As a home schooling mom, my time is consumed with curriculum planning and seeking out educational activities that will keep my nine and six year old boys’ attention spans. Top that off with regular mom duties to four others boys, and a hubby. That’s a full day. However, my day doesn’t end there. I still have the writing thing to squeeze in.

Writing is a must! Without that escape of putting pen to paper the voices in my head would take over. Sounds like enough creativity for a single person, right? Not! I can’t speak for other writers, but the creativity bug doesn’t stop biting for me with just conjuring up characters or the fantastical worlds they live in. I have several creative vices that I dabble in aside from reading and writing.  Photography is very high on my list of creative hobbies! I bought my first camera body and lens at nineteen years old, and I fell in love.

Over the next twenty five years I would discover the “hot glue gun” and would re-vamp anything I could glue. Photo albums, coffee cans, jars, etc. Do you remember stenciling and sponging? There wasn’t a wall in my house that hadn’t been tainted by this variable art form. One the sweetest memories is when I purchased my first set of power tools. That’s when I knew I had a problem. Walls started coming down….literally! Then came the scrapbooking trend! Good Lord help me! Finally, a place I could incorporate my pictures and decorating! Woo Hoo!!!


Now for my newest creative challenge. Crocheting. I’m hooked. No pun intended! I’ve made 11Santa hats to date, three cup cozies, four pairs of slippers, five Afghans, a hat for a doll, and one very short, ugly scarf! That was just in the last two months. At this point, there is not enough time in a day, or days in a week to get everything done that I need. So why add more to that growing list? I have no idea! Maybe it’s genetic or it could be that the moon and the stars were aligned a certain way when I was born. My brain is always looking for a new way to express my creativity. Am I alone in this or are there others of you out there with the same affliction?

 I’ve had to use some self-discipline! The key to being successful in anything, especially life is balance. For me the list goes in this order: Family first, writing/reading, and then all those other creative endeavors are sprinkled into the mix after.

My family does something a little different for the holidays.

What we celebrate:
The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and the longest night.  We celebrate because no matter how bleak the night looks nor how long it lasts, the sun will always rise again.  The seasons change and winter is not forever.  Every day after winter solstice will be longer than the one before.  Plants will grow and animals will thrive with the lengthening of the sunlight.  Do not despair: the earth is not dead, just asleep.  Brighter days are ahead, thanks to the winter solstice.


How we celebrate:
The night before we burn a log that we have attached cinnamon, cloves, apples and oranges to so that it smells good while it burns.  For as long as it burns we talk about events of the past year and hopes for the coming year.  We eat together and drink wassail, toasting to our family's health and good fortune.  We also sing songs like The Wassail Song, Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, and The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) - all of which have themes that can be enjoyed no matter religious preferences.


We decorate an outdoor living evergreen with edible items for animals to eat during the winter when nature provides them the least.  mother nature puts fruits and nuts on the trees in summer for all her creatures, including us.  We put fruit and nuts on the tree in winter when she cannot.  We enjoy seeing the animals and birds eat our decorations because they are reminders that life continues and that the circle is never ending.

We decorate the Solstice Tree with:
1.) pinecones (evergreens - proof that there is life even in the coldest winter) covered with peanut butter (just plain tasty)
2.) golden apples to symbolize the sun
3.) suet cakes with birdseed and raisons in fat
4.) popcorn strings (corn kernels - cold and hard and seemingly lifeless, it just needs heat and 'pop' the life comes bursting out - just like the earth in winter looks dead, but holds life inside, just waiting for the sun's heat to bring it out.

photo courtesy of Microsoft

Its the 20th day of December and I'm finished with our Christmas shopping.  If you knew me at all, this would come as a shock.  My husband and I are the biggest "OMG, we still haven't shopped on its the 20th of December" people.  To compound that, we always leave on the 24th to journey to the in laws for the holiday.  Yes, we scramble people but not this year.  I'm not sure why we are ahead of the game.  Maybe because he got paid on the 13th and we had the money to spend.  I don't make any money so we depend on the husband's salary for everything.  Its frustrating at times...

hiya, everyone!

People who know me, know I suffer from terrible migraines. Triggers can be as simple as weather changes, icky food additives, hormonal crap...and stress. We all know that though December is a time of fun (and presents!), fellowship, and for some, religious observations. Throw in the flu season, cold weather, cranky kids... and the month is a stress crockpot!


But stress doesn't just affect those with migraines. Many of us dash around doing "fun" holiday things (decorating, cooking, shopping), plus all the kid things (who in the heck thought December was a great time for a recital? Are you kidding me? Why not February?), the job stress and year-end workload (and for those of us who write--though NY seems to shut down in December, a writer's work is never done)--it's no wonder we are stressed and haggard.

When you are feeling tense, try these things that help me:

1. Turn off the Christmas music and pop in some music that makes you happy. Trust me, though I love Christmas music, the 400th airplay of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" puts me into sniper mode.

2. Take a few deep breaths while closing your eyes. Think about the warm sunlit beach. Or mountain views. Or do yoga. Take a relaxing bath. Or my favorite: take a nap! The most important thing is to PAUSE and take a few moments to recenter yourself.

5. Lastly, if you are feeling stressed--hug someone. It really works! Whether it is your significant other, your kids, your pets, or even a pillow--hugging releases endorphins and reminds you that there's more to life than surviving the holiday season. Try it! Not just a little squeeze, but a full-body long hug. There...doesn't that feel better. And you aren't limited to one a day. You won't gain weight from hugging. And hugs are free...

Those are some of my tips for a less-stressful holiday season. They won't take away all the stress, but remember--December is only thirty-one days long. It will end.

I'd love to hear other tips to de-stress! Please share in the comments.

Kerry Adrienne

Guess what?

It's my birthday today!!

As of midnight last night I'm officially 29 with 5 years of added experience. :) Woo Hoo!!

I love birthdays and holidays of any kind and I'm glad I can share a special part of my day with each of you lovely people!! I'm definitely not one of those people that hides that it's her birthday. Seriously, I made it another year and it's AWESOME!!

So...it's a little backwards but I decided to have a giveaway and give one lucky commenter a bit of Members Only swag, plus a giant candy cane to...umm...celebrate the holidays in style.


Why a candy cane the size of your forearm? If you'll read A Very Menage Christmas all of your answers will be answered!!!! Quite a good way to kick off the holiday season if I do say so myself!

Okay, so to enter to win the giveaway just leave me a comment and tell me your favorite birthday memory. A great gift, awesome trip you took, surprise party...

You just might win a few stocking stuffers you can't get anywhere else!!!




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I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We did! Lots of food was consumed. In fact, I think I'm still eating it. What can I say, leftovers are the best. My mom makes fabulous cornbread dressing and I made a chocolate pecan pie this year that was to die for. My husband doesn't eat pecan pie and he told me that I 'must' make it from now on every year. Score! Plus, I made the crust gluten free so my little fairy could eat it too... LOL, she took one bite and said 'no momma!' spit it back out and ran off to play. Oh well. I guess I can't win them all.

Our biggest change this year was adopting a fur baby! Well, he's not much of a baby. Try a two-year-old giant weighing in at 70lbs of sweet lovable doggie. The shelter didn't have a clue what he was, but most people that look at him agree he's mostly Rhodesian Ridgeback. He was on the shelter EU list and was scheduled to be put down 20 minutes before we got to the shelter to see him. He is so sweet and so good with our little girl. Already housebroken and leash trained.

Double thumbs up for this smart doggie!

The shelter nicknamed him Lovingham because that's the street he was found on, so naturally his name became DUKE. He is our darling Duke of Lovingham and we are so blessed to have him in our house. He can't get enough love or stop giving us his.

So what do you think? Here's a couple pics of Duke.