Last night I went for a meal with Jan & Barry, Ema & Alan, to the lovely restaurant in town. Was it really only three weeks ago that I celebrated my birthday there? It seems so much longer! The food was inevitably gorgeous: ham hock terrine to begin, liver and bacon for main, and lemon and lime cheesecake to finish, although I nearly didn't make it though the cheesecake as it was one of the densest, richest ones I've ever done. But I did, what a trooper!

Then back to Jan & Barry's where he put on their new Xbox thingy (don't ask me) and before I knew it Alan was racing a car round the streets on London on their huge TV. Inevitably I missed the point and found myself enjoying the realism of London, particularly as it included a street I will be visiting later today. Then Jan started playing Bejewelled and I remembered how much I used to love that so when I got home I found it online and had to drag myself away from it at 1am... Lovely to see you all! xxx

Today I'm going to London for a little glamour so I'll leave you with a picture of me celebrating my impending 40th with a big grin and a bigger cake:

I love Fridays!

It doesn't matter how shit the rest of the week is, Fridays at work are always great. They're relaxed and I always get loads done, and by 9am this morning I was laughing and eating cake. The thought of no more work for the week really done make that much difference, so hurrah for Friday!

There is however a little madness lurking - this is my horoscope for today:

There has never been a better time to commit emotionally to something or someone who means a great deal to you. No longer will you be ignoring the fact that a person has deep feelings for you; in fact you are starting to like and appreciate the warm glow this gives you inside. You aren't as defensive or distant when you're with them. Because they see the change in you, they're more open with you too. Your world takes on a rosy, cosy hue.

Yes I know I shouldn't pay attention to horoscopes, but they're a guilty pleasure!

Is it my imagination or is that telling me to run away with a certain 24 year old? Don't worry, I'm not about to, although the fact that I'm not does make me stop and think. Am I being a coward? What am I afraid of? Or is that just the madness talking?

I'm off for gorgeous food in a bit, have a lovely evening whatever you're doing! xx

Well today didn't exactly go to plan!

I was planning to hang some pictures tonight but had a trying day at work so abandoned the idea, realising that I needed to be at my most patient and calm to attempt any kind of DIY. So instead I was planning a nice tea and a DVD.

On the way to the supermarket I just popped into the garage to get some petrol but when I got to the till my card was declined. I tried a second card but couldn't remember the PIN number, so the cashier gave the original card another go and when it was declined again he gave me the phone so I could ring my bank.

Turns out my card had been stopped as there had been some fraudulent activity on my account. I nearly burst into tears in the petrol station! Someone had made a payment to Oxfam, topped up a mobile phone and tried to order over £900 worth of stuff from a catalogue. I quite like the idea of robbing from me and giving to charity, it seems pleasingly Robin Hood, if that doesn't sound too mad.

The annoying thing was that the bank spotted these things three days ago but apparently don't have enough staff to alert you - instead they cancel your card so you're prompted to phone them. It's a pity I had to find out in a busy petrol station, full of people filling up with petrol on the way home from a busy day's work! What also puzzles me is how they judge unusual activity on your account - there was a donation to charity, a phone top up, and a payment to a catalogue, all of which I could have legitimately made. Why were any of those odd, whereas a pre-Christmas payment to IKEA didn't seem odd? It seems a little more random than I'd like to be honest.

Anyway, I spoke to the bank as soon as I got home which managed to make things both better and worse. The charity payment is apparently a standard way for thieves to check the card works - they pay a small amount to a charity and hope you won't notice, then if it works try something bigger, like catalogues. But the annoying thing is that the bank will never get to the bottom of it! This happened to me last Easter, but they've no idea how - could be online, could be a dodgy cash dispenser, could be a dodgy card reader in a shop - there's no way of them ever finding out, so what can you do? Do I stop internet shopping? Only use cash in shops? Lock myself in a cupboard and never go out?

I'm not taking it personally. Luckily the payments were stopped so I won't be out of pocket. But I have had my card cancelled which will make a trip to London at the weekend a bit trickier. But it just knocks my confidence a little. It just made me want to cry. But instead I ate half a loaf of bread and more Easter eggs.

So I was hardly in the mood for 24 year old madness, but that's what I got!

He invited me to go on holiday to Bulgaria in June with him, just in case his boyfriend backs out. Obviously I said no, because that's not my kind of thing and I'm not his stand-in boyfriend. Then it turns out his boyfriend is going away to see some friends over Valentines day weekend - surely a not very subtle way of signalling that the relationship is over - so he asked me if he could spend it with me. But I've got plans to be in London so I said no again. Then he asked if he could come to London with me! But again he got a no.

And then, because he was clearly in a masochistic mood, he asked if I'd ever thought of him as boyfriend material. I was honest with him, because there's no point being anything but. He is lovely, and spending time with him has opened my mind slightly to the idea of a boyfriend, but it wouldn't be him, it would be someone nearer my age, someone single, someone who can drive, someone in a much similar situation to myself. I think he was disappointed, but there was no point in lying to spare his feelings.

So know I'm a bit exhausted and feel a little like shit! Thank God it's Friday tomorrow!

Number of married men enjoyed: none.

Number of Easter related chocolate products consumed: one

Number of colleagues I'd like to beat to death with a stapler: 2+

Number of DIY tools purchased: one, a spirit level!

So it's been a mixed kind of day then!

This evening was much better though: I went to see Ema & Alan, who I haven't seen since my birthday. Yes, I know I work with Alan but that doesn't include much time for socialising, and now tap has finished I won't be seeing Ema every week either. So it was really nice to sit round their kitchen table drinking tea, eating way too many biscuits and gossiping. My equilibrium is restored!

Last night's little sulk was about married men. What I failed to tell you was that earlier in the evening I'd had one round to visit, and when I added him to the spreadsheet that at that point only existed in my head, along with the 24 year old, footman and his boyfriend, I realised that I hadn't 'enjoyed' any single men this year. Which isn't a problem, it's just that sometimes when you see things "written down" it makes them a bit hard to take.

I could have seen yet another one at lunchtime but used the rather rubbish "can't get away from the office" excuse and didn't bother. Instead I found myself pottering round on the internet where I ended up getting chatted up by two other married men. I need a slap.

So as I clearly can't control that part of my life I came home and took control of the rest of it in the only way I know how: I threw things away! In a short space of time I sold a book, freecycled an electric blanket, filled a bin bag for the charity shop, and threw other stuff away. I feel slightly more cleansed!

And now I'm going to have a restorative pizza and watch a potentially boring documentary.

I'm trying to get back into the habit of writing something here every day, not missing out odd days here and there because I have nothing "newsworthy" to tell you, but some days inspiration escapes me.

Today I the urge to moan about men but really the person I need to moan about most is myself and this isn't the place for a telling off, so instead I'll resort to recounting a dream:

I was on holiday with my parents - which was strange as Dad is of course dead, and rarely crops up in my dreams - and a straight man, who inevitably was someone else's boyfriend - see how I don't even get to meet single men in my dreams! Bizarrely we all shared the same room, although Mum and Dad never seemed to be there, just the straight man wandering round in a flowery shirt and his underwear. Anyway, I was trying to get over some man or other and decided the best way to do that was to throw my car keys in a skip. But then I spent the rest of my holiday trying to find them. Goodness me, what a dull holiday that must have been!

I'll leave you with something unexpected: Robert Plant! The very idea of him used to make me mad, but he's made a lovely album with Alison Krauss, who I know nothing about. He's got dreadful hair and she looks a bit plastic, but this song is pleasingly sad:

Last night I took the 24 year old for a curry, which as ever was a fun night out. He's good company and the food was great.

Today has been a lazy day really. I had no plans so once the ironing was done I settled down on the sofa and finished the last 200 pages of a fabulous book called A Writer's Tale, about the writing of the fourth series of Doctor Who. It's a fascinating book, alternating gossip, technical stuff and whole scripts, include the last episode where the Doctor leaves Rose on the beach again. I know it's only reading but it still made me cry. Genius.

It's been a really nice weekend! But now I'm going to wander off to bed. Night!