Ho Ho Ho!

Hello my festive friends!

Just a quick update on the hectic past week!

Saturday was the 12hour South Wales Chrimbo crop. A fab time was had by all - made some really cool necklaces using Perspex shapes and patterned paper in one of the classes, and I actually managed to work on three (yes - THREE!) different seasonal pages – will promise to upload the pictures as soon as I find some time to actually finish the layouts lol!! Gems and I had a good giggle as usual :)

Tuesday was my lubberly other half’s birthday – oh bless him he’s getting old! We celebrated in style by heading over to his parents where his immediate family joined us in the most humungous Chinese take away you ever did see. And being the cheeky so and so he is, he even blagged a free bottle of bubbly to go with the order! With his birthday being so close to Christmas we are often, unintentionally, too caught up in seasonal preparations to make time to have special celebrations just for him– so it was really nice to have a special evening for him this year!

Harrison, Lee’s Nephew came over that afternoon – and much hilarity ensued – he’s so full of beans! I’ve got some cracking photos from the day so I’ll get them up asap!

Lee’s been absolutely poorly all week – it started with sickness and then developed into the flu – I’ve fought it off all this time but lo and behold this afternoon it’s well and truly kicked in and my nose is streaming, my throat is burning and every inch of me is aching and feeling generally pants. SO I’m dosed up to the eyeballs in the hope to get it out of my system, by, er, well, tomorrow morning! I’ve got sooooo much left to do!

But at least I finally finished all our shopping off today! Our food shopping consisted of a four hour shopping trip after midnight on Thursday! Two hours at Tesco followed by two at Asda. We thought we’d be really clever in doing so – but it appeared the rest of Swansea had the same idea and Tesco, for one, was bouncing! When we finally got out of Asda at gone 2.30am – I saw Freezing fog for the first time in my life. I’ve of course heard the phrase bandied around but never actually imagined what it would look like. I gotta admit it was beautiful and magical – like somebody had thrown tons upon tons of fine glitter high up into the air to flutter down around us – but it was also scary that it was soooo cold that the damp air could freeze in the first place!

It was also me mukka Ali’s birthday on Thursday – so we met for lunch, coffee and a natter. I love that gal! She managed that morning to fulfil her annual chrimbo car crash too! It just aint chrimbo without her having a little bump at the supermarket.

Speaking of which - scary moment last night – Katrina’s boyfriend drove to our house to collect their pram (long story but I had to take it home with me yesterday afternoon) and skidded on ice just outside our house. We live in a narrow cul-de-sac, and as a result he was pin-balled from car to car and managed to not only total his own car but a few of the neighbours too. Thank god he was ok, and that he’d taken my sister and the baby home before calling to out house. To add to the commotion, one of the neighbours came out to see what happened and slipped on the ice.

Down side now is that they are without transport over the holidays :(

I had my own scary weather moment yesterday too! The fog and ice would each be terrible enough in their own right – but together they have been making a lethal and a terrifying combination. I went to pick Lee form work and totally lost my bearings in the fog and went the wrong way – there were no other cars ahead/tail lights for me to follow and the fog was literally so thick I had NO idea what my positioning was in the road – I couldn’t see the kerbstones or the road markings and didn’t have a clue where I was. I was terrified, shaking and crying like a baby to the extent that Lee had to drive the rest of the way home once I finally managed to get to him. I of course now feel like a total wuss and put it down to tiredness and coming down with this bug lol!

So, that is the week that was!

If you’ve been a brave blogeroonie and stuck with this rambling post up ‘til now - that just leaves me to wish you all a very

I hope it’s a happy, healthy and snug one for you all!

Love and hugs, Nat xxxx

Christmas tag!

Gaye tagged me with this lovely seasonal tag - cheers my deary!

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate: Hmmmm….. hot choccie with lashings og whipped cream and a flake is more readily available in this household, but I did have egg nogg once when I was younger and I do remember iy being rather yummy…..will have to find a recipe!

Coloured lights on the tree/house or white: White. Coloured ones give me nightmares about blow-up santas and tinsel!

Do you hang mistletoe: We did have some plastic stuff my gran gave me somewhere but it’s got lost over the years – and to be honest I don’t really want to give Lee any more encouragement than needed!

When do you put your decorations up: It goes like this: Lee nags from the second week of November. Not until the first of December I say. But I’ll help this year whines Lee. Not until the first I yell. The first arrives – out come the decoration boxes – and Lee scarpers to the pub for the afternoon.

What’s your fave holiday dish (excluding desserts): throughout the year I hate cooked dinners – but I’m magically transformed to a turkey and veg loving monster come Christmas day! You can’t beat Sprouts and Chestnuts and kilted sausages! And apricot stuffing!

What’s your fave Christmas memory as a child: Oh I can’t pick one! I loved opening our stockings in bed with our parents, and the excitement of having to get dressed and ready and have breakfast before opening anything else. And the golf club parties we used to go to where every year Santa would “crash his sleigh” and so we’d watch his make his way across the fare way under the search light with a big ole bag of pressies on his back!! The union party had a REAL sleigh though, and one year I got to ride on it (erm, ok, so I was 14 – who cares?!!!) I just love Christmas – and all my childhood seasonal memories are my favourite! It’s such a magical time of year!

How and when did you learn the truth about Santa: Now this is a real tragic tale. I was about seven or eight, and rumours had started to circulate on the playground that the jolly man in red didn’t exist, and really it was your father. Ever the optimist – I decided to ignore these rumours - after all how could my mum and dad get all those presents down the chimney by THEMSELVES?
So my sister and I sat down, early December, Argos Catalogue in hand, to write our letters to Santa, which usually consisted of every item from the toy department of the catalogue. I remember she was sat on the floor, and I was next to my father on the sofa, when he leaned over to me, nodded towards my sister, and whispered “Nice to see the little ones still believing, isn’t it?”.
Devastation was not the word! My whole little world collapsed and it turned out the rotten rumours were right. I wasn’t ready to know the truth. I spent the next hour crying alone in my room – and nobody ever knew. I should have guessed my father was a rotter then!!!!
Now of course that I'm a sensible adult - I believe again!!

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve: No – and people who do so should be burned at the stake! If Lee had his way – we’d have opened all our pressies already. He’s dying to tell me what I’ve got!

How do you decorate your Christmas Tree: Well, as said earlier, Lee usually promises to help but either buggers off or stands there looking gormless. The lights are usually tangled, that’s if we’re lucky enough to find them working in the first place, and much swearing, shouting and throwing of objects entails. But then on come the obligatory Christmas tunes – and everything magically comes together beautifully and we stand back and admire MY handiwork.

Snow! Love it or dread it: I Love it – although it does frighten me that we’ll have a really bad lot when I have to work because unfortunately I live within three miles of my base and according to “policy and procedure” I’d be expected to walk there. It’s a really hilly journey!

Can you ice skate: Went once when I was six. Stood on the ice and started to cry and bawl. I had to be lifted off the ice because I wouldn’t move. So I guess the answer is no!

Do you remember your fave gift: Hmmm…..that’s a real toughie and I really can’t answer just one thing!!!

What’s the most important thing about Christmas for you: Being with my lubberly family

What tops your tree: A sparkly beaded wire star.

Which do you prefer, giving or receiving: I think it’s a two-way process – and I enjoy both equally!!

What is your fave Christmas song: Oh I love all the poppy classics like Slade and Wizzard and Shakin Stevens and even Sir Cliff! My favourite CD is a Christmas Gift for You by Phil Spector – they really are the classics on there! I love the carols too!

What’s your fave Christmas story: I had a lovely book from my Nanny when I was little about how the Robin got his Red breast - it was so sweet!

thanks Gaye!
Right, I tag Di - cos I know she loves Christmas as much as I do, and Cee - cos i reckon she secretly loves doing these blog tags!!!

My Boyfriend, the Berk

The thing about having to go to work around eight thirty or nine o’clock in the evening means that it leaves my poor, sad and lonely boyfriend home alone with nothing to do but watch those lifestyle slash entertainment type programmes predominantly aimed at women, such as Nigella’s Christmas and How Clean is your House?

But do I return home to a prize stuffed and roasted turkey complete with honey roast parsnips and garlic and rosemary pan fried roast potatoes?

Do I find that our windows are sparkling from a splash of vinegar and newspaper, and our pans brought up like new from a dash of coca cola and bicarb?

No.

I come home to a message from the researchers of Trinny and Susannah Undress advising that following Lee’s phone call they would be very interested in meeting us and would like to set a date to come and interview us at home.

Do I look like the type of girl who wants to stand naked in front of millions of viewers (shudder at the thought of how local community care teams up and down the British Isles would cope with the influx of referrals for counselling following such a horror being aired before the watershed), or have my breasts poked and prodded by two over enthusiastic women who believe in spending nothing less than £45 on a single piece of underwear (the mere thought of my Asda George multi-pack knickers would surely be enough to give them severe chest pains and require gas and air).

Ladies – never leave your impressionable man at home, alone, with a phone and a women’s lifestyle slash entertainment show.

Please.

Black Fingers

Believe it or not, I'm not referring to my inky fingers as a result of last night's Swansea Christmas crop. My black chalk inkpad decided that the start of the first of two classes, both requiring heavy inking, would be a good time to fall off the plastic base, requiring me to carry out said inking by holding the little piece of sponge that contains the ink, in my fingers.

By the end of the evening I had ink in places I didn't even know I had.

And do you think it will come off?

My title, in fact, refers to the fact that I bought a Poinsettia on Thursday. Guaranteed until January it said.

I've managed to kill it in two days.

Have a nice weekend xx

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

And the proof is in the Christmas pudding! Or rather, in these likkle shots of our festively decked-out home.

We're so excited - Christmas is just the yummiest time of the year! We've got fairy lights around all the windows, icicle lights from the roof and porch (which are taking a battering in these gales - according to BBC Wales the winds topped 98mph here at Mumbles Head today!), and twinkly swags of stars draped from every given surface. It's so lovely to come home to all the warmth and light when it's so cold and grey outside.

Our colour scheme is actually purple and silver- but I love the way that these photos have got warmer tones to them cast by the unique glow of the fairy lights - so festive! Here are some snaps of the little things that make our home feel special at this time of year.


Close up of the Candle ArchBaubles

Snowglobe
Stocking holder

And most importantly for those of you who want a likkle photo update of my beautiful niece Ellie - here she is at three weeks old! What a monkey! She's now feeding like a hungry horse and putting on lots of weight! I can't believe that she will be a month old on Thursday!
Take care my lovelies xxx