Tuesday 4

 Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. We offer you 4 questions weekly to get you blogging, visiting and  learning about yourself and other bloggers. The more people join in, the merrier and the better it

Yesterday was the day after Christmas and the final day of Hanukkah. There are only a few days left in 2022... Let's talk about it.

1. Many stay home  and even go to bed early on New Year's Eve. What are your plans and do you have reasons for what you do? Years back, I used to go out on New Year's Eve with friends. My husband and I had a favorite spot to hang out at in the early days before kids. Now, we just pick up a couple of sparkling ciders, some brew, maybe a bottle of champagne, and kick back at the house and bring in the new year.

2. Guy Lombardo was a traditional fixture on TV and then Dick Clark and his Rockin' New Years Eve took over. People ate certain foods, bayberry candles were burned for luck. It seems that lately tradition, and not just for New Year, is being forgotten and lost on so many fronts. What traditions in life are important to you and remain steadfast in your life? I remember watching Guy Lombardo and Dick Clark. I have carried on a few Christmas and New Year traditions from my childhood. We always watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve and ring in the new year with a toast.

3. The New Year is often a time to reflect on what has transpired and many make resolutions in an effort to improve their life. Do you count the cost of time and tradition in your life? How do you handle good times and bad times and do you forge ahead or get mired down? I never make resolutions because they are too easy to break. Every day begins anew with a fresh start. The last few years have been extremely hard on my family, but we just keep moving forward.

4. In ancient Israel, the new liturgical year began in the Spring with Passover.. a new beginning.  The Civil year calendar began on Rosh Hashana and 2022-23 is the year 5783 on the Hebrew calendar as of September. How important is the liturgical calendar in your life? Do you take notice of religious holidays and times? Are the holidays more religious or secular for you and your family? My husband and I were both raised Southern Baptist. His grandfather was actually a pastor and had a small church, and my grandfather was a deacon. I shied away from the church during my middle school years when my parents quit attending. My husband and I stepped away from both churches because of family, but our kids were brought up with the true meaning of religious holidays.

Tuesday 4

 

"Hello and welcome once again to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we hope that 4 questions help you to blog, meet people and think about things in general.     Sometimes the simplest questions can be a bit difficult to answer. I do hope you are enjoying these questions...but if you can think up better themes and questions, please let me know!   I want to keep this going and make it nice for you."

It's been a while since I posted a Tuesday 4.

 

 

Let's talk about the countdown to Christmas or Chanukah or both!

1. What was the countdown to the holidays like for you as a child?  Special projects at school.. at home.. with friends? Was a big deal made of the month in your family or town?  What does your countdown look like now? My mom always had an advent calendar for the month and it was always exciting changing the days and counting down until Santa visited! I have a little countdown calendar with Christmas card holder that my not-so-little kids still change.

2. As a kid did your family stay home on the holidays or go visiting around ... what do you do now? We would go out and about to view the Christmas lights around town, and the usual family gatherings took place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. One of my favorite places to still visit and see Christmas lights is Luther Lake.

3. What foods did Mom and Grandma make for those days? What snacks were out? What is the food situation in your home today? Oh gosh, I always looked forward to Christmas dinner! Both my Nannie and Mom were wonderful cooks! My mom always made her famous baked beans, my Nannie made a wonderful brown sugar glazed ham and fresh sweet potatoes, and my Papaw made his amazing nuts n bolts. Everyone always brought a side. Yummy! Let us not forget the desserts - pink stuff and warm apple pie!! My husband loves to cook and we normally whip up fresh homemade sides like sweet potatoes, mac n cheese, green beans, fresh rolls, etc. A spiral ham or turkey, with pumpkin and apple pie to finish it off.

4. Did you have a traditional way of spending the day with time to open gifts, visit,  special breakfasts, special dinner, guests? What do you do now? As I got older, I realized why my parents, especially my mom was so frazzled. LOL! On Christmas Eve we always visited my grandparents. We would go to my dad's parents first and have Christmas with gifts and snacks, which was usually around 3pm. Then a few hours later, we would get together with my mom's parents for Christmas dinner and gifts. Christmas Day was celebrated with my family at home. As our kids were growing up, we used to get together with my husband's extended family on Christmas Eve and his dad's family. Now, we just celebrate Christmas Eve here at our house. Christmas Day used to be hectic. We used to have to get all our Christmas done before noon, then we would sprint to get to a Christmas gathering with my husband's family usually eating a grand layout of Mexican food and opening gifts. Now, we get up on Christmas morning and have donuts and coffee and open gifts.

 

Tuesday 4

Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we put 4 questions up each week for you to ponder and answer. Then we hope you visit all the other participants too. so we can get to know one another better.

Let''s plan a lovely vacation through New England to see the Autumn leaves.. Money is no object and we have all the time we would like.

1. How many days and nights would you like to be away? At least two weeks. A week is just not enough time!

2. What kind of car would you like to take on this trip? Maybe you would enjoy the train? Would you sail up the coast in a yacht? More than likely it would be a rental car because we would probably fly in from Texas. As long as it's an SUV, I think we are good. A train sounds awesome and a yacht divine. I love being on the water!!

3. Would side trips be on your agenda? Perhaps to Mystic, Connecticut, Salem, Massachusetts, Plymouth, (yes, they spelled it with an "i" ) Massachusetts, Walden Pond, Lizzie Borden's home or maybe the home of Emily Dickenson, etc. I am sure side trips would be a definite! I could see myself venturing to some of these places, but not my daughter.

4. Lobster roll, chowders, boiled dinners, brown bread, baked beans, pancakes with real maple syrup, blueberry muffins, Parker House Rolls (well loved by Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the Kennedy clan.), Toll House Cookies, Red Flannel Hash, Tourtiere pork pie, (Recipe here)— what native foods catch your attention? These foods mentioned have my mouth watering. Considering I am not from the north-east, I will just taste test what seems tasty. LOL.

Maybe one day we will be able to venture up north-east again. It's been a few years now, but I still miss being in Maine.

 

Tuesday 4

 

 

 

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. Here are questions to ponder for this week...

 

 

 

1. Are you happy with the way your life is going? Absolutely! I believe that God has finally revealed the path I am supposed to be on.

2. Are you planning any trips in the future? Well, nothing major for a while, but I hope we can get down to Galveston in a couple of months to visit Moody Gardens and Sea Wolf Park, and definitely want to make a trip down to Pier 21 to see Elissa and the Battleship Texas. Hopefully this time, we can also get to the Bishop's Palace. My kids have never seen it!

3. Are you reading anything at the moment or do you plan on reading something interesting? I read every day. Right now I am reading The Children's Dream by Roberta Kagan.

4. What's for supper tonight at your house? We are making General Tso's Chicken, white rice, and egg rolls tonight.

 

Tuesday 4

 

Well, we hope it's easy anyway. Welcome back to Toni's Tuesday 4!

Always good to have you here.Let's concentrate on the little bit of summer that is left shall we? We need to enjoy every season to the fullest I believe.. what say you?

Not much more of summer left so we better enjoy it while it lasts.

 

 

Summertime and the Living is Easy?

1. What do you like to do in the summer? I have never been much of a lake person, and the closest thing that resembles a beach is five hours tops from us. Most of the time during summer we stay indoors where it is cooler. We do make a few trips to Six Flags several times of year since we have memberships. It has been extremely hot here in Texas. But soon the temps will be dropping and I am looking forward to that.

2. What is your favorite summertime food and beverage? I don't really have specific food or drinks for seasons.

3. How do you beat the heat? Stay inside where it is cool. If I lived by the beach, I would definitely be sitting outside reading under an umbrella and listening to the waves.

4. What do you really like about the summer season? Well, I don't. Not anymore. I don't like to sweat unless it's on purpose. LOL!

 

Tuesday 4 - Meals Past and Present/Back to School

 

It's time for Tuesday 4!!

This week let's talk about food and menus past and present....

1. What was your favorite meal as a child? As a teen?  As a young adult and what is it be now? Spaghetti and homemade meatballs. Yes, they are still my favorite, even now. LOL!

2. What did Mom make for breakfast? Lunch?   Dinner?    Do you recall the menus? My mom cooked every meal when I was growing up - until she had to go to work full time because my dad lost his job at Bell Helicopter. Mornings and lunch were up to us until dinner.

3. How was dinner time as a young newly wed? Plain.. fancy?  Set the table of just catch as catch can?  If you aren't married, how was dinner living on your own?  Do you invite people over or to go out to eat? LOL! I have been married over 22 years and we have never been fancy. My husband loves to cook and he cooks quite a bit. Years back when he was an OTR trucker, I cooked almost every night for me and the kiddos, and he would cook on weekend when he was home. I am not much of a hostess, so no I don't invite people over. LOL! We go out to eat occasionally. It has become less frequent because of Covid and I just honestly don't want to be around people.

4. Is it important for family to eat together at the table in the evening or for breakfast?  Why do you think so or not? Growing up we always sat down at the table to eat. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. As I got older and started working, I was not home to eat dinner, so it became less frequent. We always ate together as a family when my kids were little. Now, it is kind of a pick and choose because schedules vary. Sometimes we will stay in the kitchen and eat and talk. 

 

My participation in memes and just blogging has been hit or miss lately. I finally landed a full time job and work all week now a days. I am still trying to adjust. LOL! I haven't worked a full time job in decades! 😁

Since I missed last weeks Tuesday 4 I still want to post so here it is! 

Let's go back to school today...

1. You are  back in high school... what are you doing after school lately? Hanging with my Business Professionals club during the week and going out with friends on the weekends!

2. Do you do homework early or late? Do you really study? I am definitely not the studios type. Homework is always a pain and I always wait until the last minute to get it done.

3. a. Do you go to the games? Football? Basketball.. what is your favorite to attend? I always go to the Homecoming football game.

  b. Do you go to the dances? Prom? (what'd you wear?) My boyfriend's Prom, who happens to be two years older than me. My mom chooses my dress. 😳After that - nope. No more dances for me.

4.Lunch!  What are we having today?   What is your favorite lunch? We are headed to Taco Bell or Taco Cabana for lunch!! LOL! Whatever I can eat in 25 minutes!

School was not my cup of tea and I ended up quitting my Senior year and getting my GED, and then going into the military. I never went to college when I was younger. And I never thought I would find myself getting my A. S. in Healthcare Administration in my late 40s!! LOL!

 

Tuesday 4 - Let's discuss Christmas

Welcome Friends ... to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. It's been quite a while since I participated.

Let's discuss Christmas!

1. Is your tree up? How tall... what color lights? Is there a color scheme you use? We kind of procrastinated putting up the tree this year because we ended up taking in a little feral kitten that we have aptly named Tumbledart. This year we put our tree up in our den and the hairballs have been snagging ornaments and bows left and right. LOL! Our tree is 7 feet tall, multi-color lights, and an array of all types of ornaments ranging from Coca Cola to Rustic.

 2.  Got a menu for Christmas Eve and Day? Always a quick breakfast! We have decided to go non-traditional this year - Spaghetti and Meatballs with garlic bread won!

3. When does it go up and how long does it stay up? Normally the day after Thanksgiving but this year it went up mid-December. Between me getting a new job and the new little kitten, things have been a bit chaotic in our house lately.

4. What is your favorite Christmas memory. When do you open your gifts? My favorite Christmas memory from my childhood has to be when I got my pink Huffy bicycle!! Haha. I couldn't wait to go out and ride it. Now, I am just thankful to enjoy the season with my amazing family. We open our gifts on Christmas morning after making a quick breakfast and having some hot coffee!

Tuesday 4 - Blogging

When I actually remember that it is Tuesday, I don't forget Tuesday 4 . Annie poses 4 questions following a particular theme. Come on and join in this week's theme about blogging. I remembered this week! I have missed a few of the memes that I enjoy, this one being one of them. Due to an internet outage, I am late in posting. LOL! 😅

1. How often do you blog? What helps you blog.. what hinders you? Well, when I decided to jump back into blogging after many years I told myself that I would be doing this every day. Yeah, that didn't happen. I find myself caught up in life from dr. appointments, therapy appointments, graduation for my daughter, looking for a job, Frontier Girls, Gaming with my group, working on my website, and recently ... my dive into college at the age of 48 - it has slapped me silly!
 
2. What benefits do you get from blogging? Are there any? Benefits - I enjoy getting to know new people, lots of laughs, humor, and hanging in there during sad times. I remember having lots of blog buds years back. I quit blogging for quite a while and most of the ones that I used to chat with have turned to Facebook and no longer have an actual blog. I have been trying to get away from Facebook, so I turned to my website and decided to start blogging once again. I am happy to have found a few of y'all out here that have kept this going!!
 
3. Have you ever changed your blog theme? I have always just chatted about daily life on my blog and have never been into the reviews or anything of that nature. As for theme, I change it when I change my website theme which usually focuses around holidays, etc.

4. Where do you get your ideas for blog posts? Every day life! A lot of stuff that I share here I do not share on Facebook, like - I haven't told but a couple of people that I have enrolled in college and am working towards my A.S. in Healthcare Administration. On one hand, I think some would be happy. On the other, I think a few would think I am wasting my time because of my age. 

 

Tuesday 4 - Let's Talk About You

 It's time again for Tuesday 4 in memory of Toni Taddeo, our founder. Join in here!

 

 

Let's talk about YOU this week.

 

 

1. How are you unique or different from your friends or family? How typical are you? I think we are all unique and have our differences. I have always been the black sheep of my family, and even more so in my husband's. LOL. His family is huge and they always want to get together for everything. Having a special needs child and having family brush them off kind of sealed the deal as she got older. And now with Covid - well that changed everything, and it changed my perspective of a lot of people, and I do mean A LOT! It will be amazing if some of us ever speak to one another again. I am definitely not a "typical" kind of person and definitely not a follower.

2. How do you spend your spare time? books, hobbies, visiting, TV, etc. I 💓 to read and listen to Classical music! I am also a huge GAMER MOM and play quite a few games from Skyrim to games like Wizard101 and Toontown Rewritten. I am part of an adult group on Facebook that play Roblox and we get together every Saturday night for game night. It's so much fun! But now, some of my spare time will be divided up since I decided to enroll in college. Yep, at the age of 47 I am going after my A.S. in Healthcare Administration. We will see if I go for my B.S. afterwards. LOL.

3. What was high school like for you? An endless stream of parties and cotillions! 😂 Well, not the latter, but I did party way too much in high school, and I ended up not finishing. I did not care for school the older I got, and a car accident ended my track and field days my Sophomore year. I quit the middle of my Senior year, but I did end up getting my GED and enlisting in the Texas Army National Guard for five years.

4. This question has multiple parts:

a. Handbag: designer style or any will do? I don't really carry a purse these days, but this style of Dooney and Burke drawstring will always be my baby. It was a birthday gift my freshman year of high school and I wish I still had it!! I have been thinking about acquiring another, but it has to be Vintage style (with the duck)! They are just so expensive, and I have more important things to spend my money on these days.

b. Pajamas or night gown? Definitely pajamas. I haven't worn a nightgown since I was a little girl!

c. Shoes: sturdy or pretty? While I would love to just shop around for the cutest and pretty sandals, any shoe I buy these days has to be sturdy. I have to have extra support for my plantar fasciitis.

d.home decor: classic, modern, farm house style, traditional? LOL! Every room of my house is different and I am not a huge fan of particular decor. Sad, huh? I do like the farm house style and I am big on vintage.

e. Movies: feel good, drama, romance, action? It really depends on what mood I am in. I enjoy lots of different genres of movies.

Tuesday 4

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 kept in memory of her.
Let's talk about food this week shall we?

I haven't played in a while and I am a bit late, but ... 😊

1. What is/are your favorite meal (meals) to eat and to cook? Spaghetti and homemade meatballs! 🍝

2. How often do you cook at home and what kind of meals do you make? My husband is usually the one that loves to cook, and often. Anywhere from grilled chicken, pork chops, steak, veggies and this is mainly done on the grill if the weather is good. We do order out some and may get some pizza or Chinese/Japanese. We cook at least four to five times out of the week, unless we have tons of appointments.

3. When you go out to eat what foods do you find yourself ordering most? Well, we haven't actually gone out to a sit down restaurant since last year. LOL! Normally when we do, I end up getting the exact same thing I always order. If we go out to eat Mexican food, it's either something like a Taco Dinner or Fajitas. If we go to our favorite German place, I end up getting Steak and kraut, with a vinaigrette salad. And their bread. I love the bread!

4. Can you recommend a restaurant in your area? Why do you like it? Mexican Inn Cafe. I have been going to this restaurant since I was a little girl, and I am so thrilled that the original location is being re-modeled. I can't wait to visit. They have the best chips and hot sauce! My favorite Italian restaurant, Spaghetti Warehouse, closed years ago. They had the best sourdough bread and butter, and the Toasted Ravioli was so tasty!! It was located in the famous Fort Worth Stockyards. I really miss that place. 

Tuesday 4

Welcome to Tuesday 4 

(the legacy of Toni Taddeo kept in her honor and memory).
Thanks to Annie for today's four questions!

1. Do you have a favorite movie to recommend? Hmm, I do have quite a few favorites. I love historical movies and animated movies. James Cameron's TITANIC is my all time favorite, and A Night to Remember. I have always been a RMS Titanic enthusiast since I was a little girl. Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen are two favorites as well. To name a few others: Jurassic Park, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Marvel, etc. I also enjoy any John Wayne movies!🤠

2. Do you have a schedule for your day or do you wing it? Well, since I am not working at the moment due to my foot, we don't really have a set schedule at this time so I guess you can say we "wing it". Between doctors appointments and therapy appointments, we have been going to Six Flags a few times a week. My hubby and I decided to invest in memberships for the family and we have been going out to the park to exercise and enjoy a few rides here and there. My hubby cannot ride most of the rides due to a TBI he suffered a few years back, but he has been enjoying himself.

3. What are you eating/cooking lately? My hubby loves to cook, and we cook out a lot, especially if it is hot and we live in Texas. 🔥 Chicken, steak, brisket, ribs, hamburgers - you name it! We are also grabbing a meal or two when we head out to Six Flags for the day since we added Deluxe Dining passes to our memberships. This has indeed paid off tenfold!

4.  Do you surf on your computer? Tell us about it, won't you? I am always surfing the web! From scrolling through Facebook to see what some of my friends from around the world are up to, reading articles that catch my attention, Netflix, Disney+, and also playing games. I play A LOT of games either by myself, or with my kiddos.

It has been a while since I done questions for Tuesday 4. I keep missing my Tuesdays and figure I will catch the next week, then forget again. 🤪 Oops!

Tuesday 4 - Valentine's Day

Welcome to Tuesday 4 (the legacy of Toni Taddeo kept in her honor and memory).
Thanks to Annie for today's four questions!

Welcome to Tuesday 4. I am sure  Toni would be so pleased you are here.

Valentine's Day

Let's talk about St. Valentine's Day.

1. St Valentine paid for the weddings of poor girls. Today weddings can cost a fortune. What do you think about wedding expenses? My sister's wedding cost well over $30,000 and she didn't even buy her dress! I was married in a courthouse by a Justice of the Peace and I don't even have one wedding picture of my husband and I. Weddings are way overpriced and I am just as married no matter where my wedding took place. 😘

2. Do you or did you send Valentines to people? Not really. I have always bought my kids and my hubby cute cards and some Valentine's Day goodies!

3. Do you find Valentine's Day to be romantic? Not really. Too much hype and I have never bought into the "commercialism" this day has become.

4. Do you do anything special for Valentine's Day with partners or family? Cards, wildflowers for my table, and goodies for all. Oh, and games. LOL!  💖

Happy Hearts Day!!
Me and my lil pet, Mousse (Roblox)

 

Tuesday 4 - Dreams

 Welcome to Tuesday 4 (the legacy of Toni Taddeo kept in her honor and memory). 
Thanks to Annie for today's four questions!

Welcome back to Tuesday 4 where we remember the wonderful memes of our friend Toni Taddeo by continuing them on in her memory.  I am glad you've stopped by to join in.

This week is another old one from Toni....

My Dreams ~ Try Using Photos!

1.  My dream house is? A colonial house located somewhere around the Tree Streets in Bangor, ME! 😍 We went here for vacation a couple of years ago and absolutely fell in love! We have plans on moving in the near future, and when we do, we will become Texans moving Northeast! I am so looking forward to actually seeing and experiencing all FOUR seasons! So, this could be one dream that comes true!

2.  My dream car is? A 1966 Ford Mustang CHERRY RED convertible! One of these beauts sat in the driveway of some guy up the street from us for years! I got so irritated every time I saw it because he had literally just left it to rot! Code finally nailed him and the car is no longer there. 🙄

3.  My dream vacation is? I would 💛 to go to Scotland and Ireland! We named our daughter after the Isle of Skye and my absolute favorite heroine from my favorite saga - O'Malley Saga by Bertrice Small. My niece spent six months in Ireland studying abroad. She had some wonderful pictures! I would also love to visit two of my dearest friends - Ria and Lynette - that live in South Africa! I am sure they would both give us the best tours!!

4.  My dream life is? Honestly, I don't think I would change my life now. I have the most amazing husband and two awesome kids! They are my LIFE so I guess you could say that this is my dream life. 🥰

Tuesday 4 - Wondering

Welcome to Tuesday 4 (the legacy of Toni Taddeo kept in her honor and memory). 
Thanks to Annie for today's four questions!

Welcome back to Tuesday 4 where we remember the wonderful memes of our friend Toni Taddeo by continuing them on in her memory.  I am glad you've stopped by to join in.

To begin 2021 I thought I would re-post the final Tuesday 4 from Toni, posted on Monday Dec. 9, 2019! Enjoy playing along friends.  

A Repeat ~ Just Wondering

1.   When was the last time you tried something new?: Well, I think this past year was quite the year for doing things new. I am not big into video anything and even though I am into technology, I don't like video chat, etc. Heck, my monitor doesn't even have a webcam! LOL! All of these new video doctor's appointments are crazy. 😄

2.   Who in your family do you compare yourself to?: I learned a long time ago that trying to compare yourself to anyone only brings stress upon oneself if they do not live up to a certain standard or expectations are not met. 

3.   What lesson in life did you learn the hard way?: To keep your head up and keep going. Those that you have always been there for may not be there for you.

4.   What can you do today that you weren't able to do before?: Shut my computer down and go read. Here lately, I changed my bedtime routine so that I am now reading before heading off to catch some ZzZ's. Reading has become a stress reliever.

Tuesday 4 - Happy New Year

Welcome to Tuesday 4 (the legacy of Toni Taddeo kept in her honor and memory). 

Thanks to Annie for today's four questions!

I am a day late!  LOL!

The Times Square ball first dropped on December 31, 1907. It is 12 feet in diameter and covered with Swarovski crystals. 

1.  Despite the weirdness of this past year, was it still a good year for you anyway or not? I would say this year is ending on a good note. My husband was approved for his Social Security Disability. I feel like we have been fighting insurance companies for years and I am happy we had this outcome. I am still unemployed, but it is probably for the best since I am having to get x-rays and MRIs done on my foot. I need to find out what is going to be happening before taking another step to post job applications.

2. How will you spend New Years Eve? At home probably playing games with my son and daughter, and watching the ball drop. Hubby cannot really watch the shows much anymore because of the flickering and flashing. I couldn't get my Amarula here on time for New Year's, but champagne will have to do. The Minecraft server we play on is having a cute little fireworks session throughout the day to celebrate. 

3. What do you do on New Year's Day? Is football part of the agenda? New Year's Day is basically any other day. We used to watch Football years ago, but we do not watch sports anymore.

4. It's a Scottish tradition to kiss at midnight.  Do you keep that tradition? Does everyone get a kiss if you do? I share a kiss with my hubby! 😘

🥳🎉 Happy New Year!!! 🥂🍾

Tuesday 4

Welcome to Tuesday 4 (the legacy of Toni Taddeo kept in her honor and memory).
Thanks to Annie for today's four questions!

 A Merry Little Christmas

Christmas is fast approaching for millions of people...

1. Do you have a favorite Christmas carol and if so is there a particular version you especially like? The classics like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, etc.

2. Do you have a special dinner for the holidays? What foods are included? This really depends on who we are getting together with and things have changed drastically in the last few years. We will be celebrating at home this year (again) and having a spiral ham, homemade mac n cheese, veggies, dinner rolls, and definitely desserts, which will be including lemon meringue pie! 😋

3. Holiday movies ... which do you like to watch? I make it a habit to watch It's A Wonderful Life every year while wrapping gifts. I have been watching some really cute Christmas movies on Netflix here lately. Every year we watch Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and Frosty. It's a Christmas favorite, especially for our daughter, who was born the day after Christmas.

4. What traditions do you continue to keep year after year for the holidays? I love history and tradition, so I have always tried to keep a few things going that I experienced during childhood. Mail out Christmas cards. Yes, I still buy stamps and mail out cards to family and friends. There is just something more personal about a card. Planning one evening to go look at Christmas lights. My parents always took us out to go view the abundant decorations. One in particular was this lake where my grandparents used to live. They always decorated with beautiful lights. We still drive over there. An Advent calendar countdown to Christmas Day. My daughter loves to change the date daily. Listen to Christmas music. While some of the newer versions are not extremely bad, I will always prefer the classics. Christmas stockings have always been a huge tradition and my mom didn't care how old we were. We still had a stocking every year. It was the first thing that I tore into Christmas morning. 🤗

Merry Christmas to you and yours!!! 🎄

Tuesday 4

Welcome to Tuesday 4 (the legacy of Toni Taddeo kept in her honor and memory) and hosted by Annie.

Let's talk about Gifts!

1. Whether it's Christmas, Chanukah or a birthday party nice gifts can be hard to pick out. Is there a safe go to gift you think will fit anyone?  I believe it depends on the age of the recipient and how well you know them, and their interests. 

2. Is wrapping a gift a necessary part of the excitement of giving and receiving? Yes! I always take the time to wrap gifts, stick on a cutesy bow, and grab a nice card. If I am using a gift bag, its gets extra ribbons on the handles and matching tissue paper. I don't mind how others do it upon receiving a gift - I am still just as excited to get something special!

3. What gifts given to you did you love the most? Lots of childhood memories come to the surface with this one, but the one that stands out in my mind the most was my pink Huffy bicycle that I got for Christmas when I was 8. I rode that thing everywhere - jumping ramps, hills, over water, and up curbs. I can't remember how many times my dad had to replace the tubes and tires. I was a tomboy!!! When I married and had kids, anything that my kids made was saved. I have bins of stuff from holidays and school. 

4. In the O. Henry book The Gift of the Magi, a man sells his pocket watch to buy some beautiful hair combs for his wife's long hair but she has sold her hair to buy him a platinum pocket watch chain.

Have you ever saved long and hard to buy someone a special gift? Would you be okay with a holiday that didn't include gifts? Would friends and family understand? We normally have a certain amount set aside for Christmas, but occasionally we will go over a bit. My husband and I usually just get something personal for each other and we have always focused on the kids. Of course they are older now, but we still try to have a wonderful Christmas sharing gifts and celebrating. My mother-in-law has always been the type to want to have this HUGE Christmas with lots of gifts and food. Over the last several years it has become trying since he has a large family (most do not get along) and his mom has been trying to extend Christmas into several days just so everyone can celebrate. We have decided not to participate because honestly, the stress is just overbearing and between my daughter (who has Autism and just got officially diagnosed with GAD), plus hubby's TBI - they cannot handle being around that many people, even family. Nope, family doesn't understand. They think we are being selfish and antisocial.

Tuesday 4 - Tea Parties

Welcome to my first Tuesday 4 the legacy of Toni Taddeo (kept in her honor and memory) and hosted by Annie.

Let's discuss tea parties.

1. Do you invite people over for coffee or tea? Not really. If someone stops by, we do offer drinks, etc. My FIL used to stop by for coffee at least once a month before he moved to Oregon.

2.  Entertaining is a good way to serve others. The bible encourages it in talking about how to be a good person: 

Isaiah 58: "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" 

Do you entertain often? No. I am more of a 'meet you somewhere' type of person. I have never been much of a hostess. But occasionally, we will have a couple of people over for dinner.

3. What kind of refreshments do you offer to guests? Coffee, cokes, water, etc. If we have it, you will be offered it. 😀

4. Do you enjoy tea and/or coffee? How do you take it? I rarely drink tea, and if I do I prefer it to be unsweet. Yes, I live in the south and I am a true Texan. But, I just can't stomach a lot of sugar these days. COFFEE is my go to. I drink coffee every morning. A little bit of milk, and during the holidays I always have a bottle of pumpkin spice creamer in the fridge.