MN Little Italy 20 ........Buon Natale !

[Rosa]

Here we are then ........

Oh yes Franca the white toasted bread with salted butter. I used to eat so many in the morning that half way through the hol the family locked the fridge ! Really and truly!!! (Another friend got told not to shower too much as well ). Ah the British !!
I put on 5kg minimum everytime. (They are still with me to this day).

okay ciao.

mmmh now you really make me want to read that thread! am supposed to apply for a job and only have an hour, so can't risk being sucked in.... I really hate the dynamics of some of the MN threads... i remember once posting about going to visit a private school and a sixteen year old student telling me she was "most best at art" and being shocked at the poor standards of education and within minutes i had hordes of people telling me i was crazy and awful and what did i expect from a school and anyways my grammar is not great either . Bonsoir has a way of getting people's backs though, never understood whether it's intentional or not. either way, she genuinely doesn't care, which is brilliant.

You lot are making me feel really un-intellectual, Penthe and SG, your choices of "low-brow" books are both things I read and loved, Everything is Illuminated is, IMO, brilliant and one of those books that really stayed with me. the "cleverness" is a bit grating at the beginning but i liked it nonetheless.

Hello, Masseuse yes I remember your thread. You had made the cardinal sin to criticize a very young person (you were criticizing the school, of course, but most people chose not to consider it), therefore someone's DAUGHTER. How very dare you? Kids are perfect, doncha know.

You evil people! I got up early to do some work in peace, made mistake of checking in, followed the link and have been sucked in to THAT thread. Well I am bemused! By most people on it. Except you Penthe of course . So many questions!!! Why does MN so often descend to playground mentality? Why do people care sooooo much about what people they have never/will never meet say and do? Why would you start a thread like that as a wind up? Boh! Bonsoir has balls of steel it must be said . Anyway somehow from there I ended up on the Wootten Bassett thread which then turned into the most stomach churning, BNP fuelled bollocks I think I have seen so far on MN and now I feel a) thoroughly soiled and b)very behind on aforementioned work I got up early to do!
Evil evil Mumsnet!

Yes, I remember that thread too, I did feel sorry for you, it was a class.

about class

ok i have a very un-intellectual problem. The only pair of jeans that fit me have a rip in my inner-thigh. I can't wear them, right? what do you think?

You can be arrested for that in Switzerland, no?

I wouldn-t risk it personally. Go and shop for some new ones at once because a) sales are on now and b) will be easier before your DDs arrive.

Is it true btw you can be fined in Switzerland for not fixing a dent in your car?

Almost certainly Sput!!! And I am flying back to Rome today so if I make it through customs here I am bound to be arrested by my mum.... but what do I wear instead???

But NOTHING fits me and shopping for jeans is the worst thing in the world for me....

Here I am ......
Have lots to catch up on but we made it back ok in fact how very very lucky we were seeing that the rest of Cornwall was snow bound on the 5th but we were ok getting to the main roads and then just took it slowly. The airport was closed first thing but our plane was 20 mins late . At LGW we were on time and miniorsa IMO behaved well much better than outbound .Mind you DH and I were both mega stressed!
Not going to Tenerife (ask me how MEGA P OFF I am .....)we decided to wait to see how MR flew and it was such a terrible journey over that Dh said he couldn't face it..I was sort of in agreement but we had a fine trip back she stood and bounced and we had a toddle up the aisle no mega screaming. I suggested a last minute booking and dh said no he couldn't face it. Cost wise we have a full refund for one flight which covers the car rental we had in the UK plus some insurance for travel delay so we are not out of pocket... I picked up a virus in the Uk it basically exhausts you ( maybe its called Christmas????)plus I never stopped when I was there so a break would be sooo nice . Oh well I have so much unpacking and sorting to do that it will take me until spring anyway...WIll catch up later on after I have done the insurance claims etc etc etc..Oh yes and fed children
Hope you are all ok .........

This is the reason I haven-t worn jeans since I got pg with DD. Apart from fluctuating size I have never had the leisure and opportunity to cruise around trying on a million pairs of jeans to find the right ones. In 6 years!

Do you have your nun dress?

Welcome back Rosa! Glad you got home ok and shame about Teneriffe.

ciao Rosa!!! i am totally with you, also need a break...

ok, off to discard my beloved jeans and hunt for something else. it's minus 5 here so dress is a big no no, i think i need fleecy trousers or something

welcome back Rosa. Gutted for you re holiday!
MM get a pair of waders if you are coming to Rome-vile wet weather!

hi everyone... really of all the reading you lot are doing, just can't find the time

saw that thread the other day, but swirched off, otherwise I get hooked and never leave MN and then never get anything done. and I need to do work, lots of stuff that I really don't think I shoud be doing (apparently is the year of change and success for pisces, I might manage to get a new job [hopeful emoticon]), plus the whole house to clean/tidy/hide before mum gets here (if Gatwick is open that is)

MM, wear the nun dress with 2 pairs of tights, thick long socks and biker boots, I've found that a lot warmer than jeans.

school open but ds has a cold and couldn't really face going to pick him up later [bad mum emoticon] - our non-cleared pavement is fine to walk on, but the main road's one is just an icerink, it was quite scary last night walking back from the station, so didn't fancy doing that with the 2 dc.

sorry about your missed hols, Rosa, DH keeps on checking various deals for feb school break, but I should really get a new car....

anyway, wasn't even meant to be here, so much work but can't check our own website on work laptop

The Bonsoir thread is really quite "interesting". She herself does not perhaps put things in the most diplomatic way possible (common sin amongst us foreigners I think- though I do not know if she is a native speaker or not) but the others were unbelievable. I did not have the stamina to read through 40 pages, but the arrogance of most of those who replied was incredible. So if some of them regularly put on 4kgs in two weeks, it must be fine to do so, and because they lead an unhealthy lifestyle, it must be wrong and "supponente" for others to try and have one (and bring up kids for whom they have parental responsibility that way too). Just as well that by the time I read bits of it the thread was overfull.

Also amused that weighing 55kgs is a sin and means one automatically has weight issues. That was my pre-pregnancy weight (reached with some effort after GP said I needed to aim for a BMI of 20 to improve conception chances) and if the poor kids have gone from 51 to 55 in two weeks of course (1) they will have noticed; (2) many clothes will no longer fit; (3) it is a lot!

Franca and others: have we all put on weight the first few times we came to the UK? The enduring memory of my first holiday here (Suffolk, 1989) was buying my first (and last) large Mars bar, eating it in one session on my way back to school, through the fields, and being very sick. Never liked Mars again. Three years later I spent a term at a girls' boarding school (still in the middle of nowhere in deepest Suffolk) and went from 46 to 52 kgs in 4.5 months, courtesy of biscuits at break times, compulsory puddings (which I loved), jam-filled doughnuts and Danish pastries for weekend teas and mountains of toast and salty butter (which I used to munch my way through while hiding in a cupboard and reading, instead of dutifully freezing by the hockey pitch to cheer the others). Did not notice at the time because it was an old-fashioned place where we almost never wore home clothes- lost it quite quickly when I went back to a normal Italian lifestyle...

Mmh- bit of a weight-focussed post. Sorry. Read some of that thread late last night, so I guess it stayed on my mind for a bit.

Sorry about your missed hols and the bug Rosa: it really sounds like you need a break. Any chance of at least a weekend break somewhere you can relax and be pampered?

Carrying on with unintellectual comments. MM/Sput: sympathise on jeans buying. Or actually trouser-buying in general, as I have amphora-shaped hips that mean dresses are a much better option. Then my (much more fashion-aware) sister had me try Seven jeans. They are more expensive than the rest, but they also do wonders for the typical Italian figure, I think, so, at least in my view, worth it (after all, can one put a price on a nicely shaped bottom?). Also, they minimise shopping time, as I no longer bother trying anything else. Who knows when I will fit in mine again though...

Speaking of which, I should be off to cook lunch. DH is working from home today, so want to offer him something nice rather than the warmed up leftovers I would have if I were on my own...

Hi SG, yes, I also put weight on when I came to the UK as a teen, I adored toasted white bread with salted butter and binged on choc digestives!

What do you reckon is the healthy weight for a middle aged woman, 1.70m tall? Trying to lose my baby weight, not dieting as I don't think diets ever work, but exercising, not sure though what I should aim for. I am 65kg plus at the moment, but I do eat too many cakes, etc.

Hi Rosa, .

I am going to make a list of interesting exhibitions I want to see to liven up these winter days, with and without baby in tow.

Oops, sorry, my post is also about weight and exercise. So as not to look, ehm, too shallow, I will say that doing exercise in the last few days has really got my serotonin going and improved my energy levels!

Hello Rosa welcome back! Such a shame about Tenerife, I was hoping you were there already

Gio, did you get to wear you UGG boots?

So, I suppose the common denominator of LI first experience of the UK is bread and salted butter . How pathetic the Italian butter is compared to the nobler, creamier English one?

So McNulty, what sort of exercise are you doing nowadays? I really need to find an activity but:

• the closest gym I have here is fab fab fab, but too expensive (they asked me 1000 euros for an abbonamento of 17 months. Quite convenient really, but I had to pay my taxes at that time and what if I don't get to go as much as I should?)
• should I start running? Can you run if you chronically suffer from backache?
• swimming pool. Too lazy for that...

The sad reality is that I hate sport, apart from skiing, which is bad for my back, and it's not dietro l'angolo

Jeans. Buying jeans is a nightmare. I agree with SG that there are some jeans that are worth the price.

I hate the gym, hate being with people tbh, I love being alone when exercising, getting away from the kids, dp, house, friends, etc. I go running, I love it when I get in the swing of it. You also get to see results pretty quickly.

Having said this, roads are too icy today, so instead of jogging I am having pane e nutella with lots of butter. Also doing sit ups, first few days my tummy muscles were in agony!!!!

Mentally, as I said, I feel an enormous difference,mellower, still have my grumpy days, but I blame my mother for those.

If you have back ache you should probably jog on grass, ai giardinetti maybe? Get also pproper trainers. As Pippi and I were saying though, the only way to stick with it is to draw up a schedule and stick to it.

What do you think is a healthy weight at our aage? Between 55 and 60kg?

My wii age is 57 yet my weight comes up as perfect. Hmm, so I am thin, but unbalanced? Sounds about right.....

I just ploughed through the thread.... I am honest enough to say there are times when I couldn't disagree more with BA (Meredith Kercher) but the last time I was on one of threads (can't remember about what, but during the Amanda Knox is gor-juss hoohah) I was agreeing with her. I think that's an issue some MNers have, once you disagree with someone over something you always have to do so. For me online life isn't that important. I might agree with her today, and disagree vehemently tomorrow and will tell her so. Same with anyone....(I am more gobsmacked tbh that after all 40 pages it turned out to be a wind-up. I'd say that is one disturbed individual actually, but hey ho)

We made it back to Puglia, having been de-iced at Stansted. It's very mild here and am missing the snow a bit. At least dd had the snowy Christmas thing while she is still young enough to appreciate it.....

Must go and change festive name to something more January-like....

was it a wind-up?