Christmas Spirit

I am not sure whether unemployment is doing it or if things have changed but suddenly this year I seem to have found the Christmas spirit.
My husband has known for years, well at least since I was pregnant with our youngest, that as much as I love Christmas it just seems to take me a long while to get into it and then suddenly it is Christmas Eve and we just go with it!

When I was pregnant with Alex in 2004/5 I lost the Christmas spirit, big time.
How I got through Christmas I am not sure, how we even had presents for family members or food on the table at my Sister-in-Laws I am even less sure of, simply put....it is a good thing we went away that year to someone else's house as otherwise Steve would have been at home with a 1yr old and a pregnant wife who couldn't have cared less!

This year I seem to have got it together, ok the Christmas cards are not written and posted nor is the Christmas Letter with all our news from the year, but other things are coming together.

Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas

This year I am taking part in Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas. And so far I am loving it. Ok I haven't written anything or taken any pictures but the thoughts that are running through my head means that very soon there will be a sudden influx of words and pictures and I am hoping I can keep up!
I am loving receiving a new prompt each day and this is making me think about Christmas. The memories are flowing and suddenly I am enjoying every day of December.
More on this to come in another post soon.

12 Days of Christmas

I will post about this seperately but I found an awesome gift for the boys Teachers on Pinterest which occurs over 12 days.

In basic terms they receive a small gift everyday for the last 12 days of the school term.

Today is Day 1 and the gift was well received by both teachers, Ben's teacher was so happy and smiling, there were hugs all round and she was so enthusiastic for tomorrow.

I will share the link and details soon, just have some pictures to take for it.

The Diary

In normal this time of year fashion, the diary in the kitchen is full. In fact if someone offered me a job now I would ask them to let me start in January as I surely couldn't fit in any work in the next few weeks!
But everything is flowing and fitting together nicely. We haven't had any double ups this year, nothing that is happening all on the same day, everything has found its day and fits in nicely with other things we have planned. It means we don't have a spare day between now and Christmas Day but it is going to flow smoothly till then.

Now if I could just get rid of the pain in my wrist (tendonitis/tendinopathy) we would be firing on all cylinders!

December 6

December 6 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar.
There are 25 days remaining until the end of the year

Events on this day:

1897 – London becomes the world's first city to host licenced taxicabs.
1967 – Adrian Kantrowitz performed the first human heart transplant in the United States.

2001 – The Canadian province of Newfoundland is renamed Newfoundland and Labrador.


Births on this day:

There were people born on this day, but Wikipedia only mentioned American Baseball and Football Players, no one of any importance that I could see.

Deaths on this day:

343 – Saint Nicholas (b. 270)

1988 – Roy Orbison, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter (b. 1936)

2001 – Sir Peter Blake, New Zealand sailor and environmentalist (b. 1948)

Due to the death of Saint Nicholas on December 6, this is the reason that many international countries in Europe celebrate Saint Nicholas Day where it is a festival for all the children and little gifts are received.

December 4

December 4 is the 338th day of the year (339th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar.
There are 27 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events on this day:

1791 – The first edition of The Observer, the world's first Sunday newspaper, is published.
1881 – The first edition of the Los Angeles Times is published.
1954 – The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, United States

Births on this day:

1930 – Ronnie Corbett, Scottish actor

1949 – Jeff Bridges, American actor

1949 – Pamela Stephenson, New Zealand-born actress

1973 – Tyra Banks, American supermodel

Deaths on this day:

1976 – Benjamin Britten, English composer (b. 1913)


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December 3

December 3 is the 337th day of the year (338th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar.
There are 28 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events on this day:

1976 – An assassination attempt is made on Bob Marley. He is shot twice, but plays a concert two days later.

Births on this day:

1948 – Ozzy Osbourne, English singer

1959 – Eamonn Holmes, Northern Irish TV presenter

1960 – Daryl Hannah, American actress

1960 – Julianne Moore, American actress

1968 – Brendan Fraser, Canadian-American actor

Deaths on this day:

1894 – Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish writer (b. 1850)

December 2

December 2 is the 336th day of the year (337th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar.
There are 29 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events on this day:

1982 – At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.

Births on this day:

1973 – Monica Seles, Yugoslavian-born tennis player

1981 – Britney Spears, American singer, dancer and entertainer

Deaths on this day:

On Wikipadia, there was a nice long list of deaths for this day, but no one I recognised or found that famous.

Today, here in New Zealand is National Jandal Day in support of the Surf Life Saving. The wonderful volunteers who patrol our beaches during the summertime to try and help us swim in the safe areas between the flags and attempt to rescue us if we do have trouble in the water.

So whether you call them flip flops, jandals or thongs today is the day to be wearing them out.
Where them to work, the supermarket or the beach, if you are lucky enough to have the day off. Here in Hamilton the weather is very condusive to wearing them, the sun is shining and it is a lovely day for wearing little on your feet.

December 1

Useless information, everyone has a little tucked away in their purse for a rainy day. My mother swears blind she could take a degree course in it and pass with merit, she feels she knows so much useless information!
Me, well the odd bit pops into my head from time to time, usually thanks to my mum.
So for the month of December, I will post some useless info about the date.
You never know, you might actually learn something from it!

December 1 is the 335th day of the year (336th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar.
There are 30 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events on this day:

In 1960 Paul McCartney and Pete Best were arrested then deported from Hamburg, Germany, after accusations of attempted arson.
In 1981 the AIDS virus was officially recognized.
In 1990 the Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 metres beneath the seabed.

Births on this day:

1935 – Woody Allen, American film director, actor, and comedian

1940 – Richard Pryor, American comic and actor (d. 2005)

 

Deaths on this day:

1135 – Henry I of England

2007 – Anton Rodgers, British actor (b. 1933)

Many of you are probably sorting your Christmas tree out so you can decorate the house. So here is some useless information about that too.....

• The custom of erecting a Christmas tree is believed to have begun in 15th or 16th century Linovia (present day Estonia and Latvia) and northern Germany.
• The first artificial Christmas tree was developed in Germany during the 19th century and were made using goose feathers dyed green.
• For every real christmas tree harvested, 1 to 3 seedlings are planted the following spring