Tag: new years

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The In-between Week

Christmas has passed, and it was a good Christmas, filled with my beautiful children, Tess and the Irishman.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the overuse of superlatives in the American language, it has become ubiquitous. It’s ordinary now to see awesome, great, amazing or fantastic, when in fact what the person is talking about is good, ordinary or in some cases it really is extraordinary, however it is not amazingly awesome. I myself am guilty of this phenomenon, I must ask myself, when did this happen?
I don’t remember, in my younger years, using hyperbole so much, however in my middle years, I find myself doing it on, embarrassingly, an hourly basis.
Since this is the week of New Years, and a time when people typically make out lists of things they are going to give up, I thought I would start with my language.
So, here goes, my list of things I am going to work on in 2016:
1.) I shall give up the overuse of superlatives, only using them when they are warranted. Not callously tossed about, given without thought, without measure.
B.) I will only buy shoes I need, not have to have, will die without, I have a ton of shoes and refuse to buy things I don’t need. Elizabeth Anne, I need you to keep me on the straight and narrow on this one.
III.) I will learn to use Alexa efficiently, right now I am just bugging her to find Dean Cain for me. She is balking on that task, so, she and I will learn about each other and I will learn her ways.
A.) I will make more of an effort, that’s it, you can fill in the blank with this one.

That’s it, that’s my list, in a nutshell, I am not one to give up things I know I will not be able to. However, there are things I can change, and those I will work on.
I would love to hear what you are going to work on, try to change, or even give up.
It is time now to put away the Christmas decorations, get the house ready for New Years, I will be making my 15 bean soup with the leftover honey ham from Christmas. Also cornbread is on the menu. Jeffrey will not come over for that as he is allergic to beans and hates when I make that. I do fully expect to see Alex and Elizabeth Anne and maybe a few others.
Oh and I have one more, I will be going through my closet and getting rid of what I don’t wear. I seriously need to do that, it’s embarrassing.

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Happy Christmas

Well Christmas has come and gone, I can finally talk about what I got my children for Christmas that I thought was so fantastic and could barely wait to give them. My mom, their grandmother, was amazing, she was smart, funny, kind and anyone who met her felt instantly at peace. She was also a published author, she was published a lot in a newspaper out of Kansas called Capper’s Weekly. Back in 1956 they asked for their readers to write about experiences in coming across the country in a covered wagon, they asked for family legends or first hand experiences. Some of the people who wrote in were in their 80’s and 90’s and told first hand experiences of coming across this great nation in a covered wagon. Well my mom wrote in, she wrote two stories, they accepted both of them, they printed the best stories that came in, my mom was the only one to have two stories printed in the book. This book goes in and out of print all the time. I was able to find the publisher and ask that they notify me when they put the book in print again. They did so this past summer, I was able to order each of my children their own copy, they now have a tangible part of their Grandma Testerman that they can keep their entire lives. I hope they cherish this as much as I enjoyed being able to find it for them. If you ever get a chance, check out the book, My Folks Came in a Covered Wagon, well worth the read. I feel we lose so much of what made this country truly great, the spirit of adventure, of survival, of exploration, my forbearers were explorers. They first came here from Prussia and moved all across this country, from Virginia to Missouri, to Upper State New York, to Oklahoma and all the way to California. I think my children have this sense of exploration, they love going places and seeing different things, they may have a double dose as their father’s side came here from Italy, went to Chicago and landed in Oklahoma, along the way moved to all different places in this country and abroad. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and checked out the tips Shanon J and I gave on the show and put on the website http://www.convosate.com, we will next be talking about how to survive New Years as a singleton.

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Christmas Memories

Well Christmas is upon us and it is time for me to do a spreadsheet to keep up with Christmas presents for people and my Christmas budget. Yes, I do that, I keep a spreadsheet; it makes life easier to keep track of what I get for people and the amount of money I spend. I don’t charge anything, I spend cash, this way I don’t owe anything after Christmas, makes for a very stress free January.
This time of year is filled with highs and lows for me, while I love Christmas and I love spending it with my children and Tess, I miss so many people this time of year. I really miss my mom; I keep her memory especially close to me this time of year. I make her dressing recipe, I cook things in her cooking pot I have and I have a couple of her ornaments for my tree. She always delighted in Christmas so much, she was truly a blessed person, she loved opening her home and heart to all, she encouraged her children and grandchildren to invite others to partake in the festivities. I remember she used to buy extra gifts, generic ones for boys and for girls. She didn’t want anyone to feel left out if they arrived unexpectedly, they would have a gift to open along with everyone else. There are so many reasons my mom was loved by everyone who came into contact with her, this small gesture is just one of the reasons, when you walked into my mom and dad’s home you knew you were welcomed.
I tend to be more nostalgic this time of year, I know, I am nostalgic all year long, however this time of year it is magnified, so if you have not experienced that with me before, well, welcome to December. I’d like to be able to promise I won’t go overboard, however, I will not lie to you, it is going to happen. I miss the snow, snow and Christmas just go together, I hate that we only have it here every once in a while. We did not have it last year, but the year before we did, it is not looking good this year for snow; however I am keeping hope alive.
In the country, at my mom and dad’s house, when it snowed, it was amazing, magical, beautiful, especially when the moon was high in the sky. The snow covered trees sparkled like they were covered in silver glitter, glistening, making everything amazing and wondrous. To this day, when I am sad, I close my eyes and conjure the images of days past, when it would snow and make even the starkest of landscapes amazingly beautiful.
I hope everyone has a magical Christmas, and an amazing New Years, that is my prayer for all of my friends this time of year. I would love to hear about some of your favorite memories about the holiday season, what you used to do as a child, the things your parents used to do that you now continue with your children.

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Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy new years eve, I was asleep before midnight, so I know I was safe!
As you all know I have had a long love affair with coffee, it continues today in a big way. It may come as a shock to all of you, that although I love coffee I have never invested in an expensive coffee maker. Until now. I saw a Cuisineart coffee maker that I fell in love with, had to have, so I got it! It grinds the coffee beans and makes the coffee all at once, how amazing is that! You have the option to use already ground coffee or you can use the fresh coffee beans. This morning I have already finished one pot of freshly ground coffee bean coffee! I think I am in love, the coffee maker is courtesy of Alex’s Christmas present to me.
Yesterday we tried the Twisted Root hamburger place everyone has been raving about. Well let me tell you, it lived up to the hype, wow, that burger rocked! it was perfection and I am not a big hamburger person, but I will be going back to this place. It was so big I could only eat like a fourth of it! Well worth the price and well worth the trip, we went to the one in Fairview. Love that place as well, will have to go back with Elizabeth Anne and make a day of shopping and lunch. They have amazing shops and lots of stuff to look at there.
We also went to Grapevine to the British Emporium, another well worth the trip scenarios. We found the Irish sausages I am in love with, American sausage just cannot compete. I can’t even begin to describe the flavor, it is just smooth, American sausage tends to be gristly, but this is not. I am in love!
We also went to the movies, we saw Sherlock Holmes, it was good, I love Robert Downey Jr, he is just greatness, loved the very last scene. Will not spoil it just in case you have not seen it.
We had a whole day of running errands, from the Apple store to Costco to the afore-mentioned happenings, it was our anniversary and it was a simple day.
It was nice, we hardly ever get to spend the day just running around and being slightly carefree.
I am making my 15 bean soup today, which only Elizabeth and I love, I don’t know why, because it rocks. It is a tradition that I make on New Years day, Elizabeth comes and takes half, then we feast, for a while. She told me yesterday she has been craving it, me too Elizabeth, me too. It is cooking as I write this. I hope everyone has a great day, a great start to the new years and a great year.