Guess What? Tonight at 6:30 PM Eastern Time I’ll be signing copies of “Tall Tales and Short Stories From South Jersey” at Audubon Library, 239 Oakland Avenue, Audubon, NJ. Stop on by if you are in the area!
Wow! Today I’m just full of surprises! I’m actually posting here today, with some great memories of my own family Christmases growing up…. as well as other wonderful places you can visit! — And a book signing!
Yes, I’ve taken up my marketing manager’s offer to clone me! (Mgr for Tall Tales and Short Stories from South Jersey) The process was a little scary, but yes! For the next twenty-four hours there are two of me!
(Yes, some of you can run. I’d be scared, too.)
First of all, Kaiden’s Seduction is reviewing “Make Believe” today. I hope they liked it! (Let me know in the comments below. I’m still afraid to read reviews without someone filtering them for me)
Also… you can find me at two great places on-line today! If you want to learn about training your dog to do amazing feats of bravery, check out my guest post about me and my pepped up poodle, Chloe on Brinda Berry’s blog.
And… Tis the season for holiday fun! This is part of the Still Moments Publishing Christmas Blog hop!
We’ve got great giveaways! By commenting below, you are automatically entered to win some great jewelry pieces. (Hello… awesome present ideas!)
Hop on over to the Still Moments Publishing website for a list of contributing blogs for more chances to win!
Oh! Don’t forget to click on “Enter to Win” for a chance to win my Christmas Anthology “For the Love of Christmas”
Whew! That’s a lot of promo-stuff… And I gotta post too! Oh! The pressure!
Sooooo… Christmas. I have so many Christmas Memories, and I treasure all of them fondly. One of my favorites is making a gingerbread house.
This was a Dad activity. I’m not sure why Mom didn’t get involved, but my dad was TOTALLY into it.
One year, we decided to make REAL gingerbread. It didn’t work out too well. We baked it in the oven and everything… but the walls cracked. Our house was not buildable… so Dad glued it together with epoxy. (So funny)
This tradition actually carried on. (I’m not sure which came first) But Dad would always “build” the house for us out of graham crackers. Yep… just pop them out of a box. And yes, he glued it together with epoxy (which is like crazy glue). We all KNEW not to eat the house part.
Then, of course, came the frosting glue, and more candy than any house could possibly hold. Our tradition was to try and make the house more hideous than it was the year before… but it still had to look like a house.
Yeah… that’s where I got my strange sense of humor from. People would look at our “masterpiece” and pretend it was beautiful. It wasn’t. That’s the point.
Today, when I build our gingerbread house with my kids, I don’t mind when the snowman falls over, or when Kid #2 leaves a trail of candy “poop” behind the reindeer. It’s all good fun.
Oh, yeah, and that big gob of brown icing? It’s a dirt pile. Me and my boys will swear to it. (With incredibly large smiles on our faces) — Don’t tell their daddy what it really is.
What odd but incredibly fun Christmas memory do you have?
Why all the hullabaloo? Well, it’s to promote my two new releases “Make Believe” and “For the Love of Christmas”
That’s why!
And don’t forget to click on “Enter to Win” for a chance to win your choice of the two titles! Yay!
Oh, I almost forgot… A few random commentors along the tour path will win their choice of anthologies, too. So be sure to hop on over and say “Hi”
Hop on over and send me some love!
Brinda Berry’s blog – Writing a novel is like training your dog.
Still Moments Publishing – Christmas Blog Hop
Kaiden’s Seduction Review of Make Believe!
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Jennifer M Eaton 
This is the first year my daughter and I will try the pre-baked gingerbread house. A long time ago, I bought a kit with the gingerbread mix and instructions on how to cut out the pieces once they’d baked. There was also an ingredient list for the icing, which includes cream of tartar. I think that’s what makes it harden quickly so you have to build the house fast before it dries and becomes unusable. It really is a fun tradition. Nice to know that your Dad was the one to build it with you. I can totally see my hubby using epoxy to hold the pieces together. Better than duck tape, I suppose! lol
Your review looked great on Kaiden’s Seduction. And candy poop around the gingerbread house made me laugh. Congrats on your two debuts! I’m excited to read them
Thanks! I’m thrilled with the reviews so far. I hope you enjoy the releases!
I remember spending every Christmas Eve at my grandparent’s house in Montreal (East end). We always had great snack foods, the basement was decorated and set up for drinking and dancing (although the ceilings were low and my 6’4″ father used to bang his head on the ceiling beam…especially when he’d had a few drinks. We’d get gifts at midnight (even though my grandparents had 8 children and umpteen grandchildren, they bought a gift (s) for each of them. Then, we would drive home and go to bed, trying to sleep with the excitement of not knowing what’s waiting for us under our own Christmas tree. 🙂
Awesomesauce. Sounds like a great time!
Your Dad sounds like a wonderful man.
imawit2015(at)yahoo(dot)com
He was a lot of fun. I miss him. 😦
haha – I love it! My university roommates and I used to make gingerbread houses every year. It was a great procrastination technique! We would also end up eating too much of the icing. Every year! And this year (my third without them 😦 sad) I made my own and still ate too much of the icing. Oh, the pain…haha. Gotta love Christmas and overindulging on sweetness!
Thanks for the giveaway!
books.etc.blogger AT gmail DOT com
You should invite them over for a house building party. It would be fun!
I love library signings. Have a blast. And since you’re so busy–don’t forget to breathe. Enjoy all this happiness!
I guess I’ll enjoy it when it’s all over. Waaaay too much going on!
Busy, busy. What a Christmas present you’re getting this year!
All I want for Christmas is to SLEEP!
I’ve always wondered how they get those houses to stay together in the stores. Glue, who’d have thought! We always tried putting them together, but ended up eating more than anything else. I never did end up with one that really stayed together the right way. Oh well, it’s still fun to try!
We do actually get them to stick together with the special hardening icing. I’ve never done the epoxy-thing in my own home. My youngest would forget and eat it.
Hi Jen, I’d like to buy paperback copies of the anthologies. When will they be available?
For the Love of Christmas may be out by this weekend in paperback. Believe, for the time being, is only in ebook.
I once made the Wilton Gingerbread House Kit…It tasted horrible but it was fun to put together…then the kids crushed it.
LOL!!
🙂
Yeah, they never taste good.
Hi Jennifer! Just read your post at Brinda’s blog and loved your dog training analogy! It’s great to meet you and your stories sound excellent, looking forward to reading them!
Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you love the anthologies!
Ive never made real gingergread. It sounds like alot of work! But I have done those kits you buy at Michaels and I totally dont have the patience for it 🙂 design (at) kerineal (dot) com
Ha! I build, the kids decorate. Such fun
Oh my! What a lot you have going on!
I’ve never made a gingerbread house, not as a child, and not as a parent. I’ve always looked at them wistfully and thought about how I should try making one sometime, but so far that sometime has never come!
Ya have to do it at least once. It’s easy now that you can buy a kit.
I loved the gingerbread story, you shouldn’t be afraid of looking at the reviews because EVERYONE loves your story, including Kaiden’s Seduction. You’re a hit, woman. Just remember to get some rest between all this running around. Oh, here. have some godiva chocolates from me (virtual of course). You deserve them and the are perfect for your waist line. (no calories)
Yay! Calorie free Godiva!
I think I’ve only helped make one gingerbread house. We tend to make Reindeer cookies. Easy and disposable. You know…like we dispose of them cheerfully into our stomachs.
MMMMMMM Yummy
I love the gingerbread house but I believe they were intentionally built to not turn out the way the pictures show them 🙂 It’s all part of the Christmas fun..thank you for sharing your story and reminding me that I need to get started on my own house.
I know! My kids reminded me I hadn’t purchased one yet.
Hi Honey 🙂
I’ve nominated you for a Blog Of The Year Award. Please don’t feel obligated to accept, but if you do, you’ll find all the info here
http://the-view-outside.com/2012/12/06/im-collecting-stars/
Xx
Awe, how sweet. I’ll check it out when I’m “back in town”