w/c 24th January 2011 - yes, I've been a bit busy...

Yes, I realise I have not updated this over the last week at all. My excuse - I've been really busy. BUSY. Work is crazy at the moment and all I have the energy to do at the moment when I get home is sit in a corner, panting slightly, cooking carbohydrates and then falling asleep on the sofa. I've also been a little premenstrual, which probably explains the carbs fixation, but we won't dwell on that too much.

On Wednesday, I went out with a couple of friends to the Science Museum Late event. It was super cool. You get to play with all the fun exhibits, drink wine at the same time and do extra special activities for grown ups, like...brass rubbing. It's like having permission to be a kid again. The whole event was about the Science of Attraction, so you could take part in a classy traffic light party, or do speed dating. Frankly, I found the opportunity to build an arch out of foam blocks and make shadow patterns a lot more entertaining. I also took a picture of this...

It's an Archimedes Screw. Not exciting to many people, admittedly, but for work reasons (which I won't bore you with), I was excited to see one in real life.
Friday saw me Doing Something Embarrassing in Public, which is a relatively regular occurrance. It usually happens on courses when I generally make a fair attempt to give the impression of sophisticated intelligence. Last year, on various courses, I managed to:

• mingle with my course colleagues (management course) with my skirt tucked into my knickers. And NO ONE TOLD ME. Luckily, I have a nice bottom.
• walk into a glass door in full view of my course collgeaues. Splat.

This time, I managed to turn up for a course a FULL THREE DAYS EARLY. Not good. This means I have to go again on Monday and probably be reminded that I have an inability to read dates properly. Someone, please commit me now.

On Friday I also went out for drinks with A Boy. Now, this is a particular friend of mine who I'm trying to discover if he has more than a friendly interest in me. This is when the traffic light stickers could have been useful: green = yes please, yellow = possibly, red = don't be so stupid, no one is interested in girls who can't read dates/tuck skirts in knickers/walk into doors. I have finished the evening non the wiser, and strangely not anywhere near as drunk as my companion. It would appear I have a relatively good tolerance for gin. I have also admitted that I went for drinks with A Boy, which means that if my mother ever reads this, she's going to get wildly overexcited that I might be on the way to Not Being Left On The Shelf. Argh. 

22nd & 23rd January 2011 - pasta, ponies, pyjamas and purling

I'm a little bit anxious that I am going to spemd a lot of this blog prattling on about some of my favourite things: food, knitting and horse riding; all of which featured in this weekend. Hence no happy photo (it would have been repetitive), just happy memories.

I decided that this weekend I was going to take it easy, see nobody and enjoy some 'me' time. I do enjoy these sorts of weekends occasionally. I think it's important to ignore the rest of the world sometimes and spend as much of a weekend as is possible wearing pyjamas (even during trips to Tesco).

I started Saturday with a potter into town to get my fringe cut. Usually I do it myself (sometimes more wonkily than others) but I am trying to Be Good this year, so I sought professional assistance. Hairdressers always shake their heads disparagingly when I tell them that I lop bits off my hair when it annoys me. After that, I meandered home via the DVD rental place, the wool shop (where I bought a gorgeous new pattern book with my birthday wool voucher) and I was very impressed with myself for not going into the lovely shop with the 70% sale sign in the window. NOTE: I get paid on Tuesday, I might go next weekend....
I then spent the afternoon watching Toy Story 3 and knitting (much fun) and then spent the evening asleep on the sofa with the peaceful and soporific lullaby of the film Inception in the background. (If anyone can tell me what the hell THAT was all about, I'd be most grateful. I mostly found it a helpful stimulant for napping).

The highlight of Sunday was a long, two hour ride out with a couple of the other people from the stable where Connor lives. We had a lovely time, although the disobedient old camel did decide that he was a contestant in the Derby and galloped past the other horses when they were cantering along in a much more sedate fashion. Please don't take this as a sign of my inability as a rider, it's not easy to stop 17 plus hands of ex-showjumper when he gets an idea into his head. My job is merely to stay on his back and recite as many four letter words as I know. And, as it turns out, I know quite a few.

21st January 2011 - Walking on sunshine

Okay, so the more vigilant reader out there (hi Mum, I think you're the only one) will have noticed that I don't always manage to update this blog every day (occasionally I DO have a life) so I've got a bit of catching up to do.

Back to Friday though, and it was SUNNY!! Yes, it deserves capital letters, it was a really lovely day. I think I spent most of the day busy at work, but I did manage to sneak out and enjoy the sunshine, so here's my Friday Happy Thing.

For a change, I thought I'd share photo that is not tinted yellow by the low energy lightbulbs I have at home. I'm thoughtful like that. I'm actually also quite pleased with this one. I particularly like how the reflection of the sky is bluer than the actual sky. I don't know how they do that.

In other news, I went to play badminton after work, so managed to get some exercise, and then went to the pub afterwards, where I mostly ate crisps and undid all that good work. Ah well, at least I can comfort myself with the knowledge that it would have been much worse if I had not done the exercise in the first place.

20th January 2011 - Looking up

Yeah, well I said that yesterday I'd have a lie in this morning, and I did. For all of 7 minutes. Obviously my body had other ideas. It's got to be one of the most ANNOYING things (along with non-cleaning housemates, repetitive floorboard squeaking from upstairs neighbours and running out of marmite - gah).

Today I've been on a training course up in London, so I had to battle through the cheerful commuters up to Victoria and shove my way though all the suited and booted yuppy people. I feel like they know I don't belong there or something, just because I wear a hat.

Anyway, one of the things I like to do when I'm in London is to LOOK UP. Try it next time you're rushing about, I promise you'll like it, there are some spectacular buildings about.

This is Westminster Cathedral, and it's one of my favourites. I love the stripey bricks. I've never seen anyone going in or anyone coming out, just lots of people scurring past without a second glance. I felt like a bit of a plonker stopping to take a photo in the middle of the crowds, but hey, I'm not really one for caring what people think! :-)

19th January 2011 - I love Colin Firth

Okay, so you've probably guessed from the title..I went to see the King's Speech today. Here's the evidence...

It was reallyreallyREALLY good. That Colin is a damn good actor. I won't bore you with a long description of the films amazingness, because (a) that might be spoiling it for you and (b) I am not a particularly worthy or knowledgeable film critic. If there's a historical costume, a handsome man and a bag of pic n mix, I'm a very satisfied bunny.

Some other things made me happy today, so I've made a list.

• The sunshine - it really has been a beautiful day
• The frosty morning, I wish I remembered to get pictures of it
• The flapjack my assistant made - it was delicious 
• The lie in I am having in the morning as I'm on a training day! Yay!

18th January 2011 - art and accidents

Well, apparently yesterday was the most depressing day of the year. I can't say I found it THAT bad, but it really was pretty dull. In fact, I can't remember that anything interesting happened at all, so on that note, I'll move swiftly on.

Today did not get off to the best start. I was late, and it seemed like the Powers That Be had made the executive decision to dig up most of the roads I drive on to get to work. Very considerate of them, indeed. This made me later, which in turn made me irritated, which unfortunately (for my cash flow) made me a wee bit careless. Luckily, no one was hurt. Let's just say that there was a flat tyre, a bit of a pathetic female act on my part and an inpromptu trip to the garage. I guess someone upstairs is trying to teach me an Important Life Lesson, about Not Rushing. Like I'll take THAT on board...

Back to business and my happy thing for today. This afternoon I was running a consultation focus group with a bunch of local families (a typical random occurance in the Daily Life Of Me) which was a lot of fun, although they did eat ALL the biscuits, leaving none left for me. Anyway, one of the children (a small one) drew me a picture. This is it.

I think it's rather Special. I think it might be a picture of grass, but I'm really not that sure.

16th January 2011 - Hooray for small miracles

This was a pretty uneventful Sunday for me really, in which I spent most of the morning lying in bed, most of the afternoon out riding in the rain and most of the evening lying on the sofa contemplating the week ahead. Fun times.

There was one major note worthy occurrance today though, which coincidentally is also my happy thing, today was the day in which The Housemate DID CLEANING!! I really hope you don't think me overly crazy for getting overexcited by this, and thinking it an interesting blog post, but it honestly it really did cheer up my day. The Housemate is a great chap, but he has a habit of not cleaning, thanking me for cleaning the bathroom (only ever the bathroom, never the WHOLE HOUSE) and constantly telling me that he means to do the cleaning only I do it before he has a chance. Now I am not an anally-retentive-constantly-cleaning manic with a strange fetish for rubber gloves and bleach, I just have a small issue with filth, in that I choose not to live in it.

Anyway, I feel like I might have yapped on about cleaning for FAR longer than is interesting or healthy, so I'll leave it at that. And no, I won't be posting a picture of my beautifully clean bathroom, because that would just be odd.  

15th January 2011 - Musical mayhem and a spending spree

Ooh, today was a very good day. Every year for Chistmas, my grandparents buy theatre tickets for me and my sister and we have a lovely day up in town with shopping and a dinner out. Mah-vellous.

After a really quite rapid dash across London, we managed to make it to the theatre in the nick of time (we got distracted buying sweets in M&S). My sister is one of those quick people, and even when we are walking along in a normal fashion, she ends up walking three paces ahead of me and I end up scurrying behind her like a grovelling servant. Anyway, add 'late' and 'panic' into the mix, I ended up chasing her across the cobbles of Covent Garden through the Saturday crowds, scattering shoppers and Percy Pigs liberally along the route. I'm still knackered now. I think I can forego jogging for the rest of the month.

Anyway, the show was great, but not as good as this.

Oh yes. There was a sale on in John Lewis wool department. I like buying wool nearly as much as I like buying shoes. Ooh, it was good. I was very impressed with how patient my sister was as I stroked the wool, picked it up and put it down again, looked at it in a mirror so I could see if the colours would suit me, stroked it some more, and had some lovely conversations with other wool fans about the virtue of some brands and what to make with it. It's a shame most knitters are middle aged ladies, if they were handsome young men I would SO be able to pick up a husband in haberdashery.    

14th January 2011 - I'm in the money!!

Finally!! Today in the post I had my birthday cheque from my parents. It's only taken 8 days to get to me. I am pretty sure that they could have walked the 100 or so miles to deliver it in person in that time, hell, they probably could have cartwheeled the whole distance. The mental image of that, however, is a little disturbing, so I won't dwell on THAT. So obviously, MONEY is my happy thing for today, but I am not putting a photo of a cheque on here, I'm not that stupid. Needless to say, I am going to enjoy spending it. Probably tomorrrow. Note to self: remember to cash the cheque in first....

13th January 2011 - Completely rational behaviour and life's little indulgences

Thursday today, and I actually managed to get up less than 10 minutes after my alarm went off, I remembered to do both of the things I needed to sort out before I went in AND I made a proper packed lunch. YAY ME!! I just wish I managed to do this every morning.

Today I had to play Useless Female in order to get the stupid projector and laptop to work. I think I got away with it. Am I the only person who attempts the whole pathetic little woman act to get help with these things? Anyway, it worked, which was the main thing.

I was annoyed when I got home. You know, one of those jolly occasions when you are annoyed for No Particular Reason but most minor occurances are Severely Irritating. The things that irritated me today were:

• There was mess in the kitchen. I don't know if this was The Housemate or The Gas Man, but there was mess, and I had to deal with it.
• The Housemate was out so I couldn't tell him off about it, and perhaps stomp around muttering about the fact that he STILL HASN'T DONE ANY CLEANING
• It rained when I was riding. RAINED. How dare it.
• There was a lot of traffic on the M25 on my way home. Hardly surprising, but ANNOYING.
• The birthday card from my parents STILL HASN'T ARRIVED. Dammit.
• My mum and my sister both phoned and left messages whilst I was driving. I was DRIVING. I COULDN'T ANSWER.

Anyway, in light of my completely rational and entirely understandable general mood of pissed-off-ness, I turned to the really only thing that would solve my problem and make me happy again. No, not shoes...

Chocolate. Need I say more?

12th January 2011 - Time for bed

Today was a loooooooong day, so my Happiest Thing for today happened when I got home.

Yep, it was my bed. After a 13 hour working day, I was very glad to see it. I was even gladder that I could lie in it and catch up with the new series of Glee on iplayer. I. Was. Knackered. Why is it though that when you are completely exhausted, the bit of road you want to drive home on has been dug up and (even worse) closed, and forces you to drive around aimlessly for a while squinting at bus stops as you try to work out where exactly you are. The yellow diversion signs NEVER POINT YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

Anyway, today we had our New Year party after work for all of our lovely volunteers. (I work in a place with a lot of them, they are fantastic) I ate far too many pastry, cheese, and cheese-and-pastry based products from the buffet, bleurgh. I feel like a human quiche now, I really do.

11th January 2011 - Run rabbit run

I had a food hangover this morning from all that cake yesterday. I couldn't even manage to eat breakfast which is most unlike me. I did consider making my Happy Thing for today salad, but it made me feel Virtuous rather than Happy, which doesn't really count.

Today I went running for the first time this year, and I was very happy with myself for finally making the effort. If I'd actually gone when I started thinking about going, I would have probably had time to have run about 5 kilometers and done a relaxing su doku afterwards. As it was, I spent at least half an hour procrastinating about whether or not I could be bothered to go. If I don't spend the entire journey home from work psyching myself up to do it, then I have to waste time doing it when I get home. Really, I think the three pieces of cake from yesterday made it rather necessary that I do SOME form of exercise... 

Hmm, actually, I think my best thing for today was a certain amount of flirtation with a certain person. Or at least I THINK it was flirtation. I wish there was a manual.

10th January 2011 - Happy birthday to meeeeeee!

Happy birthday to me indeed. And the first voice I heard this morning was my dear father singing down the phone although he was singing to my voicemail, admittedly. Sadly however, I wasn't enjoying a lazy lie in, I was on my way to work. I am just SO dedicated to the cause. And I had hopes that they might get me a present, or at least a card. Luckily for me, they did, and here it is - my happy thing for the day.

I did have more than the one birthday card (although the one from my parents STILL hasn't arrived - bloody Royal Fail) but I particularly liked this one. Usually, my birthday cards revolve around the theme of shoes and handbags (it's like my friends think I have a lot of shoes and handbags. I have NO idea why...). This one is made of fuzzy felts. My sister and I have a lot of fuzzy felts when I was a child and I am not ashamed to admit that I passed a rather satisfactory 10 minutes playing with these.

And just to prove that at the grand old age of 31, you're never too old to stop learning - today I learned that there is such a thing as Too Much Cake. It would seem that three pieces really is my limit.

9th January 2011 - happy hangover and general laziness

So, the overindulgence of yesterday did result in a headache, one of those good ones that LASTS ALL DAY. And i didn't have any painkillers. In the end, I had to resort to some ancient cold and flu tablets - they were the only thing I had in the medicine drawer that had any form of useful ingredient. They must have worked, because now I feel fine.

My happy Sunday picture is of the pattern on my birthday pyjamas.

Groovy. I decided last night that since my friends had made the kind effort to come to my birthday do and bring me presents, the very LEAST I could do was open them. I've saved all the cards for my real birthday tomorrow though, just so I have something to open on the real day. These were a present from my friend Nic and are super comfy, and really rather gorgeous to boot. I am NOT looking so gorgeous today for some reason...and have chosen to spend the majority of the day wearing the said pyjamas. It's not like it's something I do often....much. I did make it out of the house for a little while and went for a ride in the sunshine though, so I don't feel too guilty about spending the rest of the day lying down.

8th January 2011 - Party party!

A very happy today because it was birthday party time.

I didn't get the day off to a completely glamorous start. I went to get my haircut and managed to completely embarrass myself by dropping the credit card machine on the floor. Classy. There was a very panicked 10 minutes whilst they tried to put it back together again and make it work whilst I stood by the desk like a right numpty doing Good Apologising. I hope that the crash didn't frighten the stylists and result in any startled hair/ear clipping. Yikes.

Back to business and here is my happy picture of the day. (although I think it was probably a NOT happy picture for Sunday...)

Yes, I enjoyed far too much of this. That's the problem with birthdays - everyone buys you drinks and it's rude not to drink them. And keep drinking them. And then possibly drink some more (whilst getting sensible friends to get you sneaky glasses of water). I did have a lovely time though, lots of my friends came and it was great to catch up with them all.

Cudos in particular has to go to my good friend Vicky. She couldn't decide what to wear, so I suggested that she go shopping. Unfortunately (for her husband) she took my advice, bought three outfits, and had the difficult decision of having TOO MUCH CHOICE. It's alright for some... 

7th January 2011 - Friday dinner date!

Well, it's finally Friday, and I've managed to find a whole week full of things to feel happy about, which I think is an achievement in itself.

I was VERY pleased that it was finally Friday, I hope that everyone else struggles as much as I do during the first week back in work after the holidays. It has DRAGGED. I rewarded myself this afternoon with a slightly stale hobnob from the back of my desk drawer. Delicious. But not as delicious as my happy thing for today.

I meant to take a photo before I ate it, but I forgot. 

This evening, I went to play badminton with a group of friends who I used to work with. I've not played in ages, and considering this, I don't think I did too badly. At least, I didn't hit myself round the head with my own raquet, or fall over, or daydreamed too much in the middle of the game and forgotten I've been playing, all of which I've done before (probably on a more regular basis than I care to think about). Usually after badminton we all go for a drink and then wend our separate ways home. So tonight we all went and had our diet cokes and lime-and-sodas (sometimes driving can be so boooooring). After our usual conversations about where-we-all-worked-together and why-it-is-so-awful and the-managers-are-all-crap and ooh-who-is-shagging-who-now, my friend James invited a couple of us round for dinner. Now, James is always cooking dinners for his lovely wife, and they always sound fantastic, but up until now I have not had the opportunity to sample his culinary skills. Well, tonight I did, and as you can see, I hated every moment. Obviously I'm joking, because I stuffed my face. 

The even better thing is that James noticed me taking a photo of my empty bowl, but didn't ask me what the hell I was doing, which any normal person would have done if a guest started taking random photographs of their crockery. A true gentleman, and an excellent chef!     

6th January 2011 - Happy friends

This evening I have said bye bye to Christmas and have put away my tree and decorations. I'm also feeling MUCH better than I did yesterday, which is good news because this Saturday I am celebrating my 31st birthday. My actual birthday isn't until Monday, but Saturday night is better for alcoholic celebrations, not being a school night and all.

I'm kind of looking forward to being 31. I was scared about being 30 (it sounds so grown up) and most of the year ended up being something of a wash out, although it did pick up considerably towards the end. So, a year older, and a little bit wiser (not much, but hopefully enough), I am feeling quite positive about the new year ahead.

I'll be seeing quite a few of my friends at the weekend for my birthday, as well as my little sister, which made me feel very happy today as they all said they were looking forward to it, so hooray for my lovely friends, you are my happy thing for today.

5th January 2011 - Germs! and a very old photo

Well, I didn't write this yesterday, which was the actual 5th January because I have had The Germ. I went to bed instead. I could tell I was ill because I wasn't hungry AT ALL, something which really never happens to me (more's the pity). I didn't think I was going to find anything to be happy about, other than Lemsip, which was helping me to feel marginally less deathlike than started off as. Luckily, my Dad sent me an email with a picture on it, which cheered me up no end. Thanks Dad!!

This is a picture of me and my friend Tigs when we were very little girls. I'm the one in the pink cardigan with the rabbit slippers. Just goes to show that even then, I had amazing style and great fashion sense.  

4th Jan 2011 - Groovy tights

Well, today was Back To Work Day. Not my favourite sort of day, but overall, not too bad. I think the world was struggling to come to terms with the whole getting back into the swing of things. The heating at work had broken AGAIN and I drove home following a man who used his hazard warning lights instead of his indicators. Was he going left? Was he going right? Who knows?

My (not very good) happy photo today is of my funky tights. I've not tried taking pictures of my own legs before (why would you really want to) and it was actually a lot harder than I would have expected. The tights were a Christmas present from my cousin Liz. I sometimes like to, let's say, 'enhance' my outfit by wearing what my mother would call 'eccentric' tights. I like to look on it as a minor form of rebellion in an otherwise fairly mundane setting. An historical note: I wore my craziest tights on the day I got made redundant, just because I could, and because I hoped they would annoy the grey, grey and boring management consultant types who gave me the boot. You know what they say, if you're going to go down, you go down fighting...and looking damn good in the process.

 

3rd January 2011 - Galloping!

So I woke up this morning and my housemate was hoovering. This caused me to wonder if wishes I put on here actually come true, so PLEASE CAN I WIN THE LOTTERY??

Anyway, my happy highlight of a fairly dull day doing all of those boring things on the last day of the Christmas holidays (laundry, battling through Sainsburys, buying Lemsip to ward off the incoming cold, trying to ignore the mountain of stuff left to unpack - note to self: pack lighter next time) was a trip out with the horse I ride, Connor. He's the subject of my happy photo of the day.

He's a handsome chap, isn't he? He's also the main reason that I didn't completely lose my sanity when I was unemployed last year. An expensive hobby, yes, but I suspect cheaper than a therapist and healthier than a course of antidepressants. He mostly always makes me happy apart from the time when he trod on my foot (he's big) or when he occasionally sticks his tongue out when we're riding (it's embarrassing...and big). Today we did fast galloping. I forgot all about all of the boring things I should be doing and that I have to go back to work tomorrow. Back to the real world now though, and I need to go and put away enough stuff so that I have room enough to sleep in.  

2nd January 2011 - The long journey home...and unexpected presents

Well, much as I love my sojurns up to Northumberland, it takes a bloody long time to get back to London. Believe me, there is not very much happiness to find on the A1, and I did try my best.

And on arrival back in the flat I share in London, there was even less to be happy about. I go away for two weeks, and has my flatmate done any cleaning?......NO. I have to admit there was some stomping and aggressive hoovering on my part. I wouldn't normally have bothered (just indulged in some fabulously pithy but entirely imaginary scoldings) but after 8 hours in the car, all you want is a bath, and after motorway service station sandwiches, all you want to do is cook a fabulously healthy stirfry, and it's hard to enjoy either of those thngs when your house is FILTHY. Anyway, he did apologise and I did tell him that his New Years resolution was to DO MORE CLEANING. Steve, if you ever read this, then DO SOME HOOVERING, WASH THE FLOOR, DUST, please, if only for my sanity, which I know is tenuous at the best of times.

In the midst of the dirt, there was a light of hopeful happiness that did indeed brighten my day. It was this:

A PRESENT!! FOR ME!! I love late Christmas Presents. They make me very happy. This was a present from my oldest friend Tigs who I have recently got back in touch with. She sent me Stephen Fry's autobiography. I love Stephen Fry. Last time I saw Tigs, we had a drunken conversation about Who We Would Invite To Our Imaginary Dinner Party. I think the only person we could agree on was Stephen Fry (and possibly David Attenborough, and maybe Helena Bonham Carter but I can't really remember). Just goes to show that even on tediously tedious days, happy things do happen. Hooray!

1st January 2011 - Happy New Year View

Okay, so I don't usually bother with making New Years resolutions - I never manage to keep them and the whole 'eat healthier, do more exercise' thing is a bit over done (and something I seriously consider every Sunday morning, and give up usually sometime on Tuesday afternoon when the Hobnobs begin calling).

This year I've decided to do something different. Those who know me well will know that 2010 was not a great year for me (redundancy, 9 months of unemployment, blah blah, I don't want to bore you before we start to get to know each other) so I want 2011 to be better. I feel like I wasted a lot of my time last year concentrating on sad things, so here it is (ta daaaa!!) my 2011 Happy Things blog. So, welcome!! If anyone ever reads this then do, please, join in.

Every day I'm going to find something that makes me feel happy, take a picture of it and post it here. I want to create a record of 365 different things that cheer me up over the course of the year. A tall order, indeed, but one that I am going to try and stick to. Wish me luck!

So New Years Day found me a little hung over in the beautiful village of Rothbury in Northumberland. If you've never been to Northumberland, then go (sandy beaches, castles, and the pubs are MUCH cheaper than London). There are a lot of things up there that make me happy. On my traditional New Years Day walk (you know what I mean, the bracing walk you take out in the countryside in an attempt to feel healthy, thinking 'hmmm, must do this more often' before collapsing in front of the television afterwards, exhausted, with half a box of Cadbury's Roses) I saw this view. I thought it was rather nice, so I hope that you do too.    

Happy New Year everyone!!