Fab & Glam Part 4 - Spring into Happiness!

[Paddlechick666]

Good Lord people, we've filled a thread up in about 6 weeks!

Anyways, here's a link to the venue Tanee suggested for a picnic:

www.coramsfields.org/index.php

Looks fabulous so let's get planning!

ps: sorry for London/Southern centric take on this but we'll plan hits around the rest of the country too I promise.

pps: Lily, get yer butt on FB woman!

PC shame about hol ! Sorry not been around dd2 had her injections and we have had much screaming here! Just wanted to pick your brains r/e facebook i think dp has signed up using our email ad so it seems i can't join any ideas ?

Lilybubble how are you and dd ? Seems ages since i spoke to you all properly. What a fab job am very am feeling a little housebound at the mo seems too much trouble to pack everything up to go anwhere at the mo!

TFM Weymouth is a lovely place, am sure you would have a lovely time

Baffy hows things going glad to hear you sounding more positive about things!

Dior agree with the others r/e the weight thing , can completely empathise as not very happy at all with my post pg body!

Hi to everyone else hope your all ok Glad to see we still using the freezer joke makes me feel like i never been away!

Has MCD been around ? Hows her dd ?

Funny thing is i really dont feel i want to lower myself to that level at the moment. She is putting more pressure on and is now acussing h of avoiding her . And she is copying in the boss too - ffs they have agreed that there will be no contact at work, but she just cant leave it alone.

I feel a bit smug as i am sure she needs her own closure on this (we can all understand that), but she is not getting it from him and i am not going to give her the satifaction of knowing about our life either.

Have a feeling that it wont be long before she tries to tell me a few 'home truths' about what he is really like.

Trouble is it has gone too far now and everyone is 'trapped' in that h and i dont want to be the ones that make her leave anymore. There is only one option - he will have to take the moral high-ground and offer to leave for the sake of everyone. Although it will be hard i dont think there is another option. We would feel dreadful if she really did lose everything (even if i think she deserves it). Could even make h out to be the angel in all this , now theres a turn up for the books

I still think his work should have sacked the pair of them and i still dont think they have a policy in place for if/when this happens again.

I just hope i can somehow help others to see the enormous fallout affairs can have.

Anyway havent got much time to think about it all much today DD is off sick, it is last day of term and now my washing machine has gone on strike (anyone would think i have overworked it ).

Pc i too am fed up with the cold and want to get some sunshine - and be able to get out in the garden again - i have a huge project to do as we have to gain a bit more garden that now needs planting up.

Hi Lily!! Wow, it's great to 'see' you, and you managed a longish post! I hope everything is still bliss at your end xx

PC. How very dare your boss cancel again! Even I am fuming at this! That is no way to treat an employee!
Thats a shame about Tenerife too I wonder if it's more expensive because of the school holidays. On GMTV this morning they were highlighting the fact that the Easter break is early for some and late for others. Some kids are having Good Friday and Easter Monday off then are going back to school for a week before breaing up for 2 weeks. One poor woman has 5 kids and not one of them are off at the same time!So, maybe the holiday companies have cottoned on!

Hi TFM sorry things aren't good for you at the moment but guess your in the right place.
'Bliss' isn't really what i would use to describe it chaotic, noisy, stressful maybe , but am loving it all the same. Saw another mnetter post from due in March thread who has just had stillbirth so put's things into perspective a bit.
Have also got more adept at doing things one handed again so can mnet and feed dd at the same time
Am determined to catch up and keep up though as you lot gas far too much

Poor woman for not having the children off at once - many of us would pay for that .

I think you are right though the prices go up so much when it is holiday time. And then people wonder why so many children are taken out of school for family holidays.

We have 3 weeks off and it is so expensive to do anything with them and is often cheaper for us to go away in fact.

It's a shame HW that H has to be the one to leave. I agree that the company should have a policy about this sort of thing and that they should both have been dismissed. It wouldn't have been so pleasant at the time but it would have saved you a lot of angst.

If she does decide to contact you to tell you a few home truths, she really will be showing her desperation won't she. I wonder if she is acting more out of frustration, frustration that she has been cast aside without so much as a second glance. I think it's quite admiral of H not to want her to lose everything. Well actually, I think he's a plonker! I am on you with this, I wouldn't care, she knew what she was getting inot, she actively encouraged it so why shouldn't she lose everything.

At least you have anice Easter break to look forwards to. My garden is looking quite lovely at the moment with all the viola's, miniture daffodils and primulas (double headed might I add Lots of weeds too tho which very childishly I am loathe to dig out because once again I have been reminded that this is not my house and I am not welcome here!

Lily, that is so sad, the poor woman. I'm glad you are getting on top of things anyway. It will be nice to have you back on board Thank you for your kind words. I am in quite a good place now, thanks to the Teabags, especially PC and Baffy who have kept me going with their brilliant email and text support. They kept my head above water.

HW you are right, things are terribly expensive. It's not so bad when the weather is good, I take dd for little picnics etc, anything thats free! We went on a caterpillar hunt once but they don't seem to be about anymore. We set off with an empty jar and we came home with an empty jar!! DD like to pretend she is Dora the Explorer

That woman this morning was saying that she isn;t going to get a break at all over Easter, the holidays for her are going to spread over 6 and half weeks, with one child in school for each of them! That will teach her not to send her kids to 5 different schools

Why have you all called yourselves teabags ?

we have that system here too. long weekend for easter then back for a week then 2 weeks off. and my tenerife trip would be the 2nd week so yes it could be that that's pushing the price up.

doesn't leave me any time to squeeze anything in before going to the States tho. i may try for something m mid-may but by then it's almost june and we should be feeling a bit warmer.

i have put my extra hour to good use and booked a hair appt at a new salon near my office. the meeting was over my lunchbreak anyway so why not! it's been a year since i had a trim ffs!

lily, glad you're enjoying the chaos adn good multi-tasking skills.

how terrible for that lady to experience a still birth. i still have a lurking fear that dd is only on loan and have a moment of dread every morning until i hear her stir.

Spring bank is in May PC, so watch for the school hols price hike then too! Ooh exciting, a haircut! or just a trim?

Lily, we are Teabags because, like Teabags, you put us in hot water and we come out stronger! Very fitting don't you think?

That's very good who would have thought calling someone a tea bag would have such a positive connotation!
I know what you mean PC since i saw that yesterday i have been constantly checking on dd2 when she sleeping etc. It's really your worst nightmare isn't it!

TFM Please tell that karma thing is not true - i must have been very wicked - aghhhhhhh - just phoned to get washing m
machine fixed - it is still under gaurentee - earliest is next thursday afternoon and then bloody girl on the phone said the number i was quoting for my model was in fact a freezer - and i was looking at the thing at the time. All she could say was 'well thats what the computer says it is and unless i can tell what it really is the engineer wont know what he is fixing. I said i would take a photo of it an email it to her in case it was my eyes that were not working either and maybe she could find the right * number.

DD still being sick and so loads of towels and bed linen to wash now too, to which this girl is not in the least interested and wanted to get off the phone quick .

Anyway gives me somthing else to rant about.

3 lovely weeks to look forward to now with DCs - they will have to wear the same old smelly clothes too whats new?

i had originally planned that french trip for may 12. would deffo be between the 2 long weekends anyway.

still tempted by either of those trips but for the fact that i have to fly from stansted

just a trim today TFM.

Oh my God HW!! I just had a really wicked thought myself, I thought "oooh, if SG/OW knocked on HW's door right now she would end up in serious trouble How the heck are you going to manage without your washing machine til next Thursday? Tell em you are ging to call out a repair man who actaully knows the difference between a washer and a freezer and you will send them the bill!!

Whats up with it anyway? has it just stopped!

By the way HW, I believe the Karma thing is true thats why I daren't do anything naughty It's not got me very far though has it!

Who knows whats up with the w.m. it is a digital thing and is just coming up with a fault number which then says - you need to call an engineer. But on the up side a friend has just offered me her old one if i want - isnt that lovely .

Almost wish ow would just turn up - i could make her a nice cup of tea - i have some very strong tea-bags i could use .

I am waiting for a call from h now as i think something has been said today. Will let you know what happens later.

TFM i wish you could come and make my garden look as lovely as yours sounds. There is a shortage of gardeners in our area btw.

Funny you should say that HW. I would love to work as a gardener. I've no qualifications but would be will ing to learn Nothing going around here at the moment. I desperately need something that fits in with dd. She needs me!

It sounds like the main 'motherboard' equivalent might have gone on your machine. It is very nice of your friend to offer you one, how lovely.

As for OW latest escapades, yes please, keep us informed. We might have to step things up a gear. It might be time to put the Richard Templar book in a drawer for a while and take off the gloves!!

check this out TFM:

www.learningcurve-uk.com/gardenschool.htm?gclid=CLH5y4bfm5ICFQ5FMAodE0JH7A

i've been thinking about you the last couple of days.

have you explored your options wrt benefits and assisted housing etc?

Well i live in a area where there are how shall we put it a few elderly wealthy people. I have a friend who just does gardening for such people - she cuts the grass does the weeding, plants a few bits here and there but no big overhaul type things - she loves it. It is only summer really but in the winter she does some helping a decorator with the preperation. It is ideal to do around children and school holidays - well unless it always rains!!

I would love to do a college course on how to design a garden but i think i would want to try it all in our own garden and it is not big enough. I am one of those whos sees something nice and then just puts it in and hope it all blends in ok. I will have to get some books out to do this bigger project though as i want to plant a couple of trees and a few shubs to create the backdrop for a cottage garden look.

i like sitting in lovely gardens.

thank god for a) Kew Gardens down the road and b) communal garden all taken care of out the back

Thanks for that PC. Unfortunately, no spare cash to indulge even in a course at the moment. Yes, I have looked into everything I will be entitled to. I am sure I will be ok. Well, I will be ok. I can't be any worse off than I am now. I have a feeling that he may not pay me the housekeeping this month, due to my not cooking for him (even though he is still eating the food from the cupboards) in a way I am hoping he doesn't because I will then go see the benefits advisor and see if I can claim whilst still living here. Also, this time round, I would not be enduring his threats of what would happen if I went to the CSA. I would allow that to happen. I am prepared for every eventuallity. I can't believe how brave I am feeling this time round, nervous but brave. He won't be getting away with anything this time. The only thing that is still bothering me is if I find a house and i need a guarantor. It's finding someone who will do it. They don't make it easy for single parents you know.

Do you remember the 'friend' I had who he took out for a meal? I haven't seen her for years. This morning she stopped to give ds a lift to his interview at college and she asked about me. She told ds to tell me to ring her. Well, I don;t have her number anymore but I am wondering if I should contact her. I don't have and RL friends as such, just the mums from school who I have never let get close for fear of being 'found out'. I know she wasn't the best friend in the world but i am wondering if I would be better with someone onside. Not sure what to do really.
He hates her by the way, he despises her. If he found out we were friends again he wouldn't be very happy. I know this sounds a bit daft but, I have been wondering lately if he only took her out in an effort to break us up as friends. He knew we were close so it would have taken something big. He managed to get rid of the few other friends I had quite easily, just by his manipulation.

HW, that kind of job sounds perfect. I would love to do that. Trouble is, I'm a bit soft and would find it hard to charge little old ladies I am soooo going to have to toughen up!!

As for assisted housing PC I don't stand a chance! I have 150 points. I could go down the abuse route but it would involve other authorities which I am keen to avoid. I want to spare dd as much as I can. i can't put her through that. Not yet anyway, I will if i have to, if it gets desperate. I really need to earn some money that he doesn't know about.

I love just looking at my garden PC. This garden was a tip! I have worked so hard on it, especially during bad times with him. It has been my escape. When I leave I am going to take every single plant and bulb I have planted!

My friend is the same she hates charging them but last year she had got so much work that she decided to really hike her prices up - and actually wanted to 'get rid' of some of the gardens. They all paid the extra without complaint . These really are rich old people and in fact some would be insulted to think you saw it as a favour. My friend is good, but not qualified or in fact very fast - but she is fair and works hard and does not charge for travelling or if she gets things from the garden centre for them (unless they start to take the p*). She makes up lovely tubs and baskets too and has now learnt to charge for her time which she didnt before. She doesnt make a fortune but it gives her enough for us to get together for lunch on those rainy days.

Just heard from h - they do not want him to go at all and have asked him to think about it dont they think he has thought about it for long enough? I still dont think they get it fully. I really dont think she will let him just get on with his life while they are both there.