A Ballpark Thank You

As I looked back over my 2013 calendar, I found myself poking around my blog and reliving a few events of the past year.  Some of my life is exactly the same; some is challengingly new.

I'm in my robe, sipping hot tea, as I've got a head cold that started the day after Christmas, so no parties for this girl tonight.  I'll be blowing my nose instead of a party horn, but I'm OK with that.  I'll watch the ball drop on TV, if I can stay awake.

My New Year's message to every reader is this:  Thank you.  Just thank you.  For popping in.  For reading anything I've written.  For commenting on any post.  For following this blog in any form.  For taking time to visit the Ballpark.  There are a gazillion blogs out there in blogwarts, and I appreciate anyone who decides to spend time here.  

Every writer hopes to touch someone's heart, or share a helpful idea.  We want to connect, because that's what writing is about: connection.  Realizing we're more alike than we are different.  Realizing we're not alone.  Realizing we're not completely nuts, that others make the same mistakes we do.  It's a wonderful thing.

So, thank you for reading.  I never take for granted that you come by.

Here are some highlights from 2013.    

THIS TIME LAST YEAR

ROSES, BABIES, A NEW WRITING GIG, AND NO CHOCOLATE

BRAIN SURGERY AT 90

A LITTLE PIECE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM

ACCIDENTAL BLESSINGS (and one totaled car)

FAVORITE DIY PROJECT THIS YEAR

LEARNING WHAT I'M MADE OF - BULLDOG, OR WIMP?

ESTROGEN-ONLY WEEK AT THE BEACH

25 WAYS TO REACH OUTSIDE MYSELF DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON

I hope your New Year brings many opportunities to recognize that, in spite of the difficulties you might face, we have a loving Creator who always has a plan.

It's Slump Day

Happy the-few-days-after-Christmas slump! 

It's inevitable.  We can spend money and eat sugar cookies for only so long (usually until the money and the cookies run out.)  I'm spending my 48-hours-post-Christmas doing laundry.  A lot of it.  You can read about that HERE, where I also share the real reason I love Christmas.  I was in the MMW dugout this morning.

My other after-Christmas slump arrived in the form of a head cold.  It's noon and I'm still in my PJs.  I'm on my second box of Puffs, and I keep eating whole wheat rolls to absorb all the mucus I'm swallowing.  That was probably too much information. 

I'll end on a happy note, so you can scoot over to the MMW blog and see my stack of laundry.  It's higher than my washer. 

We had a wonderful Christmas day with most of our family here. 

Every year, I think this might be the last Christmas with my parents, 93 and 90, so I'm adamant now about getting a family photo.   We took several.  Even the dogs were patient.

Hope your day is filled with something other than laundry.

Come Shine with Me!

It's December!!  It's snowing cats and dogs in some parts of the country, and shoppers have trounced one another all weekend to grab the best deals!

I hunkered down over the weekend and helped a friend organize some things in her home.  Then, I made cookies with my daughter.  We discovered that if you don't have a rolling pin, a bottle of wine (full or empty) works just fine.  Who knew.   

 

That first batch of cookie cut-outs always gets me in the mood for Christmas.  There's just something about a snowman with a chocolate chip face that makes me want to share the love.

So, I decided on my facebook page, I would post a daily thought (until Christmas) that would encourage all of us to shine this holiday.  Shine in a way that lights up somebody's life, gives them hope, takes a burden, garners a smile.   I'm calling it "Shine Your Christmas."

December 1st (yesterday), on my facebook page, I suggested we all bake cookies and give some to a grumpy neighbor or coworker.   Or teenager.  Or husband.  Whoever is the grumpy pants in your life.  People can't be grumpy when they're eating a cookie somebody gave them.   Especially if it's a snowman with a chocolate chip face. 

Join me on facebook as I move through the month with reflections on how we can all shine a little brighter this holiday season.  I know when the craziness really starts, I want to just keep plugging along, doing simple things that will shine through the chaos.  It would be fun to do it together.  Maybe we could change the world.

Here's my facebook link:  Adventures in the Ballpark - Mare Ball.  Check in and click the "like" button right under the cover photo of all the pies - you'll then get the daily posts on your facebook page, and we'll be buds!  And down the road, I might be giving away a Cadillac.  You'd hate to miss that.  

Scoot over there now and see the things I'm posting this month to make my Christmas more shiny.  Easy things we can do together.  I promise you, they do not require stringing up lights, or dragging a Douglas fir into the house.


Happy December!!!