2011

2011 started like this: party at our place; lots of drinks consumed by Paul and I; bed at around 2.30am; Pebble awake at 6.30am; Paul and I taking turns going from couch to loo while dodging piles of empties and the guts of exploded party poppers; left over sausage in bread for breakfast; Pebble getting plenty of Play School and In The Night Garden love… now we just have to get organised to head off to a New Years Day BBQ (a sign that you’re truly getting on in years when your friends invite you lunch time events on New Years Day!).

What’s that they say about “starting as you mean to go on”. Hmmm. If this morning is a sneak peek at the year ahead then I’m scared!

BTW so sorry about the long absence but it has been Christmas, after all! I don’t believe in New Years resolutions, but if I did mine would be to blog more

Here’s a few little snaps of Pebble from Christmas to ask for your forgiveness for my lack of bloginess.

 

 

Wishing you all a fabulous start to 2011. Now excuse me while I spend just a few more minutes bonding with my couch.

Five sleeps…

It’s five sleeps til Christmas!

Ah, Christmas. How I love to hate thee. Now, don’t fret, I’m not about to get all ba-humbug on you all. It’s just my love-hate relationship with this merry holiday of ours. You see, late on Thursday last week, the 16th of December, I discovered that OH! HO HO HO! I had made a teeny tiny oversight when ordering ALL the children’s toys for Christmas. All the nieces and nephews and friends kids and MY kid’s presents. Ordered from one shop. Or were they? I logged into said shop to check the status of delivery, as it was a weeny bit late in arriving. And there they were. All $400+ of toys sittin in my cart.

Surely not?

I frantically checked my email account for an order confirmation. No order confirmation had been received.

I zipped back to the open shop tab and stared, appalled, at this un-ordered treasure trove of toy heaven. I looked at the date, I looked at delivery times, I balked at the changes in price, as all the sale items I hate ordered had now returned to their usual amounts. I put down the lap top and saw to my daughter, who needed my attention for a few moment. Some 15 minutes later I returned and …… nothing. No cart. Empty cart. No toys. AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHH!

So, even if I wanted to reorder these precious items, I would have to go through and find them all again. And, after a phone call to the shop I discovered that the cut off time for delivery to my state had passed, so that settled that. After bragging to all and sundry about completing my Christmas shopping without setting foot into one shop…. I was going to have to go to. the. shops.

Fark.

I imagined it. I over-imagined it. Cranky shoppers, crying babies (mine included), rude shop assistants, out of stock items, long queues. It was going to be hell. I stamped and stomped and grumped about, and felt sick every time I thought about this late, late, Christmas shopping dash.

So, I booked Pebble in with her Daddy Day Care on Saturday morning, dashed to the shops ready for the doors to open and …… within three hours I was done. Not only that, but it wasn’t even that busy! AND everyone was smiling. Shop assistants were merry and sparkly and giddy with Christmas glee. Other shoppers were filled with Christmas cheer, “oh no, please, you were first, go ahead”. I even ended up getting some different gifts to my original list that I liked better than my first choice, and can’t wait to hand them out of Christmas day.*

So, excuse me while I write a note to self for next year:

Dear Me

Ba-humbug is boring and annoying and negative. Leave that shit behind. You will get to see everyone you love sometime over Christmas (even if not all on the one day) and it will be awesome. Don’t stress about shopping, the shops aren’t that bad – AND DON’T SHOP ONLINE. It seems like a good idea, but in reality it’s not for you. Don’t worry about things that haven’t happened, and if shit happens, then just think, in a few days you’ll be laughing about it, or at least using it for a story on your blog.

Merry Christmas

Love Me.

Ahhhhhh. That’s better.

Merry Christmas to all!

 

*still waiting on one last delivery of an online order which I have been assured has been shipped. From the UK. Where all that snow is. Yikes!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

The decorations are up, the Christmas shopping is all but done, and the family bookings are locked in, Eddy! I’m finally starting to relax about this whole Christmas caper, and next comes the best bit…. enjoy!

This year I’ve managed to swing it so that I’ll be seeing almost everyone I love in the three days over Christmas, including a Christmas Eve gathering at our house. I’m pretty excited about that – I think it’s our first time hosting any kind of holiday festivities, and while it’s not the whole turkey palaver, it’s still feels rather grown up. At least…. I think it’s not the whole turkey and trimmings deal…. friends tell me I’m not expected to cook a turkey!?

For the first time in YEARS I’ll be seeing aunties, uncles and cousins of mine at Christmas time (and some for the first time in years, Christmas or not!). It’s the perfect year for it, in my opinion, as we have our little girl to meet and greet everyone. I’m sure she’ll charm the pants off them with her head shaking, booty bouncing, drunken walking antics. Not to mention the clapping! Oh, the clapping is just too cute. Pebble is clapping at everything – happy things, sad things, angry things. It’s too, too precious.

I’ve just spent several hours online shopping for presents, trying to get as many goodies as possible without setting foot into the crrraaaazzzzzy shops. I detest Christmas shopping. Well, not the actual choosing of gifts part, but the crowded, pushing, irritable and impatient humans part. I can only imagine how that sort of thing would work out with a stroller and 10 month old in tow, so I’m saying a big No Thank You Siree, Bob!

So, Christmas, I’m here and I say BRING IT BABY! I’m ready!

Are you ready for Christmas?