Return of the mack

So... I'm back.

I'm back and it's totally confusing. On one hand, I'm happy to be back in my childhood home, munching on all the goodies I missed while I was away and having time to relax and actually sleep - thank the lord! But all of this is tinged with sadness. I'm sad that most of my best friends are scattered across the globe and that I can't just walk down the road to see them. I'm sad that I don't know when I'll see some of them again and I'm sad that it costs so much money to see the people I love. I know we moan about it sometimes, but modern technology really is a blessing when your friends are so far away. 

I can't lie and say it's all been miserable, because it simply hasn't been. The day after I came back (and after mooching about with Katie for a bit), I surprised Alfie after school. It was somewhat difficult, as he'd been asking his nan all sorts of questions that morning about whether I was back and if I'd go and see him.
On the Tuesday, I watched the best kids play that I've ever seen, courtesy of the wonderful children at Byfield School. I laughed until my sides hurts and went home absolutely beaming. 

Friday 13th was what I'll call my little piggy day. During the day, Megan and I did a few boring adult things, like going to the tip, before heading to Northampton. Of course, our poison of choice was Pizza Hut. It was no-brainer, all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta and salad? YES PLEASE! I was thankful to get some super cool trousers from Matalan too. 

Then, I went straight from Pizza Hut to Tash's, where she had prepared a whole host of barbequed goodies. I giggled at literally everything that night, from Ellie's self-made 'Ellie flop' (it's quite spectacular, you should see it) to the involuntary noises coming out of three fully grown women. It could have had something to do with the BOWL of pink stuff that Tash had created for me, but it was more likely the cracking company I shared my evening with. I love them ladies!

Saturday brought me more titters with Laura. I definitely needed a catch-up with the dinosaur-mad clan, as well as the million cups of tea and Fanta, the ice lolly and the chocolate provided. I accidentally spent most of the afternoon there, nattering about all sorts and playing with the kiddos. Another rendez-vous ticked off my list - hoorah!

I ate much, much more on Sunday than I had anticipated. Megan, Katie and I headed to my usual pub - The Kings Head, Napton. I was somehow talked into having a sharing starter, even though I never, ever have any kind of starter. Unfortunately, this meant that I could barely tackle my lamb roast *cries*, but in all fairness I DID have half a lamb to make my way through... God knows how, but we all managed to cram in desserts. Mine was a much lighter choice, a sort of deconstructed lemon meringue pie. As always, it was delicious. We all know, a fed Sara is a happy Sara.

I finally utilised my new found confidence and bought a single ticket to see one of my absolute favourite bands of all time - Years & Years. I'm so excited and I'm sure I'll tell you all about it when the time comes.

I haven't had much to do since I got back. Apart from sending my CV to as many schools and nurseries as possible, I've not had much luck in finding a job. My confidence was quashed by finding out my qualification isn't worth anything, so it will potentially be difficult for me to find a job altogether. Bearing this in mind, I got myself volunteering at the school to boost my CV even more, if just for one day. I helped out at the reception party, which was a great way to jump back into it all and I even learned how to do a hair wrap (on the child with the longest hair in existence!) One of the other volunteers brought some face paints and, let's be honest, it would've been rude not to...

I had to try and scrub it off before I went to watch Jack play cricket, but left a few bits of orange that wouldn't budge. Alfie and I spent more time in the park and playing what I call 'scoopy doopy' than watching his brother play, but it was nice to spend some time with him so I didn't mind. My arms were absolutely destroyed the next day, but some things are worth a day of useless limbs.

It has been Alfie's last year at primary school this year and, of course, they have a leavers assembly to say goodbye to each year group. I barely made it 10 minutes in before sobbing - what a wuss. There were only five leavers this year (and I thought our year was small!) Here's to an awesome year at secondary school!

On Sunday, Katie, Megan and I headed to Abington Park for the Colour Rush. I had so much fun, probably because I spent more time getting coloured powder chucked at me than running, no shame. We looked an absolute mess when we finished, it was ridiculous and then some genius suggest we go to McDonald's. Surprisingly, we weren't the only ones and looked less stupid. I'd highly recommend doing it, even if you're not sporty. 

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of taking my two favourite humans out for the day - paintballing. It brought me such joy watching them bound out from every game, boasting about any hits they got and rubbing their war wounds. I sincerely hope that they had fun, it sure looked like it! They still had buckets of energy when we came back, so we played badminton in the garden to work up a sweat again. I'm sure they both slept well last night, because I did!

Fingers crossed that I have more luck finding a job soon, I'm starting to get a tad worried. Here's hoping that I have a successful interview tomorrow...