Maranda Russell's Blog, page 50

Goals for 2019 – Blog, Writing, Art

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I don’t set personal resolutions for New Years, but I do try to set some goals to try to reach the coming year, especially for my blog/social media, writing, and art. I did meet and even surpass some of the goals I set for 2018. For instance, I hoped to have 500 Instagram followers by the end of this year, and I’m already over 1,400!

When setting these goals, I try to be realistic but shoot a bit high. I figure even if I miss, at least I dreamed big and tried my best. I try to not beat myself up if I don’t meet a goal by the end of the year, I just set my sights on the next year.

So without further ado, here are my goals for 2019:

Social Media

Blog – 1,500 followers

Instagram – 5,000 followers (dream big!)

Books

Write/publish 2 new books/ebooks

Sell 300+ copies of my books

Art

Sell to 2 new countries (would love to add Ireland, Germany, Japan, China, or India!)

Countries I have already sold art to: USA, Canada, Australia, France, Switzerland, England, Wales, Norway, United Arab Emirates

I Froze My Butt Off at a Christmas Theme Park!

I’m feeling rough tonight, maybe because last night I went to a little Christmas-themed park and got really cold, which often tends to aggravate my CFS, Fibromyalgia, and Ehlers Danlos joint issues. I had a great time though and wanted to share a few fun pics of the night.

Here is me getting cozy with the Gingerbread Man:

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Who doesn’t love a big fire pit when it’s cold out?

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Here is some crazy guy climbing the giant Christmas tree (I’m guessing he wasn’t supposed to be doing that):

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Is it just me, or are these trees a bit spooky?

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Pretty lights on the water:

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New Scrapbooking Themed ACEO Artist Trading Cards

I have a ton of scrapbooking/cardmaking accessories, so decided to use a few of them to make some ACEO artist trading cards:

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(You can find these and more for sale on my Ebay store!)

What Is It? Photo Guessing Game

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Christmas and Family Forgiveness

Yesterday my husband and I traveled over to Indiana to meet my mom and her husband for Christmas dinner. We all decided to meet at a truckstop that is about halfway between us, so that neither of us would have to cook, clean up, or drive too far:

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I genuinely had a good time and am glad I’ve been able to spend more time with them recently. Those of you who have followed my blog for a while, may remember that there has been a lot of water under the bridge between my mother and myself over things that happened when I was growing up. She made some huge mistakes, and as is often the case, my sister and I had to pay for many of those choices just as much as she did…maybe more in some cases.

She genuinely seems to be regretful and is trying to make things better between us, so although I am always going to be cautious and protective of myself, it feels good to be able to embrace forgiveness for my own peace of mind and well-being. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that what we went through was ok, or that the damage wasn’t done, but it does mean that it doesn’t have control of my life, my mind, or my heart anymore. I can move on.

I am somewhat a believer in the saying “When we know better, we do better”. Some of us take a long, long time to “know better”, but healing and wisdom are ours once we finally do face the truth.

 

Merry Christmas Eve! My Fave Gifts So Far!!!

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!!! We do our present opening today, so my husband and I went ahead and opened our gifts for each other. Here are a few pics of my favorite things!

First off, my Harry Potter Death Eater wand:

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My new illustrated version of “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” (featuring commentary by Albus Dumbledore!):

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My curseword-laden coloring book:

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A pagan-themed children’s book and plenty of stickers to craft with:

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I also got a couple other books, some gel pens, a cool, four-sided Buddha figure, and this new black bear stocking I fell in love with:

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Tomorrow I am celebrating Christmas with my mother, so am sure I will get more gifts then! The holidays are so much fun!!! Hope you guys are having your own happy celebrations!

By the way, I am running a special Amazon giveaway for my new children’s Kindle ebook, “How to Find Fun Adults“! Feel free to enter! Three copies are up for grabs! Of course, you can always buy a copy for $.99 or download it for free if you have Kindle Unlimited!!!

I Published a New Children’s Ebook on Kindle!!!

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I just published a new children’s ebook on Amazon! I originally wrote this silly little book back in 2012, but never published it because I wasn’t happy with all the photos I had at the time for use. Honestly, I had rather forgotten about the book, but when I came across it again recently, I decided to rework it a bit and publish it since I thought it was rather amusing and fun for kids.

The book is entitled “How to Find Fun Adults: A Silly Field Guide for Kids” and is available as a Kindle ebook on Amazon for $.99 (free if you have kindle unlimited). The book is short, and easy to read. It is geared for beginning and intermediate readers, and would be a fun pick for reluctant readers. Very young readers may need help with several of the harder words, which are also defined at the end of the book. The purpose of the book is simply to provide a fun, silly read for kids, and to celebrate adults that didn’t lose their own love of childhood!

If you do download the book and read it, please consider leaving a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads! If anyone would like a free copy of the ebook for review purposes, feel free to contact me at Shojobeatgirl@live.com!

By the way, right now several of my other Kindle ebooks are having FREE promotions for the holidays, so check out my Amazon author page to see which ones are available!

A Pagan Prayer for Yule (Poetry)

It is late at night here, but I wanted to share this on the winter solstice!

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As the days grow deep

and longer,

and spring as ever

draws near –

please make my hopes

come true,

and my magick strong

with no fear.

3 New Abstract Acrylic ACEO Paintings

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(You can find these and more for sale on my Ebay store!)

Wordless Wednesday: Yeti on a Christmas Tree

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