The Creped Crusaders - new thread!

[wilbur]

New thread for chatting. Oh and swapping S&B tips.

Having a manic day here - INSET day at school and I have 7 kids (inc my 3) over for lunch. While also trying to "work from home" and talk to removal people.

Oh MrsS you must do a Primarni shop when you come for the Crepeys meet-up - cheap and cheerful and presumably not often seen in Pareee?

Hello all, seems like weeks since I posted. Lots going on football-club-wise, plus SATs and sports tournaments, and we had a busy weekend with parties, people for lunch and the sudden appearance of my darling dad (who brought loads of lovely Evesham asparagus, so he's forgiven for just turning up).

at the stylish cycling footwear dilemma, Ruby. Those look good and sturdy - I have slipped off the pedals a good few times while cycling in inappropriate footwear.

at your lovely Champneys day, BTM.

at the thought of being on the beach eating crab sandwiches with the Boden crowd, Herbs. 'Tis chuffin' hot inland!

Loving the sunshine, though; at last I'm getting some wear out of my summer stuff. Today, I am wearing a Florence & Fred (Tesco) dress that must be at least six years old, but I love it to bits - fine cotton wrap-style, in black with abstract white flowers. And I finally got my legs out!

I am wearing Frocks at the moment .

MrsS, my 11 year old is shooting up and acquiring bosoms too. She is still quite skinny but definitely a Bit More On Her than there used to be. And she is nearly my height although as she points out this just makes her Normal .

MI - I think there is going to be a lot of stuff coming the way of the Inferiorettes, from the Schadenfraulein shortly. (Do your Inferiorettes wear dresses, btw? Quite stylish French ones, nothing frilly or frou frou.)

Am a bit pissed off to see that I cannot get a refund for the shorts that don't fit her as the shop has a "special promotion" on, and I can only get a credit note or exchange for something else.

I think they would give a frock a whirl .

Well I will bring a bag over with me when I come then. It doesn't look as if DD1 got through to the finals of the short story competition, and she is very disappointed, as she felt her story this year was better than last year's (when she came 3rd). I have said we will find another competition to enter for her.

We had a very outdoorsy weekend and spent Sunday at the beach - but we were feeding the crabs bacon rather than eating crab sandwiches. :) The children and I even went for a "swim" (i.e. ran into the water, ducked down, shrieked wildly and exited the water again very quickly). Very, er, refreshing.

I am rather pleased that my efforts at circuits mean that my summer trews fit rather better than they did last year, although there is still room for improvement. S&B news: I am currently trialling the Sunsense tinted factor 50 sunscreen (as linked to by MI) and so far, so splendid. I have also started my attempt at the oil cleansing thingy, using almond oil (on offer at Holland and Barrett at the mo'!) and I am v. v. pleased with the results after a week. All smooth and lovely I am. Well, all things are (ahem) relative, obviously.

I had to take dd for her CAMHS assessment this morning. This was more gruelling than I had anticipated (in fact I had been carefully avoiding thinking about it as knew it wouldn't be much fun), but the upshot is that she is being offered treatment and support. I won't blather on about the details, for obvious reasons. I feel that it is good that certain things are out in the open now, but feel a bit wobbly about it all.

PS: OOOOOh @ Champneys, BTM. Sounds like you had a good time!

Hello all. I am on serious exercise/diet regime. Lots of swimming and stomach exercises (I hurt ). Ds isn't growing any extra bits yet :) but is shooting up ( I refuse to buy new trousers before the end of the school year, but might get some shorts and hope the weather stays warm enough for him to wear). Garden looking better after four hour hack!

Stropps hope you are okay....

And crepeys (looks round furtively) we are cautiously optimistic as have accepted offer on house and had offer accepted......

Ooooohhh BD, cautious!

Stropps, thanks for the heads-up on the H&B almond oil - am braving Primarni and Sports Direct later so will pop in there too! Glad CAMHS are offering support

ruby, you do know that as soon as you buy a lovely new summer wardrobe, it will rain non-stop, don't you?!

So Crepeys, the 8th is on? Where to?

I have had a four day weekend and am still tired.

Ruby - I have no idea what I wore last summer either. I have a beige linen skirt that won't stay up (it wouldn't last year either) - will get DD1 to run it in a bit, a dark brown one, which I love, but is a bitch to iron and won't stay up either and I don't seem to have any tops that go with it, and, err, that's it. Oh, and a lovely black linen one that's a bit tight. That's for work. I also have a pair of cropped jeans that are so big they have been known to fall right down. I really do need to stop buying stuff that is bigger than I need.

MrsS, you and ruby should go on a shopping spree together!

Calling Stropps! I have purchased the Sweet Almond Oil, and some rather expensive Argan Oil (which was on special too) - what do I do next? I am thinking pour a bit into my hand, add a few drops of Argan and massage into my face before removing with hot muslin a la Eve Lom/Liz Earle?

Hellooo, hellooo. Grabbing a few mins of properly working internet at work as I only have a dongle currently at home, which is very rubbish indeed. It would be quicker for me to walk to your houses, hand you a note each and then walk home than attempt to surf MN through the dongle.

Anyway, house move is all done, or rather we are living among piles of boxes and other piles of things that came out of boxes which we don't yet have a place for. It's been quite stressful - not so much the move (although I did almost have a mini-stroke on the moving day when the van couldn't get down the drive) but the trying to keep life going as normal around the boxes. I could do with a quiet week at home, sorting things, calling the internet man and the council and the alarm guy and the plumber etc etc, but am too busy at work to take any more days off. Am at home tomorrow though, so will get cracking with admin then.

So, haven't had time to catch up on everything and everyone's news, but hope you're all well and that the holiday is good, Herbs. Will check in again when I can. Oh, and having finally unpacked my summer clothes, I am very much in need to some new stuff - I am currently in the only decent outfit I have - otherwise it's all just a mess of pale, crumpled, bag lady apparel.

Great News Wilbur Well, apart from the bag-lady look

Congrats on your new house, wilbur!

BD, keeping everything crossed for you!

MrsS, you deffo need a shopping spree. Keep away from those large sizes. Your falling-down clothes are trying to tell you something

BTM, I just pour a bit into my hand and massage it in all over the face and neck and am now extending to my shrivelled decolletage. Apparently you are indeed supposed to remove the oil with a hot flannel/muslin, but as my skin disapproves furiously of that kind of activity I just massage the oil off whilst rinsing (in the bath) and this seems to work. I mixed the almond oil with a few drops of rosehip (which smells a bit weird but does seem to up the efficacy of the procedure). My skin feels luffly in the morning.

S&B news - in new pair of £10 tesco shorts, as left mine at home. They're not half bad, other that being very slightly to high in the, ahem, crotch.

Stropps - went to hive beach and its associated cafe this morning. What an amazing spot. Right idyllic. I think beach weather may be over, or I'd go back every day.

Glad to have been of service, herbs

I am all over the place. Having assumed that DD1 did not get a place in the final of the Young Authors Fiction Festival, and having delegated my meeting on 8 June, I was all set to book my Eurostar. But have just been told by DD1's lovely English teacher that they have not yet informed finalists. So will have to hang on a bit longer until I know for sure. If she does get placed, I will have to go, as DH will be picking up DD2 from school trip and can't be in two places at once. Aaaaargggghhhh.

Style police to Lyme Regis! Camel-toe spotted in the area!

Wilbur - yay, well done!! Best of luck in the new house. You will get sorted eventually, although it took us the best part of three years before it was really how we wanted it. At least you have t'internet - we had three weeks with no phone, internet or TV when we moved in.

MrsS - fingers crossed that DD1 gets through - not that it wouldn't be lovely to see you on the 8th, of course. We are waiting equally patiently to hear if DD1 has been selected to represent Mole Valley (our borough) in Netball at the Surrey Youth Games, and have been fending off social bookings for 17th June "just in case".

It would be fab for her, and I do hope she does. I have emailed the organisers to ask if the finalists have been notified yet. A further complicating factor, is that the date it is supposed to happen, there is nothing in the library's calendar of events. And the original email said "Friday 10 June", but it is 8 June on the Friday (and there is also nothing in for the Sunday either). So not sure what is going on.

Yup, fingers crossed for Schadenfräulein no. 1. And for CV's dd1 too!

DD1's teacher phoned the library. The person who is dealing with this is out of the country. So I think I will have to give Friday a miss anyway. I will probably come back to UK Wednesday night, spend all of Thursday in London and leave Friday lunchtime to get back. DD1 is going to a party at a nightclub in Paris that night post ceremony if she is a finalist, and as DH will be somewhere else collecting DD2, I can see this all being Much Too Difficult even with my presence.

My boss has exceeded all my expectations in arsiness today, and am

Oh MrsS do tell....
My boss, I have discovered skim reads which means he is prone to forwarding email that could perhaps do with a bit of judicious editing......(luckily I wasn't too rude)

Oh dear, BD.

I am always very careful about emails, ever since one where I made reference to "the bloody bean-counters" was forwarded on to the finance director.

I tend to save heated emails to draft, and re-read/send when I have cooled down!