I send you my warmest wishes as 2014 draws to a close…
What a treat that this falls on Christmas Day. No matter what you have planned, I hope your day is wonderful and both your belly and your heart are full.
I am grateful for another year of your readership and support. As Joe Cocker said, “I get by with a little help from my friends.”
Thank you, friends!
XO Donna
To quote John Lennon, “So here it is Christmas, and what have you done? The old year is over, and a new one’s just begun.”
This song touched me the moment I first heard it. It was written by John and Yoko in 1971 as a protest song against the VietNam war, and every year when I hear it I wonder to myself, “What have I done this year? What have I learned? What can I do to help others?”
I’m never sure when making a list (and checking it twice) how long to make it, but since I was the oldest of five girls (yes, five!) I will share my 5 items that I think are both thoughtful and empowering, and that would make fabulous last-minute Christmas or Hanukkah gifts for women on your list.
The Top Ten Things Dead People Want to Tell You by Mike Dooley. Mike is a wise, humorous, and even joyful New York Times best-selling author. If you have lost someone, or are facing that process, this book will help you. It certainly helped me get through the recent loss of my younger sister, Terry.
Money, A Love Story by Kate Northrup. The subtitle is: “Untangle your financial woes and create the life you really want,” and that pretty much says it all. I read it this summer and I then put everything in order and still balance my checkbook almost daily! A great read for gals of all ages!
every woman to quit holding back and “find your voice, your mission, your message.” It was named a Best Book of 2014 by Apple’s iBooks and it’s been called, “the how-to manual we have been waiting for.” I feel very lucky to have an autographed copy, and I can’t wait to dig in to it!Wishing you all Happy Holidays,
XO Donna
In Loving Memory of my sister
Reverend Theresa Kathleen O’Klock-Glick
September 3, 1953 – November 12, 2014
This morning started off as Holiday Hell…and, it wasn’t just me. A close friend called at 8:00 am to share that she was in Holiday Hell, too. “Why is it that I just can’t get in the mood for all of this? I hate Christmas!”
Now she was talking my language. You see, I still work as a hairstylist, and by the time Christmas rolls around our clients all look gorgeous, but we are the exhausted, bedraggled, people you see trying to pull together a dinner while shopping for presents on the afternoon of December 24th. Ho, ho, ho indeed!
We’ve listened to everyone’s plans to travel to exotic places, and to be with their family, (whether they want to or not) and their fears about meeting in-laws, seeing out-laws, ex-husbands, or ex-wives, and blended families, and immersion blender families, out-of-the-teflon-coated-frying-pan….and wait, I’ve segued over to cooking.
And that’s a great place to be, because it’s cold, which always makes me think of snow. Which makes me think of Dr. Zhivago – the most beautiful, snowy movie of all time…and that leads to Russia, and to making Moscow Mules! Something I’m sure no comrade would ever drink, (put what in the wodka??)) but it’s an icy cold, gingery, sensory experience of a cocktail just the same.
Have all of these ingredients on hand, and when you’re in the throes of Holiday Hell, mix up a batch…and as quickly as you can say Putin, everything will be better!
(Note: this is usually served in a copper mug, which Santa can bring you if you don’t already have a set. And the following proportions are mine.)
Per drink:
Now, if you don’t get in the Holiday spirit after a few of these, all you’re going to get in your stocking is a lump of coal. So, cheers! Say it with me, nah zda-ROVH-yeh!
XO Donna
Ever had a day when you can’t seem to do anything right? I have run up and down the stairs 18 times so far (yes, I keep count and call it exercise).
I went downstairs to my desk to balance my checkbook and pay bills online while I enjoyed my coffee. It’s my way of making the process more palatable. I pay attention now (I never did before reading Money, a Love Affair by Kate Northrup) as a way of showing the Universe that I am, indeed, a good steward for my money.
I’m not a good steward of passwords though. I had to find my cheat-sheet, and when I did, I realized two things: 1) I didn’t have all of my online accounts listed, and 2) my coffee was going to be cold by the time I finished this.
After twenty minutes of trying to resolve the most pressing account, I broke down, called my broker and spoke to her assistant. My pen ran out of ink just as she gave me a temporary password, and between finding a new pen and trying to hear over the noise in her office, I needed to ask her to repeat herself three times. Didn’t matter…the password didn’t work after all.
If you haven’t lost a password lately, count your blessings! When you do, you must answer a multitude of security questions “which may, or may not, be based on information which you’ve supplied at some time in the past for your credit report.”
It’s the online equivalent of water-boarding. I couldn’t remember whether an address I lived at more than 25 years ago was Quail Street or Quail Drive and they acted like I was trying to commit fraud. A simpler question was “What was your first car?” Yay, something I know the answer to. I told her that it was a 1955 Volkswagen Beetle. Her response, “No, that’s not correct.” WHAT? Whose life are you looking at?
I told a friend about this, and he said that he’d once been asked his mother’s maiden name. When he answered, they told him he was wrong. Really?
I’m not sure which to be more worried about, my inability to remember everything, or the militia-like state of our password protected accounts. To help myself, I made an exhaustive list of my accounts, my ID numbers, and passwords. Then I put it in a spot that’s easy for me to remember and for any half-assed burglar to find.
The new 11th commandment: Know Thy Passwords.
Or, at least know where to find them!
XO Donna
SexyPast60 