Hello Holiday!

I am now officially off work (well off one of my jobs) for 7 days. My last holiday was spent commentating on gymnastics during the Olympics for the people who didn’t have access to watch it live. It’s tough to get time off outside of the school holidays because there’s usually a lot going on. The last few months have been crazy busy and I had really started to feel it. So I’m super thankful for this break.

Especially as my week has already filled up – it’s good that I’m going to have my days free!

The first thing is the Tollcross Christmas Market. My friends are involved in organising it and I promised to make some of my White Christmas Slice. That has been my afternoon. Due to the invalid mother it didn’t quite follow my schedule (my usual time in the supermarket lengthened considerably). Now I’m waiting for it to set so I can cut it up and put into bags with ribbon before my friends come to pick it up. (Come on fridge – do yer thang!)

Tomorrow, I plan to go with my Mum to the Christmas Market. And depending on what I find there, I may have to go to Sainsbury’s again this weekend to buy this squashy reindeer decoration. A bit like the Penguin Christmas tree I found last year, he’s been giving me ‘I need a nice home with someone who’ll be kind to me‘ look every time I walk past him in the aisle.

Sunday, I’m headed to church as an honourary member of the Allen clan. Miss Sweetroot has had extra ballet practices, I’ve had some guiding stuff on so it’s been a few weeks since we Sunday serviced it together! I am super excited to be beginning another smallgroup with them though. That’s another story…

And then we’re into a week of Guiding! I didn’t realise as dates came to me that I’d ended up with Guiding for 4 evenings in a row because of a training course and this term’s Division meeting extras hitting all in the same week. The fact I’ll not be rushing home from work 4 nights in a row is a blessing. Plus we really need to get planning for next year. Help!

I go back to work on the evening of St Andrew’s Day.

And then…it’s December already. EEK!

Already my baking frenzy has begun. Something about it being dark and cold makes me go into baking overdrive. And over the last few years I’ve created a few BrunetteKoala traditions that I now use as a tactic for coping with SAD. This time of year you’ll find me making Chocolate Cranberry cupcakes (I worked out how to be able to use fresh cranberries last week as my friend is allergic to sunflower oil which they seem to use in all the dried cranberries), chocolate fudge icing to pour over Pandoro, Berry Cream Panettone, Honey & Spice cake and soup. My Mum helped me pick 4 new hatted smoothies today, which I’ll be adding to my collection and already I’m keeping my eye out for Christmas Spice candles, Poinsettas and gift ideas (Elastaboy & Mr Teapot’s gifts were purchased today). I have purchased ingredients (minus the oranges) for making Koala friendly mulled wine. I have dug out my Christmas tree and box of decorations (basically…Santa Pooh, Rudolph Pooh, Tigger & lots of smoothie hats!!) and next weekend my tree will be going up.

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Smoothie hats 2-6 of 2012. Another £1 for Age UK – I love the Big Knit.

In all honesty, I don’t believe decorating has anything to do with Christmas, but when it’s so dark and dreary the sight of cuteness and brightness just cheers me up considerably. That’s why I do it! I can’t wait for the lights to be turned on in Edinburgh on Thursday night, which will make the journeys from work much more cheerful.

So if you see me getting hyper about something way overpriced that I’m only going to use for 1 month of the year – just smile and humour me. Trust me, having it will make the world look a little bit of a brighter place while we’re all deprived of some good ol’ Vitamin D. Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.