Tia Silverthorne Bach's Blog, page 90

Like First Grade Basketball: ROW80 Check In

Parenting is full of twists and turns and the unexpected. I'm constantly amazed by how little I know. Every time I think I'm ahead of the curve, a new challenge pops up. I'm not complaining. It's hard, but it's also taught me a lot about myself and about life. I knew I'd be expected to teach them, but I'm overwhelmed by how much they teach me.

Today, my baby girl played her first game of basketball after only two practices. She's been dribbling her ball all over the place and begging her dad to practice with her.

She gave it her all during the game, and refused to allow the much bigger boys to intimidate her. The whole ride home she was trying to convince her dad to buy the family a basketball hoop.

Her enthusiasm was contagious. I'm always planning and assessing. What's the best use of my time, what task makes most sense to do first, what path is the most effective? I forget to just take the ball and play my heart out.

Writing is full of much bigger authors and lots of players. But there's no reason to be intimidated. I need to write, pour all my creative juices into it. Because if I do, I'll be happy and excited to play again. There's a place for planning and strategizing, especially as you gain skills and ability, but you need to love the game.

In the end...

"It does not matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up." Vince Lombardi
My ROW80 Update

It's Sunday. Time for an update on my ROW80 progress.

Writing: Going really well so far. Thursday through Saturday resulted in 1,667 words, so I'm keeping with my 500 word per day goal. I'd like another 1,500+ words by Wednesday's check in.

Blogging: Posting daily here. My Thursday review of Stephen King's On Writing was featured on BlogHer. *I'm dancing* And I posted three times on Mom in Love with Fiction.

Reading: In addition to the 2012 To Be Read (TBR) Pile Challenge, I'm participating in The Stephen King Project. I'm still hoping to add at least one more 2012 reading challenge. Any suggestions?

Editing: Fell behind, but planning to catch up this week.

Exercise: Staying on track. It's helped that we've had warm, non-January weather lately and I love getting outdoors to exercise. And I'm getting a handle on sugar.

Social Media: Doing better, but it's so hard to unplug. I need to take my laptop to a building with no wireless signal.

Hope everyone else is keeping the momentum going.

Check out other ROW80 participants here.

You Can't Get Anywhere if You Don't Start

During the month of January, I'm participating in BlogHer's NaBloPoMo. The goal is to blog daily. Monday through Friday there are prompts if you need them, and the whole month has the theme of Beginnings.

Friday's prompt intrigued me: Do you wish the start of the year was in a different season? Which one?

Changing the season wouldn't change the concept. Beginnings are a fresh start, but I often place high expectations on new ideas. Every January 1st, I think about the year ahead. What do I want to accomplish? What can I do differently to make this year successful?

Ideas and goals sprout from many different directions. There's hope, and hope is an amazing motivator. The hard part is maintaining the energy when life starts throwing obstacles in your way.

No matter which season you pick as a starting point, you still have to start. The hardest part of any run for me is getting started. Most days, I put on my workout clothes first thing. I'm embarrassed to admit how many times I end the day in those very clothes without exercising. I promise myself I'll do a couple of tasks first and then go for a run. All of the sudden, anything looks better than running... laundry, dishes, cleaning house, writing posts.

The trick is to just do it. Go first thing, limit the excuses. But it's also making it through the first mile. My body needs time to adjust, and so does my mind. Usually, if can get past mile one, I find my zone. By the end, I'm glad I did it.

The start is all about mentally preparing. So really any month is a starting point, and new goals can start anytime. You just have to put one foot in front of the other.

The Hardest Part is Starting

During the month of January, I'm participating in BlogHer's NaBloPoMo. The goal is to blog daily. Monday through Friday there are prompts if you need them, and the whole month has the theme of Beginnings.

Friday's prompt intrigued me: Do you wish the start of the year was in a different season? Which one?

Changing the season wouldn't change the concept. Beginnings are a fresh start, but I often place high expectations on new ideas. Every January 1st, I think about the year ahead. What do I want to accomplish? What can I do differently to make this year successful?

Ideas and goals sprout from many different directions. There's hope, and hope is an amazing motivator. The hard part is maintaining the energy when life starts throwing obstacles in your way.

No matter which season you pick as a starting point, you still have to start. The hardest part of any run for me is getting started. Most days, I put on my workout clothes first thing. I'm embarrassed to admit how many times I end the day in those very clothes without exercising. I promise myself I'll do a couple of tasks first and then go for a run. All of the sudden, anything looks better than running... laundry, dishes, cleaning house, writing posts.

The trick is to just do it. Go first thing, limit the excuses. But it's also making it through the first mile. My body needs time to adjust, and so does my mind. Usually, if can get past mile one, I find my zone. By the end, I'm glad I did it.

The start is all about mentally preparing. So really any month is a starting point, and new goals can start anytime. You just have to put one foot in front of the other.

Knowing When Enough is Enough

"You're being unreasonable." Something I say way too often thanks to my lovely children. But unreasonable people lurk everywhere. I often wonder, did their parents never tell them they were unreasonable? As a result, their sense of reason continued to get more and more skewed. Or, is reason beyond some people's abilities?

My friend and I started a group of girls under a national organization. We love the group, and the organization has overall been helpful and supportive. My friend and I started off with high expectations and wanting to make all the girls and parents, as well as the organization, happy.

Now we realize our mistake.

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." Bill Cosby
You cannot make everybody happy all of the time. And in most cases, it's all you can do to make some people happy some of the time. In the end, you give your best and base your decisions in kindness and move forward.

I won't get into specifics, I've read the headlines about bloggers getting in trouble, but we dealt with a parent that only got more demanding as we got more accommodating. The cycle was never going to end. When we wised up and stopped, the mother panicked. We were her lackeys, and she was losing us. She went up the chain. Thankfully the chain supported us and we have parted ways.

But it taught me a valuable lesson. I only have so much energy in this world, and I need to conserve as much of it as possible for my family and true friends. My children alone use up 75-80% of it. But they are worth it!

This goes back to my original point... you can't reason with unreasonable people. You can try, but it takes an awesome amount of energy and rarely offers results. The more you give, the more the taker will take.

I'm in no way suggesting you give to get. But, we all must realize that giving drains us and we can't do it to our, or our family's, detriment. At some point, like it or not, the rubber band snaps.

My new resolution (well-timed with a new year, but I'd be making it regardless): give wholeheartedly, but stop short of giving past the point of reason.

What's your best technique for dealing with unreasonable demands or unreasonable people?

On Stephen King: Reviewing his On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

January, a new year, time for making commitments and beginning anew. My ultimate goal for 2012 is to publish our follow up to Depression Cookies , but I need to jumpstart my writing after a holiday filled with children, festivities, friends, and fun, but little writing.

My goal most of last year was to read a writing craft book, and Stephen King's On Writing came up time and time again. I had never read anything by King, but figured an author who had written over 50 books and sold millions must have something important to say. Because I'm easily terrified, King's books were never at the top of my to be readlist. He is now, for many reasons.

To start, I love the wayhis words seem to convey meaning with such ease. As I was reading about hisbackground and approach to writing, I felt like I was sitting next to him onthe front porch while he talked. His childhood was by no means easy, and hepoints out the effect it had on his writing. If I was a betting woman, I'd saythis book only scratches the surface of stories Stephen King could tell youabout his younger years.

But I didn't read this bookto find out more about Stephen King. I wanted to find out more about hisprocess as a writer. Turns out, his advice is simplebut crucial: writers need to read, and read a lot, and they need to write. Hissuggestion: write 1,000 words a day. King states that he writes every day except forChristmas and his birthday, but quickly admits to writing even then. Everysingle day. It's a way of life for him. Even after his near-fatal accident, hewas back to writing, might even say it saved him.

He also emphasizes the needto understand and use correct grammar and punctuation. He illustrates this bydefining the essential tools in a writer's toolbox: vocabulary and grammar (he recommendsThe Elements of Style by Strunk andWhite several times). I completely agree. Too often, a good story isovershadowed by horrible editing. At the end of the book he gives an example ofa piece and his edits. I will be referring to it often.

King said what I needed tohear to kickstart my 2012 writing, but don't read this for specific examples onhow to be a better writer. His second foreword clears that up right away: "Thisis a short book because most books about writing are filled with bullshit.Fiction writers, present company included, don't understand very much aboutwhat they do—not why it works when it's good, not why it doesn't when it'sbad."
                  
I'll admit, I might be abit biased about this book. King declares, "You may wonder where plot is in allthis. The answer—my answer, anyway—is nowhere. I won't try to convince you thatI've never plotted any more than I'd try to convince you that I've never told alie, but I do both as infrequently as possible." I try to plot, truly I do, butI find myself drawn to just writing and seeing where the story leads me. King'swords comforted me—I have to be the writer I am.

I'll leave youwith King's words, "You learn best by reading a lot and writing a lot, and themost valuable lessons of all are the ones you teach yourself."

I highly recommend thisbook to several groups: people who love a good story, King devotees, andwriters looking for a kick in the butt, old-school style.

What craft book made you want to be a better writer?

Eyes on the Prize: ROW 80 Check In

It's easy to get psyched up about a new year and new goals. The adrenaline of change is pumping through my veins. I know I can do it. But the trick is feeling that way in February, March, April... heck even by the end of January.

I want to go the distance this year, and not run out of steam because I sprinted out of the gate. Focus is always a problem for me, so I'm determined to sterilize my workspace. To that end, I've decided to:

DECLUTTER

When my desk is overly cluttered, I see piles of things that need to be done. I'll look up to think of a word, and this happens more than I care to admit, and the checkbook will start screaming at me to pay bills. Now I have a three-tier tray system, and I've organized papers there in order of priority. The checkbook is hiding in the desk drawer.

ANTICIPATE

I always have my water bottle, phone, paper, pens, etc. surrounding me when I sit down to work. Nothing is more distracting than having to get up to get something. As soon as I walk away from my desk, I notice the clothes in the dryer need folding, the dog needs water, etc. I'd ditch the phone, but if it rings, I have to know if it's a child puking at school, and getting up to find out wastes valuable time.

UNPLUG

The Internet and social media sites are so provocative. They suck me in. I'm like a small child in a toy store, it's sad. I sit down to write, but tell myself I'll take a quick look at email, Facebook, Twitter, blah, blah, blah. Problem is... there is no such thing as a quick look. I'm trying to stick to a new rule this year: check email/social media for an hour first thing in the morning, mid-day (just before the kids come tearing in the house), and in the evening. I'm currently suffering withdrawal symptoms, so we'll see how this goes.

ALLOCATE

I'm breaking down work into manageable time chunks. I'll set my phone to beep after an hour on task, and I'll take a break. The break might be lunch or it might be thirty minutes checking social media or switching over to reading/editing. I even time my breaks.

FINISH

This might all sound a bit overkill, but I know how easily distracted I am from tasks by other tasks. I tend to overcommit myself. Since I'm flitting from obligation to obligation (it's not like I'm rushing off to do something fun), I think I'm accomplishing more. In fact, I accomplish less because I never finish one thing before heading to the other. Some finishing points are obvious: post is done, edited a chapter, paid bills. Others I try to predefine, like write until the scene's done or the chapter's finished.

(Note: more times than I care to admit, my husband comes home from work to find the dishwasher half-emptied, half the groceries put away, half the dry clothes folded, etc.)

If you are a focused individual, I'm jealous. If you are more like me, I hope some of these tips help you with all those freshly made New Year's Resolutions.

What's your best tip for maintaining focus?

My ROW80 Update

Checking in only one day after posting my goals is a bit of a letdown. It would be like getting on the scale one day after starting a diet. Not much to report, and I want to be able to shout my achievements from the rooftops because I'm stoked to get going. But it's a start...

Writing: I wrote just over 500 words today and yesterday. Definitely heading in the right track.

Blogging: Posting daily here and posted Monday and Wednesday on Mom in Love with Fiction, so meeting my goals. I have been getting around to comment on the ROW80 goals posts. So excited to see 120+ participants. Wow!

Editing: Getting my stuff together. I have four projects going on right now, and all are stretching me in wonderful ways. I've even managed not to edit my own words (except for blog posts).

Exercise: Two for two. Sugar, well...

And, I'm adding a social media goal. My goal is to actually spend LESS time on social media, but use my time more effectively. See reasoning above.

Hope everyone is off to a great start!

In the Mighty Words of King: ROW 80 Goals

I barely know what to dowith myself on Wednesdays and Sundays when A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80)takes a break. Luckily, it's time to start again. ROW80 is the "writingchallenge that knows you have a life." But it doesn't mean life gets to be an excuse.

And my apologies… this postis a day late, but for good reason. Yesterday I hosted my fellow ROW80 writer,Elizabeth Ann West, here. She talked about resolutions and gave away copies ofher book. If you missed it, check out the post. It's a tour, so you can stillget copies on other stops.

I recently finished readingStephen King's On Writing: A Memoir ofthe Craft. I will post a detailed review soon. For now, I want to share howhe influenced me:

GoodWriters Read. I'vealways believed this, but King drove home the point. To that end, I have uppedmy reading goals as defined below.

WriteEvery Day. King says hewrites every day except Christmas and his birthday, but quickly admits the truth.He writes even then. I admire this kind of work ethic. He reminded me that thewords may suck, but you have to get them down.

He also convinced me tofinally succumb and read one of his books. I received 11/22/63: A Novel for Christmas, so it will be my first King.

I'm also committed togrowing my freelance work, both in writing and editing, and writing frequent blog postshere and on my Mom in Love with Fiction blog.

Did I mention I'm a ROW80sponsor? This is my second sponsor gig in a row. I love it. It's another way tomeet some wonderful writers and learn, learn, learn.

But let's get to it, themeat of the matter.

MY GOALS

Writing – I will write 500 words minimum daily.Thanks Stephen King and Kait Nolan. This is my "test mile" as Kait soeloquently explained here.If I get 500 words and nothing's falling into place, I still have 500 words andI tried. I'm hoping for more, but I want to write daily and stick to it, so I'mstarting small.

Blogging – Daily here (thanks to BlogHer'sNaBloPoMo and the Ultimate Blog Challenge) and three times a week at Mom inLove with Fiction. This writing will not count toward my 500 goal, but I dothink it's beneficial. I also owe Kait Nolan a ROW80 sponsor postthis week!

Reading – I'm committed to more reading, becauseI know it makes me a better writer. To that end, I have joined the 2012 To BeRead (TBR) Pile Challenge, and I plan to join a couple more before the end ofJanuary. I'm still weighing my options, but I'll be posting updates by Sunday'scheck in. Plus, in addition to reviewing for Rebecca's Reads, I'll also be a partof the WoMen's Literary Café Review Team.

Editing – I will edit a minimum of one chapter aday on various projects. I am doing freelance editing, and I need to stay ontop of it. I love to edit, but it sometimes hampers my own writing (editing toomuch instead of letting the words flow). Maybe by focusing daily on editingother people's work, I'll shake the need to edit my own… for now.

Exercise – Daily, someform. It's New Year's resolution time after all. And sugar, you've wormed yourway back into my diet… good-bye!

Finally, my ultimate goal…lean in close and don't tell too many people… we will publish our follow up to Depression Cookies this year. Notice will, not want to. And now that I've toldyou, you'll keep me honest. Right?

Wishing you all the best onyour goals. Let's kick it in 2012!

Visit the other fine ROW80participants listed below:

Resolutions and a Giveaway: Welcome Elizabeth Ann West, Author of CANCELLED

Please welcome the lovely Elizabeth Ann West. I met Elizabeth through ROW80 and immediately was drawn to her posts and willingness to share knowledge.

I am thrilled to have her guest posting today and offering my readers copies of her novel, CANCELLED.

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I met Tia through a wonderful goal making program forwriters called A Round of Words in 80 Days. I am very thankful she has invitedme to her blog Depression Cookies, and I'm here for two things. We'regoing to talk about resolutions and at the end, I have a special gift for herreaders: a free, autographed ebook in the format of their choice of my debutnovel, CANCELLED.

CANCELLED is the result of my 2011 New Year'sResolution. I published the novel on September 13, 2011, a whole three monthsahead of my beginning of the year deadline. The journey wasn't easy, but Iwanted to share how I did it, and how you can apply the same logic toaccomplishing your resolutions for 2012!!

I CAN SUCK

You have to give yourself permission to suck. Once youaren't hung up on missing one deadline, or one workout, it becomes much easierto shed the guilt. Without the guilt of falling short, it's easier to startback up where you left off.

I took nearly 30 days off from writing CANCELLED right aftermaking it to about 35,000 words. Old me would have never finished that project.Instead, I didn't feel guilty about what I didn't do and focused on "Wow, I'vewritten 35,000 words. Can I make it to 50,000?"

JOURNEYS, NOT DEADLINES

In the same vein of being allowed to suck, think of yourresolution as a journey. Every journey has highs of new experiences and lows oflost luggage. If your journey takes a little longer than anticipated, that'sokay. I repeat, it is OKAY to take longer than you expected! I planned tofinish CANCELLED by May 31, 2011. Then I moved it to the middle of June. Itfinally took a weekend of me saying "We're done here" and jamming out 18,000words in 72 hours. My fingers are still angry with me.

If you only work with deadlines, where's your overtime? Goodresolutions map out over the entire year. If you miss a self-imposed deadline,don't sweat it. You've just moved into overtime where points count double!

MEH, MEASURE

We all hear how you must measure your goals. Thatusually translates to something like this: I'm going to work out X times perweek. I'm going to only have X cups of coffee/cigarettes/Hershey's Kisses withAlmonds. I'm going to write X blog posts per week. And so on. Sorry, but thatkind of measurement is NO FUN!

A fun way to measure is to count up! That's right. Notworkout three times a week, but accrue 100 workouts between now and April (andif I miss it, then there's OVERTIME). Or, I'm going to put a smiley in myplanner every time I wanted a cup of coffee/cigarette/Hershey's Kiss withAlmonds and substituted something healthier. When I get 100 smileys, I'm goingto see a movie I want to see/Disneyland/buy an ereader. Focus on what you do,not what you haven't done... yet.

CHANGE YOUR VERNACULAR

"I'm going to" isn't very convincing. You might get toit... eventually. You know when absolutely nothing else exciting or interestingis available? Can't tell I've been there, can you?

To get through the tougher parts of writing my novel, Ichanged my mantra to "I want/I need/I am." I want to write this novel. I needto finish this novel. I AM finishing this novel because I'm theboss. That's right, you're the boss. Don't make your resolution a "would benice" to accomplish. Make it a goal you have wanted your entire life, or atleast longer than the last 15 minutes that you've been thinking about it. Makeit a goal that when you wake up in the morning, you're proud to work on it. Yougrin, uncontrollably, when you share a small success.

If your New Year's Resolution is an accomplishment otherswant from you, such as weight-loss or quitting an unhealthy habit, don'tbother. Only once you reach the point of needing to adopt a resolution'soutcome to your identity will you reach success. I was encouraged to write abook as early as 2009, but it wasn't until 2011 that I felt a NEED to writeone. It's YOUR 2012, not anyone else's.

So what are my 2012 New Year's Resolutions?

Me first.

I'm hiring a personal assistant. I've always wanted one, andthis year, I'm getting one. I'm calling her Gacinda. Meet Gacinda, she's alsoknown as Google Calendar. I tested using Google Calendar over the last fewmonths and I liked receiving reminders in my email for things I need to do. Ifelt important. I didn't feel like a stay-at-home-Mommy. So yes, I'm loading laundry,vacuuming, and writing time into my Google Calendar and Gacinda will alert me.(I'm pretty sure I can get her to text my phone, too. I'm so going to be a"home executive" this year!).

I'm counting up to 100 yoga workouts. By May, I'd like tohave 100 workouts and then I'll tack on walks.

I am writing a sequel to CANCELLED, 1 novella, and 3 shortstories.

I want to be proud of the food I put in my body, so by June,I'd like to eliminate most processed foods from my family's diet (we're notgoing crazy, but I'm going to stop buying boxed mixes and use more fresh herbsand spices and ingredients we can spell).

My big challenge this year? I'm co-writing my first novelwith Saffina Desforges, the best-selling author of Sugar and Spice and the RedRose series.
So here's to an awesome 2012 for all of us!
WIN MY BOOK

I have two different giveaways.

First, everyone who leaves THEIR New Year'sResolution for 2012 below in the comments wins a free, signed ebook of mynovel, CANCELLED.

Just let me know who you would like it signed to and whichformat you prefer (.mobi or .epub). You can either leave your email below, orI can ask Tia to help me make sure you get the copy. :)

[Note: To sideload the file to your ereader, you will need aUSB connection from your computer to the ereader. It came with the device, oryou can get one at a superstore for a few bucks. You need a mini USB to USBcable. :) Once you plug it in, your computer will recognize the ereader like anyportable device, and you just copy the file over into a folder probably labeledbooks.]

I also have a monthly newsletter sign-up on my site.Each week of my Virtual Book Signing Tour I am randomly drawing the name of onenew subscriber. He or she wins a signed, annotated copy of CANCELLED!

Thank you again for having me visit Depression Cookies.This is a great blog, and I'm excited to see what Tia has in store for it in2012! And if you missed the giveaway because you're visiting on another day,you can see the entire schedule for my VirtualBook Signing Tour and catch me at my next stop!

Elizabeth Ann West is aJane-of-all-trades, mistress to none! After writing non-fiction professionallyfor three years, she made the jump to fiction in 2011 with her debut novel, CANCELLED.A chicklit/romance from the male POV, Elizabeth's novel challenges theconventions of modern romance. CANCELLED is now available on Amazon and Barnesand Noble as both an ebook and paperback. Elizabeth also writes regularposts about technology subjects on MarkWilliams international, and her sites eawestwriting.comand eawestwriting.blogspot.com.

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And just in case all of this has not convinced you to comment, please check out my review of CANCELLED here. A small preview: I gave it a squealing 5 stars.

Welcome 2012: Please Be Kind

New Year's resolutionsalways cause me angst. I want to evaluate my life and commit to goals, but Ifeel such pressure trying to know today my goals for an entire year.

My overall goals neverchange. I always strive to be the best mother, wife, daughter, and friend thatI can. This generally leads me to recommitting to working on patience. Morethan anything, I want kindness to be my gut reaction to all things. This meansbeing kind to myself, too. Too often I am my own worst critic.
This week I will bedefining my writing resolutions through a couple of posts. First, I will detailmy writing goals as part of my A Round of Words in 80 Days goal post onTuesday, January 3. This will be a day late, but for good reason . . . tomorrowI am excited to host fellow ROW80 writer, Elizabeth Ann West. She will betalking about resolutions and giving away copies of her novel, Cancelled, in eBook format. My reviewwill be available on Mom in Love with Fiction the same day. (Preview: Asquealing 5 stars!)

I will also bereviewing Stephen King's On Writing inearly January. It was the perfect book for me to read year-end. King lit a fireunder my butt in many ways and helped me understand my writing style.
King drove home anidea I've always believed in: good writers read, and they read a lot. To thatend, I have joined the 2012 To Be Read (TBR) Reading Challenge. I plan to joina few more reading challenges, to be announced at various times this month. Inaddition, I will continue to read and review books for Rebecca's Reads and Mom in Love with Fiction.
To stay on top of my January blogging and start the year off right, I have joined BlogHer's NaBloPoMo (this month's theme is Beginnings) and the Ultimate Blog Challenge.
I feel added pressurewith resolutions this year because I will be 40 in August. There's somethingabout "mid-life" that makes you evaluate where you've been and where you wantto go. Two things I know I want to accomplish this year: complete a halfmarathon and finish my second novel. Wish me luck!
As far as the rest ofmy goals, I'm going to take 2012 one month at a time. I want to find a nicebalance between family and writing/editing. I'm still figuring out how tostructure my days to allow for dedicated writing and family time.
I'm raising my glassin honor of 2012 and hoping it brings all of you many blessings. May youachieve your goals, whatever they may be.

Best of 2011: People's Choice Awards

The people have spoken through page views, and the blog post winners have been chosen. Let me start by thanking all the people who take the time to read my posts and a special thank you to those who comment.

I started this blog early this year, but didn't commit to it fully until May's WordCount Blogathon. Another tip of the hat to Michelle Rafter for planting the seed and giving me the confidence to soar. After that I found more wonderful writing communities who helped me with ideas and confidence: Kait Nolan's A Round of Words in 80 Days, Rachael Harrie's Writers' Platform-Building Campaign, BlogHer's NaBloPoMo, Melissa Foster's WoMen's Literary Cafe, and SheWrites.

I also want to thank the lovely bloggers who have guest posted this year: Carrie Green, Lisa Pollard, Lisa Carter, Morgan Bailey, Nicky LaMarco, Eden Sterlington, and Liz Sheffield. Plus, I can't forget to thank my mom, dad, two sisters, and my daughters for their blog posts and contributions.

The flashing light is blinking and music is starting. My thank you time is coming to an end. But lastly I do want to thank all the authors who've shared their knowledge with me and on this blog. I've learned so much!

Reader's Favorite Posts of 2011

Knock on Wood: 11/11/11 and Break Your Mother's Back: Superstitions Part Two: Both posts talk about the idea of superstitions.

Feathers and Stone: Balance: Trying to find balance, something I know most of us struggle with.

Drifting Away: Third Campaigner Challenge: Before Rachael Harrie's campaign, I really had never attempted flash fiction much less put it out there for people to read.

Why I Blog: These reasons still hold true.

What Makes me Swoon: From Husband to Vampires to Volleyball Players: A fun post outlining my crushes through the years.

What Most Southern Women Love About the F Word: Mom has written some wonderful posts this year, but this was the most viewed. I think the tantalizing title grabbed people.

I look forward to many wonderful interactions in 2012.

Please share your favorite 2011 post from your blog in the comments below. I'd love to see them!