Wee bit on Thursday

{one} what color best describes you + why?Rainbow! I'm different each day and in each different situation..
{two} how have you changed in the past year?Erm... I don't think I have really.. haha.. I haven't travelled as much and it's bugging me.. but I have a few trips up my sleeve so there's light at the end of the tunnel!!
{three} have you ever had any surgeries?I've had a verrucae cut out of my foot, which my podiatrist referred to as surgery...I've also had all of my wisdom teeth pulled by an oral surgeon.. does that count??
{four} why did you start your blog?To document my life and share with friends in distant shores...
{five} what are you looking forward to this summer?CANADA!!! CANADA!! CANADA!!! Cannot wait!!! CANADA!!!Road tripping with one of my favouritest people in the whole wide world..Time at KB's cottage... mmmmmlake.....
{six} do you have any family traditions for the 4th of July?N/A for those of us that don't live in the States!
{seven} what’s something new that you’ve tried in the past few months?I'm trying really hard to think of something new in the past few months.. Aside from cooking with a slow cooker.. not really a lot!!
{eight} what is the perfect a/c temperature?Don't have an a/c.. don't need one living in Scotland!!
{nine} what was the last movie you saw in the theater?It was so long ago, I don't remember.. I haven't had the patience for movies lately..Even trying to watch one at home, I get distracted...
{ten} what song do you think everyone should hear at least once?Cat Stevens - Wild World or Where do the Children Play

Tone Matrix

Thanks to Leanna for sharing the link for this tone matrix...

Pulsate is also pretty neat...

Click the little arrows on the bottom of the big square to have a go at all the other things...

It's so much fun!! Go check it out!!

Oak Tree Inn, Balmaha

Remember the cosy wee pub I promised to tell you about?

The one which brought us back to life after our hypothermic baltic wakeboarding experience??

Well, here it is finally!!

Welcome to the pub at Oak Tree Inn, Balmaha, Scotland

Cozy pub, wood burning fireplace & grandpa clocks & knick knacks galore!

 I loved all the clocks and crazy knick knacks everywhere!! This is how a pub is supposed to be.. especially a small town pub... See that old skool phone on the wall too?? Awesome!!

 Here is another crazy old phone! I would love one of these at home.. especially if they still worked!

The mister had the special - Pork belly with black pudding.. it was yummy!

I had a bacon burger.. it was yummy also... and the fries were scrumptious!!
Crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside! My fave!!

Plenty of sauce & plenty of bacon!! NOMMY!!

I thought I had more photos of the interior, but my camera says no... If you're ever in the area, stop in for a bite! The service wasn't overly attentive, but it never is at pubs... they somehow forgot to put the mister's order in, so he had to wait for his food (he had the option to order something else, but chose to wait).. so they gave us a wee discount which was much appreciated... I would happily go back for a bite if we're ever in the area again. Prices were typical pub prices.. fairly reasonable for what you get. The staff for the guesthouse all seemed really helpful and friendly, I saw them helping carry suitcases and giving directions and suggestions to people as they came and went..  Can't tell you about the rooms but the service sure seemed top notch! 

Happy Hump Day!!

The Monday Greens~

The trouble with Mondays... apart from the whole having to be at work thing... is that it's a whole FIVE days until the weekend... bah!! At least each day brings up closer to the weekEND... it's only Monday and I'm longing for the weekend.. oh dear... anywhos... X's filing is seriously making me lose my will to live.. I've done some of it.. but I'm leaving the rest of it till tomorrow.. can I just say it seriously does my head in when he sends me things to print.. which are ONE page... ONE PAGE!!! Surely it can't be so difficult to hit the print button!?!?! Or walk across the office to collect it from the colour printer.. seriously.. it's 10 steps (I just counted) with my 5'5.5" legs.. so it's probably like 6 steps for him!! GAH!! /rant

Anyyyywhos... so.. I got to work... couldn't find my swipe card... must have left it in the pocket of my jeans which I wore Friday... oops... super annoying as our bathroom is outside the office, so you need your swipe to get in after you go to the loo... GAH!!  I also left my phone at home... not such a huge deal seeing as I don't get many calls/texts anyways.. but still.. majorly annoying!! I also somehow forgot to put my rings on, so all day my hands have felt kinda naked.. do you get that?? It's the same feeling as forgetting my watch.. tho I usually put my watch and rings on at the same time.. so I really don't know how I managed to put on my watch and not my rings...??? *le sigh*

At least I have yummy ribs to look forward to when I get home tonight... they have been cooking in the juices which also cooked our yummy pulled pork last night... I think I will pick up some coleslaw and bake some cornbread and that'll be dinner!!

To counter all this ranting & gloominess... I had a fun convo with the bossman as I was nipping out to pick up some more herbal tea..

bossman: nice tights today caz! they're the brightest things I've seen all day! (he gets to be pink because it's his favourite colour - no joke!)

(yup, I still had my trianers on.. I don't bother changing out of them unless we have visitors to the office..)

me: what about my nails?

they look much brighter IRL! like almost fluro green..

bossman: holy geezuz! are those all your own or are they fakies? (grabbing my hand to have a look)
me: they're mine..
bossman: they're nice, you have nice nails.. 

Yup.. those are seriously the type of conversation I have with my bossman.. weird much?? I love it tho.. I've always been lucky and had super cool bosses & managers that I've gotten along well with and have had super casual laidback relationships with.. I've been lucky to have higher ups that I've never been afraid to approach with problems I'm having at work or questions, for fear of them thinking less of me or whatever... And I think that's why I don't really tend to have problems at work.. yea, I have a rant and a moan about things like when X is doing my head in.. but for the most part, they are just trivial things, and once I get it off my chest, I'm ok with it.. but I've never been afraid to ask questions when I don't know or have been unclear about something.. but I also have just normal everyday conversations with my higher ups..

I once had a bosslady say to/ask me "Isn't my husband a hottie?".. Luckily her hubby was indeed a hottie so there was no debate whether I should to lie or not! Though looking back, it probably coulda been a super awkward situation, ie. does it seem like I've been checking out her hubby if I say yes?!?! will she be flattered or offended by that??!! :D but it wasn't at all, it really just felt more like if a bestie had asked me, and I was quick to reply "yup huh"..

So I guess I really shouldn't complain about work.. I work in a pretty relaxed environment (which is perfect for me) with some pretty awesome people (most of the time! ;] ), everyone has a great sense of humour and some days it doesn't feel like work at all!!  Anywhos.. speaking of work.. I should probably get back to it!!

How goes your Monday??

Fresh Mint & Chocolate Chip Cookies~

I've baked these cookies a couple of times before.. and have been meaning to post the recipe.. I baked these cookies again tonight whilst waiting for the Formula 1 to restart... so thought I'd finally share the recipe with you all..

I love that they use fresh mint.. 

They also aren't overly sweet.. but still ridiculously moreish! 

So you can eat loads and not feel icky.. WIN!!

 The original source of this recipe comes from eatpress and can be found by clicking the linky.. 

What you need: (for 12 -15 cookies)
1/2 c butter, room temperature
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 c caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 c milk chocolate chips (or any kind you prefer)
1/4 c coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves - I probably use about half a cup coz I like it minty!

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (375ºF). 

Cream the butter and sugars. 

Add egg and vanilla slowly. 

Sift together flour, salt and baking soda and then add to the egg mix and beat until just combined. Pop in the chocolate chips and chopped mint and mix together.

Form the dough into 5cm (2 inch) balls. 

Place on prepared baking sheet and bake until golden, about 9 minutes for chewy and 12 for crunchy. 

Cool on rack. Store in airtight container. (If you don't eat them all!)  

Delicious hot out of the oven or cold..

Serve with a glass of milk!

Happy Nomming!!

Evian Baby Inside~

I am not so secretly a big geek... I love adverts good adverts.. I studied creative advertising at uni and although I have decided it's not a field I want to work in... I do appreciate a good ad when I see one...(especially amongst all the CRAP ads out there...) and the latest Evian ad is definitely cool... so check it out!!

                                              Hope you're having a good weekend!! 

Mary Celeste~

That's what it's felt like at work all day.. two of the girls don't work Fridays anyways,  two more left at lunch time to head up North to tackle the Caledonian Challenge this weekend.. (crazy people!).. another left at lunchtime to go to meetings, one arrived well after lunchtime after a day down South yesterday, Ms K is in Paris.. so there's pretty much been about 3 or 4 of us here for most of the day!!  I've typed up two emails, gone to get bacon rolls, gone to get sweet treats for afternoon tea.. and that's about as much work as I've accomplished today.. I have been reading reviews on scanners to scan my films from my lomo cameras as taking the film to Boots is producing horrendous results!!  Oh, I've also spent the day googling random information, such as the Mary Celeste & Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner.. to answer ridiculous questions posed by the bossman...

Anywhos.. I have some time to kill before leaving to go meet the mister for dinner.. so I thought I would do my outfit post whilst at work.. (everyone else has gone home, so I have the entire office to myself as a backdrop!) Thought you might like something that's not my super messy cluttered living room, for a change!!

As you know from here and here, I usually wear funny shirts to amuse the boss man on Fridays, but seeing as we're out for dinner, I thought I'd try to dress a little fancy.. tho it wasn't warm enough to get me outta my jeans! Here's what I'm wearing...

Top - Glassons; Jacket - Nikita; Jeans - thrifted (Marks & Spencer); Shoes - Fitflop

Oh hai!! That's my bootie... 

I love the tie up at the back of the top.. and the funky print on the back of my jacket...

Necklace - Violet Reaction; Earrings - gift

I apparently lack the skill to take photos of earrings while I'm wearing them.. but they're cute hanging on my wallet! 

We had a yummy dinner.. I'll post about it soon!!