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Snow Drifting

If you live in the Heartland of America, then there's a good chance that you're experiencing snow and ice right now. As an Illinoisan, snow and ice are just a part of our everyday lives during the wintertime. Last winter was rather dry, and we only had a small dusting the entire season. This year, however, Mother Nature has decided to make up what she had missed. This past Thursday was a balmy 61 degrees when I walked into work. Eight hours later, the temperature had dropped to 41, and by the time I made it home at around 10:30 PM, it had dropped an additional ten degrees. By 11:00 PM, it was sleeting. The sleet continued until early Friday morning and eventually turned to snow. Personally, I LOVE snow! Fall and winter are my favorite times of the year, and snow is one of the few things in life that hasn't lost its magic as I've aged. I love sledding and snowboarding (even though I recently bruised my tailbone by pretending I'm still 17 and agile, not 27 and app...
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Recent posts

Post-Holiday Post: Sneak Peeks and Sign-Ups!

Hello, my lovely readers! I sincerely hope you and yours had a magnificent Christmas and New Year's! Ours was very busy and fun. Noah and Jase were extremely pleased with Santa's appearance this year. 😊 In between the family gatherings and too much food, Josh and I have been working our butts off on remodeling 'our little house on the great big hill.' Our home is 24 years old, and so were the carpets. We have all but one room finished, and are hard at work to make it as nice as possible. Brand new plywood floors and painted walls!  My hiatus from blogging and writing is coming to an end as I get myself together after all of the holiday festivities and house stuff.  Over the break, I did manage to get one thing accomplished: I got on Fiverr and ordered the cover art for my new project. You know, the secret one I've dropped a million hints on? I'm very pleased with the outcome and have the entire story outlined, and about 1/3 of the project written o...
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Quiet, Frustration, and Reflection

Okay, okay.. I've been kind of quiet lately. My blog posts haven't been as frequent, I haven't posted any new comics or drawings, no updates on books. Quite frankly, I've been in a little bit of a frustrated slump lately. I've been working here and there on projects, trying to keep up with my boys, and get as much sleep as possible. I've been enjoying the beautiful fall weather. I've been trying to buy a house, and it's not really going as planned. I've been bingeing on Stranger Things  with my husband. I've got so many ideas, but I'm feeling uninspired and foggy all the time. I've decided to take a little me time. I'll probably be a little quiet online, but I'm still going to be working toward finishing the projects I already have started before moving on to anything else. As updates are available, I will post them.  I have a radio interview coming up this Thursday, so that's pretty exciting! I'll let you ...
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Busy, Busy, Busy

"Patience is a virtue." This is a quote I've modeled a great deal of my life around. And though it's often my daily mantra, I've been finding it harder and harder lately to keep it at the forefront of my perspective. I've got SO many things that I  want to do: finish writing three books that are rattling around my head, illustrate two of those books, start new projects, buy a house, feel comfortable, lose the last twenty pounds that are hanging on. But, not one  of these things are simple. Not one  of these things happen over night or instantly. And I'm struggling  with this concept. I've always considered myself a very patient person. But it's been so difficult lately. And I think I know why: I'm holding onto it. I'm pressuring myself when I shouldn't feel like I need to. I have had a very hard time of giving these things to God. Letting Him take the reigns and waiting patiently has been a struggle. It didn't used to be...
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I'm Back!

Hello, people of the internet! I've been on vacation this week, and LET ME TELL YOU WHAT: It was glorious . I have had such a wonderful week, that I don't even know what to say. Monday was my birthday and I did absolutely NOTHING. Not a thing. I was lazy and didn't do a single chore that wasn't completely necessary. I went to my Ma Ma's house, ate chicken & dumplings and blueberry-lemon cheesecake, and had a super fun night with my family. My dad thought it would be funny to swap my candles.  Tuesday was my 7th wedding anniversary. Josh, the kids, and I went to Metropolis Public Library's Fall Reading Program night. It was SO much fun! They had a taco bar, and coloring, and prizes. I read my books to the kids, met family members for the first time, and had an all around great time. After the Library, Josh and I dropped off the kiddos and went out to watch Kingsman: The Golden Circle . We were absolutely thrilled with the movie (and even happier...
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First Classroom Reading!

Hello, hello, hello again! This week has been super  hectic, so I'm sure you've noticed the diminished amounts of posts the last few days. Well, let's play catch up! On Tuesday and Wednesday, I worked third shift, which I LOVE 😍 but am not used to the routine anymore. I worked third shift for a few years before Jase was born, and it was my favorite shift, but I've worked mainly second shift since I moved to dispatching. I've always  been a night owl, and love both shifts equally, but it's hard to get back into it when it breaks you away from your routine. EITHER WAY, on Thursday morning, I got off work around 0645 and headed home. Got home around 0730 and my family was running around like headless chickens trying to get themselves ready for work and school. We all piled in the car around 0800, and as we were driving away from the house, I realized just how long it had been since I'd eaten. I was hungry, had had too much coffee and too little sle...
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ALSO... Changes

SO, as you may have noticed, my blog looks quite a bit different. I've separated my Blog from my website at this time. You, my beautiful and important followers, will still receive the same posts where you always do: Blogger, GoodReads, Amazon Author page, and NOW from www.rachelstaffordwrites.com (my so fresh, so clean new website.) SO just in case you had to do a double take, that's the reason. ♥♥Rachel
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SUCCESSSSS!!

HEY YOU GUYS! I can't even begin to express how excited I am about today's events! The Chocolate Factory's 40th Anniversary was absolutely wonderful. Being home with people from the community I grew up in, not to mention being back at the first establishment I worked for, was a true blessing in itself. Me with Linda, owner of The Chocolate Factory, and a woman I admire and consider family. This morning was hectic, of course, dragging two children and a groggy husband out of bed and forcing them into looking awake. We began our morning with a trip to McDonald's for breakfast... because, y'know... MCGRIDDLES. But also, we knew that this would be the only time today our paths would cross until after 2200 tonight. From there, Josh and Noah split off to go with the Boy Scouts on their trip butterfly tagging at the Cache River Wetlands. It's been reported to me that not only was it a super fun and successful day, but also they finished it with pizza tonight...
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Let's Catch Up!

Hello, hello, hello! I've been super duper busy since I last posted. Very exciting things are happening over at the Stafford household. Some good exciting, some not so good exciting... but exciting nonetheless. This week has been a balance of plus and minus. Pros and cons. If's and but's. We fixed the truck (again)! But the air conditioner broke. The coil burned up! BUT, it didn't catch fire. Cool  weather is coming soon. But, it's 91 degrees in the house! There's still a hole in the wall! But we have paneling to repair it with now. It's been a whirlwind, to say the least. But in this same, hectic week, so many NICE things have happened: ✓ I've been working on my secret project, and I have to say that it is going pretty darn well. ✓ I FINALLY GOT MY NEW DRYER!! ✓ I had time one morning to do some painting with Jase before work (which never happens!) ✓ Did I mention that I got my new dryer?! ✓ I made my first batch of candy for the...
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A "Sweet" Day at the Chocolate Factory

So, for my first event, I'd say my helpers and I did pretty well! My special helpers were (for the most part) well behaved, especially when their grandparents came out to help! We had a little table, sold a few books, and had chocolate and ice cream! It was a pretty slow morning, which was a little unexpected, but at least we weren't completely overwhelmed! I was feeling a little more than unprepared anyway, so everything worked out just fine. September 30th, we'll be back at the Chocolate Factory for their BIG 40th Anniversary Event! I think we'll have a much bigger turnout that day, and I'll have books on hand that people can take home that day! Feeling very blessed right now, and it seems like things are really starting to fall into place. Always Keep Adventuring, Rachel ♥♥
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