Back on to my "regular" World of Work timetable, and my bodyclock has finally adjusted to the legging-it-like-a-loony pace. I left WoW yesterday, having contributed to the well-being of those I was in charge of by having:
* learnt a new Australian phrase "shag on a rock"
* drunk 3 coffees
* had a lunchtime conversation with the girls about waxing and men with ear hair (euwwwwwggghhh)
* planned some Official Day Off time running about town, dropping stuff off to the charity shop and picking up another old Quality Street tin from the sorting office...got to lurve those mauve patterned beauties.
For once I was ahead of the game with thinking about dinner - something italian, sloppy and autumnal now that we've got the post-heatwave cool-down. And then I remembered... the 12 year old will be bringing home pizza from his school cooking class. So not only do I have the day off today, I don't have to cook tonight! And I just might go and watch the Liver Birds in a minute - boots and beehives - and then I will get myself out, instead of having just a bit more sofatime...
Showing posts with label Day Off. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Day Off. Show all posts
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Where We Went On School's Out Thursday
Despite not having to set the alarm clock this morning we were up early, to make the most of the Extra Day-Off today, and even managed to be back by teatime. We were so busy having a lovely time that I only remembered to take one photo. I'm really Quite Proud Of Myself for getting a move on and managing an impulse day at the seaside...
********
Nah, course we didn't! The 12 year old enjoyed a long lie-in til gone 10, and it was a pj morning for both of us, but we went for an afternoon up the train track to Civilisation, exploring vintage shops, quaint buildings, finding A New Favourite Cafe - houmous and roasted vegetable ciabattas and king prawn salad sandwiches. Would love to show a photo, but still trying to pluck up courage to take food pics; they might think I'm from Environmental Health!
We* were so impressed at getting long-handled spoons with the coleslaw that afterwards we went to this lovely little shop to find some of our own, for ice cream sundaes aka anything from the freezer I sling into tall glasses and slather in chocolate sauce:
A treasure trove of Very Expensive Loveliness - personally I'd cry for days if I dropped an Orla Kiely teapot that cost £54.99 - but we found the spoons. Apparently they are latte spoons. There were several types of cutlery which, frankly, I'd never heard of and I felt as uncouth as someone encountering a place setting with so much silver that you have no idea whether to start from the outside or the inside. Grapefruit spoons? How very sensible - I thought that's what teaspoons are for. ;)
And finally, we had to put on body armour, took a load of rescue remedy.... and hit Primark. Yes, this was the Day When It Was Discovered That None Of The 12 Year Old's Jeans Fit Him Anymore - apart from the one pair that were in the wash. Predictably it was rammed, groups of School's Out teenagers (mostly well-behaved) and a slightly higher than usual amount of unmanned toddlers. But puzzlingly, there were also hoardes of people NOT entertaining school-age children - older people, people with babies... School's Out Thursday coinciding with payday? Brilliant! Oh, and I also got this t-shirt ;)
* Actually just me - the 12 year old is still being polite enough to pretend to feign interest
School's Out Thursday
Occasionally I love the tories. The added-comedy factor of making 2011's Glasto go down in history as the one where the tory expired in the portaloo. Not one of the hoi-polloi toilets either; a restricted-access one. A bit like the type they send their kids to. And very like the type they plan on turning universities into.
Which brings me to the glee which I feel - albeit indirectly and temporarily - for the tories this evening. I don't have to set my alarm to get up early tomorrow as the 12 year old has the day off. The tories have caused most of the schools in the UK to have to close tomorrow in order to show how much they really do not want to have to work until they are almost septugenarians. In fact, on a training course today*, a statistic was thrown in that by 2015 the majority of the working population will be between 45 and 70. Though it would be quite plausible to believe that they could try to make that 40 to 75. Monkeys running the economy would be less ludicrous.
Anyhow, it feels very superfluously good that it is not a school night. Avoid all UK shopping centres at all costs tomorrow, as they will undoubtedly be overrun by feral school children whose parents have not been able to take the day off to look after them, for fear of losing one of the few remaining jobs in this country.
* The course was about Diversity. I hesitated when doing the feedback form at the end, not sure if I would still have a job in September if I expressed how disappointed I had been by the fact that Ashley Banjo had not been there.
Which brings me to the glee which I feel - albeit indirectly and temporarily - for the tories this evening. I don't have to set my alarm to get up early tomorrow as the 12 year old has the day off. The tories have caused most of the schools in the UK to have to close tomorrow in order to show how much they really do not want to have to work until they are almost septugenarians. In fact, on a training course today*, a statistic was thrown in that by 2015 the majority of the working population will be between 45 and 70. Though it would be quite plausible to believe that they could try to make that 40 to 75. Monkeys running the economy would be less ludicrous.
Anyhow, it feels very superfluously good that it is not a school night. Avoid all UK shopping centres at all costs tomorrow, as they will undoubtedly be overrun by feral school children whose parents have not been able to take the day off to look after them, for fear of losing one of the few remaining jobs in this country.
* The course was about Diversity. I hesitated when doing the feedback form at the end, not sure if I would still have a job in September if I expressed how disappointed I had been by the fact that Ashley Banjo had not been there.
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
What To Do...
...with this very-much needed Official Day Off? See, I have been hit by alternate waves of procrastination (the do-you-really-want-the-filter-keys-on? message came up there when I had my finger on the shift key, while the brain came up with some commands) and getting-things-done mode. Admittedly the latter mode wants me to take everything out of the dining room part of the kitchen and reassess the empty room, blank-canvas-sprayed-white, George Clarke style.
Then when the room had been made twice as big by means of architectural magic wandiness, Dawna Walter could rock up to stop me putting all the sh*t back in again. I am aware that she would frown on the old birthday cards stuffed into the drawers of the cupboard of doom. I usually heed her advice of you don't need to hold onto it, but occasionally there have been years when its been quicker to stuff the cards away rather than sort out if anyone wants to keep any particularly special ones...
This is the Culprit Corner. I am going to move the desk over to under the window again, and get that hulking great printer up on a shelf. The cupboard will go where the desk is at the moment, so a nice, neat visual line of whiteness will prevail. The roller blind came down this morning, as I was too heavy-handed with trying to straighten it. And those wires are So Bad. We have wireless internet in the house, but you wouldn't think so from this heap. Its been left "temporarily" like that for, oh, quite a while now. The floor is ancient - the scuffed up bits were inherited; a slate-grey floor is on my wishlist, somewhere. And don't ask why the blender is down there on the floor... just don't ask. Perhaps finishing the kitchen is what I should be concentrating on instead.
But on the other hand, I might just go out instead!
Then when the room had been made twice as big by means of architectural magic wandiness, Dawna Walter could rock up to stop me putting all the sh*t back in again. I am aware that she would frown on the old birthday cards stuffed into the drawers of the cupboard of doom. I usually heed her advice of you don't need to hold onto it, but occasionally there have been years when its been quicker to stuff the cards away rather than sort out if anyone wants to keep any particularly special ones...
This is the Culprit Corner. I am going to move the desk over to under the window again, and get that hulking great printer up on a shelf. The cupboard will go where the desk is at the moment, so a nice, neat visual line of whiteness will prevail. The roller blind came down this morning, as I was too heavy-handed with trying to straighten it. And those wires are So Bad. We have wireless internet in the house, but you wouldn't think so from this heap. Its been left "temporarily" like that for, oh, quite a while now. The floor is ancient - the scuffed up bits were inherited; a slate-grey floor is on my wishlist, somewhere. And don't ask why the blender is down there on the floor... just don't ask. Perhaps finishing the kitchen is what I should be concentrating on instead.
But on the other hand, I might just go out instead!
Monday, 28 February 2011
Life In A Day
After 9 days of waking when we damn well want to, instead of when a digital beeping clangs our senses into wakey-wakeyland, its back to early starts. The 11 year old snoozed and snoozed and snoozed some more, then finally got outta bed, droopy and lagged. I marvelled at it suddenly being light again in the mornings... how did that happen.
Fast forward an hour, and he's checking his hair, grumpy that he's the only one who has to go anywhere today. Well, I would if I could, but my talents are not required at the World of Work today so what can I do but have an Official Day Off? I have a LIST to keep me busy, and a lot of ways of avoiding doing any of the things on it.
Tomorrow is the Day We Find Out how the 13 year old will spend the next 4 years.... if he gets a place at the media-friendly school he might hopefully go back into the system. Alternatively, if he's allocated a place at the chav hell on the hill, then its time for me to get clever with the gcse curriculum.... So by tomorrow morning I will need the password I created when I did the online application many many months ago. This is somewhere on a bit of paper in the cupboard of doom. I spent yesterday afternoon shredding many, many archaic and redundant ex-important pieces of paper, but failed to find it. Will have to rely on it being something easy-peasy that I use for most other passwords when I log on tomorrow...
Another thing on this list is to find a way of wriggling out of a 2nd mobile contract my phone provider seem to think I wanted. Saving myself £8.50 a month is a big incentive to seeing this one through, but I don't feel bouncing from one call-centre to another is going to be much fun. Or productive. Even if I speak to someone pretending to be called George.
All this tidying up and chucking stuff out is causing me to lose weight. I am staggered about how I have lost 4 and a half pounds since December, given the truckload of mincepies I ate over Christmas, and the amount of chocolate I eat on a daily basis. High metabolism has a lot to answer for. A sinister cholesterol level is probably one of them.
Fast forward an hour, and he's checking his hair, grumpy that he's the only one who has to go anywhere today. Well, I would if I could, but my talents are not required at the World of Work today so what can I do but have an Official Day Off? I have a LIST to keep me busy, and a lot of ways of avoiding doing any of the things on it.
Tomorrow is the Day We Find Out how the 13 year old will spend the next 4 years.... if he gets a place at the media-friendly school he might hopefully go back into the system. Alternatively, if he's allocated a place at the chav hell on the hill, then its time for me to get clever with the gcse curriculum.... So by tomorrow morning I will need the password I created when I did the online application many many months ago. This is somewhere on a bit of paper in the cupboard of doom. I spent yesterday afternoon shredding many, many archaic and redundant ex-important pieces of paper, but failed to find it. Will have to rely on it being something easy-peasy that I use for most other passwords when I log on tomorrow...
Another thing on this list is to find a way of wriggling out of a 2nd mobile contract my phone provider seem to think I wanted. Saving myself £8.50 a month is a big incentive to seeing this one through, but I don't feel bouncing from one call-centre to another is going to be much fun. Or productive. Even if I speak to someone pretending to be called George.
All this tidying up and chucking stuff out is causing me to lose weight. I am staggered about how I have lost 4 and a half pounds since December, given the truckload of mincepies I ate over Christmas, and the amount of chocolate I eat on a daily basis. High metabolism has a lot to answer for. A sinister cholesterol level is probably one of them.
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Trashsparkle's Perfume Reviewette
Yep, that's right. Reviewette. I may very well have just made that word up. For the purpose of not making this post look like I got any further with the Fragrance Forays. No Viv W - the Boots in this town is not grand enough, so I tried Jimmy Choo instead. Light, giddy and not unlike the swanky, pungent talc that was in abundance in the 70s. I have not yet found the One. Idly wondering what a perfume by Spend Spend Spend Viv Nicholson would have been like; stale babycham, players no.6, crimpelene, with a heady note of peroxide and a dash of disappointment?
The bouncy sunny afternoon is very apt for playing the new Adele album. Full-bodied production qualities.
Tomorrow is an Official Day Off. And what a stupid day to arrange to have the boiler mot'd. It means I'll have to clean the bathroom and hoik all the stuff out of the airing cupboard at some point tonight. I don't mind doing that kind of thing, but only when I feel like it, not because a man who will try to flog me a carbon monoxide detector is coming round.
And the kitchen will be happening soon - the man who is doing the plumbing did not suck air thru his teeth, and is sending a chap round later this week to look at my not-to-scale scribblings; the only proof that everything will fit is the big pencilled arrows I have drawn on the walls. There will be room to swing large feline creatures, and more vitally, room to get to the sink without long-jumping over the open dishwasher door or risking a hot pan attaching itself to your sleeve.
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Bag of Pixies
Feel very lucky today - have had double-day-off time this week, so all very chilled and trying to be focussed. On sorting my life out a bit more. Bigger. Better. Faster. Go....
Of course, I had to have a few Pixies tracks to start today off, but am playing Frank Black to get more of his vocals, while figuring out a faster way to sell my vintage stuff. I am hopelessly undisciplined at listing stuff, the photos-in-a-good-light and the description malarkey, but its easy-peasy really. But imagine how brilliant it would be to have an app like in the tesco advert, but sort of in reverse. You scan your phone over a mid-century coffeepot, and 3 seconds later, its on eBay, beautifully photographed, accurately described.... Oh, please someone, invent it now.
Have been in to town for coffee and cake and was intending to try out some perfumes, but waylaid by the sale rail of acrylic goodies elsewhere I felt too bag ladyish and lost my nerve. Not sure what scent a bag lady should wear, but the one squirt of O' de Lancome I sneaked before backing out of Boots is not quite it.
Of course, I had to have a few Pixies tracks to start today off, but am playing Frank Black to get more of his vocals, while figuring out a faster way to sell my vintage stuff. I am hopelessly undisciplined at listing stuff, the photos-in-a-good-light and the description malarkey, but its easy-peasy really. But imagine how brilliant it would be to have an app like in the tesco advert, but sort of in reverse. You scan your phone over a mid-century coffeepot, and 3 seconds later, its on eBay, beautifully photographed, accurately described.... Oh, please someone, invent it now.
Have been in to town for coffee and cake and was intending to try out some perfumes, but waylaid by the sale rail of acrylic goodies elsewhere I felt too bag ladyish and lost my nerve. Not sure what scent a bag lady should wear, but the one squirt of O' de Lancome I sneaked before backing out of Boots is not quite it.
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Shiny Things and Stuffy Head
Head exploding this morning - from the ongoing head-cold, and now from the 3 year-old amateur Linford Christie next door, who has enormous levels of zest and Needs To Be Taken To The Park to release them. Now please, neighbours. Thank you.
Knowing that I should be rummaging in my kitchen for some sensible head de-clogging remedies, I am doing nothing of the sort, and getting my Need To Sit Down And Veg And Look At Pretty Things Which Do Not Demand Any Concentration Span fix by checking out my favourite Australian blog, http://fauxfuchsiastyle.blogspot.com/. Brilliant girl for colour, glamour, painting things constantly, having a fab garden (and nails!) and for giving us lots of film reviews. FF, and Claudia too - now on Film 2010, I admire you both for fitting so many films into your lives and not falling asleep. Which is why I am not a film critic...
There will, later today, be some Going Out, but owing to still being a tad fragile this will be a necessity not a retail extravaganza - I need to post a present to my lovely dad, but think the post office will be quite ambitious enough a destination today. Will get trinket-perusal fix instead by looking at some more lovely, shiny websites later.
Knowing that I should be rummaging in my kitchen for some sensible head de-clogging remedies, I am doing nothing of the sort, and getting my Need To Sit Down And Veg And Look At Pretty Things Which Do Not Demand Any Concentration Span fix by checking out my favourite Australian blog, http://fauxfuchsiastyle.blogspot.com/. Brilliant girl for colour, glamour, painting things constantly, having a fab garden (and nails!) and for giving us lots of film reviews. FF, and Claudia too - now on Film 2010, I admire you both for fitting so many films into your lives and not falling asleep. Which is why I am not a film critic...
There will, later today, be some Going Out, but owing to still being a tad fragile this will be a necessity not a retail extravaganza - I need to post a present to my lovely dad, but think the post office will be quite ambitious enough a destination today. Will get trinket-perusal fix instead by looking at some more lovely, shiny websites later.
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Too Much Work Makes Trashsparkle A Dull Girl
Am a bit "blaaaaah" this morning - owing to finding out 5 minutes before being due to leave for work, that I have actually got the day off. Now this is not owing to me being a bit dizzy with my diary and getting muddled up (me???), it is actually the result of the latest silly bit of new mismanagement chez trashsparkle's workplace... so now I don't really know quite what to do with meself today. Had I been in "day-off mode" when I went to bed last night I'd be more ... I dunno, doing something day-off-ish, I suppose..... ooh, how frustrating, but I will try not to waste this "extra" time.
The 13 year-old doesn't want to go out anywhere with me today, home-schooling is certainly not happening (yet), and he is currently watching tv. Oh, the slackness of my parenting... but at least he is out of bed, and is freshly washed for once (the threat of pocket money cancellation got him in the shower yet again). We did have a session of him trying to dislocate my kneecap and get me in a headlock last night, and for a nano second I thought the kitchen was going to get trashed, but I played it cool and talked him down - my work life comes in useful sometimes. Now we wait for appointments with Useful People with some expertise in adolescent psychology to do the rest...
Meanwhile the kitchen-diner is getting a new desk (long white table-cum-boudouir dressing table) on Friday, and there is a new tin of white paint to make the walls undingy... so that sorts out Sunday's House Dissatisfaction episode.
The 13 year-old doesn't want to go out anywhere with me today, home-schooling is certainly not happening (yet), and he is currently watching tv. Oh, the slackness of my parenting... but at least he is out of bed, and is freshly washed for once (the threat of pocket money cancellation got him in the shower yet again). We did have a session of him trying to dislocate my kneecap and get me in a headlock last night, and for a nano second I thought the kitchen was going to get trashed, but I played it cool and talked him down - my work life comes in useful sometimes. Now we wait for appointments with Useful People with some expertise in adolescent psychology to do the rest...
Meanwhile the kitchen-diner is getting a new desk (long white table-cum-boudouir dressing table) on Friday, and there is a new tin of white paint to make the walls undingy... so that sorts out Sunday's House Dissatisfaction episode.
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Anyone Want A Man In A Cheap Suit?
Alright, I admit - time to come clean. There probably won't actually be much in the way of the promised Claudia-Coiffure-Calamity-Critiquing... because:
a) the look this series of ITT is much more sensible-of-fringe, less brunette wanting to look like an olde english sheepdog as per last series (whenever the camera panned back, post-enthusiastic-arm-wave-to-departing-guests, our Claudia would be looking a little dragged-through-a-hedge-backwards in the hair department).
b) Important Meetings seem to have been held at the BBC involving deportment advice and sending someone over the road to Boots for some Totally-Claudia-Proof-Hair-Product. There may, too, have been some concerned fanmail begging Claudia to keep her hair out of her eyes, lest she develop a nasty stye...
Anyhows, onto tonight's little half hour of joy... our New National Treasure and her partner Mr-Stage-Name (Because My Old One Was Too Common). This duo's strategy was revealed as being to adlib everything, call it art and give Ann all the credit for it, while Anton is forced to shut up and put up. And she got away with calling his suit cheap. Bless...
This hilarity led to a revelation from the 11 year old - that when I laugh, I don't actually laugh, I just shake. Enough to make him nearly fall off the sofa. Fancy that, I'd never realised...
Earlier today, in lieu of running around a large building in search of young people to impart my wisdom to, I had An Official Day Off. Gleefully pre-planned as Me Time. That is, the kind of Me Time that involves going into Grown Up Shops That Sell Nice Things, and not the other kinds of Me Time which entail running round Tescos or lying on the sofa.
I encountered the usual charming town scenery en route, namely a small boy leaping about unsupervised outside the tattoo parlour (can't think why ADHD sprang to mind there), a bunch of junkies outside Argos, and best of all, The Local Widow Twanky Who Sits Outside Poundland Being Sharon Stone.
And later, on exiting Local Reasonably Priced Chainstore, having to stand aside to avoid being knocked over by 2 pram-pushing young girls of, lets just say, ample build making a beeline for a rail of baggy t-shirts was rewarded by the irony of hearing one of them shrilling " I love over-sized things".
a) the look this series of ITT is much more sensible-of-fringe, less brunette wanting to look like an olde english sheepdog as per last series (whenever the camera panned back, post-enthusiastic-arm-wave-to-departing-guests, our Claudia would be looking a little dragged-through-a-hedge-backwards in the hair department).
b) Important Meetings seem to have been held at the BBC involving deportment advice and sending someone over the road to Boots for some Totally-Claudia-Proof-Hair-Product. There may, too, have been some concerned fanmail begging Claudia to keep her hair out of her eyes, lest she develop a nasty stye...
Anyhows, onto tonight's little half hour of joy... our New National Treasure and her partner Mr-Stage-Name (Because My Old One Was Too Common). This duo's strategy was revealed as being to adlib everything, call it art and give Ann all the credit for it, while Anton is forced to shut up and put up. And she got away with calling his suit cheap. Bless...
This hilarity led to a revelation from the 11 year old - that when I laugh, I don't actually laugh, I just shake. Enough to make him nearly fall off the sofa. Fancy that, I'd never realised...
Earlier today, in lieu of running around a large building in search of young people to impart my wisdom to, I had An Official Day Off. Gleefully pre-planned as Me Time. That is, the kind of Me Time that involves going into Grown Up Shops That Sell Nice Things, and not the other kinds of Me Time which entail running round Tescos or lying on the sofa.
I encountered the usual charming town scenery en route, namely a small boy leaping about unsupervised outside the tattoo parlour (can't think why ADHD sprang to mind there), a bunch of junkies outside Argos, and best of all, The Local Widow Twanky Who Sits Outside Poundland Being Sharon Stone.
And later, on exiting Local Reasonably Priced Chainstore, having to stand aside to avoid being knocked over by 2 pram-pushing young girls of, lets just say, ample build making a beeline for a rail of baggy t-shirts was rewarded by the irony of hearing one of them shrilling " I love over-sized things".
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Wellies and Winkleman
Lordy - this is the first time I've managed to find my own blog - I usually forget what the hosty bit's called and have to dive into other people's blogs and find myself amongst their followers. I like to do things the easy way - not!
Been out'n'about briefly today, on an Official Day Off, in this autumnal sunnyness - so lovely! Owing to having to spend a major portion of the ODO with a representative from the local education authority (Big Problems with the 13 year old emo - more later) it was not destined to be spent on finding sparkly trash, or on being a lady who lunches. Unless a pretty dire cheese'n'salad sarnie, brought to the table by a transgender slap-addled waitress, in the local cappucino hotspot with the emo counts?
Dinner was, again, prepared through the duration of Claudia - too much facebook does not a dinner-on-time make. So all in all, I was just about able to serve up things-in-pitta-bread and marvel at the way Matt's partner was wearing pink patterned wellies which sort of accessorised with the studio sofa.
Been out'n'about briefly today, on an Official Day Off, in this autumnal sunnyness - so lovely! Owing to having to spend a major portion of the ODO with a representative from the local education authority (Big Problems with the 13 year old emo - more later) it was not destined to be spent on finding sparkly trash, or on being a lady who lunches. Unless a pretty dire cheese'n'salad sarnie, brought to the table by a transgender slap-addled waitress, in the local cappucino hotspot with the emo counts?
Dinner was, again, prepared through the duration of Claudia - too much facebook does not a dinner-on-time make. So all in all, I was just about able to serve up things-in-pitta-bread and marvel at the way Matt's partner was wearing pink patterned wellies which sort of accessorised with the studio sofa.
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