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.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Well...

I think the lack of blogging over the last month pretty much sums up how busy I've been.

I'm glad to say work is settling and I feel like I'm finally making progress and finding my feet which has been a huge help to feeling more stable in general.

My weekends have been jam packed for the last few weeks which is brilliant but exhausting and I still feel like I need some downtime! I'll get round to it soon...

So three weekends ago I stayed in Nottingham to Mrs P's birthday celebrations.  It was great to meet up with the old gang in some of our old haunts though it's safe to say Rock City isn't at all what it once was... and even then it was average!

The following weekend was my first ever trip to the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix. Scratch that... my first ever GP! Becko and I had a fantastic time in Brussels and despite the dodgy weather which included torrential downpours AND sunburn, even Becko was converted into a newbie motorsport fan. I took lots of photo's with both camera phone and my trusty old digital SLR so it was nice to get a good blend of both in Brussels and our day trip to Brugge.  I wish I'd blogged nearer my return home to regale readers with the funny little stories, jazzed up with photographs but it seems so long ago now it seems a bit redundant!! Needless to say it was a brilliant trip and I was so glad to share it with one of my very best friends. :-)

Last weekend was spent throwing what turned out to be a slightly smaller scale party than we initially anticipated- however we went all out on the Hawaiian Theme decorations and a good night was had by all.  On the following day I finally got to look around the new library in Brum which I have to say is a beautifully constructed and designed building. It's definitely something for Brum folk to feel proud of. My trip was interjected with a visit to my favourite café Mount Fuji where my favourite bento box hit the spot as usual.

Yesterday I had my hair chopped off and spent an absolute fortune on baby shower and 60th birthday gifts for a friend and my Mum.. which is what I have planned for the upcoming weekend.

Today I've been to Rockingham Motor Speedway to watch British Touring Car Championship with my sister and her bloke.  It was the first one we've been to this year which didn't require raincoats and umbrella's at some point... amazingly it was fine and dry and even more amazingly I haven't got sunburned!!!! :-D MEGA bonus! Again, I have more piccies and have eaten my weight in sarnies, picnic food and the obligatory motor racing delicacy - Tea and doughnuts! Perrfect.

Things are good... busy and good.  Upcoming I have dates to arrange, a Halloween party to plan, Mum's 60th, attending my first ever baby shower (not comfortable with this) and in a few weeks time... Silverstone for my final BTCC event of the year! I also want to squeeze in a sedgway rally and another hill walk too at some point. :-)

YOWZER.

I don't like Mondays.

DAY. FROM. HELL.

Firstly I have a burnt face- this will be explained later.

There is NO let up at work at the moment.  It's so busy and I'm holding down the fort by myself. The stress is tempered slightly by the good laughs and chats of the office, I work with some great characters, but also it can be a hindrance when I need to concentrate.

I've had one of those nightmare days where I couldn't finish anything, the phones wouldn't stop, every enquiry was a total ball-ache, nothing was straight forward and time flew so fast I left feeling like I hadn't got anything done!

My loon of a chum cheered me up by making me laugh all the way home by following me in his car and beeping me most of the way, then threatening to lock me up for speeding. Oops.

I could MURDER a Jack and Coke right now. I was meant to be going to the Gym tonight but certain aspects of mother nature have prevented me from doing so (another highlight of my day!).  I will however be completing day two of my 30 day squat challenge.  I started yesterday with 50 squats and a 20 second plank.  Today I think it goes up to 70 with a 30 second plank.  I'll do that at home with some weights I think so I don't miss out too much.  I actually WANTED to go to the gym tonight, I feel like I need it after my stodgy weekend.

I had a fab weekend;  A nice chilled Saturday doing some unsuccessful online shopping for a dress for a wedding in two weeks followed by a trip to see The Lion King at the Hippodrome.  Sunday was spent at Donington Park Race Circuit watching the Superstars World Series which is mainly Italian drivers racing Ferrari's, Audi's and Chevvies.  It was nice to mill around and look at some sexy racing cars, but I managed to completely burn my face.  I currently look like a tomato. 

Because my colleague is off, I don't think I'm likely to get many days off work but I could really do with Friday off to relax.  However, any time I take off will only make my workload worse the following Monday. :-(

My day got instantly brighter, when I got home tonight to find my BRAND SPANKING NEW NINE INCH NAILS ALBUM- Hesitation Marks had arrived!!!!  .... a full blog post will be dedicated to this in due course.  Needless to say I have found my commuting music for this week and possibly the next month!!! :-) :-) :-)

Blow Out.

Bank holiday Monday has been and gone; the last one of the year until Christmas!

Despite being worried about getting approval from my client for the commission I managed to complete- I had a lovely bank holiday, whiling away a few hours with Markuuuus by the canal in Hopwas. 

I can barely believe my six days off work have been and gone! Here they are in bullet form:

Wed- Flight over to Belfast, EasyJet, annoying child on plane and a very angry, huffing-puffing butch lady.

Wed night- Nine Inch Nails gig in Charter House Square. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Thur- Titanic museum and flight back home.

Fri- Work on commission- it does NOT go well and I swear a lot.

Fri night- traditional Friday night drinks with H; scarily quiet for a bank holiday weekend. Cocktails are consumed. I pretend not to have noticed the incompetence of the barman as he spills half a daiquiri onto the bar in front of me. He looks mortified. I watch the TV above him to save him further embarrassment.

Sat- Work on commission. It goes better. Less swearing.  Good gym session despite nearly fainting at one point due to the heat.

Sun- Commission is completed. Email sent for approval. Nervous wait so car is washed, tea is eaten and a big session at the gym is undertaken.  I am buzzing... so much so that I return home and eat a bag of doritos and a slice of cheese cake.

Mon- Still hungry from the gym and fuelled by nerves from the lack of contact from my client, I meet Markuus for bank holiday drinks in Hopwas.  Beautiful day for it.  Sun, wasps, half a roast chicken with chips and an eton mess for dessert interspersed with drinks and a hot choc.  Bliss. Approval comes in the form of a lovely email from client. So once home, commission is baked, finished and boxed up for delivery.

Tue- Back to work to find no handover after 6 days, a chocka email account thanks to the bank holiday, a four hour meeting to prepare for and complete minutes for, hardly any staff, my colleague off work so I have to take on her work load also.  Stress.  Stress. Stress. 

That's it.  In a nutshell. It's just flown by! I fully expect that by the end of the week my head's going to explode. And its only my first day back.  :-(

Another Busy Weekend...

It's been a very busy couple of weeks at work.  Things are building up again and my days can be long and draining.  Booking leave is getting tricky lately too, I've had some refused recently and had to get my Inspector to intervene and let me use up all the hours that I work over my contracted time.  When I do get a day off, I make plans to meet people I haven't seen in a while or cheer up lunches for people having a much worse time than myself so even my days away from work fly be without me noticing. I'm even struggling to fit the gym in recently. 

I get tired.  I could do with a lazy weekend watching films and slobbing out in PJ's for a while.  But alas, my next few weekends are all booked up and I somehow have to fit in a new cake topper commission into all this.  Fortunately I think the bank holiday weekend is going to have to be allocated to some serious sculpting time.

This weekend, I've been on a mini road trip up to the mysterious and strange lands of The North.  My friend L from Uni was celebrating her 30th birthday so N, Markuus and another uni chum Adam travelled up to sunny Hull to celebrate with her.  Aside from my taxi rage ( having to wait nearly two hours for a taxi is NOT, I repeat NOT, good for Slinks stress levels) it was good to have a good catch up with friends over a LOT of cocktails. 

My traditional weekly Friday work-de-brief drinks with H will be instigated again this week after a two week hiatus.  However, we're having to divert from our local due to an unwelcome invasion so we're heading a bit further north for our night out.  Gutted, as it's my local pub and it's become a regular feature of my post-working-week drinks over the last few years, but hey ho, I'm not going to let a particular nasty individual affect my night.  I shall party on elsewhere.  :-)

Time is steadily ticking by and it will be TWO weeks on Wednesday until I'll be flying over to Ireland to see Nine Inch Nails.  Oh my god.  My heart skips a beat every time I think about it.  I simply cannot wait and am counting down the days.  It's going to be so immense.