Christmas isn’t Christmas without presents said Jo

I’m not money orientated.  I would always choose poor and happy over rich and sad.

We all gets presents at Christmas.  Some little, some big, some expensive and some not.

This year I was completely spoiled.   I got a lot of presents, all things I wanted, from a coffee machine to theatre tickets, from body soufflé to face masks.

The best present I got this year however, didn’t cost a thing.  My dad died when I was eight.  For as long as I can remember I have always been upset that I don’t have photographs of him, particularly pictures of he and I together.

This year however, my amazing mum did a photo album for me, complete with captions which told me when and where the photos were taken.  I now have about 50 photos of me and my dad, spanning from a baby with him right up until just before he died.

I can honestly say that it is the best present that anyone has ever given me.   I must have cried for an hour on Christmas morning, another “happy tears” moment.

Having something like that, something that is so special to me is more important to me, and is worth more than any money can buy.  I will treasure it forever and always.

Another soppy post, but then again, it is Christmas.

A Good Year

It’s Christmas time.  So this post will not be a rant, a rave or on a subject in the headlines.

Christmas is the time of year I always look back over the past year and more often than not, have thoughts of the year to come wishing that this will change, or that will improve.

But this year, instead, I want to look back at my year and remember all the good things, and hope that they carry forward with me to 2012.  This may be a longer post than usual, but for once, that is a good thing. It means that are a lot of things to be happy about.

So here is my happy list:

Family

Family is something that you will always have, and will always be connected with my happiness.  This year has been a very good year for family.  I have founded a relationship with a sister who I have never had any time with over the years, but now we are getting to know each other and building our relationship.

This year also saw an end to a long standing argument with my other sister, who is both so very much like me, and yet so very different.  Having her back in my life, and with both of us in a place now where we understand our differences and cherish the similarities is a wonderful thing.

Friends

I’ve never been a person with millions of friends.  I prefer to have very close friendships with a few people and that is exactly what I have.  One of the highlights of my year was watching my best friend walk down the aisle, to a man who now I count as a close friend.  It is the only time in my life, that I remember, shedding “happy tears” for someone else.

It makes me incredibly happy that I have four friends that will be with me forever, probably still all as crazy as we are now.  We all have a bond that we feel lucky to have.

Added Bonuses

They say in your thirties that everything finally comes together.  You figure out who you are, what you want in life. While I definitely don’t have it all figured out, I feel like I know who I am.

Believe it or not, Twitter, and this blog helped me with that.  Although always opinionated, voicing my thoughts on Twitter, having my little rants and putting down what I think and feel on here has brought me more out of myself in the real world.

I always used to play down my opinions, was more the type to agree with someone rather than voice what I thought rather than say it.  Now I say it, and I mean it. 

There are always things that you wish you had, more money, a relationship, life in another country, but looking back on what I do have, life is good.

Sorry for the soppiness of this post, but I wish everyone who reads this a very Happy Christmas. Drink too much, laugh too loud, dance away the night and above all, have fun!

Rants and raves will resume in the New Year.

The Bet

I'm a bit of a ranting person on here, (hence the name of the blog) and on Twitter.

However, something I can never say no to usually is a bet with someone.  Except this time I have really landed myself in it.

As someone who reads my Twitter feed and has seen my blog, I have been bet by a friend that I cannot last a week without some kind of rant either on Twitter or on here.  Not a problem at all! I claimed..... Hmmm.  Not sure about that.

But, in my stupidity I have agreed to the bet so am posting it here so I can't get out of it, claiming I can't remember agreeing.

So: 1 week, starting from today.  No ranting on Twitter, no ranting on the blog.  I do however have to post something on the blog in that week, just to show I am not saving it all up for when the week is over.

The loser buys the winner a bottle of something nice.


UPDATE: 21 December 14.02
Well, am now buying someone a nice of bottle of wine.  I lasted approximately 24 hours before having a mini rant on Twitter and then two very large rants today.  Oops.