January 2, 2012

Happy 2012!

Happy New Year Everyone!
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I hope you all had as wild a party as we did New Year's Eve to ring in 2012!  Want to hear how wild it was?

Alright, then, I'll tell you, but you might want to sit down first.  When we go wild on Blueberry Hill we pull out all the stops.

Okay.  Ready?

We played dominoes, Scrabble, and hearts in the glow of the fire and the Christmas tree lights.  We ate homemade brownies (not at the table!) and got crumbs on the rug.  At midnight we popped open a bottle of bubbly (Sparkling Cider - Stop & Shop's Finest!) and toasted the New Year and each other.  Then we all went to bed.  The dogs slept through the entire thing.

Wild.  Times.

I told you :)

I hope 2012 will be full of all good things for all of you!

Now then.  Even though you are probably still recovering from your much-wilder-than-mine celebrating, I have four things of import to mention today.  I will try to be brief, but you know me...

First, I want to thank Saba for bestowing the Superstar Blog Award upon me.  I was so honored to receive this lovely award for the first time!  In addition to thanking Saba, I am also supposed to pass the award along to 5 other deserving bloggers.  But you are all so amazing and wonderful and deserving that I can't possibly pick just 5!!!  So my New Year's present to you is that you may take this award if you feel it fits you as long as you pass it along to other deserving bloggers.  Look how pretty :)

Second, I have a very important question.  I'd love a show of hands on this.  In the form of please vote below :)

Here's the question:  I've been having so much fun with the writing contests, getting to know everyone and reading all your awesome work.  Would you like to continue with writing contests once a month as we have done for October, November and December?  If so, I would be happy to run them!  But if that sounds like more work than fun and you don't want to do it so often or at all, it's best if I know :)  So please let your voice be heard below:



I will leave this poll up until Wednesday or Thursday, depending on response time, so I can tell you Wednesday or Friday whether there will be a contest this month or not :)

Third, I am participating in Julie Hedlund's 12X12 in 2012 Challenge.  (Note the gorgeous new badge in the sidebar!)  I know quite a few of you are doing this as well, and I'm very excited about being part of such an enthusiastic, supportive community.  Here's hoping we all accomplish great things in 2012!

Last but not least, as you know, anyone who posts Perfect Picture Books is eligible for the random (and when I say random, I do mean random - you never know what might end up in the goody bag!) end-of-the-month drawing for a prize.  You get one entry for every book you post during the month (so in December, some people got 4 or 5 entries!)  I load all the entries into random.org and let it pick the winner.  Last month (November) it was Stacy.  December's winner is Clar!!!  Clar, please contact me and let me know which prize you'd like.  This month's goody bag contains a $10 Amazon gift certificate, a signed copy of Freight Train Trip by Yours Truly, a paperback copy of The Land Of Painted Caves by Jean Auel (which has nothing to do with children's books but I received one for Christmas and I already have the hardcover so it's up for grabs :)) and a hardcover copy of Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel - you may take your pick of one of those lovely items!  The rest of you, who knows what will be in the goody bag for January?  You could be the lucky winner just by posting excellent Perfect Picture Books on Fridays!  Thank you all so much for participating!

Okay.  Those are my four things of import.  Happy New Year Everyone, and see you Wednesday as we get back on track with Would You Read It!

53 comments:

  1. Your new years celebration sounds about as wild as mine--except I drank too much caffeine and stayed up past my bedtime (and watched a Hallmark movie!) Happy new year Susanna--and congrats on your blog award.

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  2. Happy New Year to you, too, Coleen!!! Midnight is way past my bedtime, but once a year for New Year's I'm willing to bend the rules a little :) Hope the movie was good :)

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  3. Happy New Year to you, too, Coleen!!! Midnight is way past my bedtime, but once a year for New Year's I'm willing to bend the rules a little :) Hope the movie was good :)

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  4. Your New Year celebration sounds fun. My husband, daughter and I played a Lego game and drank apple juice because we forgot to buy sparkling cider. I'm looking forward to reading about your progress in the 12 x 12!

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  5. Your New Year's was as exciting as mine. But, I wouldn't have it any other way! :) Happy New Year and best of luck with 12 x 12. I'm participating too. Oh, and I'm excited to join the PPBF ranks this week!

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  6. Your 'wild' new year party is right up my street. Have voted as requested ;) and am very much looking forward to all we will achieve as individuals and fellow writers together this year. xx

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  7. Sounds like a perfect way to ring in my new year! And I should know because our night looked a lot like that too!

    Good luck with the 12x12 challenge, Susanna!

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  8. Yay! So glad you'll be doing 12X12 too and especially glad you're joining PPBF!!!

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  9. Thank, Laura! I'll probably be using some of those great writing prompts you always post on Wednesdays! :)

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  10. Your New Years sounded lovely! You were a little more exciting than us. We let the kids stay up til eight and then went to bed at eleven.

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  11. I definitely remember those years, Hannah :) And I have to say I miss them. The fact that my kids are old enough to stay up now means they're growing up fast!

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  12. Happy New Years Susanna. Love how the dogs slept through it!! haha, guess it is just another day for them! Your evening was a bit similar except I had to go to a wedding before getting home and settling in for the count down. Lucky for me, I have a huge window that faces the Space Needle and we watched the fireworks from the comfort of our eating area then popped open some sparkling cider and ate cake and ice cream then watched the rerun of the NY countdown! :D

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  13. Happy New Year Susanna! It has been fun getting to know you and so many others this year. Sounds like our New Year's Eve's were pretty similar -- a lot of talk with close friends, a game and food. My husband had to preach on Sunday, so he didn't even make it to New Year's -- but I did. I like them lazy - no fuss.

    Congratulations to Clar. And, I voted.

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  14. Happy 2012 Susanna! I am so glad I found your blog and joined Perfect Picture Books. It has been such a rewarding experience. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to design the badge.

    I wish you all of the best in the coming year. New Years was my 21st wedding anniversary. It was fun to just play games and drink a (half) a bottle of champagne. My husband and I are soooo wild :D But we had fun and laughed a lot which I think is very important!

    I am participating in 12x12 also. I am excited, yet a bit scared about the commitment. I know I will be glad I did it though.

    Great post, Happy New Year, Loni

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  15. Happy New Year, Susanna! I love game nights around the fire! My twins aren't quite two yet, so I've got a few years to wait, but it will be lovely. This year I was asleep before 11, passed out, alas, from sheer exhaustion and not a wild party. Anyway, I voted as requested, and will see you next Friday when I launch my blog -- with a PPBF post!

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  16. Oh, that sounds beautiful, Saba! Happy New Year to you, too! Looking forward to 12X12 :)

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  17. Thank you for voting, Pat :) And thanks for the New Year's wishes - right back at you! Looking forward to lots of blogging fun in 2012!

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  18. Happy New Year to you, too, Loni! And I'm so glad I found you and you were kind enough to make that gorgeous badge for PPBs! Happy Anniversary - sounds like it was a lovely evening :) Looking forward to doing 12X12 with you - I think it's going to be hard but worthwhile and fun!

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  19. Ah, I remember those days well :) Plenty of time for games around the fire and staying up late - before you know it they'll be in college! Thanks for voting and looking so forward to your first post!!!

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  20. WOW! You party like me! In fact, I am ashamed to admit, I didn't even make it till midnight. Pathetic, I know. But sleep sounded so much better!

    And I love your writing contests. Every month or every other sounds good. :) AND... congrats on the award!

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  21. Congrats on your well- deserved award Susanna! Sometimes the simplest celebrations are the best! Looking forward to sharing more fun with you in 2012! Julie

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  22. You still have young kids, Abby - sleep is always at a premium :) So glad you like the contests (me too!) and thanks for the congrats!

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  23. Likewise! I always look forward to your humor :)

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  24. Happy New Year Susanna! I was in bed by 10:30, so I think your celebration was officially wilder than mine. Thanks for putting up the 12x12 badge - so exciting!

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  25. Wow, you're good times were certainly very wild compared to mine. My little one ended up asleep before midnight, so I'm glad we popped the sparkling cider during dinner :-)

    You keep so many wonderful things happening here. Whether I get to participate in a contest or not, I love to check things out. I wish you the best of success in bringing more bloggy fun and putting out more picture book wonderment.

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  26. I spent New Years Eve reading The Shadow of the Wind in my tent while camping, then when I couldn't possibly keep my eyes open any longer, fell asleep - at 11.50pm! A delightful New Year. :-)

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  27. It totally is! I haven't really gotten started yet - I still have kids home :) - but I'm excited!

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  28. Thanks so much for your kind words, Angela. It means a lot to me that you enjoy the blog because, as you know from running your own, it takes a fair amount of work, and I often wonder whether I should be writing instead! Happy New Year to you, too, and best of luck with all your writing goals in 2012 :)

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  29. It SOUNDS delightful! Being an imaginative type, I'm picturing your tent surrounded by koala bears and kangaroos :) Happy New Year!

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  30. This_Kid_Reviews_Books_ErikJanuary 3, 2012 at 6:45 AM

    Happy New Year to you! We went to friends of ours. They have kids my sister's and my ages. We played the Wii and board games. We even stayed up until mid-night! I hope you keep doing the contests! I am going to try to do the 12x12 challenge as best as I can.

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  31. Happy New Year Susanna! We just went to the neighbours spontaneously, it was fun. Congrats on the award, you really are a superstar blogger and a superstar person.
    I hope everyone votes the fun competitions in if it's not too much work for you. Have a fun week!

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  32. Sounds fun, Erik! Happy New Year to you, too! And I think it's great you're doing 12X12!

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  33. Happy New Year to you, too, Catherine! Thanks for the congrats and I'm so glad you enjoy the contests - I do too! :) So far it looks like there's definite interest in continuing....

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  34. I came down with a bit of a bug and slept. Hey, I've always heard you will be doing what you do on New Year's Eve throughout the year - so I'll get lots of sleep. I remain very happy to be the November winner. I voted in the poll today. I'm trying to establish a new writing routine, so I'm behind on my blog reading. I'll get into the groove of things ... eventually.

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  35. Hi Susanne! Happy 2012!!! Congrats on your Superstar Blog Award. It is a superstar blog! As far as New Year's..let's just say it was 12 o'clock somewhere when I hit the sack.
    I voted. I voted for quarterly, even though I sure did love the Thanksgiving & Christmas back-to-back. But, I voted for quarterly because I think that would make it a little more special and because I am committed to 12 x12 and I know that will take time. With that said, I will be entering or voting no matter what you decide. I think it's wonderful that you host the contests. It's part of what makes your blog a superstar blog!

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  36. Happy New Year, Susanna. At least you had scrabble. I had the ball dropping on TV, a yawn, and it was off to bed. :-)

    I am signing up for Perfect Picture Books. I actually wanted to do it last year (that sounds weird), but I was bogged down in all the interviews I did. I enjoy the interviews, but most were scheduled for Friday. Not this year, oh no. I come back the 9th, and that Friday I'll have one.

    Congrads on being a superstar, woman! *grabs pen for autograph*

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  37. Sorry! I misspelled your name. I know it's Susanna....why did I do that :•0

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  38. Oh, gosh Stacy! I hope you're feeling better! Sleep is good, though :) Thanks for voting. I'm also going to try to establish a new writing routine - one that allows for more actual writing! - so i totally get the falling behind in blogging thing. It will probably happen to me, too. I just haven't really started my new routine yet because the kids aren't back in school!

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  39. Thanks, Penny, for voting and for the congrats :) I have loved reading your entries - you're a talented writer! - so I hope you'll continue to enter sometimes. I certainly understand time constraints though. I always feel like there's too much to do and too little time. So glad you're doing 12X12 too!

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  40. Yay! I'm so glad you want to do PPBFs!!! And you're doing 12X12 too, right? So we can do all kinds of fun things together this year :)

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  41. No worries - people get it wrong all the time without noticing! It's a hard name for some reason - I'm always Suzanna, Suzanne, Susannah, Susan - you name it - anything but Susanna. It was very kind of you to correct :)

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  42. Wow! I won PPBF! Thank you! :)

    Happy New Year! to you, too! (enough !!! ??) sorry, I'll behave. My new years eve was even tamer than yours as I fell asleep during a movie. Boy was I mad. Good movie, too.

    Thanks for the poll. I voted mine.

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  43. Happy New Year, Susanna! Sounds like your celebration was wilder than mine. I stayed up reading a good book ;)

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  44. I don't know if my New Year celebrations were any wilder than yours. We went to first night to view the parade, ice sculptures, and fireworks. After that we had Thai food for dinner. Then we headed home to watch the ball drop on TV. I could barely stay awake!

    Happy New Year!

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  45. Thanks for voting! What was the movie? And don't forget to let me know which prize you want!

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  46. KellyamtowerkorenekJanuary 4, 2012 at 1:15 PM

    Happy New Year, Susanna! I am finally back to blogging -was in South Texas visiting in-laws for New Year's and then straight back to work! Looking forward to blogging with you in the new year! :-)

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  47. Happy New Year to you, too, Kelly! Glad you're back, and looking forward to blogging with you too :)

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  48. Hmm...I am curious what you thought of the Jean Auel book? It got a lot of hype before coming out, and I have not read it yet!

    I voted, but whatever fits into YOUR schedule counts too! I like the holiday theme contests, but no every month has a holiday. I heard April Fool's and Groundhog's Day are fertile PB ground... ;-)

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  49. And that is exactly how I would prefer to spend New Year's Eve as well. Best of luck on 12x12 in 2012!

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