"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.

Whatever you have on your list....I'm glad you have it

I was driving down my street last night at dusk, and noticed the neighbors have begun putting their Christmas Lights up. The sparkly little lights were saying hello as I drove past, and I will share with you, proudly, that I loved it. The promise of the holidays around the corner, I thought "you GO friends! go ahead and start putting them up". Many people are disillusioned with Halloween running into Christmas at topspeed, and I totally understand. I want to keep them separate too. I just feel a calm come over me, when I look at Christmas lights, and it's cold outside, and darkness is drawing.

I don't know why my favorite four months of the year have to be the ones that go by so quickly. Why can't August, the hottest month in North Texas, be the one with such speed? ah well. I find myself slowing down a little, or trying to anyway, at the end of the year, in my attempts to slow the passing of time.

I've been seeing quite a few status updates in Social Media  lately about what people are thankful for, with Thanksgiving around the corner. I haven't really participated in this trend, because all of the "goes-without-saying" things come to mind. Aren't we all thankful for good health, family, friends, our jobs with benefits (hopefully), roofs over our heads.....?

I decided to make my own personal list here.

1: Charlie Brown and Snoopy
Come ON, they really know how to have a "feast". Buttered toast, popcorn, jelly-beans....
2: My Aunt Janes homemade noodles. A staple at my extended familys Thanksgiving table. When I can't be in Missouri with my family, I make my own. But I have to say, they seem to fall slightly short of Janes. I keep trying though.
3: A fireplace in my home. It's nothing short of worship, I love using it.
4: My cell phone. Social media....texting.....I can say Happy Thanksgiving very quickly to those I can't be with on the holiday.
5: FOOTBALL. You would think I would have put this one first, but I like it in the middle. Go Chiefs!
6: Friends that want to take care of me if I'm sick or recuperating, can't have too many of those.
7: Ocean-front Christmas plans with family
8: My coffee bean grinder. Although it's an obnoxious sound so early in the morning, it makes for one fresh cup of coffee I tell you.
9: Our family and friends in the military that are overseas and get to come home soon. And....the sacrifice of those friends that will never come home.
10: Talented people that inspire. Photographers, Artists, Poets, Graphic Designers, Authors, Musicians.....all of them make the world go round....

Whatever you have on your list, whether it's something miniscule or large as life, I'm glad you have it.

And I'm thankful you stopped by to read mine.

Here's the to beginning of a fabulous holiday week! (I always count Friday evening as the start of anything, don't you?)

See you soon friend,
Tiffany

PS I won't be able to cook on Thanksgiving morning this year. But I think for you, homemade cinnamon rolls are in order. Yes?

In Review: The Help

"All I'm saying is, kindness don't have no boundaries"

Oh this book. I almost don't want to see the movie. How can it possibly live up to this well-written, page-turning, unfolding story of the songs of the south. I say songs of the south as though they were eloquent, full of melody and promise. If anyone knows even a sliver of history of these times, it wasn't what I would call a melody. I don't think I can find just one word now that I'm writing about it. But that means the story was so meaty that it needs several words to describe it.

This was the early 60's, before my time, yet I found myself imagining what my life would have been like if I had been alive back then, born and raised in Mississippi. I felt such anger during parts of it that I have to be honest and say, I'm glad that I wasn't. I can't, and don't want to, deny history. I can only hope that if I was any character in this book, that I would be Skeeter Phelan.

She's brave. Tenacious. She wants to (and does) write a story, basically blowing the lid off of the suffering of African-American maids in Jackson, Mississippi. As I slowly read each page, I often asked myself, could I have done this? Considering the risk involved, in times where people were beaten and killed for using the "white" restrooms, or being accused of stealing pieces of silver (when they did not) and then sent to prison, Skeeter wanted to become the voice of every African-American woman that suffered. That raised white children, loving them as their own. That turned the other cheek when called "Nigra". I shook my head from almost the first page, until the very last. I hate that it was. But, I can't deny history.

I'm wondering if Kathryn Stockett received flak about attempting to tell a story from a womans point of view outside of her race. When I came to the last few pages of the book, after the proverbial "The End" of the actual story, I read how she grew up in Mississippi, with hired "Help" in her own family. Demetrie, born in Lampkin, MS in 1927. Not that I doubted Kathryns point of view in the slightest, but when I read her own personal story, I almost felt better. I realized that there was a foundation lying underneath the writing of this book. It wasn't as if she was born and raised in New York and decided one day, "Hey, I think I'll write a story about the early 60's, specifically about segregation and all that it entailed".

If you lived it, even partially, you can write about it better than those that haven't, agree?

From the lovingly maternal Aibileen (who may be my favorite character) to the tough, outspoken Minny, the various maids that painstakingly decide to help Skeeter with her journey of truth become my heroes. Every last one of them. It was all so clandestine, secretive. It had to be. I mean after all, what would people say or do if they found out a white women was meeting with black women, and stories were being told? And then typed out in print as fast as Skeeter could type them. I shudder to think.

For the last one-hundred pages or so, I found myself on edge, wondering if the book would be published, and what ramifications that publication would bring.

If you can handle the raw truth of the way it was back then, mixed with a little bit of humor, sadness, anger, fatigue, love, hope, and even audacity, I'm really hoping you buy this book and read it just like I did. Into the wee hours of the night because you can't put it down.

Because when Skeeter comes to this conclusion: “Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought.” I knew this was going on my bookshelf as a keeper.

See you soon friend,
Tiffany

PS You have to know that food was a large part of this story, oh the south! Your mouth-watering breakfasts made by gentle hands. Makes me want to go back to Charleston for cheese-grits and light as angel-wings biscuits!

I've always said, the funniest people are the brilliant ones.

One of the funniest shows on television, for me, is The Big Bang Theory. I'm not always into humorous shows or movies, sometimes I need something quite deeper to hold my interest. But this show hooked me from the first episode, whether it be with Sheldon's idiosyncrasies, Raj's inability to speak to the opposite sex, Penny's less-than-genius way of working through things, or Wolowitz's sheer genius brain coupled with his not-so-genius way of woo'ing girls. And let's not forget Leonard, a an experimental physicist with an IQ of 173, yet he falls short most of the time on the social scene.

What's not to love, right?

The combination of these characters makes the show nothing short of brilliant, but I have to say, Sheldon is my favorite. His borderline excessive compulsive disorder doesn't come across as a problem with it being coupled with the fact that he received  his PhD at the age of16. I've always said, the funniest people are the brilliant ones.

I've since come to realize that the part I look forward to the most during these episodes is the last 3 seconds after the credits roll, and that would be, Chuck Lorre's notes titled "Chuck Lorre Productions". I don't always agree with what he writes, but that's the point isn't it? I've finally learned that stimulating conversation, or "reading" is supposed to make you see something you didn't before, and then you decide whether or not it's for you.

There are literally hundreds of these, but I'll select this one to share for an example.

                                            CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS, #239


                                                                TO DO LIST

Live to see a highly educated, deeply thoughtful, articulate, cool, biracial President who is not overly crippled by childhood wounds and capable, in no particular order, of freeing the nation of its oil dependence, restoring its international standing, creating universal health care, resurrecting the economy, ending two wars, rebuilding the public education system, finally bringing about an end to the mindlessness of racism, encouraging science and technology, firmly addressing environmental issues and global warming, and uniting the nation - and the world - in a giant cultural, tipping point leap forward.

Meet super-intelligent aliens who disarm the entire planet, cure every disease and take us all for rides across the galaxy.
Play a round of par golf.
Trade solos with Eric Clapton.
Win an Emmy.
Get married, stay married.

One down, five to go.

Indeed, Chuck.

Happy Friday, and Happy Weekend to you my friend,
Tiffany

PS Do you ever have breakfast food, for dinner?

Live the questions now....

I was in one of my favorite places the other day (Barnes & Noble) when I came across a magnet that, once I read it, I knew I had to buy it.

I don't really like to cover the entire refrigerator with a bunch of magnets or, for lack of a better term, crap, because it looks junky to me. I have what I call, a traveling fridge. The magnets that I do have, are from places that I've been, like Paris....Hawaii, Charleston....

I've always liked to read things that make me think, even if it's just a short inspirational message. This one is pure gold, so I'm sharing it with you.

"I beg you....to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live.....everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way....into the answer" -Rainer Maria Rilke

I havent read truer words in a long time. It was like an "a"piphany! See what I did there?

I had to research Rainer Maria Rilke, I haven't heard his name before. I believe I've stumbled upon another favorite.

See you soon friend,
Tiffany

PS I'm happy to report that Breakfast at Tiffanys has been on the patio most of the week. I hope this beautiful weather stays in N. Texas. It's fall after all!

A "picture" of who we are, cemented in cyberspace forevermore...

In a friends recent events, an unfortunate loss occurred, and a friend of hers, a young woman, passed away. It's always sad to read stories like these.  "Gone too soon", the inevitable feeling that washes over us as we share our condolences and feel so sorry for their grief.

I was watching a Dateline special recently about a man that went missing. A few years later, his remains were found. Throughout the entire episode, his Facebook page kept appearing on the screen. It made me look, and sure enough, it's still there.

The woman that passed away also still has an intact Facebook page. The privacy settings are secure (thank goodness) but her picture is almost haunting now, her smile radiant as she holds her dog and grins at the camera. I say haunting only because I know she is gone.

I've been thinking about this for a few days now, what we say and write and do, leaving our "paw print" on the internet. A "picture" of who we are, cemented in cyberspace forevermore. If you have a Facebook page, go back and read your status updates over the last few months. Are they a true picture of who you are? Do they include what you would want everyone to know about you, if something unfortunate occurred and that was all that was left of what you've said?

This is probably why I don't do negativity in Social Media. It doesn't make anyone feel good, first of all, and secondly, what if that was the last thing I said? I wouldn't be a fan of that at all.

I've talked about our "signature" before, here: http://momentsofapiphany.blogspot.com/2010/03/may-i-borrow-pen.html  where I said "Your outlook on a day to day basis, begins and ends with your signature". I still believe this.

As I was writing this post, I did what I asked you to do. I went back and looked at my Facebook updates over the last few months.

The conclusion? It's Tiffany in there all right. I don't need to do any house cleaning. Oh but Zuckerberg, if you're listening, I'd love to add some music to my page, okay?

See you soon!
Tiffany

PS This whole "eating clean" idea has sparked some pretty interesting breakfasts of late. I wouldn't have dreamed of putting oatmeal in a fruit smoothy for example. Quite tasty!

Are we meant to be with just one mate, for eternity?

You know the old saying, "penguins mate for life", right? I've always loved the idea. I've seen this very thing unfold in my own family. My grandparents were married before they were twenty years old and were then married for over 50 years.












Imagine that. A lifetime together. It almost seems unreal to me in this day and age. I don't think I'm jaded, and I'm definitely not against marriage. It just seems so easy these days to bail, when the going gets tough in a marriage, or relationship even.

I've had several people that are in healthy marriages, or committed relationships, tell me that it's a choice. A conscious choice to remain monogamous to their partner/significant other/spouse. I completely understand that, and believe it. It is a choice. I believe it's also hard work. Many people have told me that as well. Although single right now, I've been inside of this hard work before, and it can be tough.
I think fairytales have planted seeds in our little girl brains (I'm speaking for the females here obviously) that provide wonderment, and awe inspiring ideas of what our futures look like with that perfect mate. I know that life doesn't always mimic the fairytale. But, I still believe that it can.


I won't live in a castle per se, or will I?


I spent time in a castle in France two years ago. Someone has to run that place don't they?



My point is, it may not be Cinderella riding in a coach, wearing glass slippers and a sparkly gown, on her way to a ball every evening, held at the castle she will live in one day.


It may be an apartment on the Upper West side in the city, with no yard, with no grass to speak of to walk barefoot through, and no room for a pet. Or, it could be a small house in the country, outside of the small town you grew up in. Maybe a cottage next to the ocean. (I told you I can dream big people)


It could be an apartment in a city that is so jam-packed full of people that you're grateful that suburbs exist. *cough*

I think your fairytale depends on you, and your choices. Daily choices after the big choices. Carefully selecting who you want to spend time with, to allow a relationship to grow. Do you believe in love at first sight?
I don't. I believe in fluttery feelings at first sight. Definitely. But not love. That takes a little time to determine.

I may get flak for this, but I don't know that we are made for just one person for eternity. I'm not against those that feel they are, and they are living that very idea. I'm one hundred percent in support of them. I've just learned so much from a few different relationships that I've had, where I wouldn't change my own story for a thing. Ah well, we all have our own book don't we. Every chapter, every sentence, even the characters, are our own.

I pretty much live my days with full knowledge that this day, and the other day, and tomorrow, brings promise and gifts.
I haven't learned otherwise yet.

See you soon friend,
Tiffany

PS Tea, scones, crumpets, fresh fruit.....for Breakfast. That's what they have in a fairytale don't they? See. We can create our own.