Happy Holidays!

A Politically Correct Holiday Greeting

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, nonaddictive, gender neutral celebration of the summer solstice holiday, practiced with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our world great and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms:
This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her- /himself or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Aw, to hell with all that mess. Here's the not-so-correct version. No matter how or what you celebrate, have a very Merry Christmas...



And a Happy New Year!

Christmas caroling party

Most people have filled their calendars for the holidays, but if you enjoy singing, then you may still have time to organize a Christmas caroling party. It could be a great chance to invite that guy you've been too shy to approach. Maybe you’ve just started dating a special someone or you and your lover are looking for a different way to celebrate the holiday season.

A Christmas caroling party can be a great way to spend more time together without the pressure of an official date. Just make sure your new love can actually sing or the evening will be disastrous.

==Where to start==

Make a list of people you know who enjoy singing and who would be fun to spend the evening with. A good place to start is your church choir and other church choirs.

Call your fellow carolers for an impromptu neighborhood caroling.

For a festive look, ask guests to wear red and green. If this isn't possible, then at least dress in holiday hats, scarves and don't forget to wear gloves. If you live in a warm climate, you can adjust your apparel to still be festive.

Purchase actual sheet music or a book of carols for each caroler or borrow hymn books from your church.

Map out your route. Now that everyone has the music and attire, you're ready to carol. If you can squeeze in a practice before heading out.

==A progressive Christmas caroling party==

This one will take more time to plan, but can still be done on between now and Christmas if you're willing to put in the effort.

To make things more interesting and fun, enlist the help of your carolers and those on your caroling route to host a progressive party. This can be very simple and be nothing more than a warm drink or other refreshment and one hors d’oeuvres or holiday cookies.

An added benefit of doing a progressive party is with each home you visit of your carolers, you can add another singing voice to your group or at the very least visit with each other’s family.

If you don’t live in town, but are in the country, then hook up a trailer, add some bales of hay and combine a hay ride with your caroling. Just be sure and call ahead of those on your route to make sure they’re home. If you don’t have access to a hayride, then create a caravan of carolers and stop at each home. Sing long enough to give everyone time to open their doors.
If strolling through a neighborhood, then continue to sing as you walk to create the ambiance of traditional caroling.

==Last Home On Route==

The last stop in your caroling route will be your home. Have someone assist you in preparing this final party destination. You'll want to serve your guests with beverages and finger foods. You can also have the carolers' families bring their leftovers and combine for a fun finale to an entertaining evening.

==The spirit of Christmas==

Just remember, this parfy is to be fun and festive. If it becomes too involved in the planning stages or begins to get away from you and you’re stressing out over the details, then reign it back in and make it simple. You can easily get three or four friends together and strike out on a spontaneous caroling trek, just make sure your neighbors are home.

Merry Christmas!

New Cover Goodness - Candyman

Once again, the amazing cover goddess, Syneca, has smiled down upon me. OMG! The cover for Candyman is purrrfect! Exactly what I imagined with the heroine reflected in the glass. Classy, hot, sexy...YUMALICIOUS. And the hero...rawr! Love those eyes. He's dark and gorgeous and...WOW! I'm in LOVE with this cover!

Candyman
Coming January 28, 2009 from Ellora’s Cave Publishing
Vampire

Elisa Wilde’s recurrent dreams transcend time and place. Dreams so real they seem to be actual memories of a bygone era. Driven to unravel the mystery and reclaim her life, she’s drawn into an amazing adventure—the search for another woman’s lover.

In a tragic twist of fate, Michael Claret lost his truelove. He has waited decades for her return, but getting her back is only a small part of the battle. Edie has changed, evolved into a different woman. Not only will Michael have to once again win her heart, he must also gain her acceptance of his true nature. And to keep her requires she make a huge leap of faith by completing the mating bond—a sharing of blood binding them together for eternity.

Fate is a cruel mistress who will not be cheated or denied. To make the most of their second chance, Michael and Lis must alter the path chosen for them, and rewrite their love story or be lost to each other forever.

True Beauty

What is beautiful? It’s rather hard to pin down a definitive answer as beauty means something different to each individual and each culture.

According to dictionary.com:

–adjective
1. having beauty; having qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about, etc.; delighting the senses or mind: a beautiful dress; a beautiful speech.

2. excellent of its kind: a beautiful putt on the seventh hole; The chef served us a beautiful roast of beef.

3. wonderful; very pleasing or satisfying.

–noun
4. the concept of beauty (usually prec. by the).

5. (used with a plural verb ) beautiful things or people collectively (usually prec. by the): the good and the beautiful.

6. the ideal of beauty (usually prec. by the): to strive to attain the beautiful.

–interjection
7. wonderful; fantastic: You got two front-row seats? Beautiful!

8. extraordinary; incredible: used ironically: Your car broke down in the middle of the freeway? Beautiful!

Culture has a great impact on our definition of beauty. In Brazil, France and here in the US, we are inundated with advertisements showing off the thin, beautiful people with their supposedly perfect bodies. When asked, most men in these countries will describe Barbie when defining beauty—large breasts, tiny waists and mile-long legs. Get real! The models in the ads have had a team of pros working them over to make them look picture perfect. The photos are touched-up and air-brushed to exemplify an unattainable image of beauty.

The ads make me want to run to the nearest plastic surgeon for an entire body overhaul. I have fought the battle of the bulge my whole life. Swimsuit model skinny is not physically possible for me. I will never be below a size 8 on bottom due to my wide pelvic bones, and even if I had my breasts surgically removed, I’d still be a size 10 on top because of my broad ribcage. Even when I was in the military and in excellent shape, I was still a size 10. And you know what, that’s all right. Personally, I think being curvy and healthy is a lot more attractive then looking stick-thin and starved.

Guess what? Without all that makeup and team of pros even movie stars lose their shine. Want proof, just look at Sharon Stone without all the glitz and glamour.

Throughout history and in many non-Western cultures, large women are considered desirable as they are seen socially as having wealth. Obesity is viewed with admiration in many countries, including Africa, where fat women are thought to be more sexually desirable. Being fat is seen as a sign of fertility, strength and prosperity. Women are actually fattened up before marriage.

Hmm…I may need to relocate. LOL!

Most of us have known someone who seemed pretty average or not that attractive upon first meeting. But then you get to know that person and they grow on you. What's happened is you've stopped judging by the outer appearance and seen that persons inner beauty. Then average Joe isn't quite so average anymore.

We are so superficial that we tend to judge beauty more by the outward appearance than what’s on the inside. IMHO, truly beautiful people are the ones who have beautiful souls. So don’t stress over your weight or what you perceive as your flaws unless they’re causing health problems. Be beautiful on the inside and it will outshine everything else.