Look at me, back with another weekly slice. Who even am I? I hardly ever spend money on myself but this week I bought myself not one, but two pairs of shoes! PMS made me do it honestly! PMS is a b*tch. It makes you feel bloated and uncomfortable in your clothes. Buying new clothes is the last thing I want to do when that happens. However, buying new shoes? That’s a whole different ball game and that is exactly what I did. To be fair, I did well. I managed to get a pair of Tasman Uggs and some New Balance trainers for less than £130.
PMS made me do it honestly
I’ll admit when I first saw people wearing Tasman Uggs on the school run I hated them. They look like they had come to do the school run in their slippers. I mean, I have seen Mum’s doing the school run in their actual slippers (no shaming here!), but I still wasn’t keen. Back in the day I had Ugg boots, my brain hurts trying to work out how long ago that was. It also made me feel very old as I think it was at least 15 years ago! Not quite sure how that was possible as I’m sure I was just a toddler back then. I digress, slowly these slippers that aren’t slippers started warming on me. Then the inevitable happened, animal print! Anyone who knows me, knows that I am wearing some form of animal print on any given day. It is my undoing.
I was with the boys at football practice when my friend’s tween daughter turned up in animal print Ugg slipper shoes. How did I not even know this was a thing? I had been convinced. I absolutely NEEDED these shoes. My rational mind saw they were over £100 and I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Unbeknownst to me, my body going through it’s monthly cycle, made me want to splash the cash one evening. I deserve it, I thought to myself. As the OFFICE website loaded, imagine my surprise when I saw said shoes were on sale. It was meant to be. One pair of animal print shoe slippers added to my basket. Thank you very much.
Then I realised my trainers had seen better days too. In for a penny in for a pound I thought, and before I knew it there was a beautiful pair of New Balance trainers in my basket too. Total £140 – which is an absolute bargain I hasten to add. Plus I managed to use my blue light discount and got both pairs for £126! This perked me up for all of 24 hours.
Mother Nature
In the cold light of day the following day, I reflected on spending over £100 on myself. I thought I might feel guilty but I didn’t. I needed new trainers, I didn’t need new Uggs. Did that matter though, I work hard for my money and sometimes I deserve to buy myself nice things. For part of that day I had a spring in my step, I finally had some time to myself and I had some new shoes ordered. Then the garage phoned to say my car was ready, it had needed some work doing. £300 later, I could tell my card was feeling the strain.
It was most unlike me to spend that sort of money on myself, what I didn’t realise then, was that PMS made me do it. I was obviously starting to feel down and needed a little pick me up. The weekly food shop was next on the to-do list. Every Monday I start out with the best intentions to have a healthier week, then I go to the supermarket and it all goes to pot. I added the fresh fruit and vegetables to my trolley, some chicken and mince for protein. It was all going so well. Then I needed to add a mini egg chocolate bar, they’re limited edition! Also some McCoy crisps, I’ve not had some of those for ages. What I didn’t realise then, that I do now is that PMS made me do it honestly.
PMS or Perimenopause?
I’ll admit, I am out of sync with with my periods. I’m at that stage of my life where i’m not sure if I have an almost permanent case of PMS or whether I am going through perimenopause. I am supposed to be tracking my periods, but I haven’t been. So it did come as a surprise to me this week when Mother Nature paid me a visit. It was almost like an ephiany. Poor Mark had been put through it that week, luckily he had disappeared in the van, because I couldn’t even tolerate him breathing next to me. He was due to come over that evening, and I suddenly realised I was looking forward to seeing him. Immediately afterwards, Mother nature made her appearance known!
It was quite sad for me to realise that I hadn’t listened to my body at all that week. All the signs were there, the moodiness, feeling bloated, needing dopamine hits, and skin flare-ups to name a few. How had I not noticed? In my constant rushing around from one place to the next, I had not taken the time to notice these things about myself. It made me realise I need to slow down.
So that’s what next week is going to look like for me. Not living in a constant state of rushing. The feeling of always being in fight or flight mode is utterly exhausting, and I have decided I need to make it stop. I am making more time for the things that relax me in the coming week. Writing articles on here, reading and maybe an exercise video or a swim! I am also going to order a positivity journal, so I can take the time to reflect upon each day and slow myself down.
What does PMS make you do?
Many joke about PMS, and I remember, even as a teenager, the snide comments ‘Are you due on your period?’. As if any sign of you being moody, must be your hormones, not the fact that they are just f*cking annoying. Do you know the symptoms of PMS? It goes way beyond feeling moody, although of course, irritability is one of them! Physical symptoms include, bloating, breast tenderness, headaches, constipation or diarrhoea and tiredness. As well as this there are a number of emotional symptoms too. These include, anxiety, food cravings, lowered concentration and a decrease in libido.
Have you noticed any changes in yourself and your body in the lead up to your period? On a fun note, what can we blame on having PMS?
What else happened this week?
I’ve had a bit of a cold this week which has meant a flare up of my phantosmia. Which sounds more exciting than it really is. Essentially it is hallucinations for your nose! It’s usually unpleasant smells such as burning, and in my case it is the smell of cigarette smoke. It happened after covid and had been getting better, but with having a cold, it is back. So that hasn’t been particularly nice.
I got my car repaired at the garage which makes me feel better. The brakes needed doing, and in all this rain and potentially some icy weather ahead I wanted to get them sorted. Speaking of the car, I got a parking ticket at work 😡. Fun fact, as NHS employees we have to pay to park at work. There are more permits granted than spaces, which means there often aren’t places to park. I was parked legally in a staff space, so that wasn’t the issue. The issue, was that despite having an ANPR system that has the car registrations of those with permits, you also have to have your permit on display. Mine had fallen off, and so now I have to pay the fine.
I’ve been updating some articles on here this week too. Firstly where can kids eat free in the half term? There’s lots of great places offering free or £1 meals, it’s a great opportunity to get the kids to try something new. The other article is universal credit days out, making days out in the half term more accessible.
Book of the week
Last week I told you how I was starting Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I didn’t think I would get through it in a week, but I couldn’t put it down. A full review will be up here next week, as I haven’t done one of those for a while. I have been seeing the trailer for the new Wuthering Heights movie EVERYWHERE. What better time to listen to the book before watching the film. I wanted to listen to the version that Joanne Froggatt narrates, on my library apps there was a long queue for it. One of them doesn’t have it available until April. Then I found it on Audible Plus, but it is only on there until the 11th February, so I need to listen to it quickly. Otherwise, i’ll buy it if i’m enjoying it.
I am reading Reckless by Elsie Silver on my Kindle at the moment. I do love this series, even though it makes me blush! Definitely not one to read when the kids are around. I am wanting to get it finished as I have been chosen as an ARC reader for a new book called The tides of Xanthia by Evelyn Briar and I can’t wait to read it. The book isn’t available to buy until April, so I want to have it read and reviewed before then for the author.
What’s on the box?
Over the last few days we have blitzed though the series His and Hers on Netflix. It is a psychological thriller based on the book by Alice Feeney. I have read her book Beautiful Ugly and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to watch this despite not having read the book. A murder brings back an estranged husband (a detective) and his wife (a journalist) back together. Both suspect each other of committing the murder. If you haven’t seen it yet, it is definitely worth watching! I knew there would be a twist at the end, and it did not disappoint!
See you next week
Another week has drawn to a close! I hope it has been a good one for you. As always, I am looking for some meal inspo before my food shop, so send them my way.
Sophie x
