I used to be one of those shoppers who waited until the last dang minute to do all her shopping in one marathon of a day—even sometimes on Christmas Eve. I’d head to the mall with a list and hope there were still treasures to find. It was stressful as hell. My daughter broke me of that habit.
She begins in summertime, a few gifts at a time, with a more and more refined list until she pretty much has everything on her list purchased well before Thanksgiving. As soon as she starts talking about it, I follow her lead and begin purchasing gifts one at a time in a leisurely fashion until I’m done. I have all the gifts bought for folks in the house. The only things left to buy are gift cards to mail or email, and I’ll be done.
Another thing my daughter does very, very well is keeping track of when sales happen at her favorite stores. Like yesterday’s… She headed to the city to hit Bath & Bodyworks annual candle sale. She stocked up on candles for her house and a few to gift. She brought me one home that’s gorgeous—a Bridgerton-themed one with a pretty glass topper. Candles that usually go for over $25 apiece, she was able to purchase for $9. And we use those candles. I have one burning on my desk right now. She even wrangled her hubby into going with her. He was a good sport to pose for this picture…
He’ll kill me if he sees me posting this! LOL
Anyway, I thought about Christmas shopping and my old mall days. You wouldn’t catch me dead in the mall these days. I love to roam the online sites and like it even better when I can find gifts from local artists or crafters. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me whether you’re braving the mall this year, whether this was or is a thing you like to do…
We have several trees around our house. It seems we “grow” more trees, large and mostly small, every year. Many of the ornaments are ones we’ve inherited or collected over the years. Some are handmade by the children. All hold memories.
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, and then tell me about one ornament you have that you cherish!
Yes, Thanksgiving is barely over, and I’m already looking toward Christmas! Thanksgiving was lovely here. The daughter outdid herself so far as the meal was concerned. We’re eating the last of the leftovers today. Tonight, we’re eating Haluski because we can’t face another day of “buzzard” leftovers. Don’t know what Haluski is? It’s so simple—egg noodles, fried cabbage, and kielbasa sausage all mixed together. We add some Frank’s sauce to spice it up. Yum! Simple, but filling. Then we’re watching a Christmas movie, probably Jack Black’s Dear Santa.
Every day, counting down from the 1st to the 24th of December, I’ll give away a small prize on my Friends page on Facebook. If you aren’t already a friend, you can head over here to join: Delilah’s Friend Page. You can also join Delilah’s Corner group and post your entries there. When you comment on my daily FB advent posts, you’ll be entered to receive a small, simple prize, whether it’s a signed book, a hand-painted (by me!) bookmark, or a pretty beaded pen.
Let me know if you plan to follow the daily giveaways for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card here! Enjoy the puzzle!
A quick note: I’m healing well from my surgery to remove my chemo port. My daughter has to change out my bandages, including packing the chest wound (it is as gross as it sounds) twice daily. Other than that little bit of discomfort (PAIN!), we’re going about business as usual. I see the oncologist again next Monday to see when chemo resumes.
It’s the Saturday before Thanksgiving! This year, the schools gave the kids the entire week off! So, we’re covered in kids (well, the three), and we couldn’t be happier to have them at home. My daughter has all the things purchased for the meal other than the fresh produce she’ll pick up this week. We all love her Thanksgiving feast.
The turkey is always the centerpiece, even though turkey isn’t our favorite meat. Is that you, too? We tend to look for a smaller turkey, around twelve pounds, because we really, really don’t like endless leftovers. We also have a small ham, and that’s a preference for me and the 15-year-old. We freeze whatever’s left over for soups or other meal ideas later. Not the turkey though. It’s a once-a-year thing for us because we’re just not that into turkey except for Thanksgiving Day.
How will we fill the days until then? Good meals, for one. Last night, the 20-year-old took over the kitchen and made handmade corn tortillas, which we stuffed with shredded, smoked pork (my SIL manned the smoker!), cilantro and onions, and her special, homemade hot sauce (so much better than store-bought). Sooooo delicious. We’ll have some leftovers today, and then who knows?
My dd is going to man a table for the art center for the downtown Holiday Open House on Sunday. There’s Black Friday sales she and the girls are going to do on Friday. I’m sure we’ll watch a holiday movie or two. The 11-year-old is dying to see Moana-2 in the theaters, so that might happen, too. I’ve been dying to see Wicked, but I don’t want to face the crowds just yet. Masking up is a pain—and how would I enjoy my popcorn? I might wait until it streams, which is a shame because it looks like a delicious spectacle.
Anyway, those are our plans. Maybe I can talk the fam into hitting the flea market this week. That’s low-key and few people—and one of my favorite things to do.
Contest
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you love the bigger turkey and all those leftovers. What do you do with them? And do you have big plans for the week?
I wasn’t sure what I’d talk about today until I looked at the screen that pops up when I open my computer. There at the top, I saw an ad for the trailer for Hot Frosty. I’m sharing that trailer here—you’re welcome! (For those of you who get my blogs via email, you have to go to the website to view! It’s worth it!)
Yes, it’s not even past Thanksgiving yet, but we’re already watching Christmas movies in this house. I quickly sent off a message to my dd that Hot Frosty was on our list for this weekend! (Don’t you just love that title? It’s silly, cheesy, and totally to the point—so, it’s unforgettable!)
Contest
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me what you have on your list to watch this season and whether Hot Frosty appeals to you as much as it does to me!
So, I released a book yesterday that featured a shifter. She’s not an animal I’ve seen used a lot, but she got me thinking about my favorite kinds of shifters. Who doesn’t love werewolves? I’ve written those. I’ve also written panthers (Bad Moon Rising). Do you remember the kid’s movie, Sky High? One of the characters shapeshifted into a guinea pig, which earned her a lot of teasing from the other kids with superpowers until they needed a small animal to perform a task. So, she’s on my list of favorite shifters, too.
My question for you today is: What kind of shifters do you love or would love to see in a book or movie? Answer for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!
