Hello there, bookworms! Happy 2019! I hope you’re all warm, cozy, and well as we greet this New Year! I have to say that I’m pretty thrilled I’m kicking off the year with my 400th blog post. Holy cow.. what a lot of writing.

Anyway, I wanted to stop in today (what I’m lovingly calling my reboot day) to bring you guys a post and say hello and hope, once again, that you’ve all had a wonderful and blessed holiday season with your loved ones (and of course, your books).

As usual, I’m behind the eight ball on most of my life. I feel like I’ve practically been going non-stop since Thanksgiving. I’ve had projects and extra hours consuming me at work, Christmas shopping, gathering with loved ones, Christmas, the New Year, and now, my approaching birthday tomorrow. Today is the first day in a LONG time I’ve sat around in my pajamas and done absolutely nothing. I’ve been watching t.v., sleeping, and re-vamping the blog a bit. I have big plans for this space, my reading & writing goals, and life in general for 2019, so I need a day to catch up and re-charge/hibernate. Stay tuned, though because I have a TON of posts coming to you shortly!

That being said, I did something I feel like I haven’t done in months, and I went on a weekend excursion that turned into a literary adventure. For being only a few hours from my house, it’s sad how little I actually make the trip to our nation’s capital, Washington D.C. Now that I’m eyeballs deep in writing a political fiction romance, I wanted to go on location and let the writing bug hit me. Usually around Thanksgiving when I get cuckoo with the holidays, all my inspiration leaves me, so it was good I got to go and walk in the footsteps of my characters to see if something would come of it all. I got to visit some beautiful spots I haven’t seen in awhile, and have a bit of an early birthday with one of my best friends and even meet up with my cousin who lives in the area. It was a fun, much-needed trip, and I think I left there with a few plot bunnies in my head, so let’s hope this year produces some progress and all the words!

Until I get time to tuck myself away and add more to my story, I thought I’d share some pics with you. This trip included a stop at two of the Smithsonian museums before the government shutdown affected their hours, a stop at the Library of Congress, a jaunt in Georgetown (where my characters reside) to meet up with my cousin, back to D.C. to hit a few monuments, and then a pitstop in Baltimore to see one of the homes of Edgar Allan Poe. If you haven’t been to the D.C. area yet or you have but haven’t checked out these historic literary locations, add it to your list of must-see destinations! You won’t regret it! Until next time, Happy New Year and happy reading!