It’s January and I’m craving the color yellow. Between now and March where I live there is a noticeable lack of sunshine .
The gray cold days take over offering shivers rather than the prefered warmth and happiness that I thrive on. I find if I go to my room I feel better. Clothed in yellow walls I’m surrounded by the color of the sun. My mood improves, soon I’m feeling happy.
It could be I need more vitamin D this time of year. People with celiac have difficulty in absorbing D vitamins from the food we eat. There are subtle signs of deficiency, fatigue, bone pain and weak muscles. It’s always a good idea to get tested before adding vitamins to your daily routine. I have been tested–hate that as I don’t like needles, and found that I do need to take vitamin D.
So I’ll take an extra dose, and hang out in my yellow room more often.
Do you live where there is a lack of sunshine in the winter?
What do you do to improve you happiness level?
Please sign up for my newsletter and follow me by email. That will make me happy too!
How do you overcome the huge obstacle of promoting your book if you are dead?
This month is National Cervical Cancer awareness month and today’s post is because of this woman who battled to overcome cervical cancer. She lost.
Her name is Julie.
She wrote a book in 2009 — an inspirational, brave, honest memoir called the Cell War Notebooks, compilation of Julie’s blog posts from the last seven months of her life as she battled cervical cancer with hope, bravery, and a great sense of humor.Julie’s mom is doing what she can to promote the book but she’s asked for help. Having lost a husband to cancer I wanted to do that for Julie’s daughter, Luka.
I accepted the challenge to mention Julie in this post along with her book Cell War Notebooks because the proceeds from her book will help her daughter.
the challenge is to share about a obstacle I overcame.
Anyone who personally knows me will tell you that needles, blood, anything medical-makes me turn green or pass out. I’m not the one to call in an emergency. My youngest will be happy to tell you about the trip to the ER when I got lost because I was so freaked out. Or my oldest will explain how when he called about the accident he was in I didn’t handle it well.
But there was one time I did get over the medical obstacle. My first husband, John had a brain tumor. They tried to remove it but it wasn’t possible to get all of it out. That’s bad enough news and I didn’t think it could get any worse.
Before he was released from the hospital I was told I would be cleaning the head wound and re-bandaging it. I was so scared. There was no way I would be able to look at stitches and staple in my husbands scalp and be able to stand up.
There wasn’t a choice. We didn’t live close to family, our son was only 1. It was me or the risk of infection. I’m not going to give you details –to disturbing to write or read! The first time I did it was extremely difficult. But I made it. I didn’t cause him more pain–at least he was kind enough to say that I didn’t. That obstacle was one of the biggest I’ve ever faced, not just the surgery but his death later. I belive the reason I could do the things required of me is because God gave me the strength.
If you can would you please tell others about Julie’s book? Here is a direct link to purchase it. It is not an affiliate link, all money will go to Luka.
What obstacle have you overcome? Please share big or small!
Diana
*if you would like to find out more and how you can help read this post.
Claiming Mariah is an action packed, romance sizzling on the wood stove, and a desire for settling a family wronged kind of book. Claiming Mariah keeps your finger moving the pages as Mariah and Slade seem to connect then fall back into old patterns.
You’ll fall in love with Slade–he makes a grand hero, one who is stong but needs the love of a good woman.
Mariah is not a weak fussy help-me heroine. She does what needs to be done even though she’s hurting through and through.
This book has it all, from rustlers to the town drunk.
This is a book well worth reading and made me want to go back and read her other book, Stealing Jake.
Debbie
I know from my stats that there are many of you reading, but not commenting and that is okay. I thank you too!
Something to note, if you’ve been following by networked blogs I’ve deleted that widget. If you want to know when new posts are up please subscribe by email or RSS.
I’m a doughnut lover, but to eat them I have to make them.
My husband loves peanut doughnuts which we can’t find anymore, probably because of the peanut allergies.
I found this recipe and thought it would work for both of us. Some I left without the peanut topping.
I used the babycakes doughnut maker and it made about 15 of these yeast free gluten-free doughnuts.
I did ask the Nicole if I could share the recipe but alas, copywrite prohibits the sharing of this delicious wonder. I suggest you get the book. I have searched through it and there are many recipes I’ll be making. The price of the book is worth this one yummy wonder.
The historical genre for inspirational has opened up to include World War 2. I’m grateful for that because fictional Where Treasure Hides by Johnnie Alexander Donley is a treasure of history that we need to be aware of right now. We do not want history to repeat itself and through well written fiction like Where the Treasure Hides perhaps we will be more aware of what is happening around us.
The story line involves artist Allison Schuyler, sent back to Holland by her grief-stricken father to live with her grandfather and aunt. The family owns a well-known art gallery.
Allison loves art more than anything until she meets Ian Devlin on a trip to England. The war around them is escalating and Alison doesn’t want to love any one. She believes the family is cursed. If she marries Ian he will die. and with the war the possibility of that occurring is even greater.
As the story title implies there is treasure—the paintings created by the Masters. They must be hidden and protected but at what cost? Is it more important than a human life? These are decisions Alison must make.
Where Treasure Hides is an excellent read and while there is a healthy dose of history it does not over-ride the story which I found pleasant.
Are you excited about finding a new historical set in WW2?
The words Anxiety of Public Speaking doesn’t sound as scary as it is. The video is more accurate of how anxiety really feels.
When I stand up to speak this is me. I have an urge to run screaming as far from the danger zone.
You know the zone? The place where a person stands and 80+ eyes look at you in anticipation of learning or being entertained?
I have an event I’ll be speaking at Ministry for Kids workshop in January. Thankfully God –in His humorous way– made my co-author and co-speaker a therapist. I’m hoping she can talk me down from the ceiling as the chairs fill with people.
This should be easy for me. I’ve had training to speak in front of people. I taught school (but they were little ones!) and lead Bible studies.
I’ve been on the radio and videoed, but it doesn’t get easier for me.
I spend a lot of time in fear before the event. The bonus is that I should lose a few pounds, or yikes it could swing the other way and I’ll buy boxes of Pamela’s Gluten Free Cookies!!!
Any tips you all can share with me? I’d be grateful to learn away around, over or through this fear.
It’s Friday and I’m lost without my routines. With the Christmas and New Year’s holidays everything that seems to govern my life is wrong.
I’ve been to church so many times I’m not sure when Sunday really is.
The trash pickup didn’t come today–it’s moved till tomorrow.
Laundry day no longer has a day.
Grocery shopping–anytime I feel like it.
Even the normal sleep time has been interrupted by season 1 of 24, which I am just now getting around to watching.
So my question is, do I live my life with routine, or do I use those normal activites as gutter bumpers keeping me on a path?
What happens when those routines go off on their own? Chaos. It leads to to many hours on the internet, playing words with friends, and pajama days.
Working out becomes–I’ll get to it sometime today. (but I don’t)
Meal time becomes anytime.
I’m looking forward to this Sunday when my week starts out like normal.
I need those gutter bumpers to keep me from falling into all time vacation land.
How about you?
My comments have moved tp the top of the post again, click on the little cartoonish balloon and tell me, are you struggling to get back on track this year?
Can you imagine being told you have to read J. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Series? For a grade? That’s what happened to me in college. I wasn’t sure I’d like them since I wasn’t into the fantasy genre. I was wrong. Bilbo Baggins was so likeable in the Hobbit I couldn’t stop reading.
I devoured those books.
Later I bought the audio books for my youngest son who didn’t care for reading but loved listening to stories. When the first movie came out I had a willing partner to go with me. We saw all of them together. Now he’s in Chicago so unless I can get my husband to go see the Hobbit with me, I’ll be hitting an afternoon viewing soon, alone.
Meanwhile I still get Hobbit type cravings for meals at all times of the day.
Can you imagine J.R. Tolkien –a lover and student of language had already made up a language at the age of seven? I wonder how his mother understood him?
Before we sing Happy Birthday to J. R. Tolkien (you are singing with me right?) I’d like to leave you with this quote from the great man.
“There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.”
– The Two Towers
Do you read in the fantasy genre? What authors would you recommend?