2025: Our Year of Empowerment and Growth

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” -Alice Walker

I see your power, and I see your fear of it! I think 2025 should be a year of learning to accept and embrace the power you have to make this world a better place. And you know what they say: saving the world starts with you! Which means that your priority is making yourself a better place, especially on the inside.

I think this will be it for me. 2025 will be all about harnessing my God-given power and using it to shine light in the darkness.

What’s your plan for 2025?! I’m excited to see what new adventures you open yourself up to. I’m eager to see all these old goals left in 2024 and new goals to smash for 2025! Wahoo!

Write it for Children

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” — Madeleine L’Engle

I love that I have my girls to read books with. I love a good children’s book. I like a good book, period. It doesn’t matter what age group it was written for. I like a challenging read. I like an easy read. I like those books that complement my intelligence. I even like the ones that challenge it.

This mindset even overlaps into my novel. I am scared to even think about which age group I’m writing for. I figured I’d leave that for someone else to decide. I just want to tell the story.

Adventures

“That’s the thing about books, they let you travel without moving your feet.”
—Jhumpa Lahiri

    A good book will take you places you never believed were possible. Writing a book (it doesn’t even have to be good) does the same thing. Every evening, I gather my evening things computer, my journal and a pen. It’s preparation for all the adventures writing takes me.

    This Christmas

    My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” ― Maya Angelou

    I have been spending this holiday season with family and friends that mean the world to me. It really has lightened my load while I was with them. I’ve had time to rest and recoop, so I had plenty of energy to share with them. I think this Christmas has been my favorite so far.

    Writing Quote from Agatha Christie

    “There was a moment when I changed from an amateur to a professional. I assumed the burden of a profession, which is to write even when you don’t want to, don’t much like what you’re writing, and aren’t writing particularly well.” – Agatha Christie

    This. I haven’t felt this understood as a writer yet. I like writing. I love it so much I do it every day. At the same time, these are exactly the thoughts that linger. I accept them, but I try my best to keep writing as a positive experience that adds to my daily life.

    Merry Christmas

    I wish everyone a Merry Christmas for those that celebrate. Peace and love to everyone.

    “Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values.” -Thomas S. Monson

    Merry Christmas Eve!

    There’s a wrapping marathon going on in my house. My girls are getting so big. They wrap their own presents, and my oldest even bought some gifts with her own money. I’m excited to see them growing up. I’m excited that I get to spend time with family throughout the week.

    Things aren’t going the way I dreamed of for Christmas, but it’s all working out in some strange Christmas magic way. Haha! Or it’s all that self-care I’ve been doing. Whatever it is, I’ll take it!

    The Night Before Christmas Eve

    This cold Monday didn’t go exactly as planned but it ended with pizza so that’s good. A deer ran into our family car. I didn’t think it hit my car that hard but the damage looks otherwise. I was going pretty slow so I wasn’t injured at all but my passenger door will no longer open and my headlight shattered. Just glad it wasn’t me. I hope the deer didn’t get too badly hurt and recovers somewhere.

    But I won’t let this ruin my holiday spirit!

    The Writing Routine

    “This is the magic of a writer’s routine. They automate decisions like when and where so that they become instinctual, saving that mental energy for the work. When they find the routine that works, they never break it.” -WritingRountines.com

    I am not obsessed with my routine; I just use it to help me move forward one day at a time. I don’t prefer to take things one day at a time; I prefer to get it all done at once, but for the sake of my health and the lives around me, I’ve learned to take things at a nice pace. Even in writing, I had to learn to pace myself instead of just rushing to the ending. Developing my evening writing routine has literally been what got me from a blank page to 53k words. And that’s after deleting and rewriting two full-length screenplays I didn’t vibe with. Now I say this just to show I’ve progressed; it’s not about the number of words you write; it’s about telling the story. A writing routine give you the freedom to tell your story.

    What’s your writing routine?

    Happy Winter Solstice

     “It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.” — John Burroughs

    According to History.com, the winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year. In 2024, in the Northern Hemisphere, it takes place on December 21. Want to hear the great news?! After the winter solstice, days start becoming longer again! Yay for more sunlight.

    Around the world cultures have held feasts and celebrated holidays around the winter solstice. Fire and light are traditional symbols of celebrations held on the darkest day of the year.

    https://www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/winter-solstice