Family Time

Fresh from a late Thanksgiving and dashing straight into Christmas Season! It's time for the December IWSG session. And I am excited to be one of the Hosts this month! My Co-hosts are: 

Liza  http://middlepassages-lcs.blogspot.com/

Ronel Janse van Vuuren http://www.ronelthemythmaker.com/blog/

Pat Garcia  http://www.patgarciaandeverythingmustchange.com/

Natalie Aguirre  http://www.literaryrambles.com/

And the (optional) Question for December is: As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received? The absolute best gift I've gotten is my convertible dolly - my husband got it for me to cart around my book event paraphernalia & books. It's been a lifesaver! 

Looking forward to reading y'alls posts!

My post is about family. I love the Family Time and am looking forward to more!

I had a terrific visit with my one and only sister and her fantastic kids (and families) plus our folks--so nice to get together and see them all. The great thing about families is we can be ourselves. We tease each other and joke around, but we know it's all meant in fun and our family loves us, faults and all. And that's all in addition to the yummy cooking! But it's also nice to go back home to our own familiar surroundings and the way we do things. 

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season and sharing lots of HUGS!!

Oh, and while I was out of town, my lovely writer friend Tyrean Martinson posted a fun podcast featuring moi! I was so flattered she asked and so excited to share it! Here's the LINK.

Stay warm and cozy!

Merry Christmas from Florida

Recharged!

Welcome to another edition of the IWSG - where fellow writers share their hopes and woes and highs and lows. I want to thank everyone who stopped by last month when I was a co-host. It was great to visit around and receive feedback!

So, how has your writing been lately? If you are on a roll, BRAVO! But if you've lost your motivation lately, I feel you. 2020 was like a mini-Armageddon! Everyone felt ramifications from the loss and loneliness. Some are still recovering. It took me two years to find inspiration to write again. I thought I was done. I tried a couple of events, but had no luck selling. I was really low and didn't think there was a point. 

But the writing bug was still in my system. So I went back to the beginning. I started with some poetry then dusted off some short stories. I decided I would write for myself and self-publish or query if it felt right. I ended up finishing my Pop Travel Christmas mystery starring Geri and...

I have exciting news! My story was accepted into an anthology!

I've always wanted to do a Christmas anthology. And I have to thank The Warrior Muse, Shannon Lawrence for pointing out this opportunity. Shannon lists loads of sites looking for submissions. I definitely recommend subscribing to her!

The name of the anthology is MAGICK AND MISTLETOE, the publisher, Dragon Soul Press.

Everything fell together with this one. While I was finishing the story, I started my search for submissions, but didn't have high hopes since it was already 12000 words. But then I found MAGICK AND MISTLETOE ready to accept any genre up to 15000 words! Yay! I submitted a week before the deadline, and only a few days after they started reading submissions, I got an offer. Double Yay! I'm so excited!

Here's my mock up cover to go with the blurb:

A COLD CASE FOR CHRISTMAS

While trying to make a good first impression on Cooper's parents over Christmas, Geri discovers a mystery to solve, keeping her sane while she's under all that pressure--especially from the cat! 

So the moral of the IWSG story this month is: Don't Give Up!

Life will throw tons of obstacles at us, emotionally and physically. It's okay to take a break from writing to deal with whatever pops up or whatever self-doubt lingers. But things tend to turn around and lead you to what you need and what will make you happy. Don't give up!

#Tips for Surviving the #Holidays

Don't you just love this whole concept? I do!

And I'm happy to have Rena over during her blog tour for a guest post. The poor thing is sick, but she's such a trooper, she wrote me a post anyway. Here's Rena!

Thanks for hosting me on my debut book’s blog tour, Tara!

How to Survive the Holidays: A Practical Guide

As you may or may not know, my debut novel, Acne, Asthma,And Other Signs You Might Be Half Dragon released the Monday before Thanksgiving. I haven’t recovered yet, which got me to thinking about how people always go about the holidays sort of grumpy and crazy, so here’s a post on how to survive the hype without pulling your hair out (You’ll want that hair for the pictures they take at the office party).

Tip one: Be flexible. Look around at everything that everyone is trying to do for the holidays and pick ONE thing. Pick the one thing that really makes you happy, and let all the other things be flexible. Now if you’re part of a family, everyone is going to have a different thing, but even so, that might take your crazy schedule down a couple notches as everyone prioritizes their hopes for the Holidays.

Tip two: Don’t hold yourself to the same standard as your neighbor/sister/friend/Martha Stewart who has been planning for the holidays since June. Those people have a lot invested in this time of year, and if you’re the type to survive the holiday, don’t feel bad that your stuff isn’t as awesome. If you’re looking around this year and feeling left out because those people have organized their family into the perfect carol choir, maybe you should consider building up a bit for next year. Which leads me to…

Tip three: Take notes. If you see someone doing something for the holidays that looks awesome and fun, but you can’t manage to do it this year, try planning for it next year.

Tip four: Smile. If you’re in a crabby line at the store, try to remember that the people who are crabby are having a bad day for a ton of different reasons. Maybe someone lost a job. Maybe their dog died, but they still have to put on Christmas. Maybe their heart is made of coal. Hey, it’s legit, that could totally happen.

Okay, there's more, but you don't have time for that! It's the holidays! Good Luck! 

These are my kinda tips, Rena! Thanks for stopping by!
And here's the info on Rena's fabulous debut...

ACNE, ASTHMA, and OTHER SIGNS YOU MIGHT BE HALF DRAGON

Find it: Amazon  |  Goodreads

Allyson fights acne, not trolls. As an inhaler-carrying member of the asthma society, she just wants to meet the father who turned her mother into a paranoid, move-across-the-nation freak. Now she’s trying to fit in at yet another school, but for the first time in her life, she has a best friend, Beth. When Allyson accidentally spits fire at kidnappers in the mall, she realizes why her father isn’t in the picture: she’s half dragon. Her acne? Emerging scales. Her asthma? The side effects of her dragon’s fire breath. Instead of freaking out, unflappable Beth reveals her own troll heritage and explains how things work with the supernatural creatures hiding within the modern world of smartphones and skyscrapers.

When trolls kidnap a unicorn, Beth gets blamed. Allyson is determined to prove Beth’s innocence and keep her friend off the unicorn chopping block. When they start looking for the kidnappers, they get a call from the last person they expect: Allyson’s father. He tries to warn them off, but he’s been put under a spell by the kidnappers to keep the victims from escaping. Nothing short of death can stop him. Now Allyson must choose between killing the father she’s always dreamed of, or letting her best friend die for a crime she didn’t commit.

About the Author:
Living as a muggle has brought Rena some levels of success such as completing her master’s degree, but always the stories returned, calling her to the keyboard in the dark of night. Now, having built armies from words, Rena has set her sights on world domination, one book at a time.

From her secret base in the wine country, Rena has enlisted the help of her cats, her loyal dogs, and her family―who can be relied upon to hide the launch codes at a moment’s notice. You can find Rena at her blog, follow her on Twitter, Goodreads, or find her on Facebook.

Tis the Season for Wishes

Are you keeping up with everything this season?

You'd think after so many Christmases I'd have this stuff down. But no, it always seems to creep up on me. But part of that is because I refuse to start doing most of my Christmas stuff until after Thanksgiving. I rebel against trampling my November holiday! And I'm happy to say I finally got my decorations up this weekend - can you believe I was the last one on the block!

I also had a very festive event this weekend. The Hamilton Christmas Gift Show - it was a blast! I got to meet some very sweet people and I sold a bunch of books. But my favorite part was meeting a new fan. A girl from one of the other booths bought BBF for her twelve-year-old brother on Friday. Then on Saturday the boy and his dad came to the event and stopped by to tell me how much he was enjoying the book. And before we packed up, they came back and bought Pop Travel too! It was awesome! Such a warm fuzzy feeling!! I just wish I'd remembered to take some pics...

Now here's some more exciting news and A Writer's Wish List by Tyrean Martinson!

The Battle 

May Be Lost

Because of a Family Secret.

With distracting attention from a prince and her mentors both in harm's way, will Clara be able to trust her team with her family secret as they race to fight the Dark Sisterhood on their terms?

CHAMPION'S DESTINY is the third book in The Champion Trilogy by Tyrean Martinson, a Christian Fantasy series with a strong female heroine and an epic cast of allies and villains.

Clara’s destiny is more complicated than she imagined.

NOW AVAILABLE for PRE-ORDER

Kindle - Smashwords 

Author Links:

Blog - Twitter - Facebook - Amazon - Pinterest

And here is

A Writer’s Wish(ful Thinking) List by Tyrean Martinson

I wish:

1. My friends and family network would have all I need for proofreaders, every time I need proofreaders.
2. These teachers, semi-professional editors, and extremely dedicated family fans were readily available - but it doesn’t work when they are all busy, sick, or overwhelmed with other projects.
3. My proofreading family and friends will work for gift cards, dinner, and a bottle of wine. Again, this worked the first few times around, but won’t work always, in all circumstances.
4. My book would be so perfectly awesome after three content edits and a simple proofread that it wouldn’t need any more changes. You can laugh with me, now. I don’t think I’ve ever received this wish.
5. One of my proofreaders would find any timeline issues between books 1, 2, and 3. SCORE! An unexpected proofreader - my dad who reads three to four books a week – found a timeline error. It didn’t feel like a score at the time. I mean, it was late in the game. I expected to have my book out soon. He found a timeline error that no one else saw. So, I delayed my release date to give my book a thorough run-through one more time.
6. My book will be fun and meaningful to read. The referee is still out on this last wishful thinking wish, but I can still hope.

I think we're all with you on these, Tyrean! Beta readers, Critique Partners and Proofreaders are the best people in the world! Congrats to Tyrean - I hope her series reaches many young readers because I know they will love it!


What would you add to your publishing Wish List?

happy last day of 2012!

Well, we made it through another year! Woo hoo!

Hope you enjoyed your celebrations! I saw many happy faces on Facebook. Though I pray for comfort for those who lost loved ones - I know many this month who have.

I immensely appreciated every minute I got to spend with my family. We had a great time at my sister's with cousins and grandparents and played many games and ate wonderful meals! My only regrets were that I didn't get many pictures and that it was way too short!

And tho I was only gone a short time, I'm still catching up! I'll tell you about it in a song...(This has been done before, but this is my rendition)

The Twelve Days After Christmas

On the first day after Christmas, my true love gave to me:

A fridge in need of food!

On the second day after Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Two tons of laundry!

On the third day after Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Three dozen emails!

On the fourth day after Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Four stacks of junk mail!

On the fifth day after Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Five extra pounds!

On the sixth day after Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Six inches of snow!

On the seventh day after Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Seven days to New Year's!

On the eighth day after Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Eight hours to sleep in

On the ninth day after Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Nine games of basketball

On the tenth day after Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Ten sales for shopping

On the eleventh day after Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Eleven chores awaiting

On the twelfth day after Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Twelve hours of editing!

I'm also way behind on visiting blogs. I am trying to rectify that and get my 2013 New Year's Resolutions up this week too! Thanks so much for an awesome 2012! See you next year!

it's all about the ...

TREE

star bright

halls decked out

lights     all   a-glow

reindeer tout

anxious    to   go

presents in their wrap

cocoa     Mrs. Claus    brews

give the whip a snap

thru neighborhoods on cruise

down the  chimney    he descends

enjoys a treat   from thoughtful  friends

homeward route

take flight

wheee!

Merry Christmas!

Sister time

I miss my Sis! I'm so excited to see her if just a few days!

Things have changed so much since we were kids. We grew up with our cousins, knew our aunts and uncles, and our grandparents babysat us. Our lives were so rich.

Now we have had to move here and there, farther away from relatives, uprooted from friends, and I feel we are missing out on quality relationships. So I say again, I miss my Sis! And my parents and nieces and nephews, etc. I am going to cherish these upcoming days.

And since I will be tuning out for the next week or so, I leave you with a list and a request...

My top 10 writerly events in 2012...
10. I went to my first writer's conference and had a face to face pitch
9.  I saw one of my favorite books, The Hunger Games, turned into a movie
8.  I also saw the culmination of the legendary Harry Potter series, final movie
7.  I got a short story published in Bewildering Stories e-zine
6.  I finished my second book at Camp Nano (editing!)
5.  I've been requested a bunch for my banner/caricature making skills - surprising and unexpected!
4.  I co-hosted a successful blog hop with my most excellent new friend and CP, Vikki
3.  I am excited for so many friends reaching writing and publishing goals
2.  I have over 500 followers - thanks!!!

and the number one achievement this year, a fulfillment of my 2012 New Year's Resolution!...

1. I got a publisher!!

2012 has been an awesome year!

And here's the request. If you get bored over the holidays and feel like writing a post, here's a prompt: I'd love to hear your top ten of 2012 - it can be about anything! I've seen some movie choices, book favorites, favorite characters, shows, etc. Have you done anything new and exciting? travel? (hint, hint, Rhonda) Lists are awesome blog posts!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Don't worry, Santa, I got this

So here's the Help the Elf story...
A few weeks ago Pete the Elf had a touch too much Eggnog at the Holiday Christmas Party and as he stumbled home, he lost Santa's NICE LIST. (can you believe!?)

The North Wind scattered the papers to all four corners of the world, and The Bookshelf Muse put out a call to help find them in order to SAVE CHRISTMAS. Ever since I read about it, I've been on the lookout. And then today, EUREKA! Yes that's right...I found part of Santa's missing NICE LIST  There it was, fluttering in the wind, half caught under the corner of my welcome mat. And shock of all shocks, I recognized a name, and I bet you will too.

This is what it said:

NAME: Dana
LOCATION: The Daily Dose
NICE LEVEL: 95%
NAUGHTY LEVEL: 5%
OBSERVATIONS: Dana is a wonderful mom and inspirational blogger. Her only flaws are being overly critical of herself at times and I can't remember the other one.
RECOMMENDATION:     a) Coal                   b) Gift

~ ~ * ~ ~

Because poor Pete is dashing all over the place trying to hunt down the rest of Santa's missing Nice List, I decided to take care of this one myself.

Dana, I have known you since the beginning of my blogging journey and you've stuck around all this time always leaving me a kind word. Someone I can always count on. Can't thank you enough! Enjoy the gift I sent to your inbox and have a wonderful Christmas!

Photo credit: assorted gold baubles (christmasstockimages.com) / CC BY 3.0

And to bring a little family fun to the holiday season, my Sensational Haiku Wednesday -

Families are...

Insane, idyllic,

Irritating, intricate,

Irreplaceable

Sure security,

Sheltering sanctuary,

Sharing soothing smiles

Dynamite Dads, Brave- 

hearted Brothers, Sweet Sisters

Magnificent Moms

Enjoy your family and friends! Merry Christmas!

12th day of Christmas Quotes!

On the twelth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - a wonderful family (sing it!)

"Cherish time spent with family,

skype can't replace a hug."

my lights - it may not seem like much,
but there are more in the back and just as many inside =)

How many relatives can you squeeze into a house? My friend just had 17 guests sleep over. Sounds like fun to me! But I know some people need their space. Seeing family after a while reminds me how we all change over the years. I remember being young and only seeing cousins once or twice a year, but we had a ball! After the first awkward meeting, we were instant friends for life. And I see my own kids enjoying the same wonderful bond, making miles and months disappear. Oh how I wish we lived closer to family.

And since I will be shutting down for the holidays, I wanted to give you my review of VARIANT by Robison Wells.

One word: Inescapable!

Remember Katniss? Her life is beautiful compared to this. She had a family and 2 boys who all loved her!

17 yo Branson has no one. And now he has to find a way to escape from a place he thought would be a haven which no one has ever left alive.

This was a record read, 4 days!

I hate awesome books like this because they're over too quick! Give me more, Robison!

Highly recommend it! =D

Now go enjoy the holidays! Be with the ones you love! And spread some charity!

11th Quotes of Christmas and a haiku

Only one more day of quotes - then I'll be signing off for the holiday. I'm also posting my review of VARIANT tomorrow. It was sooooo good! And I'm hearing of some other books to add to my list, thanks to you guys =)

"Commercialism isn't all bad."

(xmas 2005)

Today my train of thought starts with fireplaces. Do you have one? Is it gas or wood burning? (wish ours was wood, love that smell!) Does everyone get a stocking to hang on it? When my family was smaller we all got one, now we just have them for the kids and this year the dog, at the kids' request. I love stocking stuffers - they are the easiest junk to get. They're cheap, cute and usually yummy! And opening the stocking is exciting with so much stuff in one package. They bring back memories of our family stockings when I was a kid. And my favorite part of the holiday season was the Christmas specials, especially Charlie Brown!. My parents would get us out of bed to watch them! Hence, the quote. Now there are so many, they have marathons. I don't think I can claim this quote, but it fits...

"There is such a thing as too much of a good thing!"

And here is a haiku with Spirit for Sensational Haiku Wednesday!

Into the Spirit

Spirit makes me cheer

Look at the lights! Hear the songs!

Smell snow in the air!

Spirits bring us fear.

Be aware of your actions

Or you'll get haunted.

Spirits douse the stress.

Have a party drink with friends

Just don't drink and drive!

Only 4 days til Xmas! Hope yours is happy! 

10th Quotes of Christmas

Been to any good Christmas parties this year? Any memorable moments? I like to dress up fancy for most parties. I love all the themed parties, like decorate the tree/bring an ornament, cookie decorating, cookie exchange, and my favorite - the white elephant. We went to one this year and one gift was a live fish in a bowl! Hilarious! And people stole it! Some friends posted pictures of an ugly Christmas sweater party! Anyone been to an office party lately? Many places did away with those to cut back on expense. Bummer! I love gatherings =) And Christmas parties are particularly nice!

"Parties are delicious concoctions of flavorful personalities."

7th Quotes of Christmas

Got snow?
So far we've gotten snow showers mostly - more rain than flakes. But we will get a good snow before long. It's the kids who long for a snow day (and us adults). The funny thing is, our school board sometimes likes to call a snow day if the weatherman thinks we are going to get a few inches. Then it turns out to be nothing much and at the end of the season we get dumped on and are scrambling to keep the kids in school with no snow days left! I do like how our town covers the streets with salt when a big storm is supposed to come. We are prepared! Unlike our southern friends who have to shut everything down when they get a surprise dumping. Either way, snow days are splendid!

Anticipation is watching a fluffy, gray sky for the first snowflake to fall.

These are a few of my favorite snow things:

• seeing a coating of snow on everything - so pretty!
• watching big snowflakes fall, I could look at it out my window all day



(2009)

• snowmen, snowforts, watching my boys have snowball fights and sledding
• real icicles

"Icicles - they'll poke your eye out!"

How do you feel about snow?

6th Quotes of Christmas

"Happiness is watching your kids get along."

One of our holiday traditions that the kids still look forward to is trimming the tree. They joke and tease but are happy together. There is actual joy! And I don't have to do it all by myself. We play "John Denver & the Muppets" Christmas songs and rock around the tree =) Poor youngest guy still doesn't have the "hang" of it and broke a couple more ornaments this year, but it's part of the experience. No tears, it's replaceable. These moments aren't. That's why...

"A Christmas tree lights up my heart."

And I want to do a quick tree survey.

1. How many xmas trees do you have in your house? (I have lots, but I would say 3 that need to be assembled)
2. real or fake? (fake, and pre-lit! woot!)
3. star or angel? or other topper? (star)
4. white lights or multi-colored? (white, pre-lit, someday we will try a real one again)
5. garland? (sometimes...)
6. icicles? (remember tinsel? we don't use, too messy!)
7. do you have a favorite/special ornament? (my favorites are a set of clear balls with red glitter polka dots - no reason, just simple and cute)

And one last thing, since it is kick start monday, here's this week's happenings. I've seen more fests popping up all over, but I can't handle any more!

• Today is the last day to join Secret Santa Fest!

• Tomorrow the great 12 days of Christmas giveaway will be over!

• Friday is the Deja Vu blogfest!

 

• And this is my week at Unicorn Bell where I talk about Scene Setting.

Only 12 shopping days to go =) Get those reindeer in gear!

5th Quotes of Christmas

Are you done with your shopping? I'm getting closer. Don't you want to just take a day off and get it all done? But that never happens. There's always something you can't find. Special orders have to be made on line - which is fine if you can get free shipping and even then, it's never all on one site! Smart people start early. Unfortunately, just like buying costumes too early for Halloween, my kids change their minds on what they want, frequently. I'm thankful that we adult siblings have given up trying to buy for each other - we were basically trading gift cards.

So here are my quotes about Christmas gifts and shopping.

"The people you know the best are the worst people to shop for."

This happens because you know what they wouldn't like. You can't find the perfect gift because it doesn't seem to exist. I wish that came in a different color. Of course they don't have the right size. I think I got that last year.

"The best gift is something you didn't know you wanted."

A gift cards says, "I have no idea what you want."

 

"Christmas morning is like looking in a hospital nursery window. So many possibilities!"

That last one was tres lame, I know.

And don't forget to wrap everything up all nice and pretty! I love wrapping! One of my favorite crafty things to do, that I got from my mom, is to cut up all the cute Christmas cards and use them for present tags (the next year, of course!). Do you have any shopping or wrapping tips?

4th Quotes of Christmas

Here are some cleaning quotes to perk you up when you're cleaning for holiday visitors!

"I clean up after others, for others."

"Dirt doesn't bother me, I just avoid it."

"If you can't do the work, don't bring the dirt."

"The best part of cleaning is the five minutes after when you get to enjoy it."

Having company over, especially relatives who live far away, is one of my favorite things about Christmas. But it's also stressful. I want to put up extra decorations and have the house sparkly. Unfortunately the only way guests will see the house at its cleanest is to clean the whole thing right before they arrive. It's hard work, but worth the relaxation when I'm done. I can enjoy their visit without worrying about cleaning for a while. Ahh.

The 3rd Quote of Christmas

Insecurity is cutting others down to make yourself feel better.

I had a strange train of thought for this quote. It all started with Christmas Cards! I love getting them and hanging them up and seeing how my friends' kids have grown. At the store it's hard to pick from all the pretty, sparkly, crafty cards plus the funny, silly cards. Thinking of cards reminded me of looking for a good birthday card. They come up with some funny ones and the sound ones are good too, but some are lame or gross. And that reminded me of shopping for t-shirts for my boys and all the sayings and pictures on them. I was amazed at how many "I'm smart & you're lame" type sayings I saw. Blasted with so many wasn't funny after a while. It was like the shirts were having a dissing contest! There are enough bad attitudes without bored t shirt makers trying to come up with more inventive ways to be rude. Maybe I'm being over sensitive... (pic source)

Why is being good not cool? Society could use a shot of kindness!

But to end on a positive note, I have a book review!

During my travels, I finished Stephen King's latest collection of short stories, FULL DARK, NO STARS. A huge book that was a quick read. How is he so good? (pic source)

One word: Gripping!

Here is my take on each of the tales. Overall a fabulous read, par for Stephen King, but not as horrific and gory to my pleasant surprise.
 
1922 - good old, reliable ghost story. the moral is, if you kill someone, it will make you crazy so even if you don't get caught, you pay for it. =)
 
Big Driver - hard to read because it was so close to possible. graphic and scary! but a positive ending. =/
 
Fair Extension - reminded me of the twilight zone! good story, but not a just ending for me. =(
 
A Good Marriage - great, great story! shock, suspense, justification, hope! =D
 
Under the Weather (a bonus story) - creepy classic, made me shake my head and smile. Loved it! =D

Like my faces rating system? BTW, I'm struggling with my latest reads, looking for something GOOD! I have NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern & VARIANT by Robison Wells on my Xmas list, but I want something now! Not YA or romance... a good thriller? Any suggestions?

KSM - The Second Quote of Christmas

Why is complaining so much easier than complimenting?

Christmas lists sparked this second quote. My kids get what they want and need throughout the year. Then they get spoiled more on their birthdays & at Christmas. We have a hard time making lists of what people can get them because they HAVE everything!

I think kids have heightened expectations of what might be under the tree. What fabulous gift will I be surprised with? And when they open the gifts, they are happy, but many times disappointed. That wasn't on my list, why didn't I get that other thing? I like his better. Wah wah wah.

I really need to take my kids to see where our donations go. They need to see exactly how fortunate they are. They need a good kick in the pants of appreciation.

One of my favorite gifts is homemade coupons. All I want for Christmas from my kids is a book of "No complaining" coupons. (PS - Dear Santa, put an agent in my stocking?) Ah, well.

And so, I leave you with a couple of bonus quotes.

Slather on the compliments and sprinkle sparingly complaints.

See the complaint department - through the exit door.

And don't forget, coming up this Wednesday (12/7) is the Insecure Writer's Support Group sponsored by our distinguished host, Alex.

There is also a grand 12 days of Christmas giveaway blog hop - an incredible conglomeration of bloggers donating their services and prizes coordinated by Sara. Enter as many as you want by 12/13.

I love Secret Santa! I'm so glad Laura came up with this! You can join until 12/12 =)

And I wanted to thank Nicki again for guest posting yesterday - I also met some new folks and appreciate all the comments and will be getting around to visit today. Thanks!

The First Quote of Christmas

Stupidity is thirsty work.

 

Happy December! (it feels weird not to have a poem topic today) And to jump on the 12 days band wagon, I am giving you all "The 12 Quotes of Christmas!" - finding reason in the season.

 

Does anyone else love to see neighborhoods compete to have the brightest, most outrageous lights & decor? It gets crazier every year! Well, I have been fighting with my Christmas lights for several days. I like to conserve extension cords so I try to link as many lights as possible. Here are my deck the house in twinkle lights woes:

• this isn't going to reach, redo
• this plug doesn't fit into this one, redo
• repeat first problem
• new lights dead out of the box! replace teeny tiny fuses (it worked!)
• didn't test lights, 1/2 the set is out - test more, 1/2 the set is out on 3 sets!
• hands frozen, get gloves
• toss some, keep some, note to self for next year, test lights before going outside...

So my stupidity of not planning ahead and not checking the lights created extra work which, combined with the drying heat inside, made me thirsty. Tis the season for cocoa and coffee. Yum! At least I don't have to deal with tangled wires =) And the satisfaction when the timer turns the lights on is well worth all the silly struggles - until it rains and shorts them out...but I fixed that too. Don't you love the holidays!