A Singularly Lonely Christmas

LavenderBees

MummyBobble wrote: »

Love the positive feeling of so many posts Our Christmas Day was a lovely PJ day (shocking I know :eek: ) Our two mad kittens loved all the wrapping paper - at least it stopped them from climbing to the top of the Christmas tree for a while! Lots of chocolate, biscuits and sweets for breakfast (if it was unwrapped and edible we ate it), and a full Christmas dinner, complete with Yorkshire puddings and mushy peas, with chocolate puddings with cookie dough ice cream to follow :snow_laug

Boxing Day was much harder when DD and DS went to their dad and I went to my sister's for a family get together. Both my sisters were there along with their husbands, children and boyfriends/girlfriends. As much as I know how lucky I am to have them, times like that when I am on my own with them does seem to make me question why my life has turned out the way it has. I've had a real struggle with depression this year, and in the end had to take myself off to bed for a couple of hours in the middle of it. Just as well they love me and understand!

To end on a more positive note, gorgeous DD went carol singing on Christmas Eve with her best friend. They weren't asking for money but folk insisted on giving to them and they ended up coming home with £40! They talked about it yesterday and decided that they will use it to buy food to donate to the local food-bank. What lovely 16 year old girls :j

Your Xmas Day sounds perfect to me. , and yes, lovely lovely girls to donate their unexpected windfall to those in need :T

It sounds like you did the right thing for you on Boxing Day, having good supportive company, but also taking time out. Grief is grief, and depression is depression, however it has come about.

xx

groatie_queen

Happy birthday calico cat! I hope you enjoy your day

calicocat

groatie_queen wrote: »

Happy birthday calico cat! I hope you enjoy your day

Awwww.....thank you.

Just got round to opening an xmas card from work friend....she has written in it...
'well...here comes the old fat git and his bag of crap again'.......lol. i'm guessing she isn't mad keen on xmas .

Today's piece of useless info I have gathered is......there are beauty pagents for camels...and you get black ones too...I didn't know that. i'm not very well travelled and don't get out much....lol.

boddy

Happy Birthday Calicocat x

whitewing

I haven't caught up on all the posts yet. But paulineb, I think you have been talking straight to me in some of your long posts. I have really enjoyed reading them and I know I will read them again as I set my New Year Resolutions for 2014.

calicocat

boddy wrote: »

Happy Birthday Calicocat x

Thank you.

LB is coming out tonight too to celebrate me being another vile year nearer 50....lol


On suggestions for clubs, what about a cinema group? Wouldn't involve any major organising I don't think, people could watch film, and then dependant on time of viewing I guess, go for coffee or a meal after. It would maybe take the pressure off as to who's house the meeting was at etc and/or being able to attend. Just an idea if the book club seems too much to organise/keep going etc.

Oh and all Asbo and room plans abandoned.....a mahoosive bunch of flowers arrived.
Now Asbo loves bunches of flowers more than quilts....
So did a double whammy...opened dining room door where all xmas decs boxes are (another room she loves) and put flowers out in lounge.
The two things confused her enough as she had hard decisions to make enough for me to leg it upstairs grab mice and shut door.

Result.

Byatt

Me too, Whitewing, regarding Pauline's posts.

Calicocat, have a lovely evening, Happy Birthday. I was 60 this year, believe me, as one who knows, :rotfl:, 50 is positively youthful! promise!:D:p

People keep passing my house (busy road) and looking in my window...:eek::rotfl:

Byatt

"Don't Forget To Dance" The Kinks,

You look out of your window,
Into the night.
Could be rain, could be snow,
But it can't feel as cold as what you're feeling inside.

And all of you friends are either married, vanished,
Or just left alone.
But that's no reason to just stop living.
That's no excuse to just give in to a sad and lonely heart.

Don't forget to dance, no, no, no,
Don't forget to smile.
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no,
Forget it for a while.

'Cause darling, darling,
I bet you danced a good one in your time.
And if this were a party
I'd really make sure the next one would be mine.
Yes, you with the broken heart.

Don't forget to dance, no, no, no,
Don't forget to smile.
Don't forget to dance, no, no, no,
Forget it for a while.

Don't forget to dance, no, no, no,
Forget it for a while.

You walk down the street
And all the young punks whistle at you.
A nice bit of old,
Just goes to show what you can achieve
With the right attitude.
As you pass them by
They whisper their remarks one to another,
And you give them the eye
Even that you know that you could be their mother.
You do the thing you love the best.
What separates you from the rest,
And what you love to do the most?
And when they ask me how you dance,
I say that you dance real close.

Don't forget to dance, no, no, no,
Don't forget to dance.

paulineb_2

Hey all.

I went to the gym and I used some of my stash of beauty product mountain, for some reason Ive also got way too much beauty stuff that I dont use, conditioner is as much as I do. But I have tons of stuff stashed away, some of it decent stuff as well, so its getting used, Ive already made a major dent in it. Im going to join the spend nothing on clothes in 2014 challenge, if people knew how many clothes I had, theyd know why I dont need any more new ones. Clothes in all sizes and once my weight does settle, the bigger sizes are going, I freecycled a load of clothes last year and I charity shopped about ten bags a few years ago, Im sure my clothes breed in the cupboards.

I was going to go out tonight, but I cant be bothered, mainly as its a meet up group and its one that charges. I have a meet up group and I use it to advertise my fitness classes and in the new year Im going to arrange more stuff like walks as well.

But I dont charge anything. It works out at 8 quid a month if you pay for a few months, but some of these organisers have 500 members and you have to pay 5 quid a month just to be in the group. Theres one person who charges ten quid membership a year just to be in the group and at one point the group had 1500 members. Meet up the site allow organisers to do what they like. I just dont have enough spare cash to hand over ten quid to someone just for the sake of joining.

I think thats wrong, I do appreciate that people take time out of busy lives to organise, but making a profit out of something thats essentially to bring people together, I just cant see any justification for people having what is essentially a part time or full time wage at times for running a group.

Theres another group where you pay 1 quid an event depending on the event, I'll probably go with them for a bit. My local one was very local to me, but I just didnt like the way it was being run. And even though Im sorry there arent any other big local groups, Im not sorry I made that decision.

Anyway, thats me been up, out, been to the gym, walked there and back, am now frozen, dont have a bus ticket as it ran out on Boxing Day but no point for paying for a monthly ticket until the first week in January. The 4 week tickets where I am are very reasonable, but the single fares are extortionate and the gym is only 20 mins walk each way so I might as well walk it.

Hope everyone in 2014 has a brighter year if thats what they wish for. I really would like to get another 10 kgs off but Im not going to pressure myself into it. My brother is a personal trainer and Ive never asked him for advice, but I did earlier this year as I was doing too much cardio, I know this anyway as I teach classes, but he did a gym programme for me, so Im lifting weights, still doing a bit of cardio and trying to eat well. I broke my arm in 2009 and I really have never got back down to the weight I was (not slim, not made that way but I was happy with how I looked and my fitness), so hopefully by summer or even before I'll have got back down.

My brother has been really helpful and every time I look at him and his physique, hes very slim but its only when you see him up close you see the muscle definition he has, I realise that he didnt always look like that, he worked for it.

Im not going out on Hogmanay either, going to my mums, going to leave any socialising I do until the New Year.

LavenderBees

oh no.... the sad song lyrics...they make me cry...I don't think I know that song melody....?

But I for one, fully intend to dance my way into 2014, regardless of a heavy heart. I won't be flirting with young punks though. Far too much like hard work... :rotfl:

Hey, Peeps! I hope this Saturday afternoon finds you fit and well.

I've had a lovely morning - successful sales mooching in Morpeth (got a dress for work, and a fluffy cardi thingy which may come for a night out tonight), and then a lovely hour or so spent in Boddy's lovely company. Thank you for meeting up with me, Boddy, it was a real pleasure to meet you. . Really hope we manage a few outings next year!!

But how exciting is this?!! When I got home, I took some vege peelings to the lottie, and there, on our "notice tree" on the village green was a notice offering the services of a pet minder. Now, as you all know I'm hesitating getting chickens as I want them but don't want to be too tied...and I had thought of putting a notice up myself to see if any responsible teenager in the village wants to earn some pocket money.... anyroadup, have rung the number and spoken to the Dad...it is a responsible teenager wanting to raise money for a school trip....dad sounded so lovely and helpful. They already have their own chicks, so know what they are doing and he's assured me that, if needed, the whole family will help me out, whether I pay or not. How lovely!! He is going to get his daughter to ring me tomorrow so I can go round and see their set up, and make sure I'm happy that she will look after my chickens correctly, if I need her to. It just all sounds so perfectly what I need to help me out on those occasions I need help. AND, it means I'll have met another family in the village, too.

I asked him how much she would charge, and he said for me to just think about how much I'd like to pay her :eek:

So, my lovely peeps, I need to work out an acceptable tariff -

1. The odd evening or morning, letting them in or out/feeding them/making sure they have fresh water.

2. The odd weekend when they need a full clean out, and I'm working or too busy socialising (:rotfl:)

3. If I had a full weekend away - say 3 nights

4. A full week away.

This young girl is 15, and is hoping to go away on some fantastic school trip in 2015, so it would be good to help her on her way. I'm all for travel broadening and educating the mind etc

Can you help me think of an acceptable tariff. The reason I want chickens is as a hobby, rather than to save money on eggs (it will take quite some time, about 20 years!, to recoup (sorry, pun unintended :rotfl:) the set up outlay), so i don't mind paying a little to ensure they are well looked after when I'm not around. But as to what is a reasonable amount, I'm stuck. Any thoughts, gratefully received!

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it...:rotfl:

There's a song lyric for you....

LB xx