Happy Holidays! (A little bit belated)

Okay, it's been way too long since I posted, and I'm very sorry, but this post is going to stay short and sweet. I'm just popping over here to say hi and happy holidays.

A lot has happened in the last few weeks, and I will be sure to catch you all up in the early weeks of 2015. In short, I am SO looking forward to the promise of 2015 and all the amazing things I know are coming.

Happy New Year!

Hope you're enjoying your holidays, and are celebrating the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014. I will be back next week!

Spirit of Christmas

I know I said I wasn't going to blog this holiday. But I couldn't resist. I love this.

10 Things that Make Me Happy at Christmas Time

1.       Time with my family

2.       The glow of softly twinkling lights lighting up the world

3.       Holiday music

4.       Hearing people wish complete strangers a merry Christmas (or happy holidays, or whatever)

5.       Reading holiday stories

6.       Wrapping thoughtful gifts in pretty paper

7.       Making and giving holiday treats

8.       Finding that perfect item to give a special person in your life

9.       Little children anticipating Christmas morning

10.   Being reunited with family members from far away.

My son is coming to town this weekend, and I am so excited to have my family all together for the first time since we left Utah. He’s never been to our new home in Texas, and I’m both nervous and excited to show him around. With the holiday and family time, please forgive me for not blogging next week.

I hope you have a beautiful, wonderful, fun-filled, merry Christmas. Sending you love from our little town in Texas!  

Filling Up the Cracks

This weekend, one of my online friends shared a statement made by her nine-year-old . The beautiful words were passed on by a number of people because of the profound simplicity of this child’s words. 

Sarah Eden’s daughter said, “When your heart is broken, you choose what to fill up the cracks with. Love or Hate. But hate can never heal. Only love can do that.”

I think now is a really good time of year to spread some love. Actually, there’s never a bad time to spread love. It is, after all, what makes the world go round, right?

So let’s share some ideas.

I’m a fan of angel trees, Toys-for-Tots, Sub-for Santa, and any assistance we can give to homeless shelters and food banks. Small donations don’t take much, and are a good way to contribute to the community.

Or, on a more personal level, spread some kindness and cheer by smiling more, saying kind words, and noticing the distress of others around you. Everyone benefits from small acts of kindness.

What are you doing to spread the love this week?

Christmas Glitter Notes Pictures

Tis the Season

Holy crap, it’s Christmas Eve! What are you doing reading blogs when you could be out celebrating and baking and shopping for last minute gifts? Not in the mood? Well, I am.

This is a day of great excitement in my family. So here’s a little carol, with phenomenal harmony, to get your Christmas spirit jumping and boiling. Okay? Okay.

Happy holidays, merry Christmas, and happy festivus to the rest of ya! Hooray for today.

Substitute Santa Claus

**Scroll down to see who won the Give Books for Christmas giveaway!**

The other day, my (adult) son and I had a conversation about what would happen if Santa got sick and couldn’t deliver presents.

His best solution was that we send up the Bat signal so Batman could take his place. You know, because the Bat Mobile is fast and could probably fit all the presents in it.

I also think Spiderman could do a good job, because, clearly, he’s not afraid of heights, and he has easy access to chimneys.

Or Superman, because he can fly and see through walls with his x-ray vision, and he's strong enough to carry everything in a giant pack.

But the best solution, I think, is Wonder Woman. She can run fast, carry a big load, and deflect speeding bullets with her bracelets and stuff. (Plus, she looks great in this cloak, right?)

I don’t know. If something happened to Santa, who do you think would make a good substitute?

**UPDATE**
The winners of the Give Books for Christmas giveaway are Kathleen Brebes and L.T. Elliott. YAY! Congratulations, ladies. I'll be emailing you this morning.

Eclectic Books Catalog

I don't usually post on Thursdays, like, ever. But I just have to share the link to a really awesome online catalog for anyone wanting to give books for Christmas.

The Eclectic Books catalog offers a number of fantastic, clean books, complete with blurbs and purchase links. I hope this helps you find the perfect gift for the book lover in your life.

Happy holidays!

Holiday Favorites, Part II

One of my favorite memories from my childhood is the treat table my mother established during the week of Christmas. We didn’t actually sit down to meals on it, but there was always so much food. Chips and salsa, cheese ball and crackers, ham, rolls cheese. Of course, after a couple hours, those things ended up in the fridge rather than the table, and we were left with breads, cookies, candies, and other delicious, delectable treats.

Even after I grew up and moved out of my parents’ house and into one with my own family, the tradition continued. Whenever neighbors or friends or family members brought us a thoughtful yummy, on the table it would go.

As my kids have grown, our treat table has started being established in early December, sort of as a kickoff for the real Christmas season. So far, this year, we have a few minor things on our table. But there are always other great ideas of treats that would be a welcome addition to our other regulars.

Today’s topic: Treats

1. Orange sticks—because seriously. Who doesn’t need a little bit of chocolate during the holidays?

2. Gingerbread cookies—I’m not going to lie, I buy the Grandma’s brand.

3. Homemade caramels—No, I haven’t made these yet, but I’m going to. Soon.

4. Cinnamon Roasted Almonds—I make these too. SO GOOD.

5. Caramel Apple or Pumpkin bread.
6. Hard candies
7. A box of delicious chocolates
8. Chips and salsa (usually homemade, and these stay in the fridge)
9. Cheese ball and crackers (our favorite cheeseball is a seafood one)
10. Chocolate marshmallow Santa’s/snowmen.

What are your favorite treats at this time of year? Shall we add them to our table too?

Holiday Favorites, Part I

This week I’m in a holiday mood. I had dinner with some friends the other day, and we exchanged heart-felt gifts (the kind that wouldn’t mean nearly as much coming from anyone else) and it has left me feeling festive and happy. To me, time spent with the important people in our lives is what makes the holidays special.

In celebration of this feeling of festivity, I’m going to be talking about some of my family’s holiday favorites. And I’d love to hear yours. Maybe we’ve forgotten old favorites from the past, or haven’t found newer gems of joy. Either way, perhaps if we all share a little piece of holiday cheer, we can help each other catch the true spirit of what this season is really all about.

Today’s topic: Movies

1. Elf (EPIC. Best Christmas movie of all time, IMO.)

2. The Christmas Story (Only just barely trumped by Elf.)

3. The Santa Clause (Yes, it’s a series, but the first one is still the best by far.)

4. While You Were Sleeping (because, romance always makes me smile—plus that family is hilarious.)

5. Jingle All The Way (Because I think it’s all too accurate.)

6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. (Both the animated and the new version.)

7. Jack Frost (even though it makes me cry.)

**8. Home movies of Christmases past. My family loves to watch and remember. It brings us closer together and reminds us of all the best parts of our life together. If you have home movies of your family, I highly recommend you try this.

This is a small list. I know there are TONS of awesome holiday favorites out there. What are yours?

Give Books for Christmas!

It’s Christmas time! And I'm participating in the Give Books for Christmas Giveaway Hop, hosted by Inksplasher.

Again, I’m not jumping on a bandwagon, but doing something that sounded fun because, well, it’s Christmas, and I feel like giving things away. Yahoo!

Every year my kids come in on Christmas morning and open at least one book. Some of them (my book lovers) receive multiples. Sometimes, mom gets all the books, and then passes them around. But regardless of whom opens the brightly wrapped box of books, rest assured, they’re there every year.

I believe the world would be such a better place if everyone gave books for Christmas. (For your convenience, here's a really amazing online holiday catalog: http://www.eclecticbookscatalog.com/. You can also learn more about books written by me by checking out my books tab.)

So I’m giving away not one, but TWO copies of Hashbrown Winters by Frank Cole. This is the first in a series, and the books are hilarious, short, and easy to read. The perfect gift for that early reader on your list.

The blurb:


There I stood, hiding next to the vending machines, disguised as a potted plant. I brushed the plastic leaves from my face and stared down the hallway toward the front double doors. Snow Cone always said one day this ridiculous costume would come in handy. Fifteen minutes had passed since the last student left for the buses, but I wasn t about to take any chances. Not with my life hanging in the balance. Leaning forward, I peered around the corner just as the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway. Was this it? Could this be him? Was I about to be pulverized by Hambone while wearing an emergency disguise I had just pulled from my locker? Hashbrown Winters and his treehouse club of buddies are well known around Pordunce Elementary, especially after Hashbrown s seminar last year on how to give the best show and tell performances... er, presentations. But when Hashbrown accidentally crosses Hambone Oxcart, the death dealer of Pordunce, he ll need more than just the support of his friends to survive Hambone s wrath.

Here are the details:

In order to give myself time to contact the winner, I’m going to close this contest on DECEMBER 15th at NOON. So if you enter, watch your email that day.

To enter you must be a follower (see the sidebar) and leave a comment telling me what books are on your Christmas list this year. That’s it!

The hop runs from December 1 through the 15th. All books will be shipped on December 16th. We can't guarantee books will arrive in time for Christmas, but we're going to give it a good try! **U.S. mailing addresses only, please**

At the end of this post, you'll see a long list of the participating blogs. Just click the links and go check out the contests.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas. I hope your day is filled with joy, laughter, and love. I hope this video is a small reminder of the reason we celebrate this joyous day.

Joy, joy, joy!

Oh Fantastic Followers, How I Love Your Smiling Faces

Thanks for sharing your favorites with me this incredible holiday season. I could go on listing, because the truth is there are a lot of things to love about December. But the holiday week is upon us, and I think you get the point.

I wish you joy, happiness, love, and the best of all your favorites this holiday season. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Yule, and, well, Festivus. (Yeah, I said Festivus, for all the rest of ya.)

May your days be merry and bright. And may all your holidays be…well, you know the line.

Lots of love, from Me.

PS I'm taking the rest of the week off from blogging, but if you're wondering who won all my recent contests, you can see the winners on the following posts:

Signed copy of Leviathan
Twilight swag
Signed / stamped copy of MOCKING JAY

I'll be back next week!