Runners United: the one where we talk about running, life, the universe and everything inbetween

[Pawsnclaws]

New thread everyone!

Rest for me today - just six days to go and I've woken with a sore throat .....

wheely our DDs are almost exactly the same age, I think - only a few weeks between them (I nearly typed 'a few wees', which about sums it up :o). Have spent the day wrestling with dd over every bloody thing the clash between her view of the universe and mine. Am going to beat the shit out of the treadmill with some intervals shortly.

extremely warm here; bought lidl tops (x2) running trousers and some gloves...they are pretty ugly but then running gear does tend to the Eastern European in its styling ime...

Fanny mine, every time. She is so confrontational, yet uber sensitive at the same time.

Racist. Sample comment "Why can't I call him a negro?"

Rude to random strangers, especially those in the service industry. Sample comment "Yes I did say I want a cappaccino but I don't like all this froth, I want a refund. Yes, yes, I've almost finished it, but I didn't like it"

She's horrible to her son and daughter's friends, dil and sil's friends, her gc's friends. Sample comment to my dneice last week "Why is your friend so fat? She's awfully fat isn't she?" Out loud within earshot of a v. sensitive slightly overweight 15yo.

We (meaning our family and dSIL's family) invite her to places with us, on hols with us to dinners etc because we feel sorry for her (76 yo widow), and she complains about everything then insults everyone. If you call her on this she says "We'll I'm quite acidic" As if it's some sort of syndrome she has that she can't help.

There's just my dh his twin sis and our little families on her side, and we all loooaaaaaaathe her, so we take turns.

Soooo just scrathing the surface here. Your move

Oh and PS: We left London in 1998 and moved to West Cork in Ireland. My poor SIL and her family have to deal with most of this crappola. However they only see her a few hours a week. We now have her until Sunday and having her 24/7 is just so incredibly instense and well just v. v. tense.

Oh God dh is lucky I love him!

encyclo she sounds rather like my mother...her current favourite is 'well, you know I don't give my opinion unless I'm asked for it' . Her favourite topics of conversation include weight (hers, mine, especially mine), bad eating habits of the youth, how London is overrun with rich Africans ('these are not poor people, rhet, they are dripping with gold', um, they come from Somalia, one of the poorest countries in the world), and how to navigate London by bus...

she doesn't much like dp and resents the fact that I now have a family so not as much time for her as she thinks she deserves.

Well MIL lives in West London and she is so filled with hate towards Somalis "They're all stabbing each other, well good riddance I say",

Muslims, especially anyone wearing a head or face covering. "Why don't they just go home if they want to do that?" (Um, because they are home?)

Single mothers "Why are they all so fat and tattoed? Why should I pay for them?" Ugh.

Also my SIL's weight (she's barely a size 16 and really beautiful), my dh's weight (he could afford to lose a stone, but he's gorgeous and fit and healthy, My SILs drinking. She medicates with alcohol when around her mother. Anything American.

Essentially the only things good in this life are The Proms, Shakespeare, London (without all the poor and ethnic people though) and bizarrely the TV show Have I got News for You. "Now that's my kind of comedy"

Oh ya, she's not terribly keen on the Irish either.

Well I have 2 MILs. Surely that means I win?

Yay Moshi that's great news! So pleased for you.

Glad to hear the bottom's better Fanny. I prescribe lots of yoghurt to make your poor old tum feel better.

hi Feetheart glad to hear you're all Lidl'd up!

Great pics Running and you do look amazingly happy and relaxed! I thought there were piles of snow behind you too and was a bit about the localised Cornish blizzards. Then I remembered about the Eden project!!

Lovely, if very muddy 7 miles (in my new Lidl top :)) Much slipping about but managed (miraculously) to stay on my feet and not look too embarrassing at the school gates (bit sweaty tho )

I feel the need to find some more races to keep up with you lot! Though the great thing about park run is that it's free.

My photos are finally appearing ..and as usual I look like I am dying/walking with thighs like an elephant! Won't be buying them!

Sorry, but my MIL wins, no contest. Yours are pussycats compared to the might of Mrs. G. of Royal Tunbridge Wells (please note the Royal as you will have your face ripped clean off if you forget it).

Basically if it isn't white, British and middle class it officially Cannot Be Trusted. Black people (sorry "the blacks") are dirty, they can't help themselves, they're greedy, none of them speak English etc etc. If she sees a black person in the street she literally grips her handbag tightly to her chest because obviously said person wishes to rob her of £5 in change, a packet of tissues and a small tube of mints. Believes everything she reads in the DM or Torygraph about black people, gay people, unmarried parents, foreigh people, unemployed people, etc etc.

She's a very very cold fish. When ds1's twin died at 32 weeks, DH phoned and told her, and also that ds1 was likely to either die or be severely brain damaged. She said - and for this I will never forgive her - "is it too late to get rid of the other one?"

She's also got a very peculiar obsession with other people being overweight. Now I'm no skinny minny but I'm not huge to most people - but according to MIL I'm "grotesquely obese".

She's rude beyond belief - she told her SIL that ds2 was the ugliest baby she'd ever seen and then repeated this in front of me and said "definitely takes after your side of the family."

Do I win a prize?

at Paws

OMG paws !!!!! I can't believe she said that about your DS! That's just awful

paws - your family Christmases must be interesting times...

I am lucky to have a lovely set of PILs and my MIL has sort of replaced my old dad in terms of my "elder" to whom I go to in times of need. It is nice as my mum has always been very un-mumlike so I am getting two rolled into one with my MIL.

Good god paws and encyclo, sounds like your MILs should get together and form a coven with Rhet's mum! Hideous! Amazing what you have to put up with in families. Am very lucky with MIL, who has had her moments, but she is lovely and very generous to us, PILs are coming down next week, and I cannot flipping wait as am about to grind to a blimmin halt, with tiredness.

Am paying for night out today fanny, and I wonder why I'm tired....? Glad the arse issues are over. Love the way you spring back into cleaning action after recovery, you maniac. Slow down woman!

Moshi, dead chuffed to hear the prospects for Sunday are looking good. Am waiting excitedly for awesome time. No pressure mind! Ha ha. I know that as well as being very dedicated and determined, you are a sensible woman, given that you adjusted expectations and time when faced with horrible heat at VLM. Go MoshiFarah!!!

Running, what a great photo! You manage to look relaxed and dead sporty at the same time!

Quite of everyone's new Lidl/Aldi gear.

right, am off to sort out more baby clothes. Jesus wept.

Oh lordy paws, nightmare. I am all too familiar with the Tunbridge Wellians.

The problem with in laws is that whereas I can tell my own parents if I think they are being ridiculous or rude, I can't really do that with the PIL.

I am feeling slightly more disposed towards my PIL tonight after the kettle incident as I discovered they had left us 5 bottles of wine in the utility room. Hurrah! Let them burn more of my kitchen implements.

Very touched fanny and peach wanting to call me "moshifarah".

paws your mum and mine sound like one of a kind - when DP had a miscarriage my mother wrote a card saying that she didn't approve (of the pregnancy), but she was sorry [hshock] it's the fact of writing it down that always gets me - I haven't forgiven her.

slf I kind of have two mils too - DP's and dd's other granny. Fortunately DP's mum is the nicest woman you could hope to meet and really does treat me like a daughter...

just did intervals on treadmill (the only thing I have managed to do today between dd's hollering and carrying on - we are being driven demented and I suppose the only thing to do is to hold firm. I'd like my lovely little girl back please) - 2 mins run + 1 min recovery x 10. It felt fine until the last couple where I pushed myself into 7 m/m territory - which I managed for 2 minutes - just. Amazing to think that moshi runs for hours at that pace

quick scan

Moshi glad to hear you are fit to proceed as planned (more or less)

Paws [hshock] [hangry] say what you will about me but about the child! have you checked for hoof and perhaps horns and tail?

My MIL is lovely as is FIL not full of the warm and fuzzies but great parents to dh and dotting grandparents of the not too hands on variety (thankfully)
And I can have normal intelligent conversations with them on any topic, obviously with occasional differences of opinion, they are Tories who dedicated themselves to the NHS and love it with a passion

back to baking for cake sale tomorrow

I'll give a brief summary of MIL....

Wrecked wedding (paid for whole of DH's Clampitts family) to go to Las Vegas for our wedding) as refused to speak on day, sat sour faced next to me at Spago's in Caesar's Palace and moaned about everything, never said congratulations to either of us.

DH booked a weekend away for when DD3 was 6 weeks old and MIL promised to come and stay with me to help. She didn't turn up, rang 2 hours before he was going and said she was "depressed" but we found out that she went to a christening of a friend's granddaughter instead. DH went away and I was left alone with 2 under 16 months and a 6 year old. Fair enough but DH wouldn't have booked it had his mother not agreed to stay.

Never reliable. Asked 2 years ago for her to look after DD3 (6 months old at the time) while I (DH was away working) took 10 children including DD2 (aged 2) to DD1's Build a Bear party. She didn't turn up and left me high and dry because she was upset I didn't want her to come to the party(!)

Last one that has caused DH to stop speaking to her was that she sided with her daughter who owes us £5000. DH asked his sister nicely if there was any chance of us getting the money back, his mother decided then not to ring us, ignored us when we rang her and the following week arranged a memorial for his other sister, for the first birthday since she passed away last year and didn't invite him. This last incident has hurt DH massively and funnily, she thinks we've fell out with her over the money (which isn't anything to do with her) and has no idea how her actions affect her children.

What hurt me hugely is one day when we were having lunch with her at her house, DD1 asked with bright eyes if she could sleep over there and MIL replied "NO CHANCE, I don't have any of the grandkids staying, can't start it with you cos they will want to stay". Motherfucking bitch.

So to summarise MIL - she is selfish to the core. She prioritises herself, never does anything for our DDs and always lets us down. Funny thing is that she has all the time in the world, she doesn't work and is single.

She is jealous to be honest. Jealous that her son loves me more than her. Which isn't fucking hard to be fair!

There is loads more but that's a whole other thread....

at your MIL fanny, these stories are so shocking! How terrible for you, the DDs, and particularly your DH, he
must be so hard. What a nasty piece of work

will extra count my blessings with mine!!

sfx, now now. You cannot say you are baking cakes and not let us know what????

I meant your DH must be so hurt!

paws rhet encyclo your MILs and DM sound the same person! My Gran can be slightly racist, without meaning to harm (I know, I know, there's no such thing as no harm in racism but you know what I mean) , I definitely believe it is their generation and my gran has no idea it is "wrong". You know we have MILFS (Mothers I would Like to Fuck for any of you who don't read The Star) well we now have MILILK - Mother In Law i'd Like to Kill.

peach I hope you have rested today. Was your evening enjoyable though, considering huge bump?! I remember being dragged to see Destiny's Child kicking and screaming by a friend whilst pregnant with DD1, poor DD1 bounced around in my womb like a ping pong ball and I was terrified I had caused her harm! PFB at it's worst. Yes, I have been like a mad woman today, I am a mad woman 14 hours a day and when ill, am itching to straighten the bed of creases even while I am shitting in it...

sticky thanks and hope that you remembered to remove the Lidl label from your top before turning up at school gates. Can you imagine the horror if mums actually thought we bought clothes from there!? Well done on rough 7 miler through mud. Hardcore bitch!

futurity I demand to see said photos.

Moshifarah you deserve the title. Howeverrrrr we may revoke it if chip time on Sunday is ANYTHING less than

Moshi great news so pleased you can still do it. We had a buzz light year that would randomly say 'to infinnity and beyond' in the middle of the night. Why is it always in the middle of the night, freaky.
Welcome feetheart and well done on the 10k
Great Picture Running you look very relaxed.
Fanny glad you feeling better. Think you do deserve a mcds.
paws, thats awful.
Regarding mil's, my mil is lovely infact we were good friends before me and dh got together. But my ex mil, well lets just say she would not of been out of place on the show shameless. I could tell you some awful stories but wont depress you. Ex was not brought up by her but explains some of his issues. I did think he was stable when I got with him. she has only ever seen ds1 twice when he was born and when ds2 was born and only seen ds2 once. The last I heard she was living with guy on drugs, she has quite severe mental issues. Its quite sad really.

Hmm. Cannot seem to do both italics and bold...

fanny, you crack me up, imagining you pondering your hospital corners whilst destoying the sheets with yer bug!!

I did enjoy it ta, though had to sit down 5 mins before end as was feeling a bit hot and bothered. I hasten to add it was a teeny tiny venue, so no moshpit or anything like that. Had a bit of a nap while DD at playgroup this morning though was ruined by delivery at door (damn you thank you Amazon). Spent avo on sofa with DD. Me almost falling asleep moat of the time and her fighting against sleep, though she was knackered. Going to bed at 9 frankly tonight!!! I honestly don't know how I'm going to manage for another 5 weeks (wimp emoticon)

Oh lordy, I thought my MIL was awful but it seems I'm not alone ! I couldn't even begin to list all her awful selfishness it would take too long... briefly when I first met her she asked how big DH's (boyfriend then) penis was as she hadn't seen it since he was 4, the week before our wedding she got drunk fell down the stairs broke her ribs and punctured a lung all after an argument over the seating plan, at our dd's christening a friend of mine came with her little boy who has Downs Syndrome and my MIL screamed out loud "get him away from me", her sister's son committed suicide and she gloats that at least all her children are still alive ... it is a shame because she does have mental health problems and is a borderline alcoholic but there is only so much that I can put up with and only so much that can be excused by mental illness. Occassionally I get glimpses of the warmhearted, generous and kind person she could be and maybe was once but it never lasts. She complains we never go to see her, but when we do she gets drunk and makes a scene so everyone feels uncomfortable. She came to visit last weekend and uttered the words I never wanted to hear, "we are thinking of moving closer to you so we can see you more often" . The reason for this? She reckons FIL will be dead in 5 years and she doesn't want to be on her own. You have my sympathies Paws, encyclo and rhet.

Phew, got on a bit of a roll there! Anyway just wanted to say fab news Moshi you are superwoman indeed!! I ran 3 miles today and managed to maintain 8.04 m/m for the last mile before collapsing in a heap. How you maintain a faster pace for a marathon I don't know - total respect!

Lovely pics running you look like you are really enjoying yourself .

Okay off for a stiff drink after pouring out MIL angst - on a final MIL note, she showed how much she appreciates me as a DIL last Christmas when she gave me my present - a pair of socks. Not wrapped. With the comment "you might want to wash them I wore them last week" .

orange You are lucky to have a nice MIL - what spooks me about mine is that she acts like your best friend but isn't. Wolf in sheeps clothing. How sad about your ex-DH though, sometimes problems are down to mental health and I pity those who suffer but when people are just downright selfish, well, they don't deserve a family in my eyes. Blood certainly isn't thicker than water to me, you treat people no matter WHO they are, as you wish to be treated yourself. Karma is a bitch though and my MIL will end up a sad, lonely, old woman. DH won't give her the dog shit off his shoe even if she was begging for it and she can only blame herself.

peach DH actually says he doesn't care but I think deep down, it hurts, it must.

MoFarah we'll let you off, you have a lot on your mind other than italics and bold.