Tag: Christmas Day

bookmark_borderPunchy

Posted on

Boxing Day. Named because of… er… the empty boxes of … stuff.. or something.

I dunno.

I’ve eaten too much, drank… enough, and now that we are back home I’m nicely chilled out and ready for a curry and a movie. I’ve even put my new slippers on.

Christmas Day was a good one, good presents, good food and great company. Can’t ask for much more really (well, you can but that’d be greedy). We ended up with the usual Trivial Pursuit (with the ‘boys’ reigning supreme!) before firing up the Wii and playing silly games until the wee hours.

This morning I had my traditional breakfast, finishing off the trifle, and having left my parents late morning, we dropped in to see my Gran, who was very happy with her present; Violet, her new (sponsored) Orangutan. She (my Gran, not Violet the Orangutan) also had a good day, once again having a wee Drambuie to herself (from the bottle, through a straw…).

In fact one of the the only downsides came when, on the way home, the car decide it was broken so, after consulting the manual, it was a slow careful drive home and I’ll take it down to the garage tomorrow. Such is life.

Until then the curry is ordered, there is a cold beer gathering condensation as I type and it’s either Wall-E, Cars, The Shawshank Redemption, or the GodFather Trilogy.

Hope your Christmas Day was as good, and I’m sure you were all good girls and boys and got lots of fabby presents. Right?

bookmark_borderCold mornings ahead

Posted on

A thin layer of white renders the land a frosty glitter. Warm breath floats into the black above. One by one the neighbours emerge from their warmth, and the ritual begins. Engines chug, fans blow, and slowly the ices drips away.

I love such mornings, with the crisp air pinching your cheeks, seeking out the gaps in your scarf, wheedling up coat sleeves. The morning commute made all the more glorious as you rise out of the town to the top of the valley, streetlights gone, the night sky sparkling under the moon glow.

Admittedly it can be a little dodgy on the way down the other side but that’s what traction control is for… yes?

And so we race towards Christmas.

I have two shops left to visit. I will need to do that on Friday afternoon/evening as although I’m off, we need four new tyres and they are getting fitted at 1.30pm.

Saturday and Sunday we are starting the “visits”, dropping off presents and so on. I’m off on Monday but will be finishing the wrapping and generally preparing for spending a couple of days at my parents.

Christmas Day we will see my Gran in the morning, maybe nip to my sister-in-laws to catch my brother-in-law there before heading to my parents for the afternoon, then back up to my sister-in-laws at night (in what is becoming tradition since my in-laws moved to Spain).

Boxing Day we’ll spend sometime with my parents and head home in the afternoon or evening.

27th we are going out with Susan and Ian, for a bite to eat, a little ten-pin bowling (presuming my knee can handle it) and a few shandies.

28th I have a night out with some ex-colleagues, and if past nights are anything to go by then we’ll finish up around 4am in a lake of tequila.

29th we are back through to Balloch to see my mates, Keith, Stuart & Alan, Ian, Bill and Fran, exchanging silly presents and seeing who can come up with the silliest cocktail.

30th is largely about getting home at some point and gathering our energies for…

Hogamanay! Back down to Susan and Ian, for they have the largest house (with a nice big pool table, fosball table and whatnot).

1st is usually a complete write-off, something to do with getting to bed at 6am or later (earlier?).

And no doubt on the 2nd day of 2008 we’ll be back through in Dumbarton to first foot our families.

After that I have five days to recover and do all the things I said I’d do over the festive period. And, to be frank, I’ll probably be looking forward to getting back to work for some sanity.

No doubt everyone else is the same, but it does perplex me why this time of year is so very busy. Why we feel the need to cram it all in to the few days holiday we have I’ll never know but, for all my moaning, I guess I do kind of enjoy reeling from one day to the next.

Let the festivities begin!

Ummmm but not until Friday…

bookmark_borderWrong

Posted on

There is something wrong about being in work this close to Christmas. It’s the first time in about 5 years I’ve done it and it’s just not right.

Mind you, there is a perverse pleasure to be gained watching people scurry about at lunchtime, panic etched on their faces, consulting hastily scrawled lists or mobile phones.

Ahhh yes, the well-earned joy smugness that comes with having finished your Christmas shopping (ok, minus three things but we know what they are and they aren’t needed until after Christmas).

So, the countdown begins. Tonight I’ll wrap Louise’s presents, endure another day of work tomorrow and then it’s home for a few glasses of wine and the Muppets Christmas Carol (it’s tradition). Christmas Day we pick up my Gran and spend the day at my Mum’s. Then off to Louise’s sisters at night for drinks. Boxing Day is dinner at Louise’s brothers, then it’s the Christmas gathering of friends on the 27th. Out for a few beers on the 28th, and recovering on the 29th. Hic.

I’ve been toying with doing a recap of the year but will leave it until after Christmas I think. I’ll be working mucking about with new designs for a couple of other websites, adding a feature here and generally lounging around come the 29th December. So that’ll give me plenty of time to come up with a Troubled-Diva-esque posting about 2003. Or not.

bookmark_borderMeant to say

Posted on

Apologies for it being a little slow around here, I may also be missing from your comments boxes for the next few days, because:

  • (Side) Project X is finishing up – cue last minute rush (no link as it’s a secret.. sshhhhh)
  • Heating is slowly giving up the ghost again, radiators getting colder in proportion to the weather, will need to phone an engineer soon (once I’ve been paid for the above work)
  • Site hosts screwing my account (still to be properly sorted – see below)
  • My full-time job (I really must get rid of it, it keeps getting in the way)
  • Return of the King tomorrow night.
  • Work Christmas ‘do’ on Thursday night (here again, was good last year)
  • Finish Christmas shopping on Friday (hahahaha.. more like ‘recover from hangover’)
  • Start re-design of myowncdrom (you didn’t think I’d leave it like that, did you?)
  • Carols by Candelight on Monday night

Phew.

Looking forward to Christmas Day this year especially as I’ll be working on Christmas Eve, which doesn’t feel right at all.

bookmark_borderDammit

Posted on

Vaughan has stolen my thunder. I was going to do something for the 12 days of Christmas.

I could be childish and point out that the 12 days of Christmas start on Christmas Day but as I don’t actually have anything planned for then either … well I’ll just keep quiet.

Ohh and the first two have been v.funny, so I suggest you get over there and read them.

Ohh and they found that Saddam bloke.

bookmark_borderDiet

Posted on

We held a diet contest in my workplace last year. I won it. Lost almost two stones (28lbs) in 10 weeks. I did it healthily, started going to the gym, ate sensible, healthy foods. I felt good about myself, looked better, and enjoyed (in that embarassed way we Brits manage so well) the compliments.

I’ve since put on about a stone and not been to a gym since October last year.

I’ve always thought of myself as overweight, having never really shed the ‘puppy fat’ of childhood, and never really developing much muscle tone until my early twenties (by which point my weight was on the increase), and like most people, I have a mental image of myself that is much slimmer than I am.

I remember seeing a picture of myself taken on Christmas Day 2001. I’m sitting at the table next to my Mum, and I look huge. Now I am 6’0 and my Mum is all of 5’3 on a good day, but I was shocked. The image is still clear in my head, and hasn’t seemed to fade or curl up round the edges like so many of the images I try and store in there.

I KNOW how to eat healthily, I know I need aerobic exercise (mainly), and that anaerobic exercise won’t be of huge benefit to me, I need to diet. I need to exercise. I need to give myself a royal kick up the arse.

But it’s not that easy is it. It’s a state of mind that I can’t hold on to, it flits into my consciousness every day for fleeting minutes, and I can’t seem to grab it or hold it tight enough to make it stay. But then that problem isn’t new for me (flittering thoughts? sounds familiar). In fact it’s a daily occurance, the brief glimpse of what I SHOULD be doing, only for it to wriggle away out of reach.

I digress. Dieting and exercise. Healthy living. I have a target in mind, late August, I’ve booked the flights, and would like to enjoy the sun on my skin without worrying about what people might think of me (ohh that sounds familiar too). I’m not looking for a washboard stomach, I am quite happy to admit that I don’t have the dedication for that, but I would like mine to be flat (ish would do).

As long as it is before October 17th.

It MUST be before October 17th.

I wonder what it is like to be 30?