Relatively Normal?

So I got my hair cut, I was Louise's last customer of the day and she looked and sounded exhausted, she's been doing late nights too.  I felt so bad, I almost told her to skip the blow dry but I'm glad I didn't as it looked lovely, lasted the next day and and I'm really pleased with this cut, my hair has been so well behaved this week.

I did make the months supply of veggie soup, it's okay, needs tweaking on the next batch but I feel very healthy and virtuous while I'm eating it.

I still felt pretty frazzled at the start of the week but I've gradually returned to normal, or as normal as ever, anyway. 

Early in the week, when I was still a basket case, the bloke that sits next to me in work and who constantly takes the mickey, makes fun of and criticises me which I usually politely smile enigmatically through, went a bit too far and I snapped.  The thing is, I have to put up with his, (insert appropriate word from your vocabulary here,) for weeks and months on end, as soon as I bite back, he looks at me as if I am an insane woman.  Happily, the upside is, he didn't speak to me for 1.5 days, and it was bliss.  No inane chatter, no mickey taking, just peace.  After the 1.5 days, he started talking to me again but minus the mickey taking.  We'll see how long this lasts but for now... absolute heaven.

I have been incredibly and ridiculously exhausted this week, I even went to bed at 7.30pm one evening.  I vaguely remember feeling this way, this time last year.  Not sure if it's the long dark nights, the fact that it's now dark when I get home, the extra hours I'm working, or just me?  It's not even cold yet.

I was off on Friday and took J to the Trafford Centre.  She's not 100% but we still had a nice time and a gorgeous lunch at Giraffe.  We had Toasted Garlic Focaccia followed by Edamame, wok fried in soy, chilli and mirin... yum.

We scoured, and I mean... scoured, the whole of the Trafford Centre for a skinny black, plain belt with silver or black buckle.  Can you believe that there was not one to be found, in the whole of the Trafford Centre?  Trust me... we looked, everywhere.  I almost bought 50mm black satin ribbon but I only wanted 2m to create a kind of cummerbund effect but they would only sell it by the roll!  I need it for the too big dress I may be wearing in a couple of weeks and at this rate, I may have to go back for the entire roll.

Before we left, I spotted S&M in Debenhams, good to see them both and I'll be seeing them again at the dinner dance in couple of weeks.

So, I feel much more normal than the past two weeks.  More stuff to come which I'll have to deal with but it'll be more spaced out.  We have an op next week, nothing the week after, another op the week after that and then I go to NYC baby.  Sorry for the baby, I can't seem to say "NYC" without tagging "baby" on the end at the moment :) 

I'm both excited and panic stricken.  I'm not a bit organised for NYC, (baby,) and by the time I get home, it'll only be two weeks until Christmas.  Incidentally, I need to post your parcel by the 5th so you'd better get your thinking cap on madam.

The Christmas decorations are up here at Cheshire Oaks and I heard my first Christmas music as I arrived this morning, this would usually fill me with horror but it was kind of nice.

My washing and ironing are done, (did it yesterday,) so I'm heading home for sorting and tidying.

Workouts have taken a battering of late, in fact, I have been positively rubbish.  I did however do side leg lifts most nights and I'm still climbing my 5 flights of stairs each morning at work.  After missing my run last weekend due to oversleeping, I ran for 30 minutes yesterday morning and again this morning.  It felt great but didn't want to do more as one of my knees is complaining.

As I sped around the supermarket before heading home, I spied a very little, we're talking tiny, old lady, eyeing a box of Yorkshire Tea on the top shelf.  I put two and two together and diverted down the aisle just as she raised her arm, her hand would have fallen short of the boxes by around 4 inches, or, she may have been buried under an avalanche of Yorkshire Tea.  "Would you like me to reach a box for you?"  "Oh yes dear, they always put these things so high up."  I have no idea which "things" she was always out of reach of but with my halo positively glowing, and with my good deed of the day done, I continued to speed around the store before heading for fuel then home to tidy.