Sunday, January 3, 2010

Happy New Year!

Hello Everyone,

As I look out my office window watching the snow fall, I can't help but wonder what the new year will bring. Will our economy get better, will the health care be changed for the better, will we be safer; all of these questions enter my mind and more.

The new year brings new hope, and we all look forward to something better in 2010. Some of you can remember the tough times of the fifties, the sixties, the seventies, and every generation thinks their decade was the hardest to get through. My parents grew up in the twenties, thirties, and the forties. All of these decades were difficult.

The last decade is no worse than any other. Every generation thinks theirs was not as good as the one before them. This is not true. Each group has its' problems to face, and each one of us can survive them if we just realize that all we have to do is keep going. It may not be easy, but it does get easier at times. Never despair so much that you lose hope.

That's enough philosophizing for now. Those of you who have been reading my blog every week know that I posted two questions on November 9, 2009 for a contest to start December 1st. I'm posting the questions with the answers below.

1. Give description of young woman at the Regional Laboratory.

Answer: Inside the regional laboratory, a young woman with hair parted in the middle and black ponytails at either side of her head greeted them. Andy handed the note back to the Goth-looking young woman with black lipstick and fingernails.

2. What did the tautness of Jake's arms tell Jolene?

Answer: He didn't buy what he was selling either.

Although many of you got part of the answer right on the first question. It was obvious only one person read the entire excerpt and got the correct answer. Wink! RobynL, you're the winner. lol I need your snail address again. Yep, that's right folks, this is the second win for Robyn L. She won the contest at my interview with Books by Pickles. RobynL, I hope you'll be as please with this gift as you were with the last one.

For the second contest that started on December 6, 2009, which was to be given to the commenter who came by the most frequently, I have a three-way tie. lol The winners are Elle, Amy M. and Robyn L., and all I'll need is email addresses. For those of you who have already bought Addiction, please let me know so I can send you something else.

May there be peace and prosperity in 2010. Hang in there folks.

Hugs,
Sandy

http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=e684nldayz0
http://bkwalkerbooks.weebly.com/1/post/2009/12/-read-review-of-addiction-by-sandra-k-marshall.html

20 comments:

K.T. Bishop said...

Guess I have no choice, but to have hope...

Paris said...

Sandy,
There's always going to be some sort of turmoil and each time I think it can't get worse, it does. But you're right, you can't despair. We all find ways of dealing with the problems that arise and that seems to be human nature.

May your solutions be evident and your year be happy, my friend.

Elle J Rossi said...

Yay! I won. Wahoo!!!!! I'm so excited and yes, I do have Addiction already.

Thanks, Sandy!

Elle

Sandy said...

Well, of course, K.T. There's always hope. Smile.

Sandy said...

Thank you, Paris. There's always a solution if you try and have hope. Thinking helps. Smile.

Sandy said...

Okay, Elle. Send me your address. I'll be sending you something in the mail. Smile.

Lynn S. said...

Sandy,

Happy New Year to you. I hope it brings you much luck and many, many sales.

Sandy said...

Thank you, Lynn.

If only I could be so fortunate as to have many sales, but with the way the industry is changing I don't know what to expect.

I'm just riding the wave of change. lol

Annie Nicholas said...

I think 2010 will be great. I filled with excitment about up coming changes.

Sandy said...

Thanks, Annie. I hope you're right.

mowriter said...

Hi Sandy. I can't help laughing as I sit here reading your blog today. I was born into the depression of the thirties and still remember what it was like. Except, nobody ever told me it was hard back then. We were who we were and where we were and that was that.
Frankly, I think that is how it's always been. If you grew up in a family that telegraphed that you were living in hard times, you're not like my family at all. My daddy and my granddaddy's would have tanned my backside if I ever whimpered that times were tough.
We had a very basic diet made up mostly of beans and potatoes with meat two or three times a week. Lots of veggies and you ate what was on your plate because that was all there was. I never complained and I've probably had a relatively healthy life because of it.
We spent the day of Pearl Harbor watching our shoe factory burn to the ground. In fact, I can still remember standing there when the first report of the attack came over the radios. I watched almost all the male members of my family go off to war, including my own father who was in his thirties and had a heart condition.
I don't mean to sound like an old 'youknowwhat' here but the kids of today have it so easy, they're likely to lose what we've fought for for centuries. When you have no part in forging something new, you have no sense of value in it. Witness, time after time, young family members who inherit a business and let it go to ruin.
But yes, I agree with your major point. Each generation has its own challenges to deal with and each one will no doubt think theirs is the worst man has ever faced.
That's why a good knowledge of history is so important if we're to avoid the fate of every previous dominant society.
Other than that, I have no strong feelings. LOL.
Cheers on a cold January Sunday,
Dale

Sandy said...

Thanks, Dale, for your enlightening comment. I can remember eating a lot of chicken because my mom raised them and sold the eggs. It was a different time, but a nicer, slower time than today.

Thanks again for some nice memories.

J Hali Steele said...

Been through a few of these bad periods, they just seem to run together. Why do I feel like they're worse?

EmilyBryan said...

I think the key is to revel in the small joys of each day--a cup of excellent coffee, sun sparkling on snow and a quiet corner in which to write. Don't worry about tomorrow. Now is all we have. We should wallow in every minute of it.

Sandy said...

Hi J,
I know some bad periods seem longer than others, but you always come out at the other end if you keep going.

We all feel like our bad times are the worse, J, but all you have to do is look around to find someone who has it worse.

Hugs.

Sandy said...

Thank you, Emily. I love your comment.

I know I've told you I loved The Christmas Ball, but I want to tell you again. It's definitely a recommended read for those who love regencies.

Hugs.

Amy M said...

I know how it feels to think that you cannot take any more bad things happening to you, but trust me, you can. I know first hand that life can really suck, but you just keep moving forward. My husband and I have 4 children. Myself, 2 of my boys and my daughter all have diagnosed diseases! I have a polyp syndrome, that 2 of my boys inherited from me :( My daughter (who is now 4) got sick in 2007 and now has dilated cardiomyopathy. She nearly died, was on the heart transplant list, the works. She now takes 6 different medicines, 7 times a day, which amounts to about 27 squirts a day. That is a lot for any adult, let alone a 4 year old! She spent this Christmas in the hospital with pneumonia. She was admitted Christmas Eve and came home on the 30th. And she said "That was the best Christmas ever!"
My mom just finished 6 months of chemo for her thrid round of breast cancer, which has spread to her bones. 30 chemo treatments, never missed a day of work.

I guess what I am saying is I am still smiling and chugging along when some days it feels like it is all just too much. I know how it feels like you have been kicked one too many times by life, but you know what in all that I just wrote, there is good stuff. My mom's cancer is nearly gone, my daughter is off the heart transplant list, my boys (since we figured out they had the disease early) have been fine and if we stay on top of it might not have near the troubles that I have had. Those are good things. Things that I am thankful for when faced with so much crap! Find that bright light, the silver lining. It is there, even if you really have to search hard.


oh, and Thanks Sandy for the prize!!
Amy M

Sandy said...

Amy M.,
Thanks for stopping by with your upbeat message. It's wonderful that you have been able to find the bright light in your life.

Your welcome, Amy. I just need to know if you have Addiction yet. If you don't, I'll send you the digital download.

Heather Snow said...

Happy New Year, Sandy. And Happy New Decade! It will be an adventure to see what it brings.

May it bring you many good things.

Sandy said...

Thank you, Heather. Happy New Year to you, too. So glad you made it by.