December 22nd

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning! There won’t be a writing challenge today folks, because, quite frankly I’m too tired to come up with a new challenge. We didn’t get home from my husband’s Christmas party until midnight, and I am seriously dragging this morning.

Yesterday’s bread making went well, but it almost didn’t. Remember I said for the bread to come out right, the weather conditions needed to be ideal and how, even when they are, because there is no recipe, I still mess it up sometimes? Well yesterday I had everything churning in the Kitchen-aid when I hear this little voice in the back of my brain say “yistaw” which in Slovak means eggs. I look around and sure enough, there on the counter and not in the mixing bowl are the five egg yolks waiting to be put into the batter. In went the eggs, and the bread was saved. Thank you Baba!!

So, after seven hours of work, I ended up with six crustanik (nut rolls) and one Cratchunik (Christmas bread).

 

The one cut in the picture didn’t pop, I just had it too close to the one next to it in the pan and they baked together. It wouldn’t have been Christmas if they had all come out perfect. LOL

My girls slept over their brother’s house on Friday night. When he and his girlfriend brought them home yesterday, and they walked into the house, my son’s said, “It didn’t feel like Christmas until I walked in here. Now it smells like Christmas.”

I so get what he means. I remember my first Christmas in my own place. Money was really tight, and all the extra, I spent on getting gifts for my family and friends. I had nothing left to get a Christmas tree or any decorations for my apartment. I figured I was never home anyway with going to school and working two jobs, so what difference did it make. Yeah, I was putting on a brave front; one which my boyfriend (now husband) saw right through.

A few days before Christmas, I come home from work, flip on the switch for the living room light, and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a completely decorated tree filled with love and holiday cheer. While I was at work, he got a tree and lights and set them up and then went and got all of my ornaments from my mother’s house, plus some other Christmas decorations she gave him, and he decorated my apartment for me. It was the best gift EVER!

Okay, I only have a few minutes to get ready for church, so I’ve got to boogie. Hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

December 14th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

I survived, but man I’m wrecked today. We didn’t get home until almost eleven last night, and although I went right to bed, I still needed to unwind for a little while. I’m pretty sure I was asleep by midnight. I am getting too old to handle 21 hour long days! However, for several reasons, I’m glad we did it all in one day.

Yesterday was so cold and so windy in Burlington, but compared to today, they were having a heat wave. Right now, at Lys’ school, the actual temp is -1 with a wind chill of -12. If we had left this morning, we would have been well on our way before it started to snow up there, but we would have probably hit snow in New York and then had to white-knuckle the rest of the way home.

I was shocked. We actually have more snow on the ground here in New Jersey than they do in Vermont; and YIPPIE, we are getting more today. It’s supposed to start snowing here around two pm and go until six, with a predicted accumulation of two – four inches before it turns into sleet and freezing rain. Oh what fun.

Not for nothing, but I’m not going to tonight’s church Christmas party in the mess. They will probably postpone it to next Saturday, but we won’t be able to make it because the 21^st is my husband’s office Christmas party, and there is no way we would miss it. It’s funny, my husband has been with his company longer than all the other employees, except Cindy the office manager, have been alive. The only people who have been with the company longer are the two owners, George and Scott. This will be the thirty-first Christmas party my husband and I will be attending with the company. Heck, we’ve been to more than the owners’ wives.

The forecast has bought me more time today, because now with me not going to the party, I no longer have to spend a couple of hours making appetizers and I can focus on making cookies. Then there’s the other side of the coin; because of the forecast, my cookie exchange may very well get cancelled. Well, I won’t cancel it per say, but chances are the turn out will be small, which is a bummer. It’s the same amount of work for five guests as it is for twenty-five guests, and it’s not as much fun. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Okay, I’m running out of steam, and, snow or no snow, I have a ton to get accomplished today. I hope you have a wonderful, warm and safe day, and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

 

My life is a (Sit-com, Drama, Soap Opera, Broadway Play, Reality TV Show, Musical, whichever) and why.

 

Is it a bad thing to admit my life could fit into all these categories? Well, maybe not a Broadway play… but then again, my life can be quite a production at times; so yes, I guess, even a Broadway play. The more I ponder the question, the more I believe everyone’s life would be a combination of all of them, and I may not be that strange at all.

Think about it. Heaven knows, everyone’s life has moments of drama – a battle between parent and child, a friend or loved one receives a bad diagnosis, someone passes away, someone loses their job. On the flip side, we all have our sit-com and reality tv moments as well where something so strange or unexpected happens, you just have to laugh. The soap opera moments are when you can say “You just can’t make this s**t up”, and the musical is the times when you heart just wants to sing.

So see, we can easily have all the elements in our everyday life which would fit into any and all of these categories. The trick will be figuring out how to have it less drama and more musical…

 

Your Next Challenge is:

Since this has inadvertently become the season of wishes, tell us your one most outrageous wish from Santa, one you know would never happen, but it is still fun to wish for…

 

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

December 8th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

Happy Sunday all!

My husband, my daughter and I went to a Christmas party last night at a friend’s house. Even with Dani was being a typical teenager, bored out of her scull at a pretty much all adult party, we had a good time. I didn’t get much time to chat with the hostess, for obvious reasons, but I did get to catch up with another friend, Dorothy, who I haven’t seen in ages. I met Dorothy and her husband Bruce through cheerleading when both of our daughters were on the traveling competition team.

Since I had a decade of coaching under my belt, I would lead the fans-in-the-stands cheers, and Bruce was usually one of the first ones to get the folks sitting around him going. He even used to bring a conch shell to blow (like they do in Hawaii) because air horns and such were banned from competitions.

Competition season was grueling, but it was because of folks like Dorothy and Bruce, I found myself looking forward to the next season. Dani sustained a cheer ending injury three seasons ago, so she ended up missing her varsity years on the squad, and since she was no longer on the team, there was no reason for us to go to the competitions.

 

Although I don’t miss the travel, the cost and the drama, I do miss many of the parents. We were a pretty close knit group, and to go from seeing them multiple times a week, to not seeing them at all, was a shock to the system. I get it though, cheer sucks up every ounce of free time, so during the season, you have no other life except cheer; and now with practices starting earlier and competitions running longer into the year, the “season” is greatly extended. Anyway, it was nice seeing Dorothy and Bruce, and now I just need to work on getting the rest of “the crew” together.

The potato pancakes were a hit last night. Instead of making regular ones, I made a hundred two-bite ones. I thought they would make more sense at a party. Since they were so well received, I think I’ll make them for my church Christmas party next Saturday as well. They are no longer a trial to make since my mom lent me her food processor which has a grating blade. What used to take me HOURS to hand grate all the potatoes now takes only minutes, so I really don’t mind making them anymore. The frying them up still takes forever, and the house smells like potato pancakes for DAYS, but everyone seems to enjoy them, and since they are not the typical appetizer brought to a party, they are well received.

Today, after church and a quick run to the grocery store, I will be sitting down and writing our annual Christmas letter to be sent out with the Christmas cards. I’ve had the cards for months already. I figured since I had some good pictures of the kids, why not get the cards made early, avoid the holiday rush and maybe even mail them out early. Well two out of three isn’t bad. Here it is, December 8^th, and the cards still haven’t gone out.

I think I’ve procrastinated a little on them because this year’s card is the last time my son’s picture will be on our cards. We send photo cards every year, but at some point, when the kids are grown, they should no longer be a part of your Christmas card, because they send out their own cards. (PJ moved out earlier in the year. He’s twenty-three, and even though I miss seeing him every day, it was time for him to spread his wings.) So, next year’s card will only have the girls. In a few short years, Dani will be the only one on the card; and when she moves out, we’ll be sending plain old boxed Christmas cards, ‘cause no one needs to be seeing my mug on a Christmas card.

Okay, I’ve rambled enough for one day. I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

 

Write a story containing: an animal, a magical being, and snow

 

Tabatha spun and spun, arms outstretched, wings fluttering. She caught a snowflake in her hands, tossed it up and watched as the wind swirled it away.  After one final loop, she floated down to her favorite perch, behind Bunny’s ears, and snuggled into his soft warm fur.

“Oh Bunny, I just love the first snow of the season. There’s just something so magical about it.”

“Magical?” Bunny harrumphed, “This coming from a fairy? Snow is nothing more than condensed water vapors in the atmosphere that the cold air freezes and turns into ice. Nothing magical about that.”

“Quit being such a poop.” Tabatha ruffled the fur between his ears. “Look around you. Yesterday this whole area was grey and drab, lifeless, colorless, boring. Now look at it. Everything is white, and when the snow stops falling and the sun peaks through the clouds, it will all shimmer like a zillion diamonds.”

“Well you can keep your diamonds. To me the snow means I’ll be cold and wet, and I do so abhor being cold and wet.”

 “Oh Bunny, when did you get so old and cranky? When did you stop seeing the wonder and magic around you? You weren’t always like this.

  

Ten minutes came way too quick again.

Your Next Challenge is:

Never in a million years did I expect to see her/him …

 

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.