* Walking in a Winter Wonderland * - It's the 2015 Christmas Chatter Thread

freespirit66

Evening everyone, i didnt get on here yesterday as have had the worst couple of days stresswise, made myself so ill, ibs, nausea, sick, migraine, insomnia. BUT i am not even going to put the reason into words after reading what MRSINVISIBLE is going through stresswise i need a kick up the backside

pixtotts wrote: »

freespirit66 - ! Shocking behavior that... especially harry potter !!! I have 2 copies of every book and DVD... I even got tempted to pay £40 for one of the early book 1's because it was one of those with the other wizard on the back not dumbledore... one day I will have one...

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:I knew you would say something like that

OMG the more i hear these stories about ebay the more i never want to use it again, what is wrong with people???? I love the argos advert haha

MANDCO thankyou i am beginning to, i need a good nights sleep and a calm and peaceful day tomorrow and sunday because then it all starts again on monday :mad:

MRSINVISIBLE im so sorry the consultation didnt go well for your DDs DH am wishing him all the best for the results of his biopsy, you must all be going through hell

PRINCESSKITTY i hope you are pleased with the croissants, were they easy to make?

KIWI i love the scrabble tile family tree, i have had a frame since the beginning of last year to make my DD2 one, i must get round to it

MSGIGGLEWICK those jars look fab the bigger the pics the better with my eyesight

PEPPAPIG oh good for you i am quite good at decluttering but i still have a lot of my exH carp in the sheds, workshop etc and garden rubbish he left ie. cement mixer, plus my kids are hoarders :mad: i hope one day i may have a house like yours totally decluttered, a place for everything and everything in its place

princesskitty29

KiWi that Scrabble family tree is really lovely, what a thoughtful present to make. Glad you got the pictures working! :T

msgigglewick those jars are great, glad you had some good ideas.

mrsmoneypenny your knitted band reminded me of when I used to go running, when I got to half way I always used to think to myself 'I'm on the home straight now, no need to stop.'

Peppapig that's lovely to babysit, now we have wiggle I can only imagine how precious that time is for your DD and DH. DH and I haven't been out on our own yet, but it's our wedding anniversary on the 30th March so we're hoping to do something then. I hope you have a lovely evening!

freespirit oh you poor thing, stress has lot to answer for! I do hope you're on the mend and recovering. Be kind to yourself. The croissants were really easy to make, i'm going to try a couple tomorrow. I just have to keep in mind that they're not going to taste like normal croissants as they're made with a sheet of puff pastry. I shall report back on the taste!

I made DH the heart shaped chocolate fudge cake yesterday, it dipped a bit in the middle but was easily hidden by the chocolate icing! We had a slice with a cup of tea and it was yummy. Although because there's only two of us we're going to be eating chocolate cake for a few days yet! So that's another recipe ticked off my new years resolution. This week's recipe is 'Wonky summer pasta' from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals. It's pasta cooked in an egg, lemon and parmesan sauce. I know it's not summer but I liked the sound of it! I'll probably serve it with a rocket and balsamic vinegar salad and some ciabatta with some flavoured olive oils we have.

DH and I are meeting up with all of the other NCT couples today for lunch as one of the couples are in the forces and he is going on overseas duty for 6 months soon. So maybe avoid pubs today - you might be near a pub with 10 adults and 5 babies making lots of noise!

Ruth_honey

freespirit66 wrote: »

MANDCO hope you feel better soon oh those baskets are lovely shame they are all sold out in this area

They also have them with orange inners, if that's any help. Think they were the same price. http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/2442587.htm

KiWi13 wrote: »

THANK YOU princesskitty29 lets hope I get this to work....



This is exactly how I feel! every time I try to declutter I find a reason why not to throw stuff away. sentimental, memories or the favourite - I might need that someday. aaaahhhh

spring dreams - I might just go and have a wee read at this wonder woman's ideas incase it helps.

I am trying to think of what I could make my friend for her Christmas present this year. We have traded "made" presents for a few years now. The first year I made a 365 facts, puzzles and quotes in a jar present then last year i made her a scrabble tile family tree type thing in a frame (shall attempt to attach a photo)



which I will admit I was extremely proud of.
Thinking maybe for this year I could try something like the calendar board decoration I spotted in M*t*lan.

Junior J – Oh my word you have been in the wars – hope you recover quickly but at least you enjoy being where you are “stuck” this time

mrs invisible - positive vibes and hugs in your direction sounds like its not a great time at all - hope you all manage to get through it.

KiWi

Lovely idea! My brother is called Glynn. Never seen anyone else with the same name and spelling. I think it's welsh?

JJ-so sorry to hear about your fall. Hope you're doing ok.

IrishRose12

Afternoon everyone Hope everyone is keeping well. Haven't had time to read back yet, but I will after posting this lol.

Well our Florida plans and savings are in full swing ATM. Savings Jars for each week are going great at the minute lol. Kids have joined in, but they don;t know what they're saving for exactly. We haven't told them about Florida yet, incase it doesn't come off, but We just told them that they're saving for a holiday, but not sure when we're going yet They're quite excited at the thought so it's been easy enough lol
ATM we're still just pricing Florida, trying to find out the best options etc. For the likes of tickets and that we can only get prices for 2015 so far, so trying to get a final total before going ahead and booking.

Christmas wise we have decided to buy the 2 eldest a N3DS. We're not really ones for buying them all the gadgets etc as they're still not old enough and we don't want to encourage bad habits and encourage sitting infront of a screen when they should be out playing, HOWEVER if we get them one for Christmas then it will do for the plane journey to Florida next year.

I've ordered a package online for my son where we got the console and a Super Mario game for £89.99 So that's him sorted for his "big" present.

I really wanted to get my daughter the Pink N3DS pack with the dogs game that has been on sale in a lot of Tesco stores for £49, or just the console for £44. But I can't find any on our stores for love nor money

They have a white one on Tesco direct for £69, but when I know there's the package I want for almost £30 cheaper I want that lol. If I knew someone who could get me one I'd even offer to pay postage etc to get one for me as it would still be worth it! I've phoned round all Belfast stores and there's none instock at all.

I'll leave it another few days and see if that changes, if not I'll have to order the one on Tescos for her. Am now off again as dinner is calling. Then be back on later to catch up on everyone's news.

freespirit66

Evening everyone, i hope you have all had a good day! Did loads of errands today, the usual bits and pieces like TRoll, Dog Food, Dog Biscuits, etc etc i have wanted an Ice Bucket for years now but they have always been expensive, went into HB today and there was an acrylic one for £2.49 i couldn't believe it, so i grabbed that, and a plastic Popcorn container for DS christmas hamper for 59p, i also added another 2 books to little mans collection at 69p each, i flipping love HB!!!! But i also bought some storage baskets in our local hardware shop for little mans nappies, toys, blankets, bibs, muslins etc i have had my eye on these particular baskets for ages, they are plastic rattan and they actually had them in stock but now i feel so guilty because they came to £30!!! Although they look perfect and they seem really good quality and sturdy (made by curver) and they are the same price everywhere even in Lakeland, oh and after the last couple of days i felt i deserved them, oh dear ho hum!

PRINCESSKITTY aww thankyou i will be when its all sorted out oh i love cooking with sheets of puff pastry they make everything look fab without any hard work haha, the pasta also sounds lovely. Hope you had a great meet up with the other NCT families today

RUTHHONEY oh thankyou for that link i will have a look i took a leaf out of your book (excuse the pun) today, i joined our village library and have 2 Carole Matthews books on loan, The Chocolate Lovers Diet and The Chocolate Lovers Club, after you mentioned it before, i thought i would save some money its one of my goals this year to read lots of her books

IRISHROSE glad the savings are doing well for Florida, i hope you get the package you are after, i will keep an eye out for you

mandco

Irishrose oooh a florida holiday in the works exciting what kind of plans do you have? I know a few people who are waiting to see if the free dining with onsite bookings is back in april.

Princesskitty hope you enjoyed your meet up. some yummy sounding bakes going on in your house I've failed miserably so far this yr don't think I've managed 1 new one yet

Freespirit Don't feel that your worries aren't important no doubt we all have wobbles over things that may seem small compared to some of the bigger issue others are facing but they are still just as valid. Glad you had a productive day sounds like you got some great bargains must visit HB sometime soon though probably have to wait till after 1/2 term or the kids will cost me a small fortune

MrsI thinking of you & yours at this difficult time

mrsgigglewick love the jars

chrissy thanks for the heads up haven't been to wilkos for
ages

took the kids to see big hero 6 today they really enjoyed it but why do disney films have such depressing storylines? I know it all comes good in the end but still.

Ruth_honey

freespirit66 wrote: »

Evening everyone, i hope you have all had a good day! Did loads of errands today, the usual bits and pieces like TRoll, Dog Food, Dog Biscuits, etc etc i have wanted an Ice Bucket for years now but they have always been expensive, went into HB today and there was an acrylic one for £2.49 i couldn't believe it, so i grabbed that, and a plastic Popcorn container for DS christmas hamper for 59p, i also added another 2 books to little mans collection at 69p each, i flipping love HB!!!! But i also bought some storage baskets in our local hardware shop for little mans nappies, toys, blankets, bibs, muslins etc i have had my eye on these particular baskets for ages, they are plastic rattan and they actually had them in stock but now i feel so guilty because they came to £30!!! Although they look perfect and they seem really good quality and sturdy (made by curver) and they are the same price everywhere even in Lakeland, oh and after the last couple of days i felt i deserved them, oh dear ho hum!

PRINCESSKITTY aww thankyou i will be when its all sorted out oh i love cooking with sheets of puff pastry they make everything look fab without any hard work haha, the pasta also sounds lovely. Hope you had a great meet up with the other NCT families today

RUTHHONEY oh thankyou for that link i will have a look i took a leaf out of your book (excuse the pun) today, i joined our village library and have 2 Carole Matthews books on loan, The Chocolate Lovers Diet and The Chocolate Lovers Club, after you mentioned it before, i thought i would save some money its one of my goals this year to read lots of her books

IRISHROSE glad the savings are doing well for Florida, i hope you get the package you are after, i will keep an eye out for you

:rotfl: Those are the exact two books that I've just got from our local library!!! Not started yet as I'm reading Liane Moriarty's 'The last anniversary' and some valentines kindle shorts (and have an audiobook on the go!) but I'd like to read them before I go to The Pudding Club for an 'event' with her in May.

Don't feel guilty about buying those baskets. By shopping in HB, you've saved so much that a splurge every now and then is totally allowed.

FeistyFidget

Hello lovelies, so sorry for lurking, but not posting! I've only had a few minutes each day for the last week to try and catch up, so it's taken ages!

JJ I do hope you are on the mend now and that you have had a lovely time with your god daughters.

MrsI sending you lots of love, you and you're family are reply going through it at the moment x

Free spirit, I hope you are a bit more de-stressed now? Could you say hi to nana for me?

Could I have a PM to the Facebook page too? Your items are beautiful and I'd love to see more!

Sorry to everyone I've missed, the silly tablet didn't remember all my multi quotes as it had been days between clicking on each one!

For the lovely person that asked about DH, he is currently stable, but they will be running tests to see if a pace maker will be of benefit - scary thought as he's 29 and not sure how it will interact with all his other issues.
we are also starting our IVF late March, so desperately trying to be less stressed. I'm not googling, or researching anything, as it gets me all het up and worried. We need a specialist kind or IVF called ICSI and it's taking all my will power not to get on Google :rotfl:

I hope you all had a lovely valentines? I dragged DH out at 8.20 yesterday to take advantage of the m&s dine in - we were early enough that everything we wanted was still in stock (lots of stuff had already gone though!) I felt a bit conned with the box of chocolates, as they looked nothing like the ones on the website. And I wouldn't exactly call them a box in the traditional valentines sense, more a sample :rotfl: the food was lovely though we are off to cash in on our complimentary 3 course meal at our local Marriott hotel today. We had an awful stay there for our anniversary in November and so we got a freebie to say sorry :T

mrsinvisible

Hi, another blue sky day beckons, will l get into the garden at all? watch this space. I need to get my slow germinators started off.
Thank you for all the kind wishes, and vibes, they are more than appreciated.
DD came to see me yesterday evening, she is nobodies fool, so we had a sensible truthful grown up discussion, then she gave me a hug and wandered into the kitchen, where she relieved me of a punnet of strawberries a tub of cherry ice cream, a bottle of bucks fizz and a packet of chocolate digestives. (No prizes for guessing how she deals with stress!)
My knitted cushion covers have had several compliments so some may be made for Christmas presents. Cheap as chips too.
Feisty, one of my ex bosses and her partner had ICSI and got a lovely daughter as a result.
Freespirit, glad you got the baskets, l saw them in the Range some months ago and thought they were good value, they will give years of service, and be used for all sorts over the years, so they are an investment rather than an indulgence.
Off to tackle mount ironmore now, before the Skype call. xxxxx

IrishRose12

freespirit66 wrote: »

IRISHROSE glad the savings are doing well for Florida, i hope you get the package you are after, i will keep an eye out for you

Thanks freespirit. Don't feel guilty about the baskets either, think of it this way, they'll be with you for years and can be re-used in many different ways after their intended use lol.

mandco wrote: »

Irishrose oooh a florida holiday in the works exciting what kind of plans do you have? I know a few people who are waiting to see if the free dining with onsite bookings is back in april.

ATM no plans.:rotfl:
We have decide dthat we will be booking ot through Thomas Cook, as A) they fly from Belfast direct to Orlando They are cheapest so far and C) as this is the first time we will be going to America we want to have a rep if there are any problems, and we can just be taken to where we're going and be told all the important information we need to know by the rep.

We've been to Spain etc for many years now and we have been booking everything separate for years now, but feel we need to do America in a Package holiday just to be on the safe side.

We won't be staying in any of the Disney Hotels etc, as they're expensive for us, but have found somewhere on International Drive that has free shuttles to the parks. They're also getting good reviews on Tripadvisor so we're happy enough with the accommodation.
All I need to find out is if I can book any extra luggage on for coming home with Thomas Cook. I want to book at least 2 extra cases on for coming home as I want to be able to buy a load of clothes for the children and ourselves, and even though it won't be that many it's a nice cushion to fall back on and not have to worry about weight allowance lol.
My neighbours have just announced that they would like to come with us too though so it'll be even more exciting for the kids, and some company for us too :rotfl:
They've had a rough year last year and were in major debt which they cleared in November there, so I'm delighted that they feel they are now able to look forward and have something exciting to look forward too.

We've got a lovely sunny morning here today:j Kids are off with the grandparents for the weekend till tomorrow so I'm making a start on their rooms. Things have fallen a bit behind here with me being on crutches, and then the dreaded sickness bug done the rounds. But we're all back on track now so I'm gutting the rooms. I was clever and put all the c!!p from the floors onto their beds so I HAVE to go through it all so they can get into bed tomorrow night:rotfl:

I'm also contemplating going out and tidying up the garden a bit as it's looking a bit of a tip ATM. We've had a cat visiting and depositing again in the plants :mad: so need to clean that out and look to see if I have any more of the cat deterrent to put down. If not I'll add it to my shopping list for town tomorrow.

I'm off now for a cup of tea, then shall make a start. Hope everyone has a lovely day and hugs and cuddles to anyone who needs them ATM