The start of the silly season ...

I sometimes wonder why I blog because no one really reads it anyway, but none the less I suppose it is just to put down on paper what I am thinking when I have no-one to talk to. D has gone to see the Remnants of Thin Lizzy tonight and I am home alone, with Em - who I need to feed, put to bed and then study.

So yes the start of the Silly season, Christmas shopping, parties and more although I must say that the Christmas parties have toned down this year due to the recession. This week-end is going to be a mad one, it starts tomorrow when I have my office Dinner, we are going to a restaurant called Venue, never been there so I will let you know what it is like. Then Friday I have taken the day off work to Study.

Saturday I have my exam at 9:30 until 13:00, then Em is on the matinee show at the Olympia which I am not sure if I am going to make yet or not. In the evening she is on in the evening show which I got tickets for, our company Christmas party is the same night but I had to chose the most important.

Sunday we have the School Christmas fair and then Emily's concert in the evening again, and back to work on Monday - in between all this I have to fit in the shopping and the washing and Ironing some where!

Well roll on the following week-end we have a girls shopping trip planned, Carla, Nats and I are all going up to just past Newry, there is a retail outlet and also a huge Sainsburys a bit further. The exchange rate against the pound is so good at the moment and everything in pounds is cheaper anyway, but besides that the VAT in Ireland went up by .5% on Monday yet it came down in the UK by 2.5%, so effectively everything in the UK should be 40% cheaper now and it is only an hour and a half drive away, so off we go.

Then the following Saturday 20th, I am getting together with all my old work mates, including my first boss Michele, and we are going for lunch at Cafe Leon on Exchequer street, there are 15 of us going and I am so excited because they really are true friends, and really more like my family - I have been so lucky that when I moved to Ireland I really made some great friends and we are all still friends today!

Then last but not least we are going to Carla and Joe for Christmas Eve, this should be really good fun, we have known Joe & Carla for the last almost 5 years and they have been such good friends to us. Whenever we were all feeling a bit down and looked for some home (SA) company we all got together. And then it's Christmas day!

But until then it's still dinner & study, so long for now.