December 2015 – Page 2

I went on a little break after Thanksgiving.

I packed up my bag, my books, my laptop, and my dog, and drove to the cabin this past Sunday afternoon through Thursday afternoon. It was a trip to get away after the hard holiday and regroup for what is next.

The first evening and through Monday my friend Belinda joined me and we talked and read and hung out wayyyyyyy to long waiting for the cable guy to show up and connect the internet but that is another story and we made the best of it. 🙂 Monday evening (once freed from the Cable Guy) we drove into Beaver Bay Minnesota and had dinner and then drove to Two Harbors Minnesota to go to Shopco (the only retail store they have). On our way back from Shopco we seen these two floaty guys and could not resist…

two harbors, book journey — Belinda dancing with a snowman

The next morning we were hit with a lot of snow so Belinda drove back into Two Harbors and had lunch at a nice place called the Vanilla Bean before she headed back to the cities to beat the weather.

Then after she left, I drove back to the cabin to spend a few days alone. I just needed a break to refresh and I knew if I was at home I would have been running around doing what I always do, worrying about what was for dinner…

and I just didn’t want to.

The snow, which I never like – was actually somewhat symbolic. It seemed, once it blanketed the ground… that it muffled everything… like it almost became more

quiet.

And that spoke to me.

I spent the next two days reading and napping, hiking with my dog, watching movies…. just being. It was good. I plan to do something similar after Christmas.

8 months have passed as of yesterday. I spend a lot of time thinking about that day, and the days before when I had been with Justin. With the heartbreak, there is a mix of thankfulness for the time we had together. I know in many ways I was lucky. My son and I were so close. I will miss and cherish that forever.

I am searching for my new normal every day. I am not sure as of yet what that will look like but I have some ideas of who I hope I am.

I am linking this post to Saturday Snapshot.

Every year I get excited about what will be that first book I will be chatting about going into the new year. I make a big deal out of picking the book. It is usually a book I have wanted to read for a while and for whatever reason, I just have not been able to find the time to read it.

This is the third year I am hosting this event and this year, it is all the more important to me. It was a year ago today that I put out last years request. I would love for you to join me in this tradition of picking the book that you will be reading into the new year. It can be a coveted book that you have been waiting to read, a guilty pleasure book, a re-read of a favorite that you want to explore once again… whatever you want.

Our posts of what we are reading will go live on January 1st. You do not need to be done with the book on January 1st, just reading it on January 1st and yes, you can start on the 31st and be reading into the New Year. I would like to link up all your posts here on the 1st as well so others can visit you and cheer you on! If you are interested, please fill out the short form below.

Here are the fun collages I did with last year’s participants:

I have not had the best blog presence the past 7+ months. Please help me spread the word of this event by chatting it up on your blogs, Twitter (link under post to do this easily), Facebook, and wherever else you like to chat. 🙂 I would love for this to be another great year of reading into the New Year.