Lydia Howe's Blog, page 45

When Life Hands You Lymes #62 & Giveaway Winners

Welcome to Friday! I'm excited to get to share with you the 62nd segment of my fictional story, When Life Hands You Lymes .
First of all though, I'm pleased to announce the winners of the Blog Anniversary Giveaway! Congratulations, Amanda, Lauren and Sarah! I'll be getting emails to you very soon. Thank you to everyone who entered. This was a fun giveaway to host. 

One last thing before todays segment. I have some pretty exciting news that I get to share with y'all on Monday, so hold on tight and prepare for something that makes this little author very happy! 
And now:


New Chapter
“Errrggg!” I wrestle my suitcase out of the closet and then stand back surveying it for a moment. I couldn’t believe how much energy it took to get the empty container from off the top shelf where I kept my luggage. I rest my arms before standing on my tip-toes to reach the smaller  carry-on.  I drag the suitcases to my dressing room and lay them open on the counter and then stand back to take in the huge task in front of me. Packing is one of my favorite things to do. I love getting everything in order and deciding what outfits I’m going to wear on various days. I look at my wall of shoes, then slide my gaze along to my accessories. Then I turn in a full circle to look at my bottoms: pants, capers, skirts and my tops: dress-like-tops, blouses, polo shirts, tee-shirts and finally my dresses and formal clothes.  “Alright, here it goes.” I turn on some up-beat music then scan the email Mom had sent to the family with the different activities we’d be doing during the week.  The feeling of being alive and ready for an adventure flowed through my veins as I danced around the room, putting outfits together then carefully marking them and lying them in the suitcase.  “I take it you’re excited?” Katie’s standing there, watching me with an amused expression on her face.  “What happened to knocking?” I ask with a laugh. I turn down the volume on my phone. The general rule in our family is to knock before going into someone else’s room, but that doesn’t always happen.  “I knocked. There’s this thing called loud music. This loud music happened to be pouring out of your room. Hence the reason that a certain someone named Madalyn didn’t hear when her sister stood at her door knocking. And knocking.” Katie held up her hands. “Do you see my red knuckles? Yeah.”  “Sorry.” I turn the music off and give Katie my full attention. “What’s up?”  “I wondered if you needed any help packing?”  The warm feeling of being loved wells up inside of me. It’s kinda felt like our relationship has been strained for the last while, but I have to remind myself that deep down Katie is a kind and loyal sister, she just doesn’t always know what to do with my health problems. “Are you done already?” I ask. We aren’t leaving until the next day and I hadn’t expected to be the last person packing.  “You do realize that it’s getting late, don’t you?” Katie holds up her phone. “It’s after nine.”  I hold back a snort. Nine in the evening is just when my energy is starting to flow for the day. I forgot about how early my sister goes to bed each evening. “Well, if you’re not busy with anything else I’d love to have some of your fashion advice.”  “Sure.” Katie takes a seat on the chaise and then leans forward, her eyes expedient.   I pull out my navy blue and white striped, knee-length dress and black leggings out of my suitcase and hold them up. “So, I was thinking this would be a good thing to wear one of the days that we’re out sight-seeing. You know it’s kinda got the nautical theme going.”  Katie nods and I go on. “I was trying to figure out what shoes to wear with it though. Something that goes with the theme. Oh, and I am also going to wear my anchor necklace.” I gesture toward my jewelry case, knowing Katie will know what I’m talking about. It was a necklace Jason sent to me soon after he moved to California.  Katie walks over to my shoes, thoughtfully looking at the different flats and I got lost in a daydream.  “I’m so excited that we’re finally going to go to California as a family to visit Jason.” We’d been planning on it the year before but then those plans fell though when Katie and I both had engagements at home and so only our parents and Darrick went.  “These shoes.” Katie hands me a pair of dusty-blue flats. I take them with a nod. “Perfect. I don’t know why I couldn’t figure that out on my own.”  “What are you most excited about with this trip?” Katie comes over and pokes through my suitcase before resuming her seat.  “That’s a good question.” Katie’s wonderful at coming up with thought-provoking questions. “I guess I’m looking forward to being able to see all the places Jason has told us about. I’m eager to eat at the restaurants he’s mentioned, visit his school, walk in the same parks, see the same views, that kind of thing.” I sound like someone who’s lovesick; in reality I just miss my brother. I carefully fold my PJ’s and then put them in their nitch.  Everything in my suitcase has a place and I can’t stand deviating from the norm. “What about you?”  “It will be nice to talk to Jason face to face and hear about all the stuff he’s been learning. I know it’s going to boost Emerson Airlines a lot to have his expertise and sharp mind.” Katie gives me a thoughtful look. “I know he’s told us a lot over the phone and through video-chat, but still, that’s not the same.”  I nod, although deep down I’m starting to get concerned. What if all they talk about is business? I love our family business, I really do, and that’s what makes it so hard. I’ve not been able to do much with it because my energy level is so low and my brain fog is so high. That doesn’t make a winning combo. “What did you do in the office today?”  “The normal thing, you know?” Katie shrugs. “I spent a lot of time on the phone, solving problems, being a peacemaker, listening to concerns.” Katie is such a good, sympathetic person when it comes to business relations. Sometimes I wish she was more like that with family.
People sometimes ask me if it’s weird to fly in an airplane that has my last name written on it. It’s not something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about, but I guess it’s cool. Maybe I’m biased, but I think Emerson Airlines is the best ever.  Often times when we’re flying somewhere we’ll go in one of our public airplanes because Dad likes being able to see for himself how things are being run. There’s been more than one flight attendant who Dad has publicly thanked for their service at one of our business meetings. There have also been a few workers who have been dismissed after treating Dad, or another passenger, rudely.  “Do you know what I think we should begin serving in all our flights?” I asked, holding up one of the little pretzels from the bag the flight attendant had just handed me.  “What would that be, Madalyn?” Dad asked from across the aisle.  “Dill pickles.”  Darrick was sitting next to me and I was afraid he was going to gag from the face he made.  “Hey, it’s really not that bad of an idea.” I elbowed him. Hard.  “Did you consider the fact that pickles have a rather strong oder that might not be pleasant for non-pickle-consuming guests?” Dad asked the question in his easy, mild-mannered way.  “Ok, I take it back.” I held up my hands in surrender. “But couldn’t we come up with something more exciting than pretzels and peanuts? Isn’t that what every airlines serves?” I scrunched up my nose as I peered at the little green bag in my hands.  “I had never thought about it that way.” Dad looks thoughtful as he ponders my suggestion. “What oder-free snacks sound good to you?”  I love the way that Dad takes all of us seriously and tries to involve us in the business.  I run though a list of snack foods in my head. Everything seems either too expensive, too messy or too unhealthy.  “We could do almonds or pecans instead of peanuts,” I say at last. All three are good sources of protein and that way we wouldn’t have to worry about people having peanut allergies.  Dad pulled his phone out and typed in a few words. “Well, that’s a nice idea but there is a difference in cost and with the amounts we buy, that adds up rapidly.” He shows me his phone: Peanuts per pound: Aprox. $2.49 Pecans per pound: Aprox. $8.50 Almonds per pound: Aprox. $9.90.  I gasp. “No kidding. Scratch that idea.” I rub my face with my hands, wishing I were better at the business side of things. Sometimes I feel like everyone in my family inherited a Harvard-worthy business brain while I got the leftovers. Only, there weren’t any leftovers.  Banging my tray-table down, I folded my arms on it and then rested my head on my arms. I was tired. The hum of the engines and the soothing feeling of being surrounded by my family who I love helped relax me and before long I was lost in the land of sleep.  “Do any of you see Jason?” I could tell by the lit in Mom’s voice that she was excited. She stood on her tip-toes, looking around the noisy baggage claim as Darrick pulled the last of our suitcases off the carousel.  “There he is.” Dad waves his arm in the air and lets out a low whistle that most people don’t seem to hear but instantly grabs my brother’s attention. Jason hurries in our direction.  “Is it possible that you’ve grown even more?” Mom wraps her arms around her firstborn and gives him a long hug.  “Unless you’re talking about my midsection, no.” Jason laughs and then turns to give me a hug. “Hey sis.” I can’t wipe the grin off my face, it’s so good to be with Jason again, he’s so full of fun and laughter. I poke at his stomach which is hard from working out. “Growing in your midsection? Right...”  We head through the airport toward the exit where Jason parked the car (yes, there are some perks owning an airline), and I soak in the moment. Not only have I always wanted to go to California, I’m beyond happy to be here with my whole family. It’s been a lot harder getting everyone together for a trip since my older siblings hit college age. Thankfully Katie and Darrick both opted to do on-line courses at least to begin with. I don’t know what I would have done if they’d all left home and it was just little ol’ me.  God, it would be really delightful if I could feel well this trip. I climb in the back seat of the Cadillac Escalade Jason brought, the regulated place for the youngest kid, and settled my purse on my lap. Having energy would be a huge plus. Not having pain would be awesome as well. I try to ignore the throbbing I’ve been feeling in my legs for the last couple of hours. And no random outbursts of non-me-ish emotions would be beyond my dreams. In Jesus’ Name I ask this. The fact that I just arrived safe and sound in San Francisco, yet never once did I thank God for the blessings of the hassle free and safe trip make my face blossom with shame. Wow, I must be the most ungrateful person ever. I’m so sorry, God. Thank You so much for the safe trip today. Thank You that the pain wasn’t unbearable. Thank You for giving me the opportunity to be here. “You’re quiet back there,” Jason looks in the rearview mirror and catches my eye when I look up to see if he was talking to me.  “Madalyn’s quiet a lot now,” Katie announces before I can think of anything to say.  “Our Madds is quiet?” Jason’s glances in the mirror again, his eyebrows raised. “It’s only been a couple of months since I’ve been home. When did this phenomena happen?” Since I don’t exactly know how to say Ever since talking became too tiring or Since I decided opening my mouth to speak was too much work without sounding lazy or whiny, I decide to stay quiet and let the rest of my family give their reasons.  “I guess she’s just grown up.” Katie shrugs as if she can’t quite place why the change took place in her little sister. “She’s a lot more concise when she does talk though.” Coming from Katie I know it’s a compliment, yet somehow the ton of her voice is more surprised than complimentary.  “I think it’s because her brain is so full of music that all of her thoughts spill out when she’s playing and therefore she doesn’t need to use words any more.” Darrick gives me a wink and I know that he’s sticking up for me in his own roundabout way. Not that I need anyone to stick up for me when they’re discussing how many words fall out of my mouth in a day.  “I’ve formed my on theory on the matter,” Jason stops at a stop sign and then makes a right turn. “I think it’s because you two have decided to jump in and answer everything for her so she doesn’t need to talk any more.”  Katie’s face is startled when she turns around and looks at me. “You’re right, we did just answer for her, didn’t we?”  I think Katie’s so used to when we were kids and I was always talking that it hasn’t really hit her how much I’ve changed. This isn’t the first time that she’s answered a question for me, but most of the time I don’t care.  “So, why is it that you don’t talk as much any more?” Darrick gives me an intent look, totally focused on what I’m about ready to say.  Warring thoughts flood my brian. I go with the easy option. “I guess I’m just busy thinking.” I cringe as the words come out, hoping that my siblings don’t think I’m implying that they don’t think.  “I for one am anxious to hear what some of your thoughts are,” Jason turns on his turning signal and makes another left hand turn.  “Thanks.” 

Writing Tracker

Last month I posted and pondered and decided I needed to have a writing schedule. Without one I was whittling away at my writing time and procrastinating instead of actually working on what I needed to. 
This is my third week since I made the decision to try and get 35 hours of writing and writing-related work in each week. That's 7 hours a day if averaged out over 5 days. 
The first week was hard. I was unused to spending so much time on my writing and couldn't figure out how to fit in with the rest of my life. Last week went great, but by the end of the week I was exhausted. This week is going the best so far and if all goes according to plan I won't crash this weekend. 
I am having so much fun knowing when I sit down that I don't have to rush and try to get my words on paper as fast as possible. Sitting and purposely capturing the emotions and feelings I want to convey and turning them into words has been getting easier without the pressure. (I'm currently working on When Life Hands You Lymes  which is a rather difficult and exciting book for me.) 
My very messy and scribble-filled tracking chart As far as a schedule goes? I actually don't have one. Instead I've been tracking what I spend my time on. Keeping a written record is the kind of thing that floats my boat. Using a stop-watch (from my phone), a pad of paper and whatever pen is handy seriously improves my life by leaps. I thrive on tracking, lists and goals.

My target is to get three hours in before lunch time, but with my other job that doesn't always work. Then I try to get at least two hours in during the afternoon and I finish up my time after supper. Recently I've been spending my morning hours with all the work that isn't writing my actual book. Blogs, emails, blog tweaking, etc... Then I focus my energy the rest of the day on plotting, researching, writing and brainstorming. It's been working out really well for me. 
One thing I've done that has helped motivate me is placing a strict ban on all fiction reading until I've gotten at least two hours of writing-related work accomplished. I have the habit of quickly grabbing a page of a story I'm reading while going from task to task. Waiting for tea water to boil? Read a page. Eating breakfast? Read another page. Walking down the stairs? Yep, read yet another page. My restriction has made me eager to get the first two hours of writing behind me as early as possible. 
* * *
What about you? Do you have a similar tracking method in your life? What are some of the tricks you use to accomplish more? I'd be delighted to hear from you! 

Survey Results

At the end of February I did a survey to see how I could make Noveltea a more people-friendly blog. I'm here today to share some of the results to the survey and my resulting thoughts.

First off: Thank you so much to everyone who filled it out. Y'all are amazing. It is so incredibly nice to have feedback so I can tweak things around and help Noveltea move to the next level. I'll try to be good and not overuse my privileges as a blogger, but goodness! Surveys and pie charts are so much fun. I wish I could just continue making surveys and then categorize the answers in pie charts. I'm still trying to figure out what excuse I could possibly have for making pie charts each day...

The survey results were a wee bit surprising to me. Last year I did a much-less advanced survey and a lot of Noveltea's readers said they would enjoy seeing more post about writing and less posts about my life. Therefore I endeavored to post accordingly. Take a look at the answer to the same question this year:

What ratio of posts should be about writing?
Over half of the people to answer this question said only 2 out of 5 posts should be about writing. That's a bit of a vague answer though, so here's a qualifying question: 

SO much helpfulness in that one pie chart^. 
I also asked what people would like to see less of on Noveltea. There were a few answers including: Book reviews, character interviews and short stories. The one that stuck out to me, though, was one reader who said less posts about Aidyl's life. The blogger went on to explain very nicely that my blog looked/felt/sounded like a writing blog and so I should probably post more about writing on it. The blogger made total sense and I agreed with what she said. (Thank you, whoever you are! That answer helped me as you'll see below.) Then I added up all the answers of what people did want to see on Noveltea and posts about Aidyl's life were way in the lead. 
Now I had a dilemma. Thankfully I discovered the solution in the answers to my last question of the survey: What would make Noveltea better? The common answers included more pictures and... A new blog design. 
So that was the answer. What I needed to do was redesign Noveltea so when people pop on for the first time they can tell right away that the blog is about the life of one author, not the life of all authors.

It took me a long time and several tries to come up with the right design, but in the end I'm extremely satisfied with Noveltea's new feel. I'd be delighted to hear your thoughts. If you have changes, thoughts or ideas you'd like to share with me, please, do share! 
I also spent a good amount of time changing my About Me page and updating it, adding pictures and making it more me-ish. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. (Even though collages don't quite make it up to pie-chart-happiness in my book, I am pretty fond of them which will be evident if you look at the page...) 
And one more pie chart before I sign off. These are the answers to What age group are you in? I was surprised (and happy!) by the answer to this one, too. 

What about you? If you didn't have a chance to fill out the survey (or even if you did and you've changed your mind) what do you want to see more of? Less of? Or anything else you want to suggest/talk about/etc... for Noveltea. I would seriously be delighted to hear from you. 
Also, don't forget to enter this giveaway! 

Top Ten Tuesday: Picture-Book Edition

Welcome to the Top Ten Tuesday link-up hosted by The Broke and the Bookish . Today the prompt is: Ten books for readers who like (fill in the blank). My books are in no particular order and while they may not be my very favorites, they're all books I either do own or want to someday own for if I ever have children. Meaning, they're fantastic. 

Top Ten Books for Picture-Book Enthusiast: 
1. The Biggest Bear Best picture book ever. It's about a bear. And a boy. And friendship. 
2. Blueberries for Sal It's no wonder this is an award-winning book. Everyone with children should own it.
3. Make Way for Ducklings A cute story about ducklings in Boston.  
4. Baby Brown Bear's Big Bellyache  The pictures! Ah, for some reason I thought they were the best when I was a little kid. I could look at this book for hours on end. 
5. Timothy Tiger's Terrible Toothache Same with this book. 
6. The Little Red Hen I couldn't find the exact book I read as a kid, but this classic folk tale is great. 
7. How to Make Apple Pie and See The World I didn't read this book until I was older (12?). Traveling all over the world to get various ingredients? Yes, please! 
8. A King for Brass Cobweb You. Have. To. Get. This. Book. 
9. Cranberry Thanksgiving  A secret recipe and a Thanksgiving celebration... Plus a thief, of course. 
10. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel  I had a hard time trying to chose my 10th book, but this one is fantastic. 
(Book covers from Amazon)* * *What about you? Have you read any of these books? What are some of your childhood favorites? Oh, and don't forget to enter the Three Year Celebration Giveaway for your chance to win a genuine wallet from Africa or an Amazon Giftcard! 

Love, Lists and Little Things

Mondays fill me with excitement. There's nothing like having six whole days stretching before me waiting to be filled up with accomplishments. I'm sitting here with my Berrylicious candle burning, my blogging coffee mug half-full of decaf coffee, music playing and my dog sleeping by my chair. I woke up on time this morning and despite having a later night than planned, I didn't have too hard of a time getting into the rhythm of the day. Life is pretty great.
It's easy to praise God during moments like these. It's easy to love being me and think I have the best life ever when things go according to plan. I know from experience, though, that my perfect mood can rapidly deteriorate with just the slightest change of plans. A lot of people like sticking to their schedule for the day; I'm a fanatic about it. 

I think that's one of the reasons my mom impresses me so much. Her plans constantly get changed around and her life is full of surprises. She's a mom after all. Yet she handles it all graciously. I want to learn to go with the flow of changes, too. To know how to praise and sing for joy even when I don't get to do the work I was planning on doing. 
Making a plan for my day is great. That's the way I roll. That's the way I can get things accomplished. Yet I'm learning that even when my day doesn't go according to my plan, that doesn't mean that it's not going according to His plan. 

Psalm 113:3 says From the rising of the sun until the going down of the same the LORD's name is to be praised. That seems to include the times when life doesn't go how I had mapped it out.

I have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with younger siblings and cousins. They're around me almost constantly. I can choose to pour into their lives or I can just live my life around them. Like an obstacle course.

But people aren't obstacles. They're a lot of what life is about.

I love the time I get to spend with my siblings and cousins. I really do. Yet sometimes I get to the point where I'm only half there for them because my brain is freaking out over a self-imposed deadline. Sometimes these deadlines are good, but sometimes I need to learn to wave at them as they zoom by while I'm experiencing life with someone else.

Learning the balance is the interesting part.

I am a serious enjoyer of the little things in life and I want to make sure I share those little things with other people. My writing and work are important, but so are the people in my life.


My coffee is cold. The day is getting bright outside. My office is now light enough for me to see all the work that needs to be done in it. I have a list that'll keep me busy all day long. And I'm happy. I can almost see a whole week in front of me. A week waiting to be filled with what God has in store for me. From the planned to the unplanned. From the days when I feel like I accomplished a lot to the days where I feel like I flittered from task to task, always getting called away before I was ready. I'm going to live this week with purpose. Not necessarily with great physical achievement.

But, sometimes life isn't about checking things off a list.

* * *
What about you? How do you deal with things not going according to plan? How excited are you about this next week?

Don't forget to get more points in the giveaway! And, if you enjoyed the snowy pictures, feel free to snag and repost them or check out my board on Pinterest. 

When Life Hands You Lymes #61

It's Friday again! Time to celebrate the week with the 61st segment of my fictional story, When Life Hands You Lymes. And, today is also the third anniversary of when I started Noveltea! Check out the party we have going on, complete with a giveaway! 


The first few hours of the night fly by as Julia and I have fun hanging out together. Gone are the random emotional bursts from me and we’re able to talk and laugh like old times. I even take her out to my balcony and we watch the stars together, something that I’d all but sworn I’d never do again after Katie’s hurtful comment.  “This is peaceful.” Julia leans back and nudges the ground with her foot to make the hammock rock us back in forth. “Do you ever study the stars? I mean, finding constellations would be pretty cool and you’re far enough away from the city lights to have a beautiful view.”  I nod.  “That’s cool. Damien and I have tried it some, but he doesn’t have the best vision and so that kind of brought our learning to an end.” Julia points to a row of stars. “What are those?”  “That’s Orin's belt.” I rest my hands behind my head and study the three stars. “I used to come out here every night and look for them.”  “Why don’t you still do that?” Julia glances at me.  I let out a big yawn before answering. “I guess I still look at the stars most nights, but it’s not such a big deal now if I don’t see Orin's belt. See, it changes month by month how early it comes up and so sometimes in the winter I don’t feel like coming out of my warm bedroom to see it.”  “Do you ever wish on stars? Like when you see a shooting star?” Julia stood up and walked over to the railing of my balcony.  “No.” I laugh. “I guess I’m too old to even find something like that fun. I do often pray while looking at the stars though. Not because I think the stars have power, but because the stars remind me of how powerful God is.”  “If you could wish for anything and have it come true, what would it be?”  The words are out of my mouth before Julia’s even finished her question or I’ve fully thought over my answer, “I would wish I was healthy again. Or that I’d never lost my health in the first place.”  Julia nods. “I would wish for the finances to travel all around the world.”  The next night as I lie in bed, wide awake, I recall our conversation about wishes. Julia has perfect health. My family is rich. So, in essence we both wished for what the other person has.  All at once the verse, All things work together for good to them that love God flashed through my brain. It was so startling that I sat straight up and caught my breath.  “Haha. No.” I spoke the words aloud, shaking my head. “There is no way that this sickness could be part of God’s plan for my life.” I held my hands out in front of me, as if holding the thought at bay. It didn’t work.  Getting up I started pacing back in forth from my bed to my balcony door and back again. “Ok, so if that is true, then what in the world is this, this, this stupid sickness that we can’t even identify doing that will benefit me?”  At last I flicked my lights on, grabbed my Bible and notebook off of my night stand and threw myself across my bed. “Ok, God. I want to learn about what You have to say in regards to me being sick. I’m not enjoying it. I don’t even feel like I’m learning anything from it. I’m-” I stopped mid-thought. “Wait a second. I’m not learning anything from this. If I were learning something, does that mean that I’d be able to get over my illness and move on with life? Because that would be really glorious. Ok, what do You want me to learn?”  I open my Bible and turn to the back and look up the word sick. After plodding my way through several verses, I decide there must be an easier way to figure it out and pull out my phone to look up the verses online. Then, deciding that I’m actually enjoying the feel of the pages beneath my hands and it’s helping the time pass, I go back to my physical Bible.  I don’t get far into the subject on my first night, but by the time my eyes are watering and I’m ready to go to sleep I have a peaceful feeling settled over my soul. Maybe this is something I should be doing more often. The birds are just beginning their morning round of singing when I turn my light back off and fall asleep.  “You look like you slept well,” Mom greets me when I join the family for lunch at 12:30. “I can see a little bit of color in your cheeks.”  I yawn and pull my hair back into a messy bun. I’d just had time to throw on some clothes before going down to the dining room. “I did, thank you. I was able to fall asleep around four this morning.” I let out another yawn as I plop down in my seat and set my bag of vitamins next to me.  After Dad prays and thanks God for the food everyone besides me dives into the salad, chicken pot pies and garlic bread. I dole out my portion of vitamins and gag them down before giving myself a generous portion of pot pie and a little bit of salad.  “Have you been able to finish filing the reports in regards to how the new manager is doing in the Northwest division?” Dad directs his question to Katie.  Katie takes a swallow of water before answering. “Yes. I emailed those in this morning. I also sent the receipts from Nate to the accountant and scheduled a conference call with everyone who’s over the regional offices.” “I thought Nate was going to drive over to the accountants today to help figure out those mis-alining numbers that he’d found,” Darrick broke in. “Oh, he discovered he had downloaded the wrong email.” Katie pointed her fork in our brother’s direction. “I have learned how to have a lot of grace during this last week.”  My good mood is dissipating like fog when the sun comes out. I am so far behind with what’s going on with our family business that it feels useless to even try and catch up. 

Blog Anniversary Celebration Giveaway and New Design

Although March 6th might not be a holiday of national importance, it is a day to celebrate in my book. Or should I say blog? Ladies and Gentlemen, tomorrow is the third blog anniversary of Noveltea! I'm excited to be able to celebrate with y'all with a new blog design, a giveaway and lots of fun stats!

Let's start with the new and improved blog design: A couple of weeks ago I asked y'all to fill out a survey and help me make Noveltea a better place. One of the questions was What would make Noveltea better? and several of y'all thought that a new blog design would do the trick. And, I aim to please so I set to work at redesigning my little nook in the internet world. (More about why I chose this particular design in another post.)

Now for the giveaway. *cue fanfare music* (What birthday celebration is complete without a gift?) There will be three prizes, one for each year Noveltea's been around. When I was in Africa in January I bought these genuine leather wallets and I'm really excited about getting to share them with you! The wallets are two of the prizes and the third prize is a $5 gift-card to Amazon.

Please Note: Wallets will only be sent to addresses in the USA. Sorry!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
And last but not least of all, let's look at some stats! Ahem, ok, so I have a rather strong attraction to statistics and pie charts (I just learned how to make my very own pie chart this week!) and lists and graphs and... Yeah. Any excuse to use them on my blog makes me one happy little blogger. All that to say... If you're not into stats you can just enter the giveaway and be on your merry way.

Also, I'm not putting the stats on my blog because I think they're fantastic or anything like that (I know better than that!), I just find it very enjoyable when other bloggers share stats so I thought y'all might like it, too.

First I decided to figure out how many posts I've written each year:


Then I figured out how many pageviews Noveltea has gotten each year:


Then I decided to compare the posts, comments and pageviews Noveltea has had: 

And for my last pie chart I divided the pageviews up per month from the last 12 months: 

And a few un-pie-charted stats:

Published Comments of all time: 4,061 (some of these are my replies)
Published Posts of all time: 752 
Published Posts since last blog anniversary: 301
Average Pageviews each Month since last blog anniversary: 7,054
Average Pageviews per post since last blog anniversary: 281
Average Pageviews each Day since last blog anniversary: 233
Amazing Followers: 287

Thank you so very much to all of you who have read my blog, commented, followed and been a part of my life for the last three years. It's been a fantastic journey and far more involving and crazy than I had imagined it would be! It's been exciting, challenging, fun and a really interesting to get to share my adventures and what God's been doing in my life with y'all. I look forward to the next three years and hope y'all stick around for the ride!

See how we celebrated in years past: March 6th, 2012March 6th, 2013March 6th, 2014

A List of Happiness

I'm happy to announce there are some obscure things in life that are worth getting excited about. Some people would consider these trivial, but really, it's the minute moments we experience that end up turning into this occurrence we call life. Right? Well, since today is Wednesday and Wednesday is a great day for sharing happiness, I decided to give y'all a list happiness from the last few days: 
* Having a huge stash of cute cards under my chair to write notes on* Working on a new blog design More about this tomorrow! * Eating breakfast in my office with my little bro while reading jokes* This verse from today's Proverb: 

* My amazingly wonderful sister starting a blog (Y'all REALLY need to check it out! Like, now.)* Drinking seemingly endless mugs of hot tea and decaf coffee while working at my computer* Burning candles for hours and hours and hours we weren't allowed to burn candles at my old house* Discovering that chewing on a pencil helps get my writing brain active, even when I'm typing on the computer* Finding these beautiful miniature-ish trunks and deciding to buy them I've only been wanting something like this for a couple of years now... 

* Finally getting to a great place in my writing journey with When Life Hands You Lymes * Being surrounded by my family * Smile-inducing emails from friends * An imaginative trip to Nova Scotia  * And last but not least of all discovering how to make a pie chart My life greatly improved with this skill, people!

* * *What are some of your happiness inducing moments? 

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books of All Time (Missionary Edition)

A happy Tuesday to everyone! I'm going to dive in to The Broke and the Bookish Top Ten Tuesday link-up again with the prompt "Top Ten Books You Would Classify As ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS from the past 3 years (you can extend it to 5 if you need to)."

Since I know by just looking at the question that I'd answer with at least half of the books that I talked about last week, I'm going to re-write the prompt like this... 
Top Ten Missionary Books of All Time: 
1.  God's Smugglar  by Brother AndrewFrom his childhood at trying to outsmart the Nazi's with smoke bombs to his young adult years as a solider with a death wish to his transformation and years of smuggling Bibles behind the Iron Curtain, Brother Andrew's escapades should be read by everyone. 
 2. Bruchko  by Bruce OlsonOne geeky kid traveling into the depths of the jungle with just God's call burning in his heart and helping transform a whole people group. I have never in my life read another adventure like Bruchko's.
3.  Hudson Taylor  by Susan Martians MillerHard work, exceptional faith and true love combine to make Hudson Taylor's story unforgettable. 
4. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten BoomBeing thrown into a Concentration Camp in WW2 was not Corrie's plan, but through the power of God's love she uses her horrifying imprisonment to bring God glory. 
5. Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime by Janet & Geoff BengeShe knew where God wanted her and working against amazing odds she stood strong and saved the lives of hundreds of children. 
6.  The End of the Spear  by Steve SaintAn epic story of forgiveness and love with transformational results. 
(How would you feel about moving your family in with the tribe that had brutally murdered your father?)
7.  Patricia St. John Tells Her Own Story   by Patricia St. JohnThe life of one of my favorite author is brimming with love, laughter and life. 
8.  Samuel Morse: African Prince by Kjersti Hoff BaezDespite unimaginable odds, an African prince who was sentenced to be tortured to death sees God's light and becomes a new person. 
9.   George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans  by Janet & Geoff Benge  From a rebellious thief to becoming a father to the fatherless, George Muller's story is an exciting, faith-building account. 
10.  David Livingstone  by Dan LarsenHerald a hero during his lifetime, David Livingston defied a whole score of popular notions as he pushed deep into the heart of Africa. 
* * * Which book sounds most intriguing to you? 

February 2015 in Review

What I focused on in February: 
1. Business Conference in Florida 2. Conference and visiting friends in Georgia 3. Getting back into rhythm at home4. Working on When Life Hands You Lymes

Birthday Challenge and Dream List Update: 
Birthday Challenge:
1. Read 23 Non-fiction books - Read 1 2. Write 1,000 words for 23 days in a row - I'm at day 154. Write 23 book reviews - I wrote 3 11. Read the Proverb of the day 3 months (not in a row) - Second month completed in February 
13. Go to bed before 10:30 23 times (not in a row) - 3 nights
18. Send/give gifts to 13 random people - Haha, I didn't even think of it until I saw this, but I guess I did send stuff to 3 people 23. Write monthly reviews on my blog within 5 days of the end of the month whenever internet is available - Yep.
Dream List: 
Get a bookstore to begin selling my books


Reading Update: 
Fiction:13Non-Fiction:1Reviews:3

Traveling: 
I was gone 15 nightsCountries & States: Florida (7 nights), Georgia (7 nights), Traveling SC, NC, VA, WV, OH, (1 night) New Countries & States: None 

What I've been Learning:
Going to the Salt and Light conference in GA was an absolutely amazing experience. I'm excited to be seeing a much bigger picture now; it's amazing how my world has been expanded. There are people out there who are literally changing where they live and in so doing, they're effecting millions of lives for the better. I also had the huge blessing of talking to a fantastic author who was willing to spend time with me and give me advice. I've been learning to be more intentional with my writing time and to stop giving myself excuses. To make the most of my life as an author and keep plugging away. To set timers and goals and push forward. Plus, I learned how very, very encouraging and special it is to have someone who really gets it and who is successful with writing take time to help me out and really show an interest in what I'm doing. While in GA I learned about being generous. We have amazingly generous friends who we were visiting and every time I see them I learn a little bit more about how huge of a blessing it is to give. 
I've also been learning how very difficult it still is to write When Life Hands You Lymes. It's painful. I thought I had worked through all of my issues with Lyme disease, but obviously I haven't. I feel so weak when writing the story. Like seriously curl up in a ball and cry. I'm really having to rely on God for this one. Writing this book is one of the hardest things I've ever chosen to do. I've also been learning that I need to change my mindset with writing. I'm still not sure what all this entails. Recently I've been feeling like I haven't done nearly as much with my life and writing as I should have. I know technically I've done a fair amount, but it doesn't feel like it. I'm working on giving myself more grace and just abiding. Sometimes I seem to forget that life is more than just making lists and accomplishing them. I'm not sure if this is a pride issue or just me being an over achiever, but whatever it is, I'm trying to find balance. 
I've also been learning that being a writer can make me feel very alone. It's difficult for me to put my own words into thoughts and readable feelings and to try and explain to someone (or even myself!) what I'm experiencing. I see the world swirling around me with everyone I know having a co-worker or friend with a job like their own. Not knowing anyone who's at the same place in their writing career as me has been hard. One last thing I've been learning is that God really does understand and help. I mean, technically I've known that for a long time, but I've been seeing it first hand. There have been several times when I've been crying and have told Him something that would help me, and then next thing I know, I'm getting to do what I'd just been telling Him about. It helps remind me that I'm very loved and cared for. 

Other Things: 
Arriving home after being gone for 35 days was really nice indeed. Having my clean office and well-taken-care-of pets waiting for me made me really happy. Getting to spend time with my best friend who is expecting her first child has been a highlight of the last two weeks. I'm so glad they live close by and I missed them when I was gone. It's spectacular how much snow we've had. Last year I missed a lot of winter with being in FL, TN and Asia, so to only miss a little over a month of it this year has been pretty cool. I'm enjoying all the snow, frosty weather and memory-making winter activities. Two of my sisters and I even headed out one cold, snowy afternoon to capture some pictures with the delightful backdrop of white. We also have puppies that are ready to find new homes, so if you're interested in buying one of the cute little bundles of love, you can email me at: aidylewoh@gmail.com for more info. After thinking about it for a while I had fun taking part in the Top Ten Tuesday link-up for the first time and hope to continue doing them. And don't forget to fill out the survey to help make Noveltea a better blog. Thanks!