Tagged: Holiday

Gift Guide for the Long-Distance Mother

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For this one moment in time I’ll cross my fingers in the hope that one of  my two least active “followers”– my mother and husband – will continue to “support” Be-Quoted from a distance and bypass this post like they have done most of the others…lol.  Why? Because in this post I will rip them a new one for ignoring my very lovely and insightful posts!  Just kidding. I’ll save that post for after the holidays.  Instead, I’m offering up a simple gift guide for the long-distance mother who delights in sentimental and thoughtful gifts.

To: Momie, From: Daughter, With Love:

  1. 5-Piece Luggage Set with Personalized Luggage Tags – Unfortunately I live 3000 miles from my family.  Fortunately, my mother visits at least twice a year.  A luggage set of decent quality  can be purchased for as little as $99.  We’d recommend Tag Fairfield II 5-piece Luggage Set or U.S. Traveler Rio 2-piece Set.
  2. Comforter Set with Complementary Bathroom Coordinates  – I am thee comforter set connoisseur!  I shop for a new comforter every season.  I can’t see why any mom wouldn’t like such a fabulous gift.
  3. I-Pod with pre-loaded music.  Load Mom’s I-Pod up with classic hits you remember her dancing to while cleaning the house, or the tunes that bring back a bit of nostalgia from Mom’s high school prom or wedding day, coupled with modern hits that she can appreciate.
  4. Camera with scrapbook tools and a gift card  to cover the cost of  prints at Mom’s local photo center.  If within your budget, a photo printer would nicely accompany the camera.
  5. Mom proof, easy-to-use phone with Tango preset – If you aren’t familiar, Tango is free video calling service.  Think Face Time.
  6. Wine Cooler or Wine Rack – Pre-filled with wine of course!
  7. Flight Gift Card – Can easily be sent via e-mail.  No shipping and handling necessary.
  8. Spa Package
  9. Nook Tablet
  10. D.I.Y. Entertainment Basket – Basket filled with Mom’s favorite beverage, snack(s), theatre or movie tickets, CDs, DVDs, books,  restaurant gift card, home-made cookies, or whatever it is that floats Mom’s boat.

March This Way

In a previous post I shared a list of new and old holiday traditions from my childhood that I planned to experience with my daughter.  The day before Thanksgiving marked the commencement of our holiday tradition bonanza.  Today we continued creating memories and making traditions.  For the first time ever my daughter and I stood on the side-walk – one of us with a grueling backache in the aftermath of holding a 30-pound toddler – to partake in the local annual Christmas parade.

It was easy to tell that some bystanders have long included the annual Christmas parade as a family tradition.  The veteran onlookers were decked with lawn chairs, mugs of some variety of hot cocoa, tea, or coffee, and blankets.  Yours truly had the daily essentials:  lip balm and gloss, peppermints, phone, camera (with a dead battery), and sunglasses.  Little One had her mittens and fruit snack.  She declined the offer to be pushed around in her stroller.  It was a nice day for walking, so hey, what did I care that she wanted to be healthy and get her blood pumping with a few thousand blocks of walking?  Good girl I thought.

Two hours, no stroller, no Daddy, no camera battery, and no back support.  Did I mention my lingering backache?

Those two hours were filled with watching the Marching Force from my alma mater, Hampton University, march proudly down the street playing classic Christmas tunes that most, if not all, of us are familiar with.  We saw a number of inflatable character floats one after the other, the Harlem Globetrotters, and even a troop of tiny cheerleaders, oddly not cheering, smiling, waving, or yelling, “happy holidays” to the crowd.

Then…

Came the float carrying 8 men dressed in uniform.  I’m not referring to the big man in the red and white  suit (what is that, velvet?) and his elves I’m talking about 8 men decked in freshly pressed military regalia.  Blame it on the dull pain in my lower back, or the absence of my lovely husband who could have prevented the pain in my back, but I uncharacteristically was pretty excited to see the men in uniform, standing tall, dignified, and demanding respect.   Exciting indeed.  I smiled and waved, yelled, “Happy Holidays” and “Merry Christmas.”  I even saluted one very handsome officer!  My, oh my.  Don’t ask me why I did it.

My daughter enjoyed the parade.  More than the parade she enjoyed being amongst the hundreds of onlookers who also included this year’s parade on their tradition to-do list.  Mommy enjoyed the parade too.  Especially…well, I won’t hurt hubby’s feelings, but you all know what my favorite part was, next to seeing the joy on my baby’s face of course.

Moving forward our holiday traditions list will include annual Christmas parade with fine men in uniform on float.  No exceptions!

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Fall For Anything

If you’ve been kind enough to visit Be-Quoted this week you may have noticed that I’ve “fallen for anything.”  Every post this week has centered on the fall season.

Today I’ve been challenged by the SITS Girls to share a favorite fall craft  or autumn recipe.  True to my over achieving tendencies, I’ve gathered up a number of my fall favorites and have pinned them on Pinterest.

If you’re daring enough to “Fall for Anything” click on the Apple Crisp Caramel Candy Apples courtesy of DivasCanCook.com to take a look at our fall favorites Pinterest board.