Crepeys on the Verge of an Examination Meltdown

[whattodoforthebest2]

Not sure if I should be starting the new thread as I'm the last poster on the old one - is this how it works?

Study leave is a mixed blessing. I don't know what I think, as ds' last lesson is now lost in the mists of time......

Stropps, I have no idea what their plan is. We have not been told anything official about study leave, last day, Prom or even a reply to DD's application to Sixth Form
Your expat experience sounds like Real Housewives of...

I used to do Deep Water aqua. VG fun.

In S&B news, am intrigued by the number of MNers on this and other threads recommending Blue Pot Nivea. I haven't used it in years...

I love my aqua aerobics- great fun and it doesn't hurt. I think the calorific value of it is amazing, too, from what I remember. Knees - well it's right that breaststroke is no good for them. I now do breaststroke arms and a sort of flipping movement (like a mermaid she deludedly thinks) with my legs and feet. Works for me, but takes a lot of practice to untrain your legs.

Stropps, it is really good fun. You get to punch the water, make large splashes, sing and in the case of my class, heckle the much-admired instructor .

I am rather glumly thinking about an early swim tomorrow. I am for a number of reasons having a glum day, it must be said. Also v bored with DP's cooking.

The trouble with any kind of swimming-pool-based exercise is it's such a time-consuming faff. You have to get there (20 minutes), get changed (10 minutes), do the class or swim (30-60 minutes), fanny about getting jeans on damp legs, dropping your socks into puddles of water, etc, drying your hair in an unsatisfactory manner, etc (20 minutes) get home again (20 minutes). Over an hour on top of the exercise bit. I simply can't be arsed.

But I'm going to have to think of something. My collapsing feet are getting worse - metatarsals feel like they touch the ground.

I tried the blue pot Nivea (after a great many years of not touching the stuff) last year and found it just sat in a big greasy slick on the top of my skin and didn't even work very well as a hand cream. Not for me, I'm afraid.

I know one of the aqua aerobics instructors here and I can't imagine she would take heckling particularly well. I also know her deep water classes are a bit hardcore and probably beyond me at the moment, although she has been nagging me to try them for ages. I will have to deliberately seek out a somewhat weedier class. My knees are not currently unhappy, but I have been told breaststroke would not be good for my back, and I hate front crawl and doing backstroke never seems an awfully good option in a busy public pool.

Finished corrections on another assignment. Going to cook supper and then go back to original assignment. Not Enjoying It.

Totally agree, Herbs. That is also what puts me off. Well, that and what chlorine does to my already peculiar hair.

I'm totally with you, Herbs. Swimming is a huge PITA, and something I only ever do if it involves either a) a spa, or b) subtropical temperatures, a sunbed and a cocktail.

And I always feel like a right charlie doing aqua aerobics.

Anyway, on a more sober note, I'm currently in the waiting room at the vets...Chunky Hamster is finally being despatched to the big hamster wheel in the sky after her tumour got far too big and nasty. I appear to have something in my eye....

The faff is why only early morning really works for me. Then zipping home to proper shower and breakfast. I was able to do it and catch an 8.50 train when I worked in town, so should be able to get up slightly earlier and go to the pool that opens at stupid o'clock...

Yeah, tis a bit of a faff (tho no sweaty clothes to wash afterwards, and you do come out extremely clean, hair washed and all). I think running from your home is probably the least faffy form of exercise there is, but you have to have knees and feet that can do it. A real crepey conundrum if ever there was one.

for poor old Hammy Hampster CV.

You forgot to mention the requirement for regular bikini line maintenance in swimming Herbs.. Another reason why I cannot be bothered.

BTM - glad DD's exam went OK.

Oh CV

I'm totally with you CV! And Herbs/Stropps/MI/Hatty, etc. Too cold and too much faff. Especially when you have long thick hair. Though I did a bit in my youth.

I had two very difficult phone calls with DM earlier. Partly because she can't remember any words and partly because she is really angry with the carers/need for carers/people knowing that her mind is failing, etc, etc I have to go up in a couple of weeks for the Memory Clinic appointment and I am dreading it.

Oh BTM. It's all too sad. There was a very good article by Christopher Ecclestone about his dad and dementia in the Grauniad the other day. Naturally it reduced me to floods of tears. But he really hit the nail on the head when he said that seeing your parent not in charge any more makes us feel vulnerable, and therefore angry and defensive. At least, it did for me.

For some reason, I'm already girding my loins about Christmas. I've decided that this Christmas, when I'll be 50, it's about time I actually do what I want for a change. This involves both a) deciding what I want, and b) actually saying it out loud to someone, both of which are something of a novelty. I see this as part of my personal development.

AND, re swimming, that weird dry skin you get. Which means carting moisturiser to the pool as well as everything else. AND carrying wet costume and towel around with you for the rest of the day.

Back home with tiny body; a grumbling and somewhat unsympathetic DH has been despatched with a spade to find an uncultivated patch in the back garden for the burial (won't be difficult). DD1 philosophical, DD2 devastated. Laminated memorial signs have been produced.

And if I didn't have tears in my eyes when the vet put her to sleep, I certainly did when I saw the bill - £84.

Popping in to disagree.

I swim 3 x a week.

I do 40 lengths & from leaving home to getting back again (12 min drive to pool) takes under 2 hours. And I shower, wash hair & moisturise afterwards.

And I love, love, love it.

I pound up & down & all I do is count the lengths as I go: so I am going one, one, one on the first length & ten,ten,ten on the tenth length etc etc.

Does the old creaky back a lot of good & does the head even better.

Yes I saw that article Herbs. Thing is, DM has been looking to me for advice since I was about 10...

2 hours isnt too bad i guess. I can run to my local gym in 2 mins, do an hour come back and shower in an hour and 20.
When I swim, I count the lengths too!

I do broadly agree with Magi. I used to do 60 lengths three times a week. AND then catch a train at 8.50, having returned home to shower etc. I need to get back into mixing it up, though I suspect a tsunami period is on its way, making tomorrow unfeasible (I will only hint at the time I tried to swim with a mooncup. Suffice it to say my walk from pool to towel was ahem revealing.)

And when I say 'used to' I mean till I took up running about 18 months ago.

Oh CV, that is sad that's two hamsters lost on this thread in the last couple of months, isn't it.

I have a Boots Natural Collection nail polish called Cosmic Crush, which is the very lightest of pinks. It looks almost clear but has a slight shimmer. I use that on my fingers and get my toenails done about three times a year.....

I hope your day wasn't too bad Rudy and that your situation at work is ok, BD.

I know my NI number off by heart. I have no idea why, but it's very useful....

And strength to all exam laden families. I suspect when I leave the house on Monday morning, nothing is done until Tuesday night when I return! Still all over by next Tuesday