Once Upon a Christmas and Miracle On I-40 now in audio
Having a book in audio has been on my list of desires, and I am delighted that I have achieved that this year with Once Upon A Christmas and Miracle On I-40.
Once Upon a Christmas audio is available free with your Audible membership here. It is narrated by AI Virtual Voice. I was pleasantly surprised by how real the AI voice sounds, with a Southern accent! And the tone of it fit the historical story, which sounds odd for computer-generated voice, however, whoever programed and developed the voice gave it perfect diction, as people talked in the 1800s. In fact, I think the voice sounds faintly like myself when reading Once Upon a Christmas. For those of you who prefer to read, as I do, You can find the e-book on special discount of $1.99 for the month here.
Miracle On I-40, narrated by professional voice artist Jama Smith, became available on Audible just today! You would have laughed if you could have seen my excitement upon receiving the e-mail notification. I did a happy dance.
Jama did a lovely job, and I’m very pleased. Miracle On I-40 is on half-price sale —$7.33— on Audible for five days. It will also be available on Amazon.com and iTunes. You can find the e-book at the special $1.99 price here.
Still At the Strength Training.
This month marks twelve months of regular weight strength training at the gym. I really can hardly believe I started on this road. And it is one of the best roads I’ve ever been on. Me, at age 74, now having shrunk below 5’4″ and with auto-immune disease, can leg press 115 pounds and chest press 65 pounds with comparative ease. My hip and ankle pain suffered for years is far less, and not at all when I get moving. My balance is greatly improved, no more fear of going up a ladder to change a lightbulb. I can sit and crochet as much as I wish and my arms, shoulders, and hands no longer hurt. Who would have guessed that lifting weights would help me crochet?
Dedicated working out has improved all parts of my life–body, mind, emotions. The point of it is to be able to take care of myself and enjoy life until it is my time to go to heaven. And I’m having a bang-up time doing it. I assure you that any amount of mild exercise with weight can improve any condition.
Here we are at Christmastime again. This year marks my twelfth Christmas as a widow alone. It does not get easier, in fact, I would say this year is one of the hardest for me. The grandchildren are grown, family scattered. I have a number of widowed friends, and we will speak of the loneliness in few and fleeting words. We don’t dwell on it, as that will not help. What can’t be changed is best accepted, and made the best of, which all those I know do with great fortitude.
Faith and fortitude are the same in that if you feel you lack them at any moment through the day, simply ask of God, and He supplies. Do not dwell on what you have lost but keep your focus on all that you have. Yes, I sometimes have a real hissy-fit of poor-lonely-me and and missing what once was. I mean, really, aging itself can bring this on. But these moods pass, and I will get over it, wipe my face and soon be “getting on with it,” as the saying goes, and smiling, too.
This morning was cold and gray and dreary. I decided to put on one of my best sweaters, one of organic cotton that I usually save for ‘Sunday best’. It felt so very soft and comforting. I won’t save things for good moments anymore. I’m going to use and enjoy all the fine things everyday. I have always written of the beauty of everyday people and everyday moments. I urge you to enjoy your everyday priceless moments at this Christmastime, dear friends. Especially enjoy your fabulous selves, and keep your eyes open to all the miracles of the season.
From my dear faithful companion Faith and I, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Blessings,
CurtissAnn
Curtiss Ann Matlock 
3 responses to “Merry Christmas, and Books Now in Audio”
I forwarded an email to you from Land’s End and their cotton sweaters, which I really like. Hopefully, it didn’t go straight to Spam. Brenda MillerGuthrie, Oklahoma
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Congratulations, CurtissAnn, both on the release of your audiobook and for sticking with the weight training. I have come to the conclusion that keeping things for ‘best’ is a waste of time. Let’s enjoy what we have. 💐
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Thank you, Sandy. You are so right, nothing is served by keeping things for the best. Yay for us, enjoying the best things in life. 😁
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