You’re a Star!

I’m interrupting my Hawaii posts because I need tell you guys about my new addiction!

It’s a ceasar chicken salad by Pret.  It’s sooooooo yummy I’ve been eating it practically this whole week, ever since I had it for the first time on Tuesday anyway.

It consists of slices of fresh cucumber, tomato, lettuce leaves, some slices of roasted peppers and chopped olives.  Sounds pretty standard so far right?  The star of the salad is meant to be the generous helping of ceasar chicken which is nicely moist, coated with light mayo and truth be told, it is actually really tasty.

But for me the true star of the salad is the smattering of pistachios across the top.  Oh my god, it’s absolutely genius!  I can’t even begin to describe the dimensions the pistachios add to what would be just a bog standard chicken salad.  Each time I got a pistachio in a forkful I reveled in the substantial crunch it added to the texture and even better still, the fragrant, nutty flavours it released in my mouth.  Gorgeous.

Anyway.  Enough gushing over a sad pitiful work time lunch.  That’s work for you, so dreary that a mere salad becomes some kind of golden highlight.

It’s Friday evening guys!!! (^___________________^)

I’ve been waiting for this time the whole week and finally it’s here.  Phew.  It’s been a long week.  Although yesterday things were livened up by the arrival of a parcel early in the morning!  Thank you Heri!!! =)  I had to wait till I got home at the end of the day to open it though but it was nice to have something to look forward to during the long work day (besides the salad that is).

It was filled with lots of cute goodies like some really fantastic cookie cutters, I love them!  Ugh I love getting packages!!!

But the best thing of all was the Star Beauty lamp, oh my god, it’s so pretty!!!  I love it so much!  Thank you Heri!!!  It’s like a planetarium in my living room, so peaceful and soothing to the soul =)  Absolutely fantastic.

 

Best Friday

Happy Friday everybody! ♪  \(^o\) (/o^)/ ♫ ♬

Although it’s late on Friday night and will be Saturday soon, but still, it’s the weekend!!!  Yayness!  *(^O^)*

I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the best Friday of this year for me so far.  Why?  Because:-

1.  Firstly, this is the weekend of relief, relaxation and calm after last weekend’s nerves and panic;

2.  I have a day off on Monday!  Yay! =) ;

3.  This is the first Friday this year when I don’t have to dread going back to work with the Rottweiler the next week.

If that’s not cause enough for celebration what is??

AND to top it off, according to weather forecasts our wash-out of a summer will temporarily be suspended this weekend and next week for some proper summer weather.  Yayness again!!

I love Fridays but this Friday I love Friday even more than usual =)

Have a lovely weekend!!! ♥

Work Update

Friday tomorrow.

I feel like this week went by in a flash but at the same time it’s felt like a very long week in that so many things have happened.  It’s almost hard to believe that I interviewed only this Monday, so many things have changed since then.

Today I did my first full day of work in my new position!  Remember I said I was going to try to negotiate my way out of having to bring any aspect of my old job to my new one?  I requested a private chat with my prospective manager on Wednesday morning, laid all my cards out on the table and actually managed to get the result that I wanted.  I was so pleased.  My new manager wanted me to start work that very day as they really needed the help so I went to work that morning as an employee of one department, had a chat and two hours later was the employee of another department!  I went to work sleep deprived, worried and uncertain about my work future but two hours later my fears were allayed and I was positive and clear about my work position once more!

I feel a lot happier now, hopeful for my work situation.  Now I just want to learn the new job as quickly as I can so that I can really make myself useful.

Thanks everybody for all your prayers!  I don’t know if it was your prayers that worked but your combined efforts served to put my butterflies at ease and gave me some much needed confidence so you all helped immensely.  Thanks! =)

GM and I went for lunch today to celebrate, not so much my promotion but more my new-found freedom hahaha.  And now I’m thinking I want to buy something for myself as a reward!  There is a dress that I have been looking at for ages (here it is), it’s not expensive but I have been waiting for it to go on sale.  I know it looks like it’s already on sale for £24 but once you change the options to “navy” and “size 10″ you’ll soon realise that only the white version is on sale and the blue one is still £45!  Such skanks.  I have been waiting for it to go on sale for what feels like months!  So now that I think I have achieved something quite substantial I am contemplating giving myself a reward!  Hehehe.  I’ll let you know if I buy it.  Do you think the dress is nice?

Lucky Prayers

Guess what I was told today?

Apparently I did really well in the written assessment this Monday, the best out of all 3 interviewees!  So I guess your prayers worked!  Thanks!!! =)

Okay please now pray that next Monday I am not nervous for my presentation and interview and that I do very well in both and don’t stutter and turn red.  Thank you.  Also that I do very well in my interview on Tuesday too, thanks!  And that I get offered both posts, in which case I can pick and choose hehehe.

Phew, what a relief.

The thing is, I always ALWAYS doubt myself.  I never feel like I have done enough or done well.  I wish I was more confident but I don’t know whether that is ever going to happen.  The only time I am confident is if I’m trying to give someone else a pep talk, in which case I sound really confident but that’s only because I am trying to boost their spirits and their confidence.

Wednesday already.  Two more days to go!

Foodie Thoughts

I was watching a well-known English chef, Rick Stein’s food programme just now.  He was in Vietnam and loving it; I could see the excitement in his eyes and the very real respect and love he has for food of different cultures.  While I was watching him discussing Vietnamese food with a fellow chef I thought, “Why can’t I make friends with some people who love food like this?”

The only other person I know personally who loves food to the degree that I do is Diana.  I know plenty of other people who like to eat (that’d be you Joanne) but Diana and I don’t just like to eat, we need to know more about our food, actively seeking out new and different flavours and foods.  There’s just so much more out there that I haven’t tried and I am excited to taste it all some day.  The mere thought of the promise of great foods to come uplifts me.  As Diana says, stars and rainbows shoot out of our heads and our normally little eyes grow big, round and shiny in contentment and happiness when we have good food.

I want friends who love food as much as me.  Friends who’d think nothing of roaming London seeking out the next thrilling morsel.  Alas, my friends like to eat but they’re lazy eaters in that they’re not that open to experimentation and they never like to work hard for their food.  I mean, I’m not always in the mood to traipse many miles to some far flung restaurant just for the one acclaimed dish, in fact, I’m hardly ever in the mood to do that especially after a long week at work, but I am not opposed to the idea and will make a point to do it one day.  I don’t know many people who could say the same however, and that is what I am getting at.  I miss not having someone on the same wavelength as me to share my enthusiasm.

So that’s my thought of the day.

On a separate note, I have the day off tomorrow!  Yay!!!  Unfortunately I have the boiler guy coming round to do an annual servicing but I think I can live with that for a day of peace away from the office.

Food Diary

Lunch – Boiled broccoli with bbq chicken slices

Snack – One banana

Snack – One satsuma

Dinner – One brie, cranberry and roasted ham baguette.  I have been look for a brie and cranberry sandwich to no avail but GM saw this baguette during his lunchtime today so he bought it for me!  It’s definitely the best of the brie baguettes out there but they could have done with less brie and much more rocket.

Mini Dinner – Little bowl Indomee.  GM had Indomee tonight.  I had a bit of it and it was like my tastebuds died and went to heaven.  I love Indomee.

Snack – One Picnic chocolate bar.  Sickening.  Serves me right for eating cheap chocolate against my better judgement.

Snack – One satsuma

Drinks – Peppermint tea, English tea, water

Exercise – None!