Tuesday 22 December 2015

Freedom, but in moderation.

Stop the clock. I'm not ready. I can't even keep up with an advent calendar. 


So rubbish am I at eating one chocolate per day, that L takes the chocolate out of the little pocket on the little twee snowman thing and puts it in a little bowl. This has come to represent my advent backlog.


My 3/4 cup spilleth over. 23, 24 and 25 are still in the snowman, this is just the backlog.


Not sure how the bourbon biscuit got there. It's gone now any way. A bit soft but still edible.

I finished work today


Two weeks from today I will have just had my first 2016 working day. Ahead of me are 13 days of glorious freedom (I think it's 13, I haven't properly counted) in which many lovely things are planned to happen, and I shall endeavour to make the most of them and not be too much of a grumpy over-socialised pain in the behind. But I'm free. The Out of Office message is turned on, my work mug has come home to go in the dishwasher, I have changed out of office clothes in to jeans and a hoody (both of which should probably be declared "inside clothes" and not allowed out any more), and I have turned off the notifications on my phone from my work email. I am symbolically free.

There shall be much Church-going, many miles, plenty of visiting of relatives and soon-to-be relatives, and much general merrymaking all round. One hopes, that is. Gallons and gallons of tea, that much is for sure.

This time round, I am looking forward to this Christmas in a big way. For it is a First.  


This will be the first year I am taking L home for Christmas. 

My home that is. Where for a number of years I have gone on my own and been a bit sad and woeful and missed her, because I'm a softy really. And for some of those years, I'd been too worried about what reception I would receive to even mention her, for I am a bit of a wimp.



It comes as quite a surprise, to me as much as anyone else, that I am doing my first Christmas with a Fiancee in tow. It's a very nice sort of different. Feels a bit like I'm catching up on missed time. The only downside is that I'll spend Christmas sleeping on my own bedroom floor. I'll cope. This is the year in which I bought 9 air-beds!

Seriously though, people have been pretty well-behaved over the whole engagement announcement thing. I mean, I felt the need to write that post, and I sometimes get a bit frustrated by having to always be nice and patient and wait and hope that people will come round. But then if we'd been born 30 years ago things would have been a whole heap different, so I really shouldn't complain. It's not yet been a whole year that we could have been married (here in Scotland). I have never been a trailblazer before. It's quite exciting.

Next week might be a run-down of the things I have done and not done (getting engaged and tidying my room, respectively) in 2015 so I won't get too deep and thoughtful just yet.

Instead I think I'll just tell you about my weekend 


Because this is my blog and I get to choose, and it was a pretty full on weekend.



This is a blurry picture of me holding a bottle of prosecco and wearing a coat which has a pocket that I can fit that whole bottle of prosecco in to. This picture was not taken this weekend, but I feel is somewhat representative of it, as I will try and explain.

Friday, L's birthday. I go to work at 9, have a meeting at half 9 that lasts until our half past ten visit from a somewhat secretive Santa, which lasts until about 12. At quarter to 1 we all go for a free Christmas lunch, and then I had the afternoon off. Go me! I met L at Ki:lau and drank happy tea while she caught up on lunch-eating. Then we drove out to Tyrebagger forest, where they sell real Christmas trees, with no intention of buying a Christmas tree. I just wanted to look at them all and smell them. They thought I was a bit odd. We went for a walk in the forest in the almost-dark just so we hadn't actually just been there, smelled some dead trees and left again. We went to Inverurie, and bought those last couple of presents that needed buying. We even bought one for someone we'd already bought a gift for, but had forgotten about, so useful we were.

Home, hot chocolate, nap. 


Then... yes, there's more. Then I took L out to the fanciest restaurant I might ever have eaten in. Now I don't do a hell of a lot of eating out, so there are fancier places out there, granted, but this place was fancypants. I even wore heels and got a bit nervous. So I got all the birthday girlfriend points and will keep feeling slightly smug for just a little while longer.

Saturday. We went to the gym, and then to Sainsbury's, which was quite a scary place to go, but we bought my little brother a really huge box of biscuits, so it was probably worth it. Then we went to an awesome little party where I might have had a bit too much to drink, which is really why I'm telling this story.

Totally not worth it.


Sunday was my pre-Christmas warning that my tolerance for alcohol is really not much, and I should remember to go easy on it. Like really easy on it. Sunday was not fun. I was just ill. And had no choice but to get on with it, for Sunday saw Rowan Tree Tents take a little role in the Aboyne Winter Festival festivities.


No-one likes pitching a tent in December with a splitting headache and legs that don't work. Especially when they have no cause to moan about it.

So, here's the thing, you guys. Go easy on your little livers if you can possibly help it. Tea is good. You might be allowed fizzy juice if you've been really good this year. Wine out of a really big glass with some home-made gin thrown in for good measure will get the better of you, if you're anything like me.

Y'know I might just leave it at that. I'm a dufus, but I think I've learned my lesson for a wee while.

I wish you all of the good things. I hope the people you have prepared gifts for think they're awesome and that you are the best present-giver that ever there was. I hope the turkey is not too pink and not too dry. I hope you are warm and happy and healthy. I hope that you are neither lonely nor forced to spend too much time with people. I hope you get a lie-in, and really enjoy it. I hope those of you who I have written cards for but not yet posted forgive me if they arrive somewhat late.


Happy Christmas - Look after your silly selves and look after each other!

And I shall endeavour to look after silly old me.

1 comment:

  1. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all that jazz to you guys too.

    And Cocktail Dave sez: don't mix gin with wine! ;-)

    ReplyDelete