My Fall Vacation October-November 2014 - Day 3 November 1

Day 3 was the day of Nora Robert's Book Signing Event at Turn The Page Bookstore Cafe
Day started early to get in line for tickets.  This helps keep the signing portion of the event organized.

View of the line some brought a chair and all dressed warm Boonsboro is cold but South Mountain State Park is cooler at

Elev 1736 ft 39.65 °N, 77.51 °W

2 more friends I met in line - Denise and Jennifer - now friends on Facebook.

Met a new friend in book signing line, Becky

View of the line for getting tickets for the book signing

Area the line trails through to get us to the authors

Another angle of the books on offer at the book signing.

Books on offer from the authors signing at the event.

Went to this place to shop - love the merchandise.

Friend I made in line took this picture.

Piper in action - lovely music - I'll publish some of the songs on YouTube

Enjoyed the Piper for hire that Nora Roberts Book signing event provided for the fans standing in line.  Thank you.

Pat Donohue Thanks for the chat and signature and writing this story from the Civil War.

Anne Barton and Cara Connelley

Brenda Novak - Thanks for the signature

Brenda's Husband took this picture.  Thank you.

Thanks Donna Kauffman, love your books:)

Thanks Kristan Higgins for the signature and lovely picture.  Love your writing.

Thanks, Marie Force for the signatures and the great stories. 

Thank you Nora Roberts for the signature and hosting this book signing event at your Husband's bookstore Turn the Page Bookstore Cafe.  Thanks too to Laura for picture and Janeen Solberg welcome made my day:)  Loved every moment of the book signing event and my visit to Boonsboro Maryland. 

Find out more about the December 6th Book Signing event at December 6th Book Signing Event Details from TTPBooks.com

Wellness and Life Balance Melissa Blanchard Journal 10-4-14

Hi All,
Here's hoping your Fall is going well.  I'm learning much about the power of finding your purpose. 

In August I discovered my primary motivation for working in Health Care was patient safety.  I let my Manager know this as I covered the subjects covered at the August user conference for surgical instrument tracking software I had attended.

I'm very happy that my Manager listened to me and now I'm working with a new team getting insights into how best to support medical equipment with software and servers.  Fascinating topics for me that brings back the days when I went to work with my Dad.

My Dad was an engineer at a TV transmitter when they were primarily vacuum tubes and racks that held transistors that modulated the signals from the air and created the TV image.  Similar to how servers are handled in data centers today. 

As I learn about pursuing my purpose I see how my life has been building up to be the best at this work.  Life is becoming clear and exciting all because I'm pursuing my purpose.

I'm also learning how to communicate more effectively, something I wanted to do for a very long time.  First step was to join the Fairview Foundation Ambassador program.  This was a great opportunity to find a way to communicate why I give to the Reach Out and Read program Link for Reach Out and Read.  While writing the speech and then learning how to deliver it - I've found many ways to improve how I interact with others. 

I'm continuing with this theme by joining Speaking in Bytes Toastmasters Club.  At these meetings I'm learning how to listen, be responsible of a certain piece of the event (such as time keeper) and  I'm learning how to speak with preparation and without.  Our club meets at my work place over lunch hour but they are all over the Twin Cities I recommend you find a local club and join.  Everyone I meet at these meetings wants to improve themselves and help others as they strive to become better listeners and speakers.  Its a great way to meet people in your community and be part of an organization.

I continue to walk as well.  Every day for 30 minutes and overtime your body build muscle again.  I also find I have more stamina when I want to attend events such as the State Fair or a software user conference.  Now I'm applying it to learning how to support patient monitoring.

All I've been doing since July, 2013 has been preparing me for where I'm at now in my journey.  Eating right, exercising and getting to know myself through meditation and self awareness has led me to being happier.  Not just on the surface but inside I find myself content with my life and working toward my goals. 

I'm also going back to Maryland where my journey began in July, 2013 to another book signing event November 1, 2014.  Nora Roberts is signing the last book in her THE COUSINS O'DWYER TRILOGY see more information at this link:  November 1, 2014 Book Signing Event at Turn The Page Bookstore Cafe.

Life happens for a reason - we have to search to find that reason and the journey is very rewarding.  Keep on looking for your purpose, strive to be the very best you can be in all things and live the dream.  Your comments are welcome.  Thanks for stopping by and hope you come again soon.

Your friend,
Missy
Melissa Blanchard

Wellness and Life Balance Melissa Blanchard Journal 9-28-14

Hi All,

Fall has come to Minnesota.  It's still warm but there's a sense that all the green, flowers, animals, and insects are living on borrowed time.  Here's some pictures from last week's walks:

Flower from my Apartment Terrace - lovely Red Color

Bush by the driveway where I live

Loved the blue sky and the Flag Caught in the wind

Beautiful Red coming from the cold nights and shorter days

Vivid yellow - also enjoy the shadows in this picture

Birds and bees busily getting fuel before the first snow fall.

Trees adapting to shorter days and longer cooler nights sky is lovely blue today

Color framed with green

Beautiful

Soft breeze with cool blue lovely

This time of year gets you thinking about all you need to do to get ready for winter.  I've been planning for getting my 30 minutes inside as well as outside for those icy too cold days to venture out. 

I'm glad I have end of October vacation plans.  It will be good to see USA from the sky during the change of season for those of us that tilt far from the sun.  I'll be going to Maryland to the Nora Roberts book signing in Boonsboro MD.  Lovely town in the summer so I'm looking forward to seeing what it will be like in the Fall.

Remember to keep your focus on what's possible.  Changes take time the main thing is to keep the yourself pointed in the direction you want to go.  You may need to make some course corrections but overall you'll have your destinations in front of you.

Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove TV show see http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/cedarcove
for more information.  This is a great Fall show - it's about endings and beginnings.  Last night's show also demonstrated what happens when you have the wrong people in your life.  Its important to chose wisely those you allow to influence your decisions.

I also enjoy tweeting with the cast and fans of this show and the http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/
The best of human nature triumphs on this channel.  Hopefully you'll be able to tune in next Saturday at 8/7 central time and tweet #CedarCoveTV hash tag and add your voice to the conversation.

Here's hoping you have a Fall full of sunshine and for you in Spring - all the best in your new beginnings.  The good thing about being human is we are able to adjust to all the seasons and still find a way to have new beginnings even in the dead of winter.

Sincerely,

Melissa (Missy).

Turn The Page Bookstore Cafe to Host Nora Roberts Book Signing

Turn The Page Bookstore Cafe to Host Nora Roberts Book Signing in Boonsboro MD on Mar 22 12-2 EST Click on link below to see more details.

http://melissablanchard62.wordpress.com/2014/03/15/turn-the-page-bookstore-to-host-nora-roberts-book-signing/