Discount Dating.

My chap and I have really got this “being cheap” thing down.

We spent the day running a fair few errands, and then doing a lot of eating and drinking. Only once did we pay full price for anything we consumed.

My work discount card covered a 20% discount in Nando’s, and then we popped (very deliberately) into The Berkley at 5:05pm to take advantage of their 2 for 1 cocktails. We did have to pay full price for the ice cream we went for, but that was a treat worth spending out on. 

I’ve done this in reverse chronological order, because my favourite food story happened at lunchtime. 

We went to Rumpus Cosy, which is, exceptionally cosy. After perusing the menu, I plumped for the turkey sandwich, and Andy for the “Bunny Burger”. Only it wasn’t rabbit. It was venison. And they didn’t have turkey, so I had to choose again. There was “Tart of the Day”, which I eventually chose, taking the risk of telling them to keep its contents a surprise until it came to our table. The waiter duly obliged, eventually bringing our lunch over, and saying “Well? I’ll give you a hint, it’s got three ingredients.” 

I could immediately see big chunks of potato in the tart, and a slightly stringy green vegetable, which I deduced was spinach. “I’ll take a pre-emptive guess of potato, spinach and…onion?”

“Oh, so close! Two of those are right.”

“Okay, well I’ll eat this and have a think.”

Lunch was a fairly quiet affair, as eating and conversing is pretty tricky. I then had a brainwave and started cycling through all of the cheeses that could have been used.

By the time we got up to pay (after 20 minutes of Andy forcing me to eat the salad that came with my tart, no matter how much I whined about it), I had settled on Potato, Spinach and Goats Cheese, after a wobble over Stilton. 

But before I opened my mouth, the waiter said “I’ll up the stakes.”

“Oh gosh.”

“If you can guess this right, I’ll take 5% off.”

“Oh heck. Well, we’re going with Potato, Spinach and Goats Cheese.”

“Noooooo! It was a cheese though.”

“Was it Stilton? I bet it was Stilton, I even said it was Stilton at one point.”

“It wasn’t Stilton. It was just blue cheese. But I’ll take the 5% off anyway, because I’ve enjoyed this.”

See? People are nice. Andy and I just can’t agree which of us the waiter was secretly in love with. It was definitely me with my sparkling charm and wit though. 

Excelling.

It may only have been two days since my last day off, but when you spend about 12 hours in work, four of those in a training session on something you don’t really grasp the basics of, except for the bits on Excel, a day off cannot come quick enough.

Luckily, tomorrow is such a day off, and it’s a day that will be made the most of, with a 3 hour lie in. It sounds drastic, but that only means my alarm will go off at half 8 as opposed to 5:20am. 

Oh, what a life. And a life that’s changing again soon, thanks to my getting off my bum to join a gym, and actually lose the weight I’ve been saying I will for years. The stairs at work now are a good starting point, but there’s a long way to go, especially if I can get into the yoga and cycle classes I want to as well. 

Promise I won’t turn into a gym bore though. 

Smug Bug.

Today was a good day that transformed into a great day as soon as I got home. Not just because I could put my feet up, but because Mum revealed that I was actually awarded a rosette for my rainbow cake that I made yesterday.

Me. 

An award. 

For baking. 

I was as shocked as you were, and maybe a smudge emotional too. That was until the smugness and self satisfaction came across me and I became every single Bake-Off contestant that’s been hated by the public. 

My modesty has taken a drastic turn, where I have come to realise that I am actually brilliant, and can do a lot more things than I previously thought possible. 

So that is definitely for the best.  

Bake Off.

I was true to my word yesterday. I was up (by 9am, which is early as far as I’m concerned) in order to make breakfast for us all, because I am a wonderful daughter.

I then went straight back to sleep after we’d finished eating because any Sunday off, when I don’t have actual plans, should not really be spent out of bed before midday.

Then this afternoon was spent baking plenty of cakes for Mum’s Macmillan coffee morning at school tomorrow, because, as I will continue stressing, I am a wonderful daughter.

Once everything was done, I then spent 20 minutes with my hand under cold running water, because I decided that taking a wire rack out of the oven with the hand that wasn’t holding a towel was a good idea. It was not. I managed to burn my fingers, because I am an idiot of a daughter. Thankfully, it was my left hand, which means I’m still fine for texting and all the other various thing sI use my right hand for.

It’s mostly my pride that’s hurt, and at least I now know that I can pull off all the crimes I had been hoping to do whilst the skin on my fingertips heals.

One Week Down.

So I’ve made it to the end of my first week as an Assistant Manager fairly unscathed. 

Yes, it had its moments, but every now job does, especially one that has such a massive jump in responsibility. I have come through the other side stronger and with much more belief in myself. 

I am exceptionally excited to have tomorrow off, mind – so much so that I decided to get bacon for some sandwiches for all three of us tomorrow. I’m basically a perfect daughter. 

Ass Man.

Who would have thought that a full time job would have led to me being in bed before 9 on a Friday night?

Me. I would have thought it. I did think it. And I was completely right to have done so. 

One more day in until I get my Sunday off, and what a week of work it has been. A lot of drama. A hell of a lot of stress. But I have come through the other side smiling and a lot more confident in my ability to actually be an Assistant Manager.

The best part about it is that I shorten my own role down to Ass Man. And that will never stop being funny. 

Sticky Situation

I got to make some important decisions today, and by the looks of things, it all worked out well. 

So well, in fact, that I went out for a boozy drink with my chap at 4:30 and didn’t feel guilty. I had been awake for 12 hours at that point, so I definitely deserved that, and being able to go to sleep way before 10pm. 

I’m a lucky girl. 

Tricky.

Let me say that and that alone.

Legendary.

Can we just take a moment to discuss how brilliant a film Legend is?

I think it might actually be one of the best films I’ve seen in recent years. Amazing cinematography, spot on music and a performance from Tom Hardy that pretty much wiped the fact that it was the same actor playing two very different roles made for a really fantastic piece of cinema. Also, considering how dark the subject matter was, there were some properly funny moments which helped to raise the bar that little bit higher. 

Any biopic that makes you stumble out into the cold harsh light of day making you immediately want to whip out Wikipedia and do some more research is tip top by me. I have had to promise that I won’t end up plastering my walls with pictures of the Kray twins though. 

First Day.

So I got in last night just after 12:30 am. I was asleep by 1:30. I was up and in the shower by 5:45. I was back napping by 6:41.

It was a most auspicious start to my first day in management, as you can no doubt guess. 

But once I was up and about at 7am, everything was fine. It was more than fine. I spent my morning fighting a losing battle with a mop and the rain, but I won out in the end, thanks mostly to the storm breaking, but in part to my tenacity with a few buts of fabric on the end of a stick.

The day went well, I’m a lot less terrified about this new role now, so am actually quite excited. Even if it will take two weeks for my uniform to arrive, leaving me to deal with a jacket with sleeves far too long. Such is the peril of having short arms.