My Christmas giveaway.

Hello everyone.

Sorry I missed you last week, I was extremely sick.

No, not only in the head. I had the plague.

Really, it was just a sinus and upper respiratory infection, but it affected my eyes. Anything electronic gave me a headache and I wound up with a couple of migraines. Migraines are never fun, but migraines when you are coughing up a lung....HELL.

Anyway, I'm feeling much better. Lingering cough aside, I can see. Which makes me want to do a happy dance, let me tell you.

This past weekend, my family did our Christmas. I live about two hours away from them, and I work Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas. A few others in my family have the same issue, so it was just easier to pic a different day and pretend.

It was a fantastic time!




My family is large, loud, obnoxious, loving, and hysterical. I always say it's like a mix between "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "The Godfather," and I'm not kidding.

I love watching "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." It makes me crack up every time, because I can point out family members as I'm watching. I grew up plucking my grandmother's and my mother's chin of stray hairs. Yeah, I know - great picture in your head now, right? Happy dreams!! Muahahaha!

Listening to the Italian version of Spanglish is standard operating procedure in our household. Also, everyone drifts back into a New York accent, even though we haven't lived there in decades. It really is very strange, now that I think of it.

I am actually one of the quietest people in my family, if you could imagine that. We all get loud and boisterous. It's learned at a very young age, or you will be forgotten and not get a word in edgewise. We also talk with our hands. That joke about tying an Italian's hands to make them shut up has some background in truth, although I'm not so sure it would work.

The Latin culture is so different from other cultures, even the American mix. I've been to enough households where everyone sat and stared at each other, and politely commented on the food, to know. It is extremely awkward for me, but I try. I'm generalizing of course. I'm sure there are other families out there that are like mine.

One of the differences that I noticed was we have "the more the merrier" mentality. We are always adopting people. If someone doesn't have family, they do now. Last minute person shows up, no worries. Our house has an open/revolving door policy. It's not like we won't have enough food (that thought is laughable), and we will pull out random dishes and drink out of wine glasses if we have to. We had my piano bench and several folding chairs pulled up to the table this past weekend. Everyone was squeezed in elbow to elbow, and had to be cautious not to poke someone's eye out when we started talking, hands flying.

We laughed a lot, argued some, got annoyed with each other a little, and shared a ton of love.

That is what Christmas is all about to me. Love!

I didn't get any presents this year. No one had the money to buy for everyone, so we just did gifts for the kids. But watching those children open their presents and squeal, that is my gift. Being able to be with my family, and watching my mother smile and get bossy, that is my present. She is not a healthy woman, and I don't know how many more years I will have her in my life. I want to take every moment I can get.

Our Christmas tradition revolves mostly around food. We all get together, whenever we can. Sometimes on Christmas Eve, sometimes Christmas Day, but just as often it is the weekend before or after. Everyone comes and we take a ton of pictures. Usually, I'm not in many because I have a tendency of being behind the camera, but this year a friend came and took family photos in the park on Sunday. They came out awesome! I will try to put some up on Facebook when I get them.

Every Christmas it is the same menu. It's the only time of year we eat this food and we wait all year for it.

We start with our version of appetizers. We have antipasto, which is lettuce, tomato, onion, genoa salami, provolone cheese, ham, sometimes pepperoni, and black olives. It's stacked on top of each other and we eat it with a homemade red wine vinaigrette, like a salad. We also have fresh mozzarella cheese, and tomato that is layered and drizzled with olive oil and fresh basil, and usually an olive salad and/or a red pepper and anchovy salad with bread. It taste better than it sounds, to me at least.

The main dish is manicotti. My parents make gravy, which is a homemade meat sauce. Sicilian meat sauce has nothing to do with ground chop meat. It's a red sauce that is cooked all day long, and it has meatballs, sausage, pork, beef, and hard boiled eggs in it. It simmers from morning until night. My dad makes several hundred manicotti from scratch - I mean he even makes the shells. We pull the meat out of the sauce and have it on the side. Hard boiled eggs are my favorite. It sounds really weird, but most people who try it really enjoy it.

Lastly, we have coffee and some kind of sweet treat. Pie, cookies, cake, pastries, nuts, fruits...etc.

We don't eat like this all of the time anymore, and actually three courses for an Italian dinner is nothing. I remember going to my grandparent's house and there would be six courses, and it would be an all day marathon eating session. I still don't know how they did that.

We had enough food left over, even with guests and unexpected visitors, to eat it for lunch again on Sunday and the guests all took some home, and my parents are probably going to eat it again at least one more night. We usually can feed an army with no worries.

It was delicious and satisfying in a way that really has nothing to do with food. It is our tradition, and we fulfilled it. I can't really explain that thought process properly, but I am sure that some of you will understand what I mean. Some people bake, others do crafts, some go specific places, and all of it is a tradition. If for some reason you are not able to do "Your thing" one year, for whatever reason, you feel like something is missing. The Holiday is just not really perfect, it's lacking.

My Christmas was not lacking in anything, and I came home feeling an abundance of love. I am very lucky and blessed, and I know it!

Again, this week I have an amazing giveaway. I was blessed to be able to attend two conferences this past year, and I was at the right place at the right time. I obtained some books and swag. I have five books, and a bag full of swag to giveaway this week. It is my Christmas present to you. All of the books are ones I have in my collection. Some I have read, some I intend to read when I get the chance. All of them are from authors I completely respect.

Comment here and tell me your plans for the holiday. What are your holiday traditions? It doesn't have to be Christmas. That is what I celebrate, but it could be Hanukkah, Kwanza, Diwali, whatever. Tell me what your plans are and if they are a tradition. I will be drawing a name from the comments on Friday night. You have to be willing to email me your address to win, because this is something I will be shipping out.

Whatever your plans, I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday filled will love and joy!

Hugs and spanks,

Taylor