Goodbye 2011

So, we've come to another New Years Eve. Always seems to feel like the year has gone so fast. But what a year this has been... getting married, finding a job and settling into my life here. Today I find myself looking back with a peaceful and contented feeling, ready for whatever 2012 may bring. Life is good, and may it stay that way for many, many years to come. Looking forward now to whatever comes next :)

Happy New Year everyone, hope it's been a wonderful year and may 2012 get off to a wonderful start!

day after Boxing Day

So, the last two days of fun and festivities came and went, and as always it was a great couple of days, lots of presents, food, and family fun. Santa was pretty good to me too, brought me two Sims expansion packs, the complete set of Heroes Seasons 1-4, the last two Potter films, a couple of CD's, a book that I couldn't get on the Kindle, and enough chocolate to last me for a bit.  Can't believe it's back to work today, I got so used to having this time off all those years of coming to visit here. But first I just wanted to post photos of all the fun.

sleepy after Christmas dinner

coloring with ar Becca at Danny's later that night

presents under the tree, and then burying the Old Man  under the wrapping paper once they're all opened

Adam is full of Christmas cheer...

fun and games

end of the night... one too many pernods for the Old Man it seems :)

wrapping up with one more silly activity... everyone draw a lion

It always seems like these two days go by so fast every year... so much planning and excitment, and then it's over just like that. But then, the way time flies I'm sure when we get to December next year, it'll feel like this one had only still just came and went.

Oh, and one thing I learned this year... Christmas Cake and cheese may sound really dodgy, but it's actually good.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and Santa was good to you! Looking forward to next year already :)

so here it is...

Merry Christmas everyone!! :)

Finally, now the days till Christmas are winding down, the chaotic days at work are finally pretty much over, presents are bought, and I'm more than ready to settle in, get all warm and cozy and enjoy these days of celebration. Today will be a lazy day spent with Adam, remembering how it was a year ago today that I first got off the plane in Manchester and started to make my home here. Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, I work the 10-6 shift, and then home to get ready to go out for our traditional Christmas Eve pub crawl, spend a few hours having drinks with our friends, then home to snuggle with Adam, listen to Christmas music and eat "dog food sandwiches" before we go to bed. Christmas morning we'll open our presents, and then go off to his parents house for Christmas dinner. And then Boxing Day the next day, where the whole family gets together, exchange gifts, eat a lot of food, and play games. So many traditions that have become so important to me over the years, so much coming up in the next few days to look forward to. And I'm ready to enjoy every moment of it :)

I hope everyone enjoys their holiday season. Whatever else is going on in your life, take time out of all of that these next few days to just enjoy the time with your loved ones. This is what's really important <3

one year

It was one year ago today that I had packed all of my worldly possessions into five wheelie bags and was getting ready to get on a plane that night to make my move to the UK. It's amazing how fast this year has gone, so many big events and so much downtime packed into what feels like just a few months. It's been a year now since I've set foot in the USA, and sure, I miss it sometimes. But this morning, sitting here with the Christmas lights on, Christmas music playing and Adam singing along to make me laugh as he gets ready for work, I feel so cozy and content, so at home, like I've always been here. I've done exactly what I wanted to do for all those years... got my visa, got married, found a job here, settled into my new life. I love my flat, I love my town, I love my extended family here. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be :)

next weekend...

Wow, I can't believe next weekend is Christmas! It really shows how fast this time of year goes by. I really hope we can be ready for it, I know we still have some gifts to buy. But once we get through the next week, it's just going to be time to enjoy spending with family, and that's always the best part of Christmas :)

So, work's been crazy of course, and it hasn't helped that I'm getting over another illness that just hit me like a bus earlier this week. Just after Adam and I had spent a fun day off together in Leeds going shopping and then having a nice meal. I'm glad at least we got to have our day together and enjoy it before I was too miserable to do anything. Now today I have stuff to do around the house that I've been neglecting of course, and then tomorrow night is my work's Christmas do at Red Hot Buffet in Leeds. Should be fun :)

I think as stressful as these last few weeks have been at times, now's really the time to start to enjoy it as much as we can. Christmas only comes once a year, even if it does feel like time flies by and last Christmas only just happened. Can't wait for the festivities to begin! :D

the tree is up!

So tonight we put up our Christmas tree. A nice cozy evening at home, spaghetti dinner, a glass of wine, Christmas music playing, decorating and feeling merry. This work week is/will be a bit of a longer one, with a couple of late nights and an early-early day tomorrow, so it's evenings like this that's getting me through in the meantime. Now, before I go and watch the most current episode of Game of Thrones with Adam, here's a photo of the tree and a little Christmas music to make us all feel nice and festive tonight :)

Happy Birthday Adam!

It's Adam's birthday today, and the first one I'll be spending with him in all the years I've known him. What with it being so close to Christmas, and what with me always coming later in December for Christmas and New Years, I was never able to come for a visit at this time before, and last year my visa hadn't processed in time for me to get over earlier in the month to be here at this time. So today feels special, thinking back on all we had to miss out on before, but now will never have to miss out on again. He's still sleeping right now, but in a little while I'll go make him a cup of coffee in a new mug I bought him yesterday and kept hidden in my bag last night, and go wake him up, have some cuddle time, and then get on with whatever we want to do today. Tonight we'll go off to the pub for a meal, and then on for a few drinks. Looking forward to a cozy, happy, fun day :)