Christmas wears me out. But, all the work of it is worth it when you get a gasp of delight out of someone you bought a present for. Look at our cozy little crew!

I grew up in the Midwest so now that I live in North Carolina it’s always a little weird that snow is downright unlikely during winter holidays. Still, there is something to be said for still seeing vibrant flowers in December.

My kid still-at-home is such a quiet critter generally speaking. But right now, they're in the living room with two good introvert friends back in town from college for the holidays and their giggles are rocking the house. I'm hiding in my office, half-terrorized and half-delighted to my introvert mom soul. #CoSoParents

Today, we're talking moving from idea to finished story on the Open Book blog hop. What decides which of your ideas grows to fruition and which wither on the vine? https://samanthadunawaybryant.blogspot.com/2023/12/from-idea-to-story-open-book-blog-hop.html #CoSoWriters

Bumbling around this morning, I watered my window plants. It wasn't until the water spilled back out that I realized I had also watered this plastic model of Audrey 2. Hope your morning went better than mine!

It's that "looking back/dreaming forward" time of year again, so my Monday blog is about the best bits of my writing life in 2023. How did the year treat you? https://samanthadunawaybryant.blogspot.com/2023/12/top-5-of-2023-open-book-blog-hop-post.html #CoSoWriters

Fourth night already? It’s going so fast! Here’s my holiday wear so far! I like my silly shirts for Hanukkah.

Starting off my holiday season with a Chinese Lantern Festival. Our second year, and I think we’ll make a tradition of it. So pretty!

Much Ado About Nothing is probably my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays. Last night I took Sweetman to a fun production that set the story in the 1940s. Love the trend of ignoring actor gender and letting anyone play anyone. Beatrice and Benedick really sparked!

It's only a few days till Chanukah and in our mixed household, we'll be doing Christmas, too. Honestly, I'm not feeling any of it. In the past, holiday reads and watches have helped me "get in the spirit." Any recommendations? #CoSoReaders #CoSoMovies

Yesterday, we bought Sweetman a new car. You'd think the place getting so many thousands of dollars out of us would want to create a good experience, but instead we feel hollowed out, like we barely survived. If only this car would just last forever and I'd never have to buy a car again.

For Open Book blog hop today, we're talking about favorite bookstores. What's yours like? Big Box? Indie? Online? https://samanthadunawaybryant.blogspot.com/2023/11/my-favorite-bookstore-open-book-blog.html #CoSoReaders #CoSoWriters

Y'all, I'm to the end of my five-day-holiday weekend, and I think I need a day off to recover. Instead, it's back to the salt mines tomorrow. At least these salt mines are less corrosive than my old job. Anybody else feel like this at the end of a few days off?

Cleaning out Sweetman’s car in preparation for getting his new one and found this relic of less technological days. Frankly I don’t miss them. GPS has saved my lost bacon many times. How about you?

Scene from #todayswalk Felt like I rounded a bend and ended up back in Kansas. (This is a farm park in Hillsborough North Carolina)

#throwbackthursday This was my first box of books, when my first novel was published for the first time, in 2015. I still smile like that every single time--three novels and more than twenty publications later. #CoSoWriters

Whoosh! You hear that? It’s 2023 speeding by. I had mixed results on my goals, but I blew my reading challenge out of the water. Did you set one? How’s it going? #CoSoReaders

We’ve had a bit of a rough time of it lately with the youngest. Chronic pain and fatigue. If you’ve ever been through the diagnosis-capades for something like this that I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about. And if not, I hope you never have to.

But, yesterday, the kid had enough wherewithal for a short park walk and we were rewarded with a visit by a baby deer and his mama. We stood watching each other for a long time, two mamas and their babies. Lovely.

Back in that “sticky muppet phase of getting my hair done. The bright colors feel even better on a gray, gloomy day.

Reminder that small, local elections are where change begins.