Wandering Thoughts of a Writer: #choices

Showing posts with label #choices. Show all posts

Being a minimalist can mean many things:

You only own the things you can carry in a backpack, suitcase, or car.

You downsize your life, intentionally living with fewer possessions.

Minimalism is basically owning less stuff so you can have more freedom to do what’s most important to you.

It’s living simply.

It’s discarding the things that doesn’t serve you and keeping the things that do.

It comes down to this . . .

What do you value most in life?

A minimalist lives her life deliberately, simply, and is selective with what she keeps in her life and how she spends her time. She does what matters to her.

Now just because someone is a minimalist, doesn’t mean he gave up all the comforts and convenience of life.

Hell, no.

If he uses something often, he keeps it.

However, there’s the extreme minimalist who only owns the stuff in his backpack.

The cool thing about being a minimalist, besides the whole concept, is it’s not about depriving yourself, it’s about removing the excess in your life—all the crap that’s been weighing you down, AND you’re in charge of how you want to be a minimalist.

…There are no set rules.

Last summer I was feeling low.

I had no idea why.

One evening, I was alone, standing in our dining room, looking at all of our stuff.

STUFF.

Why in the hell do we have all of this crap?

It doesn’t serve us.

And I'm living the same life . . .

Every. Frickin'. Day.

If I continue living like this, my life will be the same until I die.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

I'm existing.

Not living!

Then it hit me.

I’ve been feeling weighed down and enslaved by all the things we have and don’t need.

Bingo!

I found my problem.

My thoughts took it further.

Kevin and I own a small 2-story house. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a basement. We spend most of our time in 2 rooms.

The rest is wasted space.

Hmmmm.

When Kevin got home that night, I told him how I felt and what I discovered.

He was all for becoming a minimalist, and somehow the whole RV idea came into fruition.

So next weekend we’re having a huge yard sale.

HUGE!

I know we’ll still have a bunch of things to get rid of before we become full-timers (digital nomad), but we’ll be putting a nice size dent into getting rid of the stuff that doesn’t serve us.

Once we get to the point to where everything we own fits into our RV (Aesop), I’ll be able to say we’re minimalist and proud of it.

#choices, #daretolive, #freedom, #life, #living, #love, #minimalism, #minimalist, #possessions, #problem, #RV, #value, 0 Comments

I think most people aren’t fond of Mondays, me included. The weekends seem to fly by and the next thing you know it’s Monday.

Really?

So I thought to myself, instead of dreading it every week, turn it into a positive.

It’s a matter of perspective, right?

We all know Mondays can totally suck, but so can the other days.

What if everything goes wrong?

You slept like crap last night.

You start to fall into a nice comfortable sleep, and then the damn alarm goes off.

You hit the snooze button several times, then finally with a loud groan and possible colorful words, you drag yourself out of bed.

It’s Monday.

*SIGH*

Where did the weekend go?

Can we have a do-over?

I wasn’t ready yet.

You go into the bathroom to brush your teeth and drop your toothbrush on the floor.

You squeeze the tube of toothpaste and it shoots out all over the frickin’ counter.

What the hell?

And this is how your Monday begins.

What a way to start the week, right?

BUT!

You have a choice.

You do.

You can roll with it, laugh at each FUBAR situation, and tell yourself you will not allow these mishaps ruin your day and week.

Honestly, absurdities will happen.

Or you can allow it to get the best of you and have a shitty day and week.

It’s your choice.

I choose to see Monday as the beginning of a new week where the goals I set for myself for that week can be accomplished. Last week I wasn’t able to accomplish all of the goals I had set for that week.

No worries.

I’ll move them to this week.

Anyway, it’s Sunday night as I write this.

In an hour I go to bed.

I was thinking about Monday and decided to write this post and share with you the mindset I recently adopted regarding the dreaded Monday.

#choices, #goals, #monday, #perspective, #positive, #week, #weekend, 0 Comments

Title: Black Widow

Author: Mila Raphael

Cover Designed by Lee Ching with Under Cover Designs.

Release Date: November 18th.

Genre: Contemporary Romance

A PIECE OF PAPER DESTROYED ME.

Destroyed my perfectly crafted illusion of freedom.

Going back was a decision I would never freely make, but I had no other choice.

There would be consequences if I ran. . . again.

ONE LIE.

That’s all he asked, but that’s all it took to change the course of my life,

and everyone around me.

My mission was simple. . . just lie and be patient.

A black widow awaits patiently for her prey before striking out,

but what happens if instead of her poison, she feels the bite of love?

Mila Raphael has a very vivid imagination. She is slightly addicted to memes. She loves romance books, alpha males and spends hours dreaming about her next novel.

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#choices, #love, #relationship, #romance, 0 Comments

Title: Catching Mr. Right

Author: Misti Murphy

Genre: Romance

Finding Mister Right is easy.
It’s catching him that’s hard.
Not that I’ve ever been the girl who lets a little rejection get me down.
Or stop me from achieving my goals.

When Mister Right proves difficult to land, I need a little help.
Casper Morgan isn’t the ideal candidate.
Actually, he’s rude and grumpy and mean.
He’s also my boss for the summer.
And he’s hiding some pretty big secrets behind the zip of his pants.
Oh, and did I mention this whole fake dating plan was his idea?

Now we’re pretending to be together.
Sometimes it’s hard to remember we’re not.
Especially when he kisses me like he does.
And touches me as though I belong to him.
Maybe the right guy isn’t the one you plan on.
It’s the one you never saw coming.

Misti Murphy is a sadistic b*tch who loves to emotionally torture fictional people. If she did that in real life she’d probably end up in prison or a psych ward so she prefers to create dirty talking alphas and the sexually frustrated women who fall into their beds. And if someone needs to be smacked upside the head before f*cking turns to love then that makes her very happy indeed.

She’s a huge believer in flaws making us human, and that not everyone likes bacon. She’s also addicted to chocolate and scared of the effects of the coming shortage. She swears like a f*cking trooper, and thinks that graphic smuttiness should be as real in fiction as it is in real life.

When she’s not writing she’s the perfect housewife and mother. Ha bloody ha! When she’s not writing she’s hiding in a cupboard with her kindle, scoffing chocolate, and stalking facebook.

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Title: Single Dad's Waitress

Author: Amelia Wilde

Genre: Romance

He’ll give her more than just the tip.

Ryder

I’m not looking for love.

I’ve been screwed over before, and it was the mother of all disasters. The only silver lining? My cute-as-hell daughter, Minnie.

So my only goal when I have to live in Lakewood for the summer is to get in, get back on my feet, and get out of this godforsaken small town with its cutesy cafés and too-nice charm.

Until I meet Valentine, the waitress at the Short Stack diner.

She’s over-the-top gorgeous, with a body that makes me want to have her for breakfast. And when she sprays me in the face with whipped cream, her pink cheeks start to melt my frigid heart.

I can’t let her get to me. A scorching summer fling, sure…but that’s all my life can handle.

Once fall comes, we’re over.

Valentine

Waitressing is my job of last resort. So here I am, right at rock bottom.

Dumped by my ex? Check. Back in my hometown? Double check. Making a fool of myself in front of the sexiest stranger I’ve ever seen? Nailed it.

Ryder is the kind of guy I can never have. He’s sinfully sexy…and a single dad. There’s no room for me in a life like his.

Besides, come fall, I’m leaving this place behind forever.

The tension between us has to stop. I just have to get it out of my system, because he’s too hot not to touch, and neither of us needs this.

If only someone could remind me of that whenever he smiles at me…

Single Dad’s Waitressis a steamy, sweet single dad romance with adult language, no cheating, laugh-out-loud scenes, and an HEA that will melt your heart.

Amelia Wilde doesn’t always write about billionaires, but when she does, they’re alphas with hearts of gold and panty-dropping good looks. She doesn’t always write about small-town men, but when she does, they’re too hot to handle and good with their hands. She always writes about sexy heroes who go after what they want and heroines with enough spark and drive to power an entire city. She always wants the perfect happy ending. She will always accept free cookies.

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#choices, #decisions, #love, #relationship, #romance, #suspense, 0 Comments

Title: Forget Me Not

Author: Willow Winters

Genre: Romance

I fell in love with a boy a long time ago.

I was only a small girl. Scared and frightened, I was taken from my home and held against my will. His father hurt me, but he protected me and kept me safe as best he could.

Until I left him.

I ran the first chance I got and even though I knew he wasn’t behind me, I didn’t stop. The branches lashed out at me, punishing me for leaving him in the hands of a monster.

I’ve never felt such guilt in my life.

Although I survived, the boy was never found. I prayed for him to be safe. I dreamed he’d be alright and come back to me. Even as a young girl I knew I loved him, but I betrayed him.

Twenty years later, all my wishes came true.

But the boy came back a man. With a grip strong enough to keep me close and a look in his eyes that warned me to never dare leave him again. I was his to keep after all.

Twenty years after leaving one hell, I entered another. Our tale was only just getting started.

It’s dark and twisted.

But that doesn’t make it any less of what it is.

A love story. Our love story.

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I like my action hot and my bad boys hotter. And I don't hold back on either one in my writing. I'm so happy to be a #1 Contemporary Bestselling Romance Author. I'm so grateful and honored! I actually started writing after having my little girl, Evie, December 2015. All during my pregnancy with her I read. I only wanted to read romance, and I read EVERYTHING. I would read a book a day — sometimes two. In January 2016 I was staying up late with her and just thinking of all these stories. They came to me constantly. And I finally sat down and just started writing. I always wanted to do it so I figured, why not? I never thought I would reach this point of success, to be honest. It’s insane to me that I have so many fans. And I love each and every one of them for all of their support.