Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is bittersweet this year. This autumn has been great for my writing. I'm so thankful for that. The other day I finished my third novella. I'm letting them pile up, so I can go back later like a freight train and self-edit them all at once. For now, I want to keep writing and enjoy the momentum.

That's the good news.

The sad news? I miss my sister Christy. This is the first holiday without her. I cannot believe she will not be bringing her delicious mashed potatoes to Thanksgiving.

The second bit of bad news--I'm losing my stepbrother David as well. He has lung cancer and this will definitely be his last Thanksgiving with us. So, we let him choose the menu and we are making David's favorite dishes, the way he likes them. I will grate tons of cheddar cheese  onto everything. I even bought canned mushroom soup and canned french fried onions to make old-school green bean casserole because I love him, and he shuns my "organic crap."

I know many of us are missing someone they love this holiday. I want to be thankful for what I have now and remember many others have an empty spot at the table too.

Giving Thanks

This year has been a bit trying in the Skyze home. I'm thankful for the love and support of family and friends. I'd be lost without you all.

Happy Thanksgiving to those readers who celebrate!

Giving Thanks!

With Thanksgiving only a few days away I wanted to take a few moments to give thanks to those who have touched my life over the last year.

To my husband, who stood by me through an excruciating year. We had our ups and downs but his unwavering love pulled me through a very dark period of my life. For those who never experienced postpartum depression, count yourself lucky…for those who have, you have my sympathy. After giving birth to five children I suffered my first and last bout with the disease with this last child. It is one of the most horrifying experiences. My thoughts were not my own. I became a stranger in my own skin. Someone I did not like, so I can only image what my husband felt.

To my writing partner, another rock in my life. Without Katalina I’d be a mess. She helped me through those ups and downs too. Her encouragement of my writing during that time was another reason I came out of the darkness. When she suggested we write a series she didn’t realize the task we were taking on, but it kept my mind off of the ugly and focused on something good.

To all the new friends I’ve made over the last year and the readers who support my writing career. It’s not a career for the faint of heart, so to the handful of people buying my books THANK YOU! :o)

I’d also like to thank Julia and Tessie. Your emails here and there just to say congrats or how are you really brighten my day. I’m blessed to have wonderful friends in this community.

I can't forget my writer friend Marie Rose Dufour. She sought me out online two years ago and I'm so glad she did. We share many common bonds and I'm glad to have a good friend in this small state. I'm also so happy for her writing career taking off.

Lastly I’m thankful for my job. It might be the cause of my current health issues, but I have a great team of doctors who will get the Crohns under control and the stress of the day job will pass. There are too many people without work, so believe me I’m thankful to have an income.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Be Thankful For Odd things

I love Thanksgiving. It’s such a beautiful holiday. I know it has its critics and its politically incorrect roots. I know many of us already eat too much, and many of us don’t have nearly enough. I know many of us don’t have loving families or friends to spend the day with and I know that must hurt.

Thanksgiving is still a great holiday. When we say what we are Thankful for, the easy things quickly come to the surface, as they should. Our families, loved ones, home, our jobs, health, our veterans, our religious and spiritual values, and of course the beautifully prepared meal usually fill the top of the list of things to be thankful for.

Before the hectic holiday season starts in earnest, may I challenge you to spend a quiet moment asking yourself what you are truly thankful for—within?

For instance, if you are a creative person, please give yourself credit for that and silently say, “I am thankful for my creativity, I can find limitless solutions.”

If you are able to forgive others, please take credit for that. Say, “I am thankful I am a forgiving person, my heart and the people around me feel lighter because of it.”

If you are persistent, be thankful and say, “I may not be the best or the first but I’m persistent, and I always reach my goal.”

See what I’m getting at? You can even go further and thank your lungs for fueling the fire, your immune system for protecting you, your skeleton for holding you up etc… There’s an endless list of things to be thankful for. So many little things work quietly within our lives like unsung heroes.

Remember women are the keystones of the household and the greater community. When we identify and tap into our strengths, those qualities thrive, and that’s what I want for all of you this season. I want you to thrive, and have lots to be thankful for in the coming year.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I’m very thankful you visited Seven Sexy Scribes.

XXOO Kat

PS. The dual NaNo project with Amber Skyze is going great! I love her story and I’m always thrilled when she sends new pages to read. My story is almost 33k and it’s sweeping along. So far, so good.

Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish all my friends and readers a Happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for all of you! :o)

BTW, a nice reader who took advantage of my 5 for 5 wrote a nice review you can check out here!

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/237813041

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving week is upon us and I’ve been reflecting on the past ten months. A lot has happened in my life. Some things were life altering and tragic. Some were wonderful and uplifting.
A few people have been brought into my life and I know they were put there for a reason. One person understands what I’ve been going thru and the other person is a cheerleader for my career and overall great friend. I’m thankful for both of them. :) That’s not to say I’m not thankful for the rest of my online friends, because honestly you’ve all helped me when I felt I couldn’t go on.
I’m thankful for my family. Most importantly my DH. I thought for sure our marriage was doomed this year, but through tragedy we grew stronger. I’m so glad he stuck by me when I pushed him away.
Another thing I’m thankful for is my health.
Rumors are swirling that my job along with hundreds of other colleagues is on the line. There’s a good chance I may find myself in the unemployment line before Christmas. What a shitty way to end the year, but right now I’m thankful for the job.
In the midst of all the rumors I’m moving forward and taking charge of what I can control.
Happy Thanksgiving to all the people in the US and for those who aren’t celebrating, I wish you happiness.
Until next week!

Memorial Day!

Memorial Day is a holiday for us to celebrate those who've served in any branch of the US military. Some survived wars, some are walking wounded, some died. All were brave and committed to their oath to follow orders and protect our nation.

    It's a day to salute them and remember their sacrifices.

Navy.                                                                                  Marines.                                                       


                                                     

                                                        












Army.




                                 


                                                                                             Air Force.


              

       THANK YOU ALL!
                        





Photos: Flickr: Beverly & Pack, Ambert, MATEUS_27:24&25, San Diego Shooter, Tom Carmony, Waiting line's photostream, US Army IMCOM.
Marianne/April

I'm Thankful.

We need to be thankful for the all the good things in our lives but this week is especially important. Several of my sister Scribes have already written beautiful blogs and given thanks but I can’t resist joining them, so I’m going to do the same.

At this time last year I was un-contracted and unpublished author. I’m incredibly thankful for the learning experiences and the opportunities that have come my way during this year.

I am thankful my books make modest gains in sales each month instead of drop. So I must say I am very thankful to the kind fans who have written me with their encouraging words and recommended me to a friend. I am so thankful to them.

I am thankful to all the American men and women who selflessly leave their loved ones, to go overseas and work as medics, drive trucks, clean teeth and lay water pipes with the intention of making peace in the middle of a war. Thank you.

I am thankful I am older. I would not want to be the person I was when I was young.

I am thankful I have enough of every basic need and enough to share.

I am thankful I survived this year intact!

I am thankful for all the love that comes my way.

I am thankful my family is not a Norman Rockwell portrait. We are an oddly mixed assortment of people and I like it that way.

XXOO Kat

 

Home for the Holiday

This time of the year, I always reflect on the things I’m grateful for. This year is no different. Had anyone told me five years ago that I’d be remarried, living three hours away from my family and expecting a child I’d have laughed in their face.

When I left my abusive ex, I swore off relationships. Don’t get me wrong I wasn’t going to be celibate at the young age of 30, but I wasn’t going to live with another man either. I had it planned out perfectly. I’d have a lover or friend with benefits. Someone who lived in his own place and me in mine. I wouldn’t have the headaches of dealing with someone else (besides my children). Children were definitely out of the question. I had three – more than enough in my mind. I had them young and it was time to enjoy my life.

Not to sound like a bitch, but I broke up with a guy ten years my junior because I felt he was going to want more children in the future and I wasn’t going to be the one to give them to him. I also ended a few relationships because the guy wanted me to uproot my children and move twenty minutes from my home. Boy is doesn’t seem so far now! LOL

That all changed when I met my husband. I threw caution to the wind and moved three hours away from my family – for the virtually unknown. I had no friends in RI. I did manage to land a job before moving here, but that’s it. I uprooted my children to a strange new environment, leaving all their friends behind. It took a lot of adjusting and there were struggles along the way. My health took a turn for the worse due to stress. I spent five weeks in the hospital and they thought I was going to die, but they didn’t know me. I’d been through so much in my life I wasn’t going to let a disease like Crohn’s take my life. Shit, my ex could have killed me a few times.

Today as I sit here thinking back and I’m thankful we’re all healthy and happy. I couldn’t imagine my life any differently.

Tomorrow the DH and I leave for NY. We’re spending the holiday with my family. That means three days of visiting. Not that I mind. I’ll spend some time with my dad. We’ll have dinner at my aunt’s with all my cousins and my mom. In the three days we’re there I have to squeeze in time to see a couple of my friends too.

It’s nice because a group of us usually do lunch on Wednesday. When I left NY five years ago I hadn’t realized just how hard it would be to get back home and see family and friends. It seems the only time I get back is for holidays or if it’s something special for my goddaughter and Mother’s Day.

That’s why this trip at Thanksgiving is that much more special. I’m thankful for the friends still in my life. The ones who didn’t abandon me because I moved one hundred seventy miles away. Some did, but I realize they weren’t true friends.

And lastly I’m thankful for all my online friends and fellow authors, who made achieving my dream of being a published writer that much better. I feel like the luckiest person alive.

Today I want to wish you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving!