Surprises happen when you take a blogging break!

On By Lauren Scott, AuthorIn Gobblers by Masticadores, Nominations & Awards, Poetry
‘Tis the season! Photo taken by my son last year.

Dear Friends,

Happy December! First of all, on the weekend, I tried to activate the snow effect on my blog, but it wasn’t working. Then this morning, it was snowing! A miracle? I don’t know, but I’ll take it as a good sign. ❄️ Now for those who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope yours was beyond wonderful! We had a lovely time seeing our son and daughter, feeling grateful for everything, but not just on that special Thursday – every day is a day of gratitude. Then we decorated the house for Christmas and it looks beautiful and festive. We played Scrabble, watched movies, went for walks, talked about life, and guess what? Yesterday, I wrote book reviews! Yes, I was behind, so I carved out some time yesterday! I’ll share them this month. Anyway, I missed you all, but I hope you’ve had a great week! And I normally don’t like to add too much to a post simply to keep things simple, but on the day I ‘left’ for a break, I received incredible and unexpected news:

I have been nominated by Literary Revelations for the esteemed Pushcart Prize! It is a huge privilege to be nominated, so Thanks again to Gabriela Marie Milton! I still feel speechless and so honored to be nominated, but also to stand beside the other incredible authors!
Congratulations again to the other amazing nominees! 🎉

2025 Literary Revelations Pushcart Nominees

Pushcart Nomination Overview

The Pushcart nomination is a process in which literary magazines and small presses select outstanding works—poetry, essays, or fiction—from their publications for inclusion in the annual Pushcart Prize anthology. Editors submit their chosen pieces to the Pushcart Prize editors, who review all nominations and select the winners for publication.Your letters of nomination will go out before December 1, 2025! Congratulations and good luck!

And this morning, my notifications told me that Gobblers by Masticadores published my haiku “The Reveal!” Thanks again to Manuela Timofte, Editor, for sharing my work each month. Again, I’m honored and so appreciative!

The Reveal – haiku

in a night abyss
shimmering with white diamonds
hope winks with promise

The Reveal – haiku

If you have time (smile), please pay a visit to Gabriela and Manuela. They’ll appreciate your presence, and I’ll appreciate your support. I look forward to reading your posts again, and wish you all a dazzling December! ❄️🩵

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Thank you for coming by! I’m grateful for you all! ❤️

All available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Click on sidebar image for more info, and to
purchase for your holiday shopping!
Thank you! 🙏

© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com
Author and poet, Lauren Scott, enjoys small-town living in the Bay Area with her husband, Matt, of thirty-seven years. Their adult son and daughter live out of state, and with frequent visits and technology, the family of four remains close. Lauren has published four poetry collections, a memoir, and her first children’s book. Her latest poetry collection is a tribute to her family’s Chocolate Labrador who crossed over the Rainbow Bridge in spring 2025. Lauren is a recent Pushcart Nominee and has been a guest on several podcasts. Her writing is featured on Spillwords Press where she was voted Author of the Month and garnered Publication of the Month awards. She is a contributing author in several anthologies, and her work is shared bimonthly on Gobblers and Masticadores. Her muse discovers inspiration from her family, spending time outdoors, reveling in simple things, and marveling at the mysteries of life.

95 thoughts on “Surprises happen when you take a blogging break!”

  5. Congrats Lauren, spending time with family is precious and as for the nomination I wish you all the best of luck adding it to your resume. How do you activate the snow on your screen?

    Reply

  7. Dear Lauren.
    I am so happy to see you back .
    It sounds like you had a lovely time over Thanksgiving .
    Now, time to get the CRAZYPANTS back on 😄
    Masdive congratulations on your nomination🥳
    So well deserved xoxox
    Much love and warm hugs to you 💖❤️💖❤️

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Maggie! It’s good to be back, but the family break was nice. Yes, now it’s time for CRAZYPANTS! I made another order! 😂 Thanks for the good wishes! It was a wonderful and unexpected surprise. And your kind words and support mean a lot, as you know. Lots of love and warm hugs to you too, dear friend! xoxo 💖💖💖❄️

      Reply

      1. Lauren you are so welcome always.
        Yes, I have just placed an order too 😄
        I love it when these things happen and you are so very deserving dear friend xoxoxo
        Lots of love and warm hugs again.💖❤️💖❤️
        I NEED A POLAR BEAR 😁😁😁

  11. Congrats on your nomination, Lauren! Your Thanksgiving sounded special. Complete with Scrabble! Peggy and I have a word dice game played like scrabble that we play at lunch almost every day. Unlike scrabble, a game only takes 5-15 minutes. The latter if you are struggling, like me today. Had to make sure that I used the q twice. 🤪

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Curt, and our Thanksgiving was special. I hope yours was too! That game sounds fun. Scrabble definitely takes longer. I know, the letters Q, Z, and X are just wonderful, aren’t they? By the way, your book was one of the reviews that I wrote, and I’ll share this month sometime. I need to edit them now. Thanks again!

      Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Resa! It was an unexpected surprise! And I’m just grateful and honored to be nominated. Thanks for heading over to Gobblers too. I’m also going to reblog your post on Wednesday. Happy December! Hugs xoxoxo 💖❄️

      Reply

      1. It’s a great surprise, and well deserved Lauren,.
        I got called away, hours ago, and am finally back blogging. Sheesh!
        Now it’s almost 9:30, and I want to draw.

        The days must be somewhat longer where you are. They are about 2.4 hours long up here, in the cold & dark.

        Still, I like it! I love it!
        Hugs xoxoxoxo
        PS Nice snow!

        Ohh, okay.. Wednesday. I’ll be around!

        Hugs xoxoxoxoxo

      2. Thanks again, Resa! Our nights get dark around 5:30 these days, but we light candles and lean into the coziness. When the nights get lighter longer, it’ll be a nice change. By the way, I just replied to your comment on Gobblers (thanks always for heading there), but the last line in the haiku should read: hope winks, instead of hope wins, which is okay. I’m not saying anything. But when I replied to you, I used that line and typed in ‘winks’ but it shows ‘wins.’ So strange. Anyway, I didn’t want this comment on that post, but I wanted you to know in case you went, huh??? 🙂 Hugs xoxoxo and glad you like the snow. It’s fun! ❄️ See you tomorrow!

      3. It read winks over here! 😉
        It’s dark now… 5:00. So, you don’t have a lot more light. I suppose you get an extra bit in the a.m. too.

        Hasta manyana! 🌟🤗❦

  23. Dearest Lauren, we are so glad you had a lovely family Thanksgiving. 😘🩷 Hats off to you for being nominated for the Pushcart Prize….we are cheering you on. Much love to you and Matt. Xxxxx 🩷😘✨🩷

    Reply

  24. Lovely to have you back Lauren and great for the snow! It’s festive!

    Glad you also enjoyed a nice time with your children and beautiful Thanksgiving time.

    Well done on the nomination and publication! Your post if full of positive vibes and it’s refreshing.

    Have a great week and stay well 🤗🧡!

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the warm welcome, Marie, and the snow is fun, isn’t it? I’m glad it worked! 🙂 Yes, the holiday was wonderful, and thanks also regarding the nomination and publication. I appreciate your kindness and support! And positive vibes are always nice. Wishing you the same, my friend. Hugs xoxo

      Reply

  32. Love the gift of snow, Lauren! That’s so awesome and of course congratulations on the Pushcart nomination! It’s such an honor to stand beside you and the amazing nominees!!!
    Big hugs!
    🤗 🎉🙏

    Reply

      1. It rained in Woodside 35 years ago give giving birth to my daughter. Thank you so much, Lauren. Yes, it’s a huge honor for sure I’m sending lots of love to you and everyone.🤗

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