A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 26: Z is for Z End

Yeah...I'm out of ideas. :)

Here we are...the end of the A-Z Blogging Challenge. And it was tougher than I thought it would be. I did schedule 95% of these posts ahead of time. It was just easier that way for me. Some of the letters were real easy. Some were harder. I liked how some bloggers chose a theme. If I do this next year, I think that's what I'd do.

But I was so excited to connect with bloggers I had never met before! I gained a bunch of new followers!! So yeah for that!! And welcome to all my new friends!!

So now we're back to regularly scheduled programming. Hallelujah! Got all kinds of great posts planned!! Check back often!! :)

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 25: Y is for Youth

Is there any truer statement that "Youth is wasted on the Young?"

I never thought so until I started to get old. And now I understand it completely.

Youth is full of new experiences and I wouldn't trade any of my teen years. At times I had been frustrated and angry, embarrassed, unsure, shy....but everything had been so new and exciting. After 12 years of marriage and 2 kids, there isn't too much that is new and exciting.

Not that I'm complaining!! I adore my family and I love my husband with all my heart....but sometimes I do reminisce about a time when life was always fresh and new.

And don't even get me started on the body...eating anything I wanted with no weight gain.... No back pain, no joint pain...never tired, just go go go! No wrinkles, no gray hairs, no sagging boobs...

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 24: X is for X-rated

Okay, now this challenge is getting tough. Very few words came into my head that have an x: x ray, xylophone. I'm interested to see what X-words everyone else came up with!!

I chose X-rated as my X word. Within my genre there is A LOT of x-rated stuff. There is always talk somewhere of the differences between erotic romance/erotica and porn. And there are HUGE differences.

Sex is a part of romantic fiction, whether the author chooses to hold off til the very end and hide it behind a closed door, or lace it throughout the book with completely open scenes detailing every moment. But even these incredibly detailed scenes are still not considered pornography.

The reason is the intent behind the sex. In a romantic fiction story, sex is there to progress the story forward. It always has a reason. It's an integral part of the romantic journey between the hero and heroine, filled with emotions- desire, lust, love, sometimes confusion, frustration.

Sex is a part of life and no romantic story would be complete without it. Now I'm not saying a romance novel is incomplete without a sex scene. But the story will end with the knowledge that the characters will live happily ever after and will eventually consummate the relationship.

In porn, sex is there for a completely different reason. The sex is all that's there- no emotion. It's there to excite and that's about it.

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 23: W is for Warm Weather

Now I am rarely one to complain about weather. I live in the Northeast, an infamously snowy area of New York. It gets pretty cold here in the winter and it can snow...a lot. But I'm used to it. When everyone else in town is complaining on Facebook because of the latest snow storm, I am replying with "Well, it's Buffalo...what did you expect?" I've lived here my entire life...it snows...I deal with it..no point in complaining.

But I do get to a cracking point. I won't say "breaking point" because I really don't break...I just start to get annoyed a little. This back and forth in spring gets to me. We'll have a nice warm day where Mother Nature gives us a little taste of what we're all eagerly waiting for. Then snatches it away and gives us a week of rain/snow/sleet/hail. I get sick of bundling up...I just want to wear my clothes outside, not several layers. I want to wear my cute summery outfits, I want to wear sandals, I want to go to the park and not freeze.

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 22: V is for Vision

I have a vision for my future. I think most people do. Or at least, they should.

I want the typical American Dream of being able to make money doing something I love, raising my children in a safe environment with love and as stress-free as possible, and enjoying time with my family. I want to be in a place financially where we don't worry about bills. I'm not looking to be rich or buy extravagant things, I just want to be comfortable and lose the stress of existing on one income.

What's your vision for the future??

I can see your future...and it includes a guest blogging spot on my blog or an interview!!! :) Anyone interested?? I'm thinking of starting a weekly feature. Let me know by posting a comment or emailing me directly: haefner919@yahoo.com

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 21: U is for Umbrella

I love the lyrics to Rhianna's song "Umbrella".

When the sun shines, we'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be a friend
Took an oath, I'm a stick it out till the end

Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we'll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
You can stand under my umbrella

Is that not the perfect definition of marriage???

When it's fun and sunny and things are going great, you're together and taking it all in, enjoying it all, basking in the glow. But when the bad stuff comes, and it does, it always does, you need to be able to stick together and get through it, together.

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 20: T is for Tea

I am a tea drinker. I have tried coffee, and various coffee beverages, and I just cannot get used to the taste. I suppose if I dumped a ton of sugar and creamer in it, I could probably drink it, but why do that just so I can be cool??

Instead, I drink tea.

I remember when I was a kid and summers when my mom would visit. She drank tea and let me have some too, and we always added sugar and milk. It was tasty. But when I grew up, I was drawn more to fancy flavored teas that needed no additives. Au naturale. Though I do add some honey of I need to..sometimes certain teas are just too bitter.

Usually I go for a green tea, a fun flavor. No black tea for me. Yuck! But I recently started drinking red tea at the cafe where my writers group meets. Very good!!

And the funny thing is that I do not drink iced tea. Just don't like it...tea should be hot!! Iced tea just tastes like tea that has been sitting out too long...I wanna go throw it in the microwave and warm it back up!