Spread a Little Happiness

I've pretty much given up making New Year's Resolutions. It's such a bad time of year to make changes and I've ususally failed by 10 Jan (ok, 2 Jan), but last year I made a sort of resolution to be more positive. I decided to resist the urge to moan or complain and, instead, to see the good in things, to make a concerted effort to be happier with my lot.

I do think you can get into a mindset of being unhappy and negative (I refer you to my MIL), therefore I think you can do the opposite and develop a more positive outlook on life instead.

To a certain extent it worked; I felt like I had a more pleasant time at home and at work and, if you ignore the little wobble in June when hubby crashed the car, I had a pretty good year.

Well, this year, I've decided that my sort of resolution will be to spread the happiness and try to do some random acts of kindness when I have the opportunity.

So here's to spreading a little happiness in 2012:

So that was Christmas .........

It passed by in a haze of trifle, turkey, strudel, champagne and chocolate!

Today is the first day I've managed to sit down and have a rest. I cleverly invited one of daughter's friends round today to play so they are busy amusing themselves by playing on the Wii with husband (husband occupied too - bonus!)

Looking back on the last week or so, it's been a pretty good Christmas. (Just ignoring the fact that some miserable scrooge cut the wire on our Christmas lights outside - hope Father Christmas didn't visit their house!)

I thoroughly enjoyed my Christmas Concerts, not having a cough or cold made a huge difference.

Christmas Day went well, with MIL only referring to the war, dead or dying people about every 15 mins at which point husband would say very loudly

"Talking about the war again, mother?"

or

"Would that be a dying or dead person then, mother?"

until it became such a joke, she nearly got the point and stopped.

I cooked a ready stuffed turkey breast for the first time and I'm never going back to a carcass again!

Daughter made and decorated the Christmas Cake:

(Victoria Sponge because she said she didn't want fruit cake)

and last night some friends came round with far too much champagne and tried to pursuade me to cook a meal for their daughter's in-laws on Friday for them, but I resisted. I've got my own guests to cook for tomorrow.

Now settling down with a good cup of tea and a big box of Hotel Chocolat chocolates.

Bliss!

Nearly there........

Two more sleeps!!

We're nearly ready.

Hubby has just popped off to the butchers to collect the turkey.

Today will be spent doing lots of Christmas baking.

I've one more concert on Christmas Eve at the Bridgewater Hall.

Then it's time to party!

Merry Christmas!

All I Want for Christmas

Finally made it to the end of term!

Last week consisted of work every day and rehearsals and concerts every night so I'm exhuasted.

Mind you, on Thursday I did a full day's work, drove daughter home, hopped on the tram to Manchester, sang in a concert in St Ann's, went to the Chorale Christmas meal on Deansgate, hopped back on a tram and was in bed by 10.30PM. Not bad!!

Now all is calm in the Working Mum house as we do the final preparations for the big day. Just two more concerts to do on Monday and Christmas Eve.

Yesterday consisted of tidying and DIYing to Michael Buble's Christmas album followed by the week's "It Takes Two" (I hadn't had chance to watch any) and then the Strictly final.

Looking back on the day of Michael Buble and Harry Judd I said to daughter "You know, there's something about a man who can sing, and a man who can dance............."

(Yes, I admit, I looked wistfully into space as I remembered when I was in sixth form and had boyfriends who could do both)

To which she replied:

"So, basically, daddy is the wrong man for you."

Ah, hadn't thought that through, had I?

More Stuff to Keep Me Busy

And this week I got a cold!

Yes, I've been struggling on with a runny nose, sore throat and aching bones.

And I made it to the weekend!

Which is quite surprising given that I am dealing with this at home:

You try having conversation on the phone from work with the builder about how you want your patio, paths and driveway to look when you leave the house in the dark, return in the dark and can't see a thing he's done until the weekend!

I've also managed to get all my reports written and make two dozen cakes for the school Christmas Fair:

(Overcompensating working mum syndrome kicking in?)

Then yesterday we attended said Christmas Fair and bought our cakes back (no, only joking). Daughter and I tried our hand at ice skating at the fair, but it wasn't ice, it was plastic and ice blades are not meant to glide effortlessly sideways, that's how you are supposed to brake! Consequently, not a lot of skating took place, mostly clinging and falling.

Today I charged hubby with taking daughter to swimming and riding and sending her off on the Brownie Winterwonderland trip and stupidly decided to brave the Trafford Centre to do some shopping I couldn't do via t'internet.

"I'll go early" I thought, "I'll be in and out before the crowds"

How wrong I was.

Seems the crowds also decided to go an hour before the shops opened.

Then, at the first till my credit card was denied.

And the second.

"Odd" I thought.

Then I remembered that I had topped up my phone that morning and my credit card provider always stops my card when I top up as a security measure and I have to phone them and confirm my last week's transactions before they release it.

Damn!

I'll be glad to get back to work tomorrow.