New Year's Eve

The End of Another Year.

I always experience conflicting emotions of nostalgia and anticipation on the last day of the year. For most of us, I think it is a time for reflection and goal-setting. And hopefully, a celebration of what has been and what is yet to come.

Please Be Safe.

During the holiday season many of us are on the roads, either traveling to/from holiday destinations or attending holiday parties. If your weather has been anything like ours, please drive slowly and use extra caution.

   

My December Was a Bit of a Blur.

I thought all of 2017 went by quickly, but December seems to have zipped by at light speed. I spent the first few weeks in a bit of a sleepless fog, but for a very happy reason.

Don't Hang Christmas Tree Lights Without a "Magic Wand"

If you have tall trees to decorate, don't put up the lights until you read this post!

I sometimes recommend products on this blog, but only ones that I would use myself. A few years ago, I wrote an article about a tool that makes it easy to hang Christmas tree lights. And it does. Even on tall trees!

We've had a lot of snow in Montana already this year, but it melted due to unseasonably warm temperatures over the past week or so. Sunday was the perfect day to put up our outside holiday lights. Before we began, I got out our trusty tool. 

We decided to string lights on a tall pine tree and our Canada Red Cherry tree, which is now much taller than when I wrote about it, here. We had no need for a ladder, no tense moments, and no feelings of frustration throughout the process. Lickety-split, my husband and I had both trees decorated.We don't put lights on the roof of our house, but this tool would work well for that too.

Taller than our garage when fully extended, this pole has a very long reach!

It is easier to put lights on a tree when two people participate; it helps a lot to have a second person managing the unstrung portion of the lights. There is a little bit of a learning curve to using the light pole, but it is quite easy to get the hang of it. My husband and I would have struggled a lot more if we had decorated the trees without this tool. It is practically a magic wand! We will never decorate another tall tree without it.

One more good thing. When it's time to take the lights down, this tool makes that an easy task as well.

So, where can you get this magic wand?  I got mine from Amazon.  Click the link to go directly to the Amazon website, where you can order one of your own. 

I do get a tiny bit of compensation if you buy from Amazon after clicking the link, but that doesn't increase your purchase price at all. And I promise that is not the reason I'm telling you about this tool.  

The mission of this website is to pass along helpful ways to make the most of life. This is definitely one of those.

Happy decorating!

Do you decorate your home with outside lights? When do you put them up?

Happy American Thanksgiving

Let's make the most of all our moments

and be thankful

for every one of them!

Happy Thanksgiving from The Most - - of Every Moment

~~***~~

A few years ago I wrote about how December always sneaks up on me. 

Still looking for a recipe for your Thanksgiving feast? In this post, I shared a complete menu of recipe ideas.

What are your tips for getting organized for the holidays?

It's Been a While

"It's been a while" is a bit of an understatement. 

It's been nearly a year since there's been anything new published on this blog. In fact, it has been so long, it will take courage for me to hit publish once I complete this post.

Some bloggers announce they will take a hiatus, or go into hibernation for a bit. I wish I had. However, to make a statement about taking a break, you have to know you will be doing so. I didn't. Instead, I started to fade away and then just disappeared. Nothing has been published here since January 1st, 2017.

I got stuck

This blog was once an almost daily habit, and something that I loved and nurtured. Somehow though, I strayed away from its original intent and the reasons it brought me joy. I fell prey to what tempts all bloggers: a need for blog success. My work became influenced by the techniques everyone says are necessary to be a successful blogger. Those differed from the ones I was comfortable with and that made me happy. I finally just got stuck. 

Some real life stuff got in my way as well. Having both our kids away at school, some family members with significant health issues, and the prolonged illness and eventual loss of our beloved dog all impacted my writing muse. I quit writing altogether for a while.

I got off-track

Bloggers share a lot about themselves, their family, and friends in a very public way. I have always wrestled with concerns about the Internet and privacy, but in past posts I tried to do the "smart" blogging thing. Loyal readers got to know me and my family pretty well. 

This blog however, was never intended to be a diary or a newsletter about my life. While following the popular blogging trend of sharing a lot of personal details and posting frequently, this blog became a little bit of both. While I enjoy the personal connections of blogging, that was never the main purpose of this website. 

I took a big step back and retreated from writing, blogging, and all other forms of social media. As the months went by, however, my need to write returned. I took some online writing classes, have been doing freelance writing as a ghost writer, resumed work on some short stories, and even won a fiction writing contest! Now, I'm ready to return to blogging with a clear plan of how I should proceed.

My new way of blogging

This blog began as a place for me to write and to pass along helpful ways for making the most of life. I've missed having this space to be creative and sharing good tips and tidbits with this audience. That is the main reason I'm resuming work at The Most -- of Every Moment.

I'm back to being a blogger, but in a very different way. I'll no longer be posting on a schedule or with any regularity. Posts will be published only when I have something worthwhile I want to share, and when I have time to write about it. If you want to follow along, the best way would be to sign up for my newsletter, which will deliver posts right to your email. 

I'm looking forward to getting caught up with the blogging community and reading favorite blogs again. I will probably resume some use of social media. Primarily Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, and mostly just to read what others are doing and share the helpful things I find.

Something worthwhile: for readers who are also writers. 

Aside from apologizing for disappearing and informing you of the future of this blog, I mentioned courses and a contest offered by websites I enjoy. If you write, be sure to check these out:

• The Write Life is a website that offers a wealth of information for writers and bloggers. They offered the amazing bundle of writing courses I signed up for last spring.
• Re:Fiction is a wonderful resource that I recommend for all fiction writers. They host a monthly content for fiction writing from a prompt; the winner gets a prize and there's no entry fee!

Thank you 

Thank you to all of this blog's loyal readers, and to anyone who is visiting here for the first time today. 

When I spent some time this morning reading through my archives, I was pleasantly reminded by the volume of useful information published here. I even learned some things that I'd forgotten! I hope my past and future posts are valuable to you as well. That is the best measurement of this blog's success.

How can I help you find ways to make the most -- of all your moments?

Happy New Year! Some words of wisdom from 1755 to 2017.

In the year 1755, Benjamin Franklin wrote some advice still worth following in 2017: 

"Be at War with your Vices, at Peace with your Neighbours, and let every New-Year find you a better Man." 

I would change this quote to be gender-neutral, by substituting the word person for the word man at the end of the sentence. I can find no other fault with these wise words. 

Happy New Year. Wishing you peace, happiness, and health in 2017.