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10 Random Thoughts for the First Friday of the New Year
Hello, there, readers. I haven’t seen you since last year, and you’re looking well! I hope the New Year is good to you. It seems that 2020 has a lot in store for us all… I thought I’d start off today with some random thoughts that I’ve had over the last couple of weeks to both get them off my mind and also keep this blog post moving along, so here we go… 1-My husband and I watched the film, Yesterday, the other night. I think it’s one of the more clever films of 2019. Fun, different, and creative, whether you like the Beatles or not, you’ll enjoy this tale…
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The Merriest Season and a Week of Joy
*** Well, today is Christmas Eve. It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for here at the Verni household. This year, we are hosting both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and then we are heading to my parents’ house the day after Christmas for a celebration with my brother and his family. Three days of family and celebration = good times in our books. We’ve been lucky enough to continue a lot of our traditions this year, including the following: We cut down our Christmas Tree at Pine Valley Farms the day after Thanksgiving We decorated the house inside and outside for Christmas We took our Christmas Card photo and…
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Corny at Christmas
* Walt Disney was corny. He readily admitted it. And so do I. I am especially corny at Christmas. Let me count the ways. I try to watch every damn Hallmark Christmas movie I can. Even though the plots are quite similar, I don’t care. They always remind me of love, forgiveness, and kindness during the holidays. In the film The Holiday, Iris admits to loving “corny” and states she’s “looking for cony in her life.” I watch The Holiday every year. I won’t miss it. I will watch every incarnation of A Christmas Carol I can find, but my all-time two favorites are Scrooge The Musical with Albert Finney…
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Conversations With My Daughter
Several years ago, I would write posts about conversations I had with my daughter, Ellie, when she was younger. Some of them are hilarious, like when she thought I was actually having breakfast with Michael Buble and when she told me women could be anything they wanted, just not priests. I’ve provided some links to those conversations at the bottom of this post. She’s always had a pretty funny sense of humor and a good wit. She’s also incredibly strong-willed, and has been since the day I gave birth to her, a horror story in itself, because she was a stubborn little thing who didn’t want to pop out and…
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8 Last Minute Cozy Gift Ideas For That Special Lady
Christmas Day is less than a week away, and if you’re like me, you’ll be shopping your tail off at the malls over the next couple of days to finish up your lists. I’ve put together some last minute gift ideas for your favorite lady–that woman on your list who loves being warm and snug in the colder winter months. I hope these suggestions help round out your shopping list! Happy shopping, all! xx | Stephanie Verni is the author of Baseball Girl, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, and the co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice.
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Holidays, Miracles, Hallmark & Traditions: A Blogger’s Paradise
Hello, there. You probably thought I fell off the planet because I haven’t been here in a while. It sort of feels that way, at least to me, anyway. I’ve been trying to take some needed time away to clear my head, focus on my teaching, and get ready for the holidays. I’ve also been dealing with a health issue that’s had me a bit sidetracked. It’s not always easy to juggle everything, is it? So often we wonder where time has gone and how we can get more of it to enjoy the things we want to be doing. The truth is, life throws us some curveballs we didn’t…
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All the Best This Holiday Season
I wish I had more time to write a meaningful post, but it’s midnight, and I’m just posting this among all the other chaos that can often become a part of the holidays. I’ve baked my butt off today and wrapped gits, cleaned bathrooms and the kitchen, fixed the lights that went out around my front door and rearranged the fireplace mantle, and our family watched It’s a Wonderful Life before we all started nodding off a couple of hours ago. I’m awake now and everyone else is sleeping. I’m finishing some odds and ends–and I bet so many of you are doing the same. That said, before things become…
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Midnight Madness in Annapolis
Last night was the second of three scheduled Midnight Madness events in historic Annapolis. The city looked beautiful, the weather was mild, and shoppers were scouring stores for holiday treasures. Next week is the last one, so if you live in the area, don’t miss out!
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My Holiday Archenemy
It’s Sunday, and a few days ago we all gave thanks. Truly, I am thankful for so many things in life. I’m blessed beyond measure, and as the holiday season calls upon us to be merry and bright, there is one thing that can inevitably turn me into a Grinch or a Scrooge, if only for a few shining moments until the moments pass. Illuminating, yes. Infuriating, maddening, vexing, exasperating…yes to all, as well. Of what do I speak, you may ask? Every year, I vow to tackle this nemesis of mine, and yet, I become lazy and complacent; when the happy season is over, I just want to put…
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Booted: The True Story of A Disappointing Christmas
It was Christmas Eve many years ago. My family and I were sitting around a lovely dinner table in Annapolis discussing our most disappointing Christmases ever. My mother recounted her story of when she was a little girl and how tragically disappointed she was to wake up one Christmas morning only to find there was not a pony in her back yard as she expected. Santa had apparently let her down that year and given the pony to someone else. Try as I might, I couldn’t recall a time when I was disappointed; all my Christmases have been relatively happy ones spent with family. My brother, on the other hand,…
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Walking Through the Park and Reminiscing
I was a sophomore in high school and a member of the cheerleading squad. We decided that as part of the Christmas season, we would get together out of a sense of “goodwill towards men” and go caroling. Dressed warmly for the weather, a handful of Christmas carols up our sleeves, we set out upon the neighbors directly across the street from Severna Park High School and began to ring doorbells and sing some of our favorite Christmas songs. The night was off to a good start. People listened at the doors as we mostly got the lyrics right, and as we went from house to house, there was a…
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Caution: I Pause For Happiness
* * * I actually heeded this advice for the past four days. There were several times when I paused this Thanksgiving weekend and looked around me, as if my eyes were a camera recording the moment. I didn’t want to forget this particular holiday weekend. I wanted to keep it for all times in that wonderful place called my memory. I took in sights, sounds, and smells. Some might say our Thanksgiving table had few people sitting around it. I hosted the dinner, and there were only eight of us: my immediate family, my parents, and my husband’s parents. I would say that it’s not the number of people…
