Why Is Gratitude Important? #reset_your_attitude #RB4U

Why is Gratitude Important?

Our lives are busy. We have shopping, laundry, work, family, friends and so many other things. Taking a moment for ourselves can lead to feelings of anger because we have so many other things we should be doing. But we all need to stop for a moment and appreciate the things and people around us. Find a time to be grateful for what we have.

According to the Google dictionary, gratitude is defined as: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Happier Human reports that a five minute a day gratitude journal increases our long term well-being by 10%, which is the same impact as doubling our income. Who wouldn't like that?

Most of us believe we are grateful. We thank the person who holds the door for us. We thank the waitress who brings us a second glass of water. But do we really take the time to sit down and reflect on the people and things we are grateful for? I am grateful for the clean air I breathe because in many parts of the world, people struggle to breathe. Looking at the pieces we appreciate brings a deeper value to our lives as we focus on what is good, rather than what we are missing. 

November is a perfect month since it culminates with the holiday of Thanksgiving where we naturally give thanks for all we have in our lives, as well as to the people (from past and present) who have helped us.

Take those five minutes each day and journal about your gratitude, your body and mind will thank you!

My book Home is Where the Heart is features five sisters and daughters who left Amherst, Ohio to escape their small town lives only to return and find that love was really always around the corner. 

Amazon

EXCERPT:

“Hi Syn, Mr. Wilder. Do you mind if I join you? This place is packed, and I hate to eat alone.”

“Hello Thom. Nice to see you. What have you been up to lately? I haven’t seen you since you dated Syn, here. I must have scared you off good,” Dad replied with a grin.

“Mr. Wilder, you didn’t scare me off. Syn decided to run away to the big city and leave this small town behind.” T.J. winked at me, so I stuck my tongue out at him.

I felt like an idiot while they spoke about me, and a little shocked that Dad didn’t remember T.J. being at the recent fire. “Hello—I am sitting right here. You shouldn’t talk about me like I’m invisible.” They continued to ignore me, in favor of the conversation. I took the moment to look at T.J. He certainly had grown up. I studied his profile, trying to find a small part of that little boy who was my best friend growing up. His strong jawline and full lips were new to me. His baby fat was gone, but his strong nose was the same. The aquiline had a bump that always looked like he had broken it, which earned him the nickname Rocky. I loved his smile. It was a full grin that lit up his whole face and made his eyes twinkle. I wish I could go back and have a chat with my teenage self. I would share with her just how sexy T.J. was today. Of course, I would probably also have a few words to say to teenage T.J. too. After all, I wasn’t the only one in that relationship.

My ears perked up when I heard Dad invite T.J. over for dinner tomorrow night. It will be nice to give Dad something to do, but another evening with T.J…can my heart handle it?

~*~

Thank you for stopping by today and I wish you all the blessings of the season. I am grateful for all of you who spend a moment reading my post today. <3

Until next month!

xoxo

Melissa

www.melissakeir.com

A Little Bit Thankful. . .

It’s been quite the month, hasn’t it? So much has happened. I’m not even sure where to begin, lol.

On a global level, we had several terrorist attacks, the most famous were the attacks in Paris. I don’t know about anyone else, but watching the news unfold on television and social media made me realize just how thankful I was for family living close by and my health.

On a national level, we celebrated both Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving, two holidays that make us reflective and grateful for what we have. We always have Thanksgiving at our house, and it's nice to have all of us under one roof - even if it's only for a little while.

On a personal level, my oldest’s Cross Country Team finished for the year, and her Basketball team started practice. I was very thankful that he basketball schedule is a little less demanding than her running schedule. She also managed to finish a major school project about her ancestors, a project that made me realize just how far we have come from our humble roots.

On a professional level, I got some big news on two fronts, neither of which I’m allowed to share yet. (dang it!) If you want to be one of the first to know, then you might want to sign up for my newsletter here. I’llannounce it here first, as well as give subscribers a special surprise inDecember. So stay tuned!

The news has made me reflective as to how far I have since I started writing in 2008, and all of the amazing friendships I have made along the way. So I’d love to take a moment now to thank all of you, writers and readers, for an amazing 2015. Here’s hoping that 2016 is even better!

How about you? Is there anything you’re thankful for this holiday season? Tell me about it in the comments section. I’d love to hear from you!

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More vendors coming soon!

“A fast-paced plot, appealing lovers awakening to their true feelings, unnerving antagonists, and entertaining sex scenes make this an absorbing, satisfying romance.” – Publishers Weekly

A sensual tale about the risks and rewards of falling in too deep-and loving it.

PASSION COMES WITH A PRICE.

Tired of living a lie, Arianna Perconti leaves her fiancé at the altar and runs into the arms of her family’s fiercest rival, Jason Stone. Hoping to cash in on their ‘friends-with-benefits’ arrangement while hiding out from bitter relatives, Ari instead finds herself falling deeply, desperately in love with the sexy hotelier. Jason is everything she never knew she wanted-yet she will do absolutely everything to show him she means business. In bed…

CAN THEY AFFORD TO LIVE WITHOUT IT?

Jason lives in the fast lane and has the race cars to prove it. A born adrenaline junkie, he must admit that Ari is the perfect partner for his heart-pumping bedroom games. The problem? The relationship is starting to deepen, but is Jason really cut out to be a one-woman kind of man? The question haunts his days, only fueling the passion he and Ari share during those hot, hot nights. But when an estranged sibling enters the picture, threatening to take away everything he holds dear, Jason is forced to make a decision: Say goodbye to his wild ways or risk losing Ari forever?

A lifetime New Englander, Suzanne married her college sweetheart and has been with him for over twenty years. Every summer she drags her husband and two daughters to Maine on a quest for the perfect lobster dinner. Every fall she can be found down in Foxboro, Massachusetts cheering on her favorite football team. In between those trips, she’s a chauffeur, a maid, a chef, an event planner, a hairdresser, a wardrobe stylist, a tutor and a sometimes masseuse. To keep her sanity, she often drinks copious amounts of coffee and stares at the blank screen of her laptop, dreaming of great adventures. Sometimes she even writes them down for others to enjoy.

For more information, please visit her website.

Topaz and Thanksgiving

November is my birth month so it’s always been special to me. This year, however, it also represents hope and renewal. October was an especially brutal month for me personally. I’m still dealing with the aftershocks, but now that November is here, I’m trying to move on.

A theme for our November blogs is parties, as in who would you most like to party with.  In my twenties and thirties, I was all about partying. God forbid we stayed in New Year’s Eve. Last year my birthday fell on Thanksgiving. Because it was a milestone birthday, I wanted to celebrate with the two people I love the most in the world, my husband and son, the only two people I need to make my party complete. My son lives near Las Vegas so my husband and I flew to Sin City for my Thanksgiving birthday. We had an amazing holiday dinner, but the best part was that the three of us were together. Family is what Thanksgiving is all about.

I used to fantasize about having an elegant family Christmas party where the women and girls were dressed in taffeta, silk, and satin, and the men and boys wore elegant suits. The table would be set with fine china and Waterford crystal and everyone behaved beautifully. Definitely a fantasy. If your families are anything like mine, we dress up for Christmas, but comfortably, and in most cases not in silk, satin, or taffeta. And what about Thanksgiving? Loose clothes are the order of the day.

Another theme this month is November’s birthstone, topaz or citrine. Since it’s also my birthstone, I love the gem in all its colors. I have a citrine ring, a pair of citrine earrings, a smoky topaz ring, smoky topaz earrings, a mystic topaz ring, a golden topaz ring which my grandfather gave me when I was a child, and a blue topaz ring.

Topaz comes in many colors which might surprise people. Here’s what I found on Wikipedia:

Pure topaz is colorless and transparent but is usually tinted by impurities; typical topaz is wine red, yellow, pale gray, reddish-orange, or blue brown. It can also be white, pale green, blue, gold, pink (rare), reddish-yellow or opaque to transparent/translucent.

Orange topaz, also known as precious topaz, is the traditional November birthstone, the symbol of friendship, and the state gemstone of the US state of Utah.

Imperial topaz is yellow, pink (rare, if natural) or pink-orange. Brazilian Imperial Topaz can often have a bright yellow to deep golden brown hue, sometimes even violet. Many brown or pale topazes are treated to make them bright yellow, gold, pink or violet colored. Some imperial topaz stones can fade on exposure to sunlight for an extended period of time. Blue topaz is the state gemstone of the US state of Texas. Naturally occurring blue topaz is quite rare. Typically, colorless, gray or pale yellow and blue material is heat treated and irradiated to produce a more desired darker blue.

Mystic topaz is colorless topaz which has been artificially coated giving it the desired rainbow effect.

Two gems are appropriate for November birthdays -Topaz and Citrine.

 

Citrine, the other birthstone for November is known as the "healing quartz". This golden gemstone is said to support vitality and health while encouraging and guiding hope, energy and warmth within the wearer. Citrine can be found in a variety of shades ranging from pastel yellow to dark brownish orange. It is one of the most affordable of gemstones and plentiful in nature. Citrine is found most frequently in Brazil, Bolivia, and Spain.

If you need a break from all the holiday eating, I recommend the delicious stories in Entice Me: Luscious Love Stories. I’m honored to be part of this anthology with so many talented authors.

My contribution is Capri Nights, a sensuous romance set on the bewitching Isle of Capri.

A San Francisco sous chef discovers she might have bitten off more than she can chew when a scrumptious Italian man stirs up a recipe for romance on the delicious Isle of Capri.

Sous chef Cat Connors has spent a lifetime feeling like a stale cracker on a plate of fancy hors d'oeuvres among her stepfamily. But when she travels from San Francisco to the sunny Isle of Capri, she’s determined to finally shed her dowdy image and spice up her life. She has big plans for her future as a chef. Those plans don’t include a yummy Italian with a mouth-watering body and a smile that melts her insides like gelato under the hot Capri sun.

When Alex Viteli retreats to his villa on Capri to escape the notoriety and legal troubles brought on by his family, the last thing he needs is a beautiful, tempting dish of a woman. Alex may be the scion of a wealthy Italian family, but that won’t matter if he can’t cook up a scheme to clear his father’s name and keep himself out of prison.

Though they fit together like strawberries and chocolate, Cat and Alex may not have time for more than a quick bite of romance. Cat’s future is in San Francisco. Alex can’t leave Italy. But the sultry Capri nights might tempt them both to savor just one more sweet taste of love.

http://www.amazon.com/Entice-Me-Luscious-Love-Stories-ebook/dp/B015YEHP9U/?tag=carmaraut-20

   

Nanowrimo Advice by Janice Seagraves

Nanowrimo Advice

By Janice Seagraves

The Nanowrimo starts in about a week. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it stands for National Novel Writing Month, which is a contest to write a 50,000 word novel in a month, starting November 1 until November 30th. You can go to the website to sign up.

Congratulations for all those who entered. It’s going to be an extraordinary month.

On November first, a lot of you are going to want to start with a bang and push to get your word count up. It’s a good strategy to get your numbers high before the mid-novel slump (more on that later).

This will be my seventh year of doing the Nano, and I've won all of those years, and I have a few nifty tricks for gaining additional word count.

So here’s some advice from me:

Give yourself permission to write crap: We’re going for speed here, so writing crappy lines, and overwriting is not only okay, but necessary to succeed. Remember, while you’re working on your Nano story you’re basically writing a sloppy first draft.

Tell your interior editor to wait until November is over, and then you can edit to your heart’s desire.

Set the scene: this increases the word count and your characters aren't just standing around in a white space, saying their lines.

When setting the scene use all four senses:

Example: The surf roared as it rushed up onto the beach. Seagull screamed overhead. The smell of brine and seaweed filled her nose. Moist air blew the hair back from her face. Cold water lapped over her feet as wave after wave rushed past her toes, tumbling broken seashell across the sand. Fog waited just past the breakers, announcing it was going to be another gloomy night.

During the mid-novel slump, and yes you will have one we all do, go over your story.

I know, I know I told you not to revise or editor now. However, when you go over your nano story you can add additional details to your scenes, adding to the word count, which should get you going again.

Example: When he stared into her green eyes, he found himself wanting to kiss her.

Change to: when he stared into her sea green eyes, he noticed flecks of gold surrounded the iris.  He realized he could easily get lost in her gaze, and he very badly wanted to kiss her. 

Another way to get past the mid-novel slump is to plan for the first great reveal or sex scene in the middle of your story.

Good luck with the Nano. May you all be winners.

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Janice’s website: http://janiceseagraves.org/

Janice’s main blog: http://ladyjanice.blogspot.com/