WWW's 10 year younger bootcamp, it's still September, still serious, all welcome

[WideWebWitch]

Hello everyone, old and new.

This is about feeling better about yourself and looking and feeling better etc. But mainly we chat and laugh quite a lot, which has all got to help towards happiness etc.

The rules (anyone can join):

• Sunscreen at all times

• No or little booze. Wine or Champagne or whatever at the weekend is allowed if you want it

• Walking is important, a small amount every day if possible. 30 mins if you can

• Lots of water, aim for 2 litres a day

• Apply body cream as often as possible

• Use hand cream

• Go to bed early, by 10.30pm if pos

• Eat healthily

• Be happy

The idea is that we all feel happier, healthier and glow with the good food, sleep, exercise, water and lack of sun damage.

Some people are doing India and Neris's Idiot Proof Diet (Atkins, more or less), others are doing Slimy World, others are just being as healthy as possible.

Welcome everyone, have a good week.

Happy Birthday L&S. The cricket ball is a lovely idea.

Positive vibes to everyone who is feeling stressed at the moment. I find the relentless grind so hardgoing at times.

TS - Yr6 is stressful, but we're now looking at GCSEs and what the boys want to do when they leave school, and neither me nor DH have much idea about FE/HE! Eeek.

WWW - no apologies to me needed. Wish I had words of wisdom for you, but my experience only runs to Year 3 and not having a wonderful career to nuture.

Can only nod vigorously in sympathy at the often relentless tedium and struggle of daily life and having to be strong for other people (Marina, you expressed it so much better than me).

Just to add to the slight gloom on the thread my friend at work found out yesterday that she does had breast cancer. It's 'only' a grade 1 so fingers crossed - she has an MRI tomorrow to find out if it has spread to her lymph nodes but they don't think it has.

Good on you Cam for giving up your job.

But you are all scaring me with this talk of Yr 6 stress. I shall now resume my ostrich stance..

I'll shut up now.
(But still lurk...)

Hello everyone

Thank you for all the virtual tea and sympathy. I asked dh if he thinks I'm depressed last night and he says he thinks not. I suppose my reactions are perfectly reasonable given all the stuff that's going on and given that I am nearly at the end of a year of doing a 4.5 hour a day commute. I probably won't recognise myself once that comes to an end tbh, it's got to be having an effect.

Ds apologised to me and admitted he's really worried about the 11+. No, it SHOULDN'T be THIS stressful, there should just be a great school. I am sleeping fine, and I can find life perfectly wonderful, just not right now, given my list of worries - which is VERY similar to yours Marina. Thank goodness work is easy peasy atm, it has been good having an easy last few months. I think I have 22 days left of doing this commute so I am nearly there! Actually, just counted it from my work calendar and it's NINETEEN DAYS, hurrah!

I am having fantasies about living somewhere like this. I also don't think dh fully realises just how much hard work it is going to be when his parents move here. Of course it's the right thing for them and of course we'll help a lot but I am honestly wondering where we will find time. Dh said last night "Oh, we'll find time" but couldn't really answer me when I said "where from?"

You are all lovely and it does help to offload here. Let's hope no job comes up for me and I get to take my 2 months off. The trouble is, if I get offered something I do have to take it since we do need to build a bigger cushion given the economic climate. Dh has pointed out that if I DON#T get another contract then I can take 2 months off and if I DO get another, I can finish earlier and have Oct half term off (as it stands if I don't have any other work we need the money from my working that week)

Thanks for listening.

www I think you are right about the commute - mine is 3 hours door to door and I find it exhausting. It's not just the travelling time it's the fact that everything else gets compressed at both ends.Hope you are feeling a bit better today.

Hey all, limping on (in pjs and no contact lenses, peering blearily at screen ... ) Would LOVE this to be the result of birthday hoopla, but instead it's the result of me and DS both being sick-sicketty-sick through the night - bleurgh. Is there a bug going round I wonder? And what do you do with a 6mo all day when you're both hideous vomitous masses?

Birthday itself was fine (DS got me a vegetable puree-er! so thoughtful of him! - actually hugely thoughtful of DP as was thinking I'd have to buy one for when I move to my sister's). Friends came over in the evening for cake and fizz, but was feeling queasy by this point so was on water and half a slice of dry toast myself (pushing the boat out! )

WWW, sounds like you have a huge amount on your plate at the moment; Marina ditto. The school stuff sounds like a devilish nightmare - I do hope it all comes right. Take it as easy as you can and look after yourselves? And bundle, v glad to hear about the cat. Ok, must go lie down

Oh dear, www, you poor bugger (and ds too) - it does sound horribly stressful, so sympathies. I certainly couldn't cope with that sort of commute - how on earth have you managed? Hats off to you, actually. It will come right... fingers x'd for 2 months off, at least.

Enjoy all your 'extra' time, cam and best wishes to your friend, moonshine - fingers x'd for her too.

Am still waiting on news of my job, which doesn't look as if it will start much before mid-Nov. So, next time you read those stories about a shocking shortage of midwives, think of me, fully qualified and sat twiddling my thumbs at home while the NMC sort out their annual backlog of paperwork. Yet again, the appearance of a whole bunch of newly-qualifieds around September seems to have come as some kind of surprise to them...

Still, possibly a good thing as I appear been stricken with plague. I have a malevolent eruption on my face that is so huge it may soon be eligible for its own council tax bill. Did the school run today with my face buried in my jumper, refusing to catch anyone's eye (especially those of Attractive Dad who then insisted on walking back with me to my car - aaargh).

Resisted temptation to eat chocolate/cake/icecream yesterday, despite foul mood due to the above/shitty weather/period/lack of job/lack of money/etc so hurrah for me!

Happy Weds to all. Multiple chins up...

morning all

www tis indeed an endurance test. I was once signed off work for a month with "stress" after doing a job for 18 mths that someone later told me "should never be done for more than 6 months" as it was so stressful!

xxx

www - you need a break. End of.

Snaf, are you qualified then? Well done! lol at your boil and thank you and to you bundle for kind thoughts

lol at multiple chins, I look a little like this today

Dh took children to school and I went back to bed this am until 9.45am so feel slightly better fro some more sleep.

www I'm lovin' that look

(ps there's someone here in the office taking pictures of Us Working - eeeek!

I have just had scrambled eggs with spinach stirred in and nutmeg/cheese on top.

It was delicious.

But now I want a bar of Dairy Milk, a cup of tea and a little sleep.

Good Afternoon, people

Glad to hear you sounding a little more cheerful www.

I've only given notice of p/t job outside of home ( have 3 weeks left of 4 weeks notice to do )

My admin work for dh's company and my holiday let will still both eat up time (but also provide an income)

BUT they are home based work, which is what I like.

My other job was in an office of 1,500 people which is basically one of my ideas of hell. I simply decided the (small) amount of pay wasn't worth the (large) amounts of stress.

We're all reaching those stages which have demands from the generations above and below at the same time aren't we - surely the true definition of middle age

True Cam, true re middle age and 2 generations.

Snaf, am about to go to Waitrose to buy my lunch.

marking for later

www, cam - tis the plight of the Sandwich Generation..

I have my mum and dad living a few streets from me now. It's ok at the moment as they are both well and mobile but I'm as my sister lives abroad and my brother isn't local any extra care will fall to me. What can you do? It will be fine I'm sure [naive emoticon] If it was PILs living this close though I'd be planning an escape route. And so would dh if truth be told.

The good: It's our 20th WA today, and DH had a lovely bouquet delivered to me at work (I went a lovely shade of pink, just like this - ).

The bad: DS1, seemingly pratting about with A N other(s) on the bus home from school, managed to get his thumbnail half ripped out of its bed, and DH has been at A&E with him for 2 hours, getting it fixed. The lad who caused the injury did apologise, and DS1 also accepts his part in the shenanigans.

The ugly: the behaviour of one of the girls on the bus, after the incident, when she was rather rude to DS1. We know her, she's generally a nice enough girl, but I'm a bit disappointed, tbh.

Happy Wedding Anniversary ureb

www - I was thinking - are your PILs are getting some support from SS etc where they live now? Presumably it's a different area/PCT? Is there someone in their current area who can help you with transferring the services?

And ouch! Poor ds1. And poor dh stuck at A&E.

www - best of luck for next week. Our Year 6s did there 11+ two weeks ago and are all smiley and chilled now. Que sera, sera (as Doris would have it).

L&S - belated birthday wishes and a speedy recovery. I heard on the radio that the winter vomiting bug has started early, so perhaps that's the cause of your bleurghness.

ureb - cringing at fingernail episode. I hope DS is feeling OK.

bundle - how is your cat doing?

I've just had a busy week of epic proportions. DH up in town a lot. Mahoosive IT project launch and the Sys Admin decided to resign. Too much work generally. Bloody preschool. Every child in the universe having a birthday in September. And we have rats. Arrrrrrgh. Anyway, it's over. And I am glad.

Bootcamping mixed. Water, moisturiser and food OK. Exercise has been pretty poor though. I'll either swim or run tomorrow.

Oh and late nights - 2am has been fairly common this week. I look about 20y older.

OMG at fingernail ureb, ewww. But aaah at 20 years, congratulations! I still think omg surely I'm not old enough to have been married 20 years but obviously, I am, it's just my perception that I can't possibly be this old! I have been with dh for 9 years next year, blimey.

DofN, sorry it's been an horrendous week, yes, I'll be glad when the 11bloody+ is over.

Saggars, good idea about contacting SS where they are now, will tell DH to do it. We had a chat last night and he said, rightly, that we need to be worrying about/concentrating on: 11+, my ending this contract and maybe getting another one but never mind if not, ds's birthday (3rd Oct) THEN PILS. He's right, they haven't even moved, I must just put it on the back burner, worrying about it and wait and see.

Yesterday
scrambled egg and bacon
pain au chocolat, oops
crab and salmon mousse with prawns
some of rthe childrens pizza, oops again
sea bass with fennel butter, green beans
crips, oops
wine, oops

but am working from home again today, hurrah as I have decided to let ds have a day off, he was sent home from school yesterday and altohugh I don't think there's anything wrong with him at all I think both he and I could do with a break and so we are going to loll about a bit today (I will have to do SOME work but not much, an hour, tops!)