Another year...

It seems very hard to believe that it was a year ago (or there abouts) that I wrote this post, and yet, it was. This year I'm not going to do NewYear's Resolutions for a number of reasons.
1) The List
This bad boy is more than enough resolutions for me (not least because I am now more sure than ever that number [read books] won't happen and neither will a few most of the travelling ones)
2) I have lost count of the number of times I have made a list of New Year's Resolutions only to forget a fortnight or so later what the hell it was I actually wrote!

With that in mind, I thought maybe it would be interesting to have a look at those resolutions that I can no longer remember and see if (just for once) I actually stuck to them! So, for your reading pleasure I present

Rhiannon's New Year's Resolutions for 2009 and the aftermath...

So, lifting the list straight off the original post we get the following:
...to finish craft projects that are presents on time (see the wedding sampler, last year's Christmas gift for the lovely...)
Well on the one hand, I did finish gloves for nice housemate (not sure if I showed them to you, but they're up on my ravelry), a scarf for the Lovely's mum and made rather a large amount of chutney and jelly to give away at christmas. On the other hand the BIG project, aka the Boyfriend Sweater is still a work in progress, despite Christmas being a week ago. So, maybe getting there slowly but still a bit of an uphill climb!
...to cook more and make things I haven't before - its no use collecting recipes if you don't use them!
I have one of those recipe binders you can get in Paperchase, and this last year has seen a good half dozen or so things go in to it. I've also got new cookbooks and I think its fair to say that the stuff the Lovely and I cook on a day to day basis is different from what I was making this time last year, so yes, I think this one was a success.
...to be on board with my uni work, especially as in 6 months I'll be getting ready to graduate
I got my desired 2:1 so this one either got pulled off, or I had fantastic luck (but I'd like to think that it was because I got ahead)
...not to make mountains of molehills
Nope, still can't do this one too easily
...to be more creative generally, not just in spurts
Well the knitting is done far more frequently than it was and I made three of the christmas decorations which I liek to think were integral to our overall scheme (wishful thinking?). I think though that if I've learnt anything this year its that creativity is all about the spurts - they're the bits that make you think "hang on a second - what if I did this instead?"
...to give handmade gifts where possible
(See above)
...to arrange social events more often, not wait for other people to do them
Ok, so I probably haven't done as well as I could have with this, but the longer I've been at work the easier it has been to do - this is partly due to getting used to the hours more than anything else! Also, being now a committee member at CBSC (and, more importantly, the committee member in charge of social events) this is one which will happen more and more frequently (she says hoping it won't all turn into a calamity!)
...to conquer the washing up more frequently than previously....
Did I mention that I now have a Lovely who, in exchange for my doing the bulk of the laundry, seems quite happy not too annoyed at doing a little more than his fair share of the washing uP?
...to carry on blogging
Well of all of them, I think that this is the most apparent - if I hadn't I wouldn't be writing this!

All in all, not too shabby a turn out (if I do say so myself). So there might be some of them that need a little work, but I think - as a list of resolutions go - its all come together quite nicely!

How about you? What resolutions have you looked back on and gone "what was I thinking?" or (as seen here) gone "actually, I managed those without remembering I'd made them"

Whatever you do (or do not) resolve to do, have a very happy New Year's Eve and I look forward to sharing 2010 with you all
xxx

Better late than never...

So it may now be three days after christmas, but I have got round to putting the homemade mincemeat to some good use

And how did I do that?

Why I made mince pies!

Don't they look oh-so-lovely sitting in their tin...

They were made not just with my mincemeat, but using the Lovely's Mum's luxury pastry recipe and my word is it worth it! They are so buttery and melt in the mouth delicious :)

However, this experience has taught me a few things. Firstly GREASE YOUR TIN. Now whilst I bake a lot, this is not something I do a lot, mainly because cake tends to have so much butter in it that it just isn't necessary.
Not so here....

Luckily I did manage to get a few salvaged out of the tin in (almost) one piece. I like to think of them as my Lucky 7

Thing 2 - do not spend ages standing in front of an open oven door trying to get the tin out of the oven if you are wearing a necklace that is on a metal chain. The chain will heat up and it will burn your neck. It will be painful.

Thing 3 - going to feed the ducks whilst you wait for the pies to cool down is definitely a good thing!

Happy monday
x

Christmas goodness

Well the day has come and gone, and considering this was not only our first christmas together (out of the four in which we've been a couple...) but also our first independent christmas it went absolutely fabulously.
The pheasant that I had worked (look at me! I cooked a roast! With potatoes, parsnips, peas, carrots, sprouts AND real gravy for me!), the Lovely had some delicous looking butternut squash, we had a good time watching some fantastic telly and got to open some lovely presents.
Rather than bore you with an endless list of all the little bits I got, I thought I'd show you my four favourite things, in almost no particular order...

A Wood's Navy Rum bar mat
This is my favourite tipple in my parent's local (which incidentally is the only place I have ever seen it for sale!) and my dad on seeing it at the bar managed to acquire it for me. It has since been washed, and, when I can find a frame for it will be placing it over the door in our kitchen :)

A six month book subscription to Persephone books (note the very subtle way in which I have removed all personal details...). I have no idea what I'll be getting so this is a very good present indeed as each month will be a surprise!

Ok, so now its the top 2. From Nice Housemate I have one of the nicest things that has ever been made for me;

A sign for my kitchen! I fell in love with this the minute I opened it - the attention to detail is fantastic (seriously, each letter is way more intricate than I could ever manage) and the fact that she made it just for me makes it even more fantastic. This will be in every house I ever live in.

And then the other top present came from the Lovely

Isn't it pretty :) When the camera is better I'll take another picture, but basically its got two flowers layered on top of each other with a bit of a gap between the layers and a rainbow opal in the centre that winks provactively at me each time it catches the light. I adore it - so much so that it has permanently replaced the flower ring that I used to wear on that finger. The Lovely has definitely pulled it out of the bag with this one (not least because he knew my ring size to ask for the right one in the shop!)

And how about all of you? Did you recieve lots of goodness this year? And what was the best gift you recieved (including gifts that aren't necessarily material)
Happy festivites to all and happy new year if I don't post before
x

ps. no, the jumper wasn't finished in time.....
pps. please ignore the rubbish pictures - my camera is currently wounded in action so I've had to revert back to the bloody useless pile of s**t that I used to use

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

.....everywhere we go....

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night
x

Lax lady...

I'm rubbish. Officially. Try as I could, I've failed miserably at this whole posting malarky over the last few weeks (although I feel I should point out that I've felt busier than I probably have been!)
And as for the 7 loves.... well as has already been stated, I'm rubbish! Maybe at some time or another I will actually manage to do it, but for now you'll have to make do with the list I made for the last post!

But we shouldn't be looking backwards, instead we should look forwards! So what *have* I been doing recently? (ok, not forwards as such, more sort-of-sideways)

Well, I've been.....

* wandering around Birmingham after dark

* looking at flowers bought for me by the Lovely

(yes, that is the silver canteen in the background)

* taking pictures I'm really rather proud of whilst wondering through the countryside near the Lovely's parent's house (which is where we've been all weekend)



* and preparing the house for christmas (and the arrival of the chirstmas tree tomorrow!) by putting up cards...

...giving Henry a seasonal tinsel collar...

...and making my very own advent claendar for the Lovely

This coming week will also be rather hectic; tomorrow we get our very first tree (I'm such a sap...), tuesday I'm going to see Where the Wild Things are with nice housemate (so excited its almost not true), wednesday I'll be taking part in the christmas quiz at work whilst munching on some brownies I'm making for the occassion, and on friday I'm heading down to the parents (sadly sans lovely) so as to get on a plane at stupid o'clock on saturday morning and head to Dublin for a rather exciting weekend with some of the girls I was at school with (some news after the date, but, what goes on holiday stays on holiday :P). So the chances of my being lax in posting are again useless, but it'll all come together in the end.....

Hope you're all well (it certainly seems that way from all of your posts...)
x

7 loves....

As a sneak peek at what I may (or may not) be talking about when I do this properly, follow this link to have a look at the list I originally wrote when I was thinking about the things I love (there's a lot more than 7....)

Come back later in the week to see what I've whittled it down to (thanks to the joy of random number generator!)

x

ps. No I didn't forget the Lovely; he's a given on my 7 loves

Winner!

So we have a winner!
Dumroll please....

Number 6 - Skirmish of Wit!

Congratulations :)

Drop me an email (princessmug[at]googlemail[dot]com) with your address and I'll sort out your prize soon!

x

ps. Yup, I've been rubbish at posting this last week but I will be back on track soon, not least because I've been tagged to tell you all about my 7 Loves. More soon...