Thoughts will be undergoing a temporary hiatus...

Hello to all of you wonderful followers!

I'm sure some of you have noticed my absence on the blog since the beginning of the year. I've been wanting to write this post for a LONG TIME, but my life has been chaos for most of the last few months. So, here we go...

Like I said, things have been chaotic for me. Some has been good, some hasn't been as good. I'm going to focus more on the good in this post, but here's a brief rundown of it all.

To say I burned myself out last year would be the understatement of this year.

I wrote hundreds of posts last year, not only for this blog, but also for my short-lived author blog, The Authorteers. I liked that I was staying busy, doing something I love to do (blogging), and I couldn't imagine slowing down because I enjoyed it so much. Then November and December rolled around and I found myself losing interest in getting stuff done for the blog. I wanted to postpone things, or do something else entirely. I didn't like where it was going, so I tried to kick myself in the booty to get it moving. It kinda worked... and it kinda didn't. My bloggy motivation was almost nonexistent.

It didn't help that my former roommate and I decided to go our separate ways. I knew it was coming last year, but then once 2016 rolled around and I had to start searching for a new apartment AND packing for yet another move (this is the 4th apartment I've lived in in the last few years), I was sorta like a kid again with the whole "I don't wanna!" attitude. I'm just going to say this: Moving. Sucks. I'd like to say that I hope I never have to do it again, but I don't want to live in apartments forever either, so I'll have to move at least one more time in my life.

As I'm (finally) writing this post, I'm getting myself settled into this new apartment (see above pic, which also showcases my super awesome new haircut). Unpacking and organizing and breaking down boxes to recycle (there's this HUGE pile of cardboard next to my front door). It's further away from work than I used to be, but it does have some benefits. One of which is that I'm in a pretty nice city with lots of things to do (many are in walking distance). Second, I'm closer to my boyfriend.

And that brings me to the good! My boyfriend. He and I met at the end of 2015 and we've pretty much been inseparable. In the back of my mind I thought it would take me a long time to find someone I feel like I have a connection to. Like how it's one thing for you both to like Linkin Park, it's an entirely different thing when you have obscure things in common. He's the first person I haven't had to introduce Veronica Mars to because he'd already seen it, not to mention he's seen older movies like Fried Green Tomatoes and actually likes to watch them. And then we're completely on the same page about the same things... it's like we're totally in sync and it boggles my mind when I try to figure out how in the world this has all happened.

Anyways... here's the two of us recently... I love this picture.

He and I decided to pool our collective resources together to open up an eBay store. It was something we bounced around a little bit since I was selling a bunch of stuff on there earlier this year, but then eBay did a special promotion to get a discount on opening up a store and I figured I might as well jump on it now and get it going sooner. So I spend a lot of time getting stuff listed (which is a breeze on my phone), and then shipping when it sold. And this was between him and I spending time together AND packing all my stuff.

But I should get back on point, right?

So, what's happening with Thoughts? First off, I love this blog. I've loved it from the moment I created it and through all the ups and downs and changes that have taken place not only in my life, but also in my reading. Let's not forget all the amazing and wonderful and beautiful people I have met along the way because of this blog getting started. I could never give it up entirely. I just couldn't.

Which brings me to what will be happening on here. I debated in my mind what I wanted to do and how I wanted to go about this for months. Back when I was trying to get myself back on track, I talked myself out of going on hiatus. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only way this is going to work for me. With the new apartment and my online businesses, I've got a lot on my plate that needs to be sorted out. All of my items for sale are stacked precariously against a wall near other piles of boxes... and a decent number of those items need to be either relisted or put into lots... none of which I can do because I still haven't unpacked the stuff I own!

So what does this "hiatus" mean exactly?

Well, I'm going to give myself a few months to get everything back together again. Not only organizing my life in the new apartment and my online sales, but also getting reviews and other posts written. As of right now, I have 2 NetGalley reviews that need to be written/posted, plus a handful of other review books that need reviews written. Then there are several books I never reviewed from awhile back that were read in 2014 and 2015, and that's just borderline unacceptable.

Will I have any posts before this hiatus is over? Of course! I'll still be doing my Thoughts and Daydreams posts with Marie Landry every month. Plus, I'd like to do a quick little post showing off my new place once I get it all set up (including an updated shelfie). And I'll likely at least get the review book reviews posted to the blog (but at the very least they'll be up on Goodreads).

What else can be expected when the blog is back on track? Well, I've been pondering a few possibilities. I would like to start a feature on Thoughts for indie authors--not something authors come to me to be featured/host giveaways/promote--but something where I just showcase an author. No frills, no gimmicks... just spreading the word about awesome unknown authors to help get their books in the hands of new readers. As an indie author myself, I know how much even just a little bit of publicity helps. It may only generate a couple extra sales, but that's okay! I want to give back to the community and give my fellow authors a virtual high five for just being awesome. Plus, I'd like to have monthly swag pack giveaways. I have so many random swag things and I would love to be able to send them out to followers. Also, I want to make my reviews more fun. Like with GIFs and quotes from the book.

When will the hiatus end?

Now that I can't answer right now. I have it in my mind sometime in June or July, but we'll see. Once I know which day it is, I will totally let you know either on my Twitter or Facebook page. So, you better be following my posts on both! I'll still be available on social media, especially Twitter, so definitely hit me up for some book chatting because you know I'm down for that. I've been slacking off on my reading for 2016 (according to Goodreads as I'm writing this, I'm 2 books behind schedule), but I'm slowly getting back to it now that things have settled down a bit. I actually spent like ten minutes going through my Kindle and Nook apps on my phone to download a bunch of the books on my list of books I want to read this year so that they're ready for me when I'm looking for a new one to pick up.

So I'm getting there! Slowly but surely, this will all be back to normal... or at least as normal as I can be. Lol.

Anyways! I hope all is well with you guys! I'll be getting back to checking out your blogs and commenting again as soon as I can. I miss you all bunches and can't wait to see how everything is going for you because you're awesome!

Have a wonderful spring! I will see you this summer!!