An open Christmas letter from me to you.

Good morning!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I realize it's not chic in this country to wish people a Merry Christmas.  I mean, there's been this cultural battle about how we should greet each other this time of year.  What I've seen is that after all the yelling and screaming at each other about "Merry Christmas"  or "Happy Holidays" we've wound up just grunting at each other, acknowledging each other with the bare minimum of effort.  Sort of like every other time of the year.

I have been pretty busy lately, and haven't blogged much, but I thought I'd write to you, my friends, in the form of a typical American Christmas letter:  Except this isn't going to be painful to read.

 So here we go:

My Dear Friends:

This has been a tough year for many people, and that's pretty true for me as well.  My little family spent far too much time this year waiting in emergency rooms, talking to doctors, buying prescriptions for multiple medical issues we never saw coming.  It was sort of a mash in the head, starting on Easter night.  When I look back on 2013, I'll think of it as the "year of the medical bills."

Had the year ended on March 31, I would deem this year a failure, a dark, black hole.  But the year didn't end, thankfully, and there were moments of great hope and beauty along the way.

On a professional front, I got my rights back for Dream in Color and I created not one but two new covers for the book.  I also released my two Elsie W. Books 

"Elsie W.:  Unsafe at Any Speed.""Elsie W.:  Not While I'm Chewing"

And I'm currently working on a third book for my "Wicked Women" series, a book I hope to have released by Valentine's Day.

 

 

I think my favorite day this year was a very hot day in July when the four of us went to our church to have our picture taken for the new church directory.  The four of us did not want to be in the stifling hot classroom at nine at night. None of us likes getting our picture taken and let's face facts:  I haven't improved my photogenic features in the ten years since the last church directory.

But there the four of us were, the last photo session of the night for the photographer.  It had been a very tense time in our house since Easter Sunday night and frankly, we were a very fragile bunch.  But something happened during that session:  The four of us laughed together for the first time in a very long time.

We sat in that hot, miserable room, all of us looking really, really awful for different reasons.  (I personally picked a shirt that simply doesn't look good on me.  It's too light for my fair skin.  Normally I wear it under a sweater, but like I said, it was July.)  But there was something that was so funny about the photographer, what we were doing , and everything, it was like a dam broke and all the tension that had hung over us broke and we laughed together and healed.

I keep this picture on the fridge.  I love remembering that day because it was so special. Some time ago I realized I like the way I look because I look like a blond version of my aunt Carol, who is a beautiful soul and if I turn out to be like her I will be a success in my life.

Now here we are, and it's Christmas.  There's trouble in every corner of the
world.  And yet, I can't help but feel optimistic.  Maybe the world leaders will continue to screw up on a monumental basis, but if we here in the real world can shut out the shrieking, shut out the anger, and reach out to each other, we are going to be okay.

So whether you celebrate Christmas or not, let's all take a minute and see the beauty of things, even in the smallest things.  Leave an extra five dollars as a tip for your waitress.  Hold the door open for a string of people at the post office.  Give your mother a hug even if she makes you insane every day of your life.  Don't give the biggest or shiniest gift, give the one that speaks from your heart.  Hum or whistle a happy song.


Friends, I celebrate Christmas, the birth of Christ.  My basis of my faith is hope.  In my writing, I bring to life characters who are very flawed, but have hope.  If I take nothing away from 2013, which started out so very, very wrong, I can take this:  Hope is never lost where there is kindness, love, peace and laughter.

So, where ever you are, whatever you are doing right now, I want to wish you a heartfelt Merry Christmas...and my hope is that we are all just better to each other in 2014!

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Hello all!

Much has been made of the whole "Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays" thing here in the US.I don't know how it is in other countries, but I know saying "Happy Holidays" wasn't an issue until the Politically Correct police made everything else we say wrong for one reason or another.

I am a Christian, so I celebrate Christmas. So when I say Merry Christmas to you,  I'm not making a political statement, I'm simply wishing you the very best this season has to offer anyone an everyone.  It's a time of hope, peace, and sharing.  When I say "Merry Christmas"  that's what I mean. 

So Merry Christmas to you all, my friends.  And Happy Holidays to all of you!  I would love to hear how people of other religions and other countries greet each other this time of year, please feel free to post those greetings here.

As we look forward toward 2013 I have a lot of wishes:  I wish peace on Earth.  I wish the end to wars, poverty, illiteracy, and hopelessness.  I know these things will endure until the end of time.  It's how our world is.  But I also know that if each of us does one little thing, one small, insignificant thing for GOOD, then these things will start to diminish.

Many of you know I sell Partylite Candles as a side project.  One of the mantras Partylite adopted some time ago is "Candle light loses nothing when it is shared."  It sort of fits with the Christian ideal of "Let your light so shine."  Looking at that, I believe, in my deepest heart of hearts, that if we all let our light shine for GOOD, this world will be a better place bit by bit.  One candle in the dark does nothing to stave away the darkness.  But a million candles shining together turn darkness to light.

Politicians failed us.  World leaders failed us.  Governments all over the globe failed us.  Those who are supposed to be in control, to keep this planet of people and nations together in harmony have failed.  It is time, my friends, for each of us to do one thing, one tiny thing, to make the world around us better, to fix what those in power have broken.

Buy an extra can of soup today and give it to a food pantry.  Put a dollar in the Salvation Army bucket.  Buy an extra sandwich when you get lunch and give it to that homeless person sitting on the sidewalk.  When a clerk in a bookstore asks if you want to donate a book to a poor child...say yes.  Shovel the snow off your neighbor's sidewalk, even if you and that neighbor don't get along at all.  Donate a pair of new mittens to a women's shelter. Smile when someone you don't know greets you with "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas."  Help an old person reason something on the top shelf at a store.

These are all tiny little things.  But you never know when a smile, just a simple smile, can save someones life.

So my friends, I wish you the very best this time of year has to offer.  I wish you a Merry Christmas, and I hope the holidays you celebrate, whatever they are, are full of magic and wonder, and joy.

Most of all, I wish us all a happy and peaceful 2013.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Hello my friends!




I am taking a little bit of a holiday break from this blog until after the holidays.



However, I have just posted my Christmas stories to my humor blog:



It can Only Happen to Sarah



Take a few moments a read them. I promise, you'll feel better about the state of your own family!



Meanwhile, I extend my most sincere wishes for a safe and happy holiday to season to all!



See after the new year!



Sarah

You have 48 hours of quality shopping time. What are you doing reading this?

Good afternoon all!

Whew!

I've just shipped out, what I hope will be the last of the holiday rush orders. Now, we all know that isn't the case, because some fool will call me tomorrow and want a comforter sent to Hawaii by Christmas and no, they won't pay for next day air.

Yeah, watch me move quickly on that order! LOL!

If you don't have something done for the holidays by now, don't sweat it. Guess what? If one dish is missing from dinner, or if someone gets three gifts instead of four, no one is going to notice or care. And if they do, they can buy that gift, mail those cards, bake the cookies, or make that dish themselves next year.

Now is the time to sit back, take a deep breath, and enjoy Christmas. 2010 will be upon us very soon and this is the week to reflect on the past year. (Well, after the relatives have been fed, gifted, and sent on their way, of course!)

I'm off to wrap some presents and maybe bake some kringle. Merry Christmas all!

If you haven't shopped yet, don't do it by mail!

Good afternoon!

The holiday season never ceases to amaze me. It seems like people simply forget that it's coming. I've worked in the internet retail business now for three Christmases and this year I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry or just start drinking.

I love shopping online and through catalogs. I do 90% of my holiday shopping that way. But I know there's a cut off line in December past which you simply cannot expect a gift to arrive on time. I always stop shopping online about December 14. I stop ordering things from further away than the central part of the US by December 11. And I've never had a problem.

Yet today, December 21, I'm staring at a full in box of emails and an even fuller in box of SNAIL MAIL for orders that simply MUST< MUST< MUST be delivered by 12-25 or sooner.

Okay kiddies, here's a tip: If you're in need of a gift for Christmas, DON'T ORDER IT BY MAIL ON DECEMBER 21! It ain' gonna happen and all you're doing is causing great stress for order processor who then has to call you...if you put a phone number on your order sheet, and tell you you ain't getting what you ordered.

There, got that off my chest:

Oh, and another thing: I realize that a lot of folks are trying to save time and gas by calling stores to find out the availability of items. But seriously, the phone never rings here...until the week before Christmas when desparate grandmas decide it's time to get on the stick and buy the kiddies something. DECEMBER 21 IS NOT THE TIME TO START SHOPPING FOR THE HOT TOY OF THE SEASON!

Don't ask me about Zhu Zhu puts, the Crayola Crayon maker, or anything else Good Morning America said was the hottest toy of the season. We don't carry those...and won't, probably until two years from now when it's longer hot and we can pick the items up for cheap. We are an OUTLET. You've never, ever called us before...you're just blindly dialing numbers. I'm happy to help, I am, but try and keep in mind who you call so that you don't call us THREE TIMES IN AN HOUR. If we didn't have it at noon, we aren't going to suddenly have one at noon thirty. We have caller ID. We are trying very hard not to make fun of you.

Also, if you shop ebay, that's great. and if you live close to Wisconsin, chances are, we MIGHT be able to get something to you yet this week. But don't be a cheapskate. Admit that you waited too darn long and cough up some express shipping fees. Otherwise we will ship it priority mail and it's gonna get there when it's gonna get there and no amount of begging on your part will make it get there faster. Money talks. Pay express or get in the car and shop yourself.

That all said, I wish a merry, merry Christmas to all! I celebrate Christmas, but if you celebrate something else, that's fine, enjoy. Just don't crap on me because I celebrate Christmas.

I need some egg nog and a nap!

Merry Christmas all!