Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Christmas Thoughts and Memories

Today's blogs...

Welcome To My Reality - December Prompts.

15. List all the books in your 'To Be Read' pile, and tell us which books you'd like to read next year. Do you have a reading goal? Have you ever considered taking part in a reading challenge?

I am a member of Goodreads.com. I sign up each year for a number of books... I made a goal of 80 books and have surpassed it. I will be doing that again next year. Goodreads also allows me to list the books I would like to read... there are currently over 224 books on that list. There is everything on that list from teacher resources and writing reference books to novels of various genres, particularly romance.
I also do a monthly reading challenge here on WDC.

Book Riot also runs a yearly reading challenge - I tried to follow that challenge, but lost track of what I was supposed to be reading so there are things I did not get to... I have printed out the one for next year and hope to do a better job of following it.

17. Tell us about a Christmas or holiday memory from your past.

Snow rode high and white. Pristine sparkles as the moon shone down full in the sky. I sat bundled in my many layers warmed by the Back to BC book with its $5 slip into the folds of the pages. My father drove us through the deserted streets and I was amazed to see that the lights in town... both of them, flashed their red and yellow in a rhythmic blinking that set the night on fire. I watched my breath furrow out in a cloud in front of me and smiled sleepily over at my dad.

"We'll get home before Santa comes?" I asked feeling a little nervous about being out so late. It was after eleven and I had never been out so late before.

"Oh course. Lot's of time yet. Santa doesn't arrive until your well asleep."

I nodded, knowing my dad would always tell me the truth.

He drove us the rest of the way. Carols played on the radio. One right after the other with nobody to breakup the steady music. I wondered why nobody was announcing the groups as they stepped up to take their turn on the radio.

When we arrived home dad pulled up as close to the door as he could. He got out and I slid across the seat and followed him up to the side door after pushing the truck's door with a heavy clunk.

Dad passed through the upper hall pushing the cat out of his way with his foot as passed into the main part of the house. He left the door open for me, but I stopped and bent down to let Kerry crawl up into my lap. She reached her nose up and let me rub it with my own. I snuggled her in.
"Santa may be coming soon." I heard my dad say and I gave her one last Christmas Eve kiss before setting her down and heading into the house. She followed, but my father scooped her up and put her back out in the outer hall. I made my way into my pyjamas and snuggled up into bed. I was asleep before I hit the pillow.

Two hours later my eyes popped open and I slipped from my bed. Tiptoeing to the living room I moved to the tree to see what waiting me there. It looked like Santa had come and I could make out a barbie doll's house. Before I could go any closer I heard my father call me.
"It's only one o'clock in the morning. Came back to bed."

I followed his voice back to my bed and he tucked me back in. I managed to stay there another six hours before my excitement pulled me out of sleep again.

This was the Christmas of my least amount of sleep... or at least when I was a kid, anyway.

19. What are your thoughts on NaNoWriMo (or any of the many variations)?

I am a fan of NaNoWriMo. I have competed and won 4 years in a row now. I have also taken part in the various Camp NaNoWriMo sessions since 2013... I have not always won those... but I appreciate that you can set your own word count for each camp session and work on what you want... it does not have to be something new.

I love the comradery that comes out in my region. I love writing in cafes and I like it even more when I get to write with my writing friends.... I just wish they would come out of the woodwork during the rest of the year. Our region has write ins, write in crawls (going between cafes), overnighters and parties to begin and end the month long writing fest. The social aspect is one of the best parts of Nano.

I appreciate the focus on writing and I am able to sustain that focus and get most of my novel done by month's end. This year I am continuing to plod on, but it is a challenge without my writer friends to be there.

20. Do you have a tattoo? Describe it and tell us what it means to you. If you don't, tell us what you would get or why you would never get one.

I don't have any tattoos and I don't think I would ever get one, but I love the artistry that goes into the work. There a few reality shows that have artists creating inks on people and I find them fascinating. The creative artistry is amazing... I just prefer to appreciate it on someone else not on my own body.

21. What is the best thing about December?

Christmas and the goodwill that comes with the season. I love the festive lights and the music. I love spending time with my family and I hope to get together with all my friends as well.

22. What is the worst thing about December?

Christmas chaos and the commercialism that has arisen over the years. For some people this season seems to bring out the worse in them... particularly if they have left things to the last minute and they are stressed out.