Annalisa Crawford and Kyra Lennon are hosting the Imaginary Friend Bloghop today to celebrate the upcoming one year anniversary of Annalisa's excellent book Cat and The Dreamer.
When I was a kid I spent nearly all of my time with my sister, as I followed her around like a puppy, so I never really thought about having an imaginary friend. But I did have a stuffed dog who accompanied me everywhere, including the hospital when I had to have my tonsils out, and slept with me every single night. I received the dog as a gift when I was a baby and named him Hoppy Poppy when I was too young to come up with a better name. ;)
Even though Hoppy Poppy was an inanimate object, I considered him my special friend and my confidante, and he still has a home with me in a box in my closet. He's a ragged mess now and much of his stuffing has come out, but he will always be a childhood treasure to me.
Congratulations to Annalisa and Happy Birthday to Cat and The Dreamer on February 14th! If you haven't already read Cat and The Dreamer, I highly recommend it. It is an emotional and powerful story that really packs a punch.
Thanks to Annalisa and Kyra for hosting this fun fest.
As another week ends, it's also time to Celebrate the Small Things with Vikki at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author.
My small pleasure this week is that I learned how to use rafflecopter and managed to successfully create a widget for my upcoming release party and giveaway for Polar Night. As I said last week when I learned how to add my "find me" buttons to the blog, any time I am able to figure out how to create something online it feels like a victory to me. I am often a master at turning even the simplest task into a nightmare.
Other than that, I didn't accomplish much this week as my mind has been too busy turning to mush over the fact that my release is now less than a week away. I'm beyond excited but also a nervous wreck! But now that I have the widget, I'm anxious to be able to share the details of the giveaway next week.
Hope everyone has a great weekend ahead! :)
I can feel your excitement! I would be in meltdown with nervous anticipation x
ReplyDeleteMy first teddy bear is still in my drawer - he's actually slightly older than me, and looks very sorry for himself now. Thanks for taking part, and good luck with the launch! :-)
ReplyDeleteI think I still have my first stuffed bear.
ReplyDeleteRelease date coming soon!
Wow, is there going to be a party? Are there going to be dragon snacks? Your discovery was really helpful, by the way. I am a schmuck with technology but I managed to link a button. Your friend reminded me of my first pet; a stone tied with a cord I took out for a walk (or a drag) every day. :)
ReplyDeleteI had a toy dog too, and I still have him!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being part of the bloghop!
My sister and I were all imagination when we were kids. I remember pretending the weeping willow in the front yard was a mushroom. We were little people. I'm pretty sure my mom was the wicked witch - that probably didn't make her happy. :)
ReplyDeleteThe small steps added up are huge! Congratulations!
@Carolyn, meltdown is a good word for it LOL.
ReplyDelete@Annalisa, thanks for hosting, this is a fun hop!
@Alex, 6 days now!
@Al, I'm so glad my discovery helped you. I just wish I could remember the blog where I first saw it so I could give credit where it's due. I will try to have dragon snacks next week LOL.
@Kyra, thanks for hosting this fun hop!
I think my first imaginary friend was a stuffed rabbit. I wore the fur off and in the end it was more like a sack with ears.
ReplyDelete@Tonja, thanks! LOL, my sister and I used to make up crazy games in our backyard too. The tree and swing set served as all kinds of set pieces.
ReplyDelete@clee, aww, that sounds about like how my dog ended up.
What a sweetly themed blog hop! My son's imaginary friend is still going strong. So much so that I signed his name to a couple of xmas presents.
ReplyDeleteI still have my original Pooh bear in a box. Couldn't get rid of him.
ReplyDeleteYay on your release next week! I can't wait to buy and read your book.
@Johanna, LOL LOL, I'm sure the friend gave great presents. :)
ReplyDelete@Mary, thanks! I still have my original Pooh, he lives in the same box as Hoppy Poppy. :)
Hey, I haven't even figured out how to enter one of those rafflecopter things yet. :P
ReplyDeleteI don't think I had any imaginary friends, really, just lots of fantasies I played out. I usually made my little brother be the guy on the other end of my pointy stick in a sword fight or something. :)
Awesome! Love giveaways and that is super exciting that your release is very soon. I would be head-over-heels excited!
ReplyDeletePS: I have also nominated you for the Liebster Award. Check out my blog tomorrow morning when I post the details! www.jawardwrites.com
@LG, I was the little sister on the other end of those kinds of fantasies LOL. I never got to be in charge of anything.
ReplyDelete@JA, oh, thanks!! I really appreciate that. I will definitely check it out tomorrow. :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on learning how to use rafflecopter! It's tricky learning all the new blogging things. Thank you for celebrating this week.
ReplyDeleteHoppy Poppy is such a cute name, and a lot more clever than some of the names I came up with for my own toys as a kid! (I remember naming one after myself when I was, like, two. So unique, right? Haha!)
ReplyDeleteI like the name Hoppy Poppy. It sounds happy. :)
ReplyDelete@Viklit, thanks again for hosting!
ReplyDelete@Heather, LOL, that's cute. Thanks!
@Laura, it does, I agree with you there. Maybe I was too hard on it LOL. Thanks!
I never had an imaginary friend...like you, I had a sister. What a fun bloghop. :) Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteHoppy Poppy sounds so cute! Thanks for sharing your story with us. I recently learned how to use Rafflecopter too. I was a bit worried it would be complicated, but it turned out to be fairly simple. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteWell, that's celebration enough! Congrats on your accomplishments, and I still need to find time to make use of your shared knowledge about the buttons! Congrats on your release!
ReplyDeleteYou are one up on me. I still can't get rafflecopter working right.
ReplyDeleteYou'll do great with your new release, I'm sure! No worries, just enjoy it! I hear ya on the techie score. Once you figure it out though, don't you just feel so amazed with yourself?! Have a fantastic weekend!
ReplyDeleteI love that you followed your sister around - that's so sweet. Congrats on mastering the treacherous rafflecopter. If I ever have a release, I'll have to ask you how you did it. Best of luck on your release and blog tour! :-)
ReplyDeleteI had a beloved teddy bear who stayed with me until adulthood.
ReplyDeleteMine was a big orange dog named Bobo. When my mum died I found him in her closet. Never realized she'd kept him. Now he's back with me.
ReplyDeleteCongrat's on the release of your book, awesome accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteI love novels set in Alaska, I write mine there too!
Have fun and soak it all in, you deserve it!
@Rebecca, thanks, I hope you are having a great weekend too.
ReplyDelete@Christine, thanks, you too! And I was worried about rafflecopter too but I think I got it right, we'll see if it works LOL.
@Nancy, thank you!!
@Ciara, I guess I need to wait and see if what I set up actually works before I celebrate it LOL.
@MJ, thank you so much! And I hope you are having a wonderful weekend as well.
@Lexa, thank you! And I know I will be looking forward to a release from you, it will happen. :)
@Charmaine, I had a Pooh bear I loved to death. I loved all stuffed animals really.
@LD, oh, you must have been so touched by that find! How sweet that your mom kept the dog.
@Yolanda, oh, I will check out your novels, that's awesome. Thank you!
great to know about rafflecopter! and widgets can be fuddlesome!
ReplyDeletehappy feb, julie! yeah!
Thanks Tara! :)
ReplyDeleteBlogging is definitely a learning curve! LOL (I felt the same pride when I launched my first Rafflecopter, too.) Great post! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Melissa! :)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love it when I figure out how to do something new on the blog!
ReplyDeleteYou are so tech savvy Julie! Hoppy Poppy was good practice for Clancy! The big day is almost here!
ReplyDeleteJulie
@Rebecca, me too! :)
ReplyDelete@Julie, LOL, I spoke too soon about rafflecopter LOL. I thought I had it but now I'm giving up on it. Thanks so much!
I didn't have an imaginary friend either, but all of my stuffed toys came to life when no one else was looking.
ReplyDeleteI never had an imaginary friend. I was too busy playing in the dirt in the backyard. I loved dirt.
ReplyDelete@L. Diane, same with me! My stuffed animals were all very lively. :)
ReplyDelete@Michael, LOL. I loved playing outside too even if I wasn't that fond of dirt.
Now just TWO days away! I'm so excited for you, and can't wait to read it. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you EJ! :)
ReplyDeleteLove your new blog look! And can't wait to read Polar Night! I still talk to stuffed animals. I wonder if that's weird. LOL!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cherie! And I don't think it's weird at all LOL. :D
ReplyDelete