SurfWriter Girls New Year’s Greetings!

Happy New Year from SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to the following copyrighted material. For permission to reprint or excerpt it and/or link it to another website, contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com.

Global New Year’s Celebrations

Around the world, people ring in the New Year with special celebrations to ensure good fortune, health and prosperity. Borrowing from different countries’ traditions, here are some things you can do to get 2012 off to a good start: 

  

·         On the first day of the New Year eat lentil soup – lentils signify wealth (Brazil).

·         Cook a whole chicken to symbolize prosperity; a whole fish for togetherness; uncut noodles for long life (China).

·         Throw old dishes and plates at the homes of friends on New Year’s Eve for good luck. The next morning, if you find lots of broken dishes on your front doorstep, it means you have many friends (Denmark).

·         Leave a bit of food on your dinner plate until after midnight to ensure a well-stocked pantry in the New Year (Germany).

·         Bake a cake with a silver or gold coin inside. It’s considered lucky to get the slice with the coin (Greece).

·         Eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight – one grape for each month. If a grape for one month is sweet that means that will be a good month; if the grape is sour then the month will be bad (Mexico).

·         Make a list of all the unhappy events from the current year; then just before midnight throw the list into the fire – removing the negative energy from the New Year (Mexico).

New Year’s Resolutions for All of Us

Make sure to use sunscreen.

Get fit.

Cook Healthy Meals.

Help the environment.

Cartoons Courtesy of Reader’s Digest.

SurfWriter Girls’ friend Karyl Garbow sent this advice with her Christmas card:

Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can’t change. Kiss slowly, forgive quickly, play hard, take chances, give everything, have no regrets. Life is too short to be anything but happy.

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After your champagne toast, remember to recycle the bottle.

Wishing you a Happy New Year with no ifs, ands, or (cigarette) butts,

Filled with perfect waves, clean beaches, and friends to share them with.

Sunny and Patti checking out the Tesla electric car

Happy New Year!

SurfWriter Girls Sunny & Patti

The Day Before Christmas

A Surfrider Christmas Story

By SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to the following copyrighted material. For permission to reprint or excerpt it and/or link it to another website, contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com

 It was the day before Christmas and all through the beach

The seagulls were flying and eating everything in reach.

The stockings and beach cleanup bags were hung by the recycler with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

Photo by Ric Magdaug

The surfers were all up from their beds

While visions of waves danced in their heads.

Tony and Seth and Mike and Jeff were out at the shore gathering litter

And Gilbert was making sure the morning coffee didn’t taste bitter.

 When out past the breakers there arose such a clatter,

The Surfrider volunteers strained to see what was the matter.

Off down the pier they raced like a flash,

Fearful that the vision they saw might crash.

For there in the light of day what did appear,

But a surfing Santa without his reindeer.

Toes on the nose, he was lively and quick.

Shooting the curl, it really was St. Nick!

Decked out in his red hat and board shorts by Hurley,

He shouted, “Cowabunga, dudes! I got in early.”

Before anyone knew what to say,

Santa was well on his way.

His white beard flowing, he shifted his sack,

Leaving the surfers to stare at his back.

 Over the roar of the waves, they heard him chuckle with glee,

“Don’t worry. Tomorrow your presents will be under the tree.”

 Wishing you these gifts of the holiday season:

Family and friends, clean beaches and joy without reason.

 

Photo by Greg Kishel

SurfWriter Girls Sunny & Patti

http://www.surfwritergirls.blogspot.com

Sunny’s Big B-Day

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to the following copyrighted material. For permission to reprint or excerpt it and/or link it to another website, contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com

SurfWriter Girl Sunny Magdaug’s birthday on Friday started with the sound of music when her mom and brother Ric brought her roses from the family’s garden and sang Happy Birthday to her.

Before long SurfWriter Girl Patti Kishel showed up and it was off to breakfast at Schooner or Later’s dockside café in Alamitos Bay. The restaurant’s outdoor patio was jammed, but we found a table right near the boats.

Sunny ordered banana nut pancakes – a tall stack (not small) – because it was her birthday. Patti had the spinach and Swiss cheese omelet.

After breakfast we stopped to fill in at the life guards’ station.

Then we cruised through Seal Beach before heading back to Sunny’s house in the afternoon.

When we walked in the door Ric was cleaning the house to get everything ready for the birthday party. And there wasn’t much time to spare. Sunny’s sister Rose and niece Laura came bursting in the door with a Black Forest cake from Katella Deli in Los Alamitos. And Sunny’s friend Raquel wasn’t far behind them. 

It didn’t take long before everyone was sitting at the kitchen table eating Costco’s combo pizza with everything on it.

Sunny got some great presents including sleep shades so she can get her beauty sleep and be up bright and early for beach cleanups. She also got workout clothes – no more excuses about not going to the gym!

There were books, candy, cards and more.

Sunny did a good job blowing out the candles on her cakes – both of them! That’s right she had two.

After eating as much as our stomachs could hold it was time to play cards…some cut-throat games of gin rummy with Sunny’s mom winning most of the hands.

Just when the party was winding down and people were leaving Sunny’s nephew James and her brother Dave, who’s a tennis pro, showed up and everything started up again…with more pizza and cake.

The party shifted into an even higher gear when Sunny’s brother-in-law Grant arrived with Sunny’s nephews and niece – Scott, Daniel and Jacqueline.

We lit the candles on the cake again and sang “Happy Birthday” – for the third time! And Sunny was happy that her wish came true …having her family there with her. 

Scott, an accomplished musician, played his guitar and everyone joined in singing…even Daniel, the youngest. So, the day ended – close to midnight – as it began…with music.