Thought Of The Day - Week 11

Welcome the this week's Thought of the Day round up!

 

Monday

 

 

Be true to yourself and be the best you

 

Tuesday

 

 

Only make promises if you plan on keeping them

 

Wednesday

 

 

Always be there for your friends and family - not because you might need them someday, but because you care about their wellbeing!

 

Thursday

 

 

Remember there is always a choice - even if you don't like the options

 

Friday

 

 

Do something today that you've been too scared to do - hit publish, tell him how you really feel, make that call, whatever it is, do it!

 

Saturday

 

 

Take a minute just to remember how awesome you are. Do it right now!

 

Sunday

 

 

Spend your time asking what if it's amazing instead of what if it goes wrong

 

Which one is your favourite?

 

Follow me on Twitter @randommusings29 and feel free to comment :)

 

 

 

 

 

 



Avon Nail Polish Haul

This month's theme, Over To You, has certainly pushed me out of my blogging comfort zone. Although I don't have a specific niche, there are things that I wouldn't have thought of doing a post on, and suddenly I have!
With that in mind, today's post is all about the new nail polishes I've recently had delivered from Avon (when I say delivered, I did pay for them and haven't been asked for a review or anything!).
I must warn you all, I am not a beauty blogger, so this post may be a little off the norm for beauty posts! I am just very excited about the new colours :)

 

 

Included:

 

Nail Selection box

Avon Nail Enamel in the following shades - Golden Vision, Sea Breeze, Pink Crème, Coral Reef, Real Red, Perfectly Flesh, Viva Pink, Romance, Decadence

Avon Gel Finish Nail Enamel in Fabulous and Sheer Love

Avon Opal Top Coat.

I was particularly excited about this as it retails at £55 and I got it for the bargain price of only £12!

 

From left to right, back to front

Avon Magic Effects Mineral Crush in Rose Quartz

Avon Nailwear Pro in Orange Sun

Avon Nail Experts Pearl Shine in Sheer Lilac

Avon Metallic Effects Nail Enamel in Jade Reflection

Avon Nailwear Pro in Cherry Jubilee

Avon Stardust Nail Enamel in Cherry Dazzler

 

I have that many I don't know which one to choose first!

 

Follow me on Twitter @randommusings29 and feel free to comment :)

 



Lovely Things

5 Things That Make Me Happy

As part of my Over To You theme, @cuddlefairy has requested a post about happiness and positivity. I thought I would write a list of five things that make me happy.

1. It being summer

I love everything about summer. The sunshine, it being light for longer, the BBQs, the cocktails, the smell of sunscreen, the bright colours. Literally everything! Even if I'm having a bad day, it still seems more bearable in summer than winter.

 

 

2. Having a week off work

I'm not one of those people who hates their jobs, and I don't dread going every day, but it's been lovely to have a week off recently. I got a lot of stuff done, caught up on some stuff that I had fell behind in and got ahead in some other stuff to take the pressure off a little. I went outside and enjoyed the sun, met up with friends and just generally chilled out. I realised I hadn't had a holiday from work since last December, so I think this was well overdue.

 

 

3. New nail polishes

I'm not really a girly girl, so this one might come as a bit of a shock, but I've gotten really into painting my nails lately. I love trying lots of different colours. At the beginning of the week, I received my order with lot's of new ones. I've even done a little post about it! You can read it here: http://myrandommusings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/avon-nail-polish-haul.html This picture shows the ones I like best for summer. They arrived at the perfect time. At work my hands are constantly in and out of water so my nail polish doesn't usually last very long, but with being off this week, it lasted a fair few days before chipping!

 

4. Shoes!

I say I'm not a girly girl, then talk about nail polish and shoes! I have a definite thing for shoes. The higher and less likely I am to be able to walk in them, the better. Shoe shopping is the only retail therapy I actually enjoy - generally I hate shopping. The picture is one of my favourite pairs. I can actually walk in these too - bonus!

 

5.My friends

I know this one is a bit cheesy, but it's true. My friends are a huge source of happiness in my life. There's nothing more up lifting than having a good laugh with the people you love - sharing your daily lives and helping and inspiring one another.

 

Which things make you happy?

 

Follow me on Twitter @randommusings29 and feel free to comment :)

A Day In The Life Of A Barmaid

I was asked to write a little about my working life and some of the funny things I've come across in the pub by @_mummaknows_ as part of my Over To You theme.

I work as a bar maid, so my general work day is:

-Sort out any left over mess from the night before
-Get the bar ready to open up
-Open up
-Serve drinks, clean the bar area, fill fridges and wash the glasses and change barrels as when required
-Clean up at the end of the night
-Lock up

Pretty boring right? So what makes it interesting? The people! Some of our regulars are real characters - ranging from the hilarious, the stubborn, the loud, the quiet, the lovely and the downright rude, there is never a dull moment!

We have a little group come in on some of the weekday afternoons. They are all lovely people, but they are loud! They basically spend their days debating various things, with them all insisting they are right and no one ever giving in. It really is funny listening to them. They debate everything from big topics like religion and politics to the absolutely pointless like the name of shop that has been closed fifty years!
One that sticks in my mind was quite recent. They were having a discussion about the location of a factory (that closed in the 80s!). One of them insisted it was in a certain street and the others all said a different one. They got pretty much the full place involved and everyone told him he was wrong. This went on for over two hours, and he just wouldn't have it.
The following day, one of the others brought in a map showing it's location, he said it was Photo Shopped.
One of them Googled it, he claimed their Google site was fake.
They told him to Google it himself. The priceless response? 'I don't need to, I know I'm right!'

Some of the things people say and do are beyond belief. A couple of years back, a woman brought her drink back up to the bar claiming the coke was flat. While I didn't really think it would be, I tend to pick my battles and arguing over a drink that costs less than £1 seems like a waste of time. The exchange that followed was priceless. Bear in mind this woman was shouting loud enough to get other customers listening in.
Her (knowingly): 'The gas has ran out on your post mix' (if you don't know, post mix is the draught coke).
Me: 'But...'
Her (interrupting and getting louder): 'I've worked in bars for years, I know what I'm talking about.'
I open my mouth to speak and she jumps in again.
Her: 'Check it. I know I'm right.'
Me (finally shouting over her): 'It's nothing to with the gas.'
Her: 'And you know this how?'
Me: 'You bought a can of coke!'
She shuffles away looking a bit sheepish! Never believe that the customer is always right!

One of the most ridiculous conversation I've had was over the phone.
Me (answering the phone): 'Hello, (Pub Name)'
Caller: 'Hi, I was wondering if you could help me with my tax credits. I need to know the maximum hours I can work without affecting them.'
Me (assuming it's one of the staff and for some reason I haven't recognised their voice): 'Who is it?'
The caller gives me a name I don't recognise.
Me: 'So you don't work here then?'
Caller; 'No, of course not.'
Me (thinking I've misunderstood somewhere along the way): 'Sorry, how do you want me to help you?'
Caller: Repeats original question
Me: 'I'm sorry, I really have no idea!'
Caller (getting a bit shirty): 'You're not very helpful are you?'
Me: 'Well it's not exactly my area of expertise, I'm not sure why you thought it would be really.'
Caller: 'Well is there someone else who can help me?'
Me: 'No, there's only me working.'
Caller: 'There's only you working in the entire office?'
Me: 'You're calling a pub, not an office.'
Caller: 'Oh, I thought I was calling the tax office. Your name is very misleading!'
Bear in mind the name is nothing at all even remotely similar to anything you would associate with taxes, government, or anything related to them.
Me: 'No, we're definitely a pub.'
Caller: 'So you can't help me then?'
Me: 'Nope.'
Caller then hangs up without another word. That one amused me for the rest of the day.

There's loads of others, but I don't want this post to read like a book. Suffice to say I hear a lot of random stuff!

What's the funniest thing a customer has ever said to you?

Follow me on Twitter @randommusings29 and feel free to comment :)

Guest Post: Mary Berry's Super Easy Carrot Cake by Chloe

Today is a guest post from Chloe over at Two Little Owls, which she co-writes with Annie. If you haven't had a chance to check out their blog yet, here is a little bit more information:

We are Chloe and Annie from twolittleowlsblog, our little corner of the World Wide Web for all things beautiful. We are two 20 something's from England and love to blog about anything that makes us happy, from beauty to baking and fashion to homeware. There's generally some cats and dogs thrown in there too, our pets love to crash our photos, and we've recently started blogging about our pregnancy and wedding planning experiences - there have been some exciting changes for going on in our lives and we love sharing them with our readers and getting to know our little community, come and join us!

Chloe has written a recipe for a delicious sounding carrot cake - give it a whirl!

Mary Berry's Super Easy Carrot Cake By Chloe

 

 

 

Hi guys, Chloe here from "twolittleowlsblog", I love a good carrot cake but have struggled to find a recipe that actually turns out nicely and isn't too soggy etc. I decided that now I am on maternity leave I was going to make the most of it and try some new recipes out - which included this one from Mary Berry! I am really pleased with how it turned out and it was super easy to do so thought I would share it with you guys.

Ingredients for the cake: 225g self raising flour, 2 level tsps of baking powder, 150g light muscovado sugar, 50g chopped walnuts, 100g grated carrots, 2 ripe bananas (mashed), 2 large eggs and 150ml sunflower oil 

Ingredients for the topping: 175g full fat soft cheese, 50g softened butter, 100g icing sugar and a few drops of vanilla extract. 

Instructions: 

1. preheat your oven to 180 degrees and grease a 20cm deep, round cake tin. I would recommend baking parchment at the bottom as it makes it so much easier to get out of the tin! 

2. Measure out all the cake ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat well until thoroughly blended. Tip into the baking tin and level the surface. 

3. Bake in the centre of the oven for 50-60 minutes or until the cake is well risen and shrinking away from the sides of the tin. I checked mine after about 25 minutes and put some tin foil loosely over the top so the top of the cake didn't burn as it was already very brown! 

4. Leave to cool a few minutes and then remove from the tin and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

5. Measure out all the icing ingredients and blend in a food processor until smooth. Spread the topping over the cake and then top with walnuts if you are feeling fancy! I would also recommend storing this in the fridge else the icing goes a bit too wet! 

You will have to let us know if you have a go at making this! I love that its only one layer too, as sometimes when there is cream cheese frosting in the middle it's a bit sickly for me - you can almost pretend it's healthy! 

 

Show Chloe some love:

Check out her blog: https://twolittleowlsblog.wordpress.com

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/twolittleowls1

Like her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/twolittleowlsblog?ref=bookmarks

Follow her on Instagram: https://instagram.com/twolittleowlsblog/

And of course, leave her some comments below :)

How Bad Experiences Mould Us

Anyone who has read my blog for a while, will know about my disaster of a relationship with an alcoholic. You can read more about it hear if you missed it: http://myrandommusings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/the-relationship-that-made-me-grow-up.html
As you may also know, I usually submit a guest post to Zusterschap to fit in with their monthly themes. This month, their theme was growing up. What better way to grow up than to wake up to the fact you are wasting your life on a bad relationship?
I submitted a post to them about how I grew up in that relationship and what I learned from it. You can read the post here:
http://zusterschapcollective.com/how-bad-experiences-mould-us/
Check it out, and while you are there, why not check out some of the other posts about life lessons and growing up, there are some brilliant posts!

Let me know what you all think.

Follow me on Twitter @randommusings29 and feel free to comment :)

When Adults Run To The Teacher!

The club I work in is due to have it's yearly meeting. Basically customers come to this meeting to discuss how well/badly the club is performing financially and how the year has gone. There is also a section where people can put letters in ahead of time to be read out at the meeting and hopefully get a resolution.
In theory, I love the idea of this section. Customer's can give feedback and make suggestions on how to take the business forward.
It never actually works like this though. I have yet to hear anything productive. It's always a series of moans and whines about the things they don't like (and very rarely are any solutions offered).
Also, people use this opportunity to attack each other and moan about each other. I mean come on, we're meant to all be grown ups here! If you have a problem with someone, go up to them and have a mature discussion - to their face!
I can't stand the whole "run to the teacher" trend this causes. If children behaved in this manner, they would be told to "stop telling tales".
Also, if you have this many grievances, and hate the place so much, I have to question why you continue to come in. No one forces you to drink in the club for upwards of 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. No one forces you to interact with the customer you are bitching about. Seriously, grow up!
I suppose I should be thankful that these bitchy letters aren't usually aimed at the staff (touch wood!). Although they do like to regularly discuss the bar staff's lives and offer opinions on them - more to come on that in another post!

What is your opinion on "grown-ups" tattling like pre-schoolers?

Follow me on Twitter @randommusings29 and feel free to comment :)