Snow and pantomimes and cocktails...oh my!!

What a busy weekend it's been! So busy that I'm really glad I booked today off to recover, especially as I've not been feeling 100% today. But along with the busyness, there's also been lots of fun with some of my favourite people so I'm really happy to be reliving the past three days through this post! Let's start off with Friday...

Friday
On Friday, I'd booked a half day at work so finished just after 2. I hurried home grateful that I wouldn't be commuting through the heavy snow that had been forecast for rush hour that evening. I then spent some time visiting some of my favourite websites before having a shower, grabbing some tea and then getting ready to make my way to the first performance of my drama group's pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk. My mum and dad had got tickets for opening night so we all piled into their car and drove carefully through the heavy snow that had been falling for an hour or so. As always, the nerves were jangling and there was an adrenaline rush that could probably be felt by all the cast and crew, but I think it's safe to say that we all had a fantastic time on stage and the audience seemed to love it too! Then the show was over, and we left the warm and bright church hall and stepped into a veritable winter wonderland! The snow clearly hadn't stopped falling for the entire performance, and it lay thickly on each and every surface around us. The drive home was tough, even though we were only driving a very short distance. We were still in the grip of the snowstorm and even the major roads hadn't been treated, meaning the only way to position our car on the road was to look out for the tracks made by other drivers! I honestly can't ever remember driving in conditions like that before and  it was a bit worrying at times, especially when we could see cars skidding in front of us! Luckily we made it home safe and well, and I spent the rest of the evening warm near the fire :-)

Saturday
I had a lazy morning, before acting in my second performance of the weekend. After the show, I went round to the home of my friends The Performer and The Guitarist (both of whom were also involved in the panto), where we met up with a couple of others and then all headed off for a post birthday meal at one of my favourite restaurants: Pacifica Cantonese. Seriously, if you're ever in the Manchester area, I'd highly recommend it, even if you're not normally into Chinese food! The king do ribs and spicy Mongolian beef are to die for! After eating, I'd planned to go to the restaurant's upstairs cocktail bar for a few drinks, but it was booked for a private party so when my friends who'd just planned to have drinks with me had arrived too, we took the short walk to a pub known for its low prices. 2 pitchers of cosmopolitan for £10? Yes please! The night ended with a cold and rainy walk home in high heels...never the best idea! And judging from the blisters I had when I got home, I think my feet would agree with me!

Sunday
The first part of my day was basically the same as Saturday's (a lazy morning followed by the pantomime), then I grabbed a quick Subway sandwich with the Performer and the Guitarist, before the three of us were picked up by the Guitarist's brother and taken to the cinema where we watched Les Miserables. We opted to book in for Gold Class, which whilst being more expensive than your standard cinema experience, meant that we got leather reclining seats, free popcorn and access to our own private bar! Don't mind if I do! And as for the film itself? Well, as a fan of the musical, I was sure I'd love it and it's safe to say it didn't disappoint! I laughed, I cried (at least three times!) and was taken aback by the sheer spectacle on many an occasion. I'll definitely be seeing it again, and if Anne Hathaway doesn't win an Oscar for her role as Fantine, then there simply isn't any justice in the world ;-)!!

Monday
Basically the laziest of lazy days! :-) I watched Murder, She Wrote with a cup of tea, got dressed and took a brief walk before lunch, then spent the rest of the time either on the Internet, watching TV and/or eating! It's been a lovely way to round off my long weekend, although it's really making me not want to have to get up at  5:45 for work tomorrow :-( . Roll on 4 pm on Friday when my week's holiday from work begins!

And that's pretty much it! Hope you've enjoyed my weekend round up. What did you get up to? Was your weekend as busy as mine or much more chilled out? Let me know, it'd be great to hear from you!

'Til next time...

January round up

I honestly can't believe that we're approaching the end of January already, it certainly doesn't seem like a whole month ago that I awoke with a stinking headache, no phone and only a hazy recollection of the events of the night before! But somehow it has been, and here's my round up of what I've got up to in the last 31 days:

This January I have:

• Vowed not to drink too much ever again...my escapades on New Year's Eve cost me my recently upgraded mobile phone and some of my favourite eyeshadows as well as leaving me with a killer hangover, a badly grazed shoulder and severe embarrassment. Methinks I'll leave the drunkenness to other people from now on.
• Celebrated 4 family birthdays, including my own. I turned 28 on 22nd January and enjoyed a lovely weekend with some of my closest friends and family, during which I was thoroughly spoiled. I really am a very lucky girl! :-)
• Indulged in some shopping of both the sales and non-sales varieties...pictures will be up as soon as I can get hold of a decent camera!
• Enjoyed a lovely 9 day holiday from work :-) I didn't really do much, but it was very nice to get up and go to bed when I pleased, go shopping and get my hair done and generally just laze around <3
• And on the subject of work, I have actually felt more settled in my job and happier with my performance over the last few weeks. Whilst I'm nowhere near as competent and confident as I'd like to be, there have been definite signs of improvement and I'm hopeful that I'm moving in the right direction :-)
• Seen my best friend J (and her husband) for the first time since last summer. The three of us met up for coffee and a chat on Saturday, and whilst we didn't have much time together ( they were only visiting for the weekend so had a seriously packed schedule!) it was lovely to see her again and catch up with all her news. I was especially delighted to discover that she's 14 weeks pregnant (she's due in late July) and to see a scan picture...I'm seriously so happy for her and her husband S and I can't wait for the new arrival.
• Indulged in some girl time with 3 of my favourite ladies. We spent a little time shopping, saw "The Sitter" at the cinema and then rounded our afternoon off with a Nandos. It was an absolutely fantastic few hours and we were all agreed that we should make it a regular occurrence; it was the perfect Sunday treat.
• Enjoyed nights in and out with old friends; these are often some of the highlights of my week and there was no exception this month. I'm so lucky to have such a fantastic group of friends and hope that we'll always be as close as we are now.

And that was my January. How was yours? Did you do anything exciting? Tell all...I'd love to hear from you!

Till next time...

A weekly round up

And what a week it's been! With full time work, a lovely but busy day off midweek and a particularly hectic weekend all on the agenda, it's certainly been jampacked with both the good and bad (although I'm pleased to report that the good most definitely won out!). I could write a whole series of posts about what I've been up to, although for the sake of time, convenience and your boredom thresholds, I think I'll limit it to just one :-). And so, without any more waffling, here are the highlights (and low points) of the week that was:

Highs

• A bumper birthday weekend: This weekend has been full of birthday celebrations for some of my nearest and dearest, and I've had a simply fantastic time! On Friday night, I went to Pacifica Cantonese to celebrate my friend, The Performer's, 28th. I ate some of the best Chinese food I've ever tasted (the ribs were to die for), caught up with good friends and enjoyed cocktails and karaoke in the restaurant's upstairs bar. I was having such a good time that I certainly didn't want to go home and have an early night in preparation for work the next day ;-) (more on that later)! Then last night, I headed over to Felicini's, for another friend's surprise 30th. It was another night filled with fun, laughter, singing, dancing, food and alcohol, and it was made all the sweeter by the knowledge that I could have a lie in this morning! :-) Finally, this morning, my family and I visited my Grandad to celebrate his 92nd birthday with him. He's such a caring and generous person and a true gentleman, and I'm so glad that I still have a grandparent around to share their special day with. We ate cake, took photos and had a lovely time all round...pretty much a perfect Sunday morning.

• A new Christmas favourite: Yes, I know it's not Christmas yet but today my 2 sisters and I watched Arthur Christmas at the cinema. After hearing good things about the film prior to watching it, it would have been very easy to be disappointed with the reality of it, but it more than lived up to my expectations. It was both funny and moving in turn (I'm not ashamed to say that I welled up on more than one occasion, all I can say is thank goodness for my 3D glasses), and it's definitely an addition to my list of must watch festive films.

• Primark goodies: Regular readers of my blog will know of my love for Primark, and there's nothing I like better than going on a shopping spree there. And it felt even better as I was able to pay for all my purchases using money given to me by my Grandad (I told you he was generous!) I picked up some fantastic pieces, and I can't wait to share them all with you in a "What's in my Wardrobe Wednesday" post :-)

• Catching up with friends: Due to my work schedule of the last few weeks,I've had very little time to socialise so it's been great to really reconnect with good friends over the past few days. I know a few weeks doesn't sound like very long, but when I've previously been used to seeing some of these people two or three times a week, it really feels like it!

• Exciting events ahead: Last night I received an invitation to the wedding reception of two of my friends (the Comedian and the Enigma). They're planning an Easter wedding in Florida, but are throwing a big party for all their friends and family at the start of June. Even though it's months away,I'm already excited as I think about the good times that lie ahead.

Lows

• Work worries: By nature, I'm a bit of a worrier and I seem to worry about work more than most.I worry that I'm not good enough at my job, and in areas where I know there is room for improvement,I worry that I'm never going to get better. It doesn't matter that there are areas of my work that I've been praised for, or the fact that I've only been out of training for 4 weeks and am still learning the ropes, I just seem to dwell on the negative. Here's hoping that I can have a more positive attitude next week!

• Rude customers: I appreciate that not every customer I deal with during a shift is going to be happy and upbeat, and I can understand people being upset or angry if they are not happy with a situation they've found themselves in. That's only natural. But what I can't abide is customers who are rude or shout at me from the word go. It is not my fault they're experiencing the issues they are, so to talk down to me and blame me for their problems is not on. At the end of the day, I'm doing my utmost to help them, so to have that kind of attitude makes me seethe.

• Hangovers and bumpy rides: So Friday night, I went out and maybe drank a little more and got home a little later than I should have done. And on Saturday morning, I might have just gone back to sleep after my alarm had gone off and had to rush to catch my bus. And there is just the teensiest possibility that I felt a little queasy and the bus jolting up and down didn't really help. But all of that's just speculation of course...! ;-)

• Darker mornings and nights: I really wish it wasn't still dark when I got up in the mornings and dark when I leave at night, even if I'm only working 'til 5. That is all.

And there you have it...another week summarised! 'Til next time...

Last week's Highs and Lows

Yes, I know it's Wednesday and we're nearly half way through this week already, but I'm really aiming to make my "Highs and Lows" posts a regular series again, so I'm starting as I mean to go on! Better late than never, that's my motto!

And so on to last week...there were a few seemingly small, yet meaningful highs mixed with a couple of definite lows but, most importantly, it was a positive one overall and I ended it looking forward to the week ahead :-) . So without further ado, here's what had me beaming from ear to ear or down in the dumps last week:

Highs

• Finding £60 I'd forgotten I had: I was looking for something,opened one of drawers and bam...there it was! A quick check with my mum later, and I established that it was definitely mine to keep spend. :-) Exactly what I needed in these tight financial times!

• A couple of shorter (and quieter) afternoons at work: Last week, the 5 year old boy I act as support worker for had a couple of taster sessions at the school he'll be starting in September. And as his support worker, I accompanied him. The upshot of this was a happy little boy...he loved joining in with all the activities the school had to offer and was really keen to get on well with both his new classmates and the staff working there, as well as a very happy Julie! My afternoons were pretty much stress free due to his excellent behaviour (a radical departure from some days at the nursery) and the fact that I only worked half my usual hours for the two days, but was still paid for the full afternoon each time, made them even sweeter. A definite high in my book.

• Midweek curry night and making winter plans with friends: Last Wednesday night, a few friends and I headed to our local pub for their curry night...curry with all the sides plus a free drink for a bargain price and I'm definitely in! We ate, we drank and also made tentative plans for the winter weekend away I discussed in this post. All in all, it was a lovely relaxing night, perfect for recharging our batteries midweek, and something that I hope we'll repeat sooner rather than later.

• Baking for the first time in AGES: Over the last couple of months, my weekends have been so filled with job applications and other things to get done that any plans to bake have fallen right by the wayside. But last Saturday, with no job applications imminent, I decided to get my baking head on and made 2 batches of flapjacks; one with sultanas and cherries and the other with chocolate chips. Both were delicious (if I do say so myself!) although I don't think I added quite enough liquid to the choc chip batch as they ended up harder and more crunchy than the fruit ones; they kind of reminded of Nature Valley bars. Very tasty, but not so good for your teeth!

• Spending time with the cutest class ever: Last Friday, I had a job interview and whilst I was at the school I had the opportunity to meet one of the classes. And oh my gosh, they were amongst the sweetest children I had ever met. Bright, friendly and full of fun, they had a knack of making me feel instantly at ease and I absolutely adored the time I spent with them. Plus I walked away with a number of pictures they'd made for me, which is always a reliable measure of a good day at school in my book!

• A couple of long lie ins: Whilst I don't have to get up too early for work in the week, I do have to set my alarm so I really appreciated just being able to sleep until the time nature intended last weekend. After 9:30? Don't mind if I do!

Lows

• Not getting the job: Before last Friday, I'd had 2 other job interviews this year. I was unsuccessful on both occasions, and whilst the rejection stung, I wasn't overly upset, probably because I wasn't 100% sure that the jobs or schools were right for me. Friday was different. I really wanted the job. Then I went to the school, met the children and wanted it even more. Everything just seemed to fit: the role I'd be taking on, the ethos of the school, the welcoming attitudes of everyone I met plus the fact that I thought my interview had gone reasonably well. And then I got the call (well, actually the answerphone message as I was working at the time the headteacher rang): I hadn't got it. And let me tell you, it hurt. It hurt like hell. I'd wanted it so badly and there was nothing I could do. Except cry and feel like a massive failure (which I did). And then I dusted myself down and waited for feedback (I'm still waiting now). And so the job hunting starts again...

• My grandad going into hospital: My grandad has been in and out of the hospital over the past week and a half or so. Nothing major but after 3 hospital trips in 4 days, mainly due to minor falls, they decided to keep in him for a few days whilst they worked on his mobility. He finally came out of hospital today, and fingers crossed that, with his new mobility aids and a few adjustments that have been made at his home, he won't be making a return journey any time soon :-)

And that's pretty much it! Hope you're having a good week so far...I'm already thinking of things that can go on my next highs and lows list!!

'Til next time...

Highs and Lows of the Week

(Picture taken from weheartit.com)

As the picture says, Happy Sunday everyone! Hope everyone is having one as restful and enjoyable as mine has been so far! And as it's Sunday, there's really no better time to post a round up of the highs and lows of my week. Now long-time readers might remember that this was a feature of the blog back in the days when I did actually post with some regularity, and I'm really keen to make it a major part of it this time around too. Not only does this lazy blogger not have to think of anything original to blog about on Sunday nights (a bonus for me, especially if my brain's been mashed with school work!!), but I also feel it's a really good exercise in giving thanks for both the big and not-so-big things that contribute to making my life as good as it is (I am lucky, even if I forget that sometimes  a lot). So without further ado, here's what's been making me smile and cry this week:

Lows

• Being diagnosed with suspected mumps: This has been my big all encompassing low of the week. Now, firstly this has meant that I've had a swollen face (mainly on the LHS) and chin, which was quite painful leading up to, and also in the first couple of days after, my diagnosis. Also, as mumps is a highly contagious disease, I've been sat at home since Tuesday afternoon for fear of infecting others which means I've missed out on watching "Ghost the Musical", rehearsal and the pub with my drama buddies on Friday night and my friend's hen do (bachelorette party) last night. And it's not just socialising that I've been barred from this week...mumps has also cheated me of the chance to say a proper goodbye to all the children I've taught and the staff I've worked with at the school I've been doing long term supply at since the start of November. The last point was by far the hardest to deal with...I'd been coming to terms with the end of my contract on Friday for a few weeks. I'd already started to plan a party for the children I'd worked with and was determined to go out on a high. And then on Tuesday afternoon I went to the doctors and never came back...now the school have made it quite clear that I'm more than welcome to drop in when I'm feeling better and believe me I'm going to (I have a mountain of resources to sort out besides anything else!!), but it still won't be quite the same :-(

Highs

• Realising there really is no place like home: Now when you're ill, or even if you're just feeling sorry for yourself, there's nowhere you'd rather be than home, And no-one you'd rather have taking care of you than your mum! Seriously, I don't know what I'd have done if I hadn't been living at home this week. Mum made sure I had food that I was able to eat (even going so far as to cut the crusts off my bread when my jaw was at its most painful) so I didn't go hungry and I was just able to laze around all day, safe in the knowledge that I had no household jobs to be getting on with. And big thanks also go to my sisters for having the great idea for them, my mum and I to have a DVD night last night and to my dad for hugging me and just being there while I had a bit of a cry the other day. And whilst I'm thanking the others, I suppose I can't go without thanking my brother for not being quite as annoying as usual lol!! Seriously, I would have been lost without them this week, so I'm saying a BIG thank you to them all as well as Happy Mother's Day to my fabulous Mum!!
• Having a rest (which really was needed): This time last week I was STRESSED. I had lots of work still to do for school, I had lots of busy evenings coming up in terms of social events and driving lessons and I really wanted a break. Then came my swollen face and the doctor's appointment and bam!! 3 weeks off. A few days of doing pretty much nothing and a few latish get ups and daytime naps later and I'm feeling pretty much back to normal. Just in time for the 2 week spring holidays...woohoo!! :-)
• Fabulous friends: The kind who take time out of their day to text or fb you to see how you are. The kind who listen to you moan without a word except if it's to check if there's anyway they can make your situation better. I've been reminded of how many of those I have over the past few days, and it's lovely, let me tell you.
• Losing weight: Over the past three or four weeks, I've been following a personal training programme on the "Biggest Loser" Wii game. Now, I won't pretend I've been being a saint by any means...I've not been exercising every day and I'm not being overly restrictive with what I've been eating, but I have been upping my activity levels (both in terms of doing the suggested workouts and some extra walking thanks to my afternoon job) so I was quite disappointed when my first couple of weigh ins showed that I hadn't lost any weight and my weight had, in fact, marginally increased. So it was with trepidation that I stepped onto the balance board today, having done no exercise for over a week and I was convinced that I'd be looking at no change at best. Imagine my disbelief when I saw that I had, in fact, lost 1.4 kg!! Considering my appetite hasn't been noticeably decreased by my illness, it came as quite a welcome surprise, but now the flip side is that I'm feeling the pressure not to put the weight back on as soon as I can eat crisps and the like!

And that was the week that was...and here's to the next one!! :-)

Till next time...

Has it really been a month...

since my last post?? Well, apparently so...although I can't quite believe it. But then again, when I think about what a whirlwind it's been, maybe I can!

So what's been making me so busy? Well, if you'd noticed my last post you might have a bit of an inkling...remember those two job opportunities that I mentioned? Well, I got them both! During the space of 24 hours, I went from having no job to having two. And I've been working my ass off ever since (well most of the time anyway!!) I'm now employed as a teacher every weekday morning, when I work with groups of 7-11 year olds who are struggling with maths and literacy. And then I also work as a sales assistant 2 evenings a week. So it's been a big change for me, but one which I'm loving so far, even if I am finding it hard to adjust to the fact that my evenings and weekends aren't always my own anymore! I could go on and on about my new teaching opportunity, and suffice to say, I'll probably dedicate a whole post to that pretty soon...but as for now, I think it's time to move on.

Even though work has been a major part of my life over the past month, I have found some time for myself and I can safely say that I've valued every minute of it! Here's some of the things I've got up to:

• Christmas Shopping: I can't believe how quickly Christmas is coming up...it'll be here in less than 5 weeks!! And as of just a week ago I was almost completely unprepared, having bought very few presents...but now, thanks to a lot of online shopping and a couple of afternoon shopping trips, I feel much happier about things. I'm not totally sorted by any means but I'm getting there!
• Sharing in Birthday celebrations with family and friends: October and November are busy months for me in terms of birthdays, and I've really enjoyed catching up with family and friends and celebrating together. I've indulged in a Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet for my friend N's birthday and a delicious pub lunch for my Grandad's 91st! I enjoyed an evening of comedy and cocktails (only one...it was a school night!) for my friend E's 27th and made a mad dash across town after work to celebrate my friend D's special day. All were special in very different ways, and I can't wait for the next big event :-)
• Buying tickets: Whilst spending almost 5 hours trying to book concert tickets isn't much fun, I'm so glad that I (and my sisters) did. Because, as a result of our perseverance, stubbornness and downright craziness (on my part at least!), two of my best girl friends and I will be going to see Take That in June next year!! Although I wasn't particularly a fan of them the first time around, since they've got back together I've developed a new found love for them and that coupled with the fact they've got a reputation for putting on incredible live show made me determined to get tickets no matter what!
• Just chilling: Whether it's with a mini bottle of wine and Saturday night TV, or checking Facebook and my favourite blogs in a break from work, I've been loving those precious moments of doing nothing much.

And with that, I'm signing off. Bedtime isn't far away as I've got a 6:45 am alarm call in the morning, and I'm determined that tonight isn't going to be a late one.

Till next time...

Autumn Days (in words)

Today has been a beautiful autumn day...cool and crisp with lovely sunny skies. Whilst it isn't my favourite season (I don't really know if I have one to be honest), there are certainly many things that I appreciate about it, and I thought I'd share a few of them today:

• The beautiful colours of the autumn leaves...I adore the reds and oranges, yellows and browns and hearing their crunch when they're underfoot is music to my ears!!
• Halloween!! Whilst I'm no longer a child myself, and don't often celebrate the occasion in a big way, I still love lots of things about the date. Seeing little trick or treaters in cute costumes, and sometimes getting the chance to dress up myself, pumpkin lanterns which add an eerie glow to many a house, eating themed food...all fabulous in my book!!
• Chilly autumn mornings when you can see your breath and the crisp, bright days that follow. I do know that we get rainy autumn days too...but I'm choosing to ignore that fact (hell, it's my blog and I can do what I like!!)
• Buying new autumn clothes and rediscovering old favourites...I love wrapping up in cardigans and am looking forward to being able to wear my cosy boots again!!
• Conkers...As a child, the start of the conker season was one of the main heralds of autumn for me, alongside the start of a new school year of course, and I still love collecting a few of them when I'm out walking. However, even though these days I'm particularly discerning and only pick the shiniest and most beautiful looking ones, I've still got quite a few and I'm not quite sure where I should put them or what I should do with them!!
• The smoky scent of bonfires and fireworks...Even though I hate fireworks and so am not overly fond of Bonfire Night, I love the smells associated with it, and the smoky, slightly foggy atmosphere that lingers for a day or two afterwards. And being the food lover that I am, I also look forward to such treats as parkin (a dark and sticky ginger cake made with treacle and oats) and treacle and cinder toffees :-)
• Dark autumn evenings spent watching TV or reading and curling up near the warm fire (I would describe it as roaring but that would be an exaggeration considering our fire is gas powered lol!!)
• Autumn baking and cooking...This is the first autumn that I've really got into baking/cooking and I'm looking forward to making lots of seasonal treats including parkin, halloween biscuits, gingerbread, soup and lots of apple and pumpkin based cakes. I can't wait!!

And those are a few of my favourite autumn things!! What are yours?? I'd love to hear from you :-)

Till next time...

PS: I was intending to include some pretty pictures with this post, but we heart it is being slow and I'm getting impatient, so you're just going to have to wait till another day! I'll post an autumn days picture post soon, I promise!

Food, fun and friends...

are three of my favourite things, and I'm happy to say I'll be enjoying all three over the next couple of days, as I'm going out for a meal at my local Italian restaurant this evening to celebrate one friend's birthday and a pub lunch for another friend's birthday tomorrow. I'm just so excited...good food is a particular weakness of mine and eating it surrounded by some of my closest friends will make it all the better. Add to that the fact that I'm off work at the mo and so will be able to indulge with a couple of glasses of wine, and it sounds practically perfect (well, to me anyway!!) The only slight downside is the cost involved...why do birthday presents and delicious food and good wine have to be so expensive?! And how about you? Do you have any evening plans? What's your favourite indulgence? Tell me all!

Till next time...

Sweet Treats: Rocky Road

Something a little different today, as I've decided to do a baking post. You might know from reading my "Operation August" goals that one of them was to try a new recipe and blog about it. Well, rocky road isn't new to me, but when I was deciding what to make to take along to a get together with some friends this evening, it was my first choice as it's pretty much a guaranteed crowd pleaser!!

I use this recipe with a few adaptations: I use half and half plain and milk chocolate for a slightly sweeter taste, drinking chocolate instead of cocoa powder and substitute digestive or mixed broken biscuits for the ginger nuts. Here's a picture of my ingredients:

You may notice a few extra ingredients as well. Basically, I just stir whatever I feel like into my chocolate sauce...this time I omitted the maltesers, instead adding a chopped up Mars Bar, 100g cornflakes and some dried fruit (dried apricots and glace cherries). And it looks amazing...if I do say so myself!! And the aroma of the warm chocolate sauce, well words can't do it justice...just make it for yourself, and you'll see what I mean!!

Ok so I've made the sauce, prepared my dry ingredients and stirred everything in. I've spooned the mixture into a prepared tray and left it to chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. And voila, this is the end result:


I think I could have done with a little bit more chocolate to cover those rogue cornflakes, but other than that, I think it's turned out pretty well. And I'm pleased to report that it tastes ok too (naturally there were lots of rogue crumbs when I was cutting it that my family and I just couldn't resist sampling!!) And now I'm sat here, with most of it packed up in a box ready to take to Spinningfields where my friends and I are going to watch "Stand By Me". Food, a film, fresh air and fun...sounds like a pretty good evening to me!! Till next time...

Off out again...

I know I said I'd stop doing this but you're going to have to put up with me doing a really rushed post just one more time as I'm off out again shortly. This evening some friends and I are going to see Toy Story 3 (one of my goals!!), and having heard great things about the film, I'm really looking forward to it. It may sound weird, but I'm hopeful that I'll cry at the end...I've heard of so many adults that have that I'll kind of feel that I've got no soul if I don't lol!! I'm also planning on getting some delicious Ben and Jerry's to take in with me...Cookie Dough and Chocolate Fudge Brownie Froyo are my current flavours of choice. I just hope I get there in time, as I really want to indulge!! Anyway, I suppose I'd better wrap this post up now...I don't want to be the person holding everyone else up, and my lift is due to arrive any minute. Hope everyone has a great rest of the day, whatever you're doing, and I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully with another "What's in my Wardrobe Wednesday", but knowing me, you'll just have to wait and see!! Till next time...

Saturday

Today has been a day of:

• getting up a good 2 and a half hours later than I'd have to on a work day...ahhh, bliss!!
• feeling a real sense of satisfaction when I read through my latest job application and realised that it wasn't half as bad as I thought. Also of feeling an enormous sense of release as I knew that I could give myself a day off before starting any new ones :-)
• visiting my Grandad and, along with the rest of my immediate family, giving him his Father's Day a little bit early!!
• catching up on all the blogs in my blogroll; having not been on Blogger for a couple of days, and following around 50 blogs meant there was a LOT of reading to do. Although it was definitely of the most pleasurable kind!! :-)
• eating a delicious (but fat filled) takeaway...Saturdays are definitely junk food days in my house!!
• tuning into some Doctor Who, then going for a walk in the evening sunshine, it was a perfect after dinner relax :-)
• watching Tropic Thunder with Amy and filling up on sweets, chocolate and popcorn. I know it's not your typical girly film, but it makes me laugh, and I get to watch RDJ act!! :-)Seriously, that guy is incredible...I totally understand how he was Oscar nominated for his performance.

So that's my Saturday...full of family, food and relaxation, it was pretty much perfect!! What have you been up to today?? Whatever it may have been, hope you've had as good a day as mine :-)

Till next time...

Half way...

through my week's holiday, and I seriously don't know where the time's going!! I may get another week off after this, as some of the local authorities don't go back until 14th June, but I don't want to put things off, just in case I don't. Anyway here's a round up of what I've been up to so far:

• Going to rehearsal and then going for a birthday curry for one of my friends in the drama group on Friday night.
• Having a rather chilled Saturday: I visited my Grandad, made a monster batch of Rocky Road with Amy (I doubled up so there was a tray for home and a tray to take to my friends' Eurovision party!), went for a walk, had a gorgeous (if sinful) takeaway, then finally made my way over to my friends' house for Eurovision fun!! We really got into the spirit of things with our scorecards and sweepstake (I picked Moldova and got nowhere!!) and had a great laugh at some of the ridiculous entries!! The only downside was the fact that the UK came last...AGAIN :-( I've got to admit that our song wasn't great, but there were far worse songs in the competition. Darn political voting!!
• Trying to find as many distractions as possible so I could avoid doing job applications on Sunday...I know they need to be done, but I just wasn't in the mood at all!! And spending the evening watching SATC2 with one of my closest girl friends...I'm not going to give anything away just in case there are those of you who still haven't seen it, but suffice it to say I much preferred the first one. If you have seen it, what did you think??
• Making up for my laziness on Sunday by spending a good few hours on a job application on Monday, and then meeting up with friends for a chat, a drink and a curry for tea :-)
• Going on another Primark shopping spree yesterday...pictures to follow shortly!!

And now we're up to today...and nothing much has happened really!! I've been struggling with a headache for much of it and time's just seemed to fly by without me not doing very much!! Fingers crossed that the rest of the week will go by a little more slowly...I've got so much still to do!! Hope you're all having a good week whatever you're up to, and till next time...

PS: I've been thinking of doing some baking posts, but I don't know if you guys would be interested in them. I don't want to be a copycat or unoriginal and I know there are loads of baking blogs out there but as I'm baking on a more regular basis it seems weird not to be posting about it! Let me know what you think!!

Easter Weekend Round Up Part 2: Easter Sunday and Easter Monday

So, just a couple of days late, here's the second part of my Easter Weekend round up (you'll find Part 1 here):

Easter Sunday:

My Easter Sunday was mostly spent:

• being lazy: I'd say this was definitely the most chilled out day of my Easter weekend overall!
• seeing my Grandad: we received a phone call earlyish in the morning to say that my Grandad had been in hospital overnight. He had gone in with dizziness and a very sore throat/difficulty swallowing, but he had had a comfortable night overall and he was discharged around lunch time. My mum, Amy and I went to pick him up and my mum and I also visited him at home later to drop a prescription off for him and to check everything was ok!
• eating easter egg (although not too much!)
• taking advantage of the better than predicted weather to have a leisurely walk
• watching TV/DVDs with Amy: we watched (most of) "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", then stopped to tune into the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who. It was ok, but I struggled to get used to the new Doctor, though admittedly I wasn't giving the episode my full attention!
• surfing the web: Facebook, Blogger, Youtube, checking my emails...you get the idea!

Easter Monday

In the UK, the day after Easter Sunday is also a bank holiday, meaning that lots of people (including me!) get a 4 day Easter weekend. My Monday was mostly spent:

• trying to get rid of some trojans which had infected my netbook: I was cursing myself for running a fake security scan, especially as one of its pop up windows included a spelling mistake! So ironic that this was the one time where I decided not to be prejudiced by my feelings towards grammatical and spelling errors! I tried running an AVG scan which detected the trojans, but it couldn't resolve the problem. I then tried doing a system restore which also failed, so the only way out I could see was to do a factory reset, making sure I backed up all my important documents first. Luckily, this worked, and normal service has since been resumed (so far, so good!)
• sharing Easter lunch with some of my closest friends: good food and company were the main features of my whole weekend, and Monday was no exception. I went over to my friends' N, M and S's house where M had cooked us, plus our other friends E and Ste a 3 course lunch. There was leek and potato soup plus crusty bread to start, roast beef with all the trimmings for mains and massive portions of either cheesecake or chocolate gateau (I chose the gateau) for dessert. All of the food was amazing (thanks M!), and after I 'd finished I was so full it felt like I wouldn't eat for a week! When we weren't eating, we were chatting, laughing and watching each other playing on the Wii (word to the wise...don't buy the Dancing on Ice game, it's awful!)...in short it was a wonderful afternoon.
• meeting up with friends in the pub for a chilled evening of chatting and drinking: this was mainly so we could be introduced to my friend E's new lodger, who'll be staying with her for roughly 3 months (she's German and taking part in an exchange programme with E's employers), but it was also a good opportunity to catch up with lots of other friends, a couple of whom I'd not seen for quite a while (well, a week or two!)
• playing truant from rehearsal (well, kind of!): I normally LOVE going to rehearsal, but must admit I didn't see the point in going to one on a bank holiday, especially as I knew some of my other friends would be in the pub! But at the same time, I have made a commitment to my drama group and would have felt really guilty if I'd just not turned up. So I decided to compromise. I got there for 7:30 sharp, but told the director I could only stay for an hour instead of the usual 2! And it was one of the longest hours of my life; partly because I just kept thinking about the drink and the company I had left behind and also partly because it was the first dance/movement rehearsal. These are always hard work and quite boring, in the early stages at least, so I was heartily relieved when 8:30 came around and I could make my exit!

And that's the rest of my weekend in a nutshell! Hope you had a great one, however you spent it! And what's up next for me? Well, I'm very excited to say that I'm going to be doing my very first guest post over at Kirsty's blog, The Road Less Travelled sometime in the next couple of days! And as for my blog, I already have my next post planned...it'll be a bit more serious in tone than the majority of my other posts, but it centres around a topic that I'm really passionate about, so I'm really looking forward to sharing it with you all! Till next time...

Easter Weekend Round Up 1: Good Friday and Easter Saturday

Just because I think my weekend round up would be too long if I tried to squeeze all 4 days into one post, and also because I can't think of anything else to blog about today, here's part 1 of my Easter weekend (in a handy bulleted list!)

Good Friday

My Friday was mainly spent:

• Having a lazy start to the day: lounging around in pjs, eating yummy hot cross buns for breakfast and having a leisurely shower before getting dressed and ready to face the world!
• Being veggie for the day: although I'm not particularly religious, my family and I keep the tradition of not eating meat on Good Friday, which meant my Mum's home made fish mornay with chips for lunch and a jacket potato with cheese and beans for tea.
• Helping my friend N with his lines for a play he's appearing in in a couple of weeks. It really makes me want to act again!
• Dodging the rain and laughing at dodgy covers of songs with my friend E as we did a bit of much needed shopping (well, she did whilst I browsed and tried on hats lol!)
• Helping E sort out her wardrobe with the help of a couple of other friends; if Aerosmith had been playing, it would have been practically the perfect reenactment of this scene from Sex and the City (minus the ridiculous poses and champagne!)
• Spending a chilled evening at my friends J and B's new flat with a group of other friends; drinking wine, eating pretzels, mini Cadbury creme eggs and home made choc chip cookies, chatting and high kicking (well, attempting to anyway!)

Easter Saturday

On Saturday I was:

• Stressing far too much about what to wear: despite the fact I've got a HUGE wardrobe, I just couldn't find anything I wanted to wear yesterday morning. And my stress was made worse by the fact that I knew I had to get a second outfit sorted for the evening (but more about that later!)
• Eating a delicious meal with my closest family and feeling far too full afterwards: I had a chicken melt (chicken breast topped with bacon and cheese), the best chips I've ever tasted, BBQ sauce and salad and it was amazing (and huge!) Somehow, I still found room for dessert though : vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce and wafer curls. It goes without saying that the company was great too, and I also had fun testing out my new camera phone by taking lots of pictures!
• Buying a second confirmation card for my friend M: I had originally bought one on Thursday but then got home to discover that it was no longer in my possession! I still had the receipt but no card! So I had to make a dash to the nearest card shop to get one yesterday instead; not that I minded too much as it meant I could attempt to walk off my lunch!
• Sorting out part of my wardrobe: having been inspired by E, I decided to finish the job of clearing out my wardrobe and managed to fill another carrier bag with things I'll never wear again!
• Sitting (and standing!) through a very long Easter Vigil: Whilst I'm not Catholic, it was my friend M's confirmation last night, so I, along with a few other friends, went along to show my support. I'm glad I was there for his big night, but I don't think I'll be converting to Catholicism any time soon! (No offence intended to any Catholics out there!)
• Eating late night takeaway, drinking a mug of tea and being taken back to my college days (2001 to be precise) by watching a programme which was showing all the number ones of the 21st century so far. It took me right back to being 17 again...it seems like only yesterday so it's rather scary to realise it was 9 years ago!

And there's Part 1! Stay tuned for Part 2 appearing in a couple of days! And one last thing...have a very happy Easter, and make sure you eat lots of chocolate (I know I will be!)

2010 goals and resolutions (better late than never!!)

I know we're a couple of days into 2010 now, but as it's my first post of the year (and I already said I'd do it), I've decided to post a list of my goals and resolutions for 2010. I was initially planning to do a "101 in 1001" list, but I couldn't think of 101 things that I wanted to achieve, so I decided to make most of the goals on that list things that I want to achieve this year instead!

So without further ado here's what I hope to make happen in 2010:

• Pass my driving theory and practical tests.
• Get a long term/permanent job, preferably as a primary school teacher.
• Be a better friend: talk to/email/text/write to my best friend J at least once a week and initiate contact with other friends more than I currently do
• Become a better sister/daughter: specifically listen to my family and appreciate them more.
• Run the Race for Life again this year and better my time from last year.
• Adopt a healthier lifestyle: cut down on unhealthy snacks and do a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity 3 times a week
• Read at least 2 books per month from start to finish (without skipping to the end!)
• Grow my nails
• Take steps to help overcome my fear of thunder and lightning
• Put at least 50 pounds into my ISA each month
• Keep a careful track of my financial incomings/outgoings and set myself a budget
• Develop my cookery skills
• Cleanse, tone and moisturise every morning
• Let go of my baggage from the past once and for all

Looking at the list now it seems to be quite a challenge, but I'd rather try and run the risk of not meeting my goals, than not try at all! Fingers crossed that come December 31st, I'll be able to say I've met all my goals, but if not, at least I'll hopefully be to say that I've given it my best shot! Wish me luck (and willpower!) as I start my journey into 2010!!

Highs and Lows of the Week

So after a few days of posting on a daily basis, I took a little break but now I'm back to share my highs and lows of last week.

Highs

• School Holidays: The schools broke up last Friday and I don't go back to work until at least the 4th of January. As I've not got a full time job yet, it means that I won't have any work to do over the next 2 weeks and can hopefully just sit back, relax and enjoy Christmas!!
• Good company and good food: Last weekend, I spent Saturday and Sunday nights with some of my closest friends. On Saturday evening, I went round to a friend's where a few of us treated ourselves to a Christmas curry takeaway and watched Love Actually, which really got us into the Christmas spirit, even if some parts were sadder than I remember (Emma Thompson's storyline and the part where Andrew Lincoln holds up the signs both made me well up :-( ). Sunday night was even better...about 15 of us got together and went for a Christmas meal at a local pub. There was lots of eating, drinking and conversation, as well as wearing party hats, pulling crackers and blowing party blowers (we were SO mature!) and the evening went by in a flash. We also exchanged Secret Santa gifts...I'm really impatient to see what mine are, but can have a good guess by the shape lol!
• Snow: After being disappointed earlier in the week, the snow finally arrived on Saturday. Although the first snowfall was washed away by heavy rain, we then had more overnight and well into Sunday. I can't remember the last time we had so much snow that actually stuck in Manchester and I loved seeing the children playing out and how pretty everything looked.
• Birthdays: As I mentioned last week, it was my sister Amy's 16th birthday on the 16th of December and I was really happy to be able to celebrate with her.

Lows

• Bad skin: I've never had a perfect complexion by any means, but lately I seem to be getting spots and blemishes on my face that just aren't shifting! I think I'm going to have to be on the lookout for some new skincare products, because the ones I've got don't seem to be doing their job at the moment. Have you got any recommendations for any effective (but affordable!) products I could try?
• Forgetfulness: I went shopping to Primark last Thursday, and it was only when I got to the till that I realised that I'd forgotten my card and I didn't have that much cash on me. As a result, I was only able to buy the essentials I needed, as I also had to buy a Secret Santa present and a hot drink as I was freezing! Not my proudest moment, especially as I felt really embarrassed at the till when the sales assistant had to void items as I couldn't afford them!
• No work=no pay: I know I've already mentioned that I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks off work, but I'm not looking forward to the prospect of at least 2 weeks without pay (as a supply teacher, I only get paid for days I work, not year round). Christmas and driving lessons as well as other more frivolous spending have really eaten into my bank account over the last few months, and I think one of my goals for 2010 will definitely have to be to be more careful with my money and keep a more detailed record of my spending!

So there's my highs and lows for another week! Hope you had a good one too, and that you enjoy the Christmas week ahead! :-)

Monday Monday

Well, it's Monday and my day has mainly been spent:

• not working...it's the last week of term, so I was expecting it to be quieter than usual. I do have a half day booked for tomorrow, but that's it so far.





• on the Internet...Facebook (I'm currently addicted to Cafe World!) and Blogger have been my main websites of choice today!





• being domesticated...I made this dessert:

(nothing too complicated, just mandarin oranges on a biscuit crust...basically a cheesecake without the cheese!)

• I also washed up, and cleared my summer clothes out of my wardrobe and put them away for the winter!

• and listening to the radio...my songs of the day have been Tik Tok by Kesha, Bad Romance by the Gaga, Whatcha Say by Jason Derulo and Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl

This is what I've been wearing:

Black and charcoal 2 in 1 pinafore : Lime at Next, Black leggings: Peacocks, Grey boots: Rocket Dog via Amazon, Watch: Present, Pearl bracelet with butterfly detail: Primark, Diamond cluster ring: Asda (present off my Mum and Dad for my 21st)

(Except for this morning, when I was wearing work trousers instead of leggings and black flats instead of my boots!)

After I post this...I'll be going to rehearsal for an hour, then spending the rest of my evening relaxing and getting my stuff ready for work tomorrow morning!

Tomorrow...I'll be posting another "What's in my Wardrobe" post, all about sequins. I know it'll be a day early but there are a couple of special things happening on Wednesday that I want to blog about then and I'd rather be early than late lol!

So that's all for today! Hope you've had a great start to the week...and remember, only 4 days till the weekend! :-)

Clouds and Silver Linings

I've been doing my "Highs and Lows of the Week" posts for quite a while now, but last week I really noticed how closely some of the highs linked with some of the lows...just like clouds and their silver linings (hence the title of this post!). So, for this week at least, my highs will be mixed in with my lows just to remind me that clouds do have their silver linings, and that we can find positives in most situations if we look hard enough!

Cloud

• I didn't get the job - As some of you will know I went for a interview last week, for a job that I think would have suited me down to the ground. After the interview, I had mixed feelings about my performance...I thought some of my answers were spot on, but that others were absolutely awful! After around 3 very stressful hours of waiting, I got a call from the headteacher telling me that unfortunately I had been unsuccessful on that occasion. Yes, I was badly disappointed but there was just a glimpse of a silver lining...

Silver Lining

• But my interview feedback was excellent - As standard, the headteacher gave me feedback and said that my interview had gone very well indeed, and that I'd only just been pipped to the post by the person they'd eventually appointed (who had a great deal of experience) and that it had been a difficult decision. This reassured me that the interview had been better than I'd percieved it and also gave me more confidence to take to other interviews in future. I know I'm nearly there...it's just a case of finding the right job for me!

Cloud

• 3 hours of stress whilst waiting to hear if I'd been successsful in my interview...as I mentioned in the previous cloud, I had 3 hours of jangling nerves and butterflies in my tummy whilst I was waiting for THAT call. I'm naturally quite impatient, so every minute was like agony. I tried to keep occupied, so I logged onto Blogger, and whilst I was browsing through my dashboard and I found my silver lining...

Silver Lining

• I'd won my first giveaway: A few weeks ago Holly from Her Southern Heart was running a week of giveaways. I left comments on her blog to enter, then forgot all about them. But there it was in black and white! I'd won a pair of beautiful earrings courtesy of Holly and Barefoot Maiden! I was so excited, especially as I couldn't remember the last time I'd won anything! So I left a very excited thank you comment on Holly's blog, sent her a very excited email and am now (im)patiently waiting for the earrings to wing their way across the pond! I'm so eager to get them, and will be sure to blog about them when they arrive!

Cloud

• I'm no dancer: It was my friend L's hen night on Saturday, so all the girls (and one guy!) headed out to a club called Copacabana in Manchester. As the name suggests, it's a Latin club and included in the package we'd booked for the evening was a 45 minute Latin dance lesson...perfect for L who's been dancing since the age of 3, but a lot more intimidating for me who has 2 left feet and a lack of natural rhythm! Our class was merengue, which was meant to be really simple to pick up and at first things weren't so bad. I picked up the basic footwork with little difficulty, but just when I was feeling pleasantly surprised...reality kicked in! I'm obviously not meant to dance with a partner, as when my friend E and I teamed up, it was murder on the dancefloor (on my part, not E's!) The instructors could see we were having difficulties, so stepped in, which made me feel even worse! I know I needed to relax and loosen up, but I get tense when I'm struggling with something, and dancing with someone unfamilar didn't help matters! Eventually, I got to a point where I could dance with an instructor, but leave me to my own devices and bam...right back to reality! But despite massacring the merengue...

Silver Lining

• I had a fantastic night, and I'm determined to master the merengue! : Although the dance lesson was a debacle...it didn't stop me from enjoying the rest of the night! We had a gorgeous tapas meal, frozen cocktails and great fun wearing our pink fluffy kitten ears and waving our fluffy wands! We even did some dancing although none of us were brave enough (or had good enough memories!) to put our new found "skills" to the test! I've also gained a new found determination to become a better dancer...there's no way I'm going to let a few steps defeat me lol!

So that was last week...hope you all had a good one, and that this week is shaping up to be fantastic too!

Highs and Lows of the Week

Can't believe it's Monday already...the weekend went far too quickly! But it is, which means only one thing...that it's time to share my highs and lows of last week!

Highs

• Having a 3 day week: Now I could have been negative and seen my return to work after half term as a bad thing, but I'm not going to. One of the reasons is that I only actually worked on 3 days last week. I had Monday off as the schools didn't go back till Tuesday, and although I was available for work on Friday, I just didn't get a call which meant no work and an early start to my weekend! The second reason that I quite liked work last week was that three of the four classes I worked with were absolutely lovely, and at the end of the day I left the classroom feeling good about myself which is sometimes a rarity!

• New clothes: I picked up a couple of new tops from Asda last week that I'm planning on wearing for a couple of big nights out that I've got coming up...the joint birthday bash for my friends E and D on Saturday and my friend L's hen do on the Saturday after that. No pictures yet...I'll either do them in my next wardrobe Wednesday or when I've actually worn the tops.

• Christmas Starbucks: I was so excited when I went in Starbucks on Friday and saw that the red cups were back and the Christmas food and drink ranges were in store. I just had to have a Gingerbread latte and a Cranberry and Orange muffin (both skinny...so zero guilt on my part!). And they were so good that I was forced to go back yesterday and have another latte and a Christmas Pudding cupcake. I'm already wracking my brains to think of the next time I can go back for another treat!

Lows

• Rain: As I sit and type this it's a lovely sunny day, and I can already see the beginnings of a gorgeous sunset. It's so much better than the almost endless rain we had last week which was horrible. I got soaked on the way to work and then, after getting dried out, proceeded to get drenched again on the way home. Although I used an umbrella, my coat got wet, my trousers got wet and water somehow leaked into my shoes and I ended up with wet feet. Nightmare!! I'm seriously considering buying a pair of wellies so it doesn't happen again!

• My dodgy immune system: I came down with a cold on Saturday night, which meant I was sniffling then and all day yesterday, and am rather blocked up today. I know I'm lucky that it was over quite quickly and I haven't been that ill, but I hate that annoying feeling where you're not completely well, but not really ill either. It's also my third cold since August, so I think I've already had more than my fair share!

• The X Factor: I normally love this show but I'm getting really sick of it now due to the fact that the terrible twins are getting through week after week. They can't sing, can't dance and are really annoying and I think it's really unfair that better singers are going out at their expense. And I can't believe that Simon Cowell didn't take the opportunity to get rid of them when they were in the bottom 2 last night! He's been moaning for weeks about how bad they are but failed to do anything about the situation when he had the chance! It does make me seriously consider the rumours that the show has been fixed in favour of them, and if they do get much further, I think I'm going to give up and watch Strictly Come Dancing instead!

So there's my highs and lows. How was last week for you?

Highs and Lows of the Week

I know it's a bit late...but better late than never, here are my highs and lows of last week:



Highs

• Saturday - I know it might seem a bit random to have a whole day on my "highs" list, but there it is. Saturday was an absolutely fantastic day! It was a close friend's birthday on Friday, and on Saturday we went up to Blackpool to get some lunch and see an ice show. The show was amazing...as it took place in a small arena, we were only a few rows from the front and could actually hear the sound of the blades on the ice. There were loads of great performances including those from professional pairs and solo skaters and celebrities who'd featured on the "Dancing on Ice" tv show as well as a local 10 year old who was incredible, and a team of freestyle skaters. Imagine street dance on skates, and you'll get a better idea of what they did. My favourites, though, were a pair of brothers from Italy. They were circus trained and were basically clowns on ice! I was amazed when they started juggling whilst skating and even more so when one leapfrogged the other and carried on juggling from where the first one left off! After the show, we headed back home and spent the evening watching X Factor (I was soooo happy it was big band week!) and eating takeaway.

• My friends - While I already know I've got great friends, something that happened last week really helped to confirm that for me (more about that in the "lows" section!).

• Half term - I suppose this should technically go in my next "highs and lows" post, but as the start of it was last week, it can go in this one too! Basically, the schools in my area broke up for a week's holiday last Friday, so it means that this week I'm pretty much a lady of leisure! I've been really looking forward to the break...the first half term is always the longest...and will keep everyone posted with what I get up to. I've already been shopping, and will post more details of my purchases tomorrow in my "What's-in-my-wardrobe Wednesday" post.

• Unintentionally funny TV - SuperNanny, John and Edward's vintage performance on X Factor (even although I do think they should have been out weeks ago!) and my favourite from last week... Wife Swap USA. It was the episode featuring the Heene family, who've been more recently in the news for faking the disappearance of their 7-year-old son Falcon, in a home made balloon (for a recap of that story click here) and the safety cautious Martels. I know it wasn't intended to be a comedy programme...but it made me laugh harder than I'd done for a few days! If you haven't watched it, my advice would be to check it out and pay special attention to the video the Martel children make to list the things they're frightened of. I'll never look at lava lamps the same way again!

Lows

• Spending the day in hospital: Last Wednesday, I woke very early with severe abdominal cramps that were making me nauseous and dizzy. Aunt Flo wasn't visiting, and I was especially concerned as I knew I had a cyst on my left ovary, so I decided to go to hospital to get checked out. The pain subsided after about half an hour, but it was decided that after undergoing blood tests and an examination in the accident and emergency department, I should be admitted as an in-patient so I could be observed and have a pelvic ultrasound scan either later that day or the next morning. Luckily, I was able to have the scan that day but unluckily, I was unable to eat until I had it. Which meant that I didn't have any food until after 4:00 pm and I'd been up since 6 that morning! The scan results showed that the cyst was no longer present, and as the tests I had also came back clear the doctors were happy to discharge me, and I came home to a flurry of texts, answerphone and Facebook messages off my friends (see my "Highs" list). Luckily I've had no recurrences of the pain since then, but I was definitely shook up for the next couple of days with every little twinge leaving me in a state of panic!

• My eating habits - My eating habits last week were inconsistent to say the least. From not eating anything for over 18 hours on Tuesday night through to Wednesday to snacking madly on Thursday/Friday to stuffing myself with fatty/junk food on Saturday...I just couldn't get a balance! I know being unable to eat while I was in hospital wasn't my fault, but the rest of the week definitely was!

So there we have it! That was the week that was, and these were my highs and lows.