Getting Ready to Kick Off a New Decade

Santa may have come and gone—and I hope you had a spectacular Christmas!—but that doesn't mean the "festive" season is over. At least not entirely. This weekend, my family is going to GLOW (and awesome lights festival), and we have tickets to the ice castles too, if it's cold enough to keep the ice warm.

Plus, Dad got snowshoes for Christmas, so it looks like we'll be spending some time outdoors—including ice fishing this Sunday afternoon. Dad has a pretty cool set up—a tent, a heater, etc—but there's a lot we need to cram in before the New Year, when things get busy.

Speaking of the New Year, I've made (short) list of resolutions. I don't get too hard on myself if I don't achieve all of them—and neither should you!—but it's fun thinking about personal development goals.

Here's what I have so far:

Write more letters. I have friends across the country (and even some from around the world) and instead of just emailing, I am going to try and write at least one letter a month. It’s the perfect way to start Letter Writing Week, which starts in mid January.

Write more in general. I had an amazing November—I completed my NaNoWriMo goal with a whopping 10,000 words. That's more than I wrote all year...but it was quite a bit crammed into one month. And to be honest, it burnt me out a little. So I plan to recharge in 2020, and get in some solid writing time...more regularly.

Read more books. I know, this is always on my list, but it's always one of my goals. This year, I pledge to read at least 25 books. A trip to the bookstore is one of the stops on Mom's "boxing week" shopping list. (So is getting a new blender, because apparently we're all going into the New Year with smoothies or something.)

Start a new hobby. My mom says hobbies are important for personal growth (or something like that). I've learned how to take pictures (and will keep practicing), and last year, I started snowshoeing. But I need something new, something "start of a new decade" worthy. Got any ideas? I'm going to give this more thought—and I'll share what I come up with next week on the blog. But....if you have some ideas, share them in the comments, please!

I have some other resolutions too—like helping mom around the house more, spending more time with my sister, beating my personal running best, and keeping my room...cleaner. But I guess I should be doing those things anyway.

What are your New Year’s Resolutions?

Gotta jet! Can't wait to hear all about how you are ushering in a NEW decade—may 2020 be your best year to date!

~ Chase Superman Duffy

Holiday traditions aplenty!

This is one of my favourite weeks of the year – the last few days leading up to Christmas.

We have a whole bunch of family traditions over the holidays, starting this weekend with the annual Gingerbread House extravaganza. Mom and I will cook up some delicious gingerbread, while Dad and my sister, Amelia, head to the candy store for the accessories. We’ll also use some of our left-over Halloween candy, like the suckers and lifesavers. One year, we built a castle. I wonder what Dad has in mind this time. (I'm hoping for a haunted house!)

On Sunday, Mom and Grandma will make Ginger Snaps (they’re called Bettys Gingersnaps on canolainfo.org) and Nanaimo Bars – two of my favourites. Plus, Mom does a cookie exchange with some of the ladies from her work. Baked goods aplenty! My tummy is already rumbling.

Monday night, we’ll all drive around the neighbourhood looking at Christmas lights. There’s one house around the corner that does such a great job they should be on the news. And we'll probably go to Candy Cane Lane.

Of course, we’ll be delivering Santa’s Anonymous gifts on Christmas Eve, and then watching The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Sometimes we play Whovilleopoly or some other board game. And before bed, we take turns reading from a book, usually a great Christmas story—in the new pyjamas Mom lets us open.

Then it’s Christmas morning! Dad makes a delicious pancake breakfast. Afterwards, we go skating (if it’s not too cold, or maybe snowshoeing this year if my Christmas wish comes true), and then head over to my grandparents house for turkey dinner. This year, I'm in charge of the mashed potatoes. I can hardly wait.

Yep. It’s definitely the most wonderful time of the year. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Gotta jet! I'll see you next Friday.

~ Chase Superman Duffy

DIY Christmas Cards, Anyone?

About four years ago, Mom started a new tradition of making Christmas cards for the entire family—even for the cousins—and second cousins!—we haven't seen in years.

It makes sense. The personal touch is so much better than sending an email—though we spend most of Christmas morning calling family too. And we're kind of a crafty family, as you know. But I still have some shopping to get done, so I was happy to see that this year's card doesn't seem as difficult as some of the others she's found on Pinterest.

One year, we made these Rudolph cards using our fingerprints.

They were fun—and easy!

Next up were these cards, which aren't quite as easy as you think. Mom dug out the ruler to make sure the ribbon was in THE EXACT MIDDLE of the card.

We got through it, and even Grandma said we made perfect little bows.  (She has to say that though—she's Grandma!)

The next year, I tried to convince my parents that we should just have our family photo taken—better yet, I would set up the camera and take the shot myself. But no...Mom wasn't having it. She has a "thing" for penguins so we made these.

Cute, right? And also very hard. Those pieces aren't the easiest to cut out. My sister loved gluing the googly eyes on.

No googly eyes this year, and not as much cutting, but I'm curious to see how we get the little bumps on the bottom of these adorable snowman cards.

Gotta jet! However you're spending your weekend, I hope it's merry and bright! See you next week.

~ Chase Superman Duffy

Kindness throughout the holidays

I don't know about you, but I haven't done much writing—or revising—since the end of NaNoWriMo. Oh, I'll get to it, but right now, there's a bit too much "holiday" excitement happening. Which makes it hard to focus on writing, or school, or...pretty much anything.

Take this weekend, for instance. Mom and I are going shopping for Christmas presents—with a quick stop to visit Santa. (Have to get my list in!) Shopping with Mom is fun, but it can also be stressful. It's crowded in the malls, and kind of loud.

Sometimes it's easy to forget "kindness" when you're jostling for position in a long line, trudging through snow or slipping across ice. Sure, Christmas has holiday lights, hot chocolate, and family gathered around the table—but it also comes with some stresses.

So this year—again—I'm making a list...of ways I can spread KINDNESS this season. Little things *I* can do to make it easier on someone else—my family, my friends, even strangers. The world needs kindness. And we can all do our part. Right?

Here are a few ideas I had:

• Bake cookies (with Grandma) and drop a batch off at the local senior's home—or maybe the police station, fire station, or hospital. Retailers aren't the only ones working extra hard over the holiday season. 
• Shovel the neighbour's walk—or for someone else on my street. 
• Buy hot chocolate for the person behind me in the coffee shop line. 
• Take my sister ice skating. (If you saw how she skates, you'd know how kind of me this is!)
• Help my neighbour put up his Christmas lights. Obviously I won't be climbing on the roof or any ladders, but I can arrange the light-up snowmen and deer on the lawn!
• Smile! It sounds simple, but you'd be surprised what a genuine smile can do during this stressful time of year. 
• Volunteer to wrap presents for local seniors or maybe the children's wing at the hospital. 
• Leave a Christmas card for the mailman in the mail box. 
• Pick up trash at a park and throw it in the garbage.
• Donate some of extra toys, books, or clothes. 

Good list, right? Have things to add? Great—we can all brainstorm together and come up with the BEST list. Share your Random Acts of Holiday Kindness in the comments so we can keep the ideas coming.

Gotta Jet! I’m going to start on this list this weekend. See you next Friday!

~ Chase Superman Duffy