Surviving Holiday Stress: Gift of Love Blog Hop

December 14, 2012 by

The winter holiday season is one of those times that can be both joyous and stressful. As much I enjoy celebrating the love and wonderment of the season, doing family bonding chores like decorating the tree and holiday baking, as well as doing good deeds for others, HolidayGOLButtonthe stress of an all to long to-do list can be enough to overshadow the good.

So how do I combat that stress?

I try to remember to break up those to-do items into small manageable bites. I start shopping early, and I set one day aside for that holiday baking. Those baked goods make the perfect gifts for friends and family too. In our busy day-to-day lives, many of us don’t have time to bake on a regular basis, and it’s a gift from the heart. A gift of love.

Even my fictional characters can be stressed out by Christmas.

There is a scene in my book, Fairyproof, where Daniel’s father calls at a rather inopportune moment to try to make plans for a family vacation for the holidays — even though it’s still several months away.

Daniel is able to put off the discussion, but it’s not always that easy.  How do you deal with holiday stress?

Fairyproof-200x300

Fairyproof

When Monique finds out her brother, Kieran, is planning her future with the one fairy she wants nothing to do with, she seeks refuge in the human world. Now Kieran fears she will be the next victim in a string of murdered fairies and is determined to bring her home.

Hiding should be a breeze. She can control any human with a flirtatious smile and an attraction spell. Until she meets Daniel Elliot, the only human who’s immune to both.

A year ago, Daniel’s fiancée disappeared with the engagement ring, an Elliot family heirloom. He’s ready to move forward with his life, but his mother’s obsession with retrieving the ring makes that impossible. Then Monique walks into his office to apply for a job.

Daniel and Monique can’t deny their attraction, but will the reason he’s Fairyproof be too much to overcome?

Buy links:

Amazon (paperback) | Amazon (kindle) |All Romance Ebooks

 

Now…For the Giveaways

I am offering a $10 amazon gift card to one lucky commenter. Please answer the question above about how you deal with holiday stress and put your email address in the comment to be entered in my drawing and the big hop-wide drawing.  I will pick my winner using random.org and contact the winner on Tuesday, December 18 as well as posting it here on the blog (and social media)

A comment below also enters you in the hop-wide giveaway.  Check out the great prizes being offered!!!

(All prizes except the swag package are open to all readers. Swag pack: US only)

Floral Background in Black and Gold Colors

Please visit the other blogs on the hop: http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/

Happy Holidays!!!

Filed Under: Blog Hop, Books, Fairyproof, Giveaway, Writing Life Tagged With: , , , ,

Muscles and Mistletoe Blog Hop: Miracle Under the Mistletoe

November 23, 2012 by

Isn’t Christmas a wondrous time of the year? But sometimes focusing on the holiday parties, the gift-giving and the charity of the season, can leave a person depleted of their personal resources, even depressed.

One of the ways I combat the stress is to read, and if the book is about the holidays, that’s even better.

One of my favorite books that focuses on the holidays is Tracy Madison‘s Miracle under the Mistletoe.

Spoiler Alert: It’s a real tear jerker, but it does remind a person what the spirit of the season…and love…is all about.

SOME MIRACLES NEED A LITTLE PUSH…

Grady and Olivia Foster shared everything—passion, friendship and a soul-deep connection that made their marriage blissful. Then tragedy struck when a drunk driver stole the life of their young son Cody just days before Christmas. Olivia begged for space to heal. But space became estrangement, and now, as Christmas approaches again, Olivia fears it’s time to call it quits.

But Grady’s not giving up without a fight. He’d given her space. Now he’s determined to give her what she really needs—all the desire, devotion and tireless love it takes to heal their loss and rekindle the spark that once made them the perfect couple…whether Olivia likes it or not! To save their love, he’ll pull out all the stops…and pray for a Christmas miracle.

Buy Miracle Under the Mistletoe

To celebrate the holidays and the blog hop I will give a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card (winners choice) to one lucky comment. [*comments throughout the hop are eligible. I will pick a winner Dec. 10.] Tell me your favorite holiday book to be entered to win and please visit the other blogs on the hop by clicking the icon at the top of the post.

Filed Under: Books, Fiction Tagged With: , , , ,

The Giving Season

December 16, 2011 by

With only nine days until Christmas, I have to say the spirit has evaded me this year.

Not that I’m a Scrooge. I love the sentiment behind Christmas. I really enjoy decorating and baking and taking time to think of others. What I don’t enjoy is the extra dose of stress that tends to go along with all of that.

Face it. Life moves at a faster clip than it did ten or even five years ago. Hours turn to days and days to weeks within a blink of an eye. One day it’s Thanksgiving, the next it seems to be the Fourth of July. When your everyday life keeps you running from the moment your feet hit the bedroom floor until you’re back in the evening settling in for a few hours of shut-eye, it’s hard to be happy about all the extra duties of the holiday.

While talking with a friend yesterday, I realized that those responsibilities we give ourselves–the extra work and the rigmarole–isn’t really the meaning behind the season.

This year, I struggled to get my Christmas cards out and was disappointed that they weren’t in the mail the weekend following Thanksgiving.  I pouted because I got out voted on decorations. Since we will be out-of-town for the holidays, the rest of the family deemed them an unneccesary stress. I struggled to find time to bake and I’ve fretted over what gifts I’m going to purchase and how I’m going to get them delivered.

This morning, when I delivered a plate of fresh-bakes treats to our bank as a thank-you to the ladies (and gentleman) who I deal with on a daily basis, and saw the sincere appreciation at being remembered that I realized every bit of pressure we put on ourselves to make a holiday perfect, moves us further away from the real intent.

Being remembered. Doing for another. Giving of ourselves.

Those are the real meanings of the season.

And that shouldn’t be something that causes you stress. It should come from the heart.

***

Traditionally, this blog goes on hiatus for the last two weeks of the year, but this year I will be guest blogging the MVRWA Group Blog on December 26 and will cross link to that post here.

***

In the new year I will be changing the posting schedule here.  Instead of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday posts, I will post on Tuesday and Thursday … with an occasional weekend bonus post.

Look for the first post of 2012 to hit these pages January 3, 2012.

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Untraditional Christmas Traditions

December 23, 2009 by

I can’t believe where this month has gone! We’re just two days from Christmas, which means there are less than 10 days left in the year. Where did 2009 go? For that matter, where did the last decade go?

As we gear up for family celebrations this year, it feels somewhat off kilter.  Normally we spend every other year in Florida with my family, but for the second year in a row we’ve opted to make the trip in the spring instead.

On the years we’ve been here in town, we’ve always spent Christmas night with my husband’s family, but over the last half dozen years or so, that’s shifted for one reason or another and it’s seem to become harder and harder to fit in that few hours of extended family time. Since we’ve decided to make the get-together the day after Christmas this year, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are going to be strictly immediate family days, which will be a real blessing. With one in college and one in highschool, we just don’t seem to get enough of that these days.

During the time I was juggling calenders with the sisters-in-law, trying to figure out a day and time that worked for everyone, my wise daughter made the off-the-cuff comment, “This is why traditions are a good thing.  Everyone just knows what we’re doing.”

But with four families of mostly gown kids that traditional dinner can be hard. All the traditions seem to change.  We used to take a family picture in front of the tree. This year, the kids were replaced with the bullies (Rose and Lily) because teenagers scoff at getting a picture taken. (They’ll tell you it’s because I love the bullies more. Don’t you believe it.)

I think we’re going to keep a rather new tradition though.  The last few years we’ve been home we’ve gone to the movies on Christmas Day. The kids and I especially are big movie buffs, and there is always such a good selection.  It’s time spent together and then a nice conversation after over dinner about the film. Though hubby insists we pick something that won’t have us all crying this year (Marley and Me was last year’s choice).

We’ll be honoring other traditions too. A turkey dinner on Christmas day. Family time on Christmas Eve. And we will have that family get-together too….it’ll just be the day after.

Filed Under: Bulldogge puppies, Life Tagged With: , , ,