When the holidays sneak up on you

Koa - cute, cuddly and a big baby

Thanksgiving seems early this year, or maybe it came up on us fast, I’m not quite sure. My dental hygienist had a good laugh at my expense the other day when I asked about scheduling an appointment for next week. She shook her head and told me next week wouldn’t work because it was Thanksgiving.

I actually replied to her in astonishment with, “No it’s not.”

And then she showed me the calendar.

I use calendars, obviously. I’m a paper planner addict and have one for both my personal and writing life. How the heck did I miss that next week is Thanksgiving? In my defense, I’ve been busy with writing, marketing and book promotions, a book event, and planning ahead for book promotions throughout the rest of the year.

In addition, I enjoy celebrating Halloween all through October and realistically, I begin to think about Christmas on November 1st. I am one of those people, yes, who begins to listen to Christmas music or watch holiday movies right after Halloween. Thanksgiving is just another day smack dab in the middle of ghost stories and holiday baking.

Although, I have to say I enjoy left-over turkey sandwiches. If I had to choose, other than time spent with family, that is my favorite part of the holiday.

And pumpkin pie.

Can’t forget the pie.

Okay, now I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving. J

Joking aside, this month is more about family. The food is just a bonus.

In addition to family, my other focus this month was on writing and health/wellness. My writing schedule is still going well and I’ve been able to reach my word count just about every day. As for the remainder of my focus for the month, I took part in a fitness challenge and did about half as well as I expected but ended with a better mindset and some good advice on what I need to do to stick with a routine. I also began a gratitude journal the beginning of the month and I’ve actually stuck with it - I’ve tried to do this before but would usually fizzle out after a week or so. And, I began a new meditation practice this past week that has helped me feel calmer this time of year than I remember ever feeling before.

I guess that explains why I didn’t completely freak out when I found out next week was the holiday. I’m not prepared and plans are still up in the air, but I’m okay with that. Which is a bit odd, coming from me. I suppose that’s additional proof the meditation technique is working.

Other than not keeping up with what date the holiday was landing on, the month of November is providing for me what I had hoped. And considering the fact that December is going to be a fairly busy month, I will appreciate the limited focus in November. It’s something else I will add to my grateful journal.

Whatever your plans for the holiday and the rest of the month, I hope you find time to be with family and celebrate the areas in your life you can be grateful for.

Another FREE eBook - 11:11 Anna's Awakening

How's the weekend going for you?

If you're stuck inside because of the cold or rain, or just because you enjoy hanging out at home to relax the week away, I hope you're enjoying your day.

If you are relaxing, are you in the mood to read a book? If so, I have a short story available for you, and it's FREE!

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Everyone deals with grief in their own way.  Death can bring families closer together; sometimes it can tear them apart. Only time can heal the wounds to build stronger relationships and while some relationships survive, sadly, others do not. This is the story of two parents who suffer a great loss and attempt to build a new relationship with the memory of their loved one between them. But as they both work through their grief, their relationship is threatened by many things…fear, anger, selfishness, even greed. As husband and wife tend to their needs to survive the numbing loss, one of them must become acutely aware of these threats in order to change their fate.    

A few facts about this story: 11:11 comes from the idea of what it might mean to see a particular number again and again, which is what occurs to my character, Anna, while she's dealing with the loss of her child along with a fractured marriage. This is a story where I thought I knew what was going to happen to the protagonist, but she surprised me and ultimately, the ending did as well. It's stories like this, and characters who determine their own fate above what I believe I have in store for them, that continue to make writing such an enjoyable calling.

I hope you take the opportunity to obtain your free copy and if you do and you enjoy the story, please remember to leave a review on Amazon. Every single review helps immensely.

Thanks & enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

      

The top 3 things I’ll focus on this November

I’m a self-proclaimed klutz and it’s not uncommon for me to wind up with bruises and no memory of how I got them. My husband just shakes his head when he hears me exclaim after stubbing a toe or running my leg into the corner of a table or slamming my arm into a door frame. Actual falling, fortunately, isn’t usual for me but I have to stay on guard to avoid completely tripping and landing flat on my face or back. 

I enjoy this time of year when “falling back” has nothing to do with my inability to walk a straight line or avoid hitting a solid object. When falling back gives me the opportunity to sleep in, even though I’m getting up at the normal time, and when it allows the day to move just a bit slower each time I realize it’s not as late as I think it is.

Gaining that extra hour is just one more bonus to this, my favorite time of year, along with fuzzy socks, hot drinks, cozy blankets while watching movies and the beautiful array of colors outside as the trees shed their summer coats.

Today I’m using the extra hour to soak in what a good month October was, as I review what I have mapped out for the month of November. As noted in my last post, October was going well, both with my writing and my personal life, and the trend continued with a high word count the last full week of the month and fun times celebrating Halloween.

To keep up with the trend, I expect good things from the month of November. So far, the month has begun with another book event of my own at the annex of a local church. This was a first for me as far as venues go, so I wasn’t sure what to expect and while it worked out a bit differently than other events, I enjoyed what turned in to a type of round table discussion. I answered questions and discussed my books and my writing life, but each of the ladies who attended also added to the discussion as it pertained to their lives, their pets or their work history, whether they were currently working or living on retirement. One of those in attendance was formerly employed by the sheriff’s office, is now currently working as an investigator for the state and also has rescue dogs, so she and I had quite a lot to chat about. Another brought her little dog to the event, and for awhile that small dog stole the show with how adorable it was. I feel good about the fact that as I continue to hold book events, I can still be pleasantly surprised by how the events turn out. There really are no dull moments when it comes to this writing life and because I’m starting out the month with a grateful journal, I’ll place that in the number one spot.

I’ve decided that the rest of November I will focus on three things: writing, health/wellness and family. I had thought of entering NaNoWriMo this year but after some reflection on what that would mean for me, I decided this year was not a good time to join. NaNoWriMo requires 50,000 words to win and I’m about three-quarters of the way through my fifth Jorja mystery, so I won’t need 50,000 words to complete the novel. Also, I think NaNoWriMo is better suited to jumping in head first on a new novel and I can’t justify setting aside my current WIP just to join the challenge. I’ll continue to write as I have been, knowing that I should be able to look forward to a completed first draft by the end of November. Hooray!

Instead of joining the NaNoWriMo challenge, I decided to join two other challenges that will focus on health and wellness. The first will focus on a new fitness routine and tips that I can use throughout the month, which is much needed when holiday foods can cause havoc on the scale and I’d prefer to enjoy holiday gatherings without counting calories. The other challenge involves making time for some soul care and includes keeping a gratitude journal, meditation, prayer and fasting. After all the fixings of a turkey dinner at the end of the month, I’m sure I’ll be more than ready for some fasting.

Those two challenges won’t take much from me or require too much of my time during the day, but each will benefit me greatly during this season and while I continue to focus on taking care of myself while I also keep up with my weekly word count.

Last, but certainly not least, I look forward to time spent with family. Each day is a good opportunity to make memories, which is something I’ll take advantage of when I can and continue to be grateful for. It’s also what I’ll end this post on so that I can add it to today’s grateful list.

Have a great day and a great(ful) week!