My Month in Numbers

So, the suitcases are down out of the loft and we're ready to pack up 2015 and send it on its way ready for the arrival of 2016.  It's been a while since I joined in with Julie's Month in Numbers, but like Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, I said 'I'll be back' so here I am.  I am a bit of an arithmaphobe so numbers don't necessarily come naturally to me but I always enjoy reading other people's MMIN posts so here I am, joining in again.

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• December was a bit of an eventful, sociable month so it's a good place to start.  Let's begin with a biggy.  My daughter went on holiday to Mauritius and came back a stone heavier.  Yes it was an all inclusive hotel and yes there was food and drink available 24/7 but she still came home with her beach bikini body because that stone wasn't in the form of weight but a rather gorgeous diamond set in a beautiful engagement ring.  {If I'd come home a stone heavier from my holiday I can assure you now it would have been a result of pasta, pizza and prosecco rather than a romantic gesture!}
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• I went to 2 big 'dress up in your best party frock' events - both with meals and discos.  Those new sparkly shoes of mine saw a lot of dance action.  I'm of the opinion that Fleur East's song 'Play that sax' is the floor filler of the year and also the song that my family find most annoying when I sing it over and over (and over) again, mainly because I only sing the same line over and over (and over) again.  Whilst strutting my stuff on the dance floor I realised, to my shame, that I actually like 2 Justin Beiber songs.  Don't judge me.  It was a surprise to me too.  Let's move on.  Quickly.
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• I went out for 2 meals.  One to celebrate the husband's birthday and one as a get together with a group of old school friends.  It's been 39 years since we left school and still get together at least a couple of times a year, I'm sure the memories and stories get slightly more outrageous every time but it never fails to be an evening full of fun and laughter. And about 14 people in their late 50s reverting back to 18 year olds!
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• Christmas Day.  I had 14 people here for dinner.  Aged between 3 and 88.  If you hear me thinking about offering to host it again next year, please feel free to come round, give me a shake and remind me how tired I felt by the end of the day!  Queen Delia helped me out in calculating cooking times for a 6.5kg turkey and the reason why everyone who wandered in and out of the kitchen commented on how organised I appeared to be was because I had succumbed to the lure of the excel spreadsheet to plan what needed to be where in the oven at any given time between 8am and 1.30pm.  It led to random comments like 'it's 12.41, why aren't those parsnips in the oven?'  Now I may have appeared calm and organised, but let me leave you with the image of a swan gliding serenely across the surface of a lake, calm and in control above the water and paddling frantically to keep afloat below.  Except this particular swan had a glass of prosecco in her hand to help with the serenity. 

[Apologies to those fellow 'evil baby cabbage' haters for the inclusion of sprouts in this photo.  Apparently just because I don't like them isn't justification for denying others the 'pleasure' of having them with their dinner.]

• I've ended the month with a new obsession.  I knew, as soon as I heard about it, that it was going to be all consuming.  Something that would make me forget that I was supposed to be starting dinner/going into town/walking the dog.  If you're the kind of person that enjoys a word related challenge, a crossword lover, or maybe you enjoy the code breaker puzzle in the paper, you are in for a treat.  Are you the kind of person that can't put a puzzle down until it is solved?  Then when you have solved it, are you anxious until you can move on to the next level?  You may wish to look away now before you too are consumed by the need to do 'just one more'.  I'm talking about Wordbrain. Apparently I have a brain size of 2736.  Each category is the name of an animal and I am Level 12 on Rat. Come join me, I love a bit of healthy competition!

So that's it, December over and done with.  2015 over and done with.  It's been the usual mix of happy times, anxious times, tiring times, relaxing holiday times but overall it's been a very good year and I hope that yours has been too.  Another year of blogging with you lovely people, sharing tales, inspiration and crafty creations.  Is everyone ready to start it all over again next year/tomorrow? Me too!  See you in 2016 x