Sugar and Spice

.... and all things nice.... and all things pink and pretty.

Christmas 2008 has been one of my favourites by far. I must have been a very good girl all year as Santa was very kind, or, I have a very lovely boyfriend. I don't think I have felt this lucky since I unwrapped my Barbie House when I was seven. There is however a downside to my Xbox and Guitar Hero game; I might become neglectful of this blog for a while. I will try not too though, willpower is all I need (and to stop being booed off stage)

My mum found the cake stand I had wanted months ago, it is so pretty and will look perfect in my new kitchen. I never described it to her, just told her that I had seen in in my favourite shop. Apparently she went the next day, telling my step dad that she would know which one it was as soon as she saw it and bingo! Call it mothers intuition.

Life is good

I am starting to feel a bit more comfortable with Christmas now and I feel happy. I have put up my tree (although it looks like the roots have been sipping on sherry making it impossible to stand straight) I have wrapped all my presents and placed under the tree and finally, I know how and where I am spending Christmas. Every year I have the drama of too many people to see and not enough time, which heightens the pressure and my bah humbug attitude. Last week I would have been content to go to sleep Christmas eve and wake up New Years Day. However, I have had a good few moments over the past week or so which have put me in a very good mood and I am ready for the festive jollity.

Highlights include:

1. Seeing my good friend Lou become a Mrs; she looked so beautiful and ecstatically happy. I like the idea of a winter wedding. Their first dance was a teary moment; I don't think I have seen two people so happy and in love like Lou and Matt - it was one of those perfect moments which you want to put in your pocket to take away and watch time and time again.

2. Being at the O2 with Martyn on Saturday for the last night of the Stereophonics - Decade in the Sun tour. Absolutely amazing. It was a special night and we had so much fun. Kelly Jones sang outstandingly well, the acoustics were fantastic and the atmosphere was electric. The best gig I have been to by far.3. Watching ice skaters at Hampton Court Palace on Sunday evening, then riding on the carousel, licking sticky candy floss fingers. Family fun at its very best.

4. The annual girlie Christmas dinner with lots of food, fun and laughter. A joint effort cooking a gastronomic feast, red wine flowing and toasts to us all and what 2009 will bring. After a session on Guitar Hero, the paper came out for some drawing and consequence fun! I am slightly concerned as to how my best friends view me.

Around the world and to the moon

Today I have spent a few hours losing myself in blogs and websites. It wasn't intentional, I found one of interest and then carried on clicking and have gone around the world reading about other people's lives. I find it fascinating and a little obsessive, I almost feel like I am stalker delving into worlds of the unknown. Sometimes I worry about what people feel when they land here, in between my rants and waffle there is the odd attempt at something 'creative', when I think about it I feel a little naive and embarrassed that I am even here in the first place.

I started with Is there anything wrong with plastic rosaries? which is an intriguing title (I find it fascinating about how people arrive at their blog titles, take Sally for example, she found her recent title in a fortune cookie) Bethan has recently listed her favourite books and I have spied one that I think I would enjoy, so thank you for that.

I am in awe of I'm not anti social Her dress style and make up is gorgeous. I wish I had the patience to apply my makeup in a more professional manner and have time to experiment with colours, I don’t think I have the right kind of eyes for such a make over. I am coveting her dresses and her shoes.

The One-Minute Writer is another great blog encouraging you to stop and use one minute to write. Each day there is a new prompt, today’s is about describing a memorable birthday, here is mine:

The Great Storm of 1987 happened on the eve of my eighth birthday, I woke to a tree uprooted in the garden, no electricity and coldness. School was cancelled and so was my birthday party. I remember the only presents I could play with were a set of red and yellow stencils. We had soup for my party tea and no cake due to the oven not working.

This blog here has made me smile this afternoon and reminisce about some disastrous cakes that I have produced in my time. There was the desert island, which I made for my ex’s birthday in our first year of being together. I think it was Dick Tracy Island – it came in a box and gave instructions on how to construct, I just remember very messy blue frosting. It wasn't impressive and it set a precedent for my baking skills. Once I made a Bakewell tart for Valentines Day but coloured the mixture pink. It tasted nice but looked more like Mr Messy than a cake. The Gingerbread Mums and Dads that I made one year on Mothers and Fathers Day were good, albeit a 7 year old could have produced the same level of decorative icing.

Tonight, the moon is going to be the biggest and brightest full moon we have seen in fifteen years. It will be twelve percent bigger than the normal and is being called a lunar flypast. I like the sound of that. I am keeping my fingers crossed for the clouds to part so I can see the moon and her beauty.

Goodnight

A kiss can say so much, and so little. Kissing should never be something that stops between two people, however old they become. From the first kiss that releases butterflies to the kiss goodnight at the end of each day. I want to make each goodnight kiss special, in case you are not there in the morning or that it feels different following night. That difference in the strength of a kiss can tell a secret. Whether I am kissing you every night for the next fifty years - let it never become routine, for again, your secret will be known. Let us savour each kiss with the memory of our days, weeks, months and years together and be thankful for what we have. Don’t let us fall asleep without the commitment of our lips sealing our love, for our love may not be alive tomorrow.Kissing should not be taken for granted or used as leverage. A kiss between lovers is a sparkle of ignition, a word without explanation, forgiveness without sound and an apology without a tear. Never underestimate the power of a kiss or what it means to me, to be kissed goodnight by someone who loves me.

December has arrived with a frost and sense of urgency. It has rushed upon me and I feel compelled to hurry into the spirit of this festive month. I think though, this is only because of the mayhem outside; shoppers rushing in and out of closing down stores, crowds hurrying to get their mulled wine, market traders shouting their offers and the changes to our economy. I also feel the pressure from others to know what I am doing and when they are going to see me, and it is also the most chaotic time at work with four publications being due before the end of the month.

Whilst I sit at my cluttered desk (which is how my head feels) eating my warming parsnip, butternut squash and ginger soup, I thought I would take some time to stop and think about December and what I enjoy, so even if I don't have time to think of them in the next couple of weeks, I have smiled at them today:

making my Christmas cards
mulled wine in front of a blazing fire
German markets
the smell of cinnamon
stollen
fat little robins
chunky knitted jumpers
mittens
gingerbread lattes
smell of pine needles
real Christmas trees
un co-ordinated decorated trees
white fairy lights
handmade gift labels
woolly tights
bobble hats
hot toddys
glitter
smell of wood burning
bright red holly berries
walks on frosty sunny days
holding hands
wrapping presents
hot chestnuts
turkey roast dinners

I actually think I could list endlessly. It has done the trick though, I feel slightly more excited about winter now.