I LOVE DECEMBER!!!!!!

1. Advent calendars, Christmas tea… I LOVE December.
2. The tree is up and we’ve found room for the decorations I bought in Berlin this year.
   
3. My Kris Kringle received their gift today and they love it!  So relieved.
4. I sent off my one and only batch of Christmas cards today.  I feel somewhat behind in my Christmas organizing this year.  I’m pinning my hopes on Thursday as my day of action.  Watch this space.
5. Thank you, dear Instagram friends for reminding me about Jane Harper’s latest novel, ‘The Lost Man’.  I am addicted to her taut plots and the contrast of this to her languid descriptions of life in the Australian bush which challenges all those stereotypical notions you may have had about our outback.
6. It was the last day of Kindergarten for Master SSG today. 
   
   

   We brought hastily put together Christmas cups full of lollies (what else) and Mighty Beanz which might be the next thing in collectable bits of brightly coloured plastic.  We also said goodbye to Miss J.  At least we get to see you again socially next year so it wasn’t as sad a goodbye as it might have been.

7. I got very spoiled by my Kris Kringle. 
   

   Thank you, dear C!

8. All has nearly been revealed… 
   

   the new store at our local shops is almost ready to open.

9. How perfectly colour blocked is this seaweed that washed up this morning on the beach I often run along?
   
10. Oh dear.  I’ve managed to redeem practically every pre-Christmas VIP discount code I’ve been sent this week.  Merry Christmas, Me.  I guess.
11. I have done practically nothing this afternoon and I fell the better for it.  Recharged and ready for work tomorrow.
12. Did you know alcowipes can lift biro stains off leather?  Mind blown, favourite handbag saved.
13. Went to my hairdresser’s new salon in Surry Hills today.  It’s amazing and everything about the decor and ambience has my hairdresser and his partner stamped all over it. 
    

    So happy for them in their new venture.

14. I can’t stand the rain. 
    

    All I want is for a few hours of clear weather tomorrow morning so I can run up and down this road without its usual carpark of traffic as the sun rises behind me.  Here’s hoping.

15. Yes!!! 
    

    Clear skies this morning.  The promised storm did roll in later but it was sweet relief when it did because the sunny humidity was getting too much by 3pm.

16. We’ve done it! 
    

    One full set of Coles’ Christmas Little Shops.

17. The second last Monday before Christmas gave me the best morning commute to work I’ve had in a long time.  The traffic seemed to have disappeared overnight.  It’s all probably been diverted to the shopping centres.  Which is where I will be tomorrow… Oh well.
18. It will be Christmas Day this time next week and things just got real at our place. 
    

    The Aldi Turducken (and Luxury Black Forrest Stollen) have been purchased.

19. I made a mango cheesecake after dinner tonight. 
    

    The best bit was having all the mango seeds for dessert afterwards.

20. That was the most terrifying hail storm I’ve ever witnessed.  Talk about hailstones the size of golf balls.  It was the worst hailstorm in Sydney in 20 years. My car is a bit dented but I’m glad the worst of the hail happened only once we’d gotten home safely.
21. I bought new toner cartridges for my printer today. 
    

    Why does it always hurt to part with dollars for printer related expenses?  Anyway, the cartridges are now in the house and under the printer.  The next big step will be to actually pop them in.  

22. I finally made it to the Christmas Tree in Martin Place today. 
    
    It’s a beauty up close, it’s a beauty from afar.  It’s an oasis of fun and happiness in the midst of the construction site the CBD has become.
23. Mum and dad arrived safely last night.  Preparations for Christmas lunch began in earnest as well. 
    

    I now have a jug of made from scratch gravy sitting in the fridge ready for Tuesday.

24. It’s just gone 6pm and I’m home from work. 
    

    I’m nibbling at a slice of the chocolate caramel slice I made for Santa and contemplating all the prep I need to do for lunch tonight.  Hold me.

25. It was the most wonderful day of the most wonderful time of the year. 
    

    Family, food, perfect weather and a sense that all is right in my little world.  The best gifts to receive for Christmas, I think.

26. Pretty chill Boxing Day.
27. Work, work, work.
28. I hit the library with Master SSG and borrowed a book for myself.  It feels strange to be turning pages again after all those years with my Kindle.
29. Happiness is bumping into your best friend at Ikea and going with the flow….
    
30. Chocolate Ripple Cake time!!!! 
    

    What can I say?  It’s quick to make, economical and the end result doesn’t even taste like chocolate biscuits sandwiched together with whipped cream and jam.  It actually tastes like cake.

31. And now we are 6…. 
    

And with that, it’s farewell December and farewell 2018.  You’ve been a wonderful month at the end of a wonderful year.

2019, you have some pretty big shoes to fill.