Friday Five!

 Not much time to read the other posts because my big bullet point today is that it's my last day at Vodafone!!! Just got back from pizza buffet about 20 minutes ago and I'm doing all my last minute pottering around. I'm being truly spoiled! Will catch up on all the threads later but hope everybody is having a wonderful friday!

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Not much time to read the other posts because my big bullet point today is that it's my last day at Vodafone!!! Just got back from pizza buffet about 20 minutes ago and I'm doing all my last minute pottering around. I'm being truly spoiled! Will catch up on all the threads later but hope everybody is having a wonderful friday!

Aww, soak it up, KoD!  I know your job had a high level of stress there, but I can tell you're going to miss some of the people you worked with there.

KF, slow-cooker ribs is fantastic!  I could finish mine off on the grill, since we don't have an oven... that's a great idea!  Thanks!  Um... how long do you do them?  Do you add liquid to the pot?  Enjoy your low-activity weekend!

Happy summer holidays, Eh!  If you run out of things to clean at your house, you're welcome to come do mine...  Wait, no... that would be embarrassing for me.  Nobody can see how we live 'til we fix it.  Nevermind! 

KF, slow-cooker ribs is fantastic!  I could finish mine off on the grill, since we don't have an oven... that's a great idea!  Thanks!  Um... how long do you do them?  Do you add liquid to the pot?  Enjoy your low-activity weekend!

Happy summer holidays, Eh!  If you run out of things to clean at your house, you're welcome to come do mine...  Wait, no... that would be embarrassing for me.  Nobody can see how we live 'til we fix it.  Nevermind! 

Nope, just drop them in.  I did ribs Wednesday.  Put them in at 7:45 on low.  We didn't take them out until 6:30pm.  And 10 minutes in the oven.  Delish.  I'm sure they are done on low after 6 hours.  Probably 4 hours on high?  It is really hard to get them onto a tray to finish them off in the oven (or grill) as they literally fall off the bone.  But my kids DEVOUR ribs, so they are definitely good.

Nope, just drop them in.  I did ribs Wednesday.  Put them in at 7:45 on low.  We didn't take them out until 6:30pm.  And 10 minutes in the oven.  Delish.  I'm sure they are done on low after 6 hours.  Probably 4 hours on high?  It is really hard to get them onto a tray to finish them off in the oven (or grill) as they literally fall off the bone.  But my kids DEVOUR ribs, so they are definitely good.

And my next question is: where do you get ribs?  I admit my shopping options are limited, but I have not seen them! 

You know there is ONE answer to this right?

I'm not even going to type it.

But you can get them at M&S.  Which is where I used to get them.  But it's only one rack.  Whereas the other place is 4 racks for about £15.  We divide them into two racks per Ziploc and freeze them.

You know there is ONE answer to this right?

I'm not even going to type it.

But you can get them at M&S.  Which is where I used to get them.  But it's only one rack.  Whereas the other place is 4 racks for about £15.  We divide them into two racks per Ziploc and freeze them.

We didn't end up getting a membership (yet?).  I got distracted, and I don't think my husband was as keen as I was.

And now that I think of it, I don't think he'll be too keen for barbecue ribs, either. Unless I make them, then remove the bones and just give him the meat with a fork.  He hates messy food.  We've had crunchy tacos exactly once since I've lived here.  They were amazing!, but you know how taco shells have a tendency to crack when you bite in...?  <headshake>  But BBQ ribs!  Maybe I'll just make them (if I can find some!), and if he doesn't want to eat any, that's more for me. 

I haven't done a Friday Five in a while, I don't think, but here goes:

1. Excitement at work yesterday... there was a military graduation on the base and we got to watch Prince Edward (Duke of Kent) land in his helicopter just outside our office, be whisked away in a car for the graduation ceremony (they drove past our office building), and then be driven back to the helicopter again a few hours later .  Also, the Red Arrows did a flypast right overhead for the graduation .

2. I have been so lazy since I got back from the US - I haven't been sleeping well, I've been binge-watching a ton of TV and I keep cancelling gym classes .

3. It's less than 7 days now until the new Veronica Mars season is released on Hulu - they're dropping all 8 episodes at once, so when I finish work at 2:30pm on Friday next week, I will be binging as many of them as I can (have to be up at 4:45am for work on Saturday though)

4. After spending the first 2 weeks of June frantically trying to find dresses and shoes for the 2 weddings I'm attending in September, I got back from the US to discover a third wedding invitation for early October . So, now I have to decide whether to find a third outfit or reuse one of the other two outfits.

5. I got approved to take leave for the week of Christmas so that I can spend the holiday with my parents, my brother and his wife in South Africa (where my brother and his wife live) . We're usually not allowed to take any leave at all for the 2 weeks of Christmas and New Year - I had to ask permission from everyone in the office to make sure they were okay with it, and I will be working New Year instead.

Having an AMAZING Friday!!!
 
1. I had a fantastic Pain au Chocolate at a little cafe this morning.

2. I PASSED my Life in the UK Test up in Sheffield.

3. Some very nice folks in Sheffield helped me find Taco Bell when I couldn't figure out the streets on Google Maps as I was walking.

4. Taco Bell! It was lovely.

5. Got tons of tanks from the big Primark.

6. We get to see a house we thought was sold tomorrow!! Apparently the first buyers mortgage fell through. So yay!

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Ksand, your #5 is amazing!  I'm really pleased for you, and I hope you have a fantastic time with your family.  My husband was never able to take leave from late November to early January at his old job (where he worked for 15+ years!), so we get what a big deal this must be for you.  If it were me, I'd reuse one of the dresses... but that's because I utterly hate shopping, and if I'd had two successes, I would just rest on those.  If you enjoy shopping, knock yourself out!


Lyonaria, congrats on the LiUK test!  Also:  TACO BELL!!!!  I hope the house-viewing results in a happy announcement soon. 

Thanks for the birthday wishes & recipe ideas! I haven't cooked pork or ribs in ages but those both sound delicious!

Tell me more about roasted gnocchi.  We don't have an oven (for the third year running!), so I don't think I can make this yet, but I still collect recipes for when we finally make our kitchen and fit an oven.

So easy & only 30 minutes in the oven. Cook the gnocchi (just set in a bowl and pour a kettleful of boiling water over, let sit for 2 minutes and drain) - I used 500g. Roughly chop a mix of bell peppers (I used 500g of red/orange/yellow) & halve 200g of cherry tomatoes. Put it all in the roasting tin with 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 bay leaves, 2 whole garlic cloves, 1 tsp chilli flakes, 2 sprigs of rosemary, 1 tsp salt, and some pepper. Toss to mix + spread into an even layer before cooking for 30 minutes at 220C. When it's done, dollop ricotta across the top and voila! Gnocchi is nice and crisp and veg is nicely roasted.

I think next time I'll add some onions and sub goats cheese for the ricotta though. But that's mostly because there's no such thing as too much goats cheese in my world.

I'll stick with the ricotta, because I love ricotta.  But you had me at cherry tomatoes.  Thanks!

You know there is ONE answer to this right?

I'm not even going to type it.

But you can get them at M&S.  Which is where I used to get them.  But it's only one rack.  Whereas the other place is 4 racks for about £15.  We divide them into two racks per Ziploc and freeze them.

It's C O S T C O, isn't it?

Plus my Tesco sells ribs as does my Sainsbury's and many butchers.

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sorry, yesterday was such a busy day with it being my last day, meeting friends for a drink after work, and having friends around in the evening. Just catching up on everybody's Friday 5 and wanted to say:

JF - YAY for BBQ haha. Not to toot my own horn, but beep f****** beep! I made some amazingly moist, spicy chicken on the BBQ earlier in the week. I LOVE BBQ far too much for my body's own good (we almost BBQ'd yesterday in the rain haha). The black cloud looks super ominous! Did you win the lottery in the end?

Elee - happy birthday this week! Glad your first few days at your job went so well

KF - just reading about the ribs makes me hungry...LOL   haha you hardly dragged me, I went very very willingly and LOVED it (even the quiet room). It was very much needed and appreciated <3 Also happy for the rain, if I'm honest!

EH - that is adorable about your daughter's favourite place. I too am NOT a spider person haha When I even feel a tickle, I swipe/fling first before looking just to be safe and it's usually just a hair so I look like an idiot...but you can't be too careful hahah

KSAND - I hope your sleeping patterns get back to normal soon I'd totally re-use the dress vs. buying a third hahah but that's because I don't think I ever wear anything noteworthy enough for people to notice and i try to avoid photos as much as possible. I'd go Dress A, Dress B, Dress A. Are the weddings close together? YAY about christmas leave.

Lyonaria - YAY YAY YAY! So pleased for you that you passed LitUK! ANNNNNND, arguably more importantly, gotten to eat Taco Bell! hahaha (JF - I still need to send you the hot sauce! I've had so much going on, I've not had a chance to yet - so sorry, I'm a garbage person).

Aww, soak it up, KoD!  I know your job had a high level of stress there, but I can tell you're going to miss some of the people you worked with there.

They definitely made me tear up and they got me so many presents for leaving AND citizenship and the card was overwhelming. I opened it and saw so many more signatures than I ever would've expected which was really lovely (some of the stuff that was written as well was so nice)...

I was supposed to BBQ last night too but our friend bailed on the BBQ so I ended up double-pizza-ing lol