Monday, December 26, 2005

The 25th comes and goes

Seeing as I haven't updated this blog in well over a month, I might as well dish the dirt about how my Christmas and Boxing day went.

There I was, waiting patiently during the last hour of the 24th. I was on the computer, and I whacked on a VHS of the Muppets Christmas Carol for about 20 minutes. Then I just had a more-than-one-person conversation on MSN until midnight arrived. I signed out and went straight downstairs, shaking, waiting to get though the opening of presents. I didn't get much though...

  • A new digital camera and printing dock
  • A dressing gown
  • The X Factor: The Greatest Auditions Ever on DVD
  • SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights Camera Pants on GBA
  • A tin of marshmellows
  • Photo inkjet paper
  • And socks
I wasn't really happy with the marshmellows, because I don't eat them (I'm vegetarian) so I can't really enjoy them. However, I loved the printing dock that came with my camera, it produces a real Kodak photo in a few minutes by just the touch of a button! I've used up the sample pack though so I'll have to buy some tomorrow...if I can find a stockist somewhere in Romford.

The camera itself is a LOT better than my old one. It has 4.0 megapixels, lots of settings, the abilty to record movies with sound, and it has an optical zoom - when I turn it on the lens pokes out! Trouble is though that some of my photos come out wrong depending on the kind of light in where I'm taking a photo. This going to take a LOT of getting used to.

So after we all opened up our presents, it was time to take them upstairs. I put them all in my camera's cardboard box and carried it by the handle, but as I got to the top of the stairs, the box broke and everything fell down the stairs! I was in a right panic, but thankfully everything, camera and printing dock, which only had a few marks on the outside, was fine.

My sister wanted to try out her new iPod mini, and she was really desperate to listen to a song on it. We were having trouble with it though as she just plugged it in without installing the software, so I had to do that. My computer was being unresponsive after this, so I had to turn it off by the plug, turn it back on and shut it down again.

In the morning, I was about to set my Internet connection up again when my sister took my computer over and started it up without me setting the Internet, and I wasn't very happy. It took us ages to learn how to turn the iPod on and off and how to disconnect it. Then I learned that we had to use iTunes to put songs onto it. When I loaded it up it was transfering all of MY songs that were in the library! All of my songs from Clubland X-Treme Hardcore... I told her to reset the iPod and I had to clear my songs from the library and add all the music she wanted t have on it. Everything turned out fine in the end.

Later on the family arrived - my aunts and uncle, cousins, my grandparents, my cousin's girlfriend and his sister's baby. All 14 of us had the Christmas dinner and did the 'traditional' stuff like pulling crackers and putting on those stupid paper hats. During this my cousin's baby wouldn't stop crying! My sister and I were the only ones who didn't have turkey since we are vegetarian, instead we had quorn roast. And lucky me, I didn't have brussels!

When we had the table cleared from the front room we all opened up more presents:

  • a puppy calender
  • 2 sudoku books
  • a SpongeBob mug and tin full of marshmellows
  • a shower puff
  • and a SpongeBob lightup furry top pen.
I also got £30 from family and friends.

Again, the bloody marshmellows got me feeling disappointed. The family knows I'm vegetarian, but they only got me those so I can keep the mug and the tin, which I've already got from last Chistmas and Easter. But I'm guessing that I'll have to use one and keep another for display. I was really hoping I'd get chocolates because I would have enjoyed eating them (who doesn't?). All wasn't lost though, for I found one of three Lindt reindeers hidden in the Christmas tree.

Then I just spent the rest of the night on my computer.

The next morning, I was just waiting for us all to get ready to go round my other grandparent's house. This was a lucky time to have, because my older sister was about to go to work on Boxing day, but she took the day off. We didn't do much round there though, but it was good to see Nanny Eve again.

I spent an amount of time doing some sudoku puzzles in the bedroom, until I came out and had egg and chips for dinner. My nan's not as good a cook as my Nanny Shirley, but she did a really nice egg that she fried with olive oil. I thought that was what the weird smell I could smell in the kitchen is, but it wasn't. It made the egg taste no different.

After that we opened out a present and card each - I got a box of Thorntons chocolates with vegetarian gummies - they tastes horrible though so I didn't eat them - a pair of really thick gloves, and £50! In the card, which was from my uncle who wasn't even there - he came and went in fears of snow on the way home - there was another £20, so that plus what I got yesterday adds up to £100! I must use it wisely!

Until we went home my sister and I just pulled crackers for the fun of it and were playing with the crap toys inside while watching the Simpsons.

And that was it.

It was quite a good Christmas after all. It's not as magical or anything nowadays because we're not kids anymore and it never snows dot on. I'd love to spend just one Christmas abroad in my life, especially somewhere like the north of Finland or somewhere nice and snowy in Europe. But snow or no snow, Christmas in the United Kingdom can be just as nice.

I won't be looking forward to New Year's Eve though...

No comments: