Big Storms – Been Sick – Hold Onto The Happy

September 29, 2026 / ccsocialcreative / Leave a comment

Hey guys, welcome back. I know, I know, it’s been a minute since I’ve been here. If it makes any difference, I hate that I’ve been so inconsistent with my posts. However, it’s been a time and I’m back!

We’ve been having some brutal storms here in the northeast, the most recent being the seemingly never ending Nor’easter we just went through over this past weekend. Just two weeks before that, we had almost 8” of rain in a matter of hours after having almost that much just two weeks before that. Living in a coastal town, our city ended up under a lot of water…thankfully, as opposed to many others, I live on top of a hill and we fared well through it all. (Although the wind this past weekend nailed us pretty hard.)

Having said that however, it is my favorite time of the year and frankly, I love a good storm. Not that I like the damage they cause of course. But I’m one for sitting in the quiet, listening to the wind and rain rattling the windows while I sit inside with a hot beverage and a good book. Fall feeds my soul. Add in a storm? And I’m in a good place.

(Also, we have VERY loud kids who live in our complex that do nothing but let out high pitch screams for hours and after a Summer full of that, having them have to stay inside because of the storms was a nice break.)

Unfortunately, I’ve also been sick. Even coming off antibiotics, I’m very much still not right and haven’t been motivated to do much. All I want to do is sleep. Although I’m back in a nice rhythm with edits again and have been reading a rather excellent new book, I literally fell asleep with my hands on the keyboard last night. I didn’t remember doing it and woke up in a cold sweat of panic that I deleted chapters by accident. (I didn’t, but it woke my ass up that’s for sure!)

It’s discouraging because I had been doing well. I was walking so much better, working out almost daily again and just gearing up for my favorite time of the year. Then I pushed myself too hard one day and haven’t been right since. Walking is so damned hard. I thought I had Covid, but thankfully tested negative even though every symptom is there. Went on two rounds of antibiotics and still, I feel like hell.

With no discernible immune system, I can’t just get the sniffles. I get sinus infections that lead to bronchitis that in the past has led to pneumonia and 10 years ago, led to me on crutches barely able to hold myself up. I get sick every Fall like it’s on the calendar of public holidays.

I was talking about this earlier. Someone once asked me, ‘if your favorite time of the year is September to New Year’s Eve, but you get sick every year during this time, why is it still your favorite?’ I mean, I get the question. Logically, there should be no reason for it. I should dread this time of the year knowing what’s coming. But Fall? Is my soul season. (So much so, I made a design out of that phrase for one of my shops.)

The leaves changing, the crisp air, NO HUMIDITY OR MOSQUITOS, looking forward to the holiday ads…every little thing to come just gives me a happiness I don’t have the rest of the year. So sure, I may end up in bed and looking at the goodness outside through a window. However, watching my trees change color has me taking deeper breaths of relief. Living in hoodies and snuggling down under blankets have me sleeping deeper. I smile more. And what is so wrong about that? Nothing.

We all have those things that make us do that. Smile. These days, we need to hold on to those things even more. Hold on to the smiles. Hold on to the happy. Hold on to the little things that give us the breaks from the stresses of life.

Do I worry about my health? Of course I do! I’ve been dealing with so much over the last 10 years not to. And now I’m in a panic over possibly losing my insurance when the new year comes. Something, I cannot afford to lose with my situation.

So let me see some bright orange, red and yellow leaves. Let me see the silly M&M Halloween commercials. Let me spot the super early holiday ads promoting new light displays and trees. Because these simple things are not only fun to do every year but hey, they’re free! And when they say money can’t buy happiness? While ok, I can’t fully agree with that, as money can buy books…but there’s so much to see and do this time of the year that IS free and creates a happiness not found at any other time of the year.

I have a line in my manuscript that resonates so much here and is so, so true: “Happiness doesn’t come along that often my friend, grab it while you can.”

And that is where I will leave you for today. As always, I hope you got something out of this post and I thank you so much for hanging in there with me. Consistent posting or not, I promise to keep coming back and hope you will as well.

Until next time friends…Cheers!

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If you’d like to follow my socials including #booktok click: HERE

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If you’d like to check out my shops with lots of my own designs on lots of items, including seasonal, (Halloween, Christmas and more) as well as everyday fun stuff, click: HERE

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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you and will see you soon!!! 🙂

One Date: Two Meanings (10 & 25 Years)

September 9, 2026 / ccsocialcreative / Leave a comment

Hey guys, welcome back. Hope everyone is doing well and hey, welcome to September! So excited that the ‘Ber months are officially upon us. This is my favorite time of the year and I plan to embrace all parts of it…even the silly. I’ve already spotted some leaves changing and absolutely love catching seasonal commercials on tv. I know it sounds silly, but it’s what makes me happy and after having missed out on the entire last four months of the year last year due to illness, I am trying to keep a promise to myself to make this year count as best I can. And that includes laughing every time I see the new Halloween Reces peanut butter cup commercial on.

This week however, is a tough one for me (as it is for so many) and this post is going to be a bit different from my usual because of it. As I write this, it is September 9th. This date has significance for me on two fronts and while the 25th anniversary of 9/11 is in two days, I’m sure there are people out there thinking, wtf is with the 9th? Well, let me tell you…

If you’ve read my post “A Bit of Personal History” in my about section, you have an idea of where I’m going with this. If you haven’t, (that’s ok), let me explain…

Ten years ago today, my life completely changed. I was happily working in a dream job. I was excited for my future and how after many (many) years, my life was finally falling into place. I had a plan. I had a fresh start and then September 9, 2016 came and it all crashed around me.

The night before, a Friday, I had been at a goodbye party for a friend of mine as she left her position to head towards her own future. It was a great, (very drunken) evening with friends and I laughed the entire time. So when I woke up the next day feeling like hell, of course I blamed the night before.

That Saturday I was headed to the fifth birthday party of a special little guy. I sucked up the hangover and headed to see some extended family and loved watching all the kids having a great time. The only problem was that as the day went on, I was feeling worse and started to realize, it wasn’t a hangover at all. By the next day, I was down for the count. Felt like the flu. A bad flu. I couldn’t even sit up and the next day headed to urgent care where they told me I had developed pneumonia.

A week later I was worse. They thought it was my heart. By the next week, I was walking with a cane. My job was on the line as I had now taken too much time off and couldn’t keep up remotely because I could barely see the screen in front of me to get anything done. My hours were off and I was sleeping constantly.

By October, I was dealing with several doctors. All specialists. All trying to figure out what was wrong with me. I lost my position at work and cried for days because I loved it there so much. I was so sick, I couldn’t breathe properly. I had undergone dozens of tests and by January was walking with crutches because I couldn’t hold myself up to walk. 2017 had me on 32 different medications and they still couldn’t figure out what was going on with me…and this has been the last 10 years of my life.

I’ve had months here and there of feeling like myself. Being able to participate in life again. A summer a few years ago, I was able to be an honorary baseball mom and go to all the games of the little guy and his brother and help out as best I can with the kids. I was even running around and playing wiffle ball to the point you’d never know anything had been wrong with me. When setbacks hit, they hit hard. Just like last August. That one lasted a full year with me in bed. Only recently have I started to come around a bit, doing better and yet, still feeling funky here and there.

To me, this date is the anniversary of my life going to hell and the constant and exhausting fight to try and get it back on track. I often make the joke that I had always wished for time to write…but be careful what you wish for because while I got it, it came at a major cost. The positive flip of that being, I’ve written two books. (Both in heavy edits.) I started this site. I’m trying to build my following on social and have several shops with my designs in them. So while I’m not really making money from any of it, (unfortunately), at least it’s keeping my mind from turning to mush and hey, I wrote two books!

September 9th also has significance for a whole other reason. Twenty five years ago, this day will forever be etched into my head and I relive it as if it happened yesterday.

That day was a Sunday. The weather was more than perfect. Blue skies, no clouds, temperature was warm but not too warm and we went to a big event a few towns over right on the water with the breeze making it even more pleasant. Just the most amazing day.

After walking around the venue for a while, we decided to get some food and take a break. I went to save the seats and as I was looking out over the water and then up to the sky, I was consciously taking note of how spectacular the day was. I kept thinking that this is the kind of day you hold onto because life can change in an instant. I’d never been so aware. It was like the day was embedding itself into me.

The other remarkable thing about that day? The dragonflies.

I should say here, I have always felt connected to dragonflies and this particular Sunday, they were everywhere. It was so bizarre. I was followed by them, they circled me and while I was sitting in the seat waiting for my food, they surrounded me. At first I thought I was seeing things but there was a family sitting behind me and they started commenting on it. Even as we talked to each other, there were none near them! They watched as I put my hand out and a couple of the dragonflies would land on my hand, my arm, my head, my shoulder. I was in heaven and yet so confused. Again, I took a mental note of this because I felt this was something so special, I was meant to absorb what was going on.

As my mother came back with our food, she told me she had stopped and noticed what was happening. I was like a Disney character come to life. I’d been given the nickname Dr. Doolittle years ago because animals are drawn to me at the oddest times, but this was something so different.

I soaked in the moment again thinking that this was happening for a reason. I’ve always been one to look for signs and symbolism in things and there was just something about this that made me wonder what it was all about.

We left that day with smiles on our faces after having a great time and then two days later, with the same gorgeous weather, the world turned upside down.

I won’t go into the events of 9/11 here or what we went through in our home. That is our own story. Of all the things I remember from that day, I remember thinking of the Sunday just two days prior and how I thought things could change in an instant…and oh how they did.

Years later on another 9/11, I went to one of our town’s memorials down by the water. (I live in a coastal town where we can see the NYC skyline.) I took my time walking around and headed to the nature preserve off of the main park. As I came out of the short path into the main space of the park, I heard the most incredible sound. It was like a helicopter was landing nearby. We have helipads in another section of town and we get air traffic from JFK and LaGuardia in NYC so it was possible. However, what I saw? Wasn’t a helicopter at all.

Hundreds of thousands of dragonflies had invaded the preserve! I’ve never seen anything like it before or since. They were everywhere and it was hard to focus on anything because there were so many of the creatures, things blurred out.

I was the only one there. It was so peaceful, even with the steady hum of the insects. I sat down right on the walking path and let them fly and land all around me. I tried to take pics, but unless you really zoomed in, you couldn’t tell just how many there were and they were so fast, so I stopped. I sat and savored the moment knowing this will never happen again in my lifetime. I’ve since researched this and found that they can migrate in swarms, something I had never known before.

I sat and cried to myself. The day was already a somber one with that day’s anniversary, but with all of these beautiful creatures flying and landing around me, it took me right back to that Sunday when they surrounded me in a field before the world changed. The last conscious day of happiness when the world was still ‘normal’. It was a full circle moment for me and one I have treasured since.

Two days. Same date. Years apart. Both with incredible meaning. Of course what happened to us as a collective 25 years ago means something to me and I had gone to a very dark place after that happened. But this date? The 9th? This date is more personal. Two sides of a coin. Total opposite realities. One positive, one negative. And yet through it all, I am still here. You are still here. And for that, I am truly grateful.

And that is where I will leave you for today. Until next time…cheers!

If you’d like to follow me on social, shop with me in my Amazon storefront or find me on #booktok, click: HERE

If you’d like to find my other shops as well as my other links, click: HERE

If you’ve made it this far? I thank you and will see you soon. 🙂

Absence and a Message Sent

August 25, 2026 / ccsocialcreative / Leave a comment

Hey guys, welcome back! Here we are, the final week of August and today is Starbucks PSL launch day…my happy season hath begun! However, life deals the good and the bad and lately it’s been a roller coaster. Lots of crazy stuff going on these days. And still, no writing.

If you are new here, welcome! Quick backstory, I have written two novels, both in deep edits. For the last year and a half, I have been working hard on one that I want to get out first and over that time, I’ve only missed working on the manuscript for maybe a day or two here and there. I’m now going on weeks since I’ve touched it and in some ways, it has made me feel like a failure.

I was fully planning on opening it up this morning to work on it and while rereading a book I love, Beach Read by Emily Henry, I read passage that was like a freaking beacon reminding me just why I love to write.

If you are unfamiliar with the book in question, it’s about two writers who are blocked and make a bet. Each must write a book in the other’s genre. They do research trips, get to know each other and being a romance, well, things happen. However, for me, it’s the dynamic of them being writers that draws me in every time I read this. (Annual Summer book.) Reading about their struggle of staring at the blank page before them, losing their spark, their motivation and then remembering just why they love what they do, gives me the inspiration to keep going.

This is the passage: “The nights spent writing until the sun came up and my back hurt from needing to pee but not wanting to stop working because nothing felt more important than the book, than giving these fictional lovers the ending they deserved, giving my readers the ending they deserved.”

Reading this book at this particular time was like getting the sign I needed to keep going. I’ve worked too damned hard to stop…not that I ever would completely. I believe in this story so much that nothing will stop me from finishing it. But maybe this step back that I’ve taken will let me look at it now with fresher eyes than I’ve had. After all, when you are reading the same thing over and over for a year+ it can become almost like white noise for your senses. Not having even opened it in a month? Maybe this is just what I needed. A sort of refresh.

During the time off of writing and editing the book, I have come up with some new ideas that may tighten up the storyline a bit. What I’ve needed though is to sit and actually write them out. Instead, I have been doing everything but that. There is a line in my book that I wrote: Show me a writer and I’ll show you a professional procrastinator.

Oh how true that is.

So while not writing I’ve been creating more designs for my online shops. I’ve added more pieces to my eBay listings, I’ve scrubbed the bathroom until I could see myself in the tile. I’ve also started to work out a little and that has been great for working off the stress and anger that has been coursing through me.

Now, it is time to write. To get back to my true love. My purpose. What I have always wanted to do. And maybe, just maybe, the timing of rereading this book was the final message that I needed to get going again. The final push.

Anyway, I hope you got something out of this, whether you write or not, motivation is motivation. Maybe you have been feeling a little lost as well and have been looking for some sign to get going? I hope this was it. I hope this helped.

And that is where I will leave you for today. Until next time folks…be well and get yourself a PSL. Tis the season after all!

To follow me on social, including my #booktok, Amazon storefront (where you will find Beach Read and other Emily Henry books) as well as my other links, click: HERE

To find my other shops, click: HERE

(If you click there and scroll down to ‘stuffwefind’ click that for my eBay listings.)

If you’ve made it this far, I thank you and will see you soon! 🙂

Summer Fog – Reminiscing – Looking Forward

August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 / ccsocialcreative / Leave a comment

Photo credit: stafichukanatoly on Pixabay

Hey guys, welcome back! I know, I know, it’s been a while. (Good song.) The Summer fog has taken hold and I have been less than motivated to write anything…and I mean, anything.

Besides missing out on the fun here, I haven’t even touched my manuscript in several weeks. This has never happened before. I’ve gone a day or two to regroup, but I haven’t so much as opened it up and looked at it in quite a while. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not done. Not by a long shot. I’ve even been coming up with some story ideas that can get me from cover to cover while being able to delete a bunch of things and get my word count under control, it’s the sitting down to do it that gets me stuck.

I’ve mentioned here several times that I am not a Summer person. The heat gets to me, the humidity messes with my breathing (and my hair), all things that don’t exactly inspire motivation. Funny thing is though, these last weeks, physically I’ve been feeling better. I’ve lost weight, I’ve started moving a little more and yet, the brain fog continues. It’s like I can’t concentrate on anything except reading. I just want to sleep. A lot. So I have been. I had just come off of a long insomnia period, something I get a few times a year and making up for it in spades. I’ve finally talked myself into sleeping whenever it hits me. Like most people, I try to push myself to stay awake to get things done. But how good is that if it feels like you are going through life sleepwalking? Besides, my most recent health setback hit a year ago this week. If I push myself too much, it will just hit all over again and I refuse to lose another year of my life. So I rest when I need to rest…as should you. Listen to what your body is telling you, trust me on this one. The rest will even itself out and soon I’ll be back to my regular OCD schedule of doing the same thing day after day, something that most may consider boring but I consider almost soothing in a way. It’s what makes me, me.

Anywhoo, onto other things…

These dog days of the season have me reminiscing a lot. For me, it’s a kind of milestone time as it was twenty years ago this year that I met the group of friends I have now and my life was never the same.

Our group here in CT is the most international mix of people I have ever been with in my life. We have French, Dutch, Danish, Asian, Czech, Hispanic, tons of Irish among others. Less than a handful of folks are actually from Connecticut. I’m not originally from here myself, but I have now lived here for 32 years, longer than anywhere else in my lifetime and I now consider my city my home town.

I don’t know about you, but one way I relive memories is through music. Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of old playlists and with every song I’m thrown back in time like I’m still there. I can picture being on the dance floor on a Friday night or staying after hours at the bar with the late night crew making up our own drinks. Seeing each other every day. Talking for hours about nothing and everything all at the same time. Heading down to Yankee Stadium or to a concert together and getting silly on the way to and from the venues. Sunday brunches and dart games and laughing until we had tears in our eyes and our stomachs hurt.

Since those days we’ve seen couples meet, get married, have kids. Some of those kids are now in high school dreaming of their own futures and still not knowing what their parents were like back in the day. I have graciously offered not to tell them as long as I’m paid handsomely by their parents. I mean, what are friends for, right? 🙂

We may not see each other every day or hell, even every month or year anymore but knowing they are still there means everything. I dubbed them my second family a long time ago and I mean it every time I say it. We know that whether a few blocks away or several states away, we can still drop a text or DM and they will be on the other end. If there is an emergency, we know who to call. They are never far from my heart, head or occasionally, my back deck. They found me when I was in my mid thirties and through them, I found myself. Twenty years later, I still owe them for that.

While looking back is always fun, looking forward to the unknown can be scary. It can also be exciting. Case in point, FALL IS ALMOST HERE! Yes, I am excited. My favorite time of the year is almost upon us and as I missed it all last year, I refuse, REFUSE to miss out this year. At least that’s what my mind is telling me.

I get such a rush from the cooler temps, the changing leaves, all the pumpkin spice lattes and goodies that come out every year. I breathe better, I think better and here’s hoping that this year I move better. We all have that time of the year that speaks to us. For me, it’s from September 1st through New Year’s Eve. After that, you can have the rest of it. Ok, so I’ve been enjoying Spring a little more, but the ‘Ber months? That’s when I feel alive and that is something to look forward to!

And that my dear friends, is where I will leave you for today. I hope that you too have something to look forward to and that maybe you got a little something out of this post.

Thank you for continuing to follow me here, even though I drop the ball every now and then. But hey, I always come back and when I do, I hope that you get something, even a little something, out of what I post here.

Until next time folks…Cheers!

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To find my links including my Amazon storefront, shops and socials (including my #booktok) click: HERE

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I am doing the Read Every Day Challenge in August for the American Cancer Society. If you’d like to make a donation, you can click HERE (thank you!)

To listen to Staind’s “It’s Been a While” click: HERE

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If you’ve gotten this far, thank you so much and I’ll see you soon! 🙂

Book Bandwagon – Lessons Learned – Christmas in July

July 20, 2026July 21, 2026 / ccsocialcreative / Leave a comment

Hey guys, welcome back! I know, I know, I’ve been MIA again. The days are getting away from me lately and while I’ve been super productive in some ways, I’ve been neglectful in others. And for that…I apologize.

So let’s get right to it, shall we?

It’s Christmas in July week and yes, I am one of those people who loves to celebrate it. I read holiday themed books, have some cocoa and of course wear Christmas pjs. (Although, I live in those year round but I still think they are ‘special’ during times such as this.)

I have a huge pile of Christmas themed books that I’ve both read and are on my TBR list. The ones I’ve read, I recommend and a couple have stuck with me, long after I’ve read them. I have them up in my Amazon storefront and will post the link below this post if you’d like to check any out. Just note, some have spice, some don’t. You have been warned. 🙂

As for my TBR list, (‘to be read’ for those who don’t know the acronym) I’ve been saving a couple for just such an occasion. One in particular, I’ve seen everywhere. It’s big on #booktok and I’ll admit, I jumped on the bandwagon to buy it and it’s sequel for last Christmas season. I never got to them though so I thought I’d save them for July. While I’m not usually one to be so highly influenced by trends, I have found some great reads through #booktok as well as my Facebook algorithm. Go figure, right?

So there I am, pulling out the Christmas books for the week and ready to dive on in. I couldn’t wait for this first one and yet, within the first two pages, I wanted to scream. This book lost me in the prologue! I have never had that happen before.

So I push through. Deciding to at least get to know the main characters, right? Well, I hated them instantly. Not one redeeming quality among them all. Just an example, the matriarch of the family needs help after hurting herself. Part of the family won’t come because they have a timeshare in the Caribbean and are in the canasta tournament. So they call their daughters to drop everything, including their careers, fly to another part of the country to take care of their relative. That is where the whining, um, complaining from the daughters begins and lasts through several chapters. I gave it my all for five chapters before throwing in the towel. I’ve never read a book that tries so hard to be something and failed so miserably. I also found myself yelling at the editors in my head.

While I normally don’t read reviews, (movies and tv included) because I like to be my own judge of something, I just had to go in and see if others caught what I did. Thankfully, I was not alone in any of my thoughts on this book. The first five chapters could have been two. Literally. Every detail of every aspect of life was described here and there was no reason for it. I don’t need to know how a reindeer feeder keeps the feed fresh. Just say, “I filled up their trough and was on my way.’ Instead, we get step by step details of the thing that took up an entire paragraph.

Also, I was quite put off at the ageism in this book. They made a woman in her fifties seem feeble and a woman in her eighties like she should be put out to pasture. Now, that could just be me as I was already hating on this book, but I still didn’t appreciate it. The fact that I’m in my 50’s may have played a role in that as well. Just sayin’.

Now, if you’ve been following along with my own writing journey here, you know that I am in the process of editing my own manuscript. That my own writing has been more than wordy, (like this post) and that I’m in the process of cutting down thousands of words to get my book to where I can submit it to a publisher. If anything, this book I just tried to read was a freaking wake up call of what NOT to do. How I can rework some things in my own book to cut even more words from it and keep my future readers from thinking what I did with this one, “what the hell were they thinking letting this get published?”

The ultimate irony of all of this is? The publisher in question here, is the one I’m hoping upon hope to submit my book to. I’ve read so many others from them and have honestly loved each one. Not every book is for every person and this current one is just not for me. However, that will not stop me from reading more from them. It may stop me from reading more from this particular author though.

I don’t relish talking about another writer this way. After all, I certainly wouldn’t like these things being said about me. But this is why I don’t leave bad reviews, post something about it on TikTok and mention the title or author by name. Just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean others won’t as well. Plus, I know the hard work it takes to get their work out there and I fully respect the process.

This is the second time in a year I’ve tried to read a popular author and just did not like the work. I know I’m in the minority here on both. Hell, one is being turned into a streaming series and I couldn’t get past chapter two of that one!

I think the point here is that we are all influenced in some ways about things in our lives. Be it clothes, decor, cars, hell even food. I mean, here in my area we have pizza wars…it’s quite a time to be alive. I am always up for suggestions for books to read and have found a lot of great authors by listening to those suggestions. Like anything, it’s hit and miss. Not everything is going to be a winner. The main thing is, I tried, right? I mean, this particular author is famous for a reason. Maybe I shouldn’t judge by this one book and maybe in the future I’ll try one of her works again. In the meantime, I have a lot more in my TBR pile to get through and I’m ready to move on to the next one…a little sooner than expected.

Again, I do have lots of fun holiday book recommendations (ironic I know) in my storefront and while I’m not trying to influence you, I’m just sharing what I’ve enjoyed reading in the past.

And that is where I’ll leave you for today. Until next time folks…cheers!

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To follow me on social, including #booktok as well as see my other links, click: HERE

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Link to my Amazon storefront below and if you’ve made it this far, I thank you for it.