Birthday Project for 2014

Last year, in celebration of turning 35, I created the 35 Day Project, where I performed acts of kindness for the 35 days leading up to my birthday.  Many of my friends, family, and readers joined in.  It was so awesome.

This year, I want to take on another project for my birthday, and I am once again asking for help. I have decided that, in celebration of my 36th birthday on April 20 (Easter Sunday), I would like to get donations to create a Children's Literacy Activity Center for the Ford City Public Library. This would be a center filled with structured educational activities for children and families to utilize when they visit the library. Obviously, this is something that the entire community would benefit from.

 This is the link to the list of items we would like for the activity center. The items ordered from this list would be shipped directly to the library.

Birthday Project Wish List

 I would absolutely love if some of my friends would like to help me build this tremendous resource for my community. The best birthday gift you could give me would be help on this project. Thank you so much for helping make my birthday special!

The State of Being Resolute

We are once again on the cusp of a new year, a fresh start, the beginning of endless possibilities.  It is a tradition to make a list of resolutions, things we want to change in ourselves, our lives, our world at large.  Lose weight, stop smoking, read more, swear less, it is different with every one of us.  It is also tradition to abandon most of these resolutions before February.  I think this is because people are looking to change the wrong things, thinking it will lead them to immediate happiness.  The thing people need to be changing is their mindset; they need to realize that we each create our own happiness.  It has little to do with external appearance, and more with internal reflection.  So, in my attempt change my own mindset, I will now admit my list of New Year's Resolutions for 2014.

1.  Laugh every single day.  I try to do this already, and am fairly successful.  Hubby makes me laugh a lot, it is one of my most favorite of his many great qualities.  The dogs make me laugh too.  So between the three of them, I can usually find a reason to laugh, even for just a moment.  And when all else fails, laughs abound on the internet.

2.  Love the people I love in better, kinder, and more abundant ways.  We all have days where we say things we do not mean.  Tempers flare, frustrations arise, sadness falls.  These things are inevitable.  However, the moments that follow these things are the best opportunities to show love when it would be way easier not to.  This means I need to check my envy, swallow my pride, say I am sorry, admit I am wrong, and try to show a little more grace.

3.  Be unashamedly enthusiastic about the things I adore.  Dachshunds and John Roderick, Doctor Who and books of all kinds, creative reuse and gluten free cooking, good music and even better movies, live performances by musicians and comedians, and all things nerdtastic.  These are just some of the things I love.  It is ok if you do not love them, we all have our preferences.  But I do love these things, and will continue to fill my life (and probably my conversations) with them.  I respect the things you enjoy, even if they are different from mine.  I hope you can do the same, because I am never going to stop loving them.

4.  Work harder.  This one applies to all aspects of my life.  Work harder to love myself.  Work harder to make my home the way I want it.  Work harder to establish myself at my new job.  Work harder to be healthy in mind, body, and spirit.  Work harder to care less about other people's expectations and opinions of me.  Work harder to have high expectations and opinions of myself.  Work toward establishing some balance in my life.

5.  Write more, yet blog less.  This might seem antithetical but really it is not.  I have been sort of slacking on my blogs lately, and I think it is, in part, because I need to move on to a new form of writing.  So, in the year to come, I will be backing off from blogging (though not leaving altogether), and reducing the number of reviews I do.  Instead, I will be trying to work on my own personal writing.  I have too many people encouraging me at this point to not at least try.

6.  Stop fearing failure.  My whole life, my biggest fear has been failure.  This fear of failure has caused me to walk away from opportunities, to flee trying new things, and to avoid risks at all costs.  I cannot fail at something if I never attempt it you see.  But by adopting that strategy, I have missed out on some amazing opportunities.  So, I hereby give myself permission to fail.  In fact, I command myself to fail at something this year.  That way, even if I succeed at everything, I will fail at that commandment.  Because I must stop allowing a fear of failure to prevent me from living life to the fullest.  How can I fully appreciate my successes if I never have any failures?

So there you have it.  My New Year's Resolutions for 2014.  

It's going to be a happy new year.

Tiffany's Tuesday Tunes: Christmas Favorites

Well, it is finally here.  Christmas Eve.  The presents are wrapped, the stockings are hung, the halls are decked.  And I can sit back and enjoy the holiday.  Except for the cooking.  And cleaning up.  And then dealing with putting everything back in their respective places.  I guess maybe I will not have much time for relaxing after all!

What I will have time to do, however, is reflect on all the wonderful memories from Christmases in the past.  Sitting at my grandma's house with our huge family, waiting forever to open presents.  Hearing adults sing Polish carols.  Watching my mom make her famous potato salad.  Helping make Christmas cookies.  Tearing open my presents with glee, and saving my stocking for last so that Christmas could last just a tiny bit longer.

As I think back to all these memories, I realize that a very distinct soundtrack plays in my mind.  Songs that were played in our house since the first Christmas I can remember.  I have a very specific list of Christmas songs that are my favorite.  Sometimes it is just the song itself, sometimes it is a version by a specific artist, and sometimes it is just the artist in general that fills me with holiday glee.  So today, on Christmas Eve, my gift to you is a playlist full of my absolute favorite Christmas songs.  Each one is tied to memories of my childhood, and Christmas just is not complete without them.  My family will recognize all of these songs, and know the stories and memories behind them, but for the rest of you, listen and see if you can tie them to memories of your own.

Merriest of Christmases to you all.

Tiffany's Tuesday Tunes: Have Yourself a Quirky Little Christmas

Right about now is the time I start stressing out about the holidays.  Waiting for gifts to arrive, trying to get everything wrapped, planning a gluten free holiday menu, attending holiday social functions.  It is all catching up to me.  I cannot imagine how I would feel had I not done most of my shopping before Thanksgiving, or put my tree up in early November.  With the short gap between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, I think we are all feeling the pressure.

And I hate that.

I hate that a holiday that should be about peace, joy, and family instead becomes overwrought with stress.  Sometimes you just have to force yourself to shake it off, and be a little silly.  And what better way to do that than music?

I think by now you are all taking me serious when I say I love Christmas music.  And most of the time I tend to prefer sacred holiday pieces.  But when the clock is winding down, and I still have a million things to do, I absolutely need some music that is going to make me laugh and remember to have fun during the holidays.  So, I threw together a short playlist of the quirkiest holiday songs I knew.  Sing along, dance along, and remember to enjoy the magic of this season.

 

Musings on the Nutcracker

I have been in super Christmas mode lately.  I have wanted to focus on all things Christmas; music, gift buying and wrapping, movies.  Last night I fell asleep while watching White Christmas; today I am starting my day watching the Nutcracker as I do housework.  Thank goodness for Netflix.

This particular version of the Nutcracker, my personal favorite version, was filmed in 1986.  I can remember, back in the days before cable had made its way to our rural area, this would be aired on our grainy PBS channel, and I would sit in rapt attention watching it.  I have adored it ever since.  However, now that I am an adult, and can watch it on a tv with a crystal clear picture and sound, I am noticing things I never realized before.  First off the costume and production designer was Maurice Sendak.  No wonder I was so fascinated with it.  His artwork papered my childhood.  As I watch it now, I see familiarity in the lines and curves.  And it adore it all the more.  Secondly, the adult Clara narrating the beginning of the story is the voice of Julie Harris.  A prolific stage and screen actress, Harris just passed away this summer.

I am impressed with how well the production has held up; nearly 30 years later it still looks fresh and crisp.  Sure, some of that is probably due to digital remastering, but a lot of it is due to the timeless way it was staged.  In no way does this look like it is from the 80's.  It really is timeless.

Photo courtesy of  Judy van der Velden

Several years ago, I fulfilled a lifelong wish and saw a live production of The Nutcracker in Pittsburgh.  We sprung for first row seats (totally worth it), and I admit, I got a little teary eyed.  While I was never the kind of girl who dreamed of being a ballerina, I was the kind of girl who fell in love with the music of The Nutcracker, and watching it come alive was something I will never forget.  For me, as with most people, the Nutcracker is a holiday staple.

Tiffany's Tuesday Tunes: K is for Kris Kringle

Well, kids, Turkey Day is finally over, it is December, and we can start talking about Christmas without anyone grumbling that it is too early!  I absolutely adore Christmas music.  I remember when I was a child, we had an upright piano, which my brother played.  I used to love getting the Christmas songbooks out and reading the music.  Once I could actually read the notes, I used to pluck the tunes out on the piano keys.  Now, mind you, this behavior was not limited to December.  I used to do it all. year. round.  My poor parents, it must have driven them bananas!

As an adult, I still enjoy Christmas music all year round.  I think it is because there is such a diversity in styles.  Sacred, secular, classical, country, indie rock (oh yeah, I totally have an indie rock Christmas cd).  And my absolute favorite Christmas album is by Barbara Streisand.  Who, as you know, is Jewish.  I think that irony is a little awesome.

I think I will probably have Christmas playlists all month, each one focusing on something specific.  This week I am focusing on Kris Kringle.  Santa Claus.  Saint Nicholas.  Father Christmas.  He goes by many names, but we all know who he is.  The jolly fat man in the red suit who brings you gifts.  I know some people do not like the Santa mythos, because it detracts from the real meaning of Christmas.  I personally think Santa can add to the magic of Christmas, and can be reconciled nicely with the religious significance of the holiday (I know several people who do this well with their kids).  Many people remember being traumatized when they learned the truth about Santa, but I do not.  In fact, I do not even remember when I stopped believing.  I think it is because a part of me still wants to believe in the magic of Santa Claus.

So, while Santa may no longer be the one putting gifts under my tree each year, his spirit still lives in my home, particularly through music.

Literary Christmas Tree

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

I have been wanting to write about this for a while now!  After the tremendous success of our book page floor, I decided I wanted to undertake another bookish project.  Because I am a book reviewer, I get a lot of Advanced Reader Copies, or ARCs, of books.  These are, essentially, proof copies.  The usually do not having finished cover art, and they cannot be donated or sold.  Basically, they are intended to be trashed.  Because I get so many of these for reviewing purposes, they build up quickly, and I hate to just waste them.  So, I decided I was going to use them to make Christmas decorations.

In August, I started thinking of ways to make decorations.  I covered some styrofoam balls with scraps of book pages.  I cut some pages into lines and used them to fill clear glass and plastic bulbs.  I used book pages to decoupage paper mache and wooden forms.  I shredded book pages and used in floral and burlap arrangements.  I made Victorian style floral cones from book pages.  And I used an entire book's worth of pages to make a tree skirt.  I even made book page chain garland.

The results were more stunning than I ever hoped for.  I am completely in love with our literary Christmas Tree.

Because this was not your traditional Christmas tree, I decided to put it up early.  It has been up for about a week and a half.  The entire thing took about 3 books, again, one of those was entirely used on the tree skirt.  To make the skirt, I cut out 2200 circles of various sizes from the pages.  I hot glued them in overlapping rows on a cotton batting tree skirt.  It took about 7 hours to make the tree skirt.

Often I would work on these decorations while Hubby and I watched television, so I was able to put in a lot of hours without noticing it.  Over the course of 3.5 months, I made probably close to 100 ornaments, the chain, and the tree skirt.  I used burlap to make small bows for the tree, and the large bow for the tree topper.

Such an unusual tree needs something unusual underneath.  Vintage books, a vintage typewriter, a file drawer and card catalog drawer were just the thing.

I am incredibly proud of this tree.  I think it turned out so lovely, I am not sure I will ever want to take it down.  You can see the full set of pictures of the tree here.

Our First Christmas

This post was written from a prompt by Community Human Services Holiday Gift Drive in partnership with Pittsburgh Tweetup. To learn more about the CHS: Holiday Gift Project and how you can get involved visit: http://bit.ly/CHSHoliday2013.  View all the posts here.

 Prompt: “What is the nicest thing that someone has done for you during the holidays?”

When I first moved to Pittsburgh in 2004, holidays were pretty lonely for me.  Sure, I went home to visit my family for the actual holiday, but I always knew I was returning to an empty apartment.  When I had my own apartment in Ohio, I always decorated for holidays, because I knew my friends would come over to hang out and I would be able to do holiday entertaining.  But being new to Pittsburgh, and not really having anyone to entertain, I stopped decorating.  In fact, I left my Christmas tree and all my decorations back in Ohio, with my parents.

Fast forward to 2008.  Back then, Hubby was still newly acquired Boyfriend.  We had been friends for years, but only had been dating for a few months.  We already knew we were really serious about each other, so we were pretty stoked for the holidays that year.  Because Boyfriend and I lived about an hour apart, we would typically try to meet up once during the week, then he would come spend the weekend with me.  Around Thanksgiving, Boyfriend asked me when I would be putting up my Christmas tree.  I explained to him that I no longer had one, and I did not have the money to buy a tree and decorations.

The next weekend we made plans for him to come to my apartment after work.  He sent me a text letting me know he would be running a little late, and not to worry.  At that time, I lived in an apartment with a security buzzer, so I had to ring him in when he got there.  When he got to my door, I quickly realized why he had been running late.  He had stopped to buy me a Christmas tree.

He explained to me that we had to have a tree for our first Christmas together.  Once he got the tree inside, he told me that we were going shopping for ornaments, and he was buying them.  It was so important to him that our first Christmas together be perfect, and money was no issue.  I was pretty stunned at this highly romantic, totally selfless act of kindness.  He even made sure we got an ornament that said Our First Christmas.

This will be 6th Christmas together, and each one has been romantic and special.  But I will never forget what he did for me that first Christmas we were together, making sure it was perfect.

Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia!

Tell us about your favorite meal, either to eat or to prepare. Does it just taste great, or does it have other associations?

It feels a little early to be thinking about Christmas, but in all reality, it is not that far away.  With Thanksgiving being so late this year, Christmas is going to really sneak up on us.  Which makes me very happy, because Christmas Eve dinner is my absolute favorite meal of the entire year.

My family is primarily Polish, and ever since my dad was a small child, it has been family tradition to celebrate the traditional Polish Christmas Eve meal, wigilia.  The meal is a meatless menu, consisting of fish, shrimp, baked macaroni and cheese, sauerkraut with mushrooms and peas, potato salad, pickled herring, stewed prunes, and buckwheat.  Before dinner, we do a tradition where we all break pieces off of Holy Bread, called oplatek, wishing each other good things in the new year, followed by a toast with homemade wine.

While the food at this meal is wonderful, it is the ritual that I so dearly love.  The red and green plaid tablecloth.  The gold silverware.  The crisp December air as another family member comes in the door, arms laden with packages, to cry out "Merry Christmas".  Sometimes, during the day, we will watch a holiday movie, or even play a game.  Other times, we just spend time catching up with each other.  We eat dinner, do a little bit of clean up, and then it is time for more fun.  We sing Christmas carols, then it is time for presents.

This is a tradition that my grandparents started years ago, and all three of their children continued it with their children, and grandchildren.  This is what Christmas is for us.  There is something special about the feeling of that day, something that has nothing to do with commercialism, or religious difference, dietary constraints, or weather forecasts.  That feeling is tradition.  That feeling is family.

We have been fortunate for the last few years that we have been all able to get together on this special day.  It gets a little more complicated each year, with work schedules and such.  But this really is a very special gift that our grandparents gave us all, and I love so much that we have, and will continue to carry it on.

Geesh, not I am even more excited for Christmas.  Perhaps tomorrow I will put up one of our trees, and start practicing how to say Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia.  (That is Merry Christmas in Polish.).


Życzenia zdrowia, szczęscia i radości w Nowym Roku!

Tiffany's Tuesday Tunes: H is for Halloween

Ever since I was a kid, Halloween has been one of my favorite days.  In fact, it has gotten to the point that the entire month of October is over taken with spooky activities for me, and this year it reached epic proportions.  We explored an old asylum, an allegedly haunted cemetery, a deserted circus, and an abandoned amusement park.  We went to a zombie paintball outing, as well as a ghost walk in a local town.  We have watched countless horror movies (most of them terrible), and we carved six miniature pumpkins.  Finally, last weekend, Trick or Treat was held in our town.  I dressed up (something I have never done for Trick or Treat), put costumes on the dogs, and used a little speaker to play spooky music on the porch while we handed out treats.  It was so much fun, we had more trick or treaters than ever (Hubby had to make an emergency store run for more treats!), and some of the costumes were amazing!

There are several reasons why I like Halloween.  First off, I like the fake scariness of it.  As someone who is highly anxious, I am used to being scared for extended lengths of time.  With Halloween, we know any scares we encounter, either from a haunted house actor or a scary movie or anything like that, are very temporary and completely false.  Something about that is comforting to me.  It actually makes me feel energized.  Also, by willingly subjecting myself to spooky things, I am in total control of the fear, and that is empowering.  Another reason I like Halloween is that it allows people, myself included, to be someone else for a little while.  It allows people to express creativity.

We have just a few days left in the witching season, and I intend to enjoy every minute of it, starting with the minute I hit start on my Halloween playlist.

Consider it my trick or treat to you!

Tiffany's Tuesday Tunes: A is for America

As a kid, July 4th was one of my favorite holidays.  We used to build a huge bonfire at my grandmother's house, and the whole family would come for a "weenie roast".  You had all your typical picnic foods- hot dogs, macaroni salad, baked beans, etc., and of course, marshmallows to roast.  Then when it got dark, we would be able to see the fireworks from some of the surrounding areas, thanks to living up on a giant hill.  It was always a day full of good food, family, and celebration.  The pinnacle of the summer, it seemed like everything was downhill from there until the beginning of school.

Of course, the weather did not always cooperate, and some years it rained.  So, when it would rain, the only fireworks we would get to see would be from the concerts aired on PBS, things like "A Capitol Fourth".  And of course, those fireworks were paired with some of the most gorgeous patriotic music in the world.  American anthems celebrating our great nation.

This year, for the first time in many years, we chose to not watch July 4th fireworks.  A combination of gross weather and nervous dogs kept us inside.  So, I was inspired to make a playlist of the patriotic music I remember from my childhood 4th of July celebrations.  I dare you to listen and not feel at least some sense of pride for America.

 

Naturally Sweet Holidays

Last week, I attended a workshop led by the amazing Emily Levenson regarding detoxing from sugar.  Because December is a month full of Christmas cookies, fudge, pie, candy canes, and a general array of sweets, the workshop talked about safe ways to detox from sugar, as well as how to find, and eliminate, hidden sources of sugar in your diet, and how to deal with sugar cravings.

Emily said something I found to be really profound.  She said that when we crave sugar, it often means we are craving sweetness in our lives, and by increasing the sweet moments in life, we can reduce our cravings.  It got me to thinking about how our holidays played out this year.

We did nearly all of our shopping online this year, and almost all purchases were made by December 10th.  All gifts had arrived and were wrapped by December 15th.  I had to do exactly one day of shopping in stores, and had all the food shopping done well in advance.  Hubby was on vacation from December 21st to January 2.  All of these things came together to form the most relaxing, sweet holiday season we have had together.  We got to spend all of Hubby's vacation relaxing, snuggling, doing fun holiday activities, visiting family and friends, and savoring a lot of quality time together.  And as a result, we hardly ate any sweets at all.  Our Christmas cookies got stale.  Our stocking stuffer candy is still in it's wrappers.  Our Christmas dinner did not even include dessert.

I am convinced that Emily is really on to something.  When we have sweetness in our lives, our need for sweetness is satiated.  So, the next time you find yourself craving a cookie, candy, or cupcake, before you reach for that sweet, try adding a little sweetness to your life instead.  Kiss your partner.  Snuggle your pet.  Call a good friend.  Do something kind for a stranger.  And maybe, just maybe, you will feed your need for sweetness, naturally.

Making the Holiday Season Full

Last month, I talked about my family's Polish Christmas customs, and what a huge part of my identity this is. I cannot imagine a Christmas without these traditions.  But for so many, Christmas is yet another day full of hunger.  So many Americans have difficulty having any type of holiday meal, let alone one that honors their cultural history.

Over the last couple of years, I have gotten to know some amazing folks, thanks to social media, who run a project called The Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project.  The goal is to collect reusable bags to help individuals visiting food pantries to safely, efficiently transport food.  We all know how flimsy plastic and paper bags can be (not to mention the scourge plastic bags are on the environment); imagine trying to carry those flimsy bags across several city blocks, or taking them on public transportation.  Tote bags are collected and distributed to food banks.

In addition, The Pittsburgh Tote Bag project helps raise awareness about various needs of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food bank, about hunger, and about recycling.  In short, this group does a whole lot of good.  As part of their 2012 Holiday Project, they decided to specifically raise awareness about the culturally diverse impact of hunger.  Imagine not having your favorite food, a long standing family tradition, as part of your holiday meal.  The 2012 Holiday Project suggested that people donate ethnic food items, along with a reusable tote bag.

I talked a lot about this last month, and encouraged my readers to donate.  Now, I put my money where my mouth is.  Tonight, I am attending an event where folks from the Pittsburgh social media set will gather together to celebrate the holidays.  We are using the opportunity to also donate tote bags and food items.  The food items I chose to donate are Hispanic food items, including rice, several types of beans, chicken stock, corn meal, coconut milk, tomato sauce, and peppers.  As I shopped, I could not help but think about the people who would receive these items.  I can only hope that this donation will help to honor and bless them as much as being a part of this project has blessed me.

Please consider donating to your local foodbank this holiday season, and take some time to check out The Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project. They are just good people.

Thankful for... a lifetime of memories

Last night, while at my book club, one of the other girls mentioned oplatek.  For those unfamiliar (which is most people) this is a sheet of holy bread, the same thing Catholic Communion host is made from, used in a Polish Christmas tradition, one my family has done for more years that I have been alive (seriously).  You break bread with other people, wishing them good tidings for the Christmas season and the new year to come.  It is really a beautiful tradition, one that was passed to us from my Grandparents, who were full blooded Poles.  In case you have not figured it out, being Polish figures into my identity a great deal.  I have always been a Polish Princess, and I always will be.

As I talked to my friend about this, she was excited to learn that my family engages in many Polish holiday traditions.  After I left book club, I got to thinking about the Polish Christmas Carols we always sing.  I, sadly, do not know the words to any, and I really should learn them.  I looked some up on YouTube, and this is what I found:

This is my absolute FAVORITE Polish Christmas carol.  We used to sing it every year, and I remember all my aunts, uncles, and cousins crowded into my Grandma's tiny living room singing their hearts out, though most did not really know the words.

I cannot hear this song without missing my Grandma.  Because she lived across the street from us, I spent a lot of time at her house, just like my sister's kids have done with my parents.  She made sure that these traditions carried on in our family.  My strongest memories of her revolved around these traditions.  She was so proud of where she came from, and in return, she made us all proud as well.

My grandma was in her 90's when she passed away.  By this time I was an adult, living in Pittsburgh.  While I wish she had lived long enough to meet Hubby and watch us get married, I know she was there in spirit.  And I am so thankful that I lived close enough to her to form a lifetime of memories, ones that helped forever clinch my status as a Polish Princess.

Thankful for... giving gifts

Photo Courtesy of Andy Noren

We are a family of gift givers.  Sometimes we give gifts for no specific reason.  For example, yesterday, my mom gave me 3 sets of body wash and lotion from Bath and Body Works, just because.  She knows I like that stuff, and that was reason enough.  We also love giving gifts for holidays.  Today, I did a lot of shopping online for Christmas, and cannot wait for the recipients' reactions when they open the gifts.  But beyond all this, my family has a history of giving gifts to people we do not know.  We have always gotten Christmas gifts for kids in need.  Two years ago, I filled my entire car  with toys with the help of my friends and family, and delivered my haul to the Stuff a Bus event in Pittsburgh.  So, yes, we like to give.

There are plenty of people in our communities who could use some cheer during the holiday season.  For example, an organization in Pittsburgh, Community Human Services, provides a variety of services to people in the community, with the purpose of strengthening health and well being.  Some of the services include homelessness assistance, mental health services, family services, and health related services.  This organization helps an under-served and often impoverished group of people, people who rarely get to experience a truly happy holiday.

Doesn't everyone deserve a little something special during the holidays?  I think so.  In an effort to help brighten the holidays for nearly 200 children and adults, Community Human Services (CHS) has a gift project organized.  They are seeking donations of gift cards and cash contributions to help provide small gifts for individuals and families who participate in the CHS programs.  One has the option of donating directly to the project on the organization's website.  Additionally, there is a large fundraising event scheduled at 6 pm on Thursday, November 29th, at Hough's, located at 563 Greenfield Avenue in Pittsburgh.  Admission to the event is a giftcard or cash donation to the CHS holiday project.  There will be drink specials, free cookies, and prize baskets for auction.

As you rush out to get those last minute Black Friday deals, and shop for Small Business Saturday, and click your online shopping carts for Cyber Monday, join me in being thankful for giving gifts.  And please consider helping provide a gift for someone else, giving them a truly happy holiday.

Post script! I have joined in the fundraising efforts over on CrowdRise! You can donate directly through my widget!

Thankful for... traveling home

Even though we only live about 2 hours from my family, it is not always easy to make the trip home to visit.  Because Hubby has such a long commute for work, the last thing I want to ask of him to to get into a car and drive 4 hours round trip in a day.  When we travel, we take the dogs, so that means collapsing their crates and loading them into the car.  Only one of the dogs is a good traveler, and it can really fray the nerves traveling with a whiny pooch.  My parents have active lives and busy schedules, as does my sister's family.  So, traveling home tends to be limited to holidays or other special celebrations.

I am blessed in that Hubby does not work on Thanksgiving day, so we are able to travel to spend the day with my family.  Sometimes we get to go the night before, but alas that was not possible this year.  That meant hitting the road at 7 a.m. this morning, and driving 2 hours.  Hubby, as always, was more than willing to make this trip, and never even grumbled about the early morning wake up call.  By getting there early, I am actually able to help prepare a part of the meal, which of course I love doing.  It also gives me some time to visit with my family before the meal preparations start.

We get to spend time catching up on the news in life, and of course planning for Christmas.  We talk about gift ideas, and potential Black Friday bargains.  Before you know it, the pie has been eaten, the sale fliers have been perused, the leftovers have been divided, and it is time to make the long trek back.

The drive back always seems so much longer.

Tonight, I am thankful that once again, we were able to travel home and spend time with my family.  I am thankful for safe roads, minimal traffic, and the ability to recline my car seat and nap during the drive.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and many things for which to be thankful.

Thankful for... holiday traditions

Photo Courtesy of ccho

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and like most families, we have our own traditional foods.  Thanksgiving traditions seem to be a regional thing, around here they include green bean casserole, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and of course, turkey.  But every family has their own traditional dishes or desserts that make the meal complete.

For my family, our more ethnically tradition centered holiday meals are Christmas and Easter.  You see, we are Polish.  Unless you live in certain parts of Pittsburgh or Chicago, you may not be aware that there are some pretty serious Polish traditions for the holidays, and for my family, they are what make the holidays complete.  At Christmas, we do the traditional Christmas eve Wigilia dinner, which includes several kinds of fish (no meat), and other Polish dishes, including my personal favorite, pierogi.  On Easter, we make Polish beet borscht, and have several other Polish traditions within our menu.  I cannot imagine celebrating these holidays without my favorite traditional foods.

Yet many people go without their favorite traditional foods during the holidays.  Many people go without any food at all.

In light of this, I am proud to be partnering with the Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project as a sponsor during their holiday project this year (see the button in my sidebar to the right).  This year they are focusing on collecting ethnic holiday foods, to help support the culturally diverse people of the Pittsburgh area.  They have made it so easy to help support this project.  They list different ideas for how you can get involved, include shopping lists of ethnic food items that are in need,  discuss different ways you can become a sponsor, and even list donation drop off locations.

Imagine your absolutely favorite holiday dish.  Now imagine you had to go without it.  That is a pretty terrible feeling.  Imagine how incredible it would feel to know that you, YOU, made someone's holiday special by providing their favorite dish.  During your celebrations tomorrow, and throughout the month of December, please consider getting involved with this truly phenomenal organization and help fight hunger.

I am truly thankful, on this Thanksgiving eve, for the holiday traditions celebrated in my family.  I am equally thankful for the chance to help a family in need get to enjoy holiday traditions of their own.

 

Thankful for... online shopping

Photo Courtesy of Daniel Kulinski

I have never been much of a shopper.  Holiday shopping is one of my least favorite activities.  So Black Friday Shopping is like the seventh circle of hell as far as I am concerned.  I only went Black Friday Shopping once, when I was in college.  This was back before iPhones, iPods, iPads, and even before mp3 players were popular.  Sales were not nearly as nutty as they are today.  And yet I still hated it.  In general, shopping at malls and stores during the holiday season is kind of miserable.  Employees are overworked and tired, shoppers are rude and frustrated.  Children are wailing due to exhaustion and sensory overload.  All in all, not the way I want to spend my time.  Some people love it, my sister is a super shopper and a whiz at Black Friday.  Me, I am happy to stay home in my jammies eating a turkey sandwich.

My philosophy is, there is nothing I need or want so bad that I am willing to risk life and limb fighting off a thousand other people who want that same thing.  The fact that people act so nutty, hurting others, getting some thing they MUST have the day after being thankful for what they already have just seems sadly ironic.

Each year, a larger and larger portion of my holiday shopping is done online.  I have shopped online for about ten years now, and for me, it is the perfect solution.  Now, many retails cater to online shoppers with our own day of specials, called Cyber Monday.  I have never really gotten any deals that way, and in some ways it is just as frustrating as Black Friday.  Nope, I will take my time, and browse the interwebz my own way, with coffee in my had, fleece on my body, and wiener dogs in my lap.

As someone who would chew her own arm off to escape a mall on Black Friday, I am eternally thankful for online shopping.

Thankful for... Charlie Brown

Charlie Brown is sort of a holiday staple in our house.  Most people make a tradition of watching the Great Pumpkin special at Halloween, and the Charlie Brown Christmas special.  But one of my favorite's of the Charlie Brown trove is Thanksgiving.

As a kid, Thanksgiving was never a terribly exciting holiday.  The parade always seemed to early, and it seemed to annoy the grown ups who were busy cooking.  Then there was the meal, which was admittedly tasty, but not exactly what a kid would chose.  And then there were endless football games.  Not a whole lot of kid friendly excitement.  There were a few Thanksgiving related kids specials, but the cream of the crop was certainly the Charlie Brown Christmas.

The Charlie Brown holiday specials are still dear to me, and several years ago Hubby bought me the box set.  So, each year, at the appropriate times, we watch the holiday specials.  Since our Light Up Night plans were cancelled last night, we used the opportunity to watch the Thanksgiving special.  I suggested to Hubby that we recreate the Peanuts kids' Thanksgiving feast of toast, pretzels, popcorn, jellybeans, and ice cream sundaes.

Today, we took that silly suggestion and made it a reality.  While I lacked the variety of toasters that Charlie Brown possessed, we made toast in our toaster over.  I did however remain a purist and pop the popcorn in a pan on the stove.  And the ice cream sundaes in the cartoon are pink, which would suggest strawberry ice cream, but I opted for pink peppermint ice cream (which was DELICIOUS)!  We had a minor tragedy when the cat spilled half of the jelly beans all over the floor during the set up phase, but once we got it all on the table, I was pretty proud of our efforts to recreate my favorite Thanksgiving special.

So, today, I am thankful for the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special, and the fact that it inspired us to do something so silly and fun.  Everyone needs to be a kids at heart now and then, and I am so happy that Hubby is willing to be my partner in crime.  (see the rest of my Charlie Brown Thanksgiving photos here)

 

All You Need Is Love

I am dreadfully late with my Valentine's day post (I blame all of the people who encouraged me to watch Downton Abbey, which I finally finished).  But my lateness does not matter, since the whole idea behind Valentine's Day is one I live out daily- love.

I cannot, for the life of me, understand people who are fundamentally against Valentine's Day.  To me, this is a day to show love.  Sure, greeting card and flower companies try to guilt you into believing it is about spending big bucks, but at the very heart of the matter, it is a day to celebrate love in all forms.  It is not just a day for romance; I say it again, this day is about love.  Loving your spouse or partner, your parents or children, your friends, God, and all the wonderful people who share this earth.

Hubby and I make a point to not spend a lot on Valentine's Day each year.  Every year I do something special.  Our first year I decorated our house including hearts stating all the various things I loved about him.

The second year I lined Hershey kisses from the door up the stairs to our room, where I sat with a home made valentine telling him I "kissed" the very ground on which he walks.  This year, I made him a box of candy valentines, with the card using the name of the candy to say something sweet or silly.  Each year, my surprise has cost less than 20 dollars.

 And I always make a special Valentine's Day dinner.

For the last two years, I have also used Valentine's Day to show love, compassion, and respect to people in my community by performing random acts of kindness.

To me, this is what Valentine's Day is about.  Why would I not cherish a day, any day, every day, every chance, to tell the people in my life how much I love them?