UPDATE: The winner is…Beverly!
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Last night’s First Annual Ugly Sweater/White Elephant Gift Christmas Party was a huge success! The gifts were hilarious. Mine was epic. I won’t say what it was because it’s political in nature, and everyone watched my face to see how I’d react. Perfect gift, actually. Then we moved on to party games, like rolling a can on the table to stop in front of a little, cheap gift we wanted, picking up uncooked beans with chopsticks, charades… There were finger foods, of course! So much fun. And I say “First Annual” because everyone agreed this would be added to our list of Christmas family traditions. Any excuse for a family party in the Devlin house. 🙂 (My dd and I talked about what other holidays we could pump up with some party fun, too.)

Anyway, this is the last partial week of school, and then the kids will be underfoot for the holiday. Yay! And yikes, too. I still have to wrap gifts and get them under the tree. I’m always last doing it.

On to the Puzzle!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then tell me how close you are to being finished with Christmas/Holiday preparations!

UPDATE: The winner is…Gayle!
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“Merry Christmas, you filthy animal.”
~ Home Alone 2

Okay, so my choice for favorite quote isn’t inspirational/aspirational—but that’s my sense of humor. Your assignment today, should you choose to accept it (I’m going all original series Mission Impossible here) is to find your favorite quote and post it in the comments. It’s easy, swear. Just Google favorite Christmas or Holiday quotes! Share it below for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Well, this is an interesting card to begin my planning for the week. I had to check the book, The Mythic Tarot, to see which hero is depicted here, because I didn’t recognize the story. This is Bellerophon. He was an exuberant, boastful, brave young man. His hijinks caused the death of his brother, and he fled his home to another kingdom, where the queen there became enamored with him. The king there didn’t like that, so he set before him an impossible task—kill the chimera. He gets an assist from a seer who says he’s going to need Pegasus to do this, and Athena gives him a golden bridle to help him capture and ride Pegasus. He kills the chimera, but then gets so pumped up on how great he is that he decides to fly Pegasus to Mount Olympus to boast to the gods. Zeus isn’t impressed, sends a gadfly to bite Pegasus, and Pegasus bucks Bellerophon off his back and to his death. So, pride certainly wenteth before his fall.

What does this mean for me? Hmmm. I’m seeing a big blue sky, a triumphant journey, a conquered foe… Could this mean that my release this week, Little Green Dreams, will release with glorious expectations, only to find me bucked off my high when it crashes and burns? We’ll see.

Open Contests

1. November into December (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Delilah’s Daily Advent! (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Saturday Puzzle-Contest! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Word Search: Types of Christmas Tree Ornaments (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Krampusnacht & Saint Nicholas Day (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
6. Today is Letter Writing Day! (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
7. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: When winter comes… — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Loretta C. Rogers!
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All but two gifts are bought. So, that stress is over. Now, the family and I are settling into the last days of school before the holiday begins. We haven’t started bingeing on Christmas movies. Hopefully, we’ll have time for one today.

In the meantime, the weather is dismal. Not nearly cold enough and rainy. So, the last leaves are still clinging to the trees, the grass is brown with patches of green. The horse and goats love that. The forecasts aren’t hopeful for a white Christmas.

So, the image I chose today is lovely, eerie, and wintery—just so I can get into the mood of the season. I think I need to stock up on hot chocolate and gingersnaps. Something to help fuel the holiday feel.

I love that so many of you seem to be enjoying my Christmas Advent giveaways on Facebook! We’ll keep it up until Christmas Eve!

In the meantime, for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle then offer your suggestions for holiday movies to watch. My daughter leans toward Hallmark Christmas movies. She vetoed the Krampus movie—and I don’t dare mention my favorite, Die Hard. So, any other suggestions will be appreciated!

UPDATE: The winner is…Melinda Barrera!
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I don’t know about you, but I’ve fallen out of the habit of writing letters—and I think it’s a damn shame. Worse, I think it’s very sad that penmanship and letter-writing are no longer taught in school. Did you have a teacher who helped you find a pen pal somewhere in the world for you to exchange letters with?

It’s such a civilized thing to do, I think. A tangible way of connecting. I think the last time I exchanged letters with someone on a regular basis was with my grandmother. She enjoyed getting letters and saved them. I have letters of hers that I saved. They were never of anything very important, just notes to catch her up on what was happening in my life. There was real joy seeing a letter from her waiting in my mailbox. She shared little tidbits of her daily life, and I could hear her voice when I read them. Again, that tangible proof of love.

My question to you today, for a chance to win a FREE download of one of my books, is… Do you write letters? Not emails. Physical letters? Do you receive them? And do you miss them, too?

UPDATE: The winner is…Terra Oenning!
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In keeping with my Christmas Countdown over on Facebook, today’s word search puzzle’s theme is Christmas Tree Ornaments! We all have our preference for dressing up a tree. My granddaughter prefers a more modern and coordinated tree. My dd and I love a cozy, weirdly mismatched tree because we love the ornaments we’ve gathered over the years. The 10-year-old loves her tiny tree that’s decorated with pink pigs—her choice.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me about your favorite ornament!

Just a quick note before I start… Thanks to everyone posting on Facebook as part of the Daily Advent Countdown! It’s already been fun, and something I think I’ll do every year. I really like thinking up ways to play & celebrate online! On to my Sunday, pre-planning tarot card pull…

I’ve had this guy before. It’s Daedalus. You might know him as the father of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and melted his wax-and-feathers wings. Daedalus was a very inventive and prosperous man, who made things for kings. Here, he’s being a bit of a butt. Note the grapes framing the picture. Grapes always mean “plenty.” His wealth is cemented by the four golden pentacles he holds tightly in his arms. He’s not letting anyone steal those from him. But look at his eyes. He’s not happy, despite the fact he has so much. He’s watching his nephew Talos at the workbench, and that’s envy on his face. You see, he can already tell that Talos will be a better artisan than he is. He’s jealous!

So, what does this mean for me? It’s weird to pull this card now. I’m not paying any attention to any other person who’s doing better than me. I’m not jealous of anyone. Is the card telling me not to hoard my talents? Maybe…it’s telling me to “spend” my gifts. I’ll have to think about this one.

What does The Mythic Tarot book tell me? It says there may be a “stagnation of creative energy” if I “hold too tightly to things which are bound up with one’s sense of self-value.”

Open Contests

1. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Flea Market Treasure — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Gabbi Grey: A Sweet Story (Contest) —  This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Upcoming Releases & a Local Legend (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Anna T.S./Michal Scott: Frances Watkins Harper – A Woman’s Reach Must Exceed Her Grasp (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. November into December (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Delilah’s Daily Advent! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
7. Saturday Puzzle-Contest! — Win an Amazon gift card!