Goodbye, My Sweet Sister and Plans for My Future

It was a difficult beginning to 2021. On New Year's Day evening, my family lost a wonderful, loving, carefree person...my sister, Regina Hood-Hawkins. We said our goodbyes and celebrated her life on January 30th. A huge piece of my heart left whenever her soul departed, but I know we'll see each other again one day.

As a result of losing one of my siblings (our parents and grandparents are gone and we're the top tier of the family now), I took some time to reflect on what I'd love to do with the remaining years (hours, seconds, ???) of my life.

I have less than 8 years until I can retire from my day job. My husband and I (along with my twin sister and her husband) have taken up hiking. We love to camp. And when I retire, my husband and I plan to RV around the US for a while. There's so much I want to do. And, of course, I will continue writing books. However, I have one more book to publish under the name of Savannah Rose (the sequel to The Magnolia Moonlight Inn) titled Belles, Books, and Cupcakes. Once the book is finished, I have decided to publish under my maiden name, Angela Hood (yes, I'm still married and will continue to be as long as he'll have me...lol).

I plan to spend more time with family...

My sister, Regina (rest in peace sweet soul). My sister, Dawn. And, myself. (Pictured above)

My brother, Marshall. My sister, Dawn. My sister, Regina. Myself. And, my twin sister, Pam. (Pictured above)

This is a picture of me, my twin sister, and Regina. (Pictured above)

I've created a new blog... https://angelahoodwrites.blogspot.com/ 

Angela Hood Writes will be a blog that consist of writing information, a day in the life of, and post of my upcoming new book series, the Cherry Blossom Collection. I'll blog about the entire process of creating a book series and updates on my progress and book releases. This is all still in the planning stages. I'll also blog about finding inspiration for novels, coming up with characters and titles, and even a little about weekend adventures. Believe it or not, that has a lot to do with novel ideas.

The new blog site will go live on Saturday, April 3, 2021. And, I hope you'll join me over there. Tell your friends. Invite them to follow.

With the death of my sister (at only age 57), my outlook on life has changed drastically. Yes, I have only a short time until I'm able to retire from my day job. In the meantime, I'm building my future. New books. A new blog. Learning to video and edit for (maybe) my very own YouTube channel. I am planning to spend more time with my family (despite Covid-19), and just make every spare moment of my life "matter".

So, I have big plans in the works. New platforms to create. A rigid schedule to keep. But, most importantly, fun to be had. Life is never guaranteed. We can choose to walk through it with our eyes closed and do what we think we're "supposed' to do. Or we can make a life we're proud of, enjoy, and never regret a moment. I'm 51 years old. I'll be 52 in October of this year. I can't say that I regret my life. There's things I would have done differently. But, I don't carry regret in my heart.

If you'd like to support me, walk the rest of my journey with me, or just read a little about my week, join me on Saturdays when I'll post a weekly update. Thanks to all who have stuck around reading whenever I took time to post here. All your comments were much appreciated.

 Savannah Rose (Angela Hood-Ross)

 

2020...You Got To Go (Oh, Happy Thanksgiving)

 

This was our precious boy, Caesar. After our cat, Ella Mae, passed on July 14, 2020, this precious little boy got sick and we lost him on August 6, 2020. He was born June 2, 2008 and was part of our family since he was 6 weeks old.

This year has been a trying year, outside of adding Covid-19 to it. This morning, knowing I would not get to see my family again for another major holiday, not seeing our fur babies excited for the day and the food, and watching the most confusing Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, I'm about ready to skip on to 2021, maybe even 2022.

I really don't see 2021 being any better, but I have to have hope. 2020 YOU GOT TO GO!

So, this is the reason I've not been posting on blogger. But, I DO have hope. I DO see things getting better. And, even though I don't want to rush my last extended holiday vacation days from work, I'm ready to say good-bye to 2020 and pray we begin to see some kind of normal in the year to come.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I hope everyone will have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. I do plan to return to blogger (taking a year or two off from writing novels and plan to focus on my family and healing my heart from the tragedies of 2020).

I'll see you all in 2021.

Live, Laugh, Love

Angela Hood-Ross

Saying Goodbye To My Ella Mae

It's been a long, stressful, depressing couple of weeks. After finding out my cat, Ella Mae, had diabetes, we realized she wasn't responding to treatment. She'd already given up. So, Tuesday, July 14, Brian and I said goodbye to our sweet girl. She would have been 11 on August 19, 2020. Even though she was our feisty feline, she was family.

We rescued Ella Mae (originally named Cruella de Vil), on Valentine's Day 2010. She was born (estimated) on August 19, 2009. She was more than a cat. She was my friend. She always laid on my house shoes whenever I wrote books. She was the first to greet me in the morning with her gentle, almost silent, meow. She brought so much joy to my life. And I only hope she knew how much she was loved.

Sometimes I walk through the house and expect to see her trotting behind me with her belly swinging back and forth. Sometimes I still feel her laying under my chair, on top of my house shoes, just being in the room with me as I edit a book. Instead, her ashes are in a beautiful wooden box next to the picture of another gentle feline soul, Balki, my cat of 17 years that passed more than 20 years ago.

Yes, it's been a rough couple of weeks. My life will go on. I do not plan to get another cat. The hurt is too painful. As I mentioned in my last blog, if you own a cat and you're not aware of the signs of feline diabetes, please educate yourself.

I hope everyone is healthy and thriving during these uncertain times.

Angela Hood-Ross
Live, Laugh, Love.