New Year

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Leaping into the New Year

January 3, 2020 | Fun Stuff, Holidays | Leave A Comment

Happy New Year! Are you ready for 2020? I have big expectations for this year because it marks the start of a new decade — some folks are already calling it the Roaring 20s — and it’s a leap year. Think of all the babies born on February 29, the next leap day, who will have special birthdays.

Here are some interesting facts about leap years.

The extra day is added to the Gregorian calendar every four years to synchronize the solar year to balance out the 365.25 days it takes to orbit the sun.

The practice of adding an extra day began in 46 BC when the Julian calendar (decreed by Julius Caesar) was created.

In the U.S., leap years coincide with presidential election years.

Couples in Greece avoid getting married in leap years to avoid bad luck. Russians also believe leap years herald trouble such as freak weather patterns.

People born on February 29 (leap day) are called “leaplings” or “leapers” and there is a special group for them: The Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies.

Notable events — not all bad — that occurred during leap years:  George Armstrong Custer fought the Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876), the Titanic sank (1912), Benjamin Franklin proved that lightning is electricity (1752) and and gold was discovered in California (1848).

There is a movie titled Leap Year. Released in 2010, it stars Amy Adams and Matthew Goode.

What will you do with an extra day? If reading tops your list, check out my books:

Code Breakers Regency Romantic Suspense

Grayce Walters Contemporary Romantic Suspense

Impossible Mission Military Romantic Suspense

Sources:  Leap Year Fast Facts, 20 Fun Facts about Leap Years

 

New Year's Resolutions: Do or don't?

December 28, 2018 | Holidays | Leave A Comment
Every year around this time, people start pondering New Year resolutions to lose weight, save money, travel more, stress less. It’s a well-known fact, however, that about 80 percent of those who’ve made resolutions are back to their old habits by February. That sense of futility discourages some people from making resolutions at all.
 
Do you make New Year resolutions? For me, there is something about January 1 (and the start of school in the fall) that inspires a renewed sense of optimism. I’m inspired to do more, do better, be better, be more!
 
Maybe the question isn’t if we should make New Year resolutions but how we make New Year resolutions. I did a little research and found these three non-traditional methods to create resolutions that are inspiring, uplifting and motivating. Let me know if you think they’ll work for you!
 
1. Make a commitment to someone other than yourself, such as volunteering once a month, supporting to a cause you care about, helping a friend or family member in need. Altruism offers benefits just as valuable as losing weight, such as improving mood, lowering blood pressure, creating a sense of purpose and satisfaction, and promoting positive behavior in others.
 
 
2. Create a theme for the New Year. Pick a word, phrase, mantra or motto that you can apply to all endeavors in 2019, such as Peaceful, Healthy, Strong, Kindness or Adventure. When making decisions or confronting decisions, remember your theme! You can keep your motto front and center by creating a vision board, collage or daily journal. Focusing on intention (eating healthy), instead of specific outcomes (losing 10 pounds) creates a different mindset, which is oftentimes more effective!
 
 
3. Write a letter to yourself to be read next New Year’s Eve. Write a letter that reflects your hopes for the new year, goals you’d like to achieve, adventures you’d like to enjoy and changes you’d like to create to be read twelve months from now. You might also pen letters to be opened every month or every quarter, reminding you of these aspirations and offering encouragement.
 
 
Whether you make resolutions or not, have a happy, healthy New Year!
 

Five literary quotes to ring in the New Year

December 31, 2015 | Fun Stuff, Holidays | Leave A Comment

When the New Year arrives, do you tend to look back or look forward? It’s fun to reminisce when it’s been a good year, but other times, the anticipation of a fresh start and new opportunities is needed to let go of hurts and disappointments. I was looking for a great inspirational quote to inspire you and kept coming across these “literary” sayings. So, since I’m an author and you’re a reader and we both love books, I decided to share these five literary quotes to ring in 2016.

JDNY

The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day. ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.  ~Brad Paisley

Life is a book. Every day is a new page. Every month is a new chapter. Every year is a new series. ~Unknown

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let the New Year be like a book with blank pages, the kind that you shall fill with the choicest selection of good deeds.  ~Unknown

Here’s to new books and new friends in the New Year!

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