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Operation Renovation - The Christmas Countdown (part 2)

791 replies

HelgatheHairy · 01/10/2013 18:51

Our new home

OP posts:
Dilidali · 26/10/2013 15:59

Hello ladies :)
Just about to do my nails and a pedicure is in order too. I think dark red, almost brown, I have an opi mini for that :)
And will retreat to my bed with a book at 9 at the latest. Had a party last night, which was brilliant, but I'm rather tired...:)
Anybody been shopping?
I went yesterday, looking for a specific present..haven't found it this time.
Happy Saturday afternoon!

Blueandwhitelover · 26/10/2013 19:47

Checking in before leaving tonight, defuzzed, exfoliated, moisturised, nails repainted.
See you all a week tomorrow :-)

ControlCreeeaaak · 26/10/2013 19:59

One of the things on my list was to try something new each week - this week, I went to a whole-day vocal workshop. Very scary for me as while I love singing I'm terrified of people hearing me Halloween Confused It was actually really great!

lucysmam · 26/10/2013 21:20

We are finally in from dd1's second halloween party (stupid flamin'
taxi didn't turn up then said he'd been outside when we all were outside Confused )

I'm in my pj's....no shower, shave, moisturise, hair done, nails done or anything. I have glued my boots though in the hopes they'll last longer. they have all day tomorrow to dry so fingers crossed.

Blue have a fab week away Envy

Control was the vocal workshop for anything in particular?

ControlCreeeaaak · 27/10/2013 09:12

Why do taxis do that lucysmam? Every firm I've ever used has tried that at some point or another. The workshop was two sessions in one - the first was on building confidence with singing and undoing the 'harm' done by a lifetime of people telling you you can't sing. The second was how to lead a choir/group of singers and get the best out of them.

My nails are a little bit chipped, but can just about get away with it as they have a pale base colour and black crackle. They've done well, I put it on Thursday night! Fasting day today but so far haven't done anything else other than brush teeth and brush hair. Today's going to be all about princessing the house. It's looking rather neglected lately as we've both been so tired with work. If there's time, I might put a top-up dye on my hair later.

HelgatheHairy · 27/10/2013 09:15

59 days to go

OP posts:
Dilidali · 27/10/2013 17:28

Hi, posting for batterylow but also for myself, here's a recap of what I do
Morning routine:

Brush teeth
Make coffee, hot water and lemon
Shower, defuzz, moisturise, deodorant
Apply make-up
Get dressed, perfume on, drink the above coffee, take omega 3, evening primrose oil, vit D with the hot water and lemon.

i have breakfast at work
I fill up two bottles with water and drink through the day. Always bring my own lunch
Stay away from biscuits
Snack on fruit only

Evening routine

Shower
I don't moisturise my whole body afterwards in the evenings, but I use foot/hand cream, eye cream and face serum and cream. I tend to give it a break with all the moisturising on certain evenings, give the skin a chance to breathe.
I wash my hair every other day, I blow dry it, I use argan oil because I swim a bit and work in a very dry environment.
I prepare my clothes the night before.

Exercise: I tend to alternate swimming with pilates. A long walk at the weekend.

Weekly

Manicure and pedicure. I file finger nails, push cuticles back, buff. Nail varnish on toes.

Dilidali · 27/10/2013 18:02

Right.
Make up.
Make up remover is a bog standart Olay, I love it.

I use a microfiber cloth with hot water for exfoliation, getting rid of make up residue.
I use Clinique All About Eyes cream for my eyes and olay double active face cream for night.
I keep it by my bed. Also, I keep Oilatum cream (for my hands) and scholl foot cream. I apply the lot before I go to bed.

Face masks: I like the sudocream one. Thin layer, leave overnight. The nights I do this I don't put face cream on.

In the morning I use the microfibre cloth again, with hot water, followed by a splash of freezing cold water. Clinique all about eyes again, Olay day serum, Olay BB cream (has a slight tint to it, I like it a lot, not too greasy, it hydrates nicely and covers imperfections.
YSL touche eclat. I am religious about it, we'll eat potatoes and dahl for a month, but I will have touche eclat. I buy it in duty free normally, 2-3 packs of 2. One lasts me 6 months. I apply around eyes and mouth.
Then I use a bit of liquid eyeliner, the best I found was Body shop. I change it every 6 months.
Mascara is always Max Factor, I alternate the gold with the black one, I tend to buy 3 if they have offers, again, change every 6 months.
I use a cream max factor blusher, murano,I am dark, don't suit the pinks/reds.
I use lipbalm, Slightly tinted, from burt's bees. Sometimes lipstick(if I look particularly washed that day), I use Mac. I have 2 lipsticks to my name, they tend to last years and it's so painful to choose, I use the same ones for a few years. In the summer I go really dark, so I wear a coral/orange mad colour, but it suits me.

The nice indian ladies at the department store thread my eyebrows every 6 weeks.
I haven't gone gray yet, so no hair dye, but I have it cut every 6-8 weeks.

Clothes wise I wear block colours (navy/gray etc) and just use jewellery/scarves to brighten it up.

And that's my routine, hope it helps. :)

Dilidali · 27/10/2013 18:18

Oh, forgot! I wear perfume. Every day. That's another thing I could happily chose over food. Got to have perfume.

lucysmam · 27/10/2013 20:16

Evening Smile

Tough day here, dp shouted at me for shouting at the kids &I've done nothing but cry since Sad Feeling a touch delicate but this seems to have set me off for some reason Confused. Think I'm just ready for a day to myself to recharge (not likely for a while with the amouny of overtime he's going to be doing).

Have had a proper pamper session tonight though, face mask, defuzz, aussied hair, moisturised, vit e oiled face, pumiced and cetraben-ed feet, dried hair.

Hair is ready for a cut but not sure whether to let the blonde outgrow or do it again Confused

Am going to paint my nails tomorrow night, want to get my hands in the fishtanks in the morning & I'm still not convinced it's safe.

Eyebrows will have to wait until next week, I don't think taking the girls would be a good idea ....not least because they'd scrap over who sat in the second chair at the stand I've been going to. I have checked for strays tonight though, they don't look too bad.

HelgatheHairy · 28/10/2013 08:39

58 days to go

OP posts:
HelgatheHairy · 28/10/2013 08:42

Hope you're ok lucysmam. It's not right he shouted at you. It's probably because you're both under so much pressure with the housing situation he's a bit more pressured than normal. It must be something in the air, DH was a bit of a wanker last night as well.

OP posts:
lucysmam · 28/10/2013 08:56

Thanks Helga, I think it's just the result of a stressful week tbh. We still haven't heard anything back from anyone about it Confused & dp's overtime wasn't paid.

Hopefully today will be better, am just finishing my Brew then going to crack on with my morning routine & carve pumpkins with the girls I think

HelgatheHairy · 28/10/2013 12:31

Went for a lovely walk with DD in pushchair, DH and DDog. It's a bank holiday here in Ireland. Was blue skies while we were on our walk but it's getting very overcast now.

I managed to slap on some Clinique cc cream before the walk but forgot loose powder. Also put on clean jeans but realised when I got home my top had a stain.

I weighed myself this morning and I now weigh less than I did when I got pregnant! I'm still 2 stone overweight though.

OP posts:
ControlCreeeaaak · 28/10/2013 17:54

Sorry for lack of posts, I have no excuse Halloween Blush

dili I love your thinking. Who needs food as long as the skin's sorted? Halloween Grin I am always amazed when you give your list, how on earth do you fit it all in? I have zero children and still struggle to find the time for even half the things on mine.

lucysmam Thanks You've all had such a stressful few weeks, you both need to let off steam. I hope things are better for you now. Can DH complain about the overtime? If he got all the paperwork in on time and his contract states when it'll be paid then they should just give him a cheque or petty cash.

helga sorry your DP's got one on him too. I hope it's all blown over now (no storm pun intended). Super work on the weightloss, that's amazing that you are already below your pre-pg weight. Remind me again how old DD is? She's still really tiny isn't she?

Oh, lucysmam, How far away are you from me? Can I book you and the DDs to come sort my fish tank out for me? I need to get it spruced up to photograph it for ebay and I really cba with it at all

My fingernails are too long to type properly and I broke my other thumb nail waaaaay below the quick (there was blood and there were tears) so all nails will be chopped off tonight. Did a top-up hair dye last night and I really, really hate it. I just hope one of my stand-by dyes will hide it well enough. It was supposed to be light chestnut but it's come out bright pinky-red. There is no way I can meet DP's son looking like this. Will put another dye over it tomorrow to see how it looks.

Other than that, I'm showered, hair is deep conditioned and dried. I'm giving it a rest from being straightened for a few days. Shredded yesterday and today (I'm now officially half way through level 3 of the Shred!) Body is moisturised and I have realised I have way more than 24 bottles and sachets of samples and trial sizes, so have put them all into a nice basket in the bathroom and each night I will pick one at random and use it. Some things have multiple applications in, like the hand lotion, so I'm just going to keep it going and see if I can add it in as a 'pot luck' part of my night routine. I did manage to pick up some bits for DP's box, but they're not exactly small so it's going to have to be a big box Halloween Confused

The house got princessed to within an inch of its life yesterday. I've chilled out more today but that's mostly because I'm knackered with keeping the cats in last night because of the storm-that-never-was (here in the West Mids at least). I've been awake with them since 04.40 and even caffeine isn't managing to hit the spot any more!

HelgatheHairy · 28/10/2013 20:13

geek ouch on the fingernail situation. One of my nails broke last week so I chopped them all off. Not down to the quick though. DD is 11 weeks.

OP posts:
lucysmam · 28/10/2013 20:27

Evening all Smile

Control I second Helga's ouch! I broke one of my thumb nails the other day but not quite that far down. I've been sticking to clear polish until it's less noticeable. (we're in yorkshire btw....not that the girls will help with the fish tank, they quite happily pick fish to go in and wander round the fish shops with me...I do the grafting though Confused even dp doesn't do bucket lugging lately without much sweet talking Hmm )

Helga your walk sounds like just what we need to blow the cobwebs away. Think me and the girls will go for a walk round the market tomorrow & then come back to carve the second pumpkin and halloween decs. Maybe even one of those cupcake kits where you just add an egg to make pudding Wink

I am all done for tonight, hair straightened too. Just going to have my last bottle of cider with dp before he heads to bed (early shift this week)

Am debating buying an epistick from Amazon for my top lip and some curlers for my hair.....or maybe just trying rag rolling it using baby wipes...not sure which yet Confused

vvviola · 29/10/2013 06:25

Assignments are done. Grin

Still have the dissertation to do, and it's due in 3 weeks, but I've time to concentrate on it now.

And maybe even a little time to concentrate on me again.

We have to clear out our whole upstairs by Thursday morning as landlord is replacing all the carpets we only asked him to repair one frayed stepHmm

I'll use the opportunity to sort through clothes & stuff for summer. And maybe find my gym gear again!

HelgatheHairy · 29/10/2013 08:06

57 days to go

OP posts:
bigkidsdidit · 29/10/2013 09:15

Hi everyone

Sorry for not posting, I don't seem to have anything to say! I'm still low carbing, now lost a stone :) and 1.5 stone to go to be the weight I wperdue ds1. Fitting in my pre ds2 jeans now anyway! still doing my morning Nd evening routines and drinking lots of water. Only thing I'm slipping on is the exercise.

Back at work in 5 weeks Shock and beginning to eat myself up for that.

I'm still looking haggard because of sleep deprivation I think. Seriously considering a little tiny bit of Botox after Christmas...

bigkidsdidit · 29/10/2013 09:16

Oh FGS. The weight I was pre ds1 and gear myself up not eat

ControlCreeeaaak · 29/10/2013 14:26

It is official. Nothing, but nothing, but NOTHING smells as bad as hair dye remover. I am sitting here in the kitchen stinking of rotten eggs. The cats have deserted me and DP has taken himself off into the other room with strict instructions that under no circumstances am I to disturb him until the smell has left the house. At least now he shouldn't moan about the smell of my nail varnish Halloween Grin

HelgatheHairy · 29/10/2013 16:06

bigkidsdidit that's an amazing weight loss. Well done.

OP posts:
lucysmam · 29/10/2013 16:15

Grin control, did it work?

bigkidsdidit · 29/10/2013 16:24

Its been very easy, Helga. Have sausages and mashed swede with gravy then strawberries and cream for dinner :)

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