I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Paul left for the UK just before I left to go to my family of origin’s house for the holiday. Being around them is always difficult, but it’s a topic that I don’t really want to delve into here. Suffice to say, it was a very long week with very bland food, family stress and the sadness of being separated from Paul. He’s gone until the spring time, doing very important stuff that I’m very glad he’s doing, but it’s still hard on me.

Currently missing this a lot. 

I came home feeling fairly down, but being at home has brightened me, honestly. My family of origin’s house is so dreary that all the comforts and coziness of my little place here have been really highlighted to me in the past couple of days. My days have been quiet but good, and cat cuddles make the house not feel really lonely.

Soon, I’ll be heading out of town again, on a long-session trip that will include some very exciting adventures. Then I’ll be home for a bit, I’ll get to watch Star Wars (I planned all my travel for the month around this) and then I’ll head back to the F.O.O’s for Christmas. It’s funny, I was *so* enthusiastic about Christmas this year while Paul was here. I was doing early shopping and we watched the holiday parade at Disneyland, which is something I’ve wanted to see ever since I was a little kid and I had a VHS tape with a recording of it on it (this is how I experienced a lot of the world as a small child). Both that parade and the special holiday World of Color water show were just amazing, and I couldn’t stop being excited. We went to The Grove one day for me to see the giant Christmas tree there, too. I mean, technically we went to go to stores, but I was all about the Christmas tree.

This giant Christmas tree is at California Adventure. I saw three giant Christmas trees before my Christmas spirit started to wane.

After Thanksgiving, my enthusiasm has…dwindled. The F.O.O has a way of doing that to me, I guess. I’m hoping that my next trip will perk me back up in that department.

Well, now that I’m done being a bummer, onto some exciting news. We’re got The Spanking Awards going on now! It’s voting time already, and the first category is Best Creative Blog. Alex in Spankingland has been nominated once again. I want to thank everyone who listed me as their choice, since there were several of you! You guys’ loyalty to my blog means a lot to me, and it reminds me that I need to attend to you regularly!

There are some other excellent choices on the list, too. Fellow spanking romance author Casey McKay was nominated, and if you haven’t read your blog, it’s one you should definitely check out. She shares her favorite fiction work as well as really intriguing snippits from her personal life.

The blog Consensual Spanking was also nominated, which is a blog that makes caption and stories based around spanking photos.

There’s also Wolfie Toons, where you can always count on seeing cute and funny spanking cartoons. I’m sure you guys must be familiar with this blog, but if you’re not, definitely go take a look and enjoy what he has to offer there.

Erica Scott has, of course, been nominated again! Erica is one of my best friends and a part of my chosen family (you know, the family that *doesn’t* drive me batty!). Erica is a truly exceptional blogger, especially in her perfect balance of fun spanking stuff and real, honest sharing about her and her life. And she’s a remarkable women. I just adore her.

Hermione’s Heart is another blog that I’ve enjoyed reading for a long time, and it’s the host of the Spanko Brunch every Sunday (which I really should get back to participating in). It’s another truly great blog.

Ludwig and Kaelah’s blog was also nominated, which is another that I’ve enjoyed for a long time. The stories and pictures that they share are always both exciting and reaffirming to me.

Bonnie’s My Bottom Smarts is nominated, as well. Bonnie’s blog is such a good resource for those looking to find other blogs, as she has the world’s greatest collection of blog links. Plus, her posts are so thoughtful and informative. I hadn’t visited Bonnie’s blog in a while and when I went back to grab the link I regretted that I hadn’t. It’s definitely quality stuff.

Pandora Blake’s blog is on the list, too. I think that everyone knows just how much I adore Pandora and how much I support her. Her blog has always been an inspiration to me, and she continues to challenge my held beliefs and open my mind to this day. Pandora is really a treasure in the spanking scene. We’re so lucky to have her.

Finally, there’s Tim the Tum, whose blog includes really great spanking stories and some of the most thoughtful and interesting writing about spanking videos that I’ve seen in a while.

So, all in all, it’s a great list of candidates. Checking out each of the blogs that have been listed made me feel really enthusiastic about the blogging scene again, too, which is something I’d been needing. After I left blogger, I stopped feeling a certain sense of blogging community. I want to get back to commenting on others blogs and engaging with other bloggers more. Especially should do if I’m whining to get more comments myself, huh?

I hope that you all go vote. I obviously hope that you’ll want to vote for me, but there are so many other blogs on this list that deserve recognition, so go pick your favorite, whatever it is!

In other exciting news, I have a trip to the UK coming up in January. I’m flying out on New Year’s Eve, which will be a bit of a strange experience, since I won’t know when the date has actually changed since I’ll be changing time zones. Maybe I’ll re-enter the new year more than once? In my mind, 2016 will start when I land, I suppose. I’ve had a long history of weird or lame New Year’s Eve celebrations, so I think that getting off the plane, going through customs and then being greeted with a kiss from Paul will certainly be a good change of pace! I hope the flight isn’t too full of drunk people, though. Could be interesting.

I’ll be in England from the 1st thru the 20th of January, and Paul and I will be doing a location shoot in a big, Victorian house for four days, with a handful of brand new spankees plus a couple of English models I’ve never had a chance to meet before but that I’m very excited to meet and work with. So that should be a great adventure.

I’m hoping that I’ll be able to see some friends while I’m there, too, and do some exploring. And maybe I’ll tell you the stories from my last trip before this one starts, we’ll see.

I’m also finishing up my fourth spanking book! I’ve been keeping it kind of under lock and key and not posting any Works in Progress type snippits, but it’s my first historical piece, set in Victorian England. It’s called The Doctor’s School for Naughty Girls and it combines a lot of my core fantasies, as the title pretty much suggests. It’s a bit edgier than my other books in certain ways (or, for some it may seem to be less so, as it’s my least age-play oriented book to date) and I’m very excited about it. I need to finish a few more scenes and then send it to my editor to begin that whole process, but I’m hoping that it will be out for you guys soon. In the mean time, if you haven’t read The Doctor’s Little Girl, Daddy’s Little Angela (or the entire Little Haven collection) and The Sheriff’s Little Girl, now would be a great chance to grab one of those to tide yourself over until my new book comes out.

So, lots of exciting things going on right now and in the near future. In the immediate future, I need to get some food. I have an empty fridge and there’s no point in shopping right before I leave again. So, I’m going to go grab myself something before I head home to try to get a few more things done. I’m having late night snacks (which I assume means pie, since that’s our go-to) with Princess Kelley later, but I need energy before that.

Remember to vote for your favorite spanking blog! The contest is no fun if no one votes. :3