Happy Memorial Weekend!

Today Kristen is traveling home from a very fun and successful trip to BEA, therefore she's unable to blog.

So I'm stepping in to wish you guys a very happy holiday weekend here in the US and for the rest of you... I hope your weekend is just as happy :)

Stay classy, San Diego!

a charlie brown christmas

One of my fondest memories as a kid was watching the A Charlie Brown Christmas. Poor Charlie Brown, he never could get a good tree but he always made the best of it.

Imagine the happiness that lit up my inside parts when I found a real Charlie Brown tree at Walgreens last week. So I bought it, and took it to the boyfriend's house because he wasn't planning on decorating. And I'm sorry, but we just couldn't have a tree....

Best. Tree. Ever. I may never do another tree again.

Are y'all ready for the holidays? Try anything new this year (like a Charlie Brown tree?) or are you a stickler for old traditions?

Hope you all have a very Charlie Brown Holiday with friends, family and a pet you love. ;)

The groundhog hates you

Or maybe it's just spring he hates. Apparently, good ole Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow so there's going to be six more weeks of winter.

The whole thing comes from a German tradition which says that if a hibernating animal (in this case, the groundhog) sees its shadow on Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — winter will last another six weeks. If it doesn't see it's shadow, legend says spring will come early. How they determine whether or not Phil has seen his shadow, I don't know. To my knowledge, Phil isn't a talking groundhog.

Today's post would be remiss if I didn't also mention the movie Groundhog Day. It's one of those movies I could watch over and over, oddly enough. And with that in mind, let me leave you with these parting words: "Don't drive angry!"

Also, enjoy the rest of your winter. Here in Florida, we don't pay too much attention to such things.

Happy V-Day Week

This week is Valentine Week here at Fictionistas, so get ready for some love, love, love. Or really intense like. Or lotsa hearts. Or maybe just some pink. Either way, you'll see a theme in this week's posts, so be prepared.

Speaking of love...have you seen my cover for BITE ME!? No? Yes? Well, either way, I'm posting again, because it is true love on my end.

I ♥ my cover.

I really don't know what to talk about this week. I have a love/hate relationship with Valentine's Day. I am a huge gift giver. Always have been. I love sending cards, giving trinkets, doing little things that show people how much I care. And as long as the gifts are appreciated, I am happy. I don't even need anything in return--most of the time. (Every girl likes to know she's thought about and appreciated. Gifts are welcome and encouraged!)

I like to give gifts throughout the year. Holidays like Valentine's Day feel so commercial and forced that oftentimes the meaning of the gift is lost in the forest of all the pink hearts and chocolate candies.

By the way, I do not subscribe to the 'it's the thought that counts' train of thought. It's all about the effort to me. If you're going to bother giving someone a Valentine's gift, (or any gift) make it mean something. Don't just run out to the grocery store and pick up the last available dying bouquet and a box of stale candy. Plan ahead a little. Some of the most appreciated gifts aren't the expensive ones. And sometimes the right card says more than a trinket ever would.

Make your gifts count.

Have a great V-day week!

Holiday Reunions and a Great Video Clip

Have you seen these guys? They are Straight No Chaser, an acapela group reunited after college when one of the guys posted a clip on YouTube. Hoping to connect with his old singing buddies, he got them discovered by Atlantic Records. And the rest, as they say, is holiday history...

What I love about the story is not the record deal or even the great music, though they certainly are terrific. What I like is how they got together after time, and life, and miles had drawn them apart. My own friends often wander home for the holidays. I see old students, kids I knew through my family home from college. I run into high school pals visiting parents, siblings, whomever... finding themselves back in Green Harbor for a little while.

I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday and will continue to do so as we head for a brand-spanking new year. And I hope you find a few old friends in the hustle and rush.