What I have loved this year!! My Friday favourites on a Sunday!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!! I am doing something a little different this week with the things that I have loved, instead of things from the past week I am picking my favourite things from my whole year and to confuse things even more I am posting it on a Sunday, usually today would be my Project 365 blog post but I am saving that until Wednesday so I can finish off the year all in one post and to be honest I wanted to enjoy Christmas with my family so this post was written a couple of weeks ago so I didn't have to worry about blog writing.

TV!

There has been some great TV over the last year, my favourite things that I watched were Squid Game, Stranger Things, All Her Fault, Toxic Town, Apple Cider Vinegar, Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, Scamanda, Adolescence, Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, The Twister: Caught in the Storm, Paddington in Peru, Doctor Who, American Murder: Gabby Petito, Grey's Anatomy, Nonnas, Ginny & Georgia, Wednesday, The Traitors, The Handmaids Tale, My Oxford Year and of course all of the wrestling!

Painting my nails!

This year I made a point of doing a bit more self care and painting my nails became my little weekly ritual. I’ve been all the colours under the sun. Every now and again I give my nails a rest and it feels so strange not having colour on them. I love how something so small can make you feel a bit more put together even if the rest of my life is falling apart.

Temu!

I hate the idea of Temu but I gave in this year and placed a few orders. I always make sure to pay with Paypal as I have heard horror stories about peoples bank accounts being wiped out but they do sell some fantastic stuff at great prices. I really rate the decorations for special events like birthdays and Christmas and things to do with TV shows like Grey's Anatomy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and anything WWE. I have also found them to be cheaper than eBay and Amazon for some things, the delivery takes a few weeks so everywhere else is better for convenience.

The Country Show!

We always have such a great day at the country show that happens near us. It’s one of those proper wholesome days out with the animals, stalls, the smell of chips in the air, someone somewhere selling wooden ducks for no reason. This year the girls had their friends with them so Stu and I had the day to ourselves. We basically wandered around like we were on a day date, pointing at tractors and eating burgers at 10am. We also saw my dad and his partner there with his vintage car. He does love showing it off. Every time I see him with it he has that proud parent face. It’s very cute.

Football!

We have been right into watching the football over the last year. Newcastle United, the team we support did pretty well last season and won the Carabao cup and England's ladies did pretty well too! The Lionesses went and won the Euro's! I am hoping the men's football team does just as well in the World Cup next year.

Lots of family time!

The girls have had a busy year which means there’s been less quality family time so when we have had the chance to be together I’ve grabbed it with both hands. It won’t be long before one or both of them move out and I feel like I’m living on borrowed time having them mostly to myself. We’ve had days out, meals out, movie nights, stay at home and do nothing days and lots and lots of laughs. I love those moments where everyone is in the same room but doing their own thing but it still feels cosy and together. I’ve also spent loads of time with my dad, my brother and his family and I had a fab day out with my dad’s partner at the world’s biggest Primark in Birmingham.

Ellie's new/old bed!

I don’t even know who came up with the idea of shortening Ellie’s bed to give her more room in her bedroom but it happened and it worked! She has a metal bed frame and a couple of inches were chopped off the length and it was all put back together and it's perfect! It sounds dramatic to say it changed her life but it genuinely did. Suddenly her bedroom made sense, she has so much more floor space, a dressing table she actually uses every day, a clothes rail and even the motivation to keep it tidy. Miracles do happen.

A few nights away!

We had a few nights away during the year and every single one felt like the biggest treat. Stu and I had a Valentine’s Day away, just the two of us and it was lovely. No kids, no responsibilities, just us pretending we were young and carefree again. I had a night away with Becky as a late Mother’s Day gift when we went to see Whitney - The Candlelight Concert. The whole evening was gorgeous. We did have a week away booked in October but life happened and we decided to play safe and cancel. We still had days out though and made the most of everyone being off work and had a cheeky night away!

Gousto meals!

I have stuck with Gousto over the year, getting recipe boxes delivered most weeks. They sent out an email like a Spotify Wrapped for food and I was far too excited about it. Apparently we had 32 boxes delivered, ate 85 different recipes and explored 13 cuisines! I love how it makes meal planning easier. No more standing in front of the fridge wondering what combination of random ingredients will make an actual meal. It’s made cooking fun again and we’ve tried so many things we never would have picked ourselves.

The Garden!

My garden was a bit hit and miss this year but I enjoyed growing what I did. The sunflowers were a huge success, my tallest being about 6ft tall. My flowers did amazingly well and were still going strong well into November. I did so well with the cucumbers and my tomatoes were late coming but I grew more than a few handfuls.

Katie Van Slyke

TikTok showed me a woman, Katie Van Slyke from Tennessee who has a farm. She breeds horses and other animals and I have followed along, watching and have become so invested in her animals. Her mini goats got me hooked when they were pregnant and I've watched the baby goats being born and grow up, mini horses been born, cried when a horse died and lately I have been watching all the new born calves. Soon it will be foaling season for the horses and I am very excited.

A tattoo!

Not mine, my youngests. Ellie got a tattoo a few months ago, at the time it wasn't my favourite but it's growing on me! It's so funny but I keep forgetting that she has it especially at this time of year with her wearing long sleeved tops. She loves it and is so proud of it.

An empty house!

As much I have loved the family time we have had over the last year I have enjoyed having an empty house while the girls have been out doing their own thing, at work or with friends. They both seem to have the best social life and as much as I miss them they're not here it makes me happy they are out in the world loving life.

John Cena!

I've loved him most years, he is/was on the top WWE stars. What a rollercoaster ride the last year has been since he announced his retirement! He's been on our screens for 20 years and has worked hard. This year though, I went from loving him, to hating him when he turned bad guy and then loving him again.

Heart Musicals!

Since I discovered Heart Musicals radio station it is just about all I have listened to apart from the last few weeks when it has been Christmas music! I listen to it through the radio app on my TV. It has all the musical hits from the likes of Wicked, Les Mis, The Greatest Showman, Frozen, Chicago, Hamilton. I’ve been walking around my house, singing like I’m on stage at the West End.

What have been your favourite things in 2025?

This week my Word of the Week is: Christmas!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

It has to be! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, whatever you were doing.

I worked through my Christmas Eve to-do list and got everything done and by teatime I was ready for a sit down. I got lots of the Christmas dinner cooked in advance so there was less to do on Christmas Day, it worked out really well.

We were up early on Christmas Day at half past seven, just in time for Becky and her friend getting in from work. Becky's friend was staying with us over Christmas so she didn't have to rely on a lift to and from work with there being no buses. We were up so early so we could all open our presents together! Everyone was spoilt rotten! The girls had a few surprises which they were happy about and so did I. I got some perfume off Stu, which I wasn't expecting, a fab Bon Jovi mug and from my dad, a tonne of bath stuff, which might seem a normal gift but coming from my dad it isn't, he is so not into girly things so it was a big surprise.

The morning was spent going through our presents, speaking to family on the phone and helping Ellie set up her new phone. She takes security seriously and has a different password for everything and never writes them down, so that was fun. It's a good job I kept a record of her login details for her bank because she didn't have a clue as she uses her fingerprint to log in to most things but when you have a new phone you have to log in to everything first before using your fingerprint.

We could have eaten Christmas dinner at midday as most of it was ready but it felt so strange to be eating that early on Christmas Day, so we held off until about 2pm. It was just Stu, Ellie and I as Becky was still sleeping for work. I'm blowing my own trumpet here and I have to say the Christmas dinner was one of the best I have ever made! We ate our fill and then relaxed for the afternoon.

Just after half past five, Becky and her friend were up and out of bed and were ready for their Christmas dinner. I always think I am just an OK cook and I get nervous cooking for other people, but the friend said the food was amazing! Phew! I also made them a packed lunch to take to work full of picky bits like pork pies, sausage rolls, chicken bits and things like that. They loved it and were so grateful as there would have been no buying snacks from the shop with it being closed. It might even have convinced Becky that packed lunches are a good thing and she doesn't need to spend money each evening at work buying food. Hehehe.

Yesterday we spent the day doing nothing much at all apart from watching the new episodes of Stranger Things. We slept until late and ate lots and we didn't even bother getting dressed properly. It was the best PJ day ever!

How was your Christmas? I hope it was as wonderful as ours. I don't think Anne is hosting her Word of the Week linky this week but I do like writing these posts.

Doing nothing! Our Boxing Day routine!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day! Ours was lovely. We were up early to open presents with Becky when she got in from work and the day was spend doing nothing much apart from watching TV, eating and exploring our presents.

Boxing Day in the UK really comes in two very different flavours. There’s the out in the wild version where people voluntarily go on chilly morning runs, take part in Boxing Day Dips in the freezing sea, head to pubs packed with football fans yelling at screens and then there’s my version of Boxing Day. The quiet, cosy, no one speak to me unless it’s about snacks or a TV remote version.

The day always begins with a lie in because we have no plans for today. There's no need for any sort of alarm clocks and we sleep until we wake and roll out of bed, whenever our bodies decide it's time! Then the most important part of the day begins: changing into the Boxing Day outfit and by outfit I obviously mean brand new pyjamas that I received yesterday, fluffy socks and oversized hoodies are all encouraged too. Usually Stu has the cheek to suggest getting dressed properly in case we go out later and the rest of us will just stare at him like he's suggested something truly crazy!

Breakfast slowly merges into brunch or even lunch. It will be nothing fancy, I'll grab a croissant, they are a boxing day treat and cover in in leftover cranberry sauce. I will also find myself nibbling on cold roast potatoes every time I walk through the kitchen and pigs in blankets and mini sausage rolls. Today will be all about the leftover food. Sandwiches stacked with turkey,  stuffing, cranberry sauce, the Christmas trifle and the snacks never truly stop with bowls of crisps, mince pies and there is of course all the tubs of chocolate which I always overbuy because I panic that we’ll run out (we never do).

The afternoon tends to be one long, cosy stretch of nothingness. We will watch a lot of TV. Boxing Day becomes catch up day watching the Christmas specials we missed yesterday, then we move on to films we’ve seen 37 times but still love and Stu will be watching the football, shouting at the TV like the players can actually hear him.

By this point I’ve lost all sense of time. Is it 2pm or 7pm? Who knows and who cares. I’m still in my pyjamas and staying this way until bedtime and while I could be sensible and make something light for dinner, not a chance. Boxing Day is all about round two of Christmas dinner. I always enjoy the Christmas dinner on Boxing day as I haven't had to stand in the kitchen for long and the microwave does all the work. Turkey, stuffing, mash, veg will all be reheated to perfection. The plate looks very similar to yesterday’s just slightly messier and without the pressure of everything needing to be served nicely.

Today is all about not rushing, no pressure, just comfort, leftovers and the kind of laziness you don’t even feel guilty about. It's the one day a year where doing nothing feels right!

What do you have planned for today??

Merry Christmas! Here’s a little note from me!

Here we are, Christmas Day! Can you believe how quickly it’s come around again? One minute I was wondering if it was too early to buy mince pies and now here I am, last night with the turkey cooking in the oven, a glass of bucks fizz and my Christmas pj's on.

I won’t keep you long, today’s all about soaking up the magic, eating far too much chocolate before noon and spending time with your favourite people. Whether you’re surrounded by family chaos, enjoying a quiet festive day or somewhere in between, I hope you find a moment to take it all in and feel that cosy glow that only Christmas brings.

If you’re reading this today here’s to you! May your day be filled with laughter, good food and maybe a nap that lasts just long enough to wake up in time for pudding. I hope your Christmas is everything you need it to be: joyful, peaceful and a little bit sparkly. Now go on get back to your celebrations! I’ll be doing the same, probably wearing a paper crown at a very questionable angle and wondering if there’s room for just one more roast potato.

Wishing you and your loved ones the merriest Christmas and a new year full of lovely things.

With love,

Kim xxx

My Christmas Eve to do list!

Christmas Eve has a mix of excitement, chaos and always a little panic about losing a present that I hid so well. For me it's the day where everything comes together, the food, the gifts and a day when I feel like I never sit down. Every year I make a Christmas Eve to do list. Not because I’m that organised but because it keeps me from getting swept up in the flurry of glitter and mince pies. My family do help but this year it's just Ellie and I home today. Eek!

On my to-do list today is:

Cook the meat!

As soon as I get up I get on with cooking the meat. This year I am cooking a turkey, gammon and beef joint. The hours it spends cooking are worth it just for the smell wafting through the house. It might seem like a lot of meat but we all don't like the same things and the joints are not huge!

Visit the farm shop!

Every year I visit the local farm shop for the vegetables! Somehow, the carrots, parsnips and sprouts taste better from here than anywhere else, the farm shop is way better than the supermarket as they never run out and everything seems bigger and fresher! I always say that I am just going for veggies but always end up buying chutney's, pork pies and sweet treats!

Prep the veg!

Back home and it’s time to get the vegetables prepped. Carrots, parsnips, sprouts, potatoes and so on. I will peel and chop everything ready to cook on Christmas day. This is where I feel organised but at the same time slightly overwhelmed.

Make party food for tonight!

While the turkey is doing its thing in the oven I think about tonight. It’s Christmas Eve which means picky bits and snacks for tea. Mini quiches, pizza, cheese straws, chicken on sticks, corndogs, all the usual suspects. I will cook it all in the air fryer. I like to keep it simple and maybe sneak a little taste of everything along the way because I never make time to sit down and eat lunch.

Make a trifle!

I don't know how this tradition started but as a child there would always be a home made trifle in the fridge over Christmas and a big one! A layer of jelly with sponge fingers, custard and cream are essential for a proper trifle. Making it is as much fun as eating it. I always think of the trifle from the TV show Friends, mine won't have the beef or peas. hehehe

Wrap the last of the presents!

This isn't my job, it's Stu's. There are a couple of bigger presents which need wrapping and some extras that I recently bought that never made it to my pile when I was wrapping.

Tidy a little!

Before the festivities truly begin, I like to do a quick tidy. Not a full on spring clean, that can wait until January but a little decluttering to make the house feel festive and welcoming. It’s amazing what a few minutes of putting things in drawers, fluffing cushions and wiping surfaces can do.

Drink fizzy wine!

This deserves its own step because it’s basically my Christmas Eve fuel. Whether I sip it while prepping vegetables or just standing there like I waiting to do something, it makes everything more festive and by this point I’ve earned it.

Set the dining room table!

Christmas dinner might be tomorrow but setting the table early gives me one less thing to worry about. I like to go all out with festive napkins, the best cutlery and of course Christmas Crackers. This will be a job for Ellie but I know I will go and rearrange everything to how I want it. Oops.

Have a soak in the bath!

After all the running around I take some time to relax. A long soak in the bath is my Christmas Eve treat for myself. I throw in a bath bomb and will put a face mask on. 

Put on Christmas PJ's!

After all the prep I finally get to slip into my Christmas pj's and make my family wear theirs too. I will spend the next 10 minutes trying to get a photo of us all.

Bring the presents downstairs!

I try to bring all the wrapped presents downstairs tonight and put them all in piles for everyone to open in the morning! Seeing the piles makes me so happy!

An early bedtime!

Finally, as the clock creeps closer to bedtime I do something I never do and go to bed early!

What do you have planned for today?

Winter comforts I can’t live without!

Winter is not my favourite season, I am always complaining about the cold and I hate it. So I thought I’d round up the winter comforts I absolutely refuse to live without. The little things that make the season cosy instead of cruel.

Blankets!

Let’s start with the obvious: the blankets! There isn't just one because I need options and I need layers. There’s the fluffy one, the knitted one, the weighted one that threatens to pin me to my armchair forever. Each has a purpose and I love each one for different reasons and at least with having more than one I don't have to go without a blanket while one is in the washing machine!

Hot drinks!

Tea is lovely all year round but a cup of tea in the winter just hit's different and then there’s hot chocolate! Whipped cream, marshmallows and if it doesn’t look like a dessert I don’t want it. Winter drinks are like a warm hug for your soul.

Candles!

You’d think I’m hosting a séance some evenings with the amount of candles I light. They are needed though. The scented candles are mood lifters and winter is when they are needed. Vanilla, cinnamon, mulled wine, pine and cookie scents. My living room smells like Santa’s workshop at times and there’s something magical about that warm glow on a dark evening.

All the comfort food!

Winter meals are an excuse to eat things that involve potatoes in three different forms. There's stews, casseroles, soups so thick your spoon stands up on its own and the bread! Winter bread is different. Crusty, warm and slathered in salty butter. Then there are the slow cooker meals, they make the whole house smell amazing and take little effort to put together. There is also the baking! Cakes, cookies, cinnamon rolls and gingerbread, the smell alone is comfort enough.

Pyjamas!

Nobody thrives in winter wearing tight jeans and proper clothes. hehehe It’s the season for soft, slouchy, oversized pyjamas that make you wonder if you should ever wear proper clothes again. I’m talking fleecy sets, fluffy socks, sometimes slippers so squishy that it's like a hug for your feet. Some days I stick a hoodie on over my pyjamas and pass it off as loungewear and if delivery drivers judge me I don't care, they’re out here in shorts in December anyway so they can't be trusted.

Hand creams and lip balms!

Winter does awful things to my skin so hand cream becomes a survival item. I keep one in every room and I’m forever applying it like I’m in a skincare advert.

Evenings in with zero guilt!

In summer if you stay inside people look at you like you’ve committed a crime but in winter everyone just nods in understanding. One of my favourite winter comforts is the do nothing evenings. When it gets dark early and the house gets warm doing nothing feels productive. It's self care! 

Seasonal TV specials and films!

Winter TV is the best with the Christmas specials, snowy dramas and heart warming comedies! These shows are just different when the evenings are dark and the blankets are ready. I have a list every year of must watch specials and there’s nothing more comforting than knowing your winter evenings are already planned.

Long hot baths!

Winter is the season when baths become a must. I throw in bubbles, bath bombs, oils, salts whatever I can find like I’m a wizard mixing potions. I love that moment when the bathroom is warm and I sink into the water thinking this is luxury!

Winter walks!

This one surprised even me but winter walks have become one of those comforts I didn’t know I needed. Not the freezing ones where your face hurts but the crisp, still mornings when the air feels fresh and your coat actually does its job and when I get home where it's cosy and warm a cup of tea is extra special.

What are your favourite winter comforts?

What we will be eating for Christmas dinner! #MealPlanningMonday

This weeks meal plan post is a bit different from other weeks because It's Christmas!! This week we will be living off party food, Christmas dinner and leftovers so I thought instead of boring you with the meal plan I would share what we will be eating on out Christmas Dinner!

If you’ve never had a proper British Christmas dinner let me tell you it’s not just a meal, it’s an event! This is the roast of all roasts, the one we plan, prep and slightly panic over for weeks in advance. The kitchen looks like a war zone, the oven works harder than Santa’s sleigh and by the end of it all we’re full, happy and swearing we’ll never eat again until pudding shows up. I go into full on festive feast mode with every type of vegetable, gravy that flows like a river, and enough food to feed the entire street and still have leftovers for sandwiches the next day.

Starting with the most important part: the meat!

The star of our Christmas dinner is always the meat. This year we have 3 joints of meat. Turkey, gammon and beef! It might seem a lot but we don't all like the same things and we have an extra person with us for Christmas. Everything will get eaten or put in the freezer to use at a later date. Speaking of freezers by now I should have got the meat out to defrost!

The vegetables and lots of them!! 

The vegetables at Christmas dinner are a big deal here and there are many!

We’ve got roast potatoes, they’re golden and crispy on the outside with a fluffy inside. Then there’s mashed potato, buttery and smooth. Some might say having both roast and mashed potato is overkill. Those people are wrong!

We also have roast parsnips and carrots. Brussels sprouts are mandatory even if half the family swears they hate them. Boiled and then fried up with a bit of bacon, they make an appearance every single year because it just wouldn’t feel right without them. There’s also cauliflower cheese, it’s basically cauliflower baked in a creamy cheese sauce until it’s bubbling and golden on top and just to make sure every colour of the rainbow’s covered, there’s red cabbage: cooked with vinegar and apples and mashed turnip, which adds that lovely earthy flavour. It’s a proper mix of textures and tastes with a bit of sweetness here, a bit of creaminess there. Every forkful is different, and that’s what makes it special!

Pigs in blankets!

If you’ve never heard of them, they’re little sausages, we usually use chipolatas wrapped in streaky bacon and roasted until crispy. They’re bite sized, salty and absolutely addictive. In our house, they disappear faster than the Christmas chocolates. They’re the perfect mix of savoury and smoky, and no matter how many I make there are never any left. This year I have also got some pre-made ones wrapped with maple streaky bacon! Yum!

Stuffing!

Stuffing is another area where I go slightly over the top but that’s part of the fun. We usually have a few varieties: a sage and onion stuffing, a chestnut one and sometimes even a sausage meat version. I also treat us to a fancy stuffing from M&S. You know the ones, the gourmet style ones with things like cranberry, apple or caramelised onion mixed through. It just adds that little touch of luxury to the plate. You can always rely on M&S to make the humble stuffing feel posh. Everyone has their favourite so it’s only fair to have options.

The gravy!

Finally we reach the most important finishing touch, the gravy! It’s not just a drizzle, it’s a necessity. Christmas dinner without gravy would be like a tree without lights. Some people go all out with homemade turkey stock and drippings but I’ll admit, I’m not above a good gravy granules shortcut. I always make sure there’s plenty. By the time we’re done the plate’s basically swimming in it and that’s exactly how it should be.

Drinks and laughter!

Once everything’s plated up, we raise a glass usually Bucks Fizz, that perfect mix of orange juice and prosecco. It’s light, fizzy and makes the whole meal feel extra special. The table’s full of chatter, paper crowns from the crackers and someone pretending they’re too full to eat pudding but change their mind when they see it. 

Our Christmas dinner might sound like a lot and it is but that’s the whole charm of it. We cook too much, eat too much and spend half the afternoon in a food coma but that’s what makes it magical and the bonus is that we live of the leftovers for a few days so I don't have to cook!! 

What will you be having for Christmas dinner?

A photo every day for a year! 14th - 20th December! Week 51 of #Project365

Are we all ready for Christmas? I feel ready. All the presents are bought and wrapped, we've visited family, the big food shop is coming tomorrow and now we just need a good tidy up which I am going to get the family to help with.

We are having a nice quiet weekend. Ellie and I have dyed our hair and done our nails. She was very excited to have long nails back on, they're not practical for college so she's making the most of them during the Christmas break!

I have decided that next weekend the 28th when my Project 365 will usually be posted I am going to hang on and post it on the 31st, finishing the year of in one post and starting from day one the following weekend. I hope that makes sense.

Now for a photo every day!

348/365 - 14th December

The WWE wrestler John Cena. He had his last match in the early hours of Sunday morning and I stayed up to watch. He didn't win but he went out the right way. It was worth staying up just to see everyone come from back stage to show their respect and give him a big cheer.

349/365 - 15th December

I never buy a paper TV guide apart from at this time of year! I like to go through and mark off what I am planning on watching on TV and what I need to record. Are paper TV guides still a thing or do they just get created at Christmas for people like me who have this tradition?

350/365 - 16th December

I caught up with Neighbours, my last ever catch up because the show has ended again. Hmmf! I am sure at some point it will be brought back. I really don't understand why it was finished, every time I went on Amazon it was in the top 10 most watched things on there!

351/365 - 17th December

Becky was off to her works Christmas party. She had a lovely time with great food and fantastic company. She brought her Deadpool Christmas jumper out for the occasion.

352/365 - 18th December

It wouldn't be Christmas without getting a new Christmas mug. I got this from Morrisons for a couple of pound! I think it's so pretty!

353/365 - 19th December

Christmas nails, I bought them months ago and put them somewhere safe. Isn't it funny how that somewhere safe place is somewhere that you would never think of putting things like this, it took me a while to find them. They were in the kitchen junk drawer. 

354/365 - 20th December

Hair dye day for Ellie and I. I'm going bright red, probably pink, my hair doesn't seem to like the red anymore and dark red for Ellie.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

This week my Word of the Week is: Ready!! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is: 

We're ready for Christmas and ready for the fun to start. I feel like all the hard jobs are out of the way now and the next week is all about enjoying the good things.

Well, I say we're ready but we're waiting for the online food shop to be delivered in a couple of days. I have been on a few times and tweaked the list, at the moment it feels like a daily obsession. I go on once a day and keep adding and removing things. The list is full of things that we only get at Christmas like smoked salmon, salted peanuts, fancy flavoured cheese, Baileys thick pouring cream, fancy pork pies and snacky food. I took all the veg off the list as I am getting it all from the farm shop, their veg is way better than supermarket veg. It might cost more but it's Christmas and it's good to support small businesses! 

All the wrapping is done, even the girls got theirs done early on in the week. That was funny to watch. We discovered Ellie is like me when it comes to wrapping, it  is a chore and is there to be complained about the whole time you are doing it. hehehe The last present I sent was received and we dropped the presents off with family yesterday, well most of them. My dad and his partner still have a bag of presents here but I am planning on seeing him on his birthday in a couple of days to give him them then. There was just too much to carry everything yesterday. I may have got a bit carried away buying things for my brother and his family.

Poor Becky is not ready for Christmas because she won't get to celebrate like the rest of us as she is working Christmas Eve, Day and Boxing day too. She works in care and someone has to do it so we're going to make the most of the time she has at home. We will have to be out of bed ready to open presents on Christmas day when she gets in from work so she can rush off to sleep so she can get up a bit earlier on the evening to spend some time with us.

Ellie has finished college for the year and she is ready for the break. She has been struggling to get up each morning, the dark and all of the rain hasn't helped. She slept in on Monday but made it for the bus but it was a bit of a rush, I slept in on Tuesday, when I woke up at 8am I thought it was still night time as it was so dark. I hate this time of year, especially for my family. When Becky is at work she never see's daylight with sleeping during the day as she works night shifts and poor Stu leaves the house when it's still dark, is in an office with no windows all day so doesn't see daylight and comes home in the dark too. It's the shortest day tomorrow so at least from now on it will start to get a little lighter each day. 

How has your week been? I hope you have had a good week and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!! I am of course linking up with Anne who blogs at Raisie Bay to join in with her Word of the Week linky!

What I have loved this week! Week 51. #FridayFavourites

Here we are the weekend before Christmas! Eek! I hope everything is going to plan for everyone and you are getting all those little jobs done. I think we are just about ready for the big day. Today I am linking up with Erika and Andrea to share what I have been loving over the past week.

Fixed internet!

We had no internet all day Friday and half of Saturday! Eek! It is crazy how much we relay on it for simple things like online shopping, tracking parcels, transferring money through the bank, chatting online to friends and of course blogging. Our internet provider said out router was the issue but then found a fault local to us and lots of other people were affected too. So we ended up being sent a new router, when the internet was back working we set it up and have discovered there must have been a small fault with out box as the speeds we're getting now online a lot faster.

Watching the girls wrap presents!

On Sunday the girls were at either end of the living room doing their gift wrapping. My eldest, Becky loves wrapping, my youngest, Ellie doesn't. It was so funny to watch. Becky with her lovely, square, easy to wrap boxes and Ellie with everything that wasn't square and easy to wrap. There were encouraging words coming from Becky which just seemed to rile Ellie up, she says next year everyone is getting a gift card then there will be no wrapping to do. I think she has the right idea.

Cat presents!

I have decided to cause chaos at Christmas. hehehe My dad always says not to waste our money on him, he doesn't want Christmas presents but I've got him a few bits regardless but I have also bought his cat a present. He adopted a cat earlier in the year, it turned up at his place and never left. The nearest house to his is a 10 minute walk away and the next one another 5 minutes so we say the cat chose him. He found the owners and they said just keep the cat and he has. It's a sweet little thing and as he lives in the middle of fields it does a good job of keeping the mice and rats away. Anyway it deserves a treat so I've bought it a little stocking filled with cat treats. Puss will love it, my dad not so much. He doesn't think pets need presents.

John Cena!

He retired from the WWE in his final match in the early hours of Sunday morning. Becky and I stayed up to watch it. I remember when Cena first appeared on WWE shows over 20 years ago and he's had quite the career. I was happy with the ending of the match, he tapped out and most likely gave a huge boost to the career of Gunther who made him tap out. I cried, not when he lost but when he took his boots and wrist bands off and left them in the ring, it was the end of an era.

Chocolate Limes!

These remind me of my childhood, going to the corner shop and getting a quarter of them in a little white paper bag. I saw these in a shop in town and had to get them to see if they were as good as I remember, they are! Hooray! Sometimes I have got things I remember from my childhood and they are just not the same, it was so nice to get something that tasted just how I remembered.

The end of Neighbours (Again)!

Neighbours the Australian TV show ended in 2022 and then Amazon took over and it ran for a few more years and last week it ended again. Hmmf. I caught up with the last episodes and it made me sad all over again. It has been on the TV for over 40 years so most of my life. They left the end open so it could start again, just maybe not on Ramsay Street.

Spotify playlists!

I know that over the next week I will be listening to more music than watching TV so I went and sorted out my Spotify playlists. Adding more songs to certain lists like musicals and rock and making a couple of new lists. I also deleted a few lists that I haven't listened to in years, now I just have to get the rest of my family to organise their lists to make it look a bit more sorted.

What have you loved over the last week?

What I’m buying for myself while Christmas shopping!

Christmas shopping, the magical time of year when you leave the house determined to be a generous, thoughtful human being and return home with bags of treats for yourself. It’s basically tradition at this point. If Santa can reward good behaviour so can I! So let’s talk about the things I definitely didn’t plan to buy for myself this December. hehehe.

December shopping does something to my brain. One minute I’m hunting for stocking fillers and the next I’m holding a fluffy cardigan thinking this will help me survive winter. It’s always pretty, it’s always soft and it always comes home with me. I try to imagine gifting it to someone else but then I picture myself wearing it and it's too precious to let go.

Nothing tests self control like a shiny skincare gift set. I go in for wrapping paper and come out convinced I need a three step routine that involves serums, massaging and misting. I buy them for myself every year and I always feel like I’m doing something responsible. Never mind that I’ll forget step two by mid January and end up using the fancy night cream as hand lotion. The thought was there.

I fully intended to grab a candle as a gift, something classy like Frosted Woodland something but then I spotted one that smelled like gingerbread and happiness and next thing I knew I was buying two. One for them and one for me because what am I supposed to do live in a house that doesn’t smell like Christmas! 

Socks are always marketed as a gift but who are we kidding, no one appreciates them the way we do. The second December hits my feet are suddenly freezing and if my feet are cold the rest of me is so when I see fluffy socks in festive colours my brain goes these are needed to live just like food and water. I try to justify it by thinking I’ll give them to someone but once they’re home I become attached to them, they’re mine now. Oops!

Every December I become a new person. I see a fresh notebook and think this will change my life. I will become organised, write plans. I will journal daily but jump to February and three pages filled, one of them containing a shopping list and the phrase remember bins but I still buy it because who doesn't like new stationery.

Every year I buy a fancy box of chocolates to either gift to someone or have out when guests come over, then two days later I’m eating them alone while watching TV and pretending the box ripped itself open but December calories don’t count in case you didn't know!

There is no marketing stronger than the words worth £80 but now £20. I don’t even care what’s in it. It could be eyebrow glitter or make up I don't know how to use, I’m still tempted. I tell myself it’s smart shopping, I’m saving money. Never mind that I wasn’t planning to spend the money in the first place.

There’s always something in the supermarket that jumps into the trolley. Mini mince pies, fancy crisps, hot chocolate with marshmallows shaped like snowmen. I tell myself it’s for Christmas week. Then it disappears during a random December afternoon when I need a break from real life.

December is stressful enough without pretending we don’t treat ourselves while we’re out shopping. We’re juggling lists, crowds, budgets, wrapping disasters and that one person who keeps saying they don’t need anything. (my dad). So if something brings a little happiness or warmth I say go for it!

Do you buy yourself treats while doing the Christmas shopping?

The Wednesday Hodgepodge #37

I hope you are all having a good week? It's Wednesday which means it's time to join in with the Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce who blogs at From This Side of the Pond! Each week there are 6 questions, we answer and then link up. Simple!

1. What's one thing on your to-do list that you want to get done, need to get done, or that must get done before the year ends?

This is nothing festive, boring I know but I need to book an appointment to get my contraceptive implant changed. I can't believe I have had this one for almost 3 years. I won't get an appointment this year, there's a waiting list because our local GP practice doesn't do them anymore. Which I suppose is a good thing as I haven't had a great experience with my last 2 being changed. The first time they couldn't get my old one out and last year they forgot to order a replacement implant so I had the old one removed one day and the new one put in a few days later which stressed me out, I panic about medical things and dragging the ordeal out wasn't helpful. I will have to go to the NHS health and wellbeing hub in town and If I get booked in now I should get it done in about 6 weeks.

2. December 17th is National Maple Syrup Day...are you a fan? Do you like maple flavor in other food items such as candy, cookies, donuts, oatmeal, hot toddies, coffee?

I do like Maple Syrup! I don't have it often but I do have it now and again on pancakes and waffles of course and it is a nice treat in porridge too. For Christmas we will be having Maple Pigs in Blankets, we had them last year and I think the year before and they're amazing!

3. Time magazine names a person of the year every year. The tradition started back in 1927 with a 'man of the year' but has since changed to recognize not only an individual, but also to consider the impact of a group, movement, or idea that most influenced the year. The selection is not always someone or something good (think Hitler in 1938 and Stalin twice). This year they've named The AI Architects as their 'person of the year'. What say you? Is this a good choice, an obvious choice, a logical choice? Who do you think should have been named person of the year?

The AI Architects feels like an obvious pick but also a logical one. AI has been everywhere this year: work, school, phones, creativity, in the news, everywhere! You can’t really avoid it. So from an impact on the year point of view it makes sense.

If I were choosing I think they should honour the normal every day people like teachers who deal with the youth of today. They shape lives every single day and never get a headline. There are also the caregivers who are quietly looking after parents, partners, kids, relatives, often while working, parenting and trying to keep their own heads above water. They’ve felt the pressure of rising costs, stretched services, long waits all while doing jobs they were never trained for.

4. What's a city, state, or country you've visited that you never care to visit again? Tell us why.

That’s a tricky one for me because I really can’t think of anywhere I’ve visited that I wouldn’t go back to. I guess it comes down to the fact that I’m not that well travelled. I haven’t spent enough time hopping from city to city or country to country to really have a never again spot.

5. Next Sunday (December 21st) marks the first day of winter (or the opposite if you're living down under). What's one thing you love about this new season?

This question confused me for second, I thought how can we not be in winter already as it's so cold. I am not a fan of the cold so winter for me is all about being cosy! It’s the season where blankets are my best friend, thick socks are a must and hot drinks are a necessity. I love lighting candles, wrapping up in layers and creating little warm corners to hide away from the cold. Winter gives me all the excuses to slow down, get snug and just enjoy the little things without guilt.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This time of year seems so quiet compared to years ago when the girls were little. This week would have been filled with school nativity plays, Christmas meals, carol concerts, Christmas parties and of course visits to see Santa. I remember one year they had Santa visit the school. I am 99% sure that the Santa was the headteachers husband and the kids were so sure they recognised him but couldn't quite place him. hehehe