Happy Monday!!!

HAPPY LAST MONDAY OF 2025!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Why do reindeer???

MERRRRRRRRRRYYYY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Grow a candy cane!!!

Fuuuuuunnn Kid’s Christmas Activity!!!

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Sooooooo i did this 4 years ago with some of my nieces and nephews and it was soooooo cuuuuuuute and fun 🤩!!! Anything with pretend or the imagination YOU KNOOOOOOOW IM IN!!! 

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Currently, all my nieces and nephews are too old to do this now, buuuuuut, in a few years we can do it again with baby Lucas….

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Grow A Candy Cane 

Supplies: Round peppermints,(candy cane seeds;) dirt, mini flower pots, candy cane

* Note to parents, don’t leave your Candy Cane plants outside because ANTS 🐜 loooooooove them!!!

Directions:

1. Fill flower pots with dirt

2. Next you get a unwrapped round peppermint candy, or the candy cane seed, bury it in the dirt, 

3. Water 💦 the peppermint seed

4. place it high on a window 🪟 sill “to get sunlight” but also so your kids can’t continuously watch and analyze it- you wanna keep it somewhat secretive so they don’t catch on and will be in aw of the process.

5. Parents when your kids are out of sight, bury a candy cane straight down into the dirt. so nothing is showing.

6.For a few mornings in a row you make a big deal of watering the candy cane seed, take it off the window sill, let them water it and tell them just to be patient. 

7. on the 3rd or 4th morning you start to pull a little slither of the candy cane up, make a big deal about it, Ooooh looooook, your seed is Growing!!!!! WOWWWWW!!!!

8. every morning pull the candy out a little more before they water 💦 it!!!

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A LITTLE MORE GROWTH…

THEN CHRISTMAS EVE OR CHRISTMAS MORNING…

BAM 💥…

FULLY GROWN CANDY CANES!!! 😱 

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It’s sooooo cuuuuuute and fuuuuuunnn!!! 

 If i was a kid i would have looooooooved to do this!!!! I asked my sister how old she thinks i would’ve been before i realized that the candy’s cane seeds were just PRETEND!!! My sister was liiiiiike, weeeeeellll considering you just NOW REALIZED they’re not real… it probably would’ve bee a WHILE!!!! ahahahahahshahahaaaa!!!! 😂 

♥Mary Frances :)

Cranberry Pico!

Okaaaaaaaay you guys still have time to make THE PERFECT Thanksgiving appetizer, that’s unique, flavorful and still uses a traditional staple and it’s even healthyISH!!! 

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My sister has been making it this year for us... 

We can’t stop eating it at my house 🏠!!!!

EVERYONE i’ve let try it is loving it!!! I brought some to my pastors wife loved it when I made it last year...

I save compliments!!! ;)

I’ve sent my recipe to several friends that are going to make it for their families… WEEEEEEEELLLLL WHAT ARE you YoU WAITING FOR???? Go to the store and get your ingredients!! 

♥Mary Frances :)

If my mom was Rudolph!!!

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. 
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All of the sudden, over the radio comes on the song Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer! 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... 
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"if I WERE Rudolph, her NYC accent kicks in like she never left 30 years ago, I would have just told THOSE OTHER Reindeers 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!!!" 
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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 MOM wasn't Rudolph...

THEY REALLY ARE!!! BAHAHAHA!!!

I seriously have THE AWESOMEST MOM EVER!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Brain-boosting Wednesday!!!!

Here's your middle-of-the-week brain booster!!!

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♪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.

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"...Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelllll NOW YOU DO, annnnnnnnnd don't you FORGET IT!!!" (AIO BTV quote;)

Seems rather fitting in these times that the world's story of Christmas is all about a reindeer with a VIRUS!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAAA!!

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 Merry Christmas! 

Let your light still shine brighter than a reindeer with a parasite!!!! Hee, hee!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

The safest hiding spot!!!

Merry Mary Moments brings you, 

THE SAFEST HIDING SPOT

 for MARY'S PRESENTS!!!

This year, my sister and I just decided to do stocking stuffers for each other and we're using the money we would normally use to buy gifts for each other, to buy tickets for our next trip.

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Sooooooooo i have to admit, that even in my 40's I STILL sneak around to try and find where my sister hid my Christmas Present...

 EVERY YEAR!!! 

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BUUUUUUUUUUUUT let me share you from a Christmas a few years back...

I know, I know, soooooooo childish...buuuuuut I will do this at age 100...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 one 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!!!

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Monday!!!!

CHRISTMAS CHEER!!!

Good one Mar Bear,

 GOOOOOOD ONE!!! 🙌🏾 

♥Mary Frances :)

Happy Sunday!!!

And He came here just for ME and YOU!!! 🤗 

♥Mary Frances :)

When you think you’re family…

LOVES YOU BUUUUUUUUT…

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So for Thanksgiving dinner I made the gravy and I was getting into the car to drive over to my brother's house, whuch is literally a five minute drive from me, buuuuuuuuuuut, as I was getting in the car to drive away, I got distracted, THERE WAS PINK, FLUFFY CLOUDS in the sunset, and weeeeeeeeeeeelllll there was just NOOOOOOO WAY I could just drive away without enjoying THE PINK FLUFFY CLOUDS!!! Weeeeeeeelllll after a few minutes my brother calls me and is like, is everything ok? I'm like, yes I'll be there in a few minutes!!! 

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Weeeeeeeeeeellllll I was going to leave, buuuuuuuuuuuut, I ended up taking just a FEW MORE pictures of the THE PINK FLUFFY CLOUDS!!! My phone starts ringing again and now it's my sister, she's like, WHERE ARE YOU??? I'm like, i'm coming, I'm coming!!! BUT in my head I'm thinking, WOW, my family loves me SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH, they're all calling me because they don't want to start eating dinner WITHOUT ME!!!

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 I'm like, sorry there was just some PINK FLUFFY CLOUDS and I got distracted!!! And right as I'm thinking about how they just love me soooooo much they can't even start dinner without me, my sister says, Ok, I don't care WHEN YOU get here, buuuuuuuuut YOU have THE GRAVY and we can't start dinner without it!!!! 

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I was liiiiiiiike WOOOOWWWW...

When you think your family loves you

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT

THEY REALLY JUST 

LOVE YOUR GRAVY!!!

Oh weellllllllllllllllllllll it's a SMALL sacrifice to make for being, 

THE BEST COOK IN THE FAMILY!!!

😜👼

♥Mary Frances :)

Christmas Reads/listens!!!

Heeeeeeeeeeyyyy everyone!!! Soooooooo if you don't know this, I'm pretty much ADDICTED to audilble!!! I loooooooove books buuuuuut I don't just like to sit down and read and do nothing else buuuuuuuuuut I looooooooove listening to stories as I walk, hike, do the eliptical, cook, clean, drive etc... and NOOOOOOOOOO i don't think LISTENING is the same as READING buuuuuuuuut I do think its still a STORY and I looooooooove STORIES!!! Stories make me happy and relax me and entertain me...Stories are MY MUSIC!!!! You know how some of you need music for EVERYTHING??? Weeeeelllll I NEED STORIES FOR EVERYTHING!!! (Could possible be WHY I'm a writer!!!;)

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Sooooooooo when it's Christmas time, I loooooooooove to pull out the Christmas stories and I thought I'd share a few of my favorites!!! 

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This first one is such a GOOOOOOD fun little mystery, well it's cheaper to buy the whole series on Audible for one credit buuuuut it's the first story that I like the most in the series, 12 Days At Bleakley Manor-it's just kinda a fun and mysterious little story- a little Agatha Christie without an actual murder!!! LOL you can buy the story alone or the whole series together and they are all good but the first one is the funnnnnnest!!!

12 Days At Bleakley Manor

 

Catching Christmas is one of THE FUNNNNNEST AND CUUUUUTEST stories everrrrr!!! I admit to CRYING buuuuuut that's only because I was thinking of my mom and how our last Christmas with her, even AT THE HOSPITAL was probably one of the best Christmas' i've everrrr had!!! *Warning the romance is a LITTLE CHEESY AND UNREALISTIC buuuuut the overall story line is just GREAT!!! 

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JIMMY AND THE ANGEL STAR!!! This next story is juuuust sooooooooooo cuuuuuute and Imaginative!!! All the Christmas tree ornaments like talk and stuff- and NO I DON'T HAVE A CHRISTMAS TREE nor do i desire one buuuuuuuuut I LOOOOOOVE THIS LITTLE STORY!!! IT's been a few years since I listnened to it buuuuut I remember really liking it!!! LIke it has "It's a wonderful life vibes"

I plan to add stories to this EVERY YEAR buuuuuut here is my start!!!

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And here is a huuuuuuuuge list of AUDIO DRAMA CHRISTMAS STORIES ON Audio Theatre Central!!!! 

♥Mary Frances :)