December 13, 2012

Sharing good book buys and freebies for Christmas!


Follow me on Twitter and Facebook to catch updates on my series as well my continued sharing of gifts and freebies as I am made aware of them.

I may not be the biggest source for freebies, but I'm happy to share those I come across or that are shared with me. Check here for a few things you may have missed.

Today I have tweeted and FB about 2 free books and a contest to win a $100 Amazon gift certificate!

December 11, 2012

Who Knew? continued...

(subcaption) Christmas Traditions

I have survived and no longer look like teary eyed monster at Halloween. I didn't even know they made eye drops with an antibiotic in it. Who knew? The ophthalmologist of course! The good news is that I don't look half bad if…wait for it…wait for it…

... I don't ever wear eye makeup again…

Okay doc, (I'm snarling at this point) what woman in her right mind willingly forgoes makeup? If you think I will willingly walk this line… check out my photo folks. The blonde isn't from a bottle which means that without makeup I'm totally prepared for Halloween!

Scary!!!!!!

So, the second Saturday in December and the same son that I mention in my last entry is into building Christmas traditions. I stopped and asked myself why…

…Because I never had the energy and we never stayed in one place long enough to do that for him and his younger siblings… for example: This year we will be lucky to find a place to put a tree in our archaically teeny tiny apartment. Thus the cabin fever of rearrange furniture the day after Thanksgiving.

Back to the tradition the son wants to build last Saturday. Every year since he got married, he and his wife have invited us to go with them to cut a tree and do holiday shopping. This is a toughy for me because I have had a rather large fake tree. So why go get another tree? And I try to do my shopping earlier in the year or at least earlier in the season. But the younger children have joined them, as has their dad a time or two. I stay home and wrap presents I've tucked away and bake. This year the outing hit a few snags.

Snag #1: I am house bound right? I have done absolutely no shopping I have no energy, again. This isn't a surprise. A bummer, but no surprise.

Snag #2: Dad has a wicked cold brewing and since he works outside, whether it rains or shines, he opted to stay home.

Snag #3: Teenage daughter has a life of her own filled with her friends and many activities, not the least of which is dinner and a hockey game on nearly every Saturday during hockey season.
Snag #4: Youngest has put off his opportunities to earn money for Christmas shopping.

(We insist that we not just give him money to go spend on us…for some reason that doesn't feel right. I'd much prefer to buy what I want or need rather than the pounds of Christmas candy that he seems to put under the tree every year in order that we may share with him…)

Question: Is it really safe to unleash an active pre-teen on an unsuspecting couple that have no intentions of having their own child in the near future? Hmm…I wonder if their decision has anything to do with the same participants and a camping fiasco last summer?

(Another story , another time, and another author as I was not there…obviously…)

Hmm…would this tale be better served by one actually present? Maybe. But this time the answer to "Who Knew?" is ME…

…This is why the only Christmas tradition that has survived our marriage is… No Traditions…

Actually the children went and had an enjoyable time. the report on the shopping is that they didn't find anything worth buying for Mom and Dad. And the cut tree is reclining against the wall in the son's garage. They've been too busy with holiday parties to even put it inside. ...Ah to be young again...

Happy Holidays!

December 9, 2012

Who Knew? continued...

Thanksgiving is behind us and with it the scraps of turkey. I managed to roast a small bird minus the stuffing and the yummy extras, but those who were here, mainly my hubby, the two younger children and I were thankful for what we had. Of course those who needed to fly or drive four hours decided not to come, leaving the one married son to knash his teeth while eating not one but two decadent Thanksgiving spreads with his lovely wife and her family.


Knowing Christmas will possibly be filled with more similar disappointments, our daughter has earned our good wishes to go on a cruise to the Bahamas with friends. "Felic Navida" (or however you spell it) my young beauty. She will no doubt make sure to be home for her birthday after the first of the new year. (Hey, at least she won't expect double presents or receive the dreaded card on a gift that reads, "Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday.")The cruise is her Christmas.

That leaves one child at home while I have to be away the whole week before Christmas for the first round of this procedure. No matter how I paint the picture, the child is convinced that this will be the worst Christmas of his young life... We will have a tree…even if it is small and be home for Christmas.

Okay, so I've been behaving myself and staying inside. I've not attended church for long enough that I can't manage to carry a tune. Now this is depressing as I have performed in more Christmas concerts and sung more solos than I have remembered to count. There is a bright side to this…my young son finds it rather entertaining to hear me croak over the vocal linguistics required to sing Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. Me, well, I'm still biting back the tears of humiliation and stunned abhorrence at the noise.

Did someone know it would come to this? Why in the heck didn't you warn me? Oh yeah, ignorance is bliss... Only if you are the one knowing the punch line before it is delivered!

So staying indoors out of the rain and cold has its good points…don't ask me what they are. I (we) have rearranged the furniture around the living room until it is almost like it was when we moved in…

The writing is coming along and I am currently combining and considering the first installment of The Talisman Series. (Yes Teresa, the scene with his knife at her throat is staying…)

Back to my behaving at home…

…Plumbing problems… Oh yeah, the plumber arrived in spite of the warning to protect my immune system at all costs. Two days later…I have conjunctivitis! For those of you who don't know what this is… go back to school and think PINK EYE. For the ladies…I had to throw all my eye make-up away.

Oh yeah, good thing my son works for a group of ophthalmologists because I definitely can't go out now! Yea! I'm contagious! He has brought me what I need and I should be back on the "healthy road" in a couple of days.

The question is…Do I tell the specialist? And will my version of the "healthy road" cut the mustard?

I'll let you know…if I survive…

Oh My!

Oh my, it's been a long, long time since I posted anything here. Really, I do this now because I recently got a note, if you can call it...