well dust my baubles....

Seriously - I have dust on my tree baubles! It's been up for nearly a month. I think maybe I peaked a bit early for Chrismas this year. Got a telling off from Mark because I put all the Christmas treats out in the first week of December and by Christmas Eve all that was left was a few manky After Eights and the horrible Quality Streets that no-one wants. Between the three of us (and in all honesty I truly believe I have eaten most of Mark and Oliver's share) 'we' have polished off:

- 2 tins of Quality Street

- 2 boxes of After Eights

- 1 tub of honey roast peanuts

- 2 tubs of salted peanuts

- 1 box of Roses

- 6 tubes of Pringles

- 2 boxes of Matchmakers

- 1 tub of Mini Cheddars

- 1 tub of Twiglets

- countless bottles of wine

- copious amounts of cheese

- a fair few pizzas

- several tonnes of mince pies

coupled with the fact I gave up exercise during December as a treat to myself (duh) it is with little surprise that I note my jeans are feeling more than a little snug right now. Greedy, greedy cow.

Anyhoo, if I dwell on that too long, I will be consumed by guilt and more feckless comfort greed.

Here are a few more pages for my Christmas journal. I think I only have about 6 left to do, which is pretty good going for me. The backs of the pages are done too, although I don't bother showing those - they really are just journalling, additional info about that day, blah di blah, y'know.

And here is week 52 - the very last SLYMI of this year: Scrap 2009. Unusually for me, it is a photo-less layout, detailing the best and worst of the year. There are other things, but these are the edited 'highlights'.

I think I have used virtually the same elements on this page as last weeks. Oh I am sooo thrifty these days! (and lacking in time and imagination too....)

Here is our tree on Chrismas Eve (post Santa's visit, obviously)

And here is my darling boy on Christmas Day at the Christmas table.

He had decided he wanted Quail for lunch (as child-devotees of Masterchef would) and the little buggers didn't cook in time. Also I forgot the bread sauce (yukarooney) and Mark has intimated that since I failed miserably to deliver the perfect Christmas Lunch, he will do it next year. Be my guest and there had better be no fuck ups, I tell you. There will be no forgiveness.

skipping down to Christmas

I am getting up early at the moment and heading straight off to scrap. It's working out quite well since the schools have broken up and so Oliver is occupied with playing with friends who would otherwise be unavailable. Monday was great - The Ten Commandments was on TV so I had 4 solid hours of biblical drama to spur me on in my Christmas mission....

Before I am judged too harshly on devoting (yet another) page to a TV programme, please remember my journal is actually more of a diary of what we have been up to this December, with our Christmas likes/traditions thrown in, so I make no apology for including our TV highlights to look back on in years to come. So there. Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough....lol

Today I am housebound, since Mark put unleaded petrol into the diesel van last night, and it broke down.

Jolly good.

Oh, and this weeks SLYMI:

This week was scrap the family. I picked this photo of me & Nan, taken by Mum (I think) down on the Quay over 30 years ago. It's changed alot since then.

Finding it tough

...to keep on top of this Christmas malarkey. I really want to do my journal, but journalling something every day is tough, particularly when I don't have photos available for a few days, and no Oliver-free time, adore and love him though I do. Never even mind all the normal mind-numbing domestic drudgery, my paid job and holding together a happy home and family during this time of joy and seasonal happiness lol.

Week 50 (yes, I have completed 50 layouts this year - mostly on time too!) Scrap a recipe:

I have scrapped my Christmas cake recipe which I have made, with some success I do believe, for the last four years or so. I make one for us, and one for Mum, and a whole bottle of brandy (the 750ml size heh heh) between the two. Yummy yummy in my tummy. I hate brandy to drink, but surrounded by lovely cakeiness, 'tis rather festively warming....

Here are (yes, yes I know - out of sync, order, whatever) pages 5, 6, 9, 10 & 13 of my journal:

You will observe that Ms Allsopp gets the 10th of December all to herself, which may seem a bit weird, but I think this 3-day TV programme is worthy of some note, as she has provided me with much entertainment by way of lively debate in many different quarters since it's airing - God love her.

I've been bad Santa....

I signed up for the Stocking Swap over on UKS - and mine arrived today. Egged on by Oliver, (yes, it's all his fault), within ten minutes we had opened everything in a wild frenzy:

That is so naughty. I am justifying my inability to save this up for Christmas by guesssing (quite accurately as it happens) that there would be scrapping stash in it which I wanted for my Christmas journal, so I refuse to feel too guilty. I now have to go and confess on the UKS site where I will probably be ostracised for yobbish behaviour. Or get the UKS equivalent of an ASBO at the very least.

Talking of my Christmas journal, it has not been forgotten - oh no my friends, it is still very much on the go. Here are my recent bits:

A slightly amended front cover:

1st December:
2nd December:

4th December:

The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted the current absence of the 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th of December. Fear not - they are under control. As I have said before, this journal will be a record of the entire month and the kind of things we got up to throughout this month, this year, so will include such mundane things as TV programme schedules and everyday doings. Some pages are held up due to waiting for certain items to be 'obtained'....

Well, by day 2 of my Christmas journal it had all gone spectacularly tits up.

Wednesday night was the annual carol service for the Beavers. (the cub scout sort not the long-toothed river dwelling sort, nor the ladies rude part sort either) I couldn't go due to work, so the task fell to Mark who rose to the occasion with his customary wails of horror and heavy sighs. He didn't get any photos - string of lame excuses if you ask me - and then managed to lose the programme on the way back to the car, so I have NO evidence of this event to record for day 2. For fucks sake is what springs to mind.

At least on Weds morning at the home ed group Oliver made Christingles, which I think are rather charming, now I know what they symbolise. Last year I thought they were a pointless waste of time and effort. Christ, I can be such a heathen.

THEN, on Weds evening just before I went to work, my eye, which had been a bit sore, suddenly became really sore and developed into my second corneal abrasion of the year. I managed to finish my shift, and yesterday was spent at A&E/in bed doped up on painkillers. Lovely. Today, as per the norm, it is loads less painful, but still a bit fragile and swollen.

Soooo, onwards and upwards my festive friends - today is Mark's birthday, so I will be cooking a nice meal for him later. I use the term 'nice' loosely here, as anything could happen in the kitchen between now and then. Hopefully it will be 'nice' enough to photograph for day 4...

It's starting to look alot like Christmas...

And here is our tree - it looks just the same as last year - a bright and colourful mis-match of the things we like. (The things I don't like are hanging at the back of the tree ha ha.) Still, I am not one of those Mothers who fights their children for the privilege of decorating the tree, nor do I re-arrange everything once my child is in bed. Quite frankly I don't get that at all. Surely the whole point of Christmas tree is what is symbolises - the spirit of love, joy and Christmas and all that? I know of people who co-ordinate their tree with their living room - my Mother, weirdly, is one of them. I love a busy clashy old tree, me. And this tree is old - a fakey of 12 years plus. Does what it says on the tin though.

Here is the front cover of my Christmas Journal, which I am determined to do this year:

and here is one of the other photos intended for my December 1st page:

Deck the halls......fa la la la la...... see you tomorrow....