New Year Blog Party!

New Year, Same You!

While 2019 is definitely a chance for all of us to make some improvements and to strive towards those (realistic) goals, ultimately, we are the same inside. And there is NOTHING wrong with you being you! So share all about yourself in the first Blog Party of 2019!

For those of you who are not aware what a blog party is let me break it down. Generally speaking, a blog party is an online gathering for bloggers of all kinds to meet and engage with one another.

Here are some simple rules:

1. First off, everyone is welcome to participate in this Blog Party (even if you do not currently follow me, although I would LOVE it if you did!) -> If you are a new follower of my blog, say hi and let me know so that I remember to drop by your blog and check you out.
2. Leave a Comment! Say hi and tell us who you are and what your blog is about. Feel free to leave a link connecting back to your blog’s home page or to your favorite or most recent blog post! (Post this only once please.)
3. Mix and Mingle! This is where the party begins. I am blessed to have nearly 2,000 followers and this is a great opportunity for many of my friends to meet each other. You guys are amazing and I think a lot of you would enjoy meeting and following one another.

1. Remember, you never have to follow anyone just because they follow you. However, it is good manners to always return a page visit for a page visit. Did someone stop by your blog, like or leave a comment? Do the same for them! It only takes a minute.
2. Don’t forget to REBLOG! Spread the fun by encouraging your own followers to join in the party! This is the best way to attract new bloggers by spreading the word.

Happy New Year Everyone! What are some of your 2019 resolutions? Did you put up a New Year’s post? Leave it in the comments 😀

This Blog Party will be held and moderated exclusively Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so don’t miss out!

 

Blogmas Contest Winners & See you in the New Year

Before I announce the winner I would just like to say thank you to everyone who participated. You guys really did what I asked and engaged with one another in the comment section. I literally just sat here smiling while reading all the comments on one another’s posts. So thank you for being a part of this blogmas community this December!

Now, to the contest!

There were many great submissions but my top three included:

3. McGee Travel Tale’s “Hot Chocolate” recipe! Because who doesn’t love hot chocolate?

2. Ivor’s “My Lost Sock, A Christmas Story.” Because it brings together harsh reality and light-hearted whimsy!

That mean the winner is . . .

Dorinda Duclos from Night Owl Poetry!

Not only is her poem wonderful, but I absolutely adore it’s structuring. Check it out here and be sure to stop by her blog!

The
Yuletide
Spirit shines
Glows in our hearts
Brings us warmth within
Our home, filled to the brim
With love, family gathers
Exchanging hugs instead of gifts
Relating stories of days long past
Memories to share for generations

 

Thank you again folks to everyone who participated! I hope that you all had wonderful Christmases.

 

As for me, this will be my last post of 2018.

As you all know, life has been more complicated lately and I need the next week or so to simply address some of these difficulties in my life. My family deserves my full attention and honestly, my body needs some self-care. I plan on coming back strong in the 2019 and plan to see you all again in the New Year!

Writing Tip: Manage your Expectations

Did you know that recently it has been announced that what kills marriages faster than anything else is unmet expectations?

This blog is not about marriages, however, I think this applies directly to our writing. With the New Year recently upon us, how many of you have made resolutions? How many of us had made resolutions to finish that book? To publish that book? To turn that book into a movie and become insanely famous? (No one, just me?) Anyhoo . . .

The point is, in our writing we must manage our expectations. 

Writing is hard and making a break through in the industry is even harder, some might say that it is nearly impossible. So I am encouraging you to “make resolutions” and to set goals for your writing, but in doing so, make them realistic!

• Set yourself real goals that you truly can accomplish!
  • Here are some examples:
    • Write Every Day (even if it’s just for 5 minutes)
    • Try to hit a word count every day (even if it’s 20 words).
    • Try to finish as much as that book as possible (even if it’s not the whole thing.)
    • Send out queries to multiple publication houses (but don’t stop writing, waiting to hear back)
• Don’t give yourself unrealistic expectations.
  • Here are some examples:
    • Starting and Finishing that new idea for a book and having it picked up within the year (yes it can happen, but it doesn’t often)
    • Becoming a millionaire with your first book (Suzanne Collins wrote amazing books for YEARS and was not known until her latest series).

So this year, be kind to yourself and be honest with your writing. Expect that some days will be more productive than others and set realistic expectations.

Happy Writing Everyone!

***If you enjoyed today’s tip, be sure to check out more under the “Writing Tip” tab on my main menu. Have any questions about writing? Feel free to ask in the comment section!

 

Derek Harvey has a great article expectations in marriage if any of you are interested in reading the article.

Happy New Year Everyone! An Update on my Blog

Happy New Year Everyone!

It’s the first day of a New Year, do you have any special plans? Maybe you have some new resolutions in your personal life. As for me, I’m making some new resolutions for my blog life.

 

I was recently engaged to the love of my life and over the next year I will be planning a wedding, that being said, I have one more aspect of my life that needs attention. I love the WordPress community and all the people I have met here, but I will have to cut down on the time I spend online because as I said, I will be planning a wedding.

That being said, do not fear, I am not leaving! I am only reducing my time online this year. Instead of posting every day, I plan to post 3-5 times a week and only on the week days. I will still be around reading and commenting on your blogs, but I may not be as present.

At the end of 2017 . . .

I graduated from college with my Master’s degree and got engaged all within a matter of days. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic year.

He made this sign for our proposal ❤

Now, as 2018 begins . . .

I will be teaching college English, finishing my first book and hopefully publishing it toward the end of the year, and planning a wedding. This is an extremely important, wonderful, and crazy time of my life and I am so glad that I can express myself here.

So, Happy New Year everyone!

I pray that you all will have an incredible year!

 

 

New Years Eve: History and Traditions

Happy New Years Eve!

If you’re anything like me, you might be interested in the history of things. So here we go about a brief history of New Years Eve!

• In 46 B.C. Emperor Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar which included January 1st as the first day of the new year. Caesar chose January partly to honor the month’s namesake: Janus – the Roman god of beginnings. This god was most known by his two faces, one that looked into the past and one that looked into the future. Even back then, Romans celebrated by exchanging gifts, decorating their homes, hosting wild parties, and offering sacrifices to Janus (I’m glad we don’t do that one anymore).

• It was Pope Gregory XIII that firmly establish January 1 as New Year’s Day in 1582.

Traditions

• In Spain people eat a dozen grapes to symbolize their hopes for the new year right before midnight.
• In many places legumes are considered to resemble coins and foretell financial stability. That’s why people in Italy eat lentils and people in the United States eat black-eyed peas. (While I don’t believe that black-eyed peas will actually do anything for me, my great-grandma did and so every year we eat some to honor her memory).
• In the United States, the most famous tradition on New Year’s Eve is the dropping of a giant, fabulous, lit-up ball in New York’s City’s Time Square at midnight.

• In places such as Cuba, Austria, Hungary, and Portugal people eat pigs because they represent progress and prosperity.
• Other nations such as Mexico, Netherlands, and Greece eat ring-shaped cakes and pastries to signify that the year has come full circle.
• In Sweden and Norway, people hide an almond in rice pudding and whoever finds the almond expects to have a fantastic New Year!
• Are you making New Year’s Resolutions? You can thank the ancient Babylonians for that! They were the first to make promises in order to earn the favor of the gods.

 

Well, there you have it, a brief history and some really interesting traditions! What are YOUR family traditions? Are you making any New Year’s resolutions?

Please remember to be safe tonight and if you are drinking, do not drive. Buzzed driving IS drunk driving. And that is not a way to start the New Year.

For more on New Year’s Eve History, click here.