Thursday, December 28, 2006
She bought it in New Look for a fiver.
Crimbo over? Already?
But it was so quick! Huh! I have had a great rest though and am feeling pretty relaxed and happy just now. It's been great not to have to rush around, planning craft fairs, frantically sewing .. instead, I've been playing a lot of Guitar Hero, eating a lot of chocolate (yes, very naughty) and buying shoes!
Christmas day was a very jolly affair for the Browns. We rose late, opened a veritable Fuji-san of presents and played with our new toys for a while before we raced over to Blantyre with Lee's mum to have dinner with Andrew and Aleks. It was a lovely meal, topped off with Lee's chocolate and malteser cheesecake (really, it is to DIE for) and we exchanged gifts and headed back to the court. Upon our return, we went over to Jo and Ryan's to play with our 2 new games - Sing Star Rocks and Guitar Hero 2! I really am not a fan of singing in front of people, but I was soon up on the mic and belting out duets with everyone in turn! We stayed up til 4 am in the end, singing and dancing - it was so much fun!
For the rest of the festive period, we've pretty much just hung around the house not doing anything really. It's been just what I needed to recharge my batteries and no mistake. I got so many fabulous presents, so have been spending time just looking at them all and finding a home for them in our tiny flat. I finally got a new alarm clock which plays CDs, etc so last nite was spent hammering my old one to death with Lee's new mini hammer - it was very satisfactory!
Today Jo and I headed into town to get my ears pierced at long last - but as I type, my ears are sadly still hole-less. I was told today I have oil sacs in my ears from a previous piercing attempt - how odd! So we are going to make an appointment at Nirvana to get it done properly and then I will be able to wear my 2 new pairs of earrings I got for Christmas!
To console ourselves with the piercing disappointment, I bought 2 pairs of shoes! For, my friends ... and you may wish to sit down, if you are not already .. ten british pounds! Well, I never! I got some nice black t-bar flat ones in Primark and some nice orangey/pinky sandals with a small heel in some other shoe place for £5 each! I also finally got a nice cord a-line skirt which I had been eyeing up for some weeks at almost half the price it was pre-Christmas! I was most pleased!
My mum arrives tomorrow from her jaunt to Cincinnati - she is visiting us for a few days before she goes back to school in Suffolk next week (for those who don't know, my mum is a matron of a boarding school down there). I am going to take myself off on a wee jaunt to the airport tomorrow to meet her, which I am quite looking forwards to. Must go and try out my new £6 slippers now!
posted by Claire @ 12/28/2006 07:00:00 pm |
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Friday, December 22, 2006
My friend is Hungarian... I don't know why he is so angry.
Good lord!
Last nite's crimbo party was quite an event! I think I was the only person there that managed to stay sober-ish apart from mar-c who very sensibly left almost immediately after dinner.
The scandal, the intrigue - it would mean nothing to you, but the component parts are:
3 homosexuals, one of which looked like an owl.
2 giant animal costumes - one cat, one penguin.
1 shed load of FREE alcohol.
I ended up at 2 am this morning in a room with around 20 assorted members of the company, including 3 directors refusing shots of tequila from the financial controller. I staggered to bed then, but the party was still raging at 5 am I hear.
Today the office is full of very tired and bedraggled souls - some heavy with regret and some just heavy with vomit-stains, I shouldn't wonder.
This will more than likely be my last post for some days now - so MERRY CRIMBLE!
posted by Claire @ 12/22/2006 12:52:00 pm |
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Wednesday, December 20, 2006
I'll have to speak to head office. How I hate speaking to head office.
Well! The market-filled weekend was quite eventful! I managed not to pass out or slip into a coma as I expected but instead enjoyed a great Saturday of selling things, talking to friends and making merry. The secret santa Jo organised for the day went tremendously well and I got one of the best gifts ever (thanks Rachael!) - see above! Everyone got into the spirit of things and the goodie bags we stayed up til 2 am on Friday nite making up went down a storm. So we were pretty pleased with our last market of the year.
On Sunday we had the Botanics last market of the year which was ... totally dead. Despite the rain holding off and it remaining reasonably sunny all day, there was only a small trickle of visitors throughout the day and we had to rely on a friend of mine Elaine to make our first sale of the day! Things did pick up a bit, but we all called it a day early and were home by 4pm. In time to have a flash of inspiration and get the sewing machine out to whip up some impromptu Christmas gifts! I will obviously photograph these for after Crimble!
This week has been a whirlwind of boring work and frenzied making things in the evenings. We had a last minute sale on the website, so had to get that packaged up, along with a few other things and sent off, make some more Crimbo decs for Tracey's red and white themed tree and now I have just remembered I've still not got a gift for work secret santa which I am organising, so I will have to come up with something this evening.
Looking forwards to Christmas, but more so for the time off factor. There are a veritable STACK of presents under our tree, all for me and Lee, so obviously I am excited about tearing them open too, but I will be content with a sit down and a rest in the most part. It's been SUCH a busy year, especially for me who usually likes to sit on my ass being lazy. If I can only incorporate being busy with doing some more exercise and eating less rubbish next year, I'll be heading in the right direction.
Still got several gifts to make, some of which may be in the form of the thing I quickly taught myself to make last nite - can't say any more in case some of my dear readers see it - some of which may be the recipients of my intended gifts! I will need to have another bash at it tonite. Tomorrow nite is the work Christmas party, which could either go pretty well or pretty badly. It's been a tough time recently at work - redundancies were announced last week which has left the office with a terrible atmosphere and a lot of bad feeling, so I have no idea who is going, or what really is happening, apart from I am going and my job is not affected. Which I suppose is good, but a part of me thinks that being made redundant would have kicked me into gear about DOING SOMETHING. Still, I am glad that I can still afford to pay the mortgage (just) for now.
Right, I am off for a game of Animal Crossing whilst it's still lunchtime!
posted by Claire @ 12/20/2006 01:45:00 pm |
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Friday, December 15, 2006
This country! All anyone cares about is money, money, money!
posted by Claire @ 12/15/2006 05:23:00 pm |
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Thursday, December 14, 2006
I dont' know if he was gay, but he was immaculately dressed.
Crimble Tree!
Originally uploaded by mooosh.
No reply from trade service direct as yet. I await with baited breath.
Actually, I await with flu-ridden, lurgy-laced breath. For I have found a new depth of flu-like pain to sink to and it's not nice. I have spent the last 2 days at home on the sofa alternately wanting to die and coughing a loud, long, low hacking cough much akin to the death rattle of a thousand Vietnamese sailors.
I am back at work today but for a reason I am yet to fathom. I might actually keel over at my desk, or so it feels.
Anyway - look on the bright side - only another 6 working days til I'm off for 10 WHOLE DAYS! Wheeeee!
Look, here's Archie, our Crimble tree! Isn't he bonny? Crimble is hurtling towards us at a rate of some knots, it's quite scary. I am all set, presents carefully researched, bought and wrapped as they have been for some weeks now - I am SO smug.
I do however have a couple of last minute secret santas at work that I need to get things made for, so I will have to do that tonite in between tidying up and trying not to slip into a Venos-induced coma.
A parcel of JOY arrived from America this afternoon from my cousin Anne in Cincinnati - 7 whole presents for me! I am so excited to open those.
Must go and cough up some more phlegm now :(
posted by Claire @ 12/14/2006 04:45:00 pm |
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Thursday, December 07, 2006
The whole of Swindon was flooded.
Spam Fax
Originally uploaded by mooosh.
Dear trade service direct.
Thank you for your spam fax, the third one this morning! I am thrilled that you are in touch with your early-90's side sufficiently to provide this distraction in my otherwise dull day.
I am interested in the action trousers, however, I cannot fathom for the life of me why anyone would wish them NOT to have the excellent knee pads you have suggested as an add on.
I may wish to order 2 pairs, so if you could make some suggestions, I will consider my purchase carefully. I'd appreciate your early response what with Christmas coming up.
Many thanks
Claire Brown (Mrs)
posted by Claire @ 12/07/2006 01:12:00 pm |
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Wednesday, December 06, 2006
How can they expect us to be awake at 10am? It's outrageous.
JEEZO.
That is all I can say really to sum up last week. Worked mental long hours to get a project finished which should never have arisen in the first place. I can't even talk about, I'm so peeved.
Anyway! Had a great weekend in Newcastle with Lee, Jo and Ryan this weekend, but forgot to take my camera, so no photos. The fair at the Cluny on Sunday was a phenomenal success! Our best day ever!
Had a great evening with the crafters last nite at Mono, where we knitted, ate, drank and chatted - very relaxed and a great chance to learn more about our new friends!
I am scarily organised for Christmas. I have bought all the presents, wrapped them all up, made my cards, distributed most of them - and I am feeling very smug about that of course, mwuhahahaa.
A few swap parcels have arrived recently, one very disappointing, so I am going to overhaul my post about what I am looking for I think and going to have to be a lot more strict with myself over what I send I think! It's good to have a plan, as they say. No more for me til after Crimbo anyway, I am rooked til the new year!
I am having a nice evening by myself tonite, wrapping, making some more cards and watching Love Actually and having a mini-weep - it's so sad and so happy at the same time!
Off to bed for me now.
posted by Claire @ 12/06/2006 10:42:00 pm |
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