December Reflections - 2019 - Thank you

The prompt for today is "Thank you for..." and I'd like to take the opportunity to thank you all for reading and commenting on my posts this year.  Between my Blogger site and the WordPress edition I've had over 3000 comments, likes and views and about 200 followers.  Not that the numbers really matter, it just surprises me that so many people not related to me actually take an interest in what I have to say.  In fact, the people who ARE related to me don't even take that much interest - LOL.  

I'd also like to thank:

Linda G. Hill for her fun challenges:  Just Jot It January, The Escapist Coloring Club, One Liner Wednesday and Stream of Consciousness Saturday.  I know that it takes a lot to keep these going strong year after year and I appreciate the opportunity to play along.  

Jim Adams for continuing the Song Lyric Sunday musical roundup.  It is such fun to hear everyone's different picks each week.  

   

Arlee Bird, John Holton and the rest of the A to Z Challenge team.  I'm starting to worry if I'll be able to come up with something fun this year.  I have no clue yet.  

James J. Cudney, IV for his continued support of my blog AND my Etsy Shop.

Susannah Conway for her wonderful prompts in April (April Love - which I actually haven't been doing since I started the A to Z), August Break and December Reflections.  

Mary at Jingle, Jangle, Jungle for the Rocktober Music Fest.  I participated this year for the first time and it was fun. 

I know that it is easier for me to write when I have the prompts and inspiration from these great folks and I know I get more views when I link up with them.  

Thanks again to all of you for visiting me!  Looking forward to more fun next year.  2020 is so much easier to type than 2019 don't you think?  

December Reflections - 2019 - #SoCS Edition

Lovely Linda tells us to use the word "Year" in our posts today, any way we like.  I am going to talk about reading goals for the year.  I said a few posts ago that I am not going to make my 40 as I am on 34 with James Cudney's Haunted House Ghost, the signed book I won in his contest!  I'm okay with that and I'm keeping the goal at 40 for 2020.  I love the way Goodreads keeps tally of your reading year for you.  I have added their results to my yearly reading Pinterest board.   

I generally do the PopSugar Reading Challenge every year.  I am also going to add the Modern Mrs. Darcy's Challenge to give me some more options.

But, the most fun I'm going to have is by trying to scratch off as many of these as I can:

This is the scratch off chart I got for Christmas from my daughter.  It is 100 Essential Novels.  I have already scratched off 3, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and 1984 but that's because I just read them in the last few months.  There are others on here I have read before but I'm not going to scratch them until I read them again.  Some of them I've never heard of.  Pretty sure it's going to take me more than one year to read all these.  I know a few of them are long ones.

Pop Charts makes a lot of different scratch off posters like this.  My daughter got one for her sister that was of 100 movies.  I also saw one that I almost got for my husband that was of all the major league ballparks.  Kind of fun to track your progress that way don't you think? 

December Reflections - 2019

The good news is I have a lot more transcription lately and I am busy in the studio getting ready for one more show this weekend.  The bad news is that I am not having time to post here daily.  I am keeping up pretty much with the December Reflection posts on Instagram so if you don't follow me there, you should! 

For December 2 the prompt was Sparkle.  I used a sampling of my bling-bling.  I use these treasures on all kinds of projects. 





Day 3 was Best day of 2019.  I've had a lot of really great days but I guess one of the most interesting ones was the day we picked out our Benny.  This is a picture my hubby took of him recently when they went to the park.  Isn't he cute?




Day 4 was white and I didn't post anything but I guess I could say, "See above."

Today is Favorite book of 2019.  I've read 32 books so far and I have to say that the books on Freddie Mercury and Phil Collins were the at the top of the list. 

Also the books from my friend, James J. Cudney.  Kind of special saying I know the author! 

 I am @scr4pl80 (stands for scrap lady) on Instagram if you want to follow me there.  #decemberreflections2019 is the tag.   Tomorrow is Angel.  Maybe I'll take a selfie 😂

November Novelties - 2019 - Grateful Edition

I sincerely hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday with their families and friends.  Ours was very small and low key since our eldest daughter spent the day with one of her friends and my mom spent it with my sister and her family.  That meant there was only the four of us and to be honest, we didn't even sit at the table, we ate in the living room but at least we were together.  I took only one picture:

I also ate a few more carbs than I usually allow myself but I just can't resist the stuffing and cranberry sauce.  Today it will be pretty much back to my usual eating although I may still have some stuffing, just won't stuff myself - LOL.

I have a whole list of things I am grateful for, as I'm sure everyone does.  I try to remember them even when it is not Thanksgiving.  In addition to those, I am really grateful that I connected with my famous author friend, James J. Cudney, IV.  He has done a great service by featuring me in his latest blog "Tips and Advice" post.  It is wonderful to have people support you in your endeavors and Jay is gracious about doing that.  If you haven't read any of his books, you really should.  You can find them all on Amazon and I believe he has some specials going on.

Also, I am grateful for the partnership I have had for the last 15 or so years with JoAnn Wall of JSTS Transcription Services.  We met at a picnic organized by a mutual friend, Gloria Merino, and we started discussing what our jobs were.  We found that we both did transcription work.  Mine is primarily medical transcription and hers is more general transcription.  She asked if I wanted her to send medically related transcription requests to me and of course I said yes.  Since then we have been working together and recently, as my medical work has been decreasing, she started sending other types of work my way.  It has truly made a difference.  There is a learning curve of course but the topics are interesting and I feel like I can handle the challenge.

Each of these connections came totally by accident.  You never know where a chance meeting will take you.  It's that Universe thing again, you know?

Now it is my turn to share.  I am an affiliate for several different companies and while I may receive some compensation if you use my links, it doesn't affect the prices for you.

The first is Creative Live.




There are so many interesting online courses in a variety of subjects including photography, writing, money, crafting and personal growth.  I have taken a few of them and have found them to be very helpful and informative.  Through today they are offering 70% off but they have specials all the time and even offer some classes for free.

CreativeLive Black Friday Deals: Take 70% Off Sitewide

The second is Let's Roam.  This is a scavenger hunt type adventure that you can take.  We did the one in Reno and it was so much fun.

 https://www.letsroam.com/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=uwdsb5zx 
  
If you are looking for a unique gift for that hard to buy for person, consider these.  They are inexpensive and fun and there are a lot of different places and subjects to choose from. 

Grateful also for all of you who read my little tidbits.  Thanks! 

November Novelties - 2019 - Aw, Nuts

It is November now so of course I needed a new title for my blog posts.  I try to come up with something catchy each month but I don't want to duplicate so I was checking my archives to see what I had used in past Novembers:  Last year was "Noted in November."  I only posted 10 times though so in a few years maybe I'll bring that one back.  In 2017 it was "No, it Can't be November" but there was only 1 post!  In 2016 it was "A November to Remember" and I actually did pretty well with that one, posting 26 days.  When I went back to 2015 I had used "Nostalgic November" but as I scrolled down I saw that one of the posts had photos missing! 

Aw, nuts!  Looks like I have some cleaning up to do on the blog.  Maybe I'll rewrite some of them and delete the ones that have pictures missing.  Not exactly a fun undertaking since it could get very time consuming.  Still, I want to have a fully functional blog and if pictures are missing, maybe some links don't work either.



In other news, I am so honored that my author friend, James J. Cudney, IV., did a small write up about me in his newsletter this month!  He so generously linked to my Etsy site as well.  What a guy.  I've written about his wonderful mysteries and the latest one, Haunted House Ghost, came out this month.  I entered a contest to win a signed copy of the book and I DID! 


 

Doesn't the cover of the book look like a card I made recently?



Well, maybe not exactly but close.  Anyway, decided to use November Novelties as my title this year.  What do you think?  Do you clean up your blog once in a while?  Like a good mystery?  Lemme know!





Playing along with Linda's Stream of Consciousness Saturday too where the prompt is "nuts."

Sweet September - 2018 Reading Challenge

I've been posting lots about songs lately but I've also done some reading.  In fact, I'm over the goal of 25 books that I had set for myself at the beginning of the year.  True, some of those books were children's books that I read for the Children's Readathon hosted by Jay Cudney but I think that I'll have plenty of time to read "adult" books to equal that amount before the end of the year. 

Speaking of Mr. Cudney, the book I just finished was his latest book, "Father Figure."  This is his second book and it was very good.  It tells the tale of two girls set two decades apart and is told in alternating chapters.  It is very easy to read and you can follow the twists and turns in the story without problem.  He ties up the connections well, but not until the end. 

Coincidentally, he used my name for one of the characters!  I always love seeing my name in print, however, the character he gave my name to is one of the least likable in the book!  I mentioned it to Jay and he assured me that he "thinks" he had the name picked out before we became friends in the blog world and that he  I am nothing like the woman in his story - LOL.  I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more from James J. Cudney in the future.  He also wrote "Watching Glass Shatter" about another family with secrets and I'm hoping to hear more about the Glass family as well.  You can get his books as Kindle editions on Amazon but I prefer the hardcopy.  I used this book in my Challenge category of "Books with alliteration in the title."  Thanks, Jay!   

Before "Father Figure" I read another book about two girls, "Two Girls In Blue" by Mary Higgins Clark.  This is about the kidnapping of twin three-year-olds and the strong connection that they have in that when one of the girls is found alive and the other one is said to be dead, the one that is alive gives strong signals that her sister is still alive. 

I was interested in this book because my mother is a twin.  She has never said anything about getting such intense signals from my aunt and vice versa.  I do see how it might be possible, however, especially in such little girls.  I used this book to complete my "Book about twins" category.  

My current book is "A Common Struggle" by Patrick J. Kennedy.  I have always loved reading about the Kennedy Family.  I am not as familiar with the younger generation so when I saw this book on sale at Office Depot I decided to pick it up and give it a shot.  It tells the story of his journey through mental illness and addiction.  This family certainly has their share of issues, right?  

Happily, this will fill my category of "Book about mental illness."  Have you been reading any good books lately?  I still have a few categories to fill such as a book with weather in the title, a book with an ugly cover or a book published in 2018.  Suggestions?  

Just Jot January - 2018

Today's #JusJoJan is the word "Prediction" as suggested by Dar at Darswords. 

I have been known to use my Sherlock Holmes Tarot cards to peek into the future, but since I am the one reading the message, it is easy for me to make things fit into my world/expectations and make some predictions.   

One time I did have someone else read my cards as I was pregnant with our last child and at age 42 I was apprehensive about it.  There was a woman where I worked who offered to read my cards for me.  She said that the pregnancy was going to be fine (which it was) and asked me if I knew anyone named Aaron.  At the time I did not but many years later a family moved into the house next door and the husband's name was Aron.  She didn't actually predict that that would happen, but you have to admit that Aron is not as common a name as Mike or Joe, right?

Today, though, I am going to talk about a different kind of card and make my own prediction.  In this blogging world I've participated in several different "challenges" like the A to Z (coming soon!) and December Reflections and this #JusJoJan.  I have found many different blogs to read and have "met" some very interesting people from all over the place.  One of them was doing a 365 challenge of his own, James J. Cudney IV at This is My Truth Now and that of course caught my attention since I was doing my 365 picture project.  Jay and I started commenting on each other's posts and we really have a lot of things in common, although I am old enough to be his mother. 

Anyway, I try not to be too "markety" when it comes to talking about my Etsy shop and the cards and things I make but I do have the link on my site and do mention when I put up a new batch of cards or something that I am particularly proud of:

Recently Jay took advantage of one of those "nudges" and found some cards that he liked and purchased them.  Fortunately for me he liked them enough to make me/my shop the subject of one of his 365 posts!  Even though he recently experienced the loss of his dog, Ryder, he still took the time to communicate with me and get this blog out there.  You can read his kind words here.

My prediction from this card reading?  At least for today, I'm going to get a bit more traffic on my site, both here and Etsy.  That's kind of an easy prediction because he has a whole lot more followers than I do and even if only a handful of his followers take a look, it will be more than I usually get in a day :)  Thanks again, Jay.  I'm happy we connected. 

Side note:  Jay is an author and has written and published his first book, Watching Glass Shatter, which I read as part of my reading challenge last year.  It is a terrific story of a fractured family and I am looking forward to his next book and the short stories he is writing about the characters in WGS.  You should check that out too!

How about you?  Believe in Tarot?  Make any predictions?  Like to send cards?  Leave me a comment or "like" this post so I can see if my prediction comes true :)