Annual Christmas letter

Hey there. Taking a break from decorating my apartment, I wrote out my Christmas letter I send out with my Christmas cards.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my friends and family. This year has flown by waiting to be rejected by book publishers. If you have forgotten, I wrote a fairytale for my niece and completed it over a year ago. I keep telling myself that I will never be published if I give up now. I started a second novel for other my niece, but am stumped deciding where to take the story. I shamefully admit not working on it very much this summer because I let other things get in the way. Hopefully I can concentrate better next year.

I thought it a little odd we had to change the clocks at Palm Sunday and Halloween, but at least they were holidays people remember when they are. I spent my Easter at work as usual since I work Sundays. Yes, I do work every weekend and call myself the weekend warrior. Customers often feel sorry for me, but really, I hate shopping on weekends because all the parking spaces are taken.

In the spring I attended a rock concert, the Pella Tulip Festival with my sister and her baby, my nieces' dance recital, and began volunteering at a museum. The rock concert was amazing. Pella was crowded, but we had fun feeding the baby her first root beer float. The recital had a surprise ending of men in tutus dancing a mock ballet before jumping off the stage. Many school children came to visit the museum so that left little time for me to learn much. When school let out, they conducted day camps where each day the kids learn a new activity. At my post, they made Kringla which is a Norwegian cookie. A few times I helped the kids retrieve wood outside to bring inside the wood box. Most of the day I played with the ball and cup where one swings a ball tied to a string into a cup holding the handle. I scanned Around the World in 80 days when I became really bored. When the new Harry Potter book came out I brought that to read and covered it with brown paper. Kids were excited that a grown up loves Harry Potter as much as they do. After I finished the book, I reread all the Harry Potter books to refresh my memory. A mysterious clue was plotted at the end of the new book and I was determined to unravel it. We shall see if I’m right or wrong when the last book comes out as soon as J.K. Rowling finishes writing it.

Summer also flew by fast with visiting my hometown for the 4th of July. Soon after I attended a family reunion on my mother’s side, her sisters and cousins with their families came. Then I had fun at the local amusement park with my sisters, brother-in-law, and nieces. My sister and her family were on their family vacation and drove on to Virginia after our big day. They stayed overnight at my other sister's house and fought over holding my baby niece. No time is ever long enough when holding a baby on your lap. Over the summer the baby learned to say my name. Music to my ears.

Autumn came as the museum began conducting school tours again. This time around there were less students than in the springtime. I learned to crochet my last few weeks there and made a washrag for them to use. I doubt I’ll ever crochet again. I much prefer painting and writing. I celebrated my 30th birthday with a bang and went barhopping with a friend at work and her friend. I had so much fun I was actually happy to become middle aged. We stopped at 2 bars and I danced with a man (Yes, a live, human, breathing man) at each bar. I had my fill of Amarillo sours when the second bar closed and my friend drove me home. It was a great birthday.

The day before my birthday I attended my mother’s cousin’s wedding so I received my birthday cards at the ceremony. My sisters took me out to the next to the museum I volunteer at for a free birthday supper. The baby was quite happy coloring her picture when her mommy took another niece out to the wagon rides. She usually cries when she leaves the room, but I was helping her color so it was a good enough distraction. I pointed out the house I volunteer in, but it was hard to see from the parking lot. The ladies sang Happy Birthday to me, though quietly so not to embarrass me in public.

I dressed up as The Cat in the Hat for Halloween. Often I am the only one wearing a costume, but this Halloween someone dressed up as a surgeon so I was not alone. Little Annika celebrated her 2nd birthday with my parents, her parents, and me. By now, she has taken on a habit of squealing every time she sees me or hears my name. One thing she got was an Elmo Goes Potty doll that talks. I will be so happy no longer changing diapers. Sure accidents happen, but we can hose her down easily. We took my niece’s picture on my camera to order prints for their Christmas cards faster, but sadly the baby did not like sitting with her hands laying in her lap and knees together like a lady. Naturally, I have plenty of shots of her misbehaving.

I visited my parents’ house for Thanksgiving and saw the new Harry Potter movie with my brother. I am responsible for getting my brother hooked on the story series. I was amazed how many adults were present. This Christmas I will visit their house again. Next year I plan to get a kitten from a car rental gal next door who has a pregnant cat. Sorry I can’t bring it home until spring because the age for a kitten to be separated from its mother is 3 months. By Christmas, my precious should be born. I have picked a name for he or she already. Precious, from Lord of the Rings. I thought of getting a boy cat so I can say I have man in my home, but most people agree that girl cats are more affectionate. I’ll just choose the cutest kitten in the litter, boy or girl. I can’t wait for next year, maybe I will finally be published.

So Happy Holidays to all my friends and family.