A Monday Myth - Four days off to write!

Ah yes, the lure of four days off from the day job...what to do with all that time? Yes, I started out with good intentions.

First came Thanksgiving. All the cooking, cleaning, eating and drinking = no writing, all play. (It's a holiday, I feel NO guilt!)

Friday, I woke up with more good intentions to sit at the computer and get some words written on the WIP. I refuse to do the Black Friday thing and instead we stayed around the house, eating leftovers. More company for cake and coffee that night = no writing. (And I did order one thing online...so does that count as Black Friday shopping?)

Saturday, nail appointment (for some festive holiday color and sparkles!) and dinner reservations with family in the early evening = more drinking, more eating and more laughing...but no writing.

Sunday arrived and the lure of the stores and some sales finally called to me. First we went out to breakfast then we hit a few stores, restocked the refrigerator after being full of Thanksgiving fixings, bought a few Christmas gifts on the list and even bought a coat for the new puppy! I enlisted son #2 to sit and watch a romance (While You Were Sleeping) for an online plotting class I'm currently enrolled in. And yes, you guessed it - none of that equaled any time to write.

Last year, the lack of writing for the last four days would have made me sad, would have given me fits of guilt.

This year, I've embraced my lifestyle. I spent these few days surrounded by the family I love, enjoyed leisurely breakfasts and watching the Hallmark Channel Christmas movies. Not every day must be spent in pursuit of ONE goal. The goal of spending time with the family came first these last few days.

But...it's Monday morning and the pull of the WIP calls to me, so it's back to the 5:30am alarm for me.

Hope you enjoyed some time this Thanksgiving weekend doing what makes you happy!

Happy Scribbling my friends.

Thanksgiving Greetings (and a pie!)

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  ~Thornton Wilder

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish you all a day filled with family and friends, good food and memories that will last a lifetime.

This year, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, I am reminded just how quickly life changes around us. So many of my fellow Long Islanders lost everything in a few short hours. I know I complained about being without electricity for 9 days and yes, I complained about standing in the cold with hubby to fill gas cans for our generator - but we were lucky, we HAVE a generator! This year as we sit around the table with our loved ones near and an abundance of food on our table, I know how lucky and blessed we are.

I wish you all those same blessings for this holiday and for the year ahead.

And if you want a little chocolate for your dessert table (and who doesn't?) Here's the Chocolate Pecan Pie I'll be serving up this year.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped

1 cup chocolate chips

2 large eggs

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Pie crust - either homemade or prepared

Heat oven to 350.

Bake pie crust 3 to 4 minutes.

Sprinkle pecans and chocolate chips over bottom of crust.

In a medium bowl, using a mixer at medium speed, beat eggs, corn syrup and sugar until smooth. Beat in the melted butter until blended. Pour the mixture into the crust.

Bake 60 minutes or until filling is firm. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving. Can also be served at room temperature.

Enjoy.

*Graphic by Little Birdie Blessings.

A Monday Myth - Thanksgiving is a family holiday

THEN:

Growing up I loved Thanksgiving.

Either the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade would be on in the den or we'd venture into the city to stand in the cold with the throngs of people eager to see Snoopy and Santa.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was rarely before 4pm to give any relatives attending the parade ample travel time - and there was always those few relatives that didn't drive and needed to be picked up, etc.

Our Thanksgiving table was always filled to capacity with family and sometimes friends. There were the years we had the adult table and the kids table. Lots of good food, wine when I was old enough, and warm family memories will forever be held in my heart.

Before dessert, the sounds of the football games would drift into the dining room from the den and the men would disappear. After dessert the couches and chairs would be full of bodies too stuffed to move and falling asleep to the laughter of jokes and the family chaos a holiday brings.

Thoughts of Christmas and want we wanted to put on our lists floated around the room - all of us comparing what we'd hoped Santa would bring.

The last guest rarely left our house before 11pm.

NOW:

Over the last few weeks my mailbox has been flooded with the ads from the large retail chains announcing their "doorbuster" Thanksgiving day sales that begin at 8pm on Thanksgiving night! These same stores announce their opening on the holiday at every commercial break when I sit down to watch TV at night. (I can't believe they're proud of this behavior.)

For years now Thanksgiving has been overlooked by the stores as an actual holiday - we jump right from Halloween decorations to Christmas decorations. Now it's not at all about family, about the one non-religious day the whole country unites around to give thanks for all the good in our lives - NO, it's now about the start of the holiday buying season - it's about the all-mighty buck.

It's about having no respect for the retail employees who will work their tails off over the next few weeks with ridiculous hours while the stores try to cash in on every single buying second of the day they can. Don't those people deserve to spend a holiday dinner with their families too? I feel terrible for the people that will leave their dinner table at 6pm to be at their registers in the Targets and the Kmarts to greet customers at 8pm.

For me, I have no intention of leaving my house. I will get up and the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade will be playing in my living room - from start to finish. My husband and I will be cooking and my kids will be home - sucking up the memories. Our guests will arrive and they will be greeted with smiling faces, lots of food and the promise of passing out on my couch till after midnight if they so choose!

After dinner the holiday music will be turned on and over dessert and coffee my family will NOT talk about black-Friday sales. For one day, we will give thanks for what we do have - not what we want. We'll give thanks for the loved ones seated at our table, because you never know who won't be there next year.

There's plenty of time for holiday shopping - I refuse to let it intrude on a family holiday. (As a matter of fact, I'm thinking of NOT patronizing any store that opens on Thanksgiving night at all for ANY of my holiday shopping this year. I know, I'm getting old and cranky, but this has really managed to get under my skin this year.)

How about you? Will you be out patronizing the stores that open on Thanksgiving?

The holiday 15 minute rule

How is it only a week before Thanksgiving?

Once again I feel like the holiday has come way too fast and I'm so not ready.

This year it's our turn to host the family for Thanksgiving, and I haven't even started shopping yet. I lay the blame for my lack of being in holiday mode solely at the feet of Hurricane Sandy and our being powerless at our house for 10 days. Running my refrigerators on a generator for 6 hours a day didn't instill enough confidence for me to run out and buy a 25 lb turkey before now.

The day job requires me to be there five hours a day, hubby just started a new job that keeps him from home for 12 hours a day (including his commute time...poor guy!) and add to the mix 3 kids, 2 cats and a brand new puppy being housebroken and you've got a recipe for CONFUSION!

So I am instituting the "holiday 15 minute rule." I'm a big fan in breaking everything down into small bite-size chunks - everything from saving for a big purchase to a project that's huge and daunting - everything just seems more doable in small doses.

Not familiar with the 15 minute holiday rule? Here's the way things run in my house...

(1) Make a list of all the things that need to be done for the holiday. (And I mean ALL the things! Everything goes on the list.)
(2) Tackle the items on your list in 15 minute bursts. Don't be afraid to delegate - give the kids 15 minutes to do something on the list - even if it's folding napkins or making those holiday place cards.

For example, in 15 minutes I can pull out the holiday decorations from storage. In 15 minutes I can go through the pantry to determine what staples for the holiday baking I need to stock up on. In 15 minutes I can make the holiday food shopping list...etc.

By breaking it down into 15 minute chunks of time several times a day, I can accomplish most of my holiday stress list without being all that stressed - then I can concentrate on the larger issues like setting aside enough time to bake the pies, actually DO the holiday shopping and cooking the meal.

I also add in a few 15 minute time slots during the day to write 500 words and a coffee/tea break ('cause nobody's happy in my house if I'm stressed out!)

Now I need some easy holiday recipes, because I'm just tired of serving the same old things! Do you make anything easy and special for a change of pace?

Happy scribbling my friends!