Tuesday 1 December: Advent is here!

In a fit of domesticity on Sunday morning, I cleaned the entire apartment from top to bottom, baked 18 blueberry muffins and a nutty apple loaf, and washed The Boyfriend's undergarments. In the afternoon some girlfriends popped over to examine my efforts (the baking, not the boxers). The verdict was a resounding thumbs up.

So yesterday, with seven leftover muffins tempting me in the kitchen, I decided to show off my culinary prowess and bring them into work. There were plenty of approving nods and contented chews as the buns were consumed. I was confident I'd earned some serious employee brownie points and was about to settle down to my work with a whistle when my colleague arrives into the office with a homemade gingerbread house.

Seriously, a gingerbread house? Apparently, she whittled it together last night. Now this was no ordinary gingerbread house. This was the Graceland of confectionary residences. I wouldn't be surprised if I switched on Cribs and saw a gingerbread man stroking the black satin sheets of his waterbed, purring 'This is where the magic happens.'

What are the chances, in a global media organisation that you'll find two people who spontaneously decide to bake for their colleagues on the same day, never mind the likelihood of one of them throwing together something as elaborate as a gingerbread house? (sorry to keep labouring the point but even Waitrose doesn't make them)

But this is a girl who's already made her own jams, chutneys and truffles as Christmas presents, spent last week teaching herself html so she could construct an Advent Calendar for tractor.co.uk and cycles abut four miles to and from work each day. And the truly sickening thing is, she's a top bird. Funny, down to earth, sound as the proverbial pound. I should have known better than to try and compete with this level of perfection. Competitiveness is for insecure losers, anyway. And I, am most definitely not, an insecure loser.

In other news, my work Christmas party is next week. Should be very chilled out. A few drinks, some karaoke – I haven't prepared anything, really. Just Mariah's back catalogue. My voice coach says I've almost nailed 'Hero'. Anyway, like I said, it will be a very relaxed affair.

Pants, is that the time? Don't want to be late for work.