Unrednecking day!

My redneck porch as of 01/28/13

 

After a straight 7 days and a few evenings at work, I am finally home for the day and January was supposed to be our quiet month at work haha.

 

One of the main reasons I decided to stay home is because I will not enter February with Christmas decorations still on my front porch, and so today is the day I 'unredneck' myself! It helps that we are going to get close to 80 degrees here today, but that also makes it all the more embarrassing that I still have my porch bedecked in Christmas.

 

Unfortunately I think the christmas lights all around the house may make it into February as I need the Hubster to get those down with me. But come snow, wind or rain, they are also coming down this Saturday.

 

Mind you, now I am a fully fledged gun owner, spent my weekend running a gun show and can't wait to go target shooting tomorrow evening, all hope may already be lost for me!

 

Anybody else showing their redneck tendencies?

Countdown...

Things I still have to get done by Tuesday night include:

Find the pack of Christmas cards I know I have somewhere here and get them addressed. So if you usually get one from us and you don't this year, please don't take it personally!

Laundry.

Decide what clothes to take, and as usual I will take too much!

Work.

Attend the School Christmas program.

Get the tyres on my car aligned.

Try not to contract either stomach flu, pink eye or a recurring virus that are all raging through the school right now!

Grocery shop.

Round up the video camera, netbook, mp3, Kindle, numerous chargers, the plug adaptor, decide whether to take all my camera lenses or try to whittle it down and maybe regret it later!

Sort out my quart sized bag of liquids for security.

Pack my suitcase, carry-on and handbag for the maximum of ease.

Unpack them then repack them at least twice!!

Wash my warm coat.

Have a test run of the Tylenol PM I intend to take, so maybe for the first time ever I will get some sleep on a flight!

Try not to worry, stress, get anxious about the flights - I HATE FLYING!

Try not to get anxious about making the journey alone, I've done it before but it's been 5 years!

Round up all essential paperwork.

Ensure I have all gifts for friends and relatives with me.

Send contact details to various friends in England.

Clean the house.

Lavish love and affection on the Hubster and the 'girls'.

Load Skype on my netbook so the Hubster and I can keep in touch visually.

Decide what to wear on the flight for comfort, sleep (fingers crossed), warmth and to not resemble a bag lady upon landing. Not much to ask then!

Pedicure.

Get cash and sort out credit cards I need to take and not.

And what have I done so far.....

Cooked meals for the Hubster and stocked the freezer for the entire time I'm gone.

Had brief moments of looking forward to being back in England - before guilt at leaving the Hubster over Christmas, stress at going alone, worry about everything takes over again.

Tried to keep underwear, printer cartridges and shoes to the back of my mind!

Got myself up to date at work.

WORRIED!!

Aaaaarrrrrrrrgggggghhhhh - stressed moi?!

Headed Home

Well in exactly a fortnight (2 weeks) I will be sitting at Dallas Fort Worth 'enjoying' a stopover en route home to Blighty for Christmas with the family. As usual I am not looking forward to the journey which is about 21 hours door to door and I hate to fly. This is a bad time of year for the Hubster to leave the business, so I am leaving him here to hold the fort and I will miss him. But I am looking forward to being back on English soil for the first time in over 5 years, in fact since I emigrated.

I am sure I will notice changes. I keep up with the news daily over there and so I have a good idea of how things are changing and not all for the better. I expect to experience some nervousness when in heavy traffic nose to tail at speed, but after so many years of zero traffic, it's going to be a culture shock re-adjusting!

There will be new homes to visit for family and friends and a ton of catching up to do. I am sure I will be taken aback by some changes and unsurprised by others. I will spend time with my almost 90 yr old Nana, one of the main reasons I am going now.

Things I plan to do that I have missed include: a day shopping in Bath with my mum, catching up with my dad and winding my brother up. A trip to the seaside to stand on the beach and smell the sea, maybe even dip a toe despite the cold as I have missed it terribly. A visit to Wells Cathedral for a Carol concert hopefully and a National Trust property to soak up some history and architecture. Sitting in a pub with a pint of Guinness and a roaring fire, and enjoying scenic old English villages.

No surprise that I won't be dieting whilst I'm there! I plan on eating everything I've missed as much as possible: a decent Bacon sarnie for breakfast daily, Indian Curry, Chinese Peking Crispy Duck, M&S Prawn Mayo sarnie, Sausages and Sausage Rolls, Lamb, Steamed Syrup ponge, Custard, Galaxy Chocolate, Brandy Butter and Minced Pies. Needless to say I am taking loose clothing!

So I am now 'officially' on countdown and hanging clothes ready to pack, buying last minute bits and bobs and spending time with the Hubster who will be 'Home Alone' for a fortnight. And now I'm off to buy a travel plug on Amazon!

I will blog from Blighty on my observations and with pictures whilst there.

I think I can make it!

1.5 and a bit days of Elementary School 'Christmas Madness' to go and then I'm free until 2010.

As I am sure you can imagine, 200 under 12's in the grip of a '5 days to Christmas' meltdown will be challenging...but maybe a little bit fun too!

I'll see y'all on Wednesday, which promises to be peaceful and snowy here.

Sweeeet tradition

Maybe I just wasn't mixing in the right circles back in Blighty i.e. the WI, but the women of the USA would easily win any Anglo-American Candy cook-off.

My very first Christmas here I was deluged with trays and bags of delicious homemade candy from many new friends. It was a pleasant if unexpected benefit to crossing the pond permanently!

I was also surprised at the scale and scope of the candy making; Oreo Truffles, Peppermint Bark, Peanut Brittle, Divinity, Pecan Crowns, Fudge were all forthcoming in abundance. Back home I can remember the occasional gift of fudge and truffles over the years, but I don't remember it as an annual event every December.

Until this year I have just been a willing recipient. But last weekend I purchased a candy thermometer, and with that took a huge step towards unofficial American citizenship I think! I made my first ever batch of fudge and peanut brittle, and I have even had a few requests for my peanut brittle recipe after scoring a hit it seems. I also made Candied Pecans, but they were so good the Hubster and I have not felt inclined to share yet.

Now I am on the lookout for a double boiler as I plan to continue joining in with this 'sweet' tradition. There really is something special about receiving a gift of homemade candy.

Do you make candy at Christmas for family and friends?

It was a close thing....

and some of you might still think we qualify, but I'm happy to report we are no longer 'rednecks'. Yep the Christmas lights around the house were finally taken down on May 16! Sadly I don't have photographic evidence for May, but I do from April 1st during the big snow!

Since I've been here I have heard people joked about for leaving their Christmas lights up year round. But what with the weather being all over the place on weekends and me not feeling great, we were heading that way ourselves! Who knows what the neighbours have been saying LOL?

The irony however, is that taking the lights down on a hot Okie day and not realising your shirt drops below your suncream, means I am now in actual fact a 'redneck'!

Skywatch Friday

Christmas Day 2005 at our local town lake. I wish all my fellow Skywatch participants a "Very Merry Christmas".

If you'd like to join in, go to the Skywatch site.

My 12 loves of Christmas # 12

'The spirit of Christmas'

Our Christmas has already started as I am about to place the Turkey in the roaster. Late tonight we'll watch the Christmas service from the Vatican in Rome, something of a tradition that gets us in the spirit.

Tomorrow we are choosing to have our first Christmas with just us at home. After sleeping in, we will open gifts (and I have held out successfully thus far!) and then I will make the dressing, roast potatoes and roast parsnips to go along with the Turkey. In the afternoon we have arranged to link up with my Dad and then my Brother for webcam chats, by the wonders of technology. Later on we have some good friends who may come over to watch 'Mamma Mia' and just relax.

I wish you and your families a Wonderful Christmas.

I'll be back on Boxing Day, if you're an American, that's the day afterwards!

My 12 loves of Christmas # 11

Surprises!

We are all often surprised with Christmas gifts, acts of kindness, visitors, phone calls, cards and other fun things. It just seems the surprise ratio goes up around this time and they're usually all good.

I had one of my own making today. Our local radio station ran a Christmas CD giveaway, just call in and win, for the first callers. Well I tried during the first round and failed, but the second time around I was the first caller through!!

I was so thrilled and won the new Faith Hill, Joy to the World album. It made my morning totally and was totally surprising, especially as this is only the 3rd thing I've ever won!

My World Tuesday

Without doubt the most original local Christmas Tree I have seen in awhile! I wish all the My World participants a "Very Merry Christmas".

To join in the fun go to My World Tuesday

My 12 loves of Christmas #9

Anticipation!

Yep I am still a big kid at heart and always get excited the closer it gets to the big day. We wrap our gifts and place them under our tree or in our stockings as they're ready. So there's always a pile of temptation calling me to poke and prod on the sly.

I was even worse as a child, giving everything a good feel and shake whenever I was left alone in range. My brother and I would wake at ungodly hours on Christams morning, the earliest being 3:30am one year, and dive on the stockings at the end of our beds.

It got to be such a pain for our parents, that putting our stockings within easy reach and a few gifts, on the condition we didn't wake anyone else, was a workable compromise.

The Hubster loves to tease me, in fact he gets as much fun out of that as he does giving gifts! Still, I firmly believe we all need to keep a little bit of the kid in us for a happier life.

My 12 loves of Christmas - 7/8

It just ain't Christmas for me without watching The Sound of Music. I am sure many of the other Brit's born in the 60's/70's can confirm it was shown on the BBC every year sometime over the holidays. So now it's just part of Christmas for me, thanks to the Beeb! The Hubster does not feel the same way and usually sleeps through it!

And whilst watching the movie you'll probably find me munching on a Minced Pie with a mug of Earl Grey Tea. I have found that not many of the Americans I know like these little traditional Christmas Pies. They are basically a sweet pastry, with a dried fruit in a rich sauce filling. The last time I checked, they sell about 40 million of these in England during November & December! It's a Brit' thing!

My 12 loves of Christmas - #6

It just wouldn't be Christmas for me without going to church, the nativity and Christmas Carols. We had Hark the Herald Angels Sing at our wedding, it's my favourite Christmas Carol and we wanted to embrace Christmas in our wedding. Having it at this time of year, in our church at the time, made it all the more special.

I think it's sad that these days due to political correctness, children aren't even taught the true meaning of Christmas in school. For me this is one of those times when I feel most connected to my beliefs and faith.

My 12 loves of Christmas - #5

I love giving surprise gifts to my loved ones. I enjoy the whole process, coming up with idea's or fulfilling wishes, wrapping them and then handing them over and watching their surprise.

I do have a problem however, the closer the big day gets the more impatient I get to hand them over. There have been occasions when I am so excited the Hubster has had to open one early, or to plead with me not to have to!

My 12 loves of Christmas - #4

Traditional Christmas Pudding with either my Gran's amazing white sauce, or brandy butter. Christmas Pudding is a very rich fruit and sponge/suet pudding, steeped in brandy or whisky usually and lit by a match so it enters the room covered in blue flames!

You really don't know what you're missing out on over here.

My 12 loves of Christmas - #3

Yummer....I love roast Turkey with just about any fixings, but especially at Christmas. Then on Boxing Day (an English tradition), I will make Turkey Hideaway Pie with the leftovers. Then finally Turkey Noodle Soup with the bones, none of it goes to waste in our home.

My 12 loves of Christmas

It's now 12 days until Christmas, so I thought I'd do my own little meme each day leading up to it.

12 things I love about Christmas, my favourite time of the year.....

#1 The Decorations

If you haven't already realised this about me, I am a big lover of everything glittery, sparkly, colourful and twinkly. I am the woman who keeps coloured fairy lights (party lights to the Americans) strung up in my kitchen year round. Every room in my home is a different colour, and I mean colour, not shades of cream.

The Hubster has a total 'mare at this time of the year with me impulse buying yet more Christmas decorations. I am the human equivalent of a magpie, if it sparkles I am drawn to it! I also love to drive around at night and look at other people's Christmas lights.

This year I have gone for 'understated' decorations in the house, just fibre-optic tree's and a few well placed glittery decorations. Here's one of my faves from Pier One.