Fifty States of Pray

Mark Koopmans is one of those people. Those people who are generous, kind, creative and so very thoughtful. In a moment of brilliance he came up with the blog hop called Fifty States of Pray. This adventure calls for a short post thanking, wishing, remembering anything you might have want to give a prayer and thought to during this wondrous time of year. Mark is hoping we have bloggers joining in from all fifty states and many, many countries besides the good ole US of A. Thanks Mark for organizing this idea. Visit his blog for the others on the list. And because it's the holiday and family time, take your time and spread the visits out over the next few days.

Though it seems like a cliché, I pray for world peace. Think what it would mean if no one had to spend money on wars. All those funds could go to health care and education. All that research done on weapons could be spend in the medical fields, working for cures. All those people fighting in foreign lands could be home with their loved ones. World peace would solve every problem mankind faces or at least give us a better chance at conquering them.

And a special thought today for my very close friends who lost their twenty year old son to cancer a few months ago. I can't imagine what this holiday will be like for them, but I wish them some moments of peace and comfort in the love of their family and friends.

Merry Christmas to all my blogging and reader friends. I hope the holiday brings you peace and joy in your heart. No comments are necessary. I know you're there.

It's Always Something

I know some of my blogging friends work in a field where they have to use technology everyday. I had to use it as a teacher, and my knowledge and experience sufficed and even surpassed many of my colleagues. That's not really something to brag about.

I continue to learn. I recently bought a Kindle Fire and am working on ways to get the most out of it. But sometimes something happens and I just can't figure it out. Last spring I finally bought a new laptop. A nice, thin lightweight model that is so portable and easy to use. I also bought a new printer at the same time. A multi-tasking wireless model. I've really enjoyed the ease of use. Except, about a week ago, my printer and laptop stopped talking to each other.

They say they are, but they're not. I've done all the easy checks. Wifi is working fine but the message just isn't getting through. I've tried everything but can't get it to work. I get so frustrated when I have to spend time on that when I'd rather be writing. I like to print off the first draft of my WIP and then use it as the outline for the second, cleaner version. Now I'm at 63,000 words and no printer. Arrgh!

I know many of you are taking some holiday blogging vacations. I'll be posting again on the 24th for Mark Koopmans's Fifty States of Pray but skipping this Friday.

So has technology ever stumped you? Any new tech you've learned lately that makes life easier? Are you going on 'blogging' vacation?

Plan Your Work

I spent Black Friday visiting family and definitely not shopping. I have a very short list of gifts to buy and most of them will be done on this machine I'm preparing this post upon. I miss that special joy of surprising my children when they were little on Christmas morning. But now that they're older, the enjoyment comes from spending time in each other's company. It saves me money and shopping time.

On the other hand, usually right before Thanksgiving there is something I start searching for. The exact, perfect planner for on my writing desk. This isn't the calendar I put on the wall in the kitchen to mark dentist appointments on but the one I use to jot down all kinds of things related to writing. Book releases, promo ideas, blog post ideas, writing meetings, and any other bit of info I might sometime need.

As I look over last years, I find something written in for almost every MWF as I planned blog posts. April was really full with the A to Z craziness. The first Wednesday of every month reminds me that it is IWSG post time. I haven't missed one in a long time, maybe never. Don't forget it's post time on Wednesday.

I like a planner that has a spiral binding so it lays flat on my desk and if it has pretty pictures in like my Audubon Society one did in 2012, so much the better. 2013's model was plan but I had to go cheap last year. This year I spent only a few dollars more and picked up The Old Farmer's Almanac. It has lots of cute tidbits and recipes scattered among the pages. I'll probably share some of those with you. This is the perfect time or year to find the perfect planner. Of course, if you wait until after Christmas, you might score a really cheap price though the selection might not be great.

January, 2014

I wanted to suggest a visit today to Mark Koopmans' blog to hear about 50 States of Pray. This is a terrific idea so check it out.

So do you use a planner for your work and/or your writing? Do you keep your schedule on a digital device or rely on pen and pencil like I do? Make sure you visit the IWSG blog and check out something special happening this Wednesday.

I'm Susan

Thanks to Stephen Tremp, Elis Fallson, Mark Koopmans and C.M. Brown, today is the day to reintroduce myself to my blog readers and followers. The idea behind this bloghop is very sensible. Not many followers have been with a blog since the very first day. When one starts a blog, usually that first post is an introduction. Any introduction only a few people see so followers generally get to know a blogger in bits and pieces thereafter. So here's a quick roundup of who I am.

I am published in epic fantasy and fantasy romance. I write romance under the pen name Susan Kelley and fantasy under my real name, Susan Gourley. My day job is as a high school health and PE teacher and as I remind everyone at every opportunity, this is my last year before retirement. I have two wonderful stepsons, three sons and a daughter. One son attends Penn State and my daughter is at Boston University. I love writing, reading, running, baking, needlework, jigsaw puzzles and family time most of all. I grew up in a large family on a dairy farm. If I write something about cows or baling hay, you can bet I know what I'm talking about. I'm pretty sure I can do the whole survival thing if that TV show, Revolution, come true. Enough about me. Go visit more blogs.

In staying with my hopes to give something back to people who have helped me along the way, I would like to mention my friend, Misty Simon, has a new book out, What's Life Without Sprinkles? If you like some laughs while you're reading, read one of Misty's books. Check out the great reviews she received on Amazon. I'll be telling you more about Misty and a blog project she's starting later this month. Some of you will be interested :)

Don't forget about A to Z sign up starting this Wednesday. I'll be on there the first day.

Do you need to reintroduce yourself? Signing up for A to Z? Like some laughter with your reading?