What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.....

"I've been taking pictures all my life, even before I had a camera" - Sabrina Fairchild -1995

When I think about the past, I often see the memories as images, as though I'm looking at photo's in an album.

2019 has been the year of such tremendous growth that I don't think I can measure all of it. Both physically and mentally, I've managed to become the best version of myself thus far, and that, my friends, has been my goal all along. It is still my goal. We're never done growing or learning, I firmly believe this.

Were there setbacks? You better believe it, I'm a human being, flawed, one who doesn't always choose well.
But every time I didn't, I learned. Mistakes becoming lessons, and so it goes....

When I think about the future, I often see images as though I'm looking through a crystal ball, with fuzzy edges but the middle is so vividly clear. I think there's a lot of truth to the mantra "if you visualize it, you can make it happen" or something like that. I have some goals yet to meet and changes yet to come that I'm immensely excited about. 

So, "Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer" - and I am wondering why it feels like this year has flown by so quickly. Especially the last four months of the year which are my favorite. I know it can be a difficult time for many, with the loss of loved ones, etc. I like to say just be kind all year, and I am, but especially during this season of giving and gratitude. There is the mad rushing, but also the slowing down a little, gathering for meals with friends and family while twinkly lights glow in the background and traditions that go way back are being enjoyed once again as well as new traditions being made. While all of this is occurring, there are so many that don't have people to do these things with, and it can be a sad time for them. There is zero cost in treating people with kindness, I hope we all take the time to smile and help people that are in need or alone.

With all of the changes this year, one thing that I'm glad I started is getting rid of all the things. Well, not all per se. 
So.much.stuff. we have that just takes up space in a cluttered array of entanglement. This is an ongoing work in progress, but when I say I've downsized by almost half, it's true. 

Another life changer is walking every day, in all kinds of weather mind you, that has become so engrained in my routine that I don't see myself ever giving it up. Talk about a mood enhancer, there is nothing greater than being outdoors in nature, hearing the birds chirp and seeing beautiful sunrises over water. I even did a 5K, and I'm now a fan of this activity. 

It was so fun, especially being able to do that with close friends, some of my favorite people. 

I know there are people that don't do New Years Resolutions, I'm pretty sure I'm one of them. Mostly. I would just find myself saying the same thing each year as the calendar flipped to January. "Just be better". This year, I feel more accomplished in this aspect than I ever have before. I want to make sure this trend continues, I have no doubt that it will.

It won't be easy being away from home this holiday season, my family is very important to me and my sisters and I share so many significant memories and traditions that I want to be around them on Christmas morning, as we stir my mom's mimosa recipe.....and prepare for the onslaught of ribbons and tags and bags and Christmas paper and music and laughter and...movies. We have entire conversations in movie quotes. 

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags! And he puzzled and puzzled 'til his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more"

Indeed.

Merry Christmas to you friend,
Tiffany

PS Breakfast at Tiffany's with a beach view for Christmas 2020? Hmmm. 

footnote: Hallelujah is my favorite song 

Nostalgia finds me every year at this time......

My grandparents were married in 1935. 

I glanced at the calendar earlier and saw "Grandma and Pap Anniversary-1935" on Sat, Dec 22nd, and thought, wow.

If they were still here, tomorrow they would be celebrating 83 years of marriage. 

Does longevity like this still exist today? 

I think, for the lucky, it does.

I asked my mom about her birth date being 8 years after Pap and Grandma got married. 

She replied: "Yes. Marilyn born in 1936. Winnie born in 1940. Mary in 1942 and me in 43. Chuck in 1947, Jane in 1952 and Debbie in 1956".

Marilyn was the first born to my grandparents. Back in the day as it was, there were complications during her birth, where the Doctor  unfortunately had to decide who to save. Marilyn passed away the day she was born. We didn't have the pleasure of knowing her here, on this earth. I heard them say many times, she was beautiful.

When my family sings Happy Birthday to any one of us on our special day, my Grandpa, i.e. "Pap" would always end the song with, "get out and wallllllllllllk".

I still do this today, in his honor. It often makes us all a bit teary-eyed, but in a good way. 

It's in remembrance, you see. 

Christmas time is here. While we all often think of loved ones that are no longer with us, all year through, I think their absence is especially felt during the holiday season. 

I remember some of the days-gone-by stories told, of Christmas past and what the world was like back then.

For my mom's generation, their "queue" to come out of their bedrooms and slumber to welcome Christmas, was hearing Bing Crosby's "Jingle Bells" playing in the background. Many of us in my family continue this tradition today. 

Nostalgia finds me every year at this time. I fondly pull the memories from my mind and smile, remembering the celebrations each year. 

Mazel Tov to my Pap and Grandma, I think of them every day. If I go to the post office, I think of Pap. His career was with USPS. "Parcel post!" he would yell, as he drove the postal truck down the alley, tossing the package to the porch it belonged to. My mom often riding with him, passed along this memory to us.

If I'm cooking, I think of grandma, who rarely measured anything with exact specifications. She was a "just a pinch" type of girl. I hope I measure up, it would be the best goal I could ever reach in my lifetime.

Merry Christmas to you dear friends. If you are blessed to still have the older generation in your family still with you, ask them about their Christmas memories. Write it down, you will be so glad you did. 

Here's to our 2018 season and the promise of the New Year. May the memories you create this year, last a  lifetime.

See you soon friend,

Tiffany

PS During the holidays, Breakfast at Tiffany's will be in remembrance of when I was  a little girl, watching Sesame Street while my mom fixed us breakfast and served it on metal trays decorated with our favorite Sesame Street characters. For me, that was Big Bird. I just loved him! 

A time of hope, cheer, thanks, and love

🎶🎵 it's not Christmas if the snow don't fall....And I'm still standing here, three feet small. Lose our troubles because after all.....it's Christmas time.....it's Christmas time🎶🎵

I have a confession to make. I started listening to holiday music before Thanksgiving. Gasp! Just a day or two before. It runs in my family! (Right Aunt Debbie?!)

Oh Christmas. That 'most wonderful time of the year'.  It can be a difficult time for some, and my heart goes out to them especially.

Really, though, I think my heart stretches wide, more so than usual, during this time of year. I want it to be this way all year, so there's one personal goal admission. I just love seeing people greet each other with a smile, as if the festive air brings round the warmth and patience we have within. I know it doesn't always go this way, but if you know me well, you understand that I ignore that 'other way' when I see it happen.

One of my best friends and I were discussing a previous blog post that talked about what Christmas meant to us as kids. See J, this is a 'new' post, not recycled! HA! (I found that going back and reading older posts had me still in agreement with things I mentioned then, so of course I shared it again in social media. The nerve!) I'm chuckling and can't wait for him to read this tidbit. I love ya J.

So of course the holiday fanfare, the parties, the making of Merry, and all of that excitement, is notable on the enjoyment scale. I like hearing my friends talk about being able to see their family who may live out of state, or see friends they don't get to see often. I'm in for all of it.

What I'm also 'in' for, is that peaceful, easy quiet that comes at the end of the day, when twinkling lights are the backdrop, and either music is playing softly or a favorite holiday movie is on. I can do some of my best thinking under these circumstances. It's not the 'running and doing all of the listed things' that places me in the spirit of the holiday.

It's the peaceful rest. Reflection of the year. The being good to yourself, and believing that the better version of you, is always forthcoming. A time of hope, cheer, thanks, and love.

And it is these things, that I wish for you this Christmas. 2017 is coming to a close, I hope we all celebrate it in our favorite ways!

See you soon friend,
Tiffany

P.S. Pete Delkus continues to practically PROMISE snow for N.Texas on Christmas Day. Please, Pete, deliver! I will have a snowcone for Breakfast At Tiffany's if you do!

https://youtu.be/uZzW13XxJ4U

Waste not, this precious gift

Whirling….swirling…. leaves, they fall

from thinning Autumn trees

Nostalgic feelings float in whispers

The years, tempered thieves

From hopscotch to high school

The clock, ticking away

Turn around, where does it go?

Measure of time, no delay

Fist raised, carpe diem!

Seize the day, take heed

Forget tomorrows test,

For it will come, topspeed

Waste not, this precious gift

Of heartbeat and breath

I shall embrace, without haste

Until my time of death

Longevity; my wish for us

As long as we remember

To live out loud, and love full force

Dancing flames to smoldering ember

Forgive long, pardon all

For yourself and inner peace

Stand tall, break down the wall

Negativity, released

As Autumn folds, I look ahead

Flipping calendar page to next

Hopeful for tomorrows promise

A season of sound effects

Hark the herald angels sing

Repeat the sounding joy

Glory to the newborn King

A tiny baby boy

Oh December with all of your wonder

Season of good tidings and giving love

May we all embrace together

Taking direction from above

See you soon friend,
Tiffany

PS I think tomorrow Breakfast at Tiffanys shall include Christmas music and mulling spices. Let the decorating begin!

"I played my best for him...."

At my last update I talked about a friend who became very ill. I'm sadly reporting that she is no longer with us, but in a much better place, so there's comfort in that. She will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

I realized recently that sometimes my want to post in here is few and far between, and other times I have something to say every day. Inspiration can come from the smallest source, or on a larger scale. Then, at times, not at all.

In listening to the Pentatonix version of the Little Drummer Boy, I was reminded of how I feel sometimes.
"I have no gifts to bring" (pa rum pum pum pum)
I want to at least bring a gift if I'm going to share with you, it's the neighborly thing to do. I'm sure we all have days where we feel like we have no gifts to bring.

I've always said that some of my most favorite gifts I've received are not the kind that I can hold in my hand, but more of a gift of talent or sharing of ones life stories. A song, a guitar playing melody, a poem or haiku that someone wrote, someones fingers dancing over piano keys as if they were born to play. Or....a drummer maybe?

"Shall I play for you? pa rum pum pum pum....."

Most of the time we have to pay to hear someone play, you know, a concert or a symphony, or even a small gathering at the beach (which is way cool I might add). Or,  you can walk the streets of New Orleans and hear jazz like none other, and it's up to you if you would like to contribute to the hat or box they've placed in front of them. New Orleans is on the rise, but these people are poor for the most part. Yet every day, they get out there and play their best. There's no guarantee they will get any money at all, it's completely up to the generosity of strangers.

"I played my best for him...pa rum pum pum"

The Little Drummer Boy felt that he should say, that he was a poor boy too. The best connections I've found with people are the ones where we find common ground.

"Then, he smiled at me pa rum pum pum.....me and my drum"

If we can make anyone smile, with our talents, or sharing of stories, if only for a moment, isn't that what Christmas is all about? Aren't those the important and most cherished gifts?

I was worried that the Christmas Spirit would find me later than usual this year, but it didn't. I decorated the tree and scattered twinkling lights throughout the house, and listened to some of my favorite Christmas music. These small details bring a lot of happy for me, so am now enjoying this 2013 holiday season so far, and it's only December 2nd!
I am wishing you a very Happy Holiday Season, and best wishes for the New Year.
See you soon friend,
Tiffany
PS I'm learning how to make Challah Bread, so Breakfast at Tiffany's has smelled heavenly of late. Try it!

"Who is your Santa?" he asked.....

Hustle and bustle indeed, but I haven't really got caught up in it too much yet this year. Oh I'm decorated, and actually mostly done shopping, but I mean the rat race that begins in November and doesn't end until after the after-Christmas sales. Nice and easy is the theme of my 2011 Holiday Season.

I was out being an elf this weekend, by myself mind you, because I get so much more done when I'm alone. I was making the usual display of myself singing along to Christmas music in the car, with Starbucks coffee in a cup by my side, and not really minding the cold temps and rain coming down.

After Starbucks my first stop was the local Ace Hardware Store. I love going in there during the holidays, they have cool things I don't find anywhere else. I was on the hunt for a specific sized light bulb but I looked around for a while before I finally had to ask for help, there are over 100 kinds of light bulbs in there, did you know? Now, you may think I'm making this up, but the man that helped me could of been St.Nick himself. I know that sounds cliche at this time of year, but seriously, he even had the glasses. He was very helpful, he lead me to what I needed, then lead me to checkout. As he was ringing me up, I noticed he smiled with his eyes, he was quite infectious. He asked me the simplest question. "Who is your Santa Claus this year, little lady?" he asked, as the register totalled my purchase.
There are few times that I have ever been asked something where I had to pause before I replied because I didn't know how to answer. I finally said, "Well, Santa Claus himself of course. He's real you know" He laughed and gave me a candy cane as I left, saying Merry Christmas to him.

I left the parking lot, windshield wipers at full speed and Christmas music playing, to head for the next destination. At the stoplight, I fell into deep thought about what he asked. "Who....is my Santa Claus"

I've been thinking about this for a few days.

My Santa Claus comes in many forms. The friend that absolutely did not leave my side when I had surgery the day before Thanksgiving, who stayed right there with me the whole time to make sure I wouldn't wake up and not recognize someone in the room. The countless friends offering help of all kinds during recovery. Anything from a Thanksgiving feast delivered, to chauffering, cleaning, shopping, and just talking. The constant phone calls and text messages, emails, asking how I was doing. Sounds like Santa to me.

The people who care for sick kids in the hospital during the holidays, not only making sure the Christmas spirit stays alive inside the hospital, but also inside the families hearts and minds, as they struggle to learn that their child may not get to come home for Christmas this year.

The coworkers who pitch in without asking, to take up slack for anyone that is missing from the office for a while. I may have jokingly made fun a time or two about these people, but seriously, they're all like my second family. I love them. And they're my Santa too.

The soon to be 18 year old boy that while it may not seem cool to his friends, wants to visit people in a nursing home around the holidays, in case they don't have family. If that isn't Santa, I don't know who is.

The cute (oh well okay, yes I said it) guy at Tom Thumb that always smiles at me when I come in, asking how my weekend is going, if I want any Starbucks (because he knows my love) and then when I can't get something to ring up that I KNOW isn't two dollars, I suddenly receive "help" from him, paying a dollar for something worth way more I'm quite sure, with him always saying, "don't worry about it, I'm a manager, see?" as he points to his name tag with credentials. (lol I really do laugh out loud when he does this)
HE is my Santa.

The man that hurries to my car to hold an umbrella over my head as rain pours down while I frantically try to move bags from cart to trunk. Yep. Santa.

The doctor that removed cancer not once, but twice from my beautiful cousins body. I love this Santa. LOVE.him.

People that make me laugh out loud on a daily basis, with either a tweet, a facebook post, an email, or "live" in person. I love to laugh, so if you can easily make that happen, you're my Santa too.

The sister that welcomes our entire family to her home in Florida, for Christmas. Oh that brave soul. She's a Santa for sure.

So let's rewind this movie, I'm back in Ace Hardware. At the counter, checking out with "Nick"/ (I've dubbed him Nick, you know why).
"Who is your Santa Claus this year, little lady?" he asked.

"I don't know if I can name all of them, how much time do you have?"

I hope your December has started off with greatness, and you're happy, and excited about Christmas and the New Year. Sit down at the end of the day, relax. Don't rush it. Just.....enjoy it.

Happy Holidays to you and your family!
See you soon,
Tiffany

PS my family is having the traditional pancake breakfast on Christmas morning this year, with Mimosas of course. Guess who gets to make said pancakes. =) What are YOU having?

I love this music. I think someone with this gift may be a Santa too.

"You just happened to stumble upon Nicholas Sparks while shopping?!"

I've been receiving emails asking for me to share more of my everyday ME in here, so dear reader, I hear you, how about this?

I won't say this is my absolute favorite Christmas gift because that's not fair to all of my other lovely Christmas gifts and the people that gave me those lovely gifts. But I am here to tell you, this one made me scream. As in yell loudly while jumping up and down. A new vehicle in the driveway with a big red bow? No.
Plane tickets to Europe?
Sadly, no.

So, in September of 2010, I was talking to my sister on the phone. This would be the middle sister, previously mentioned a few times here and there throughout my postings. She's excitedly telling me that she has her Christmas shopping DONE for myself, my baby sister, and my Mom. "I don't like you" I said. I was kidding, but rather jealous that she was done and I hadn't even started thinking about it. I found it curious, as she usually never starts that early, nor would there be something she was dying over, that would be the same item for all 3 of us. Very curious indeed. But I'm not one to spoil Christmas by asking a ton of questions in the hopes of figuring out what in the world she purchased. I'm a very patient person. (Unless I need coffee)

Christmas morning dawns.....not at the crack of dawn mind you, we slept in. As I'm mixing my Mom's mimosa recipe (yes I will share) my cell phone rings, thus beginning the myriad of calls I knew I would have throughout the day. I love Christmas.

It's Melissa. "Don't open your gift before Mom opens hers. You HAVE to open them at the same time. Otherwise she will know what she's getting and you just have to do it this way, mmmkay?"
"Yes, I hear you" Now I'm REALLY excited!

So we sit down to begin the gift ceremony, clutching our pretty pink/orange mimosas. I'm not going to lie to you, there was no decorum on my part, I ripped that box open like the winning lottery ticket was inside. I saw the gift before my Mom did, so I patiently waited until she got her box open. She opened it v e r y s l o w l y......patience people. Patience.

When I saw that she could see it, we both yelled yay! at the same time and pulled the gift out of the box.
If you know me at all, you already know that Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite authors. His latest book, Safe Haven, was what was inside the box and I was thrilled. As I'm pulling it out of the tissue paper, I notice that it has a yellow sticky note on the front. I glanced over at Moms to see if hers had one too, it did.
It read:
"Make sure you look inside on the first page!"

My thoughts immediately went to "I bet she had it signed!" , then, "how did she do that!?" So I slowly open the book, and I can already see his signature on the inside.

But here is where the REAL fun begins. I screamed, when these two things slid out of the book onto my lap:

After composing myself, I grabbed my cell phone and called her immediately. As she answered I was already yelling, "OMG WHERE DID THIS HAPPEN?!!!!"

She explained that she went shopping one day in Vero Beach, and there he was doing a book-signing in one of the bookstores. I was like, "you just happened to stumble upon Nicholas Sparks while shopping?!" This sort of thing never happens to me. The unfortunate part is that she forgot to get herself a signed copy.

So Nicholas, if you're listening, I plan on meeting you one day, so I can return the favor to Melissa. I promise I won't faint. Or paw at you. Or drool. Or stammer.

Okay I might stammer, but I promise it won't last long.

See you soon friends,
Tiffany


And now for the Mimosa Recipe:

2 cups of Cranberry Juice
2 cups of Orange Juice
Mix in a pitcher, place in fridge if not cold (it needs to be cold)
The Martini & Rossi (or whatever kind you choose) Asti Spumonte  needs to be chilled as well.

In a glass, pour the juice mixture, filling half of the glass, then top the other half with Asti Spumonte.
It's such a pretty drink, and quite refreshing I must say. Holiday Breakfasts at Tiffanys always include this sparkling glass of awesome.