you) is that
- Whilst my job pays a great day rate I might only work two or three days a month and so money can still be tight and there is no guarantee of work at any point, this also means I have to have a couple of strings to my bow, do a couple of different things.
- DH doesn't work because when I do get a contract it is often/mostly away from home and he looks after the DC and otherwise supports my work in other ways
- What I do requires huge amounts of training and qualifications which take time, involve tons of travelling and absorb money, and even then there are only a few people who are allowed to do it. I am just about getting to see the fruits of all of the study, training and hard slog when I found out I was PG with DC3 and have missed out on a few jobs as a result. Finances will be very stretched until I get more work which thankfully is coming hopefully soon.
I have worked and studied my arse off to get this opportunity and have done loads of jobs which were horrible, badly paid, dubious and even dangerous, in order to be in a position to do what I do now which I love.
I also do lots of pro-bono work because many people who need my help can't pay the normal fees that slebs etc do to the firms I contract with. So whilst I make a decent living we are not loaded and even if we were there are bigger priorities than me spending a fortune on me just now, if you see what I mean. Most of the advice I got was girly, friendly and so nice and I appreciated it all more than you all realise, I obviously cant really talk to RL girlies about most of this. Most assignments are not this glamourous and it is exactly for that reason that I was genuinely worried and asked for help.
I really hope people can understand more now about why I posted and can sympathize at least a bit about the circumstances. I will post any gossipy tidbits on this site after the job is finished sometime next week.