#holiday roundup

[shark-myths]

❄️ winter holiday fic roundup ❄️

🎅🏾 The Opposite of Amnesia

A decorating accident lands the boys in the E.R. a few days before Christmas.

🎁 Think of All the Fellas I Haven't Kissed

Like so many of Pete’s bad sexual decisions, the Mrs. Claus costume starts as a joke.

🎄 merry christmas, i could care less

All Pat wants for Christmas is to celebrate with her girlfriend. All Pete wants is not to let her down.

⛄ Promise You Anything

Normal people have resolutions about normal things. Pete has resolutions about Patrick.

☎️ Fall Asleep, Phone in Hand

Playboy poet Pete Wentz won’t get off the party line he shares with composer Patrick Stump; why would he, when it’s so fun making Patrick mad? When they meet by chance, Pete seizes the opportunity to become someone new—someone Patrick might even be able to fall for… Based on the 1959 film Pillow Talk.

🍗 Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Pete Wentz will do anything to get home in time for the holidays… even when everything goes wrong. Meeting Patrick Stump along the way? It’s either the best or worst thing that’s ever happened to him. They have forty-eight hours, and seven hundred miles, to find out.

🌌 A Home for the Holidays

A double booking leaves freshly divorced Patrick and seasoned single dad Pete stuck sharing a remote cabin for the week—the week of Christmas. With their children. And Pete’s dog. What could go wrong?

[bethfuller]

it's still early, but here's my 2023 yearly roundup!

this year has flown by, but so much happened - i went to japan, finished my comic, studied at gobelins, and started a masters degree. here's hoping 2024 will have lots of art fun and development on its way, and thank you all for the love and support :) <3

[thesoftboiledegg]

Five Below is getting into the Christmas spirit with Rick and Morty wrapping paper. Merry Rickmas from Rick and his festive squid! 🎁

The "nerdy" store at the mall had a surprise. I thought Vynl was another Funko Pop rip-off until I saw the Funko Pop logo on the box. Apparently, this is another collectible brand that they launched in 2017. I'm wondering if they stopped making these because I can't find much information on them online.

I never know how much Rick and Morty merchandise is worth, so I hope I didn't leave a valuable collector's item on the shelves. Then again, does a recent-ish franchise like Rick and Morty even HAVE hot collector's items? Seems like you have to wait a few decades to know for sure.

Speaking of Funko Pop rip-offs: Dorbz are my favorite because they're a lot cuter. For the first time, a Snowball Dorbz made an appearance.

This store has had a Beth Dorbz for months, and she's STILL there. This time, someone had stacked her on top of the pile. She also used to have a double, but I couldn't find it, so maybe someone finally bought one of them.

Coincidentally, the store also had Snowball and Froopyland Beth's Funko Pop counterparts.

Plus a big Snowball and an equally big Balthromaw. I don't care, I love the dragon episode even though it's dumb.

Box Lunch doesn't carry much Rick and Morty merchandise in-store, but on that day, they had a pair of boxers on the rack. I wonder if someone bought them online and returned them.

Rue 21 had a cute pair of slippers. I prefer these to the Spencer's slippers where you stick your feet in Rick and Morty's screaming mouths.

The other "nerdy" store had...I'm not sure what this is? Some kind of game? Anything BUT some decent Crow Rick apparel, huh?

Anyway, the thrift shops in my area just do not disappoint during the holidays. Every time I think I've seen everything, they've got new Rick and Morty holiday merchandise. This time, they had a whole gift set.

After all these years, Cool Rick is still relevant.

More socks! Apparently, we're the one demographic who likes getting socks for Christmas.

And a shirt with fuzzy material on the logo. I keep seeing that a lot, so it must be the new trend.

Honestly, I'm lucky to live in an area where Rick and Morty is huge. People have told me that they live in places where they never see Rick and Morty merchandise in public. I'm not sure what it is about the rural Midwest, but this show has a pretty tight grasp on us.

As for the rest of you...

[fanaticsnail]

WIP Game

Thank you for the tag, @quinloki! I am so excited about what you've got on the menu upcoming - especially more Quill content! Gosh I love Quill.

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Tag as many people as you have wips. People send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, then post a little snippet or tell them something about it!

I have to open up my documents and have a look at the fics I'm actively pursuing and see what's calling to me to finish.

My Active WIPs

Dreaming of you: Red Hair Pirates (NSFW)

The Stowaway: Wire x Reader (SFW)

An Acquired Taste: X-Drake x afab!reader (NSFW)

New Year's Kiss: Heat x gn!reader (SFW)

Happy New Year: Wire x afab!reader (NSFW)

Pollen: Smoker, Mihawk, Ace, Usopp, Koby

Rockier Port Incident: Law x reader x Koby

I think that's all I've got for 'reader' content. The pollens are mainly outlined with ideas that I'm trying to work on.

I've also been doing a fair amount of writing for my friends on Discord for OC x Canon content. I have gone down the rabbit hole of falling in love with OCs and writing for them has been an absolute joy and delight. I would love to write some more for Tobiuo because I just adore her - including her modern au and interactions with other OCs

7 WIPs from me! Play along if you like!

@jintaka-hane @thenotsofantasticlifestory @lxshoxk @physics-of-one-piece @daydreamer-in-training @nina-ya @icy-spicy

[lilydalexf]

👽 April Fools' Day X-Files Fic Recs

No joke, here are some very good X-Files fics involving April Fools' Day. Enjoy! April Fool's Day Series by GirlGone OK, someone challenged me to write a story that wasn't an X-File, a serial killer study, a girlfriend story or a mushy Scully-Mulder romance. I thought about it for awhile and this is what I came up with. April Fools? by A. Dean Written in response to Deb's picture challenge from the US magazine. April Revolution by Foxie Meg "The streets of Paris are burning once more." bad ideas in bed by @wtfmulder Drabble; R; fluff, smut; Scully x Reyes; Prompt: “It’s called a prank.” Bloody Hell by @baronessblixen Happy April Fools’ Day! Mulder is just trying to pull a little prank on Scully... it doesn't go well. Fifth Day in Paradise part 1, part 2 by Kate Rickman En route to the scene of an X-File, Mulder and Scully are stranded in the snowy wilderness after their rental car breaks down on a deserted road. Instead of finding their way back to civilization, they stumble into a treacherous plot that could cost them their lives. Through it all, Scully struggles to accept her deepening relationship with Mulder. Folly by @rivkat Starts in early Season Four; after TFWID, Season Four doesn't happen; instead we take a strange journey into conspiracy, experimentation, and speculation. Leave A Message by Amanda Finch and Tim Scott Our favorite agents' terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day or "When Good Pranks Go Bad". (Check your local FOX listings.) The Man Without A Trace by @syntax6 Insanity Outrunning Moirae by Jennifer Oksana and FirePhile Mulder gets his usual vague information from an informant. It leads him across the country into unbelievable government mischief. Meanwhile, as Scully tracks the case from DC, she starts to question everything, including her own identity. Set around season 5. Wrapped in the Wind Series by RocketMan This is a Romance with Mulder and Scully and a little baby girl. Much like The Emilys, if you liked those.

[hughesybear]

allegedly, Petey’s Christmas gift for Brock is an orange Build-a-Bear with premade voice buttons from different Canucks players. this is the most important news I have ever received.

Canucks roundup December 2nd 2024 - December 18th 2024:

Tocchet on the group dynamics on the road:

“I gotta give the leadership group a lot of credit, they enjoy being together […] since I’ve been here, you look at the guys going out to dinner, I never see packs of two, I see packs of six, eight, ten. That’s a good thing when you have a lot of guys hanging together.”

The Miller family in the December issue of Vancouver Magazine:

While J.T. Miller is on the ice with his Vancouver Canucks teammates this season, there will be many nights in which his wife, Natalie Miller, principal of Natalie Miller Interiors, is putting on a show of her own: when the team is away, the players' significant others often gather to watch the games, and the Miller residence has become the go-to spot. "I host the most out of everybody," she says. "And I like this space because it's big enough to host 18 of us but it can also feel cozy."

This season is the couple’s sixth in Vancouver and both Millers feel at home in the Lower Mainland. “My parents get mad because I don’t call [Pennsylvania] home anymore. But what Natalie’s done with the house - she’s transformed it in the time we’ve been here; it really feels like home now,” says J.T. before taking a playful shot at his wife. “I think she has really great taste… but I’m not sure about trees in the house.” Natalie, posing for the camera: doesn’t miss a beat: “Smile if you still have all your teeth.” When J.T. signed his extension, Natalie donated all their old furniture to Habitat for Humanity.

Multiple Canucks players have been bringing in donations for The Shoebox Project, which helps abuse survivors in need

Demko on Sherwood:

“He’s a good dude,” said Thatcher Demko. “We love having him around. He’s a guy that has a positive attitude every day, chatting guys up in the morning — maybe you’re a little groggy in the morning before practice or whatever but he’s bringing everybody’s energy up. He was definitely really annoying to play against. It’s always nice when you meet a guy on the other side of it and you can cross him off your ‘Do Not Have Friendship With’ list.”

Teddy Blueger’s mom won $100k in the Canucks for Kids 50/50 while visiting from Latvia

Brännström and Filip Gustavsson:

Gustavsson is buddies with Erik Brannstrom, whom he robbed unbelievably in overtime. They went to dinner last night: "He wanted me to let one in and I just said, ‘No.’"

[thisweekingundamevents]

Alright Wingers! Here is the GW Holiday Gift Exchange 2023 Gift Roundup!

From Miyu: To Talliya: Family Bonds https://archiveofourown.org/collections/GWHolidayGiftExchange2023/works/52774846

From Soryenn: To Miyu: Christmas Lights https://archiveofourown.org/collections/GWHolidayGiftExchange2023/works/52830364

From Vel: To Noir: All That's Missing Are the Eggs https://archiveofourown.org/collections/GWHolidayGiftExchange2023/works/52784971

From Noir: To Soryenn: And Duo Makes Three https://archiveofourown.org/collections/GWHolidayGiftExchange2023/works/52890919

From Talliya: To Vel: Call Me Maybe https://archiveofourown.org/collections/GWHolidayGiftExchange2023/works/52781095

I hope everyone had fun creating this year, and I hope everyone else enjoys the wonderful products of said creations!

~Mod Hel

[carldoonan]

Here's a festive roundup of all 21 Xmas whiteboard doodles I drew in 2023! 🎅⛄🕯🍪🎁🎄

[madegeeky]

Epic's winter holiday free-game-a-day has started today! I'll be trying to post them every day, as I've done in years past! If you don't want to see a post every day about a free game (it will only be one post a day), "free games roundup" is the tag to block.

[lordbyronskitchen]

(via Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 6)

[ginaraemitchell]

Holiday Friday Finds | 12-20-2024 | Grab your favorite holiday beverage, settle in, and let’s dive into the fun!

Welcome to the Friday Finds for December 20, 2024! 🎄 The hustle and bustle is in full swing, with the holidays just around the corner. Are you the type to have everything neatly wrapped and ready, or are you scrambling to check off those last-minute to-dos? No judgment here—this season is as much about the chaos as it is about the joy for me! This week’s newsletter is packed with festive inspiration, from delicious recipes and delightful holiday reads to creative gift ideas and exciting updates in the world of indie authors. Plus, a heartfelt thank-you for your support—it truly means the world to me. Grab your favorite holiday beverage, settle in, and let’s dive into the fun! Peace, love, and holiday cheer! 💖 —Gina Click, comment, and share to spread the holiday joy. 🎄✨ https://ginaraemitchell.com/friday-finds-12-20-2024/

 Friday Finds | 12-20-2024 | Books ~ Crafts ~ Holiday Recipes ~ Indie Authors ~ Contests Welcome to the Friday Finds for December 20, 2024! 🎄 The hustle and bustle is in full swing, with the holidays just around the corner. Are you the type to have everything neatly wrapped and ready, or are you scrambling to check off those last-minute to-dos? No judgment here—this season is as much about the…

[sfarticles]

Cookbooks make great gifts for food enthusiasts

The shopping frenzy, an anticipated, annual, pre-holidays event, has started. Perhaps for some it began after last year’s holiday season.

Cookbooks are perfect for the food enthusiasts on your gift list. Whether they enjoy baking, international cuisine, cooking with a specific ingredient, favorite appliance or healthy eating, there is a cookbook for them, children included. I am the go-to person for friends who need suggestions for the ideal cookbook to purchase.

Fans of America’s Test Kitchen hit television show will appreciate “America’s Test Kitchen 25th Anniversary Cookbook: 500 Recipes That Changed the Way America Cooks” (2024, $45). The book celebrates the show’s 25 seasons on air. Did you know it is the most watched cooking show on public television?

The editors said: “This collection of recipes highlights ATK’s most important discoveries, brilliant techniques, counterintuitive tricks, eye-opening food science, and above all, failproof deliciousness from the past 25 years.”

Each member of the show’s cast provides Q&A that will bring the reader closer to knowing about those they watch cook on the show. Fans will enjoy their commentary describing the dishes that have become personal game changers.

For example, here are a couple of Dan Souza’s five memorable scientific discoveries: “Baking soda helps ground meat remain tender; temper chocolate in the microwave for the shiniest, snappiest coating.”

ATK’s signature headnotes, “Why this Recipe Works,” shares important details about each recipe.

“The Food Substitutions Bible: 8,000 Substitutions for Ingredients, Equipment & Techniques,” 3rd edition, by David Joachim is a must in my kitchen. I assume occasionally, or more often; while cooking you have run out of an important ingredient.

Perhaps the pan the recipe calls for was borrowed by a friend. Perhaps you’re looking to experiment with a recipe handed down to you by changing the flavor or texture. What do you do? Substitute.

You might think the internet has the answer, however the author said,” It doesn’t always have the answer or accurate replacements.”

He gives the information needed to improvise with confidence.

The vast number of substitutions cover timesaving, healthy and vegan subs. The charts and measurement tables help the cook understand the nuances of various chilies, vinegars, rice, salts, oils and other ingredients, plus how to substitute one for another. Cooking and baking at high altitude, complete with volume and pan equivalents is discussed in easy-to-understand charts.

The author writes, “Some of the greatest cooking discoveries have been and continue to be made by substituting one ingredient for another, one piece of equipment for another, or one cooking technique for another.”

The visual appeal, ease of preparation, social nature and countless themes have made grazing and charcuterie boards a craze. For those on your list who enjoy entertaining, “Grazing Boards,” a deck of 50 cards, by Theo A. Michaels (2024, Ryland, Peters & Small, $24.99) makes the perfect gift.

Along with the cards is a 64-page book beginning with guidelines and tips to create a grazing board or table. How to choose the right board, planning, shopping, slicing meats; how to choose the right balance of textures, colors and flavors; how to create visual anchors starts the booklet, followed by recipes for dips, sauces and pickles, finger foods and hot foods to incorporate on the boards.

The cards have stunning photography of the board on one side with the shopping list and assembly instructions on the other side. From a “Game Night Wings ’n’ Dips tray,” “Fruits de Mer Platter,” “Build-Your-Own Taco Tuesday” to a “Kosher Charcuterie Board,” “Butter Board,” and perfect for holiday brunch, “All-Day Brunch Sheet Pan,” there’s a theme to satisfy all tastes. Maybe you’ll even be invited to your gift recipient’s party and experience their creation from the deck.

Those who enjoy Southern cooking coupled with Southern food history will welcome “When Southern Women Cook: with History, Lore, and 300 Recipes with Contributions from 70 Women Writers,” by the editors of America’s Test Kitchen, Toni Tipton-Martin and Morgan Bolling (America’s Test Kitchen, 2024, $40).

The book covers every region and flavor of the American South.

The editors said, “From Texas BBQ to Gullah Geechee rice dishes, the book tells the stories of the unnamed women firing the flames of stoves at Monticello; gallant Prohibition-era rum runners; and bootleggers like ‘Queen’ Maggie Bailey, who supported her community by selling moonshine.”

Southern cooking goes beyond fried chicken and biscuits (there are eight recipes for each in the book). The recipes pay tribute to the diverse group of women who created them and their place in the history of Southern food.

Morgan Bolling, executive editor of creative content for ATK’s Cook’s Country, said in the introduction: “The stories in this book show that food can be a lens through which to learn about our shared history, to pay homage to those who came before us, and to help build a better, tastier future.”

The recipes include classics as well more modern ones. From baking powder biscuits, cast iron baked chicken, peach cobbler to the Cuban sandwich, Po’boys, Mint Julep, Planter’s Punch and Moravian Cookies, the coverage of dishes is superb.

The editors said, “The recipes present an intricate patchwork quilt that is Southern cooking.”

Cooking is a hands-on activity children enjoy, allowing them to be creative, bond with the family and experience new flavors. The 10th anniversary edition of “Cooking Class:73 Fun Recipes Kids Will Love to Make (and Eat!), by Deanna F. Cook (2024, Storey Publishing, $19.99) was recently released, a perfect gift for the kids on your gift list.

The recipes were tested by kids, making sure they understood the directions. The first chapter teaches what tools to have handy, how to measure, how to safely use a paring knife plus other kitchen tools. One, two or three spoons on each recipe denotes the skill level needed to make the recipe.

For example, one spoon: “You can cook most of these recipes without needing a hot stove or using a knife.”

Kids will learn how to set a table, including creative napkin folding. The step-by-step photos with directions under each make it easy for young chefs to make the foolproof recipes. Parents will appreciate that cleanup is covered!

The chapters include: “Breakfast Café,” “Lunch Lessons,” “Snack Attack,” “Eat Your Veggies,” “My First Dinners” and “Time for Dessert.” The pull-out pages help the young chefs put the finishing touches on their creations with place cards, mealtime conversation-starter games, recipe cards, and stickers for labeling their homemade food…perfect for gift giving.

Titles of books catch my attention, as they’re intended to. “One Bake, Two Ways: Fifty bakes with an All-Plant Option Every Time,” by Ruby Bhogal (2024, Interlink Publishing, $35) is a title that piqued my curiosity.

This one is the perfect gift for the bakers on the gift list. Bhogal, who has a degree in architecture, began baking as a hobby but then competed as a finalist on “The Great British Baking Show.” The title features recipes, first in its conventional form, and then with a plant-based alternative.

“This isn’t a book where the vegan recipes are shoved at the back or added last minute for tokenism,” she said. “This is a book where both sides of the diet are celebrated, and not one where anyone misses out. Everyone gets cake!”

The baker you gift this book to will find creative approaches to mouth-watering delights with two approaches. With recipes like these, Coconut Cake with Whipped Ricotta and Mango Cream, Fruited Focaccia with Plums, Cherries and Lemon Thyme, Dark Chocolate Velvet Tart with Dulce de Leche, and Strawberries and Macadamia Nuts; are you tempted to buy a copy for the baker in you?

Halloumi burgers with smashed avocado and tomato relish, Chinese sweet corn soup with egg ribbons or whipped tahini with a mountain of panko on asparagus, the recipes in “Delicious Tonight: Foolproof Recipes for 150+ Easy Dinners,” by Nagi Maehashi, a New York Times best-selling author (2024, Countryman Press, $35), are creative, unfussy, international and clever, and anything but ordinary.

The book will become the recipients cooking school, with a QR code for each recipe that leads to a how-to video. The videos, stunning and sumptuous photos, paired with the organization of each recipe makes this a must-have, stand-out cookbook.

The author writes: “I know you know how to read a recipe! But here’s a little map featuring some pointers on how to follow the recipes in this cookbook, highlighting the different elements on the page.”

She explains each element: “Introduction: This is the part where I tell you why your life is not complete until you’ve made this!; Notes: Superscript numbers (footnotes) in the recipe direct you to the notes; Glossary: At the back of the book there is a glossary with information on ingredients that might not be familiar to you, or where I have something extra to say. See glossary if text is marked with an asterisk; QR code leading to the video.”

If you are familiar with the author’s website RecipeTinEats.com that has half a billion views annually, you won’t be surprised at the quality of the book and recipes within.

“Being a homebound tester and writer of everyday recipes has brought me into the public eye at a level that I just never imagined nor ever sought,” Maehashi said. “Cooking, eating, photographing, and sharing recipes of damn tasty food with people around the world, with Dozer (her dog) by my side, is what makes me happy. Full stop, end of story.”

Since we are finally getting some winter weather, at least we are in the Northeast, I want to include “A Cookbook for Winter: More than 95 Nurturing & Comforting Recipes for the Colder Months,” by Louise Pickford, (2024, Ryland Peters & Small, $30) in this cookbook roundup.

I’ll be featuring this title in a future column, but for now I thought you’d want to consider this book for those on your list (or you) who live where the mercury dips on the thermometer. They’ll enjoy the hearty dishes and embrace the colder months while gathering around the table for shared moments of joy, warmth and camaraderie.

Now, happy book shopping and my best wishes for joyous holidays.

Stephen Fries is professor emeritus and former coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College in New Haven, Conn. He has been a food and culinary travel columnist for the past 17 years and is co-founder of and host of “Worth Tasting,” a culinary walking tour of downtown New Haven, and three-day culinary adventures around the U.S. He is a board member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Email him at Stephen@stephenfries.com. For more, go to stephenfries.com.

[cesium-sheep]

got a ton of computer work done including stuff I've been putting off for months for the kirblog and for the va, and taran's coming over and they made me cookies because they are a very kind and thoughtful friend TnT and matt's gonna make lasagna soup for dinner.

[reasonsforhope]

Happy Holidays to everyone celebrating holidays right now!!

Let's spread some holiday cheer and crowdsource this shit!

Link a good news story that you know in the notes on this post!

--

Here's mine, I'm cheating by providing a giant compilation that is by FAR the best good news roundup I've seen this year.

-via Fix the News, December 19, 2024

And for those of your who have already seen that from my other post, here's another great compilation!

-via Positive.News, December 23, 2024

[lifethereboot]

Cinco de Mayo Recipe Round-Up

Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Some of the links below are affiliate links meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you purchase something using the link. Read the full disclaimer policy here. Are you planning anything for Cinco de Mayo? Here is a list of Cinco de Mayo recipes from some great bloggers around the web.…

[pastdaily]

3-Mile Island: "Everything's Fine - Nothing To See - Just Keep Moving" - March 28, 1979

3-Mile Island – The presumption that Ignorance Was Bliss backfired. https://pastdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/news-for-march-28-1979.mp3 The true seriousness of the day wasn’t really known for almost 24 hours after the initial event occurred. The Nuclear Power Plant accident at 3-Mile Island on March 28, 1979 began at 4:00 in the morning and almost instantly there was a scramble to…