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Feeling All The Feels At Christmas
“Mr. D!” My grandmother’s voice echoes through the house. The screen door off the kitchen slams shut. “Hey, Kris! Merry Christmas!” My grandpop holds a giant tin of homemade pizzelle cookies as he hugs us all hello. After filling ourselves with cookies, we sit down to a dinner of ravioli with homemade Dondero spaghetti sauce. When we finish the main course, I watch my grandpop drizzle oil and vinegar over a bowl full of salad greens. He insists on filling everyone’s plate, then he sits down, with his glass of homemade red wine and the leftover salad in the giant wooden bowl — Christmas at the Donderos.
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A Funny Christmas Story
A Christmas I will Always remember I don’t write too much about my husband, Eric. Here are three things that tell a bit about him: 1. I nicknamed him The Peace Ruiner, and he’s quite proud of it. His perfect day would begin with Metallica blaring from his alarm, but I nixed that back in our twenties. 2. He’s happy ALL the time! Every day is a great day that he tries to make even better which is really a wonderful way to live. His positive energy inspires me. 3. He’s as stubborn as me! We are two firstborns that like to have our way. When our power is focused for…
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The Spirit of Gift-Giving
It was May of 1990. Eric and I had just met in March, and it was my twentieth birthday. We were living in Los Angeles. He came to my apartment carrying a present. I opened it. He bought me a coffee maker. I was surprised. My new boyfriend didn’t get me a necklace or earrings. He got me a kitchen appliance. In only a few weeks of dating, he had already learned the important role coffee played in my life. Of course, I thanked him, but in my mind I was wondering if things were going to work out between us. I mean, a coffee maker? Even back then the…
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How do you celebrate Christmas?
How do you celebrate Christmas? Here’s how we celebrate… You can see from the picture our family doesn’t really put much emphasis on the decorating the tree tradition. I keep thinking that one Christmas I’ll choose a theme like Christmas around the world and decorate several trees. Yep, I’m still thinking about that…We do celebrate with matching pj’s! We Make Cookies! My favorite are the pizzelles and biscotti. We actually means Eric and Arielle. Kai and I eat them. OK, I eat them. Kai can tell me exactly how many calories are in each one. Stupid internet! We Eat Out! One place Kai doesn’t count calories is his ultimate favorite…
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Magic Moments of Christmas
“The present moment is all you ever have. There is never a time when your life is not “this moment.” Eckhart Tolle Eric and I strolled the aisles of Target searching for the perfect gifts for Arielle and Kai. Both kids had told us one or two things they wanted for Christmas but were pretty nonchalant about the whole gift receiving tradition. We were clueless, asking each other if we thought Kai or Arielle would enjoy the gadget or goodie we spotted on the shelf. Both of us knowing gift cards were really the way to go but how exciting is opening up a gift card? You can’t play with…
