I *heart* Christmas

Happy Boxing Day, all! I hope you had a lovely, lovely Christmas. Here in Leyton we had a relaxed and fabulous celebration. The first Christmas I've spent with Matthew, and a really special one. A Christmas full of joy and cuddles and champagne and snuggling up under a blanket on the couch and so many lovely gifts (thank you, lovelies!). And a shiny tree, and a giant Christmas meal, and watching Claire and Matthew friendly TV ('Dog The Bounty Hunter' and 'Father Ted', anyone?), and mince pies and port and twittering / texting / phone calling with loved ones to share messages of love, joy, and silly.

A blessed, relaxing, and replenishing day.

:-)

And now we are getting ready to head up to Matthew's parents (7 hour coach journey - oh my!), where he will get spoiled rotten by his mum and dad! Lucky boy. :-) And we will go for walks and have big sleeps (the beds up there are redonkulously comfy!) and read and plan and relax. And then back down to London for New Year's.

And then I need to get some work done! But until then, more r and r, I guess!

How was your Christmas, friends?

An unexpected Christmas

Our tree and presents, earlier this evening

So, originally Matthew and I were heading up to my parents this evening, to spend Christmas in deepest darkest loveliest Forres.

However, some very wintry weather ensued, and the conclusion reached through many phone calls, lots of doublechecks, and endless refreshing of websites was that we would not fly north this evening, but rather stay here in London. We decided this last night.

Cue us conjuring Christmas in a day. Luckily I had stocked up, so a quick run to (the hellishly busy) Asda helped us top up the supplies. Also luckily, Matthew and I had been working on Fakemas presents for ages (we were going to have a Fakemas celebration next week) so we had some gifts already. And we both grabbed extra things last night and today.

So now we are getting ready for our first Christmas together, and it really is just the two of us. We have a tree, and champagne, and gifts, and a cosy house. It's not bad at all by all accounts. As sad as I will be to miss out on a family Christmas (Sian, Peter and I have Christmassed together for 24 or 22 years each!), I am quite looking forward to a chilled and happy day with my boy.

He's even said I can watch Dr Who on the big TV. :D

So as we prepare to enjoy our unexpected Christmas, I just wanted to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas. May your day be blessed and relaxed and fun, and full of all the beauty and joy you deserve. I look forward to hearing all about your celebrations in the days to come.

But for now, I am off to celebrate Christmas, starting in about five minutes with a bottle of champagne and some board games with my boy. Glorious times. :-)

Big love and warmest wishes to you all! Merry Christmas!

(Belated) Happy birthday, little blog!

(One day late, because my iPhone couldn't connect properly on the train. And I was away all weekend)

Anyways, happy birthday, little blog! When I started you four years ago, I had no idea that I'd still be blogging now. The girl who struggled to keep a journal for more than a few weeks (I have countless notebooks in my room at home, filled dutifully with noted from Januarys or Septembers, which then peter out after a month, tops) seems finally to have found her outlet.

Here's to the next four!

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Another lovely weekend away with Matthew - this time up to Newcastle. Snow and wine and meals and football and the longest sleep I have had in a long time (11 hours!). It's good to be on winter vacation.

Today, lots of housewifery approaches. We are having friends over for drinks and snacks tomorrow evening (where exactly we are going to put them, I'm not sure! Our house is pretty small! Ah well, it'll be cosy), so I need to tidy up the house, and make some cakes and stuff for that too.

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Lots of review posts coming up over the next few days - 2009 has been a busy year! A year of changing jobs, moving homes, and falling in love. And now 2010 is just around the corner. I for one cannot wait to see what is around the corner for me and my friends. And all my blog buddies, of course!

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It's Christmas on Friday. Who else is excited?

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Right, time to get dressed, go do battle with the post office and the store, and then hit the chores. Have a lovely Monday, all!

Sublime

While watching Babe yesterday (and having a bit of a weep), I was reminded of a beautiful piece of music that I tend to listen to every Christmas, but which I hadn't made time for yet. Faure's Cantique de Jean Racine never fails to move me. To stir me. To remind me of the fragile, beautiful, transitory yet permanent wonderfulness that surrounds us. If you have a spare six minutes, you are in for a treat.

PS In other news, I am now on Christmas break! I have a hamper full of goodies and a parcelful of free time to tuck into! :-)

What made me cry today...

....in a good way.



Good heavens, I had forgotten what an awesome movie Babe is! I had a little weep at the end. I always do! Watched it with the boys, who all loved it too!

A lesson in lonely

Do you ever have one of those days / evenings / events where you feel like you've stepped in a time machine, back to a sadder, more lonely place?

I did yesterday.

I went to an event (which was beautifully organised and executed and I think everyone else there had a lovely, lovely time) and I sat there at dinner, surrounded by people, feeling utterly, totally alone.

And not in a good way.

I mean, I like being alone, when there's a sense of volition and choice to it. I like time to think, or relax, or read, or pray, or just be. But in amongst a crowd? That's not alone, that's lonely. I tried and tried to get involved with the conversations around me (and I think anyone who's every spent more than five minutes with me will find the fact that I couldn't rather astonishing. Not for nothing was one of my childhood nicknames Little Miss Chatterbox), but after a few block outs, I just gave up. At one point I sat there on the corner of the table, not talking to a soul, for a good half hour.

And I thought back to other times where I've felt that left out. Back when I was at boarding school and the popular girls would choose someone to shun at breakfast that week. When I first arrived at Forres and felt so clumsy and new and odd...everyone seemed to know each other so well. At a social event I went to earlier this year where a bunch of people decided to leave me standing all alone rather than invite me to join their table. The feeling always passes, but isn't it a little soul-destroying, feeling you're on the outside?

So I left, earlier even than I was planning to, and managed to get out of the restaurant before the tears came. Tears of frustration, and sadness, and with a healthy whack of self-pity mixed in.

And then I went Claire on it. Because I realise the reason this affected me so much (even at the grand old age of 29) is because it's exceptionally rare that I do feel left out. I am almost constantly surrounded by people who I love, and who love me (faults and all). In my family, and my friends, and Matthew, and the Joinees, and my blog-friends, and my pupils, I have such a wealth of warmth and support, that to feel outside of things is an alien experience.

How lucky am I?

I am so grateful for the lesson that a few hours of loneliness taught me last night. It reminded me anew how blessed I am, and made me thankful once more for the friendship, love, and kindness which is woven into my every day. It made me feel heart sorry for people who don't have the luxury of loneliness being a passing thing - I truly hope that everyone has someone who takes that away for them (or even better, a bunch of people).

And as I arrived home to a big cuddle from my boy, a gift from an old friend, a lovely card from an even older friend, a Christmas card from a new friend and texts and emails from friends various, I said thank you once again. Because for me, this was just a bad evening in what is a very good, and fortunate, and blessed life.

I love when I learn things.

A Christmas Meme

My lovely friend Jess emailed me this meme, and as I was feeling Christmassy, I thought I would give it a whirl....do feel free to pinch it if you like it!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Oh, both, please! My stationery addiction becomes even more pronounced at this time of year, so any excuse to break out the ribbons, tags and paper is a grand one!

2. Real tree or Artificial? I have the same cheapo fake one I bought four years ago. It's ghettotacular, and I love it!

3. When do you put up the tree? November 25th, put up to a soundtrack of Christmas songs, drinking mulled wine and eating mince pies.

4. When do you take the tree down? By January 6th. First of all, it's tradition. Second of all, it's usually about when I go back to school.

5. Do you like eggnog? Never tried it, but I do love an eggnog latte! And Jenna had some amazing looking eggnog pancakes at IHOP!

6. Favorite (or most memorable) gift received as a child? My Raleigh Bluebird bike!

7. Hardest person to buy for? My mum and dad are a nightmare to buy for! But I think I've got it sorted this year!

8. Easiest person/s to buy for? Possibly Matthew (he's such fun to spoil), and also my girlfriends, and wee folk. I love buying presents!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Not yet. My marmee has a beautiful one though!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail if at all possible - I'm a little behind this year though! I also try to check in by email too, it's a lovely time of year to catch up with folk!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I honestly don't recall!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Muppets Christmas Carol! I just shared it with my class - it's such a great movie!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? If I see nice things earlier in the year I'll pick them up, other than that it's probably from October.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not in a regift way, although I have passed on things I can't or don't use to friends or siblings (par example things I don't eat or drink, earrings I can't wear (ears not pierced), or books and suchlike which are duplicates).

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce sandwiches. Nom nom nom!

1 6. What do you want for Christmas? Good things for all those people I love and care about, and time with friends, family, and Matthew badger, please.

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night, Once In Royal David's City, Christmas Wrapping, Fairytale of New York, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and many others...

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Traveling in order to stay at home!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Donner, Blitzen, Prancer, Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Vixen, Rudolph. That's nine, right? OK, I deleted Jess's answers ahead of this but I still got them all...that's my primary tecahing skillz for you!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Fluffy little golden angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning. This year, however, I'll be opening most of my gifts on January 1st, when Matthew and I will be celebrating Fakemas - I can't take my gifts home to Scotland.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? When double- or triple-bookings occur. My kingdom for some more time!

23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color? Red/green/gold, with a splash of silver or white. I'm a traditional kind of girl.

24. Favorite for Christmas Dinner? Turkey and all the trimmings, please.

25. What do you want to do for Christmas this year? Relax, and eat a lot! Oh, and have snuggles with my boy.

26. Who is most likely to respond to this ? Anyone who would like to!

Right, time to go do something creative with paper chains!