CHRISTMAS GIFT OF LOVE

I deleted the picture of Santa with one hand holding a gun to his head and the other a bottle of scotch. Beneath that picture was a bunch of bipolar rants about my lack of Christmas spirit. I decided it was a disgrace to add to someone else's depression this time of year. I am trying to go more upbeat. I will put in a side article that is a sort of generic sounding piece about coping with holiday insomnia, anxiety and stress with honey. Harmless fluff that might help someone, and certainly better than looking at the food critic piece that's been there for some time while I was in my holiday funk. I am grateful for any reader who came back after I left up "My Thanksgiving" for a month. I didn't need to follow it with suicidal Santa. Okay, so right now my fake Christmas tree is parked on its side where it fell off its pedestal. It's wearing its second attempt at lights. It needs another go at it. It looks like Jackson Pollack sprinkled them on this time. Before that it looked like a little person without a stool or ladder put them on. I have no reason to mope. I can forget cleaning up this stall and focus on writing. Hooray! My daughter just told me I am welcome to hold my annual Christmas Eve dinner at her house. My high school best friend, who found me through Facebook after all these years, can just meet me in a restaurant. Things are definitely looking up. I am going out today to bid on jobs at Elance in earnest because it's okay if I win some. I'll have the time to write. I need E-book experience. I feel ready to write E-books and I did download a free how-to-write-an-E-book that is very helpful. Find out how to download this free excellent E-book that comes with a download for "How to Write a Press Release" E-book download here. Almost half the ads I see now at Elance are for writing E-books but they all want to know what books you're written previously. Not so easy to get those clips right away. It's just the kind of big project I need to shake this Christmas funk. My heart goes out to anyone with a Christmas funk. My advice: Let it all be. Pretend you're hospitalized this year and can't do anything but write from your bed. Let it all go. The cleaning, shopping, and the making yourself crazy. Your family knows you love them, and you can show it in other, simpler ways. Life is all too short to lose your stress and sanity because of one day out of the year. Keep the real meaning and just have love in your heart whatever you have to do to keep it glowing. Love, Maryellen