So when the UK sleeps, we know you other MNers are out there part II

[tadjennyp]

I was looking for thumbwitch's recipe for that cake and found the old thread has disappeared so Linzer and I thought we'd resurrect it!

Oooh I love Christmas eve, almost as much as Christmas Day - in fact probably more as it's usually just the four of us, the girls are always excited and dh is usually still in a good mood as the stresses of Christmas (and my family) haven't hit him yet! We usually start tracking Santa in the afternoon and have a nice meal - tonight we are having roast lamb as it will be a cold buffet tomorrow. And dh and I always open a bottle of champagne! Tonight I will be wrapping the presents while he makes the girls bikes...

I hope you all have a lovely day, whatever you do. I may be on here tomorrow as we will be skyping with my BIL in Florida, but otherwise HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Eve is more important than Christmas Day here, although I do find it a bit of a strange day - the shops are open until around midday, sometimes later, and then everything (putting up and decorating the tree, Christmas dinner and then present opening) is crammed into the evening. It's then all a bit flat on the 25th, at least at my ILs. We're celebrating at home this year, though, and spread it out over the two days, with an Austrian Christmas on the 24th and then British Christmas on the 25th. Actually, the present opening is spread over three days as it's DD1's birthday on the 26th.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas if I don't get back on here again.

I finished wrapping presents (apart from last one for MIL) a couple of hours ago - hurrah! Am just charging MIL's present (mini digital photoframe keyring) and then will upload some photos onto it before I go to bed. Should be about "cooked" by now!

Am very excited about DS's face tomorrow when he sees his present pile!

And actually, DH too - his present pile is smaller than DS's (of course!) but still not bad. And we have our stockings of course, except I had to do my own again. . Still at least I know I've got stuff I want in it, including Christmas choccy!

Anyway - Merry Christmas One and All - see you on the other side (that's if I don't get bored and come back on here tomorrow )

Just about to go to the supermarket to fetch the rest of the baking ingredients as can't get trifle sponges here! Hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and happy birthday to Linzer's dd1!

we've been tracking santa, and he's crossed the atlantic now.

dd is sooo excited, but i think she's got to sleep. she even gave her last christmas cookie for santa to have - bless.

Anyone still awake?

We're still up baking as we're in charge of trifle for tomorrow. Not going too well. Hoping everyone has a fab Christmas!

for those who don't know, I'm/was Climber. May change back at some point in the future.

hope to catch up proper with you all after xmas

Have a blast in Disneyland!

Just popping on to wish you all a Merry Christmas wherever you may be and however long of it you have left!

How is everyone now? Hope the Christmas festivities have gone smoothly/with a bang and you are all recovered! Pregnancy is really beginning to get to me now with horrendous heartburn and really sore hips. Hoping the next 6 weeks go fairly quickly to be honest!

Winding down now. Went sales shopping today - did all right, actually! Got a new pair of sandals for much less than their starting price, a new top, some candle holders for my outdoor citronella tealights (I hate mozzies!) and a large domed cake preserver. Most of them are square, which annoys me rigid - but this is a nice big round one :)

Jenny, I feel for you. I had the most appalling time for the last 10 weeks or so with my hips - pressure pain was terrible so I had real trouble sleeping. I found vanilla ice cream really helped with the heartburn though...

Got a fair bit of stuff to do though - have friends coming to stay from 2nd to 4th Jan and it involves deconstructing DS's room so they can stay there (a big job!), and we'll all have to sleep in the master bedroom. Oh joy - but still, it'll be nice having them to stay so mustn't complain! :)

WTF! When did clothing and food become so expensive? AUD$80 for converse!! I should have bought new ones before I left.

I bought today:
1 box special k (I would kill for shreddies)
2 tybs yoghurt
shampoo and conditioner
deoderant
It came to AUD$53.....again WTF.

What happened?

Hello Serenity! I take it you're back in Ausland now then - it's fucking expensive here! Especially if you factor in the conversion to GB£ as well

I find the variation in fresh produce prices to be the most scary - grapes, for e.g. vary from $5/kg to $14/kg depending on which day of the week it is, apparently. I know it's about supply but I'm sure as sure can be that the variation wasn't that extreme in the UK - the supermarkets there must have absorbed some of the price fluctuations.

Go to Aldi or Lidl for cheaper stuff - they're lurking around (remind me where you are now?)

Hi trying out my new name....

I stopped converting everything in St Lucia as otherwise I wouldn't have bought anything apart from yams and dasheen. Now we're back it's great fun converting the other way and realising how expensive it all was at the other side. Unfortunately I probably spend just as much here as there is so much more choice.

Gap had a great sale here before Christmas. It was all their normal stuff - but half price! I needed to buyt loads of winter stuff so was very happy. In fact, shopping 5 days before Christmas is definitely the way to go - almost everything was half price.

Jenny - it was backache that killed me in pregnancy. You forget though - pregnancy fades into insignificance compared to the stresses of a newborn... although I found it went so much faster the 2nd time round (is this your 2nd or 3rd? I can't remember).

I had forgotten about the backache (which started as soon as the 2nd trimester did, grrr) but by the end it was def. the heart burn. She has two children already. Good stuff on the shopping.

tad have you got the special roll out of bed thing going on yet I would presume so by now.

No backache really but hips hurt a lot and make it difficult to walk fast. Heartburn is just awful and sleep is nigh on impossible for long as one or other of the dcs wakes up two or three times a night and the heartburn starts again. Can't roll out of bed as either dd or ds is lying next to me!

Well done on the shopping - I only shop with coupons now as otherwise everything is so expensive (and we have no sales tax in Oregon).

oh, gosh, apparently, there's a reality tv show starting up about coupon shoppers! some people manage to turn it into a full time job, and buy HUGE amounts of a particular item cos it's got a good offer.

i do a certain amount, but too often find that the things that get discounted are not the things i want to buy. it's like when BOGOF are all on Coke, crisps etc.

I struggle with coupons in supermarkets to be honest, but try and use them in children's clothes shops and restaurants round here. I wouldn't buy anything just because it is discounted; I have to want it too. These people do put the effort into finding and clipping a lot of coupons, don't they?

ah, now, clothes i feel i have down to a fine art.

basically, about $15 is my limit, for jeans/tops for me. around $40 for shoes. i only pay full price for things like my proper winter coat & snow boots.

i've worked out which shops do skinny enough clothing for dd, and now know when they have sales & coupons - generally i reckon on paying about 1/3 of the full price.

but some of those 'coupon shoppers' are obsessive - they buy enough loo roll for 2 years, then use it as dining room furniture til they use it up, i swear.

lol at loo roll furniture. I pretty much only shop in sales as I don't have a job and can't justify (to myself and my dh doesn't actually notice what I wear anyway!) the expense of decent clothes! We have some factory outlets near us that allow us to buy the kids' snowsuits etc at a good price (and we so get the wear out of them) and a Carter's baby shop for the rest of their clothes!

Help! I need Aussies to vote!

We are lucky enough to live smack bang on Sydney Harbour. Our place adjoins a very small waterfront park, which is filling up rapidly with people coming for the fireworks tonight (first set in six hours at 9pm, then the big midnight ones).

I am sitting here thinking I could hang a banner off our balcony saying "Toilet, $10", and make a small fortune tonight. We were not planning to do anything tonight - wander out to the garden for the fireworks but that's it as I am pregnant and no fun whatsoever.

DH was but I think I could make a decent amount of money. No drunks, obviously - it looks like a family crowd outside.

I considered but dismissed the idea of making a quick dash to the supermarket for beer, soft drinks, icecreams and ice, and flogging those off the balcony - too much trouble, and Woolies don't do sale-or-return.

DH is aghast that I am such a hustler. I prefer to think of myself as entrepreneurial.

Rent the bog or not?

That sounds hilarious! Not in Oz and still the 30th here on the West Coast of the US. You could always see how it goes and take the sign in if it's too much!

If people can do it during the notting hill festival then why not for the fireworks. Mae sure you put all the conditions on the sign though.
I would sell beer and chips though too.

Classic, ninedragons - did you do it?

Weren't the fireworks fabulous? I was only watching on tv but still - saw both the 9pm and the midnight set and was impressed.

Happy New Year everyone!