The First Noel - arranged by David Lanz, performed by Christina Avila

 I love David Lanz's music, both his original compositions and his arrangements.  Tanya, my best friend from high school, first introduced me to him decades ago!  I can't remember if we listened to his Christmas albums together, but I fell in love with them as well.  My friend Danielle got me the sheet music to his first Christmas album for my birthday one year.  I love playing it.  This is David's arrangement of The First Noel performed by Christina Avila.  Enjoy!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland

 For me, there is no better way to start my holiday season than with this gem from Judy Garland's 1944 classic film "Meet Me in St. Louis". It is a beautiful film and one of my all-time favorites.  The words of this song are Christmas to me. The love we share with our family and friends.  One of the most important aspects of the holiday season.  I share this with you with love and all of my heart.  Let's all have ourselves a merry little Christmas.  We all deserve it! 

Today's Moment of Mindfulness

 "Bring your presence to the present and notice how vibrant life can feel."

Being in the moment can be difficult for me.  I tend to be thinking about what's going to happen tomorrow or next week. Or I am thinking about the past and worrying over things that I cannot change.  But being present, being here right now, can make me feel so alive. It is not always good but even then, that feeling of vitality can be very intoxicating when I am present with my emotions. 

Quote of the Week

 I have been looking for quotes to inspire me as I edge towards my 50th birthday.  I like this one.  It's blunt but articulate 😊

Writing as an Escape

 It's a crazy world now, there is no doubt about that.  And just in general, my life is full of ups and downs.  I am sure many of you have the same experience.  I want to start writing again.  Creative writing.  I believe that it will be a good escape for me.  I think that we all need some place or some way to escape from reality for a while. And that is absolutely fine. For me, it will be a form of self-care, and I am a huge proponent of that!

I want to create a place of goodness to escape to.  Not that there isn't goodness in the world today.  There is, it's just not always obvious.  What I am talking about is creating a place that, while some may find mundane and boring, would be beautiful to me.  I look back at television, books, etc. to the places that spoke to me.  Places that made me want to live there.  Where there were problems, but people handled them with the help of others.  Where a sense of community was often more important than the individual.  These places could be funny and touching.  There would be serious moments when people came together to get through.  A community.

Here are some of the types of places I want to pull from:

Mayberry - "The Andy Griffith Show"

Star's Hollow - "The Gilmore Girls"

Prince Edward Island - "Anne of Green Gables"

Lake Wobegon - "Prairie Home Companion"

This might seem silly to others, but to me it is going to be a way that I survive the next few years of my life. That is all. 

Recipe of the Week - Easy Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels

 If you need a really easy appetizer, here is a good one!  I found this online and tried it.  It was simple yet very filling!  Hope you enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels

1 cup shredded chicken

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup hot sauce

2 green onions, sliced

4 8" flour tortillas

Combine the first four ingredients.  Spread one quarter of the filling on each tortilla.  Roll the tortilla up and slice*

*I like to refrigerate the rolled-up tortillas for a few hours before slicing.  It makes them easier to slice.

Enjoy!

My Little Golden Book About Betty White

 

When I was a young child, I enjoyed reading from the My Little Golden Book Series.  Back in the days before personal computers, cell phones and cable television (yes, I'm that old) children often had to amuse themselves by reading a book, especially if it was raining and you couldn't go outside to play! Grandmother had a lot of these books.  Many of them were holiday books but they were still wonderful.  I remember one about a boy who earned 5 pennies and bought things to help his friends with. It was always wonderful to sit on Grandmother's lap and have her read these stories to me or I would read them to her.  Grand memories.

I have collected some of those books over the years.  I didn't get any of Grandmother's because I did not have children and others did.  That was only fair. But every now and then I will see one at a great price and snatch it up.  Several years ago for Christmas, Michael gave me the My Little Golden Book about Betty White.  This one is nonfiction and covers her life story. It's a sweet book and remarkably accurate on her life.  I have a small Golden Girls collection, and this has definitely added to it.  I know they have done other biographies for MLGB such as Dolly Parton, Queen Elizabeth and Lucille Ball. 

I look forward to finding more of these books on my shopping adventures and sitting down to read them.  Good times!