Tag Archive for: holidays

Holiday Strategy

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It’s that time of year again. The holidays.  Starbucks is apparently hating Jesus because
they continued their paired back design aesthetic and put out simple red
cups.  (Yes, because from hell’s heart
they stab at Christians with a red cup filled with the artfully foamed blood of
the saints – muwahhahahahah!!) Black Friday ads are starting to pop up
everywhere (stampede!!) and relatives are booking flights and scrambling to
arrange schedules so that everyone can see everyone and be annoyed by everyone
all in a very short amount of time.
As yet, I have made no moves on the great holiday game
board. I’m still trying to determine strategy. Do I try and ride the “I have a
baby” thing for another year and do practically nothing? Or do I pull out all
the stops and try to get the best gifts EVER for everyone?  Should I shoot for every holiday party I’m
invited to, or do I try and find out everyone’s dates in advance and RSVP
according to the level of food awesomeness at each?  Generally, I try and do a really fun
Christmas card, but that takes energy, forethought, and great idea for some
artwork.  Maybe I’ll just skip that one
and move straight to the Christmas letter stage where I make friends and
relatives barf with the saccharine sweetness and absolute perfection of my
life. BECAUSE YOUR ENVY FEEDS MY SOUL. That’s definitely what the holidays are
all about, right?
Below are the following factors I’m using for determining my
holiday event strategy:
1.  Pie. 
  • Is there pie?   If the
    answer is yes, move to the top of the list.
  • Is it home made?  If the answer is no, then I don’t go.

2.  Sleep.
  • Will it cause my baby to be awake far longer than a tiny
    human should be?  If the answer is yes,
    your event will not be considered. 
    Unless there is enormous amounts of pie.

3.  Husband.
  • On a scale of 1 to 10, how badly is he going to complain
    about this event?  If the answer is ballet, then he will not be attending.
  • Can I bribe him with pie?

What are your strategies for coping with the oncoming
storm?  Hunker down or go fly a
kite?  What is your favorite way to do
the holidays?
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie
Mae Mysteries, Tales from the City of
Destiny and An Unseen Current.
 You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Independence Day Celebrations

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by Sparkle Abbey

Laguna Beach Fireworks

Around the U.S. plans are being made for the upcoming Independence Day weekend. In Laguna Beach where the Pampered Pets Mysteries are set, residents and visitors will be celebrating the 4th of July holiday with free admission to the Art-a-Fair Fine Arts Festival and a patriotic band concert at 10:30 AM by the Laguna Concert Band. Then in the evening there will be fireworks originating from Monument Point at Heisler Park. With the Pacific Ocean as the backdrop, we bet they’ll be awesome!

Concert at Iowa State Capitol
Yankee Doodle Pops Iowa Capitol

Here in the Midwest, there will be parades with floats, high school marching bands, kids on bikes festooned with red, white and blue streamers. Later on there will be picnics, swimming, and community fireworks.  Some of the festivities begin today with the symphony’s Yankee Doodle Pops at the State Capitol. This year’s theme is America’s Musical Heartland which includes a commissioned movement, Symphony On A Stick, which depicts in music the sights and sounds of the Iowa State Fair. (At the Iowa State Fair, which isn’t until August, you can find almost any type of food on a stick.)

Dogs in sunglassesWe love the tradition of family get-togethers on the 4th.  Our celebrations will most likely include friends and family and fireworks. Parades, food on the grill and sparklers for the kids. What about you? What are your plans for the weekend? A cook-out or picnic? A lawn chair and a book? Check out our Pinterest board Celebrations for some other ideas for special Independence Day snacks. Leave a comment below to be entered in the #giveaway for a free Sparkle Abbey book and summer celebration reading tote!

Downton Tabby Cover

In our latest book, Downton Tabby, pet therapist, Caro Lamont, agrees to keep an office mate’s cat while he runs home. Little does she know that charming Brit, Graham Cash, will not be coming back for his feline anytime soon. Soon there’s a dead body, a missing person, a snoopy reporter, and a mysterious SUV. In short order Caro and the rest of her crew are involved in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of mystery authors Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter. They’ve chosen to use Sparkle Abbey as their pen name because they liked the idea of combining the names of their two rescue pets – Sparkle (ML’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). The authors co-write the bestselling Pampered Pets Mystery Series which focuses on the wacky world of precious pedigrees, pampered pooches, and secrets in posh Laguna Beach, California.

They love to hear from readers so stop by their website: www.sparkleabbey.com 
Or visit them on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/SparkleAbbey

Next up? Book 8: Raiders of the Lost Bark

Holidays

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I’m here to talk about holidays. Since we recently celebrated Christmas, holidays are on my mind.

Did you there are hundreds of holidays that are celebrated and/or observed in the United States? We have Federal Holidays which is an authorized holiday that has been recognized by the U.S. government; then there are celebrations and observations; religious observations; state and local municipalities observations; the list can go on and on.

How did these holidays come into existence? What do they all mean? Well, I’m going to tell you.


Federal Holidays

  • New Year’s Day is January 1. The celebration of this holiday begins the night before, when Americans gather to wish each other a happy and prosperous coming year. 
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated on the third Monday in January. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was an African-American clergyman who is recognized for his tireless efforts to win civil rights for all people through nonviolent means. 
  • Washington’s Birthday is observed the third Monday of February in honor George Washington, the first President of the United States. This date is commonly called Presidents’ Day. 
  • Memorial Day is observed the last Monday of May. It originally honored the people killed in the American Civil War, but has become a day on which the American dead of all wars are remembered. 
  • Independence Day is July 4. This holiday honors the nation’s birthday – the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. 
  • Labor Day is the first Monday of September. This holiday honors the nation’s working people. For most Americans it marks the end of the summer vacation season and the start of the school year. 
  • Columbus Day is a celebrated on the second Monday in October. The day commemorates October 12, 1492, when Italian navigator Christopher Columbus landed in the New World. The holiday was first proclaimed in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 
  • Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11. This holiday was originally called Armistice Day and established to honor Americans who had served in World War I. It now honors veterans of all wars in which the U.S. has fought. 
  • Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims held a three-day feast to celebrate a bountiful harvest. Many regard this event as the nation’s first Thanksgiving. 
  • Christmas Day is a celebrated on December 25. Christmas is a Christian holiday marking the birth of the Christ Child.

Other Celebrations and Observances

  • Groundhog Day is February 2 and has been celebrated since 1887. On Groundhog Day, crowds gather in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to see if groundhog Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow after emerging from his burrow, thus predicting six more weeks of winter weather. 
  • Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14. The day was named after an early Christian martyr. The first mass-produced valentine cards were sold in the 1840s. 
  • Earth Day is observed on April 22. First celebrated in 1970 in the United States, it inspired national legislation such as the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. Earth Day is designed to promote ecology, encourage respect for life on earth, and highlight concern over pollution of the soil, air, and water.
  • National Arbor Day was proclaimed as the last Friday in April by President Richard Nixon in 1970. The observance began in 1872, when Nebraska settlers and homesteaders were urged to plant trees on the largely treeless plains. 
  • Mother’s Day is the second Sunday of May. President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1914 that started the holiday. He asked Americans to give a public expression of reverence to mothers on this day. Carnations have come to represent Mother’s Day, following President William McKinley’s habit of always wearing a white carnation, his mother’s favorite flower. 
  • Flag Day, celebrated June 14, has been a presidentially proclaimed observance since 1916. Although Flag Day is not a federal holiday, Americans are encouraged to display the flag outside their homes and businesses on this day to honor the history and heritage the American flag represents.

    Father’s Day celebrates fathers every third Sunday of June. 

  • Father’s Day began in 1909 in Spokane, Washington, when a daughter requested a special day to honor her father, a Civil War veteran who raised his children after his wife died. The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson. 
  • September 11, 2001, was a defining moment in American history. On that day, terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners to strike targets in the United States. Nearly 3,000 people died as a consequence of the attacks. Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance are observed on September 11 in honor of the victims of these attacks. 
  • Halloween is celebrated on October 31 where American children dress up in funny or scary costumes and go “trick or treating” by knocking on doors in their neighborhood. Adults might celebrate Halloween with costume parties. 
  • Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is December 7. In 1994, Congress designated this national observance to honor the more than 2,400 military service personnel who died on this date in 1941, during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by Japanese forces.

There are many religious and ethnic celebrations in the United States; even though they are not national holidays. For example, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter, Jews observe their high holy days in September, and Muslims celebrate Ramadan.

Source: USA.gov
 

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving where families gather together to enjoy a good meal and good company.

What’s your favorite holiday to celebrate?

The Holidays Are Gone – or Are They? by Debra H. Goldstein

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The Holidays are Gone – or Are They?
by Debra H. Goldstein

The 2014 holidays, no matter what your faith, have come and gone. The Chanukah lights no longer burn.  Remnants of Christmas packages have been shoved into trashcans and folks are beginning to turn off their outdoor lights to save on their power bills.  It will be at least six to nine months before radio stations and merchants try to get us back into the holiday spirit.  That’s a shame.

It is nice to feel festive.  Sharing gifts, eggnog, singing of songs, and general merriment is fun.  There is a wonderful feeling when families come together whether in person, through computer links, or on the phone.  Even the television ads hone in on the warmth people share at this time of the year.

My heart goes out to those who don’t have enough to eat, a place to go, a hand to hold.  What these people are lacking is never so evident as during this time of the year.  Red kettles and bells, letters with enclosed envelopes, or requests to “come on down and serve a meal,” bombard us.

Although the holidays have ended – pick one to respond to.  I bet, even if only for a few minutes, you’ll feel the joy of the holiday season again.

Happy Holidays!

The Holiday Season

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by: Joelle Charbonneau

I love winter. 
Strange, but true.  I love the
crisp air, the snow and all the fun that goes along with it.  If it means shoveling the walks or scraping
ice off the car—well, that is the price I pay for living in a place where all
the seasons are celebrated to their fullest.
Part of the reason I love winter is the holidays it
brings.  Hanukkah and the glow of the
candles that are lit.  Christmas filled
with music and lights.  Kwanzaa and the celebration
of family and harvest.  And finally the
ringing in of the New Year. 
I will admit that this year I am less prepared for the
holidays than ever and not because I’ve failed to check things off the to-do
list.  The tree is up and there are
gingerbread houses decorated.  I have presents
bought and am getting cards ready to be sent. 
Physically, I am ready for the start of this season that I love.
Emotionally, I am not.
With every day that passes, the calendar grows closer to the
one year anniversary of my father-in-law’s passing.  I miss him. 
I miss his laughter and his support. 
I miss the certainty with which he said I could accomplish anything.  I miss the way he and my son sang songs and
played games.  I miss his shoulder and
his understanding.
And yet, the one thing I know is that he, too, loved the
holidays.  Not the shopping and the card
sending—though he loved giving gifts, he hated the worry of coming up with just
the right thing.  No, the trappings of
the holidays meant little to him.  What
he loved was spending time with his family, setting aside time to reconnect
with friends and celebrating the religious beliefs he followed.
So, while my heart hurts, I will do my best to find the
happiness and joy in each and every day of this holiday season.  When I shed tears, they will serve as a
reminder of the gift of his love that I was given.  And when my son laughs and sings, I will hear
my father-in-law in every joyous sound and smile.  I will remember.  And I will be glad.
This is the season for family and for love.  May the magic of this holiday season bring
you joy and closer in your heart to those you care for no matter how far apart
you might be. 

The Art of Entertaining

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The original Evelyn, bless her soul, hated to cook. Maybe a closer truth would be, cooking bored her. That’s not to say that we didn’t have a family dinner every night (six p.m. sharp). It always consisted of some kind of meat or chicken and two vegetables. The original time efficiency expert, my mother would heat two cans of vegetables in a pot of boiling water. Serve the veggies, toss the water. Done.

I was at least 18 before I discovered that meat came in any other color than grey. She overcooked everything, probably because she wasn’t paying attention. Chicken would bake in the oven for hours, seasoned only with paprika, to give it color. But there was always plenty of fresh fruit in the house, lots of store-bought sweets, and the height of her culinary experimentation was to mix two fruit juices together. My family believed she invented orange-pineapple juice — and maybe she did.

But despite the lack of any interest in preparing foods, my mother was actually a wonderful host. She was absolutely right when she insisted that it was the company that was important. She was gracious (she was Southern after all), generous, and inclusive. For my birthday parties, every child in my class would be invited, lest anyone feel left out. When I was in college and would come home for Passover, she would encourage me to invite roommates who might otherwise spend the Seders in the dorm. They were joyous occasions full of love and laughter…and she would order in the whole menu, soup to nuts.

My rebellion was, of course, to love to cook. For me, preparing a new recipe is like writing a mystery — full of the unknown, often some red herrings (figurative ones, though I do occasionally indulge in the fish) — and if put together correctly, a delight to enjoy.

Cleaning out my mother’s apartment after she died, I found no cookbooks or recipes scribbled on cards. I did discover a file of take-out numbers. But of course, she left me with the best recipe for how to entertain. Invite people you want to spend time with; worry less about the food and more about making sure that everyone is comfortable and cared for…and most of all, enjoy the moments when you are together.

It’s easy to get caught up in the holiday season hoopla. Have fun these next few weeks with those you love.

Evelyn David