Operation Renovation - The Christmas Countdown (part 2)

[HelgatheHairy]

Our new home

47 days to go

46 days to go

Boots half price offer this week is Champneys home spa. There's scrub, body wash, moisturiser & a few other bits. It's in a lovely cream case. I got DH to pick it up for me yesterday. Last year I bought so many sets on half price it was September before I needed to buy body wash!

Hello hello!
Very quiet here lately, ladies! :)
I suppose I got back on the treadmill, I keep on with my routines and nothing new to get excited about :)
I have bought most stuff for others, now it is me to think about. Hairdresser's appt done for christmas and several parties I am going to attend, need to think outfits and a winter coat. Mine is a bit...old.
I would like to play a sport, no idea what though. I could find lots of people to go to the gym, running etc, but I really am after a game of something. Nobody I know fancies anything remotely similar. I might just email my sports center and see what they suggest.
I have bought my christmas cards (sorry) and I am planning to start writing them. I am going to make them special this year, really write to people.
The deal is I get everything ready by 1st Dec and the whole month ofdec to be about parties and mince pies and drinks and seeing people. Or exhibitions. Or christmas lights, good books, do some charity stuff.
One of my neighbours had been taken to a hospice. And you know how you think: one of these days I'll bake some cake for the little old lady, or a soup for the elderly gentleman at no 3, or I'll help with the village christingle, or whatever, and you never do? That's me. So this year I plan 3 things. Because I think it might be a lovely idea and I never do anything.

I shall be back later on....am busily Christmas planning

Forgive me Renovators, for I have sinned. It has been five days since I last had a shower. I'm completely out for the count at the moment - went down with a stinking fever the day I got back from hols (Thursday) and have only just surfaced now my temperature dropped below fever pitch. Supposed to be going back to work tomorrow. I can't see that happening. Will try to pick everything up later in the week, hopefully.

45 days to go

control that sounds rubbish. At least you're starting to feel a BIT better. Hopefully you'll be back to yourself before too long.

I had my first bath since I was in labor!! I LOVE baths. Had a shower first to wash my hair then into the bath. Wasn't as long as my pre baby ones (about an hour) but was lovely. Champneys comforting bath milk, tea lights and rain on the velux window. Have moisturised head to toe. Earlier today I started working my way through Costas Christmas drinks, started with salted caramel & cream latte. Bit too sweet so will keep trying.

dilidali that sounds absolutely lovely. Any idea yet what things you'll do?

No, but one thing I do know:I have to put myself out there.

Control, sorry you were poorly, here's to getting better

Helga, glad you enjoyed your bath! Sounds heavenly.

I am still thinking... You guys have any ideas?

I'm back....have about six different Christmas lists going now

Dilidali your plan sounds wonderful, I would love to do some 'get round to it' things....probably get knocked out round here though

Helga bath sounds heavenly, I haven't had a good long soak in forever! Might be a plan there for one day next week when dp is on afters

Control you've been ill...glad you're on the mend though.

It's Sunday so I had a make up free day and am just about to start my Sunday pampering with elasticizer and face mask (ran out of Aussie last weekend ). Drank my 2L of water for the day too, need to cut more though, I'm guzzling it like it's going out of fashion lately

Am meeting my best mate at Costa in the week Helga so will also be sampling their festive menu

I love Christmas....started kids big stuff shopping this week.....two dollies are now winging their way through the magic airing cupboard to santa

Ah, Lucy, I meant to ask: do tell, what lists :)
Have a lovely time at Costa's :).

I'm still lurking around trying to stay on the wagon. DD2has been feeding like a newborn for the past few days so I'm zombie-like on 5/6 hours of broken sleep a night. Am still trying to get some make up on when I know I'm going out of the house though and water is taking a back seat to caffeine at the moment to get through the day.

Did manage proper hair style and make up to meet friends though in the week.

Thankfully after 2 days in town and a couple of mega online orders I only have my parents and DH to get for Christmas now so that stress is almost over. Just the visit who when to work out now and wrapping

I'm back. have elasticized....not too sure about it tbh, my hair feels a touch more straw like than usual but that could be because it's well ready for trimming. Also defuzzed, exfoliated face and body, moisturised all over, pumiced feet, blow dried and straightened and vaselined eyebrows in the hopes that the middley bits might grow back so far I have the odd pokey out very dark and obvious stump

Dilidali, I have lists for 'the girls' (to buy and bought), food (to buy and bought), dp (to buy and bought)....as I buy things I'm going to transfer from one to the other.

I have a list of activities to put in their re-useable advent calendars.

A list of food to prep the night before and one of things to make over the next couple of weeks to freeze (like pastry so I can make mince pies with the kids without having to make pastry with them).

and one full of ???'s for what to get for my dad and sister, bil and his gf, and mil and her dp . I'm very shit at gifts for these people....my dad and sister are loaded between them so whatever we get is a token at best, bil has a different girlfriend every month or two & is a bit of an arse tbh, and dp's mam and her fella always tell me to go to the quid shop and pick something random if asked

Am feeling very organised today (dp is hiding because I've given him a break down of the cash I'd like to spend over the next six weeks ....it's not masses tbf but he hardly seems to be here. I figured a warning of what I'd like to spend was fair though & then he's free to tweak lists etc if he wants to).

44 days to go

43 days to go

Anyone heard if hair "plopping"? Saw a thread on it a while ago and googled it. It's to help encourage curls in wavy hair. It's basically a way of wrapping your hair in a towel after washing. Can't explain very well but there are pics on the internet. I tried it last night and it looked good, should have used my hair oil first though. Not much good during the week as hair is in a ponytail as DD tends to puke on it!

(Am still lurking - just handed draft of dissertation in to supervisor for her last comments. And then 4 days to edit it before I submit it)

I had a shower & brushed my hair today, does that count?

42 days to go

Good morning all

Sorry for lack of posts....been mooching about in Christmas a lot I'm very excited now! Both dollys are here & I just need to click go on the buggys to go with them on Friday...found dd2's birthday present too at Tesco, ZhuZhu hamster set for £7.50 instead of £30!! Just want a couple of small bits to go with that now.

Helga I've never heard of hair plopping but am intrigued so will youtube later and take a look. I've been debating some roller things from Poundland or amazon cheapy ones that you sort of feed the hair through (like curlformers I think) and then it springs back up with your hair inside....sleep in them & voila..curls. Not sure which to try though

vvv is that you all done now then?

Control are you feeling better?

For the past few weeks I've been using a cheap face wash/scrub containing salicylic acid from wilko (98p) and double cleansing with it morning and evening to try and improve how my skin looks & I have to say it looks and feels much better than it did. Also...the middles of my eyebrows are growing back veeeeeerrrrrryyyyyy sllllllooooooowwwwwwllllllyyyyyy so hopefully my brows will look a bit better by Christmas!

Sorry for my lack of posts, also. I'm still riddled with the darn lurgy but at least I have managed to have several showers and hair washes since my last post!

helga I'll definitely have to look up hair plopping, it sounds like something you would need to see a doctor about!

lucysmam well done on the face wash and on the eyebrow regrowth! I'll have a look out for that next time I make it down to Wilko as I've got a massive crop of spots erupting all over my chin and around my mouth at the moment.

vvv whohooo you're so nearly there with your dissertation. How long after handing it in will you get your final mark?

karbea how are things with you now? I saw about your pup (belatedly) - I'm so sorry.

dili did your sports centre get back to you? I am so impressed with your plans for your cards. Even when I try and do something like that, the words always end up sounding trite and overly pretentious or sentimental. Now I stick to 'All my love, Geek xxx' and put the effort into making the card itself.

I need to take a leaf out of lucysmam's book and do some lists. I am very much in danger of resting on my early christmas achievements which weren't really that much, just a few cards cross stiched, not even made up and end up playing a very last minute catch up. Still in the woolly phase of the lurgy though, so maybe next week...

ooh, I also meant to say that because I was bumming around doing nothing all week, I finally got round to taking pics of my aquarium and stuck it up on ebay for £50. It got a bid on it within an hour of going on, and now has 11 watchers! With luck that will be gone before Christmas and the living room can get a proper princessing

Hi control, no they didn't get back to me:)

I wrote about 10-12 cards. Reminisced in a few, reminded others of Christmas traditions they taught me (NEVER start christmas morning with champagne) and raised a virtual one for them. Asked a lot of questions in one, rhetorically.

Thanked others for amazing recipes I use every christmas. Congratulated others for achievements at length and meant it. It was good.

Posted too soon. I think I am coming down with a cold as well. Good news about the fish tank :) how are you going to redecorate?

41 days to go

Going to pop into town later (not that it's possible to "pop" anywhere with a 3 month old - more like an article expedition with the amount of stuff to take!). They have really cute shelf sitter things in Penny's for Christmas and I want to have a look at watches as DH wants to buy it for me soon.

Looking as well for a BIG wreath. We have an inset stove and a stone effect wall, no mantelpiece so I really want something on the wall.