I’ve always enjoyed taking pictures and have taken thousands over the years. After I took a record setting number at my daughters’ annual dance recital, I decided to share them online in a more professional way.

The site I selected carries a yearly cost, so I am attempting to sell photos to recoup some of that cost. If you’d like to see the photos, they’re at garvie.smugmug.com.

I’m still uploading photos. (And some of the older ones aren’t that great or are mostly my children and those around them but I uploaded them anyway, just in case someone wants them.

Roads are iced over and it’s a good day to stay on the computer and write. I have to keep an eye on the smol people here and make sure they do their schoolwork and do chores, but other than that, I can try to focus. The husband is here because his work is shut down, so he’s watching TV in the room I’m trying to write in, but I have headphones and I can make it work.

I’m going to apply for a work in progress grant through SCBWI. They have to be turned in during March. I that will be a good thing to work for. I’m not sure which work to use (it’s supposed to be basically finished) but I’m sure one of them will work. I guess I’ll choose whichever 10 pages I feel is strongest. Maybe, Baby is a 10 page roller coaster ride, so maybe that. Applying will at least be something writersly besides continuing to write novels that are not being read by a much larger audience than myself, lol.

What friend/family member are you grateful for today?

All of them.

Yes, I did.

What small thing that happened today are you grateful for?

So I’m kind of getting caught up on these. But it’s actually the 29th today. So should I do one from yesterday or today?

How about both? Yesterday I was grateful that my 14 year old son made dinner because I couldn’t be home until 7:30. And after dinner, my husband got me some ice cream and we ate it while we watched Great British Bake Off on Netflix. And that was pretty sweet.

Right now I am grateful because all three of my darling children are not here. They are at martial arts and dance. And the darling husband is still at work. And even though I love my family it is SO NICE to be by myself. Even the cats and dogs aren’t around me right now. It’s just me, and the computer, and a little Christmas music wafting in from the dining room. It’s quite grand.

And tonight we get to watch the season finale of GBBO. Which is lovely and also quite sad, alas.

What small thing that you use daily are you grateful for?

Easy.

What form of expression are you most grateful for?

Writing. I can’t always express myself very well when I speak but I think I do a good job when I am writing. At least I hope I do.

What moment this week are you most grateful for?

I am really grateful for the whole last week, Wednesday to Sunday, that we spent with family – first mine and then Ben’s. The whole time was amazing. We went to Silver Dollar City, ate Thanksgiving dinner with about 40 members of my late father’s family, walked in the woods, spent time beside water, geocached, cooked out, and did all kinds of marvelous things.

I think the moment I am most grateful for was the first day in Missouri, when I went out by the lake and walked on this little trail all by myself, then went on the dock and looked at the water. It was so beautiful, and peaceful. I sat on a bench for a long time. I just kind of meditated, and prayed, and took some pictures, and just relaxed and spent some time in nature.

Oh, and the number two moment I am grateful for is when the roller coaster I was on at Silver Dollar City turned out to not go upside down, even though it appeared to after it had begun.

What challenge are you grateful for?

This one?

I don’t know. Maybe every challenge I’ve had in my life. Cause all those challenges have served to make me the person I am today, and I wouldn’t change who I am for anything. Even when sucky things have happened in my past, I wouldn’t change it. All those experiences were for a reason, even if it’s not something I fully understand. That’s okay. I don’t have to.

What tradition are you grateful for?

Christmas?

Does that count?

I do like Christmas quite a bit. I like decorating and the tree and cards and the meal and all that business. It’s hectic but I like it anyway. And I keep learning how to make it a little less about commercialism and flashiness and more about the reason for the season. I also like the other winter holidays, like Hanukkah and the Twelve Days of Christmas and New Years and keeping spiritual thing at the forefront. I like that a lot.