Xmas Prep (and a long overdue update)

Well Hello!

I know its been far too long since my last post (hanging my head in shame), but there has been a lot going on. The biggest and probably the most significant event was , after 5 and a half weeks in my (supposedly bright and shiney) new job, I had enough of being bullied by the Bosses Wife (also second in charge) so I walked out! Not an easy thing to do when you are the main wage earner and have no idea where the pennies are going to come from, but with the love and support from my wonderful Husband I felt confident enough to do it (rather than suffer in silence and make myself ill - again). So, after 15 years of continuous employment I am without a job - very scarey. Husband hasnt had much work lately either, so we will be doing more than a little economising until I am employed again.
Anyway, since I left last week, I have been so busy its mad. Ive registered with 3 Recruitment agencies (and have advised them I am willing to do some temping work - something I have never considered before), signed on for Job Seekers Allowance (which took several phone calls and 2 face to face interviews), applied for a few bits online etc. All the people I have seen are in agreement that I wont be out of work for long, and that things will get moving after Xmas. I know my last pay will cover the bills for December, so the way Im looking at it is that Im having some time off @ Xmas for a change. :o)

I have (as of today) got the last of the bits and bobs made, so all that left is for me to wrap the last few pressies and Im all done. It helps that we always have Xmas next door with His Mum and Brothers and Sisters (not all of them tho), there will be 8 of us for Xmas dinner and 6 for Boxing Day (we have a second Xmas dinner then!). In past years there have been as many as 12 or 13 of us both days, but I will admit its more laid back when there are fewer of us (and less dishes for me to do!!!!)

On the pressie front, once again I have been making stuff for the ladies. I changed my mind and decided to go with the fabric baskets after all (but forgot to take pics before I wrapped them!), here is one that was no longer required......

The colour cast on the pics isnt very nice, but it is the shortest day today so daylight isnt very good! You may also be able to make out my new Crafty Kiwi tag on the side - its the first time Ive used them. The baskets were filled with a kimi doll notebook, some choc, a candle and a nicely wrapped bar of soap.

Ive also (finally) got the lemon hand scrub bottled up and tagged......
Ive made 5 of these, the tags are laminated with instructions on the reverse, there are two styles of jars (the scrub is a much more vivid yellow than in the pic), and I must say this smells gorgeous.

Finally, as a bit of a last minute thing, I made some Xmas decs. Originally the intention was to make rice handwarmers that you heat in the microwave and they keep your pockets warm for up to an hour. I was gonna make them out of fleece with nice contracting stitching on them. Logistically this didnt work, so I ended up making decs out of felt and here they are.........

 

These are very loosley based on some winter white felt decorations I got from Boots last year.

So, there you have it, thats pretty much whats been happening with me. I hope you are all tucked up safe and warm on this Yule (Winter Solstice) night (unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere where technically it isnt Yule) and all that remains is for me to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. I hope 2013 brings you everything youve dreamed of.

Thanks for reading.

Jojo xxx