2 Weeks Till C-Day

Hey Bloggers! It's just about 2 weeks and counting till the day that Santa lets us all know if we have been naughty or nice! Judging by these photos, there's going to be a lot of coal passed around, Just sayin...

Not sure if this dude is serious or not, but in a very small way the suit is kinda bad ass..scratch that-it's just bad!

The funny thing here is that Dad find absolutely nothing wrong with this picture. I can just hear him, in response to his daughters horrror, "What?"

The modern Addams family. Hey, they like to spread the Xmas cheer too! 

Oh my...What the? Uhhh, I guess I will reserve judgement here. I'm all for flying your freak flag. Right? 

But this?This is just too creepy for words. Well there are two words that come to mind: "Jazz Hands!"

After the previous two, this somehow seems normal....

Nice! Bad Granny here is workin it! You go girl!!! I love it when people poke fun in the face of Christmas.

And speaking of poking fun in the face of Christmas...This one needs no explanation.


Happy Friday Bloggers! And I hope you have a very jolly weekend!

The Great Christmas Tree Debate

I grew up in a "fake" Christmas tree household. As long as I can remember, I never had a real Christmas tree when I was growing up. Not that it really was a huge deal, but the second I had my own home, I vowed to never have a fake tree again....until now.

That's probably 20 Christmases, with my own family, that we have bought real Christmas trees. We have had huge ones, skinny ones, weirdly shaped ones, gorgeous ones, and ones that were uniquely ours in every way. And I have loved them all. They have fallen and smashed ornaments, not once but twice, they have smelled heavenly and they have brought us lots of joy and Christmas cheer. They have also created huge messes. Pine needles everywhere, water stains from spilling, scratches on the ceiling and doors and become an all over big pain in the rump. Especially when they are a complete fire hazard around the 4th or 5th of January.  I used to love to tour the Xmas tree lot, spying that perfect specimen to bring home and lovingly adorn with my Christmas memories. But now?

This year I feel differently. My "fake" Christmas tree moratorium has been lifted. I have been to friends homes recently and seen some gorgeous trees! When they told me they were fake I could hardly believe it so I did a bunch of research on the new fangled fake trees out there. They come with lights already on them?? OMG, this is truly a bonus, and there are so many shapes and sizes to choose from I could hardly decide. And they are beautiful! You can choose what kind of tree you want, like what the actual branches look like and if you want that realistic look, you can get ones that are snow covered and have pine cones. My Guy and I chose ours online, and are picking it up this afternoon and I can't wait to see it. We are thrilled and I couldn't wait to share the good news with Frick and Frack!

Big mistake..

Frick and Frack who both live in other states most of the year are not happy with this Christmas tree development. "No mom! That's disgusting!" Frick said. Disgusting I thought? That's a wee bit extreme. (God bless my baby girl, she is an actor after all.) Frack doesn't love the idea either, so I asked them if they wanted to be the ones to remove the tree from the house and clean up the mess...

Radio silence...

Just what I expected.

In any case, a fake tree it is in this house and I'm looking forward to meeting the new addition to our family. In the meantime I told my kids what every good, loving and caring parent tells their children to avoid disappointment. I said, "I'll buy you some pine tree scented spray. It will be fine."

My Grown Up Christmas List

Something for Frick.
Something for Frack.
My Guy is next. Check off the list, that.

What to do about the family swap? A $75.00 gift for a man or a woman whom never seem to stop.
Shopping online? Better do it now.
Not going to get caught wondering when it will get here and how.

Do I have enough bows, wrapping paper, ribbons and tape?
Where are the tags to put on the wrapped presents we make?
Sales here, sales there, the retailers are swarming.
Prices are dropping because the competition is warming.

Gotta make the homemade ravioli that my Grandmother made.
The sauce, turkey, fixings, cookies, cakes, and the Christmas treats I'd never trade.
Frick wants sausage and cinnamon rolls to eat.
Frack doesn't care, he's happy with every food he meets.

Bones for the dog and put up the tree.
It sounds like a lot, but it gives us all glee.
Christmas is a feeling more than a wrapped up gift,
and these "things" give us numerous memories through which to sift.

Making a list gives me the direction which gives me a push and a shove,
because through it all, everything I do is done with much love.

Cheeky Children

Merry Freakin Christmas

So I was dreaming of this song all night...go figure.

• Merry Freakin Christmas..Jacoby Ellsbury signed with the Evil Empire for a gazillion dollars. Ouch! We knew it was bound to happen. Ellsbury's agent is Satan and nobody wants to deal with him. Ellsbury is from CA, so no ties here to his East Coast team and it's like Wes Welker all over again. Thanks buddy, for the dedication and the memories. 

• Black Friday was a great success. Small business Sat-not so much-and Cyber Monday was a huge blow out. What's that all about? Are brick and mortar stores a thing of the past? What does that say about stores like mine? Delivery by DRONE?? And according to Amazon CEO Jeffery Bezos, if you can buy it, you can get it from Amazon and have it delivered to your door. "Complaining is not a strategy," Bezos says to small business owners. Ok Jeffery, who died and made you retail boss? I can embrace technology too. You started small once and I can only imagine the possibilities today, but the second you think you are invincible is the second you are dead in the water. Jus sayin..(for the record that last statement is not a challenge to the world's largest online retailer. Just an opinion is all)

• Still don't have my Christmas tree yet. My house is decorated but this is late for us. I'm beginning to feel the XMas pinch. Why are the holiday's so competitive?

• It's like the song above says," I don't need expensive things. They don't matter to me." Even though the holidays are a crunch and a hustle and busy and crazy, I still love Christmas and the anticipation of the holiday like I did when I was little. This is, for sure, the best time of the year. And for all my complaining, I really love every little twinkling light and ribbon and all that holiday music. 

Merry Christmas everyone. 

Ring-A-Ling-A-Ling-A-Ding-Dong-Ding

Just like the song says, "just hear those sleigh bells jingling ring ting tingling too", once you hear them it's hard not to sing right along. "Come on it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you."

Admit it. Your car radio has been on the local all Christmas music-all the time station for weeks and your heart beats a little merrier when you listen to the songs of the season. There are so many Christmas songs that put us in the mood for merriment, I wondered which ones would be in the Top 5 of all time.

According to Billboard Charts, these are the Top 5 Holiday Songs of all time:

#5. Burl Ives, "Holly Jolly Christmas". Not bad for a song that was recorded for a children's Christmas tale like "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer." Who could forget his snowman voice overs and rendition of this song.

#4. Bobby Helms, "Jingle Bell Rock".  First recorded in 1957, this song has been recorded and re-recorded by thousands of others, but Helms version is the one we want to hear. The distinctive guitar that belts out the melody in the opening seconds of the song are best known.

#3. Nat King Cole, "The Christmas Song". What would Christmas be like without this soft and soulful rendition from Nat King Cole. Roasting chestnuts has never sounded so good.

#2. Brenda Lee, "Rocking Around The Christmas Tree". Brenda Lee, a singer who sang rock pop and country hits, was best know for this Christmas song. She was 13 at the time she recorded this Christmas hit in 1958.

And the Number 1 most beloved Christmas song of all time, (according to Billboard)

#1. Mariah Carey, "All I want for Christmas is You". Yup, my very own doppelganger. Written by Mariah and Walter Afanasieff and recorded in 1994, this song remains one of the best selling singles OF ALL TIME. The thing about this song is, even though at this time of year, when they play it four thousand times a day, it still makes me smile and gets my feet tapping. And it's one of the most covered too. Michael Buble brought it down tempo with his smooth vocals and lots of other performers have tried to cover it, but in reality, there's only one Mariah, and nobody even comes close when it comes to this song.

So bloggers, did I forget anyone? Any song? Any favorites? 

This Is Me If I were Santa

One particular Christmas season a long time ago, Santa was getting ready for is annual trip, but there were problems everywhere. Four of his elves got sick, and the trainee elves did not produce the toys as fast as the regular ones so Santa was beginning to feel the pressure of being behind schedule. Then Mrs. Claus told Santa that her mom was coming to visit. This stressed Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two had jumped the fence and were out, heaven knows where. More stress.

Then when he began to load the sleigh one of the boards cracked, and the toy bag fell to the ground and scattered the toys. So, frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum.

When he went to the cupboard, he discovered that the elves had hidden the liquor, and there was nothing to drink. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider pot, and it broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten the straw end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang, and irritable Santa trudged to the door. He opened the door, and there was a little angel with a great Christmas tree.

The angel said, very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't it a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?"

Thus began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.

http://www.dancentury.com/xmas.html#.UL9vHOTLSf4

Merry Christmas

He's coming, you know, my good friend in red.
All dressed in his finest, from the top of his head.
At Christmas time I get giddy with happiness and cheer.
But really, it could be from all the eggnog and beer.

So we'll invite him to come, to join in our joy.
Knowing full well that he's busy, he gotta bust out the toys.
But to me Santa just isn't a legend in red.
He's a spirit, a hero and a saint, in my head.

As I harness that feeling when I think of the old boy,
I'll try to remember that this weekend's about joy.
It's not about toys and it's not about things.
It's about family and love and about spreading your wings.

Merry Christmas bloggers, may you all experience great love.
My wish for you is for blessings, that come from above.
But can Santa do that? Can he even try?
Well, for sure he's a myth, which means we'll never know why.

May your holiday be wondrous and your heart filled with glee.
And may Santa bring you peace, all wrapped up under your tree.


A very merry Christmas to you and yours from Candy's Daily Dandy.

Cookie Monster

No wonder Cookie Monster is one of the most beloved Sesame Street characters of all time, because nothing reduces mature adults into little children more than a plate full of cookies. We had our annual Christmas party yesterday and we decided to participate in a cookie swap. Have you ever done this?

Everybody makes two dozen cookies; the recipe of their choice, and brings them to the party. The cookies get laid out on a table and the guests each get to make a platter full of two or three of each kind of cookie. We had 11 people and about 15 different varieties of cookies to make a generous platter of cookies from. The hostess bought us special Christmas platters to house the cookies and take home as a party favor. It was a blast, and all of the cookies were fantastic. We even ended up swapping a few recipes by the end of the party.

The best part of the cookie swap is that now everyone has all these different, colorful and fantastic cookies, we get to share them with our families! When I got home, the quiet household came to life and more than a few cookies were consumed before dinner. We had gingerbread men, candy canes with colorful frosting and Christmas trees. There were smores bars and wedding cakes and peanut butter cookies with Hershey's kisses. One woman made colorful bags full of a wonderful mix she called "White Trash", which was Check mix with melted white chocolate and another made homemade English Toffee.

I got a recipe for these little treats:

Pretzel Squares
Rollo Candy
Pecans

Put the Rollo candy on top of the pretzel square, then the pecan on top of that.
Place in an oven heated to 325 degrees.
Watch as the candy melts, just enough to adhere to the pretzel and the pecan to the candy, a few minutes.
Remove from oven and let harden.
Enjoy!

The tough part is now staying away from the cookie platter, especially when a cookie would make a nice breakfast on the go and great lunch follow up. Too bad there's not a fool proof way to remove all the fat and calories these colorful creations are chock full of.

Now that would be one heck of a Christmas present, right?

In The Black

We have lots of magazine subscriptions for the holidays!

It turned out to be a very Black Friday this year. I can report a brisk return to holiday shopping and so far, I'm encouraged. Better than expected, and I'm happy to report that it seems to be trending all over the country. According to today's news, the reports are in and this could be a very merry Christmas for retailers. Wall Street is also happy. The Dow rallied 291 points yesterday and consumer confidence seems to be growing.

Much of this weekend's hype was created specifically by the media and the retailers to create a shopping frenzy, and it worked because sales are up. "Black Friday sales were unbelievably good-really solid," said John Herman of Boston-based State Street Global Markets.
Shoppers were bombarded with Black Friday images and ads on most all media outlets, begging some to ask the question, "am I missing out on something?"

The common denominator in all this is discounts. In order to survive, retailers must be competitive and offer substantial discounts to their customers. And we did. For me, this translated into more volume than last year. With American Express sponsored and advertised Small Business Saturday immediately following Black Friday, the weekend turned into a Black Business windfall for small retailers.

Yesterday's Cyber Monday's numbers are not in yet, but early projections speculate sales increasing form last year by 15% and this could all bode well for the economy to start out the 2012 New Year.

I'm hoping to ride this wave of consumer confidence. Keep shopping America, and keep shopping local.

Christmas Cut Off

So when is the legal Christmas cut off? And by that I mean, when is it the proper time to remove Christmas from your home after the holiday is a wrap? no pun intended...

I'm driving home last night and I see two, count them, TWO houses on my street with full on holiday, ho ho ho...Christmas tree still up, lights on the trees outside and candles in the window. Is this legal? Isn't there some committee made up of Rotary League women, who smell like Estee Lauder and knit coasters for their antique tables that decide how long is proper for Christmas displays to be up? Today is Jan. 18th for goodness sake, and I know that, for me, Christmas 2010 is nothing but a distant memory at this point.

There are those that would argue that the Christmas displays must remain up until "Little Christmas" has passed, but a quick Internet check tells me that this too, has come and gone. Now don't get me wrong, people can do whatever they want in the privacy of their own homes. After all, this is the land of the free and the home of the brave. I even will go out on a limb and say that I kind of like driving by and looking at the beautiful lights and especially the Christmas tree, since my tree is long gone. But how long is too long?

There's the wreath rule. The wreath rule states that, "after the Christmas holiday is observed the holiday wreath hung on the door must remain until the dawn of February." I don't know if that's true, because I just made it up, but that's what I always believed. But the tree and everything else? After the second week of January, it just begins to looks stale to me and I know I don't live in the swamps of Mississippi, where the Redneck rule is to leave it up all year so that you are ready come next year. So what gives?

Is it laziness or longing-ness? Do people want to stretch out the joy of the holiday and enjoy the beauty for one more day..too long, or are they so busy/lazy that they have no time?
What do you think bloggers??

A Dandy Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas and all through The Dandy, every creature was stirring, but most of all Candy.

The Children weren't fighting, a tiny Christmas treat. For they sat together happily, on their cell phones, sending tweets. And Candy in Missoni and her Guy dressed in Boss, were counting their blessings; into a new era they had crossed. The world, in the eyes of the newlyweds, glowed, like the brightest of Northern stars and the happiness flowed. The celebration was merry; the hostess, just Dandy aided by the warmth of stiff Eggnog and brandy.

When out on the lawn the dogs caused a huge clatter. No one jumped, as they knew exactly what was the matter. It was Buddy, who appeared with a wee Christmas mouse, for his extended family had taken up residence in the house. "Evicted on Christmas?" the wee mouse exclaimed. And we watched as he shouted and called out mouse names.

"Out Fivel and Rattitoui and Lenny and Hank. For the rest of you, GET OUT, this is no Christmas prank. "We have been found and we need to move out in a flash. Let's go quietly, before we go out in the trash."

With that problem solved, the celebration went on, and the guests lent their voices as Frick sang a song. She captivated the moment and filled every heart with joy. Like a small child at Christmas, just opening a toy. Frack wrote a speech, and he was articulate and swift, and Candy thought to herself, "these are the most priceless Christmas gifts."

The entire year, for her, was from out of a dream. She got her Prince Charming and she became Queen. Lucky she is to have been blessed with so much, and she vowed to give back, with a personal touch.

So she pinched herself slightly as she retired for the night, while her heart was filled up with such love and such light. As she turned out the last of the twinkling Christmas lights, she tried to conceal tears of joy with all of her might.

And Candy exclaimed, to all that would listen;

"Merry Christmas to all! May your holiday's Glisten!"

Charity Begins At Home

Tis the season for giving. I try to teach my children that there is more joy in giving than receiving. Today will be a great lesson in giving.

My Guy grew up without much. He still remembers how hard it was for his mother, a single mother of 5, to make ends meet, especially at Christmas. Now, a grown man, enjoying the spoils of success, he made a commitment to himself to give back and to make Christmas special for children in need. 15 years ago he created a charity that takes care of two bridge homes for kids at Christmas and we have been fortunate enough to help and watch as his small Christmas miracle happens every year.

Heartbreaking are the Christmas lists the children make out every year that read, "I want my mom to come back" or "I want my family together for Christmas" along with the requests for warm winter jackets and gloves. This year the kids asked for the same things along with a few requests for North Face jackets and Ugg boots. These requests fill my heart with sorrow. Not because they are for the "name brand" material things that kids so desire, because they tell me they wish to be like every other kid in more ways than one. "They are getting EVERYTHING," My Guy declared, knowing that even if temporarily, he can ease some of their Christmas angst.

So his team shopped for North Face jackets and Ugg boots in various styles and colors and XBox 360's for the group homes and the latest games. My Guy and the rich corporations he works with and people who fund them take pride in making sure these kids get what they desire. Then they are lovingly wrapped and packaged up, ready for delivery. Today is delivery day, but the final piece of the puzzle I am fortunate enough to be in charge of. I will take my daughter this morning to the local supermarket and fill two shopping carts, one for each home, for the Christmas day feast.

Breakfast and dinner are on the menu so I will fill the cart with eggs, bacon, bread, milk, ham and turkeys, so that these kid will know that there really is a Santa Claus who cares. Then we will deliver them to the bridge homes, along with the bags of gifts, each one marked with each child's name, so that their Christmas is complete. I even get to see the excitement on the faces of the older ones who think they know what is inside those big green bags. That feeling is worth more than any gift I could receive on Christmas.

My Guy isn't one who loves Christmas like I do, "too many bad memories", he says, but I know the truth. The truth is, he is filled with more joy knowing that these kids will have a good day and that he had a small part in making sure. Last year, while he was making the delivery, a young boy stopped him at the door and said, "Are you Santa Claus?" My Guy, lump in his throat, responded. "No, I'm not Santa, but I work for him." That just about filled him for the whole year. At our own Christmas feast, when we join hands for the blessing, we think about the kids at those homes, enjoying their feast, and give thanks to all who made it possible. And the lump in My Guy's throat and the tear in his eye that he tries so hard to hide, tell me that he is a very rich man indeed.

In more ways than one.

Sucker For A Cute Face

This one was just too cute not to share.