Casually Sat Glueing My Car Back Together...

I haven't always been interested in cars.  Until I passed my test, and now I love em.  My first was a 1986  Nissan Micra,  which I hated with a passion so I replaced it with a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa... Which had one issue after another, so I sold it on ebay.  Then Came a 1999 Ford Mondeo which died a miserable death and I then went all out and bought a 2001 Vauxhall Vectra... But not any Vectra, this was a 2.2 SRI Irmscher.  I blummin loved it!  I had suddenly become proud of my car and didn't mind being seen driving it!  It opened a whole new world to me.  Driving wasn't just a function I performed, it was now fun!

Then disaster struck.  My marriage broke down and I could no longer afford to keep the car, so it had to go :-(

It soon became apparent that living 40 miles away from work and a journey consisting of 2 buses and a 45 min train journey just wasn't feasible, so I had to buy another car if I wanted to keep my job.

Then came along Rita.  Now I did name my cars in the past.  There was Colin The Corsa, Marjory the Mondeo and Vivienne The Vectra.  But Rita was different.  She was a 1994 Nissan Micra and I hated driving her "Another bloody Micra"  was my exact wording... She was an embarrassment in general.... But...  I could not fault her either.  I have had a fair few mini adventures in that car, and she took everything I ever threw at her.  She was formerly known as Rita The Queen Of Speed after the ride at Alton Towers.  Also known as Rita The All Terrain Micra.  That car did things she probably shouldn't... And yes I did take her off road on a few occasions and she made it every time.  Snow?  Puh-lease!  She was an all terrain Micra don't-cha know?  Its basically a sledge with an engine!  So when she failed her last MOT and I was told no amount of welding will fix her this time, it was time to have her put to sleep...  I was gutted and relieved all at once.

I knew I wasn't going to miss getting up dreading whether she wasn't going to start, or wondering if I would make it to wherever I was going.  I knew I wouldn't miss the general feeling of inadequacy on the motorway causing me to trundle along in the 'looser lane'.  But I would miss driving a scruffy car which didn't matter if I dinged it on something, or trying to beat my personal best at not cleaning her... (1 year 2 months before MrMc made me do it).  I wouldn't miss it when something fell off the car and having to limp to the garage to have it welded back on or scrounging round for some super glue to sit in the car park on your lunch hour casually glueing my car back together... (This also happened in my new car when the glass fell out of my wing mirror :-/ ).  But I have the memories and I am able to look back and laugh at all the stuff I used to get up to in that silly little car.

I would consider myself very fortunate if my new car (Priscilla the Passatt, Empress of the Macadam) gave me even half of the fond memories Rita did...  Even though Priscilla is 10 years younger than Rita, she has already started shedding parts, so maybe things are looking up!

Anyway, heres to Rita.  A truly awful car, but worth her weight in gold. (well not literally, cos scrap metal prices aren't that great atm)

This Week Oyve Mostly Been Eatin' Grass.

I can't particularly say I am a salad lover.  I really just can't see the appeal in eating something which tastes like grass...  

Another bugbear of mine is when someone says "I can't believe you don't like [insert food of your choice here], it doesn't taste of anything"...  Why bloody eat it if it doesn't taste of anything?  But I can guarantee you it DOES taste of something, otherwise I would like it wouldn't I?  Who do you know who doesn't like the taste of nothing?  You don't hear anyone ever saying I can't stand the taste of nothing, it tastes rubbish?  Exactly.  

Rant over.

As I was saying...  Salads.  I'm not a fan.  But due to the fact that I struggle to loose weight (thank you thyroid) and when I do my winning streak never lasts long and I soon plateau, causing me to become agitated and annoyed with myself until I finally give up and reach for the pizza...  but this time I NEED to loose some lbs...  I also WANT to do it.  Why pay a photographer an obscene amount of money to take pictures of your wedding only to not want to look at them because you don't like the way you look?

Fat Fighters

Instead of having some organisation or other liberate me of my money in return for telling me I am fat and giving me a complex plan to follow, which means I need to buy a magic calculator which operates on some form of Voodoo, and also purchasing a scoring system bible along with several recipe books which tells me I need to mix my ham with vinegar whilst drinking lettuce smoothies...  Na.  been there, done that, paid my fees.  I know what I need to do, I even know how to do it.  Its staying motivated which is the hard part.  That and what to have for lunch at work.  

I need something portable, quick and easy.  Sandwiches tend to have waaaaay too many wasted calories for such a small vessel.  So I have been experimenting with the salad...

For the first time in my life I have found myself uttering the words "Ooh what a lovely salad".  I am really not impressed with myself one bit...  A self confessed salad dodger saying they enjoyed a salad?  What is the world coming to!?  What next?  Ryvita for breakfast?

Anyway... 

The methodology behind getting Big Dawn to be Not-So Big Dawn is purely calorie counting and getting off my bum more often.  To assist me in my quest to reduce my bum from the size of a small planet to more of an acceptable high street clothing kind of size I have downloaded a cool little app for my Android phone called MyFitnessPal.  Its highly addictive and has a database of thousands of foods and even a barcode scanner!  It tells me how many calories I have eaten, how many calories I have left, what nutrients I have consumed and also lets me track my progress.  Its quite nifty really for a free app!  So now I can log what I have eaten whilst power walking to work from the car! (Well its a start isn't it?)*

www.myfitnesspal.com

So here goes nothing... Salad dodger becomes salad lover?  We shall see.

* May I add in my defence, I have a 60-mile round trip to work and I park a few minutes walk away from the office instead of in the actual car park to allow me to actually have the aforementioned walk...

Is it just a dress though?

I started out looking at dresses about 20 months before the wedding.  I originally saw an advert in a magazine for 10% off Berketex Brides!  so I decided that it would be a good opportunity to get out there and start having a look, as I had no idea what style/shape to go for whatsoever!  I could moon over what I think I want for months and plan a whole wedding around a dress style which could make me look like something from a "Fail" blog.  

So off I trotted with my Mum and "The Wife"  to see what we could find....

When we arrived the dress lady gave me some pegs and told me to "go play" and shout her when we were finished.  I did not feel comfortable at all.  All the dresses looked the same.  They were all big long white/ivory dresses with bits of shiney stuff stuck to them.  Dresses which could only be described as "another Saturday wedding dress".  

Harsh?  - possibly. 

But what do I do?  so I started pegging things which looked vaguely different to the others, and then it came crunch time... time to start trying on.

The first dress was very similar to this one....

But with baby pink detail.  I looked ridiculous.  Not a good start at all!  I looked like I had pink doilies stuck to me!

Then the lady manhandled me into this one...

I felt a little happier as it actually fit me!  But I still wasn't convinced.  I was asked to "go for a walk to get the feel for the dress".  So I shuffled off in shoes 2 sizes too big and a dress 2ft too long.  Whatever it was I was supposed to be feeling wasn't coming to me, unless I was meant to feel wobbly and freaky.

Unconvinced and becoming disheartened,  I begrudgingly allowed myself to be shoehorned into this dress...

I won't lie to you, it was big...  and heavy...  But it looked awesome!  By adding a mahoosive skirt, my waist seemed to disappear!  It also had lots of sparkles and a long train.  I actually liked the great big meringue, which I formerly snubbed!  Sadly, this was not the end.  The Wife asked me to try on a fourth "as a favour".  I did decline originally due to the fact that I thought I would look totally ridiculous in it, but the dress lady actually convinced me to "give it a go".

I shall not post a picture of the dress just yet due to the fact that it set firm guidelines as to what style of dress I "needed".  My Mum actually started crying, followed by The Wife.  Ho hum.

I was then informed of the price... £1900!  WTF.  really?  No, I mean, really?  

At least Dick Turpin wore a bloody mask!

Back to the drawing board.

The following week MrMc's mum took me out to a place called The Bridal Warehouse, in Northallerton,  which was full of seconds, samples and excess stock.  Yea, another room full of big white and ivory dresses.  Same procedure as before.  I was given some tags and sent on my merry way.  As all the dresses are one off's and off the peg, you need to try and get a dress that vaguely fits, which proved to be difficult as most of them appeared to be size 8's & 10's and when you are a short round person, its actually really difficult!

I picked out whatever 'might' fit me and was manhandled into one dress after another, about 9 in total... I was beginning to feel really fed up.  All of them looked great in their own way, and all of them were a good price.  But I just wasn't happy.  The shop lady by this time was beginning to get really agitated with me, and impatiently asked me what it was I was really wanting.  She came back a few minutes later with a dress not too dissimilar from the stupidly expensive one.  It fit!  (well it fastened up - just).  And the skirt 4" shorter at the back than the front.  But the price was low, so after some persuasion from Mother In Law and much tutting and huffing and puffing from the staff -I bought it.

Just like that!

One problem...  10 months later and with 10 months to go til 'W' day.  I try it on.  

Do you know that feeling you get when something not nice has just happened?  That kind of feeling you would get if you had just missed the last train home, and you had no money for a taxi and you had left your bank card at home? or you realise you had nothing in your bank account and you were at the petrol station with a tank full of unpurchased fuel?  Or possibly you have just been caught photocopying your bum by the Chief Executive?  That kind of OhPleaseGodNo! feeling.  

My heart sank.  It didn't fit.  Not by a long long way.  I know I have been through an awful lot recently, but could I have let my weight slip that much!?  The hips were gathered up around my waist, and I looked ridiculous stood there in my mums living room in a dress 4 sizes too small for me, whilst they fussed round trying to invent ways of making it fit... How humiliating.

I actually cried when I got home.  Partly because of the shame and partly because of the issue of what am I going to do now??  I really do struggle with weight loss and I think I would need to shed at least 4st for the dress to be even remotely right!  (why oh why did I buy it?!  It didn't fit me to start with!!)

Cue a month of being in a tis with myself and strict dieting with a side order of mild exercise.  The lb's came off and a stone and a bit were lost, back to where I started.  The dress still looked ridiculous.  Why oh why did I let myself be bullied into buying it?

I wasn't happy.  I needed a Plan B to put my mind at ease then if all else fails then I will have a fall back plan...

This is where I start dress shopping all over again.  But this time I won't stop until I have found something perfect.  However, I wont buy anything until the last possible minute, just to be sure that my dress can be salvaged.

So is it "Just a dress?".  For it to invoke the kind of extreme emotions I have been having throughout the whole dress issue.  I think a girls wedding dress has become a little more than that.  How often do you hear women when talking about weddings and they immediately ask about "The Dress?"  I think my desire to look beautiful on my wedding day has taken over my life at the minute.  The sheer cost of the whole wedding alone has added pressure...  Why save money to make your special day just right and then have the bride turn up in whatever fits, or whatever she scrounged up?

Im diggin myself in deeper here arnet I?

Oh bother.

Inappropriate Shoes & Shoe Epiphanies

It was my cousins babies christening today.  I travelled the 1.5 hour journey back to the land from whenst I came, playing irritate the cocky Mercedes driver on the motorway on the way there...  (He was one of those annoying idiotic types who undertake and overtake and basically travel everywhere tailgating folk and flying along at 150mph, so deserved everything he got... (delighted snigger))

Anyway, several weeks ago I bought some orange wedges from Very and I have been dying to wear them since!  As I mentioned previously, I don't do high heels.  I cant steer them and I just can't acclimatise to the agony in the balls of my feet!  But my orange wedges... well, for me they are high.  Very high.  But due to the platform, the incline isn't too steep, its just the overall height gives me a much needed lift!  So I am insanely surprised that after standing for most of the day, I have no blisters, no agony when walking, no waddle, nothing!  Its like they are miracle shoes or something!  I don't feel I could spend all day wandering round the shops in them or anything, but I think I may be able to endure a few drinks out with the girlies, or a wedding even!

Reading this it may seem a little strange that Im so excited about a pair of shoes...  Well yea, I am a little.  Only because the only heel height I have been able to wear in previous years in a 1 1/2" - 2" maximum!  Even then I end up kicking them off and wandering around bare footed.  (It doesn't help that I am 5' nothing tall...)

I think this means I may have a new hobby... hunting down platform wedges... Oh what a Rock n' Roll lifestyle I lead!

Oh and before I am told off.. No, I did not drive in these, and the christening well brilliantly.  A good time was had by all!

Congratulations beautiful little girl!

Oh and mini-me also had a good time by the looks of her in the car...