Best Bits: December 2017

I have loved every minute and every aspect of Christmas this year! Working for a company which has fully embraced everything there is about Christmas has played a huge part in how festive I’ve felt.

Pizza Night. Chloe had Rosie and I round for pizza and milkshakes. Rosie and I picked up the pizza, onion rings and Terry's Chocolate Orange Milkshakes on our way to Chloe's. Once dinner was all gone, we had cuddles with the doggies. Chloe has three spaniels who are all so lovely! We then spent the next 3 hours or so playing Mario Kart on the Switch before I could barely keep my eyes open any longer.  I hadn't slept particularly well that week. Of course, we paused our race to chat away for probably half an hour.

Time off. I have been working everyday for over two months now but over my birthday I took some time off. In total, I had about nine days off. It. Was. Bliss! I took my time in waking up and getting out of bed every morning. I went to the gym and spent hours per session there. I just took it easy and had some time to myself for a change.

 

21st. I turned 21 at the beginning of the month! You can read all about the cocktail making session here and the other shenanigans here but I had such a good day. I just love birthdays, and Christmas, and any celebration really. Rosie also turned 21 a few days ago. To celebrate, she had a bunch of us round to hers before we went into town for a meal and a few drinks. We've both been lucky with our 21st's being on a weekend.

Work Christmas Parties. This year, neither Christmas party clashed with my birthday. Story of my life with a birthday in early December. The first of the two work celebrations was for my part time  job. We headed to a hotel on the West Coast of the island for drinks and a three course meal in the evening on the day before my birthday. As I wanted to feel healthy/save my alcohol consumption when I awoke the next day, I took my car but allowed myself a complementary drink upon arrival. My full time employers celebrated a week later. We finished at lunchtime and everyone got themselves ready and headed into town for lunch. The company hired a bar for the afternoon so we could all have a few drinks before they bought out some food in the evening. As I'm still pretty new, I took it easy with the drinking.

Haircut. I hadn't actually had my hair cut since my 20th birthday but I'm so glad I finally got around to getting it done. It wasn't in the best condition and I found it more convenient when it was shorter. My long hair would get in my way quite often when driving or while I was at the gym. Although, not all of it will fit in a hairband when I tie it up. It'll soon grow though.

Baking. I decided I wanted to make my birthday cake this year. Last year, I didn't bother with a cake as we went chocolate making so I didn't think anyone would want to feed their sweet tooth any further. Then every other year, I went for store bought cakes. For my friends and family, I made a chocolate s'mores cake which could have turned out better, looks wise. It still tasted amazing though. As for work, I will be making some Terry's Chocolate Orange cupcakes in January. I didn't want to overload my colleagues with too much food this month. James and I decided to make some Oreo cupcakes together for Rosie's birthday.

Christmas. Sj had myself and his cousin round for a Christmas catch up at his a week before Christmas and it was a nice, relaxing evening of food, general chitchat, games and alcohol. On Christmas Day, I spent the morning with my Gran before heading to my step sister's for lunch. She had her partner and their kids, her nan, her dad and my mum, and my aunt round to celebrate. After we had all consumed far too much food, we gave the kids their presents. James met me at my Gran's mid afternoon before we headed to his sister's for drinks and a few nibbles. Although it was a busy day, it was nice. Boxing Day was spent doing absolutely nothing, which is pretty much what Boxing Day is all about really.

New Years Eve. Here we are, on the last day of the year. It's been pretty standard in terms of what I've done. Although I did get the day off from my part time job, so I did get to enjoy a nice, long Sunday session at the gym with Rosie. James and I spent the afternoon together with his family before being completely rock n roll and having a quiet evening in, tucking into a lovely Chinese and watching the fireworks from the warmth and comfort of the sofa.

So, December turned out to be a pretty busy month! I didn't realise just how much was going on in the moment until I came to write this post. It's been a nice kind of busy though. Surrounding myself with good people doing things where we've all enjoyed ourselves, as well as taking some time to relax as well has been good.

Charlotte.