And So This Is Christmas ...

As John Lennon said ...

Well here we are - it's Christmas Eve.  I bet there are some of us rushing around like headless chickens doing all those last minute things for the weekend; there are others of us who are ultra organised and efficient and are sitting down having Christmas Eve lunch; there are some of us that are working - and then there is little old me ....

Our employer approved an extra day off - thank you nice employer - and so here I am at 12.47pm, still not dressed, the Lasagne still not made, the hoover still on the landing and enjoying every minute of it - lol.  I have not, however, been totally idle ...

Up at the crack of dawn (well almost) I completed No. 1 Daughter's Christmas present.  She has no idea and thinks I have knitted her something (I could hear her cringing down the phone - lol).  Little does she know  - this is it ...

This is a Tag Book, which I bought forever ago from LB Crafts when I very first started stamping and stuff.  Like so many things, it got put away (this piece in the Tag Box) for use sometime soon  - lol..  As to the actual present, I only have emails at the moment, so I typed out a load of words, dates, times, block and row numbers etc. and cut them up for each tag inside.  Unfortunately, my power nap after work yesterday, turned into a full blown sleep - lol - so there I am, as I say, up at the crack of dawn, colouring in little Chrissie piccies....

So what is it?  It is two tickets for Strictly Come Dancing (to which I hope she takes me - lol) and two tickets for the X Factor Live Show (to which I hope she doesn't - lol).  For that one I have made babysitting arrangements with her bezzie mate, Gemma's Mum, and with her partner for the children, so that he can go to the pub - lol - and the two girlies can go off to Wembley.  All I've got to do now is think of a way to wrap said Tag Book up - so that she can't prod and poke and guess  what it is (mind you, unless she is telepathic, she wouldn't know what's inside said Tag Book would she).  Anyways enough waffling ....

This last flurry of activity has got me thinking (never a good move, I always find - lol).  When I was getting out said Tag Book from Tag Box, I found all sorts of stuff.  When I was putting the remains of the Christmas card making episode away, the same thing.
I am lucky enough to have a spare bedroom where I can keep all my stuff and I don't have to clear up if I don't want to.  There I am, quite happily pottering about, when it suddenly dawned on me what a lot of stuff I actually have.  I do a lot of online shopping (Merry Christmas, Wendy) or go to some of the bestest Craft Shops there are (Merry Christmas, again, Wendy).  I go to the NEC twice a year and Stevenage once, maybe twice, a year.  I have a gorgeous collection of Stampotique, Wendy Vecchi, Tim, Penny Black and Lavinia stamps.  I have more ink pads than you can wave a piece of Cut and Dry at, and a veritable forest of papers.  Not forgetting the die cutting machines, dies and things to alter; or the Promarkers and gel pens and other stuff to colour in with; and the rest of it - lol.

So, standing in the middle of the room, in my rather fetching winter nightie, very old jogging trousers, my fave sloppy old cardi with cavernous pockets and pink socks (attractive - don't you think - lol), saying out loud 'Enough is Enough', I came to a momumentous decision ....

Next year will be spent using all the stuff I have.  I am not going to say that there will be no shopping - because statements like that, have a nasty way of coming back to bite you on the backside and there will always be something that comes along - but there will be no major purchases - honest. 

I have one or two ideas of stuff that I want to do next year - which has absolutely nothing to do with me being a stalker of Sue Roddis around the internet - lol - save to say that I think her work is absolutely ace.  I'll also be 'altering up' the bare wooden boxes and other things I have for pressies throughout the year.   Want to make cards for a couple of local charities and I might even start up another Blog to chart my no-spending Policy - lol.

One thing though - I will still be going to the NEC - partly because I always have a great time but also because I love spending time with two of my favourite people - Sue and Anita.

So enough waxing lyrical - Merry Christmas to everyone - keep safe and warm ....