So let's get started!
Ah. Just look at it. It's the 1970s all over again. Shag carpeting. A console TV. Fake fruit in a large, gawdy vase and I can't even talk about those clothes. Christmas 1973 gave me quite a haul, and I preen proudly in front of one of my favorite gifts of all time... that table. Whether it was because it was made for kids, so only I could sit at it, making it special by default, or the fact it was such a rich black color that shined so pretty when it was polished, this table witnessed some of my earliest creativity. Namely: Play-Doh art.
As a young child, I found quite a few Silly Putty eggs in my Christmas stocking, but nothing - absolutely nothing - beat those fun yellow jars full of brightly colored Play-Doh. I always wanted those little kits where you could shape and cut it, although I never got one. Probably just as well. I'm a bit of a Play-Doh purest. Play-Doh was best when it was fresh and bright, before you'd end up accidentally blending them together in muddy colored blobs that lose all their visual appeal. I preferred not to mix it if at all possible.
To this day, if I open a tiny canister of Play-Doh, I'm transported right back to this living room at that table, with unlimited possibilities of what I might create sitting in front of me in lumps of child-friendly clay. Some how or another, Steven ended up with a mini jar of bright pink Play-Doh, which I kept at my desk for the longest so that I might get a whiff of my childhood whenever I wanted. It's probably still around here somewhere.
Suffice it to say, you can stuff my stocking with Play-Doh till I'm old and gray. And who knows? Maybe one day I'll get one of those kits, too.
(Don't judge me. It sparkles!)
I mean we kind of have to start with this one, don't we?
Also as a child of the 1970s, I was (and still am) a huge Muppets fan, so naturally that version is my favorite rendition of the original song. And John Denver... I mean... can it get any better than that?
If you haven't done so, check out The Muppets' new sitcom on ABC. It's a hoot and I enjoy it quite a bit. Here's one of my favorite scenes. I'll let you figure out why.
I laugh every time I see it, to the point I have it saved on my DVR list just in case I need an emergency chuckle. Long Live Beakie!
You may or may not know this, but I have a best friend named Jeff, whom I've known since we were ten years old. We met in the fifth grade and have been best friends ever since. That friendship was tested when my mother moved us away from Amarillo, where he lived, back to Abilene, where I was born. We were two twelve-year-olds with nearly three hundred miles between us. Back then, we had two choices if we wanted to maintain a friendship. We could call each other, using expensive long distance where you paid by the minute to talk to people who were out of your area code. Or we could invest in twenty-cent stamps and write each other.
We did the latter. On Muppet stationary, no less.
Over the course of our thirty-five-year friendship, we have seen technology change our world in ways we never could have predicted in Mrs. Sherwood's English class. We've seen vinyl lose the battle to CDs, only to resurrect itself once again. We've gone from landlines without answering machines, where you would miss a call if you weren't there, and no one could get in touch with you if you were busy talking to anyone else, to phones plastered to the palms of our hands, a piece of our life most of us would be lost without.
Thanks to technology, Jeff and I have been able to do some amazing things. Back in 1980, when I was a lonely latchkey kid, he would call me early in the evening and we'd chat all night long, just so I didn't have to be all by myself. To fill up these hours of conversation, we'd often watch TV together, even though we lived several blocks away from each other.
Thanks to the Internet and Netflix, this tradition continues to run strong in the 21st century. We call these our "Whoovie" nights, as we "time-travel" between Texas and California to orchestrate these movie/TV marathons across more than a thousand miles and two time zones. This year, he's agreed to join me for a twelve-day holiday extravaganza as we watch some of our favorite holiday classics.
Tonight's offering is one of my favorites: RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER. I've been watching this show every year for most of my life, courtesy of its annual broadcast. I love this little misfit, this underdog who had all the odds stacked against him. I know a bit how that feels. Watching him in his hero's journey is one of my most treasured holiday traditions, one I was proud to pass down to my kiddos.
Tonight we'll sit down together, with Jeff, who is three states away, and watch this holiday classic. It's not Christmas until I've seen Rudolph. Check my Twitter after 6:00pm PST for Twitter updates if you want to watch along with.
Also new for this year, a baking project featuring everyone's favorite homemade gift: Christmas cookies!! This year, Food Network is partnering with No Kid Hungry to raise money for needy families. And it couldn't be simpler. Bake your goodies like you normally do. Post your photo and tag a friend, using the hashtag #BakeItForward. For every entry, Food Network will donate $1 to No Kid Hungry, which equals 10 meals. Their ambitious goal would provide one million meals for needy families. Let's make it happen!
Today's treat: Buttery Thumbprint Cookies.
You can find the recipe for these cookies over on my Pinterest Twelve Days of Christmas board. It was my first try making this particular recipe. I had been using another recipe that called for almond extract instead of vanilla, but I ran out of almond extract. So I gave this one a try. Pretty tasty! Very delicate texture, and I used a strawberry-blackberry jam to fill the cookie. I love how the tartness of the berries contrasts with the sweet buttery cookie base. Best of all, it was a pretty easy recipe to make, and according to my son, Tim, "The powdered sugar was a nice touch."
And finally, a gift from me to you. My book, LOVE PLUS ONE, is available for FREE through Amazon all day today. This sweet little story was one of my first romances, written in the vein of the traditional romances I grew up on. It isn't (technically) part of a series, although you do see some of these characters again throughout other books as supporting characters. There's not a lot of sexy sexy in this one, so feel free to gift this one to those people on your list who like to keep their romances sweet and conventional.
Fun fact for those fans who have read GROUPIE, FIERCE, SOUTHERN ROCKERS, THE FULLERTON FAMILY SAGA, and THE MASTERS SAGA: Love Plus One is where Jorge Navarro got his start.
Enjoy!
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