And she’s all new for the new year.

Ta-da!

These last two weeks it’s been silent here on the blog.

Primarily because it was the holidays and I wanted to hang out with my family and not with my screen.

And partly because I had a few blog tricks up my sleeve and I wanted them all to be accomplished before I started writing again.

And here they are.

My kind and generous husband lent his creative skill to my page here and has helped me spruce up the look a lot.

I’m quite pleased.

I’m anxious to get back to a regular routine – of both writing and standard wake up times and meals and such.  It seems as if Christmas break equals a mild streak of laziness and apathy in my feelings toward time and bedtimes and planning.  It’s just long enough to be ready for regularity at the end of these two weeks.

But before I commit fully to the day in/day out posts of life I want to give you a tiny tour of what’s new here.

If you look to your right friends you’ll discover a handful of links.

(If you’re trying to view this full site on your phone, it probably won’t look exactly correct.  However, there is a mobile version now to make it easier to read on your phones.  If you view this only through the mobile site though, you’ll miss out on all the cute touches and fun colors and the handy-dandy links on the side.)

I’ll be posting about the new links for the Laura Ingalls Wilder sites in the coming weeks.  But by the way, aren’t they just adorable little links?  Wildwood Halls of Ivy has a pretty fabulous summer journey planned, inspired by this year’s study of the Prairie Primer.  And those links have loads to do with our July Journey.  

Which I promise to explain in more detail later.

There’s also a little Amazon link up there too.

I’ve had an Amazon affiliate link on my page for years.  I never really mentioned it before.  I’m not entirely sure why.  But I’m telling you about it now.

And here’s why.

Kevin is the sole proprietor of his own business.  Noble Fox Creative.  He’s good at what he does.  Really good.  But if you’ve ever owned your own business then you know how it runs – feast or famine, high or low.  Shoot – if you live life, you know how that goes.  It’s the same for all of us.

And we have six kids.  (And if you have ever had one kid or ever been a kid or are currently a human, then you know how that goes too.)

One of those kids even hopes to attend college next year.  And if you’re breathing, then you know how that goes.

Anyway.  The point is – I have long desired to have this blog be more than just a fun, time consuming creative exercise for myself.  My hope is to make it financially viable.  The promotions for various companies are a start but those ventures are more of an in-kind sort of benefit.  As in, I’ll promote your business and you provide me with discounts and deals.  (It’s a kind of arrangement I really enjoy.  I give a fair and unbiased review and my family gets to do fun things.)

But the Amazon link is a little different.

If you click through my banner there to Amazon then I get a little kickback with every purchase you make.

So – this is my soft sales pitch.  (It’s about the only kind of pitch I’ll ever make to you.)  If you’re already buying your soap or your novels or your slingshots or your time machines on Amazon, just visit here first and click through my link.

That’s all.

Then buy your stuff as you normally would – with your dad’s credit card.

Occasionally I’ll even be able to offer extra incentives for you – free shipping or discounts or whatnot.

If you have committed to never shopping at Amazon, then don’t start now.

But if you are like me and you like to never battle traffic and stepping foot in the mall is worse than getting the flu vaccine and the price of gas to drive your car to the store is outrageous and you love the novelty and convenience of packages delivered to your door, then you should probably keep buying your stuff through Amazon, through me.

Now, lest you think I have completely sold out to the man I hereby make you two promises:

1.  I will not remind you endlessly to use this link.

2.  I will still write what I feel like writing, when I feel like writing and how I feel like writing.

Happy New Year friends.

I am confident it will be a year full of life and grace and hope and trouble and love and sadness and joy and homecomings of all varieties.

May we live and breathe thankfulness and awareness and kindness and laughter.

(And in the spirit of laughter – enjoy this little video Kevin (that crafty fox) created with our children and our friends’ children to celebrate the new year together.)