Let's give 2026 a try, shall we?

Are you ready to wave goodbye to 2025? I sure am! While I hope your 2025 was an amazing year, filled with laughter and excitement, my year played out differently. Different from my hopes and goals, and hugely different from any expectations we might have had at Chez Munder. 

While there were positive outcomes and life lessons learned, 2026 is looking to hold more of the same. That's just life, right? After the additional vision loss in 2024, I felt hopeful my adjustments were working and my writing was going to be full steam ahead!

Then we unexpectedly became caregivers for multiple family members. Life became managing hospital visits, care facilities, home health tasks, as well as finances and transportation needs.  I know many of you at a similar age have experienced the same. Everything else seemed to fall away as we struggled to figure this out. Including my writing.

Did I learn enough to balance extended family needs, life needs, and my desire to publish in the coming year? I'm excited to find out and hope you are as well. As we close out the year, please hug your loved ones close and embrace the time, both joyous and sad, we have together.

The Scenic Route! .99 Today Only!

 .99 Today Only!

Have you ever wanted to try a Chrissy Munder Romance? Today's the day! The Scenic Route is an @jmsbooksllc Daily Deal. https://www.jms-books.com/pzen_dailydeals.html

Ed Baldwin left his home in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula right after graduation and vowed never to return. He’s patched things up enough that he’s bringing long-time boyfriend Joe Sutton home to meet the family. Ed knows no family dynamic is ever perfect, but with the differences between their upbringings, he worries this will be the deal-breaker in their relationship.

Nervous and on-edge, Ed picks a fight with Joe the entire trip. When Joe has enough and stops at a run-down motel to take a break, their relationship is tested in a way Ed never imagined. There’s not a lot of rest to be had at the Easy Rest Motel and Ed must learn to trust both himself and Joe before they become permanent guests. But that’s not the end of their adventure and Ed knows one thing — this is the last time he lets Joe take the scenic route.

It's the JMS Books LLC Annual Labor Day Sale!!!

 Surfacing above the chaos to say there's no better time to visit JMS Books LLC than their annual Labor Day Sale. All the books! All the authors! All the savings! https://www.jms-books.com/

Okay, February. Let's move on to March.

Many thank to the good friend who sent a card that perfectly represents our February. From multiple family members in hospital to my father-in-law's unexpected passing. This was not the month we were hoping for. Let's all look forward to a new month and raised spirits.

 

Happy New Year! (My inner perfectionist is starting to hyperventilate)

Yes, it's already half-way through the month. Yes, normally you might stop by to read a reasonably upbeat post detailing my wins from the year prior and my hopes for the year ahead. Sorry. This year, well, this year things aren't much improved from last year's additional loss of vision and family upheaval. Goals? Ha! To twist a favorite pop culture reference: Goals? We don't need no stinkin' goals.

But, I do. That's just the kind of gal I am. The question becomes how to fit them into the ever-changing landscape of the too quickly passing weeks? Truly, that's the question for all of us, isn't it? And like with everything else, the only answer that seems realistic is we just do the best we can. 

Did that hurt your planning-loving soul? Is your inner perfectionist starting to hyperventilate? Sigh. I hear you. But reality is what it is, and sometimes, it isn't very kind. So, for 2025, I've decided there isn't enough available energy to keep paddling against the current. It's all deep breaths and going with the flow here at Chez Munder. And, hopefully, the flow will steer me through the completion of a few works in process.

How has your New Year started?