Hats Off Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Hats Off Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mama the Fox!

It’s that time again. Time to settle back into so-called “normal” life after the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Or, for those who look at the holidays as a time to relax, time to get back on the treadmill, or back to the rat race, or whatever feels like “normal” to you.

When we lived in Alaska, the problem with January was that there wasn’t nearly enough daylight, it’s bloody damn cold, it’s been winter since early October and it’s going to BE winter until mid-April. Not that it’s any different in December, but in December I didn’t notice it so much because of the holidays. Even for someone who doesn’t celebrate Xmas, those lights are excellent for brightening and cheering the place – any place – up for a bit.

January was just gloomy. And cold. Did I mention cold?

So I’m happy to be in Atlanta, where winter generally deals a mere glancing blow to the area – and where we have sunshine most days even if it is just a tad chilly some of the time. But even 30 above zero is a huge improvement over 30 BELOW zero. I’ll take it.

But back to normal. Or whatever passes for normal in your neck of the woods. For me, normal life and January are usually marked by two things. The first is that the publishers come back to life after the holidays, and the new Spring and Summer books absolutely pour into NetGalley and Edelweiss.

The second is the American Library Association Midwinter Conference, which is usually held sometime in January, and often someplace that is just too damn cold in the winter. Last year was Denver. BRRRR! This year it’s in one of my old stomping grounds, Seattle. Where it will probably be a bit gray and gloomy, and rainy, but hopefully not blizzardy with snow. Next January will be Philly. BRRRR again. BRRRR I say. BRRRR!

What about you? What makes you feel like life is “back to normal” after the holidays? Answer in the rafflecopter for your choice of either a $10 Amazon Gift Card or a book, up to $10 US in value, from the Book Depository.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more terrific prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on this hop!

MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.

186 thoughts on “Hats Off Giveaway Hop

  1. When the decorations are put away,kids are back at school and the stores stop being crazy to shop in.

  2. This year has been anything but normal, but January usually signals a housecleaning push at home and a return to regular activities after big December/early January projects at work.

    Thanks for the giveaway.

  3. Well, taking the loads of decorations down, I guess… but then it feels odd because we find places for all this stuff and then it gets empty, even though this is how we always have our homes. It’s just weird, I guess. LOL

  4. Feeling the extra weight and also fatigue from all the over time haul from before and during holiday season

  5. Once all the decorations are put away it starts feeling like everything is back to normal again.

  6. I feel like things get back to normal when all of the Christmas decorations are away and the house is cleaned up.

  7. Things start to feel much more “normal” (note the quotes… :p ) when the in-your-face holiday hype dies down. I’m referring largely to all of the ADVERTISING! The commercials and consumerism; the pressure to buy buy buy, to spend spend spend. It was so wonderful and refreshing to wake up on New Year’s Day and see our first real snowfall. It was so dreamy and picturesque…. like a truly clean slate.

  8. Naps make me feel back to normal after the holidays, lol I hate having to get up early because of time changes and get to bed early for the same reason. Then with winter, I wear myself out with all the snow issues; stressing about how I’m going to travel to get to appointments, ugh…so I need naps lol

  9. What makes me feel back to normal after the holidays is cleaning up the holiday décor and storing it away.

  10. Nothing! It drives me insane! Getting back on routine just takes time after being in the holiday daze!

  11. I can get back to “normal” after all the decorations are put away and I do a good cleaning of the house.

  12. After all the company leaves and we have the house back to ourselves. Deep breath, I enjoyed that.

  13. What makes you feel “back to normal” after the holidays?

    pretty much when every goes back to work

  14. I’ve got into a more normal and regular work out routine and that’s helped me a whole lot.

  15. Getting the house cleaned up and all decorations put away makes me feel “normal” again.

  16. It takes a while, but I find after a week or two of forcing myself through my normal routine, I finally feel back to normal.

  17. I just start counting down the cold winter days until the warmer weather gets here again. Winter and I do not get along.

  18. I always feel like I am “back to normal” after the holidays when my normal routine is back into swing. During the holidays, my normal routine takes a back seat.

  19. We do not deviate much from our regular daily schedules even during holidays so no change here.

  20. Taking down all the holiday decorations and putting away all the gifts helps me feel back to normal.

  21. I tend to eat too much but thats about it. I feel more normal when its jan5htish lol because my sons bday is the 29th and mines the 31st so once that stuff is out of the way, its back to norm

  22. i dunno, we kind of follow the same patterns during the holidays so we just keep going!

  23. Expecting to feel a little sad is the way I tell myself that it is a normal feeling that will pass as soon as my routine re-establishes itself.

  24. Making a list of what needs to be done so I get back in the habit of accomplishing my tasks

  25. Going back to work makes me feel normal even though I enjoy being abnormal sometimes 🙂 .

  26. When I keep myself set to a routine and daily schedule then I feel normal after the holidays. It takes a little while to get back into it all.

  27. Undecorating the house and getting things back to normal. Plus back on a good eating routine

  28. when my house finally gets to where all the decorations are up I start feeling normal again.

  29. I feel back to “normal” after the holidays when all the presents have been put up, and all the decorations put away.

  30. For me its taking down the tree and decorations. Getting everything back in its normal place!

  31. Getting back to our homeschooling routine and daily schedule gets us back on track.

  32. I always feel better once I put all the decorations away, vacuum, and we all get back to the normal school and work routine.

  33. Having some down time and getting back to healthy eating after all the indulgences over the holidays.

  34. I always take both of the trees down a few days after Christmas. Getting the house put back and no decorations in sight!

  35. Having to go back to work pretty much forces me back into normalness after the holidays. You can’t really do anything else but keep up your routine pre-holidays and you just jump right back in.

  36. Going back to my diet and saying goodbye to the holiday treats, hoping to lose 20 pounds by mid summer.

  37. Getting back to routine, including regular food, not so many sweets and treats, and sleeping routine.

  38. Getting everything packed away and my house all put back together helps me to feel back to normal.

  39. Probably getting back onto our normal schedule with the kids going to school, the house back into it’s normal state without all the holiday decorations, etc.

  40. I feel “normal” after the holidays when the cold weather lets up. So far, it hasn’t.
    Thanks.
    partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com

  41. Not thinking about how much I miss my mom who died almost 2 years ago from Stage 4 lung cancer .

  42. I honor our Lord’s Birthday during the holydays and don’t stress out about running here and there buying presents….thus I don’t feel “un-normal” during them and honoring Him is my normal. Thanks and God bless!

  43. Putting things away and eating less sugar again helps me feel normal after the holidays.

  44. My husbands work ends their holiday shutdown, and kids back to school, so everyone getting back in the grind is “back to normal”.

  45. Putting on the decorations away and kids going back to school make it feel more normal after the holidays.

  46. It is nice to get back to normal with routine. Sometimes the holidays throw things out of whack around here.

  47. When the kids go back to school and we are back to a regular schedule the I feel back to normal after the holidays.

  48. I feel back to normal after taking down the holiday decorations and the house is quiet again.

  49. Back to normal for me is just getting the house back in order and getting back into the school routine with the kids.

  50. Getting back into my regular daily routine rather than running around and shopping all the time.

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