I can’t believe it. It’s my tenth Blog-giversary! Ten years of blogging here at lisathomsonlive. Notice how the word ‘giver’ is found in this term bloggiversary. It’s fitting, isn’t it? We bloggers give a ton. Words, ideas, solutions, time…Time does fly while you’re having fun. Best of all, fellow bloggers who have become my online friends have enriched this whole blogging thing.

Welcome to a new decade, my friends. This whole new year thing kind of snuck up on me. I know I say that every year but when it hit me upside the head that a whole new decade was starting…well, I began to question my goals here at the blog.

“And what does January hold? Clean account books. Bare diaries. Three hundred and sixty-five new days, neatly parceled into weeks, months, seasons. A chunk of time, of life…those first few notes like an orchestra tuning up before the play begins.” ~ Phyllis Nicholson from Country Bouquet (1947)

Merry Christmas, Escapees. Here we are facing the last week of the decade. Hope it was a good one for you. Today, I announce the winners of my new book giveaway! But first (or you can scroll down to see now) I’ve rounded up the best of the blog for the decade.

A few years ago I wrote this little post on family dynamics. It still gets comments every now and then. Last week I received a beautiful comment from a reader. I’d like to share it with you:

image; Jan’spageofawesomeness tumblr

It’s mid-September already and we’re fast approaching autumn equinox. The cooler days, the turning leaves, cozy blankets and sweaters, corn on the cob, fresh picked apples, and warm cider are just a few of my favorite things.

It’s also a time for changing things up. So, how do you like the new look of lisathomsonlive? I hope you do as much as I. Take a moment to look around and if there’s anything out of place or hard to navigate give me a shout via email or here in the comments.

Help me out here, guys. I’ve been on Instagram since 2011. I’ve noticed many changes over the last seven years. I’m not a fan of those changes,  or maybe I just don’t get it.

My account was public at first but in 2014 I changed it to private. My thinking was, I was basically

I have been working diligently on my fiction writing and enjoying every minute of it. The only problem is it has left me with less time to blog.

Today, I’m linking up with Charlotte, Lyndsay, Beth for What’s up weekend…

image source unsplash by Allef Vinicius

A look back at 2017 here on the blog is always a fun way to end the year. I re-cap the first post I published from January to December for the year ending—2017. I often lament about time being elusive. This can’t be more profound than at the end of another year and the fresh beginning of a new one.

This little blog turns 6 today! Wow, where has the time gone? The original post is here and I believe I’ve stayed fairly true to my purpose. That said, I see myself branching out as time goes on. I’m not sure what those branches will be, in all honesty. Maybe more focus on well-being and less focus on specific divorce issues?

If you’ve been around here for a while you know how much I love music. I’ve written about it and its healing powers often. During my divorce, music was a big part of my life. I used it to relax, (Sarah MacLauchlan), to party (Dave Matthews Band), to paint (Chopin) and to reminisce (anything from the 80’s). So, music is a big deal to me—always has been, always will be.