Wrap Yourself This Christmas!

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that “the greatest gift is a portion of thyself.”

Yes, I love to craft and create. It has always been my gift to close family and friends to make their gifts at Christmas. The year Red was born I made Christmas ornaments. Small glass balls adorned with a snowman that was built from her tiny footprint. Cute, huh? The next year I made clocks out of wooden plaques with our family’s memories from that year captured in photographs on the face. Pretty cool. The next year it was a wreath made of jingle boughs decorated with small photo frames that captured our memories from the year. Fun. This year I am recycling. I can’t tell you because you just might be getting one, but know it will be recycled and handmade and Red and I hope you like it.

I agree with Pam that more often than not our friends and loved ones wish to have something special under the tree to open. I, in fact, am guilty of this very infraction. So much so that I gave my mother $100 and asked her to take my little girl shopping for the gifts on my wish list. Sad. True. Okay, so that has more to do with creating tradition and teaching a little red-headed princess how to think about someone other than herself at Christmastime, but equally as selfish is my wish for a small gift or two to open on Christmas morning. In all honesty I don’t need anything, but I wish beyond wishes for that small acknowledgement that I exist. Which brings me to the greatest gift of all – friendship.

Aside from the crafty-handmade gifts and the little tokens wrapped underneath my tree I want to give myself and my friends the greatest gift – each other. I plan to open my home to family and friends for one night steeped in frivolous fun – a re-gifters gift exchange, a covered dish, some hot cider, a carol or two, maybe even a viewing of Rudolf or the first Miracle on 34^th Street. No matter what we do, just being together is what counts.

This year would have been impossible to bear without the love and support of our friends so now is the time for me to pay it back, or pay it forward, depending on your perspective. Won’t you join me?

What will you do this season to make it bright on a budget? 

The Classics Do It For Me

Make me giggle to no end, that is. Like this one...

Lucille Ball is an all time favorite of mine, well her and my mother and my aunt when they get started laughing at something and just can't stop.

Cheers to the girls today!

Friday Show & Tell

Pam Asberry * Dacula, GA

Gutsy Smurf

I hadn't heard about the new Smurfs movie, but I practically jumped up and down when I found out that McDonalds had Smurfs Happy Meals on the menu. I was finishing college when the original Smurfs cartoon debuted so I have no idea why I have a childish attachment to these little blue creatures, but I do. It didn't take long for me to find an excuse to head to my nearest McDonalds and order a Cheeseburger Happy Meal; I squealed with delight when I found Gutsy Smurf inside, much to the amusement of the young woman who sold it to me. All I know about Gutsy is that he is a new character for the 2011 movie, apparently Scottish and "brave to a fault." I like his attitude. 

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Megan Stanish - Roswell, GA

"Hi Margie!" "Hi Alice!" "What's the story morning glory?" "What's the word hummingbird?"

Do you remember when you were a young teenager and could not get enough of chattering on the phone? When I was in my early teens, we still had corded phones. We had one phone that had an extra long cord which could reach from our family room into my mom’s room, and I would squirrel myself away for hours in a tiny corner by her bed in an attempt to have semi-private conversations with my best friends. Clearly, my daughter (see above) is much more advanced… both in technology and in the timing of the phone-junky epoch of her evolution as a girl. (1. That's an iPhone in her hand. 2. She is on a real call, with a real person at the other end.)

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Lindy Chaffin Start - Decatur, GA

My bookshelf!

I will NEVER let go! My dream of becoming a  pubbed novelist will be realized! (Insert vision of me dressed as Mel Gibson in Braveheart here, sturdily planted in saddle, spear in hand, with blue paint on my face.) This will be my bookshelf at my local Indie bookstore, Eagle Eye Books in Decatur and, as you can see, I will only be a couple of authors to the right of Haywood Smith which puts me in good company! Looking forward to seeing you Saturday, Haywood, at our Georgia Romance Writers meeting.
*insert battle cry here*

Friday Show and Tell

PAM (Dacula, GA)

I faced some unexpected challenges yesterday, so I am going to be extra kind to myself today and fill the hours with things that bring me comfort and joy. No cleaning or laundry today or grocery shopping or errands. I'll be writing and baking and eating and knitting and beading.

And looking forward to wearing my new shoes tomorrow.

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LINDY (Decatur, GA)

To the outside observer this may look like a piece of wood. In fact, it is a piece of 1/8" subfloor I reclaimed from the neighrbor's garbage. No, I don't have a sag in my living room floor that is sqeaking and needs repair. To me, the 4' wide by 3' high piece of subfloor looked more like a blank canvas. In the next few days I will begin  to transform it into a masterpiece.

Until then, I can't wait to wear my new t-shirt and see lots of good friends tomorrow at Georgia Romance Writers monthly meeting.

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Have a great weekend, everybody! And remember to check back on Monday for more wit and wisdom from Writers Li.P.P.!