For All the World to See: December's Wet Noodle Posse

The highlights of the December issue of Wet Noodle Posse.com from the pen of our own Kiki Clark:

Relax into the month of December.

Relax into food, shopping, and endless chatty emails about whether Aunt Sammie would like a pretty scarf.

Surrender to sappy songs, twinkly lights and egg-based beverages. Don’t fight it.

Above all, don’t try to be your usual productive self while covered in glitter and glue. It may be better to give than to receive, but it’s better still to live than to deceive yourself into thinking you can whip around the world in one month, like one of Santa’s reindeer.

Relax, and remember that it’s not a one-shot deal. Whatever it is you feel you should have done, there’s always next year.

Good news! Amazingly, one of the things you can probably blow off this month is a mammogram. Norah Wilson’s experience and research suggests that many doctors have changed their recommendations; raising the age range and lowering the frequency of the not-so-easy squeezy. Find out why.

Our goal for December is for you to be as relaxed as a just-fed puppy on Valium, but we realize that can be a difficult state to achieve. Dr. Debra outlines four steps for defusing stress, using a recent example from her own life. When you read how she turned terrible into wonderful, you will say, “Yes, Virginia, there is a coping mechanism.”

Colleen Gleason has one sure way to decrease your stress – a whole list of great gifts for less than twenty bucks, complete with online and local sources and who they’re good for, from your best girlfriend to your fabulous babysitter. Are you relaxing yet?

This month’s recipe column is all about Holiday Desserts! Be a hit at the office potluck with the mother of all Carrot Cakes (Pineapple, and coconut, and walnuts, oh my!). You can wrap home-made sugarplums in cellophane bags and give them as gifts, make Christmas Wreath cookies with the kids, and wow the family with Angel Delight, profiteroles, or honest-to-gosh plum pudding.

Terry McLaughlin shows you how to make clothespin Nutcrackers, and boy, are they cute! This simple, satisfying craft is a great activity for the kids, and you can use the little wooden fellows as holiday decorations or package toppers when you’re done. Say… Have you ever noticed that nutcrackers look a lot like British Beefeaters? Which brings us to…

London, Baby! Part Five of Delle Jacobs’ English travel series ends in the only city where a Regency gal can dash after dukes, sin by the Serpentine, and tire herself on the Tube, all in one day. Don’t forget a stop at Shakespeare’s re-created Globe Theatre. Oh, my goodness, the pictures!

As a top-notch psychotherapist, SuperHeroine Josephine Bynder has been bringing comfort and joy for over 40 years, which is probably one reason she was named Social Worker of the Year in Boulder, Colorado. Noodler Kiki Clark wondered: What makes a thirteen-year-old girl decide she wants to unravel the mysteries of the mind? The answer? Why, the movies, of course.

Janice Lynn is December’s Noodler of the Month. With a brand-new book out (Jane Millionaire), Janice is living the newly published dream, which sometimes results in the dreamer sitting bolt upright and screaming, “Why is the cover model wearing a gorilla suit?” Luckily, Janice embodies the single most important quality it takes to make it in the publishing industry – a gorilla suit. No, it’s stubbornness. And remember -- books make great gifts!

There may be a writer who doesn’t hope to quit her day job and live off her words, but we haven’t met that writer. Luckily for all of us, Anne Mallory has come up with step-by-step instructions for determining if you can make a living writing, and how to do it. (Some assembly required. Batteries not included.)

And finally, you can’t jump into those warm and fuzzy holiday feelings without a little training. Your “Awwww!” muscle might cramp. To help you warm up for little girls in red-velvet dresses and wee carolers at the door, the Noodlers reminisce about their favorite pets. Remember to stretch first, and drink plenty of water.