39 days till Christmas!

Well, sorry, but as my dear daughter took it upon herself to drop that little bombshell on my poor unsuspecting head via Twitter this morning I have been inconsolable. Therefore I decided that everyone should be just as miserable, so there!
Christmas! Crikey! How time flies when you are enjoying yourself... sorry that was a reflex reaction.... where has the year gone? As you will no doubt realise I'm still housebound, sort of, I have managed to get one day a week in a local nursery, but as it's minimum wage it's hardly setting the heather alight! Still collecting dole and still looking for that elusive job.
Not sure if I have finally contracted the horrid swine flu or not. Have had the most awful sore throat and yukky productive cough since last Wednesday but am still realatively able to function - I think if it were the real McCoy I'd be lying in a darkened room somewhere moaning quietly and wishing for oblivion. There again, I'm used to working through things like this and not being off work just because I've a 'bit of a cold' so it could be my work ethos gene is keeping me upright! Vic was off two days last week with something similar but returned to school this morning - I'm not so sure she should have been going in; it would appear that a vast number of staff and pupils are already off and maybe she should have stayed at home, but I wrote the note and sent her off! More coffee needed, excuse me........
That's better! So, what have I been up to? Not a lot obviously, the ever present mountain of laundry is slowly beginning to diminish as I tackle huge chunks of it at a time. I may even haul down some curtains before I'm done, but don't quote me! Very gradually the mess that doubles as our living space is getting sorted. The dining table has appeared like a genie and is now sitting there smugly; daring anyone to dump stuff on it's now empty surface. The Halloween boxes are re-packed and ready to put back into the loft and I have put up the extra shelving in my study and shall make headway with the school stuff tidying in the next few days. When I put the Halloween boxes up I'll bring down the Christmas cards and make a start on writing them. Hopefully I'll be able to cut down on my postage a bit this year as last year I posted over 60 cards! That's a lot of pennies when one has no wage!! The plan is to get the cards written early and go round hand delivering them wherever possible! I have started my Christmas shopping; got a couple of things last week and the week before. I spoke to two of my friends who are in much the same financial boat as I am and we have finally seen the light and agreed not to exchange gifts this year - we usually give each other wine and biscuits and give the kids money, daft when you think about it! So we will send cards and that's all that's needed! Does this mean I'm finally becoming a responsible adult who deals with things in a practical manner instead of the previous 'what the hey, it's only money' approach I used to have? Sigh! Maybe. Then again, maybe not, as I'm still on the lookout for funky stuff for the few pressies I am buying!!
I'm thinking about getting my Christmas decorations up as soon as I possibly can too! Why? Because I love all the sparkly stuff and twinkly lights! I end up rushing at the last minute to get up all my stuff and more often than not don't do half the job I want to in getting it just right. Maybe this year I'll get it done properly with all the lights arranged exactly as I like them and the cards will go up as they come in and not lie in a huge pile till after my birthday and then get flung up any old how.
Hey ho! Have to go and get the next load of stuff sorted for the machine and ironing. May you all have as much fun getting ready for Christmas as I will.
Till next time...