Finally, its here...

Hi all,

I can't believe its finally Christmas! Finished up today for the rest of the year :-) Not back to work till the 2nd January so plenty of time for some Christmas cheer and enjoying the buzz in town...

Tomorrow and Sunday are the final shopping panic days - I always love them. They invariably have to start by me buying myself things so that I can get in the mood.... and then if there's time, I'll get some gifts for others...

Talk to you all soon!

Is anyone still there?

Its been a crazy, crazy few weeks... The site finally went live on the 28th November - bugs and all - and the past few weeks have just been a blur... I get to the office in the morning and make my coffee and then, zoom, before I know it its getting dark outside and its almost time to leave! I've never experienced anything like it. The days appear to be melting one into the other so that they all just become one long continuous stream of tiredness and stress.

But still, I'm having a ball. I would never have thought this time last year, that my life would have changed so much in so short a space of time. The biggest change for me personally is that I can honestly say that despite how much it is taking it out of me, I enjoy every minute that I'm at work, and that's a first for me. I don't get the blues at the idea of going into work on a Monday. I don't spend my week wishing for the weekend to arrive. I don't even think about when I might take a day off next. Its all a big adrenaline rush...

The down side is the waiting for the kettle to boil part. Watching the incoming orders coming - or not - through the system. The doubt about whether I've done everything I can and the frustration when others haven't. My social life is pretty much gone up the in smoke (I'll make up for it over Christmas though ...) and the gym and the pool are just a distant memory.

I got my wish though - I set up my own business! Now the next wish - to make it successful. There's a long way to go there but I'll get there.

To all of you - and you know who you are - who have helped me to get this far, who have given their time, effort and support, I have to say a huge thank you. I know its a cliche but I mean it when I say that I couldn't have got this far without you. Something like this can't be done by one person alone and the fact that it is now on its legs is thanks to you.

I won't wish you the Season's Greetings yet because I plan to post at least once more before then, but this is just to say thank you and sorry for not being around or in touch recently.

Talk to you soon and happy pre-Christmas prepping :-)

Now its starting to feel like Christmas!!

Its finally starting to feel like Christmas! F and I did the gifts thing a bit differently this year and asked each other what each wanted. The results were surprising and practical to say the least. F asked me for a pump for the shower - don't laugh - the one we had till now was just crap! Every morning we'd battle with the feckin thing. The problem was that the temperature control thing wasn't working. If you tried to adjust the water temperature to slightly below scalding, it would cut out completely! So every morning you did what you could by having enough contact with the water to wash, while trying to dodge the rest to avoid burn damage...

I opted for a wood burning stove for the kitchen.... It looks really cool and now this morning I have to leg it to B&Q to get the flue and other bits and pieces to try and fit it so that I can actually light it. Its like getting the toy without the batteries...

So, gift exchanges done - except for some stocking fillers yet to be done - we hit the city to finish our shopping.

That started 3 days ago and has been largely unsuccessful.... well unsuccessful in terms of actual purchases. Ireland being Ireland, we invariably hit the pub to say hi to someone and stay there for the rest of the day! Today is the last chance to get the last purchases done and we're due to meet up with friends at 1pm in the Clarendon for drinks.

I shall bid you bye bye until I have finished today's tasks and I will be back tomorrow with the results!

Happy Christmas Eve!