I guess it is time to review the old year and look forward to the new one. I’m using the same format as last year:

Work: There were a lot changes at work this year and not all for the better. Some people I worked closely with moved on to other departments and were replaced with people who didn’t seem to give a damn about anything. As a result, there was more pressure on the experienced members of the team as we tried to pick up the slack. We were promised things would change but it proved to be a lot of hot air in the end. As it turns out, I’m going to be doing a different job in the New Year and the laziness will be someone else’s problem. I’m not particularly thrilled with my new temporary post but it is my chance to step out from the shadows and prove I’m capable of so much more.

Family: It was a sad year for us with the unexpected passing of my grandmother in the Summer. She was the last grandparent I had and her passing was utterly unexpected. She left a gaping hole in our family which can never be filled. I continue to miss her on a daily basis and realise that life will never be the same again.

Personal: I’m afraid to think about it really but the labrythinitis has failed to rear its ugly head this year and I’m hoping that I’m finally over the worst of it. Just a few bad colds with the odd dizzy spell that was easily ignored. I still have anxiety attacks and they seemed to have increased again since Grandma’s passing. I’m dealing with them as best as I can without resorting to medication. The highlight of the year was seeing Bon Jovi in concert.

Internet: I made the decision to move hosts last year as things started going downhill at Toasty. It seems I made the right decision from what I’ve read recently. Either way, the move has been okay and I’m happy to report no problems other than a minor problem with a hacker who made me tighten up security even further. I purchased the domain dearelizabeth.net for my family tree and started it up again. I still have to sort out the ugly template but it isn’t urgent. I also closed a few sites this year due to a lack of interest.

Geekiness: Other than a new mobile phone, I haven’t bought any gadgets this year. I’m still toying with the idea of a Nintendo DS but am not sure. I still love my ipod nano and am a little miffed they released shiny, new ones this year.

Fandoms: Again TV really failed to grab me this year although I did become increasingly hooked on Battlestar Galactica and The 4400. I’m still madly in love with my old fandoms of Poltergeist: the Legacy and The Sentinel. I didn’t do any writing at all this year, mainly due to a lack of time but hopefully I will start again in the New Year.

2007: The big event for the year will undoubtedly be our trip to Florida at the end of April and you have no idea how much I’m looking forward to it. I’m not really looking beyond that because part of me is waiting on the next bad thing to happen and it is hard to feel happy about the future at all.

It looks like bad weather may call a halt to the New Year celebrations as severe weather warnings have been issued throughout the UK. Storms with gale force winds of 70 - 80 miles per hour are expected with the strongest winds happening in my area. Right now, it is already windy and pouring with rain. Ferry services in the North have also been cancelled until further notice! Officials in Edinburgh are monitoring the situation closely and have vowed only to cancel if the storms are particularly severe, claiming they have measures in force to cope with the weather.

In other news, I managed to install the Flickr Photo Album plugin which is so cool now that you have the option to hide private albums! Just have to experiment with adding photos to posts!

It’s almost over for another year. We’ve already put away the decorations and I noticed a few other houses were doing the same. I guess you reach a certain point where you just get tired of the clutter and want everything back to normal.

Christmas Day was quiet until it was time to go for the meal at 3:00 pm which was delicious. The service and everything was really excellent and there was so much choice! I had vegetable lasagne which may not be all that traditional but it was delicious and a scrumptious slice of chocolate fudge cake for dessert. Mmmm! I love chocolate! The conversation was awkward at times as there were a few people there who had never met each other but everyone seemed to get along really well.

Afterwards, we all went to my cousin’s house to play games. I’m really not into computer games at all so I wasn’t that impressed with the Play Station stuff, however at a later point, the men folk all disappeared into the kitchen to talk about racing, and the ladies pulled out the board games! We didn’t stay late as there were a few having to get up for work in the morning so were home by 11:00.

My brother and his kids came through on Boxing Day so I was able to take a few photos of them opening some parcels that had been left here for them. I really hate not being able to see them opening their parcels on Christmas Day but there’s nothing I can do about that situation so what’s the point of feeling miserable about it? I uploaded some photos to my Flickr account but you will have to friend me to see them as they are private.

It’s bitterly cold here today but still no sign of frost - never mind snow! This theme may be the closest I get to snow this year!

Not long to go now! We’re heading down the cemetery in a little while to place a holly wreath where my grandparents’ ashes are scattered, then the rest of the day will be all about last minute preparations. I’m going to be burning a candle tonight in memory of those loved ones who are not with us and then try to have a good time tomorrow. We’ll be part of a bigger family circle this year since we are all going out to dinner so I’m sure we’ll be able to enjoy ourselves while still thinking about Grandma. Goodness knows, she’d kick us up the behind if we let ourselves get too maudlin. Grandma loved family gatherings…

So, all that is left is for me to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and if you don’t celebrate it - have a good day!

WOO HOO! The holidays have started! I’m so glad because this has to have been the longest week EVER! I thought it was never going to end and it was hellish into the bargain. All the lawyers decide they want nice empty desks for the holidays so they send everything into us which usually means it is the biggest load of rubbish you have ever seen and has to be sent right back to them. We finished at lunchtime today and that meant trying to cram a full day’s work into a half one so we don’t come back to a major backlog. We got most of it done but it’s irrelevant to me anyway because I have the whole of next week off and am returning to a different job anyway. I’m trying so hard to like the difficult colleague I’ve spoken about before but it is just not happening - I dislike her and that’s never going to change.

After I left work, a few of us went to the Registry Office to see one of our former colleagues getting married. It’s a complicated story but suffice to say the bride is Muslim and the groom isn’t, so there has been a lot of friction on both sides of the family. It was a long time before the bride’s father finally gave his blessing and we wanted to be there for her because her parents had decided only to attend the Muslim ceremony tomorrow. She wasn’t alone though because her brothers were there and we believe the groom’s parents are also attending the Muslim wedding which is nice. The bride and groom are both going off to teach in South Korea and we can’t help but wonder if the difficult family situation is the underlying reason. It’s a huge step and I really hope they are happy.

We had to stand for such a long time, I was half frozen by the time we said goodbye to each other. The town was just way too busy so I headed into the shops to only get what I absolutely needed and then headed home.

Mum’s bouquet arrived safely this morning and she said she got a bit teary-eyed! The whole idea of putting the kids’ names on it almost backfired on us though because she thought my ex-sis-in-law was behind it! My sis-in-law was never that thoughtful when she was part of the family and I didn’t want her getting the credit. Fortunately, Mum phoned my brother after the flowers arrived and he put the story straight.

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This week, the most popular boy and girl names of 2006 in Scotland were published, so I thought it would be interesting to compare them with the most popular names of a 100 years ago to see how trends have changed. However, I could only find a list for 1900 with the top ten names in Scotland for that year.

Thirteen top names for 2006 (boy names in brackets)

01) Sophie (Jack)
02) Emma (Lewis)
03) Erin (Callum)
04) Katie (Ryan)
05) Lucy (James)
06) Chloe (Cameron)
07) Ellie (Jamie)
08) Amy (Daniel)
09) Olivia (Matthew)
10) Emily (Kyle)
11) Hannah (Adam)
12) Rebecca (Ben)
13) Jessica (Aaron)

Ten most popular names in 1900 (boy names in brackets)

01) Mary (John)
02) Margaret (James)
03) Elizabeth (William)
04) Annie (Robert)
05) Jane (Alexander)
06) Agnes (George)
07) Isabella (Thomas)
08) Catherine (David)
09) Janet (Andrew)
10) Helen (Charles)