Soooooooooo are any of you all wondering WHAT I spent my $50 Amazon Christmas gift card on in LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES of receiving it??? I mean, if I were you all, I'd be DYING of curiosity!!! Soooooo just in case you are, let me share with you all what I got!!!
This is PERFECT for taking your coffee and tea at home to the NEXT level of awesome!!!! 4 Delicious Settings: Indulge café-quality drinks like coffee, cappuccinos, latte, hot milk, hot chocolate and flat whites at the push of one button on the milk frother3 Exquisite Textures: This milk frother prepares three different textures of milk foam (3.9 oz / 115 ml of Hot Airy Foam, Hot Dense Foam and Cold Milk Froth) for heavenly coffees in no time, also heats 8.10oz. / 240ml milk for a good breakfast. Note: Please use Whole Fat Milk for frothing (Description straight off Amazon site!)
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SHOUT OUT to the lovely Miss Keri Frazier from Chicago whom i've forged a friendship with basically over our mutal and uncommon love of TEA!!! (She's actually from Joliet Illinois, buuuuuuut having a friend in Chicago just sounds waaaaaaaaaay cooler!!!;) She introduced me to this milk steamer buuuuuuuuuuuut heeeeeyyy...
I introduced her to boba...
Not sure WHICH was the greater introduction!!!Hee, hee!!! ;)
Can you all believe that boba is basically a rarity on that side of the country???
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Anywayz, I have totally been enjoying her
introduction to this new delicious friend!!!
See that foam????
Makes every morning epic, WITHOUT breaking the bank buying drinks!!! What really makes me even happier, is the fact that SUMMER TIME, I can make COLD FOAM!!!! How awesome is that???
Annnnnnd the AWARD for spending their gift card the fastest goes toooooo...
THE ONE AND ONLY...
MARY FRANCES GINTY!!!
Got a $50 Amazon 🎁 gift card from the Ginty family gift exchange 5 minutes ago and already spent it!!!🤣😇 Soooooo true story folks!!! We all have a different name and we give them a gift instead of every family member trying to get EVERY FAMILY MEMBER A GIFT!!! We're just turning into to many of us that it seemed better for every kid to exchange with another kid and all the adults to exchange with the adults! (My mom was always against this, she thought it took away from giving to each other or WHATEVERRR... buuuuuuut she's partying in heaven soooooo it's all good!!! lol)
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So we pass out all the gifts and then we open them together! Weelllllll my sister in law Jewel had me and she knew JUST WHAT TO GET ME, an Amazon gift card!!! I mean, considering that I have over like 10,000 things in my Amazon wish list, INCLUDING These Pink Unicorn Taco Holders, you really can't go wrong with this gift for me!!!!
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Well all the gifts are passed out and then we're all going to open them at the same time, buuuuuuuuuuuuut since mine is a gift card, I can't open it, sooooo while everyone else is OPENING there gift, I'm SPENDING MINE!!! No joke, mine was spent BEFORE everyone else had even finished opening their gifts!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!
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I was THINKING: You know how they have the Hot Dog eating contest??? They should start a contest for HOW much can you spend in Amazon gift cards in less than five minutes!!! That would be sooooooooo AWESOME!!!! Especially IF as you bought the stuff it just miraculously landed at your feet!!! YEEEEEEEESSS!!!
Sooooooooo i have to admit, that at ALMOST 40, I STILL sneak around to try and find where my sister hid my Christmas Present...
EVERY YEAR!!!
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I know, I know, soooooooo childish...buuuuuut no matter what you say, LEAVE ME UNSUPERVISED, annnnnnnd I will be searching!!! And YET, I still DO NOT wanna be TOLD what I'm getting and want to be surprised...Or at least PRETEND to be surprised...I know, I know....SOOOOOO IMMATURE....buuuuuut at this point, I don't think it's everrrr gonna change!!! Hee, hee!!! ;)
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Soooooooooo this year, AS USUAL, I THOUGHT I pretty much KNEW EVERYTHING my sister had gotten me, clothes, hiking shoes, etc...all the normal things I always want, and I pretended to be surprised for everything as usual...lol...I'm opening a little box, not really paying attention, talking to everyone as I go and I look down to actually see what I'm opening and realize...
OMW!!!
I'M UNWRAPPING THE NEWEST...
FITBIT WATCH!!!
I was seriously soooo FLOORED!!!😲😵
My other fitbit had broken, and I HAD mentioned that I was going to wait til after Christmas to get a new one but never thought she was going to get it for me!!! I was liiiiiiiike, I OMW, I had absolutely NO IDEA you were getting me this!!! I was liiiiiiiiike, I NEVERRRRR even saw it in your closet when I was looking!!!
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She's like, thats because I hid it in a spot I KNEW you would NEVER look!!! I'm like, WHERE??? She smiles and says, THE IRONING BOARD!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!! I was like, WOOOOOOWWWW!!!! Buuuuuuuut...VERRRRRY GOOD HIDING SPOT!!! Hee, hee!!!😇
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Okaaaaaaaaay yeah everyone, I DO NOT IRON MY CLOTHES and i don't care what anyone thinks!!! Ok, ok, occasionally, if I really, really, really love something enough and it really needs to be ironed AND i forgot to bring it to the dry cleaners, I will iron, buuuuuuuut for the most part, I just don't!!! So far I have ONE GREEN DRESS that I actually love enough that I will iron it buuuuuut other than that, it ain't happening!!!
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If any guy has on his list of things he wants in a wife that she needs to be willing to iron his clothes, you can just cross ME OFF your list!!! BAHAHAAA! I heard one lady once say, girls, IF YOU LOVE YOUR HUSBAND you'll iron his clothes!!! i'm liiiiike, Okaaaaaaaaaay, I'm WILLING, buuuuuuuuuuut IF HE LOVES likes in any way HIS CLOTHES, he will NOT ask ME to iron them!!!! Jus sayin!!! *Mary at age 20: Mom do you think we can fix this blouse? Mary, you MELTED the material!!! What about if i wear a shirt underneath and wear my hair down??? Mom: Next time, BRING IT TO THE DRY CLEANERS!!!
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Soooooo my sister said she had it on the ironing board under some clothes in her room and she asked me before she left the house if I was going to iron my outfit for church and I just looked at her like she was CRAZY, and very obnoxiously said, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! She said she just thought to herself, well,
IT'S SAFE!!! AHAHAHAHAAA!!!
Soooooo there you have it folks, MERRY MARY MOMENTS presents you with, THE IRONING BOARD, the safest spot to hide Mary's presents!!! Hee, hee!!!
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!! This is literally SOOOOOOO ACCUTATE!! Yesterday, Pastor was like, for everyone in the church that has been stating that they have weight loss goals for this new year, I'm going to help you all out by doing a 3 day fast!!! AHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!! We're like, Oh YAAAAAAYYY!!! BAHAHAAA!!!
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Then me and one of the brother's were talking after church and he was like, I actually had to STOP doing the Daniel Fast because after 10 days on it I was gaining weight. I was OMW!!! So I'm NOT THE ONLY ONE that has GAINED WEIGHT on the Daniel Fast?!?!?! 😂
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I'm like, I feel sooooooo much better knowing this!!! He's like, yeah, I guess three baked potatoes in one day is STILL too much!!! I'm like, YEAH, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllll, I found out that ONE JAR of raw-unsweetened almond butter in one day, is ALSO TOO MUCH!!!!!😂😇😂
Chivalry it's the ultimate gift every girl wants right?Chivalry, like CPR, has been romanticized into something it really is not. (If you think CPR is romantic, you've NEVERRR taken a CPR class before! Because the possibility of someone barfing in your mouth and breaking their chest bones, is not in anyway romantic unless your a total phsyco...jus sayin!!;) Females so often put chivalry into the category of being treated like a princess. The man ALWAYS has to open the door for her and the car door for her too, even when just running errands! He pumps the gas for her! He does this and that etc...
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While I don't mind, and do think its polite and courteous for anyone, male OR female, to hold the door for the person behind them, if someone happens to NOT hold the door for me, my world is NOT turned upside down, because I KNOW HOW TO OPEN A DOOR!!! I know how to pump gas!!! I know how to pull out my own chair!!! If I can lift something, that needs to be moved, I just do!!! BUUUUUUT I don't know how to change a tire or fix pretty much anything! To me, chivalry is not pampering and spoiling someone and allowing for laziness, but more about putting others before oneself.
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According to the 10 commandments of chivalry, the closest thing to what we consider chivalry today, is the third commandment: Thou shall respect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them. Its to protect and defend the weaker and the poor. Chivalry can not be summed up in opening a door for a pretty girl or giving her his jacket because she is cold. To me, chivalry is a matter of a man's character and the integrity in his heart, what he does or how he treats someone, when no one else is looking. To me, chivalry is NOT defined by a man's actions alone.
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A chivalrous man doesn't do something for someone because it appeals to him, he does it because it's right! He doesn't do it to be romantic, he does it because it is needed! He doesn't do it to seek a females approval, to woo her or earn brownie points, he does it because he is an honorable man. To me, the ultimate example of chivalry; is doing for someone, what they can not do for themselves.
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When I think of chivalry, I specifically think of an incident that I witnessed one day at a Circle K gas station near my house. It happened on a hot summer day here in Phoenix Arizona. I walked in to buy a drink and as I walked towards the soda fountain, I saw an elderly lady standing there getting herself a soda. As I got closer to her, I noticed that she was very poorly kept. Her clothes were ragged and worn, her hair in a disarray, she wreaked of sweat, body odor, urine and just plain filth. As I got closer to her, I realized from the wet brown marks going down her pants that she had an accident, not making it to the toilet. There was nothing attractive or appealing about this scrawny, wrinkled old woman as she quietly, slowly, hobbled over to the line to pay for her drink.
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However, as she began to make her way to the back of the line, standing right behind me, a young man in the front of the line stepped out and said with the utmost respect, "Ma'am, you can go in front of me!" The lady hesitated not sure of what to do. So unsure of being treated with kindness and respect, after all who was she, that any young man would offer for her to go in front of him in line. She wasn't pretty and young, but the young man courteously compelled her like she was royalty, to come stand in front of him in line.
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I watched, as that poor, elderly woman hobbled to the front of the line and paid for her drink. When she was done paying, she turned to that young man, and with tears in her eyes she thanked him! "Bless you, she said to him, BLESS YOU!" Then she hobbled out the door to her bike filled with many bags holding her all her stuff. Who knows when the last time it had been, that the neighborhood bag lady had been shown respect, but it was done by a young man that I then watched walk out the door and headed to the bus stop to wait for the bus. I'm not normally checking out the guy waiting at a bus stop, but in that moment, I couldn't help but admire him. It doesn't take a rich or educated man to be chivalrous, because chivalry is a matter of character and the integrity in ones heart.
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And as I thought about all this that happened, I couldn't help but think that what this young man had done, was exactly what our savior did for us.God, our creator, put aside the splendor of heaven, humbled himself, clothed himself in flesh and came to this earth to sacrifice himself for us. And he didn't just do this for when we were at our best, when we looked good and smelled nice. He came to us while we were in our own filth and waste. When we were a mess, and wreaked of havoc, while we were wallowing in the vomit of our mistakes and failures of life, clothed in nothing but the the destructive rags of or own sins, he put us before himself and Christ died for us. He took our place in death when we were NOTHING, when it looked like we would never amount to anything, that's when Christ sacrificed himself for us.
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You don't need to look any further for chivalry, because God gave us the ultimate gift of chivalry when he came to this earth as a little baby, to do for us, what we could NEVER do for ourselves!!! A perfect God, the King of Kings, ransomed and redeemed us, sinners, failures, messed up humans, from eternal death in hell.
WE SERVE A CHIVALROUS GOD!!!
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."(Romans 5:8)
♪Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer♫ Had a very shiny nose♪♪ annnnnnnnd if you everrrr saw it, YOU WOULD even say it GLOWED...♪
LIKE A LIGHT BULB!!!♫
"Did you know???..."
Rudolph’s red nose is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system. According to Roger Highfield, the author of the book “The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey” the world’s most famous reindeer has a red nose due to a parasite. However, Rudolf’s relationship with his parasite is symbiotic: after all, the red nose illuminates the path through the winter night for the whole reindeer team.
Seems rather fitting in 2020, that the world's story of Christmas is all about a reindeer with a VIRUS!!!!AHAHAHAHAHAAA!!
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Happy 2020 Christmas!
Let your light still shine bright through that mask!!! Hee, hee!!!
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"...Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllll NOW YOU DO, annnnnnnnnd don't you FORGET IT!!!" (AIO BTV quote;)
Soooooooo last year, right before Christmas Sunday, I decided that I really, really, needed to get my eye brows done! I was like thinking in my head, I should probably wait til my next paycheck, buuuuuuuut that's after Sunday, annnnnnnnd I really want good eye brows for Sunday!!!
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Soooooooooo I pull up to European wax center, and as I'm walking in, I doulbe check on my bank app that I have sufficient funds in my back account, I have MORE THAN ENOUGH, sooooooo I go in and proceed with getting AMAZING EYEBROWS!!!
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Once I'm done, I go to pay and my debit card is declined like 10 times!!! I'm liiiiiike WHAAAAT??? Liiiiiiike I LITERALLY JUST CHECKED MY ACCOUNT!!!! I'm like freaking out!!! What do they do to people that don't have the funds to pay for their eye brow job that has ALREADY BEEN DONE???
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LIKE OMW!!! It's four days before Christmas AND I'M GOING TO JAIL!!!
ALL BECAUSE I NEEDED GOOD EYE BROWS!!!!
Buuuuuuuut heeeeeey at least i'll look good for that mug shot!!! ;)
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Soooooo I don't know what to do, I'm actually wonderingif they allow prisoners to take SELFIES for their mug shots, when the lady at the desk says, well you do have a $65 gift certificate in your account, would you like to use some of it towards your eye brows today?
I was like, I DO???
She was like, yes ma'aam! I'm liiiiike, WELL SURE!!! I mean I have NO IDEA HOW I GOT SUCH A LARGE CERTIFICATE IN MY ACCOUNT!!! Buuuuuuuuuuuuut honestly, I don't even care!! I don't at all question this blessing, i just take this as a sign that CLEARLY GOD DID INDEED want me to have good eye brows for church on Sunday!!!
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FAST FORWARD TO CHRISTMAS...
Soooooo I'm opening all my gifts and one of my gifts from my sister is a gift certificate to European Wax Center, i'm liiiiiiike OH COOL!!!! I can ALWAYS use one of these!!! She's like, yeah, they started doing a facial now and I thought you would like to do that, so I made it large enough to get your eye brows and the facial together! (She knows I'm super into skin care!) Then she says, and you don't even need to save that gift card, because they ALREADY put it in your account when I bought it the other day!!!
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I was liiiiiiiike...Oooooooh...Sooooooooooooo THAT'S HOW I HAD A CERTIFICATE IN MY ACCOUNT WHEN I WAS THERE THE OTHER DAY!!!! She's like, Oh soooooo you already knew about it?! I'm liiiiiiiike, weeeeeeeeeeellll...FUNNY you should mention that, you see, I got my eyebrows done on Saturday, and RIGHT BEFORE I walked in, I checked my bank account and I PROMISE YOU I had sufficient funds in my account to get my eyebrows done, buuuuuuuut apparently, while I was getting my eyebrows done, and UNEXPECTED charge went through my bank account and I no longer had the money to pay for my eye brows! I was really freaking out because I didn't know how I was going to pay for it when the lady said I had a gift certificate in my account that I could use to pay for them....SO I DID!!!
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My sister just looks at me shaking her head...
SOOOOOOO UNKNOWINGLY,
YOU ALREADY SPENTTHE GIFT CERTIFICATE BEFORE IT WAS
My brother told me about a really nice song by the Ball brothers that I want to share with you all, I think it truly sums up what the Christmas season is truly ALL ABOUT!!!
It's not just about the manger Where the baby lay It's not all about the angels
who sing for him that day It's not just about the shepherds Or the bright and shining star It's not all about the wisemen Who travelled from afar
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It's about the cross It's about my sin It's about how Jesus came to be born once,So that we could be born again It's about the stone That was rolled away So that you and I could have real life someday It's about the cross It's about the cross
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It's not all about the good things In this life I've done Its not all about the treasures Or the trophies that I've won Its not about the righteousness That I've find within Its about His precious bloodThat save me from my sin
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The beginning of the story is wonderful and greatBut it's the ending that can save you and that's why we celebrate It's about the cross It's about my sin, It's about how Jesus came to be born once So that we could be born again It's about God's love
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Nailed to a tree,It's about every drop of blood that flowed from Himwhen it should have been me It's about the stone That was rolled away So that you and I could have real life someday So that you and I could have real life someday It's about the cross.
It's about the cross!!!
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I LOOOOOOVE this song!! It truly sums it ALL up!!!
Soooooooo after the hiking shoe fiasco, I finally found the perfect crossbody duffle bag for my sis to take on trips!!! She had told me she really wanted one like mine, BUUUUUUT in her style!!! I found THE PERFECT ONE on of course, AMAZON!!! It was striped with floral, kinda has a Kate-Spadish look to it without the Kate-Spade Price!!! LOL
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Weeeeeeeeeeellllll I told my niece I wanted her to wrap it for me and then I hid it REALLY GOOD, so my sister would NOT be able to find it!!!!!
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FAST FORWARD TO CHRISTMAS EVE!!!
I'm in my room, MY CLEAN ROOM, getting all my Christmas presents together for the next day and I can NOT find the duffle bag I got for my sister!!! I'm looking all through my closet and literally tore my once clean room apart, till it looked like a tornado had swept through it!!!!
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I couldn't believe it...
Hid her present so good,
EVEN I couldn't find it!!!
I was literally FREAKING OUT!!! WHERE IN THE WORLD HAD I PUT IT!?!?!?! At that moment, my sister and MJ came home and tell them that I can't find my present for T!!! So MJ just looks at me, and she says, it's in the living room...
WRAPPED!!!
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I was like, WHAAAAAT??? How did it get wrapped??? She's like, YOU told ME to wrap it, SO I DID!!!! I was like, OOOOOH, I told you that?! I thought I had hid it!!!
Last year, I just couldn't figure out a really cool gift to give my sister for Christmas!!! Well she came to me one day after shopping Christmas sales and says, she needed new hiking shoes...sooooo blah, blah, blah!!! I didn't bother listening to the rest of what she said!!! I pulled up Amazon prime app on my phone and ordered her some hiking shoes!!! and VOILA!!! like magic, my Christmas present dilema was solved!
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The next day I was walking through her room and see a BRAND new pair of hiking shoes in her room!!! I was liiiiiiiike seriously T, you just HAD to go get a new pair of hiking shoes??? You just COULDN'T WAIT till AFTER CHRISTMAS???
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She's just like, what are you talking about??? I'm like, THE HIKING SHOES!!! After you told me yesterday that you NEEDED a new pair of hiking shoes, I ORDERED YOU SOME FROM AMAZON!!!!
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She's like, WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME YESTERDAY??? I told you I got some yesterday!!! I'm like, NOOOOOO, you said you NEEDED NEW hiking shoes, so I ordered you some! She's like, NO, I said i had needed new hiking shoes, SO I GOT SOME!!! I was like...OOOOOOOOOH!!!!
Regifting, I mean, let's be REAL, all of us have done it one time or another!!! (Can I get an AMEN from my HotDogSISTA JANELLE???;) Buuuuuuuuuuut the down part is GETTING CAUGHT!!! AHAHAHAAA!!!
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Weeeeeeeeeeelllll last year, for my birthday, which is in July, my brother John and his wife gave me a $25 gift card to TJ Maxx and a HUGE water jug, you know those thermal ones that keep your drink hot or cold for days??? Well, I do drink a lot of water, buuuuuuuut, there was NO WAY I was going to use this water jug...I mean, maybe if it was pink, buuuuuut it was like a light army green, there was just no way I would drink from an un-cute water jug unless I was like stranded on a desert island.
Uncute, buuuut very practical, durable thermos
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I was thinking, what am I going to do with this? I mean, I don't wanna just get rid of it, buuuuuuuut...OH I KNOW, I'll give it to Jonathon Stultz for his birthday in December!!! He loooooves fishing and this would make THE PERFECT water jug to take on a fishing trip!!!
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Soooooooo I asked my other sister in law, who makes like graphics on t-shirts or stickers for your car, or imprints on hats, cups, etc...if she could put some kind of fishing meme on it and I would pay her for it!
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I felt very justified in my re-gifting to Stultz, because I was STILL paying for something on it. So come his birthday, I proudly give my gift with the graphic on it when we all go out for his birthday after Sunday evening service! He likes it, etc...or so he says...maybe he's regifting it to his dad this year for Christmas! BAHAHA! JK!
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Anyways, I really thought I was SAFE with my regifting to Stultz BECAUSE, my brother and his wife go to another Pentecostal church in the Valley, so they weren't going to be there at the party after church, AND my brother John doesn't go fishing, so it's NOT like they'd ever be fishing together!!! MY REGIFTING WAS SAFE!!!
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WROOOOOOOONG!!!
Sooooooooo since we all grew up with Stultz living across the street, it became a tradition that on Christmas day we'd all exchange gifts with him. Even though we've all moved around, we've still kept up the tradition. Weeeeeellll this past year, Stultz comes over, we're all hanging out when we start opening gifts. He's opening the one from my brother John, and sister-in-law Liz, when I see him pulling out an IDENTICAL water jug as the one they had given me for my birthday, that I had REGIFTED to Jonathon...OOOOOPS!!!
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He's like, HEY! This is almost just like...I TRY TO INTERRUPT HIM...TO MOTION WITH MY HANDS TO SHUT UP!!! TO STOP TALKING...
Buuuut NOPE!!!
JUST LIKE THE ONE YOU GAVE ME!!!
CAUGHT!!!
My sister-in-law, Liz looks at me with a huge grin, MAAAAAAARY, did you re-gift our present to you, to Jonathon??? I was like, SOOOOOORRRRRRRRY!!!! It was really niiiiiiiiice, BUUUUUUT it wasn't PINK!!! She just starts laughing!!!! And explains that they got a really, really good deal on them and have been gifting them out to everyone!!!
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Now that she wasn't mad at me, I turn to Stultz, whose just laughing at this all!!!! I'm liiiiiiike, I know I re-gifted to you, buuuuuuuut, I REALLY DID SPEND MONEY on your birthday present! I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY DID!!! I paid Grace to put that imprint on it! I paid her $10...without missing a beat, my sister-in-law says, WHATEVERRRR you didn't pay me NOTHING!!!! I just looked at her with my mouth hanging open! Now i'm really looking CHEAP!!! No Grace, I paid you for that, remember???
She's like, JUUUUUUUST KIDDING!!!!
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Everyone just busted up laughing at me again!!! I was like, MAAAAAN, i really, really, REALLY thought i was safe with my regifting, buuuuuuuut NOPE,
I got CAUGHT!!!
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Classic MERRY MARY MOMENT!!!
Have you ever got caught or caught someone else regifting??? Maryfranceswriting@gmail.com Best stories could get posted with sender's permission!!!!
Last year, during the Christmas season, I had A LOT of hilarious moments!!! Sooooooo this year, I decided this year, to start a new tradition of blog posts called...
Years ago, I had a guy friend that was explaining a conflicting situation he was in with another young lad. He said, she wanted him to meet her at a coffee shop to just discuss something as friends. He didn't feel like this was a good idea because it may give people the wrong impression of them being in a relationship. Apparently the girl was insistent, etc...Now he was asking for MY ADIVCE!!! AHAHAHAAA!!!
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To explain himself he said,MARY, If you saw me sitting in a quaint little café, talking with a beautiful, single, godly young lady, what would you think?
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Without hesitation, I said, To be perfectly honest with you...
it would be RATHER hard...
to look at myself...
IF I WAS SITTING THERE!!!
AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!
Yes, that was really, my thoughts on the ENTIRE MATTER!!!
So this past Wednesday night I decided to do Christmas gifts with my class at church due to the fact that we have stuff going on til Christmas and may not get to it again until AFTER Christmas which ended up being the case last year!!!
Sooooooooo before they opened their presents, I did a little lesson about it being, MORE BLESSED to give that to receive! First I had all the kids say ONE THING that they REALLY wanted for Christmas! Of course this was REALLy easy for them to come up with, then I had them all try to think of ONE REALLY NICE THING that they wanted to give to someone that year, and LO AND BEHOLD this was A LOT harder for them to come up with!!! LOL
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Weeeeeeelllll anyway, you NEVER know what all the kids take from your lessons right??? So this past Sunday, I was talking to Sam and Janelle, my friends and parent's to one of my students, MaKensie, and we got on the subject of Christmas presents and they were like, OH we have to tell you this story about Kensie, what she got from your lesson on Wenedsday night.
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Bro. Sam said that she has REALLY been wanting to get a puppy, REALLY BAD and that's ALL she has been asking for, for Christmas. He said after thinking about it they were like, ok they already have one dog, Bronco, its just not going to work out this year. So they had told her you know Kensie it's just not going work out this year, etc...
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Come later that week, after Wednesday night, Sam said that Kensie came to him and was like, You know dad, let me tell you somethingabout what we learned in class Wednesday night! We learned that it is MORE BLESSED to GIVE than to receive. I was like, AWWWWWWWWW!!! She got it!!! She got my lesson...I'm having a TOTAL PROUD TEACHER MOMENT!!! Sam just laughs...
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Then he continues the story, He says that Kensie says, So I was thinking about OLD BRONCO out there in the back yard, ALL BY HIMSELF, and I was thinking, WE SHOULDGIVE HIM A PUPPY FOR CHRISTMAS so he has someone to play with!!!!
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I was like, WOOOOOOOOOOWWW!!! They said they were laughing so hard about it!!! I was laughing when they told me!!! I have to say, that was SOME PRETTY SMART THINKING KENSIE!!! Actually, come to think about it, I do remember her saying after class that she thought she REALLY wanted to get something for her dog this year, cuz she NEVER had before!!! BAHAHAAAAA!!!
Soooo one day, while my mom was alive, her and I were doing some Christmas baking at her house. We're just mixin an stirring, listenening to Christmas music, havin a good sweet, mother/daughter time together. . All of the sudden, over the radio comes on the song Rudolph The Red Nosed Raindeer! I've always liked this song, you know, its just kind of happy and fun....WELLL...My mom is like, "YOU KNOW, I've NEVER understood this song!!!"[So i'm thinkin like oh great, here comes a lecture about how this song has NOTHING to do with the birth of Christ...(Which is TRUE...BUT...its still a fun favorite of mine)] so she is like, "I've NEVER understood this song" ...she pauses then continues... . "if I WERE Rudolph, her NYC accent kicks in like she never left 30 years ago, I would have just told THOSE OTHER Raindeers WHATS UP!!!" She's like waving flour in her hands, "I wouldn't of let them treat me like that!!!I just woulda let them know!!!" . AHAHAHAHAAA! I was laughing soooo hard! "I'm like, "MOM, I'm SURE YOU WOULD HAVE!!! I'm SURE YOU WOULD HAVE!!!"(You know, MY MAMMA AIN'T NO ONES DOOR MAT!!! Trust me!!! ;)
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Sooooooooo I saw this and thought...
IF my mom HAD BEEN RUDOLPH!!!
Those Deers are BLESSED, that MY MAMMA wasn't Rudolph...
Red and white dough twistedtogether, infused with peppermint flavoring and little pieces of peppermint candies- Grandpa’s Candy Cane Cookies. .
Shortbread dough dipped in milk then rolled in sesame seeds, cooked until golden brown.Best served while still warm with hot chocolate- that’s Grandpa’s Sesame Seed Cookies. As one takes a bite of this next cookie their mouth will be filled with a variety of delightful goodness. This cookie is crusty on the outside and chewyon the inside. It is filled with the sweetness of almond paste and yet salty from the taste of pine nuts- these are Grandpa’s Pinoli Cookies. The all around favorite cookie is a 3-layered, Neapolitan-Italian-flag cookie. In between each layer is a filling of fruit preserves and topped with a thin layer of melted chocolate. Once the chocolate is hardened they are cut into tiny, bite-size squares.We simply call these- Grandpa’s Three-Colored Cookies... . Every year, at the end of November, my Grandfather, Joseph Mangino, a retired New York City Policeman, would begin his holiday baking. Grandpa was a big man with broad shoulders, a loud booming voice, chubby cheeks a big smile and a twinkle in his eye. Everyone loved his baking and looked forward to it. Then one year everything began to change. . “I don’t know Franny,” my grandpa says to his daughter who is my mom. “I don’t think I am going to be able to send cookies out to everyone this year.” “Why not?” Asks my mom. “I just don’t feel up to it,” he says with a sigh. “I don’t think I could get it all done.” I couldn’t imagine Christmas without Grandpa’s baking. It was a part of who he was and a part of what made Christmas. “We’ll help you make them,” says my mom. “You can teach the girls. They need to learn anyways.” . So the baking lessons began…The thing about Grandpa’s baking lessons was that it didn’t matter if you already knew how to bake. When you were in HIS kitchen, you did things HIS way! I remember standing in the kitchen one day after putting all of the dry ingredients in a bowl; I got out the hand mixture to blend it real well. I plugged it into the wall then stuck it into the bowl, which was on the kitchen counter.
. “Uh, uh,” said Grandpa. “Stick the bowl in the sink and then begin mixing it. This way if any of the flour comes out it will go in the sink.” “Okay Grandpa,” I said. Next I got out the eggs and began cracking them into the bowl. “Uh, uh,” said Grandpa. You gotta get a separate bowl and crack each egg individually to make sure the egg is good. Otherwise if one egg is bad it will ruin the whole batter.” “Okay Grandpa,” I said. I began rolling the cookies out and putting the lumps on the cookie sheets. “Uh, uh,” said Grandpa. “Those cookies are way to big. Make them smaller.” “Okay Grandpa,” I said with a sigh. . When I would get something right Grandpa would nod his head in approval. “Atta girl Maria, atta girl.” Then when I would take the cookies out of the oven and they were just right Grandpa would smile. “Beautiful, beautiful,” he would say taking a bite. So became our tradition, each year at Christmas time, my mom, my sister and I would take turns on different days baking cookies with Grandpa. . “You gotta get this right Mary” Grandpa said to me one year as I baked. “I might not be here next year to show you how to do it.” I was startled to hear him say this. “Don’t say that.” I said looking up from what I was doing. I couldn’t imagine him not being here. “Well you never know,” said Grandpa. “Everyone dies some time.” . We all knew that Grandpa was getting weaker with each passing year. His body was deteriorating from Parkinson disease, but we didn’t want to think about it. .
Then one day it happened. Grandpa died. I remember sitting in his recliner in the living room watching as early in the morning two men from the mortuary came to take his body away. A soft blue blanket covered him as the men rolled his stretcher down the hallway, through his kitchen and out of his house. It took a while for the reality of the situation to really sink in. Grandpa was gone.
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However the things that he taught us still live on...
As Christmas time comes around my family and I begin our baking. It’s a family thing and my brother John has picked up the role of BOSSING everyone around now. Through the laughter and teasing of who broke the cookies and who cooked them too long, I remember Grandpa’s words to me;“You gotta get this right Mary, I might not be here next year.” “ Don’t worry Grandpa. I promise, I am going to get it right!”I start mixing the ingredients in a bowl on the counter. Then I remember and put the bowl in the sink. I pull out a separate bowl for the eggs and hope the cookies aren’t too big. As I take the cookies from the oven, I know Grandpa would be smiling, nodding his head in approval, satisfied in knowing that his cookies are still being baked. If I listen closely as I take a bite of a cookie I think I hear Grandpa. “Atta girl Maria, atta girl.” I take another bite and savor the taste. “Beautiful, beautiful!”
