The Naked Crepe

[MrsSchadenfreude]

Psst, over here!

I am shaking my pom-poms for you BD! How very excellent.

When is it? Do you need any loin-girding crepey advice?

I've tried to do a link to the Perfect Ponyskin Loafers to no avail!!

The website is www.thehouseofspring.co.uk - there is only 1 pair of pony skin loafers in their collection .

They are so fab and very comfortable :-)

Fantastic, BD! Hope you get it. Good news on the Crepey jobs front. Herbs, I would go for both the football and the magazine jobs - I wonder which one pays more?

Here I am exhausted, presumably by the emotional toll as well as the cleansing of the Augean Stables. Of course you lot will understand how many of my trainer socks I've now re-discovered, having dug into piles of crap in dd's room. Sadness abounds, but I know from FB she's having fun. The house seems vast and empty.

Oh Colly - was DD your last one? I still have DS and it seems very strange to have gone from three to one. I haven't tackled the girls' rooms yet as we are taking all their stuff on our mammoth road trip this weekend.

Things that have improved: general tidiness in the house, the towels are stacked properly instead of being rolled in a ball and rammed down the radiator, no more blobs of hair product,/make up on the bathroom surface, no more mugs with mouldy teabags, I could go on. I love them though and tell myself it's only eight weeks till they're back..

Am watching GBBO - there is a lady whose badly dyed hair annoys me so much, even if she can cook. I'm rooting for Benjimina;

Yes, Hatty, my nest is empty. And one hell of a lot cleaner.

I think I'm feeling a kind of flatness, along the lines of: "Is that it?" and "Was all the effort worth it?" (Heretical, I know, and certainly rhetorical. I am very grateful, don't get me wrong.) But ALL the effort - surely 90 per cent of it was wasted - imagine all the lectures, advice, guidance, falling on largely deaf ears. Pearls before swine, dahlink.

Hatty and Molly - clean house!

Molly, does that mean you're up for a BP walk asap?!

Just landed, y'all.

Have a great time, MrsS!

Clean only in relative terms, BTM. I could do this Sunday!

So could I! What time? 2pm?

Anyone else?

2pm is good for me.

Well done BD, are we allowed to ask when it is,so we can give our words of wisdom, for what's it worth!

All quiet here on the rollercoaster of teenMH. Sort of take it each day as it comes, which makes me pleased to have stopped work, but also a bit trapped as I'm on on call the WholeTime with no structure to the week at all

I know it will pass but because I don't know when, it's hard to make plans....

Molly, those things told her you loved her. They were all worth it. I am sure I will feel very flat when ds goes.

I am off to see dd on Sunday so sadly cannot make BP.

BD, woohoo, crossing everything for you. Is it in the same sort of line?

Beachy, yes, what a limboland and it is so hard to use time productively when you are on call.

Yes in same line of work, but at a higher level - at Uni rather than school level. Very different institution too... one of those five minute knock it together applications... have to do presentations on challenges in next five years... suspect word Brexit will feature.

When is it BD?

Beachy Sounds really hard - I am rubbish at managing without some sort of routine, so I don't envy you at all.
Thinking about that, though, my little lovelies really, really thrive on the most consistent routines (takes lots of anxiety out of the day) - would that help your DS (happy to PM if I can help you think at all?)

I'm a bit envious of those of you with more than one offspring, having a 'spare' after the first one leaves home. Most of my friends with children DS's age also have younger children too, so seem less traumatised by such things as first days at school, teeth falling out, etc for first child, but save the trauma for 'the baby'. I must therefore look like a hysterical loon if I get a bit teary about his baby shoes, or whatever.

More teachers abandoning the adult ed ship yesterday. The remaining teachers now also have to take 'peer-to-peer' workshops, and undertake a few more pointless bits of admin or class. The two phenomena are not unrelated.

Thanks BTM. He's going to school at the moment, so he has a pretty good routine. It's just all the appointments, picking him up early from school or when he feels too tired to go at all.

I was very aware that when I stopped work I wanted to 'plant' some structure on my week, so I knew what I was doing! But with all these unscheduled bits and bobs, it's hard to sign up to anything. Sorry, being super moany here - it's actually a lot better than it was at the beginning of term. Things are settling down.

We treated ourselves to a curry last night and ds found a bit of chicken in his vegetarian curry. That really didn't go down well, not surprisingly.....

I know what you mean about routine, beachy. With not knowing what I'm going to be doing in the future, or for the three days I'm not teaching now, it's hard to sign up to any exercise or stuff for DS...

Glad to hear he is getting to school - that indeed is a good routine - and that things are better than at the start of term (only 3 weeks to half-term here) Hopefully the rest will settle down a bit over time. And moan away - you actually haven't moaned much, and you do actually have a good reason to moan!

Sorry your days are a bit shit too Herbs. How soon is the interview?

Have yet to hear re interview. Should hear today.

The days I'm not teaching are so short that by the time I've investigated one possible source of work, been stymied by an IT problem, tidied up, looked at mumsnet and had lunch, it's over. I'm sure I could squeeze exercise in if I actually wanted to, though! It's just so unpleasant.

The numerous options open. Or not, to me also causes a kind of paralysis, as I don't know where to direct my energies.

And indeed beachy - you haven't sounded at all moany.

feck - talking of IT traumas - I've managed to lose the interview email AHHHHHHH! So have now had to go back and say 'could you possibly resend it' face/palm

Beachy not moany at all....

God yes re days. I am having to take my laptop somewhere every day jut to keep on top of normal adminny stuff, bookings, family, how to put my vacuum cleaner back together, thrilling stuff, bit of MN to keep me sane, never mind actually sorting out work or lack of it. Exercise sort of helps and gym has wifi.

BD best of luck, really hope it works out.

Beachy, agree with others. And anyway if we can be of any use we want to be.

BD - this sort of things happens to me. Are you sure it's not hiding somewhere - DH usually can unearth stuff in corners of the computer that I didn't know existed.

Beachy - living with uncertainty and lack of structure is indeed difficult - hope things settle down soon.

Herbs - I do find exercise classes add structure and I even quite look forward to my new yoga classes which I sleep like a log after.

Molly - agree - so much with the "what now", " is that it" feeling after we've poured so much energy into raising our offspring. I feel we should get a prize, or a bonus or something. I don't think the DC's really recognise their parenting till later (I hope in a positive light). There's no thanks, they just disappear.

So of you lot an your walks and mini MU's.

Have fun Mrs S

OMG Hatty I loves you! I did a search (doah why didn't I think of that?) and found it!!!

Oh major arse, one of my main clients - CDiff but now Under Control and more importantly a significant slice of income - is cutting the publication I do for them...

Looks pleadingly at Herbs...