Blogmas was a bust. No surprise there considering I was already lacking the Christmas spirit before I had even begun. Throw in a bout of tonsillitis and that was the end of that. Still looking on the bright side I've at least come away with the inspiration to give it a go next year as well as a whole lot of blogs to follow.
Blogmas and sore tonsils aside, life lately has been pretty busy. Mostly because of our big news...
... and drum roll...
We are moving.
IKR? Majorly big news. Putting a house on the market, dealing with real estate agents, selling the house, sorting out stuff to sell, give to charity and throw out and then finally packing everything that is left. I'm exhausted just writing it down. But we have done it, everything is organised and in just a couple of days we are leaving and heading off into the big unknown.
At this stage we are house sitting for a few weeks. After that...
Well we will be homeless. Moving around until we finally find "Our House".
2018 is going to be an exciting year.
I love Christmas books. Ones that fill me with snowy thoughts and log fires and romance with hunky guys. They are my yearly feel good read which I wait for not-so-patiently. You can almost guarantee that come the 1st of December, and sometimes sooner (ssh don't tell) that I will be curled up on the sofa with the first of these reads, accompanied by a mince pie or two (who am I kidding, it will totally be a whole plate of mince pies).
Ah the joys of Christmas.
Now excuse me while I get stuck back into my reading marathon session.
A Yorkshire Christmas / Kate Hewitt
"City girl Claire isn't looking for a Christmas miracle when her car gets stuck in a snow bank but weirdly enough she might just get one."
Christmas at Bay Tree Cottage / Linn Halton
"Fed up with her cottage looking like a building site, widow Elana decides it's time to move forward and get in professional builder. Only she didn't except the builder to be quite so capable and sexy."
Christmas at the Log Fire Cabin / Catherine Ferguson
"When her boyfriend proposes Poppy's not sure so when an opportunity to get away for awhile so she can think comes up she grabs it. But are 12 days enough for Poppy to realise that he's the one for her?
Christmas at the Dancing Duck / Daisy James
"Kirstie hates Christmas but this year she's determined that this Christmas will be different even if it means finally going home for the holidays and facing the past."
Christmas at the Candied Apple Cafe / Katherine Garbera
"Iona doesn't have time for men or dating or to dwell on the fact that her love life is a disaster. Relationships of any kind are off the menu. Permanently. Funny how life and Christmas have other plans..."
Joe and Clara's Christmas Countdown/ Katey Lovell
"For Joe Christmas only holds painful memories. Memories he'd rather forget so as far as he's concerned Christmas is no longer part of his life. Enter Clara. Clara who loves Christmas. Clara whose determined to make Joe love it too."
Meet Me Under the Mistletoe / Carla Burgess
"Rachel might spend her days making up beautiful bouquets at her little flower shop, but her own love life is wilting as fast as a bunch of dead roses. Will the arrival of the new tenant upstairs give her a much needed distraction and maybe something more?"
Mine Under the Mistletoe / Kat Latham
"A house swap sees Californian girl Ashley living her Christmas dream in the snowy English countryside. Only thing is she wasn't expecting to share it with an unexpected house mate"
Sleigh Rides and Silver Bells at the Christmas Fair / Heidi Swain
"A confirmed 'bah humbug' when it comes to Christmas, Anna is amazed to find herself quickly immersed in her job at Wynthorpe Hall. Even more so when Jamie, the owner's youngest son unexpectedly comes home. Can a Grinch ever fall in love?"
The Canal Boat Cafe Christmas / Cressida McLaughlin
"Will the Big Freeze ruin Summer and Mason's first Christmas together as a couple, especially when it looks like the weather isn't the only thing that is starting to freeze?"
The Little Christmas Kitchen / Jenny Oliver
"Sisters Ella and Maddy swap houses in the hope for finding themselves and maybe a little love in the process."
The Little Village Christmas / Sue Moorcroft
"Just when things for the village of Middledip seem to look bright disaster strikes sending the village into panic. Can Alexia save the day or will she have to admit to defeat?"
Winter at Cedarwood Lodge / Rebecca Raisin
"Running away from her life in New York Clio is finally ready to pursue her dream of renovating the old Cedarwood Lodge, but has she taken on more than she can handle?"
Winter At West Sands Guest House / Maggie Conway
"Eva has her hands full looking after her son and running her business. She's also a widow nursing a broken heart. Even if it has been seven years since her husband's death. The last thing she needs is someone like Ben Matthews. Ben, who is far too handsome and arrogant for his own good. Ben who might just be the one to make her come out of her sad, lonely shell."
In many ways this year seems to have gone by lightening fast and in other ways it feels incredibly slow. I'm putting it down to all the change and upheaval that the year has brought. And as much as I have loved some of it I'm also going to be glad when it's finally over.
Because of this I'm feeling a little burned out and decidedly lacking in the Christmas spirit. The heat of course isn't helping. It's kind of hard to feel all Christmasy when it's 28 degrees outside and there's not a drop of snow or eggnog or log fire in sight.
Still I'm planning on some things to help get some of that Christmas spirit back and to ease those burnt out feelings.
First up books...
1. All the Christmas books
I'm going to do a separate post about these as I have way too many list. What can I
say, I love a feel-good Christmas romance story.
2. The reading group / Della Parker
A book about books and reading, can it get any better than that.
3. Something like happy / Eva Woods
I really like the sound of this one, getting someone in touch with happiest by getting
them to do 100 happy things. Sounds totally me.
4. The rule of luck / Catherine Cervney
I'm definitely feeling the need for a little more Sci-fi in my life and this one might just fit
the bill.
5. The distant echo / Val McDermid
How I missed this series I don't know but I'm making it up for now and have got the
whole series waiting for me to dive into starting with this first book.
6. Modern knitted shawls and wraps / Laura Strutt
My knitting has been on hold for awhile so I'm hoping that this might inspire me. If not
I can at least looking at all the colour pictures.
7. Berlin Station
I really enjoyed the first series so I'm looking forward to starting to marathon this one.
It also has Richard Armitage in it so swoony feels all round.
8. Writing
Yeah yeah, it's never going to go away okay. I'm even setting myself a target this
month by trying to do blogmas which I heard about on Twitter and which seems like
such an awesome idea.
9. Lose weight and get fit
Another one goal that is permanently on the list. The unexpected stresses that
happened in November didn't help. But hey at least I have a plan.
10. Christmas
Despite not feeling much of the Christmas spirit I am determined to do some
Christmasy things. Even if it drives me insane. Sometimes you just have to try. I'll go
into more what these things are in a future post.
Sometimes you just don't feel it.
The Christmas spirit that is.
And that's okay.
There will be those out there who will tell you it's about family and friends and giving of yourself to others which is all true. And yet despite that... or maybe because of that, you just want to give Christmas a miss this year.
Whether it's because you've heard one too many Christmas songs or faced too many mall crowds or one more cheery person wishing you a Merry Christmas makes you want to grit your teeth, the closer Christmas Day gets the more you feel like chunking the whole thing in and escaping the madness.
Well I say go for it.
Leave the tinsel and decorations this year, forgo the crowds and Bing Crosby singing White Christmas and do your own thing.
This might be staying in bed all day, sleeping or reading a good book or two with a tray of snacks nearby.
Or maybe marathon a TV show such as an old favourite like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or something new like Outlander or Stranger Things. Or pick a movie theme and have a back to back sessions of endless movies. All accompanied by popcorn, M&Ms and Diet Coke.
Having a gaming day sounds pretty cool, playing rounds of Scrabble, Monopoly , Ueno and Cards Against Humanity with friends or family or both. Get everyone to bring a favourite snack and something to drink and you'll all set.
Me?
I'm going to go for a day of indulgence.
A long cool bubble bath (because unlike your Northerners us here in the Southern hemisphere are experiencing long, hot, summer days and nights) with maybe a glass of bubbles to go with it and a good book, then a pedicure, face pack and deep hair conditioning treatment, listening to some relaxing tunes while it all soaks in.
And after all the pampering it's time for stretching out on a comfy seat in the cool of our lounge with all the doors and winds open, because yes it is that hot, rounding out the rest of the day with a marathon session of some of my favourite TV Christmas episodes, followed by Die Hard, the ultimate Christmas movie.
There will be food, of course. Nothing Christmasy though. Instead it will be cherries and chocolate, naturally. Maybe a smoked chicken salad for good measure and the largest bowl of ice-cream I can create.
Hopefully your Christmas or Anti Christmas Christmas will be just as great.
Most of you will probably be wondering what on Earth is Blogmas? Well, the idea is to post a blog post every day leading up to Christmas.
IKR? It sounds kind of awesome if somewhat daunting and certainly something that I shouldn't even be contemplating doing what with everything else that is happening around me but what can I say, I believe in aiming high even if it might end up with me being a weeping mess in the corner surround by discarded chocolate wrappers... and maybe a bottle of alcohol.
Of course I've only found out about it today which means I'm going to have to do some catching up.
I can hear the sound of chocolate and a stiff whiskey already calling me...
