Listen to a discussion of New Year Resolutions vs. Intentions.  Explore what works best for you and make this year different - one to remember…

These are a few of my favorite things in 2009… 

Williams-Sonoma Mini Croissants – Next Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter morning, make life oh so much easier with these yummy treats.  The regular size is too big, go with the minis.  It may seem a bit pricey until you eat them – then you’ll be looking for excuses to have these in the freezer all year long.  The croissants can be made individually, it’s just the ‘sitting out overnight’ that requires just a little touch of forethought…

 Large Bar Soap – Maybe you are scratching your head, but hear me out…Instead of saving the pretty soap for guests – use it yourself.  Try a lavender or linden scent.  What you will discover is it feels special, luxurious to use nice soap.  A touch of the spa every morning, hence you feel special all day long…

 Francesca’s Collections – A girlfriend and I discovered this store (online) shopping awhile ago.  It is best described as like Anthropologie minus the massive price tag.  The clothes are hip and artsy.  They get shipments in three times a week and there are ridiculous sales aplenty.

 Costa Rica – When I first saw pictures of Costa Rica, I immediately thought of Hawaii (without the long plane ride and high costs…)  Hummingbirds, butterflies and dragon flies abound in this lush paradise.  The people are great, the food/water is clean, there is no violence to speak of and it is unbelievably affordable.  The ocean is warm and the sun is hot.  Perfecto – going back in March…

Blind Pilot: 3 Rounds and a Sound – This CD is a playful mix of quirky, vulnerable lyrics with unexpected pacing and instrument choice (horns, banjo, xylophone – what???…)  The boys of Blind Pilot are storytellers – twisting words and meanings, such as in “One Red Thread.”  It is haunting, hypnotic and sexy all at the same moment as the narrator reflects on early selfish love…Or in “Two Towns From Me” with it’s dreamy, sing-along quality…Or the toe-tapping rhythm of “The Story I Heard” melded with pleading, longing words…Love this CD.  Sounds like: The Thorns.

Capri Blue Aloha Orchid Candles – Slip into heaven and light this candle.  It truly makes any space smell like fresh flowers and the islands – add gentle music and an umbrella drink, you are on vacation…

VRBO.COM – I have had fantastic luck renting homes internationally and in the states through this site.   The prices are great and you can let your own tastes/desires be your guide.  A word of caution – chat with the owners before picking a place, you’ll be surprised how much of a difference this can make later if you run into any issues…

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Busso – Surprisingly this is the book that stayed with me all year.  It’s about a married couple and how things can all change in an afternoon…The characters are complicated and hilarious.  The pre-wedding supper is without question – priceless.  Russo perfectly illustrates how perception, memory and reality don’t always add up…

Homemade Jams – This year I’ve become a bit obsessed making jams. from blueberry to cranberry to raspberry and lots of berries in between…It’s all good.  I never knew how easy jam was to make and what a perfect gift for sharing…Downside: once you go homemade, there’s no going back to stores (expensive habit depending on the time of year!)

Wii – Everybody has fun and the kids play for hours and hours – leaping, twirling in the air.  I never laughed so hard getting beat by a seven year old!

Mad Men – Sure it’s slow and slightly depressing, but the characters are awesome.  Strangely, it sometimes feels like I’m witnessing what my own family used to whispers about  years ago – illegitimate kids (couple uncles passed off as cousins), affairs (everywhere), alcoholism (everywhere)…I swear I feel like I am finally coming to understand my own past better as the stories of my grandparents/aunts/uncles come alive watching this show.  I knew they drank/smoked a lot, but I didn’t know how normal it was back then…And finally the mean things my relatives did to each other long ago make sense.  Geez, they were all drunk in fantastic clothes playing hard…

Mad Men often illuminates the masks we all wear every day to make our own separate peace with the decisions we make each day…

Sprungli Chocolate – Let these miniature truffles in the flavors hazelnut, plain, champagne, cappuccino and bourbon vanilla (contains alcohol) melt in your mouth.  These chocolates are unbelievably tasty – so worth the long distance order…I finally understood what all the fuss was about Swiss Chocolate when I tasted these – Yum!

What became one of your favorites this year????

Last night, 8ish, I checked my wall on facebook and read the funniest, most truthful statement by one of my friends, “Would it be Christmas without a family fight?”  I chuckled knowingly, I have yet to see it happen. 

 Something pops up every year, some crap happens.  In my family or more often than not, in my husband’s family, somewhere someone does something stupid, often insulting.  Fortunately/unfortunately I being one anchored to the belief that each of us creates our own reality (i.e. valid reason for everything that happens) can not avoiding seeing this every year as well.  The question is not why, but what for?  Hence no matter what the ‘work’ I’ve done, the crap is still happening.  Again I return to the question, what for?  Ultimately, I believe to gain peace.

 What comforts me most during this season, is the sanest people I know can lose it during the holidays.  You don’t have to be Charlie Sheen to screw up the day.  A well placed word or question can have the same impact as a fist.  Hello passive aggressive.

 All I can say is there is a reason New Year’s is just on the heels of Christmas – resolutions and “never again’s” can often be heard tripping from the lips of one and all…

 Therefore, let me invite you to peace.  Let go of the words, the offenses real or imagined, any disappointments of the past few days…just let it go.  Peace is a choice.  You decide where to focus your thoughts and energy each day.  It may feel hard to let go of the offenses (really this is just your ego wanting you to be a victim…) but who are you really hurting by holding on?    You, and if you have kids – them too.  Leave or let go, pretty much that simple.

 I suggest a good sense of humor and me, heck I’m going shopping today with one of my very best friends.  Hello retail therapy – what sales to be had with no helpful digs…Happy Day!

For some Christmas is about the presents, the meals or maybe seeing old friends and family…but for me, this is Mary’s time.  I adore Mother Mary.  Through her, I have learned to be a better me.  Oh sure, this may sound trite, even a touch phony – but it’s true. 

 I did not always feel this way.  I struggled with Mother Mary for years.  I didn’t understand how she could just stand by and watch Jesus die on the cross.  How could she not throw herself before the soldiers shouting, take me, take me instead?  What kind of mother was she?  I discovered, the best.

 When my own son was hurt I came to know Mary’s heart.  Oh did Mary love her son.  She loved Jesus so much she was able to stand at the cross as he bled and bled, until finally shouting out his last.  Mary believed in Jesus and his own separate purpose. 

 Was it difficult?  Unimaginably painful, just ask any parent of a suffering child.  Some parents can’t stay, some runaway or reject seeing their child in pain.  But many more faithfully stay and look for cures.  Still others find grace when there are no cures.  And if they are looking, each discovers the grace of Mary.

 Mary stayed – at the feasts and sadly, at the cross too.  As far as we know she did not try to sway Jesus from his purpose, she loved him.  She trusted his boyhood days that found him arguing with the rabbis in temple when he should have been in the fields.  Or his many trips to the desert when he would came back ablaze with the divine, overflowing with new ideas.  She trusted Jesus.    

 She also trusted in the unseen divine that sometime requires much…Did she not know herself the cost?  The sting of judgment?  Pregnant and without a husband, forced out.  Mary knew all too well the cost of faith…

 Mary has come to me many times throughout my life.  I am unbelievably blessed to have such intimate moments with her.  The first time I really experienced the presence of Mary as an adult I was overwhelmed.  My first thought was I am not worthy, there are more important people/problems than me.  I felt her outpouring love even more keenly at that moment and the words, “You are my beloved child, nothing is more important” boomed in my mind. 

 Words can not properly express the magnitude of this moment for me.  The best I can say is my life split - before I was alone and after, I was forever held.  Not only did I realize I was held but that everyone was being held by unseen forces at every moment.  I saw ways in my own childhood that Mary’s presence had been there even though I couldn’t see it at the time.

 Here’s the important part – bad things still happened and I am still the beloved child.  I’ve made peace with my past.  Even though there was certainly hardship, I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today without it. 

 Again, may sound trite, easy answer, but it’s true.  Happiness is usually standing right next to you, but only you can truly believe you are worthy to partake in the peace…You’ll have to stop beating yourself up, judging your own failings – real or imagined, you’ll have to allow yourself to come down from your own self-imposed cross into the waiting arms of peace.  She’s just waiting there, loving you just the way you are, patiently waiting for you to come home…

 Merry Christmas

I love Christmas music.  From the trite to the spiritual hymns, it all makes me happy.  Below are quick suggestions to add some things to your own musical library…and even what to skip…

 Saddest Song – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Judy Garland.  Her voice just aches, so good.

 Coolest Song – I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm, Dean Martin.  Hip and unbelievably cool.  I want to be fireside with Dean…

 Most Fun – Donde esta Santa Claus? Guster.  Mamasita, where is Santa Claus?  Love it.

 Most Feel Good – Winter Wonderland, Rosemary Clooney.  Happy, happy music.

 Best Drummer Boy – Do you Hear What I Hear?  Martin Sexton.  Sweet and strong.  His voice and arrangement will you singing all day…

 Best Jingle Bells – Sammy Davis Jr.  Obviously.

 Best Swing – I Believe, Frank Sinatra.  Me and Frank – we believe in wishing wells and Santa Claus…

 Naughty in the Best Sense of the Word – Maybe Next Year, Meiko.  Breathy and delicious.   

 Best Surprise – Just Like Christmas, Low.  Bittersweet, just like Christmas…

 Best New Song – Winter Song, Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson.  Haunting and gorgeous.  December never felt so long…

 Most Disappointing CD – Harry for the Holidays, Harry Connick, Jr.  For all practical purposes this should work, but it doesn’t.  He sounds phony and over-produced.  Skip it.

 Worst Song – White Christmas, Katy Perry.  Screeching and off-key.  Can’t believe it made its way onto a CD…

 Best Instrumental CD – Celtic Christmas ’06.  Penny whistles and hymns = lovely background music.  

 Best Get in the Spirit Song – It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas, Bing Crosby.  Enough said. 

 Happy Listening!

Before going to Costa Rica I had very romantic, if not naïve image of chickens – specifically Roosters.  I had this notion that at 5 am, maybe 4:30ish a rooster crows – maybe once, three calls at best.  Oh, what a fool was I.  For I learned roosters are dumb.  They cock-a-doodle-doo for about an hour each time (notice the each in the sentence…) – first in the morning 4ish, then sometime in the afternoon, and then if you’re lucky - the rooster will get spooked somehow for another hour about 8 pm…Let me repeat – they are dumb.

 Here’s the funny thing, after about four days, you don’t even hear them any more.  Every home there has chickens running around in the yard to the side of the road (like sheep in Ireland.)  The many cock-a-doodle-doos blend with the abundance of natural sounds that envelope you…Clicking hummingbirds; squeaking small, yellow birds; the distance calls of hawks circling above; the hum of crickets; a gentle breeze rustling the leaves…In Costa Rica, time drifts quietly into night and finally, all is well, all matter of things are well…

Just got back from the gorgeous and magical Costa Rica and here’s what I read in order…

 Knit Two by Kate Jacobs.  The story continues the story of her original The Friday Night Knitting Club, both are delightful.  Tears and laughs along with the sticky hierarchy of female relationships…

 American Gods by Neil Gaiman.  Excellent.  Fascinating characters amid a stark view of what we today anoint as Gods…Love everything he writes. 

 Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie.  Alright I know why this book received critical acclaim (slice of different world, some haunting scenes…) but skip it.  The plot is disappointing and the characters really don’t attached themselves to your heart.  It’s a bit cold, everything is from a distance…

                                                                                                              Shadow of Power by Steve Martini.  Liked the courtroom dialog, kind of hated the race plot.  The whole slave/constitution thing just doesn’t have the same impact on a woman as a man…Where were women’s rights in the constitution?  Missing as well.  There is a lot of offense to go around…Read Skin Tight instead…

 Skin Tight by Carl Hiaasen.  Murder and laughs – perfecto!  Any Hiaasen book on vacation is fun and will keep you up much later then you intend, just another chapter…It is a riot – the one-armed-weed-wacking thug with a white-out chin…I’m still giggling.

 Promise Me by Harlan Coben.  Fun.  Quick-paced, same amusing characters.  I want a friend like Win…

 And yes, I enjoyed many other fun adventures on the vacation besides reading, that I will share with you in the coming weeks…Just wanted to help out with any last-minute holiday gift ideas…Happy reading!

We are off to the hot sunshine.  Peace be with you.

I really enjoyed this Alice Hoffman novel.  I loved the concept that there is a lurking angel waiting to offer peace where none can be seen.  The angel may manifest in the deeds or words of anyone – that’s the point.  A lurking angel to lift you up and bring you home to peace – everywhere and anywhere.

 The characters are haunted and imperfect.  The call to love draws each of these characters to do things they later regret.  They aren’t bad people, just unhappy and ignoring the eventual consequences of their behaviors.  They are just like us – stumbling fools falling into grace time and time again.  

When I picked this book up I wanted an old-fashioned romance, but what I got was a thinly guised social issue trying to be pasted off as an issue of morality.  This book is achingly sentimental to the point of nausea. 

 I love the idea of the weekly letter and the truth of what that could really reveal.  However about half way through the novel things get weird.  I am not going to expose the big secret/mystery accept to say I found it insulting.  I have no doubt this kind of situation happened/happens – what I object to is the preachy, religious tone that suddenly appears. 

 If you wanted to write a political ad, write it.  Don’t waste my time with tricks and gotchas.