Tidings.

So Christmas has been and gone. 

I can't quite believe that tomorrow will be my last day of annual leave before returning to work on Monday.  It hasn't felt like two weeks- but I have enjoyed my time off and I'm really glad I didn't cancel it.

It's been a nice Christmas and better than I anticipated. 

I've spent today nursing the usual sleepiness of post-New Years Eve celebrations.  Its usually at this point that I make some resolutions however I'm not going to bother: They are always the same and the only thing I need to change this year is to waste no time on twats and to not overthink things.

I have much to look forward to in 2015:  I have a trip to Japan and possibly a trip to Australia later in the year with a view to looking into job prospects there. 

Lots to see, projects to do and no one holding me back anymore.  Here's hoping it's a good one.

Holly.

A small red cheery berry and a dark green spikey leaf that hurts.

It's Christmas. 

Despite the normal grumbles about commuting in potential snow... December is usually my favourite time of the year. This year however it feels somewhat muted.  I'm trying so hard to stay positive and enjoy it but I can't help feeling that I'm simply not as jolly this year.  Perhaps it's just because of the events of the last six months, or just a general fatigue from being overworked ... I'm not sure... but I've struggled to maintain the usual excitement and this has affected my ability to plan and prepare for the holiday season too. 

I've normally done all my shopping and got it wrapped under a strictly colour-co ordinated Christmas tree. I haven't. I only just finished my shopping this morning and have yet to have things delivered, wrapped and ready.  My presents seem a bit hap-hazard and the ones I've made I'm not incredibly pleased with either; I've scrapped one handmade one, and have three more to complete.  I've wrapped what I do have... a mishmash of Christmas wrapping paper and ribbons from previous years which are usually perfectly planned and co ordinated. I've just had to make do, unwilling to put the full effort and money into the usual standards I achieve.  This is pretty much a summary of where I am in my life.  Caught in between lots of things and not really completely together. But that's ok.  

Despite all this... it's not all gloom.  I've had some lovely festive outings already with some tasty cocktails and good company; a trip to the German market and sampling some Brum pubs; and have a few more before the end of the year.  I've not spent a ridiculous amount of money and needing to save for Christmas has meant I've had some cosy weekends in sculpting instead of spending money on alcohol.  I'm also back in touch with a friend I thought I lost this Christmas. You've got to be grateful for small things.

I'm sure the December reflections will be there, niggling, in the back of my mind for some time... but I'm trying to keep my focus on what is important.  Whatever happens next year is next year, for now, sit back, enjoy the family, friends and Christmas cheeriness in people's eyes... and try to relax. If nothing else, two weeks off will be much needed to replenish and kick back.

The Test.

 The day has come to test these two Ice Cream Behemoths...

 

 

 

It was with great trepidation that I picked up that spoon.  This was the moment.  Some 8/9 years since had passed before Minter Wonderland had entered my mouth on it's shiney, silver steed. I've been used to Haagen Dazs for the last few years, it stepping in to fill the void left behind Minter Wonderlands epic wake.  I know the taste of Haagen Dazs now, as if it is part of my own body.  And yet, here, armed with my weapon-like spoon, I plunged back into the past to see if the lasting memory of this frozen creamy-dream lived up to the reality.

 

I have to say, I was surprised with the results. 

 

I can officially announce that Minter Wonderland... is NOT tastier than it's rival. 

 

Mint Leaves... the Ice Cream is creamier, tastier with more depth of mintiness flavour, and there is more chocolate per spoonful.  It also seems to melt quicker in the mouth. 

 

Minter Wonderland lacked that punch.  It's Ice Cream tastes blander in comparison, and although the chocolate chunks are "meatier" there are fewer of them in the tub it would appear.  It's not as minty or as refreshing to the pallet.

 

It looks like Haagen Dasz has surpassed Minter Wonderland... had it not been for Minter Wonderland's initial demise prior to Mint Leaves being marketed, I feel I would have made the switch regardless.  It would appear that Minter Wonderland only retained it's mantle in my heart and mind due to it's unavailability, a lost treasure, the memory of which appears to have been greater than truth. 

 

And now, Mint Leaves can take it's rightful place... the consistent provider who didn't abandon me can now bathe in it's glorious defeat of the old ruler of the minty dessert Kingdom.  All hail... the worlds best Ice Cream... Mint Leaves and Chocolate! 

The Second Coming.

On the 10th November 2014 at 1904hrs I got sent this...

 

 

This.... is THE ice cream. 

 

In short:  **READ IT HERE**

 

2005- Ben & Jerry's release this BEAST of an Ice Cream.  I am addicted.

2005- The Ice Cream vanishes to the depths of the Ben & Jerry's Graveyard

2005- I drop into a despair and grief that can only be understood by hardcore addicts. Withdrawal symptoms included emailing Ben & Jerry's to beg for it's return- only to be told I can "view" it in the Graveyard on their website.  I do.  I am heartbroken.

2005-13 Years of heartache and Mint Ice Cream misery ensue.  No other mint ice cream tastes the same.

2013- Hagen Daas release Mint Leaves & Chocolate. My faith in humanity, hope, ice cream and mint is restored.

2014- Minter Wonderland descends. I explode with Joy.

 

It has returned.  In my time of need.  It has returned.  Words genuinely cannot express how I felt seeing that photograph... it was monumental.  I can only compare it to finding my long lost snake ring all those years ago after a year of it being lost.  It was spiritual, emotional and just epic. 

 

I was sent a few torturous videos of it being opened and eaten... however... this was short lived and manageable.  There then followed a WEEK of trying to hunt some down in various supermarkets. And finally.. FINALLY ... I managed to get hold of some after a tip off of some stock in Sainsburys.  I got the last two tubs.  At present I have two tubs of Minter Wonderland and two tubs of Mint Leaves in my freezer.  This makes me feel... glorious.

 

Tomorrow I plan on having a compare of the two ice creams. This is going to be a huge moment for Ice Cream and an even huger moment for my tastebuds. I will blog my results following the strictly controlled experiment.

 

I know my time with this ice cream is short... it won't still be here like the Hagen Daas has been all this time, so I hope it permits me a short, brief affair with the ice cream that started this all. 

Fright Night and Fisty Cuffs.

The much anticipated Halloween Party 2014 took place last Friday.  I freakin LOVE Halloween as it's a good chance to get dressed up in something weird and outrageous and decorate the flat in awesome, gory tat.  This year I went for a classic Beetlejuice and I have to say I think I did a good job on the ol' makeup.  :-) A good night was had by all, although it finished fairly early due to a lot of people driving and/or working the next day. The only downside was being very poorly that night thanks to someone untrained in the art of making whiskey mixers virtually poisoning me with a quadruple strength Southern Comfort and Coke.  And maybe me for drinking it... but that's by the by.

 

 

The last two days of this week have been spent on some Personal Safety Training and I have to say, after my partner and I getting recognition for being the best two students of the course, it's given me a hankering to get back to the gym and build up more strength.  I thoroughly loved my course and have hopefully picked up some safety tips should I ever get attacked both in and out of my job.  I love that size doesn't come into it, and that you can quite easily defend yourself no matter how teeny you are.  It makes me want to box, and get stronger so I can really take people by surprise.  Comments of the day today were: "God you are really quite strong" and "You're really aggressive for a tiddly person".  Yeah man.  That is all I want... to be stronger than I actually appear.  I'm never going to be really strong and I don't have the commitment and dedication to be super fit either, but as long as I can be stronger than I appear... I'm happy. 

 

All in all, a brilliant two days.  I did get a liiiiiiiittle bit of a crush on one of the trainers, who was a trained fighter.  I just love the spikey movements and the speed of their skills.  I'm a sucker for it. 

 

It's done me good.  I went straight to the gym after my course finished today so chuffed with that too.  I'm going to try my best to go at least 2/3 times a week and get back into the swing of it, as the last few weeks have been pretty slack due to being totally shattered from work and a few other stressful situations which I don't have the energy to go into now.  I feel better tonight than I have this week... before today I felt drained, tired and fed up so beating the shit out of people seems to be a really good pick me up.  :)

Ahoy Me Hearties!

On Friday I set my Out Of Office notice for a whole week off:  One of the small treasures of the hustle and bustle of the modern world.

I have the same week off most years, work permitting in order to use up the last of my annual leave before the end of March and also to avoid any trace of menial work on my birthday!

On Saturday the flat was decorated with Palm trees, parrots, pirate coins and candles.  Sails and rope, lots of flags and lanterns; even some pirate cupcakes adorned the treasure chest laden table! Friends donned fancy dress for a Pirate themed birthday party.  Cocktails were made, Rum flowed, Lanterns were set to soar into the night, two hilarious games of Ring Of Fire were played and a good night was had by all. Much love to everyone who came and made it such a great night. :) 

Just proves that no matter how old I get, I can still act like a great big kid and reaffirm my inner Pirate.

I have much planned for my week off.  My birthday is being celebrated on five different days this year so it's not a bad way to see in my thirties!! Today was kicked off with hangover breakfast pancakes at a nearby Creperie, then after tidying up the flat from last night's festivites and catching up on some sleep, I was treated to a nice family birthday meal at The Whittington Arms.  I repeated the same mistake I made a year or so ago when I ordered a prawn dish in there; forgetting once more that they come WHOLE. Shells, Legs, Eyes, Heads, Tentacle-y bits.  WHOLE.  And covered in sweet chilli sauce.  By the time I had finished it was scene of pure prawn massacre.  Carcasses, tentacles, disembowled shells, heads, countless legs.  Oh god.. the legs.  Thank god for the finger bowl and napkins! Still, a lovely time was had by all and it was nice to have all the immediate family (in England anyway) around a dinner table again.

So that's the weekend gone already!  I have a brilliant week off planned.  H has treated me to a spa day so my birthday celebrations day three kicks off tomorrow with some sort of Yoga class, then food, then a facial and a massage to top it all off.  Just what I need.

Tuesday is my actual birthday and I'm dead excited to be carrying on reliving my childhood by being taken to the Harry Potter Studios in Watford. Wednesday I have a free day, and then Thursday I'm back on the birthday train for a last and final farewell to my birthday week with a cocktail and curry with work colleagues!  Sunday I will be off to Nottingham to see family for Mothers Day... and wo betide, before I know it it'll be back to work and into April!!! Thankfully I already have the first weekend booked off for a mystery trip to an unknown location!

All I can say is...

 

2014 Resolutions

1.  Take more Photographs.  Both Phone and Real.

2.  Keep in my life only those who want to be in it; who give me as much back as I give.  Cut out people who can't be bothered and bring nothing but negativity.  Do not accept time wasters who sap energy.

3.  Create. See. Do. Make. I've put this as one because it's all about inspiration. I need to make time to get back to my creative roots. Remove superficiality and enjoy more "real stuff".

4.  Cut Down Spending on things I don't need. See above about superficiality. This will mostly be governed by crippling rent and bills.

5.  Maintain gym work and improve lung capacity for cardio.

6.  Career Development. Seek new opportunities.

7.  Go to see Maybeshewill.

Christmas 2013

I think the below video best sums up my Christmas and New Year.

It's been fantastic: Some much MUCH needed time off work spent with friend and family, including my little neice, bro and sister in law on Skype. I've caught up with family I don't see much and got to spend time with the people I care about most. It's been just brilliant.



New Years eve was spent at the new flat with a small selection of friends.  Most importantly for me- Markuus and his partner Jo came over; and N also spent the evening with us so it was lovely to spend it with some of my favourite people. :-)

The only sad thing is that's it's all flown by so fast... I've barely had time to think up any resolutions and now this week I have suddenly found myself back at work in an almost zombie-like stupor trying to remember what my job is.

Resolutions coming up...

Christmas Eve Eve; 2013 Reflections

I'm sitting in my slippers, watching A Christmas Carol on TV.  It's Christmas Eve Eve and I finished work today for the rest of the week. 

It's normally this time of the year when I'm doing a review of the year and compiling some New Years Resolutions, but I'm feeling a distinct lack of energy to do either. Plus, I'm not sure summarising my year will be all that eventful this time!

However... now I think back...

Things I have lost: 

Some friends. Not in a physical sense, they're alive and well.  People change, people move on and some people you realise really aren't worth your time and energy. Those who mean a lot to me, remain, however. Even if I don't see them as much as I would like. Thank you for your continued friendship to Mrs P, Markuus, and my dear N who I will always love with all my heart.

Money- a lot has been thrown away on copious drinking, nights out and shoes... but all in all I have some memories of happy times such as motor racing with N and many a post-working-week-debriefing drinks down the local.

My twenties- A heart felt goodbye to my twenties; bittersweet as I lay to rest many fun and happy memories of my youth interspersed with the anxiety, insecurity, angst and heartache that goes along with it.

Things I have gained:

New friends. 
New flat. 
My independence back. 
Strength and Tone from my gym workouts.
Perspective.
A whole new decade ahead of me as I entered my thirties.
New gig experiences- Deftones, Bastille and the amazing Nine Inch Nails... memories of the latter I will treasure forever. Two more ticks off on my "Bands to See Before I Die" list. 

A review of my 2013 Resolutions:

Resolution 1: Be more active.
Achieved. I'm still going to the gym about twice a week and generally feeling better for it; although I certainly notice the difference when I don't go.

Resolution 2: Be less angry.
Semi- Achieved. I'm not sure this has happened... if it has it's more by the ever-so-slightly decreased invasion of the Government impacting on my job and colleagues. I think this year has been more stressful than angry so I'm saying this is semi-achieved.

Resolution 3: Laugh more.
Achieved. I have certainly laughed a lot this year.  I have a graffiti'd piggy bank on my desk at work which says "Just Keep Larfin" thanks to my colleague Daz who decorated it for me and says I say the word Laugh posh.  He's from the Black Country.

Resolution 4: Be Inspired.
Semi- Achieved.  I've been to the cinema, seen films at home and been to gigs this year which have all been inspiring to me. However I need to get out more next year and see more places.  I've spend too much time in the office this year... I need inspiration from nature and new cities next year (money permitting).

Resolution 5: Be more creative.
Semi-Achieved. I failed to get my new tattoo thanks to money issues, however I have one planned for my birthday in 2014.  I've done more sculpture commissions this year and have two lined up for the beginning of next year.  To be continued. 

Resolution 6: Blog more.
Achieved. This has definitely been achieved.

Resolution 7: Feel settled.
Not achieved. Work in progress.  I think I know what I need to be happy- companionship.  At the moment I'm at a loss as to where to find this.


2014 Resolutions to be posted soon. 

Belong.

I've just caught up on a few weeks of blog-reading and thought it was probably time to update my own.

The truth being told- much has changed but I've avoided posting anything for some time for a few reasons: 1- I have been incredibly busy.  2- I had no internet access for a few weeks. 3- some issues I've had I felt best not to air in the public realm (aka- if you can't say anything nice, say nothing at all).

I've moved into a flat with my friend and colleague H.  It's not quite home yet, pictures still need to be hung.  If I'm honest it all feels very temporary. But I think everything does now.  Everything.

It's Christmas and I've been very disorganised this year.  Moving in at the start of November proved very expensive so I think Christmas has been somewhat tainted by a general worry about money this year.  The last few weeks have been busy. Both at work and socially.... genuinely too much to list but it's been a blur of funerals, tears, too much drink, too much work, stress and laughs.  I'm writing this hours before my fourth and final Christmas work do this year. I'm not sure my feet or my liver can cope with many more!

I'm still going to the gym albeit the last few weeks have been hard to find time to fit anything worth while in.  Slacking.

I generally feel very tired.. I'm always tired these days.  I don't work long hours like others but I give 110% to a job where I get paid averagely for the effort I put in.  My priority next year is to get a new job and possibly outside of the Force so I don't have to be quite so worried about being made redundant every few months. In addition to work stress, I don't sleep well.  I have two Zopiclone on ration for when I really REALLY need to sleep but generally I think I've gotten used to feeling semi tired on a daily basis.

I'm struggling with Christmas this year.  It seems to have lost its meaning, like many things have to be honest. Recent events have put certain things in perspective and I am lucky to have my health, my family and a sprinkling of friends who genuinely care, however all this is clouded by a general feeling of not belonging anywhere.

This is the trouble with Christmas.  It's great if you're happy;  If you aren't it's like a giant microscope magnifying everything you're missing in full focus...

So you just smile and grab another drink.

Wedding Weekend.

Three days off have absolutely FLOWN by.  So fast in fact, that I can barely even remember what I did on Friday- probably because I spent most of the morning catching up on sleep!

On Saturday N and I set off to our old stomping ground Loughborough where we met up with The P's, Arf and Sam before setting off to Nottingham for the wedding of another fellow uni-chum.  It's nice to be involved in such a happy occasion especially when it involves a mini reunion with the old Uni crew. 

A good time was had by all despite the DJ leaving a lot to be desired, even in the cheesey-wedding-music stakes.  However, thanks to some expertly chosen requests and some dubious dancing in my lovely blue Karen Millen dress the night was a good one.

Unfortunately due to our age all we could manage to achieve the following day was snoozing on sofa's watching motor racing and drinking cups of tea although we managed to venture out to the Harvester for some grub a bit later on.  The weather was shocking too so we probably chose the best activities for such a wet, cold and miserable day.

The journey back was just as stagnant, getting stuck in a traffic jam due to what was probably one of the most horrific looking car accidents I've seen on a motorway.  A journey which usually takes 40 minutes, took two hours as we were sat on the M42 playing eye spy for about 45 minutes. 

And that was that! The end of a super fast three day weekend! What's next... ?

A Film in the Sunshine.

Last night my friend H and I went to Brum to catch an outdoor film showing of Breakfast At Tiffany's. It was a free event in the lovely Brindley Place and the organisers handed out bean bags, free popcorn and blankets to the crowd.  It was a different way to spend the evening, sitting on the steps in the shade watching a film, especially one I haven't seen in years!

I have another fairly busy weekend coming up with my Boss's leaving do on Friday and some drinks in Brum with H on Saturday, starting off at Marco Pierre Whites for some cocktails.

I've also finally been back to the gym this week after a few weeks off due to my inner ear problems which thankfully seem to have cleared up.  Good times! :-)

Dear Asshole,

Thanks for finally revealing your true nature.

In particular, I love how you've consistently tried to hide the fact that you're:

- weak
- superficial
- dishonest
- completely incapable of any empathy
- self centred
- narrow minded
- uncaring
- shallow
- callous
- cowardly
- disloyal
- pathetically vain
- slutty
- egotistical
- illogical
- unbelievably selfish
- incapable of understanding/coping with/conveying emotions
- defensive
- attention seeking
- spineless
- arrogant
- fearful
- a carbon copy of the other meaningless twat you were so desperate to be different to, yet surpass his crap-ness by not even having the self awareness he did to admit you're a total dick and apologise for it. Hilarious.

You fail on every level at meeting my expectations of what makes a man.

Your weakness makes me stronger and I celebrate you reminding me just how much better I deserve. 

Fuck you, and enjoy your half life of avoidance and ineptitude. 

S
x

Goodbyes.

I got back from Kirsten's funeral a few hours ago. 

It was what she would have wanted- short but sweet, with an elegant simplicity.  Everyone wore something pink - a tribute to her fight with breast cancer. 

Walking into the crematorium behind her family and friends, her tiny coffin covered with beautiful flowers and the Goo Goo Dolls' song Iris playing was heartbreaking; so many people shedding tears at their individual losses.  Yet the messages throughout the service were clear- smile.  Always keep smiling.  As Kirsten did throughout her illness.  Her final song, as we exited the room, was Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.  I could just picture her dancing away to it.

Her wake was decorated so beautifully with fairy lights, tables covered with objects associated with Kirsten (Some My Little Ponys and Barbies amongst them!), photographs and little reminders of this lovely lady.  It was nice to see her remembered so fondly, everyone sharing their stories and memories over drinks.  It must have been both heartbreaking and comforting for her family to know just how many will miss her smile. 

RIP Kirsten.

:-)

Exclusive: Slink Captured on Film in Natural Habitat.

The awesome KTP has put together a fab little video of my birthday celebrations at my favourite rock club, Eddies, back in March.  It just makes me smile and I wanted to share it here too:

I can't stop grinning after watching it.  I love that there is a cluster of songs that will ALWAYS always be etched on my soul and bind me with some absolutely amazing friends and some equally amazing times at Uni.  Despite these moments getting further and further into the past, the effect these songs has on each one of us will always spark memories of happy times.  I love it.  It's priceless.  :-)

I'm still waiting to be given the all clear so I can return to work.  I have an appointment tomorrow where I'm hoping to be booked back fit. If not, I'll have to wait until my sick note runs out on Friday.  I just want to get back to the normal drudgery of work now, I miss it!

Semi-Charmed Kinda Life.

One of my earliest memories is of me spending hours looking at my Mum's charm bracelet. I remember it as a big, chunky, treasure of silver which used to jangle a lot.  I would love looking at all the tiny details on each individual charm and hearing my Mum tell me the story behind it- where the charm was bought and for what occasion.  Some of the charms opened- she was bought a little church one when she got married, which opened to reveal a tiny little silver bride and groom inside.  I loved it- and it still sits in my Mum's jewellery box.  It's full of stories and memories, and paints a picture of my Mum's personality and life in tiny little silver pendants.

 

I was bought a charm bracelet for my 20th birthday and it was soon filled with little charms that summed me up perfectly.  It's a beautiful thing and whilst I don't wear it often in fear of losing some of them, I would be devastated if I ever lost it.  I love that it is unique to me, the places I've been, the things I love and find funny.  There's a little camera, artist pallet and handcuffs (bought before I joined the Police I might add!); there's also a spider on a web to mark my insane fear of spiders and a pumpkin containing a tiny mouse, because of my love for Halloween and Tim Burton.  There's a squirrel (Uni chums will get this), a graduation charm, a pirate flag, a chequered flag for my love of motor racing and a little Shakespeare as people who know me well know I love Stratford Upon Avon on a sunny day in Summer.  There are charms from the Peaks, Lakes and Cornwall denoting some of my favourite places in the UK. There is also a butterfly- a symbol for something that only about three people in my life know about.  My old bracelet is shown below in the first two pictures.

 

 

My charm bracelet has been full up for about five years.  While my Mum's was filled slowly over many years, mine was filled in about five, such is my love for completing things I've started!

However, this year for my thirtieth, my work colleagues clubbed together to get me a new charm bracelet- one of the new Pandora charm bracelets, shown in contrast in the last picture. 
The style of these bracelets are far more commercial and slightly less unique; Pandora shops are all the same, carrying the same stock and there's no little pirate ships or pumpkins- the old style charms you can pick up from quirky little jewellers and you can always find ones you've never seen before, even now, if you know where to look. I actually love that I've been bought a new one to start a new chapter.  Perhaps this one will be filled more steadily, and while the charms may be slightly less unique, each one will have a meaning as to when they were bought, by whom etc.  More subtle maybe, more understated as I guess my thirties may be- and that's no bad thing either!

Here's to a new chapter of charms.  :)

What A Week.

What a week.  Allow me to recap:

On Wednesday I had my third meal out with three work colleagues, one of whom was also celebrating a birthday this week.  We started out at Bar Epernay in the Mailbox, moving on to Cote Brasserie for a lovely meal.  We drank fizzy wine drinks and chatted away, then after our meal we went up to Marco Pierre Whites for champagne cocktails.  It's a lovely place to go at night as it's located on top of a building called The Cube, where you are surrounded by full length glass windows and able to admire all the twinkly lights of Birmingham City.  It's probably a much nicer view at night than during the day, where sunlight will reveal the greyness of the city and surrounding roads. Following this, we opted for a quick stop at Malmaison for a final drink before getting the last train home. 

On Thursday I popped back into Brum to attempt to find an outfit for Saturday night.  I had ZERO luck and was starting to panic considerably at having nothing to wear.  I got back in time for a few quick drinks with my friend Hannah at our favourite local Sutton pub.

Friday saw a final, now desperate, attempt at outfit shopping in nearby Tamworth- again with no such luck.  Though  I did manage to find a nice shirt/top to wear for the evening which I was really looking forward to: A meal at Jamie's Italian, followed by a trip to The Electric Cinema to see Danny Boyle's new film Trance.  Jamie's Italian was a nice dining experience- with a nice relaxed atmosphere inside- not too stuffy or pretentious.  I had bread and oil to start along with some cured meats and fresh baby mozzarella, followed by a beautiful crab risotto and side salad. It was delicious- but as most risotto's are, it was very filling and I couldn't manage a dessert too.  Gutted, as this is usually the best part of any meal! I would opt for the introduction of a dessert starter so I can get the best of both worlds! 
The cinema is the UK's oldest working cinema and has a truly nostalgic feel complete with old style tickets.  I had booked a sofa, called Keaton, which came with  a text waiter service.  It was lovely to be able to watch  a film from the comfort of a sofa.  The whole cinema felt homely and familiar, warm and friendly with it's deep red walls and cosy sofa's.  It is a MUST if you're in Birmingham and there's a decent film showing you want to catch. 

And so to Saturday, the morning of which I spent trying on clothes for my night out.  I had booked a small side room in Bacchus in Birmingham for my pre-club drinks to celebrate my birthday.  Getting there early to order food, my family and I were closely joined by colleagues and most of my closest friends.  We whiled away a few hours here, laughing and drinking, with a few compliments on my chosen outfit on the way. :-)  It was lovely having everyone I cared about in one room, and whilst I was disappointed with a few cancellations and no-shows, it became clear that the people who really mattered to me were all in one room.  It was heart warming.  At about 11pm a few people peeled off to go home or to other venues, while a small hardcore crowd of us headed to my favourite rock club in Brum.  It was heaving when we arrived- good to see it so busy as the last few times we've been, albeit a few months ago, it's been fairly quiet.  The dance floor was packed for most of the night, with some perfect song choices for our Uni Rock night reunion.  It was such  a good night.  The club was still in full swing when we left at about 3.15am, they were obviously staying open an hour later than usual due to the clocks going forward.  We sleepily arrived home between 4.30 and 5 am at our prospective homes and lodgings. 

This brings me onto today which has been spent feeling incredibly sleepy and nursing our sore dancing feet. I noticed a small spikey-shoe-related injury to my left foot where I've obviously spiked myself at some point.  Despite our wrecked bodies, we opted for a bracing walk into Lichfield for a mid-afternoon coffee or hot chocolate, before heading home to say our goodbyes.  

It's been a truly awesome week off work, much-needed and welcomed.  I've been spoiled, treated and blessed with some wonderful nights out with truly awesome people.  I have one more day off tomorrow before I return back to the daily grind.  Tomorrow I'll be off to Nottingham to see family and relax a bit before the working week begins again.  I'm sad it's all over to be honest- but at least I really made the most of it.  And my bank balance proves it. :-)

Hello Thirties!

Well, here I am blogging from the ripe old age of 30 and two days! Whilst I'm struggling to come to terms with the fact I've already used up half my time off work, my two days of being thirty haven't been too shabby!

I received this wonderful little beast for my birthday. He's an HP Envy X2 which is a convertible tablet/laptop.  He comes with Windows 8 and so far I'm loving it! The little compartments are perfect for my organised brain; everything is easy to hand and in the right place.  It doesn't come with a great deal of storage as it's only a mini PC by all accounts, however considering I only really use my laptop for internet access anyway, I'm pretty happy this is going to replace it nicely.

 

In addition to this, I have been given money to spend on the obligatory accessories for the above! I bought Windows Office for it and finally managed to download it successfully after Microsoft managed to block three separate bank cards and screw up three transactions.  Idiots. Still, he's all up and running and I'm using him now to blog this very post! Looking forward to getting his case through the post so that he can be fully mobile!

 

I have also been treated to a years Gym membership at Virgin Health club, which I am both chuffed and slightly nervous about! It's perfect for me in order to complete my Resolution to be more active.  Come the first of April, there'll be no more excuses not to get there and get fit.  It couldn't have come at a better time.  I also received two tickets to see Derren Brown in May! Woot!

 

I was treated to a beautiful meal at Malmaison in Birmingham which started with Mal Lollipops (Tempura Prawn, Marinated Chicken, Tai Fishcake, Tai Pork and Crab Spring Roll- all on handy sticks!) with dipping sauces; followed by Coq au Vin with potato and turnip gratin and purple broccoli; finishing with Mal-athon bar slices with Milk Ice Cream completed with a truly delectable Black Forest Cocktail.  It was simply devine... with some truly lovely company to boot; I couldn't have had a better thirtieth birthday evening. :-)

 

I have a busy week lined up- with more birthday celebrations tomorrow when I meet some work colleagues in town for cocktails, champagne and another slap up meal on Wednesday; and then drinks on Thursday with a friend;  a haircut, visit to Jamies Italian and the Electric on Friday and the finale is on Saturday night for drinks with chums in Brum and then onto Eddies which will conclude my week long birthday celebrations.

 

BOOM. :-)