My dad used to say, “Health is wealth.” And how true that simple statement is. If you don’t have good health, everything else seems secondary.

As some of you already know, I’ve been feeling under the weather with a cough, sore throat, fever, and head fuzziness.

The onset of the flu began on Thursday and then intensified on Friday. On Saturday (when I was writing this), my symptoms seemed to be plateauing, so I’m hoping that’s a sign that recovery is close. However, my voice still sounds like what the Grumpy Cat probably sounds like. And my energy level is still low.

My immune system is usually a beast, and I find that I rarely get sick, even when I’m surrounded by people who are coughing and sneezing around me. But this time, it looks like it got me. In the game of Tag, I was apparently “It”.

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Although this blog makes it pretty clear that I love nail polish, my passion for writing makes it pale in comparison.

Since a very young age, I gravitated toward the written word – the pen is far mightier than the sword.

Even before I learned how to write, my mom said that I used to scribble on paper and pretend that I was writing.

When I learned the alphabet in kindergarten and couldn’t read or spell yet, I was already playing around with the different letters at home.

Without any prompting or encouragement from my parents, I wrote down letters in different combinations at home. Then I’d show my made-up words to them and ask, “Is this a word?” Nope!

Then something amazing happened, and I’ll never forget it. One day, my mom looked at what I had written and said, “Yes, that is a word!” She was clearly as surprised as I was!

Anxious to find out what I had randomly spelled, I asked, “What does it say?”

“Family.” My mom said.

Sure, it could just have been by chance that I spelled that word, but I interpreted that as a special sign for me to always appreciate my family, even if there were many dysfunctional things about it.

Through good times and bad times, writing has always been my passive psychologist. It’s cathartic and creative. Even if I sometimes get writer’s block, I still enjoy the process of recording thoughts, whether it’s on paper or on the computer.

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Today’s short post includes some Facts About Christmas collected from various sources since my childhood.

As December 25th continues to creep up on us, I thought it was very appropriate. 🙂

A few Smorgasbord Sundays ago, I blogged about my first Keurig coffee maker. Since then, I’ve used it quite a bit – it’s handy!

While doing my usual grocery shopping, I came across some really interesting coffee and biscotti.

What I found was so different that I felt compelled to blog about it today!

(Note to readers: This post was written by Mary’s stomach…hehe!)

Also, I found a Canadian website that sells tons of K-Cups for the Keurig (as well as pumpkin-pie syrup) that I wasn’t able to find in stores.

I’m really excited to show you this food/beverage ‘haul’…haha!

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For today’s Smorgasbord Sundays post, I’d like to get a bit more personal. Based on the comments my lovely readers have left me on the blog and via e-mail, I get the feeling that you actually enjoy it when I ramble and don’t just stick to straight-forward reviews.

Well, I’m going to share something very personal with you!

It’s a memory of the time I ran away from home. I think it’ll give you a little glimpse into what I was like when I was younger, and perhaps you’ll see how it affected me now that I’m older.

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