The Day.
25 December 2011 • christmas, Christmas Day, dinner, happy, joy, life, love, Santa, tradition
Christmas Day, the most joyful yet also the second-most disappointing day/night of the year (bested only by New Year's Eve). It's finally here. Oh hey, where did it go? I got a text at about 4:30pm from a friend saying "hope you all had a great Christmas!" Emphasis on the "had" part.
I'm a little kid, really. I wait all year for Christmas; I look up vegetarian roast dinners in February, I buy presents in October, I even lay out my outfit (Christmas dress/jumper, leggings and Santa socks, every year) the night before. When the day finally arrives, I am a bundle of Christmas cheer and infectious giggles, running back and forth from the kitchen to the living room - and any innocent present lying in my path pays the ultimate price. I pass out the presents when the whole family is settled by the fire, amaze everyone with my ability to make my entire roast dinner vanish within seconds of sitting down at the table, and then snuggle down on the sofa for the evening while all the grown-ups have their Christmas naps.
At this time of year, I forget everything that's less than perfect in my own silly life and focus on the things that matter. I indulge in this one beautiful day I have with my family, and at midnight tonight when Christmas Day is over, I make a wish that one day everyone in the world will be able to enjoy this day as much as I do. x
I'm a little kid, really. I wait all year for Christmas; I look up vegetarian roast dinners in February, I buy presents in October, I even lay out my outfit (Christmas dress/jumper, leggings and Santa socks, every year) the night before. When the day finally arrives, I am a bundle of Christmas cheer and infectious giggles, running back and forth from the kitchen to the living room - and any innocent present lying in my path pays the ultimate price. I pass out the presents when the whole family is settled by the fire, amaze everyone with my ability to make my entire roast dinner vanish within seconds of sitting down at the table, and then snuggle down on the sofa for the evening while all the grown-ups have their Christmas naps.
Today, I'm watching one of my five new Gilmore Girls DVDs, eating my way through a whole box of After Eights, and staring at my glorious pile of presents. I won't list my Christmas presents on here, I'm not that arrogant (although I might casually mention my McFly tickets and Chanel perfume).
At this time of year, I forget everything that's less than perfect in my own silly life and focus on the things that matter. I indulge in this one beautiful day I have with my family, and at midnight tonight when Christmas Day is over, I make a wish that one day everyone in the world will be able to enjoy this day as much as I do. x
The Eve.
24 December 2011 • Christingle, christmas, Christmas Eve, family, life, tradition
I'm sitting on the sofa watching the Miranda Christmas Special with my family. The cat is snoozing on top of the sofa, ruining my mum's hard work hoovering by getting his ginger fur everywhere. A bowl of half-shelled Brussels sprouts sits on the coffee table. My little sister is slumped next to me, gulping down her second glass of straight Disaronno. She has a sure-fire plan to ensure she sleeps through the night tonight: several glasses of Disaronno, a handful of extra-drowsy travel sickness tablets, reading in bed until her eyes get tired, then playing relaxing music on her mp3 until she drifts off. I, on the other hand, will be lying wide awake in bed until 5am - at which time I'll fall asleep for one hour before my well-rested sister comes into my room at 6am with her stocking and we wait patiently for 7am to arrive, which is when we're allowed to wake up our parents.
I've spent the day delivering cards, playing festive music and going to a special Christmas Zumba class at the gym with a few friends. This evening I went to my little town's annual Christingle service, for the giggles; every year we go along as a family, belt out the hymns and eat all the sweets off our Christingle before we've even left the church. After the service we hit the pub (getting semi-drunk with your parents is always fun), and then we come home and set to the last of the Christmas tasks; setting the table for Christmas dinner, wrapping the last of the presents and exchanging family cards.
So yeah, this is a generic "Christmas traditions, family stuff, exciting times" post. You'd think I'd be sick of reading these by now, and yet here I am writing one of my own. And y'know what, I'm willing to bet I'll be writing a Christmas Day post tomorrow... x
I've spent the day delivering cards, playing festive music and going to a special Christmas Zumba class at the gym with a few friends. This evening I went to my little town's annual Christingle service, for the giggles; every year we go along as a family, belt out the hymns and eat all the sweets off our Christingle before we've even left the church. After the service we hit the pub (getting semi-drunk with your parents is always fun), and then we come home and set to the last of the Christmas tasks; setting the table for Christmas dinner, wrapping the last of the presents and exchanging family cards.
So yeah, this is a generic "Christmas traditions, family stuff, exciting times" post. You'd think I'd be sick of reading these by now, and yet here I am writing one of my own. And y'know what, I'm willing to bet I'll be writing a Christmas Day post tomorrow... x
7.
8 December 2011 • about me, Gracie, I, life, me, myself
Hi, my name's Gracie. I'm an aspiring writer and an avid tweeter, before I go to bed every night I watch about a million videos of The Ellen Show on YouTube, my favourite song to listen to while driving is "Come On Eileen", I'll always be a little bit in love with my ex, the perfect present for me is a woolly hat, I write my shopping lists during lectures, my mum thinks I need a boyfriend, surprising people is my thing, I love a good spooning session, I have no right to judge people but I do it anyway, I love being asked really personal questions, I only ever paint my nails red or purple, I go through phases of being really self-conscious, my wardrobe is 90% cream/beige, I am currently mortal enemies with my overdraft, I feel naked without my nose stud, I want to be 'the girl all the bad guys want', my favourite meal is breakfast in San Francisco, my guilty pleasure is the Daily Mail Showbiz online page, and I may not be perfect, but I'm perfect for you.
I do one of these posts every month. x
Home is where Christmas is.
5 December 2011 • advent, christmas, Christmas tree, decorations, family, festive, home, university
Last Tuesday, I heard that two of my lectures later in the week had been cancelled and one was optional. So on Wednesday, I packed my bags and headed back to my cosy little home town three days early, to surprise my family and enjoy some home comforts.
When I walk back to my halls after a day of lectures, I see the whole main street of the student village joining in the festive frenzy. There are paper snowflakes stuck on windows, streamers hanging in the kitchens, twinkly lights adorning the balconies, fake snow covering every inch of glass, and even a few Christmas trees are visible here and there. My housemates, bless them, in their abundant social awkwardness have slapped a few scraps of paper saying "Merry Christmas" on the fridge and hung a token glittery snowflake and star from the ceiling. At least they tried. I often wonder, as I watch student houses gradually transform, one by one, into Santa's Grottos, if I am the only student on campus feeling a little less-than-merry at the moment. Am I the only one who thinks that Christmas is a time to be spent at home with our families, not in a house/flat full of people we've only known for three months? Are the other students frantically decorating every inch of their temporary accommodation simply because they are trying to make themselves feel more Christmassy, when deep down we know that we will never be truly festive as long as we are away from home?
December 17th cannot come quickly enough. I'm sure by December 25th, I will have eaten my weight in advent chocolate, played the guessing game with all my presents under the tree and watched 'Elf' a couple million times; then and only then, will I feel truly Christmassy. x
Did you know I write?
3 December 2011 • creative, creative writing, happy, love, snow, soliloquy, winter, write, writing
I am currently studying a degree in Drama and Creative Writing, and every time I write a new blog entry, I post the link in the "Creative Writing Freshers" group on Facebook. The other people in the group, however, write blogs that consist of actual pieces of their own creative writing, while I write melodramatic little soliloquies about friendship, love and heartbreak.
Not gonna lie, I do sometimes feel a bit frivolous and inferior by comparison. So, I thought I might try posting a short piece of my own writing. In our lecture we were talking about how setting can be affected by happiness or sadness, so I tested that theory out... Using a rather lovely and totally non-fiction memory of mine.
My head is
on his chest, and I’m slowly sinking into the soft cushions beneath me, feeling
so comfortable and warm that I am in danger of falling asleep. A hand brushes
my cheek before moving down to playfully tickle my neck; I close my eyes and
breathe in the rich and unmistakable smell of wood smoke that always hangs
thick in the air. I can hear the constant stream of chatter coming from the
television, and some background babble from the radio in the kitchen. There is
also a faint hiss and crackle every now and again from the wood burner in the
corner of the room, the source of that delicious smell that I’ve come to
associate with happiness and love. Whatever is on television must be funny,
because my dozes are frequently interrupted by that infectious laughter that
ripples through his body and jostles me a little. If it were anyone else waking
me up, I would be irritated. But because it’s him, I don’t mind. In fact, I
wake up a little and laugh along with him; thinking about how he is the only
one who can always put a smile on my face, and wondering if he realises just
how much that means to me. How much he means to me.
I raise my head ever so slightly to look out the window; it’s still snowing.
Big thick flakes are tumbling down, lining the windows and covering the ground.
After several days’ heavy snowfall, the cars in the driveway are just great
masses of white and the trees around the house are looking beautiful, although
clearly straining under the weight. The apples on the apple tree in the front garden
are frosted, as though they were each individually studded with a thousand
priceless crystals and left on the tree as a present for those who were brave
enough to venture outside in the snow. We were those brave ones earlier today,
venturing into the blizzard in our boots and mittens, trekking through the
snowy fields and valleys searching for the perfect sledding spot. Now the snow
has covered our footprints, leaving no evidence that we were ever there. The
continuous snowfall means I’ll be staying here tonight, and probably most of
tomorrow. Right in this moment, I am the happiest I have ever been.
Veggiepescaveganism.
1 December 2011 • eat, fish, meat, pescatarian, vegan, veganism, vegetables, vegetarian, vegetarianism
"I'm a vegetarian." "Do you eat fish?" "No, I'm a vegetarian."
I'd like to indulge myself a little here, and share with you all one of my pet hates. I've been a vegetarian ever since I was born, and for my whole life I've felt the need to explain myself or even apologize to others because of this one major life choice; the choice to not eat meat.
I may not be a hardcore radical activist "throwing red paint at people in fur coats" vegetarian, but I still feel very strongly about this particular subject. Which is why it does annoy me quite a lot that even in this day and age, with an estimated 400 million vegetarians in the world and 3.6 million in the UK alone (apparently), and people like Joanna Lumley and Ellen Degeneres on our television screens talking about their beliefs and promoting a healthy meat-free lifestyle, some people are still so ignorant about vegetarianism.
I don't want to rant and rave about my particular beliefs here, although I could preach about animal rights and the shocking ways in which they are bred and killed for their meat until the cows come home (yes, I had to do it). For now, I just want to alert everyone to the fact that there are several different terms for people who don't eat meat: those who don't eat meat of any kind are vegetarians; those who only eat fish are pescatarians; those who don't eat meat or any products that come from animals (such as dairy) are vegans.
Okay, cool. Rant over... For now. x
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