Happy, uncluttered new year!

My name is Sherryl and I'm addicted to clutter! There, I've admitted it, in public, for anyone out there to see. I don't want to have piles of stuff sitting on most available surfaces in my house, but on the days when I really take a good long look around me, what I see is clutter.

Keep in mind, I come by this addiction naturally. My dad kept just about everything, in piles, on every available surface. It's taken me most of the ten years since his death to work my way through even some of those piles. I used to refer to his room as "the great black hole." I swear, things went in there never to be seen again. Sadly, though I joked about that with him, I've discovered some of his traits are in my DNA. I occasionally walk into my room in Virginia, look around and moan, "Oh, sweet heaven, I am exactly like my father."


So today, on January 1, 2009, I am decluttering. Really. Not that many hours into the new year, I have worked my way through one pile of papers. I've paid bills, written notes, tossed papers I will never need. I've shredded stuff, put away Christmas decorations, cleaned out the refrigerator -- that's a whole other issue -- and taken a drawer from a bathroom cabinet to my car to be tossed into a dumpster. That makes two drawers now in the trunk of a car. I hope I remember, so it doesn't become yet another refuge for my clutter. I have two more drawers to toss, but first I have to get rid of the accumulated cosmetics, most of which are old enough to pose a danger to anyone daring to use them. I currently have these junk drawers in the middle of the floor, because over the summer I had both of my bathrooms renovated and this is where the contractor left the old stuff. It is also where I left it when I arrived in Florida and immediately went into a deadline frenzy...and then straight into another one.

Today, however, I have a break and a renewed determination to start the new year by tossing things. Hauling bags to the trash room fills me with a sense of accomplishment. Hopefully this enthusiasm will last long enough to make a real dent in the clutter, but I have my doubts. After all, come Monday, I am going back on deadline to finish the next book and turn it in. I'll be listening to the whispers of characters, not the shouts of my conscience. And, as we all know too well, clutter multiplies when we're not looking. Surfaces disappear. Papers vanish into piles. And the process starts all over again.

Happy new year! Whatever your resolutions, whatever your best intentions, I hope they last. But if they don't, console yourself that you're just like the rest of us.

Sherryl Woods

In search of holiday cheer

Christmas, in case you haven't noticed, is not far away. Depending on your bah-humbug level, that's either great news, or very, very bad. For those of you on the side of crawling into bed until it's all over, I'm here to perk you up. You can control and even beat those bah-humbug tendencies.

Now as much as I'd love to believe that those of you who stop by this blog, also stop by my website and by the new www.welcometoserenitybook.com site, it may not be so. If you haven't been there yet, I encourage you to stop by, if only to click on the serene thoughts section and look for my 7 Tips to Avoid the Holiday Blues. I'm not going to reinvent that list here; it's all spelled out in the article I wrote for that site. I am here to tell you that the ideas work. Believe me, I've done most of them at one time or another.

Not that I'm a Christmas Scrooge. This is my very favorite time of the year. But I will admit that living far from family can be a downer, especially once I've done all my gift shopping, wrapping and shipping and the cards are on their way. So I turn to some of the suggestions on the list to keep my spirits high.

For instance, I've organized three gatherings over the next few days. Only one involves cooking on my part -- thank goodness for all concerned. I've shopped for children's books and toys and dropped them off for Toys for Tots. And I'm trying out some new cookie recipes just to fill the house with the scent of sugar and cinnamon and chocolate. I've found designated recipients, so all those calories don't wind up in me.

And though the thought of hauling out my tree in the midst of a deadline does not hold a lot of appeal, I am digging in boxes for some of my favorite Santas from my collection and other items that will make this place festive, but not add to my stress level. Think about it, one treasured decoration placed where you can see it, will sometimes do the trick. Of course, I love all the holiday lights, so I intend to roam around to every tree I can spot and pretend it's mine. I've pretty much adopted the massive tree on the Village Green as my own personal marker of good cheer. Let the community think it belongs to them. I know better.

There are so many ways to keep the spirit of the season alive. I'd love to have you share some of yours, either here by clicking on comments, or at www.welcometoserenitybook.com.

Meantime, my very best wishes to all of you for the merriest holiday season ever and a new year filled with blessings.

Sherryl

Cell phones...a love-hate relationship

Okay, it may be uncool to admit, but I am not a cell phone person. Just the other day, as I was waiting for my friend, author Heather Graham, to meet me for lunch, I reluctantly hauled mine out of my purse and called to check on her. I got her voice mail and told her I'd be waiting inside the restaurant. Fifteen or so minutes later, a very frantic Heather came tearing into the restaurant and informed me that a cell phone does no good, if I don't answer it.

For once I was actually puzzled. I had, in fact, left it on...something I almost never do. I made her call me. From inside my fairly small purse came a barely discernible ring, something I wouldn't have heard if I hadn't had the purse right up by my ear. She rested her case and I vowed to fix my ring-tone...sometime. It hasn't happened yet, mostly because I don't know how...or care.

Now I do believe a cell phone is great for keeping in touch with kids or in an emergency, but that's it. Very few of us are so important that we can't be out of touch for the length of time it takes to drive somewhere. Nor are we so amazingly popular that we must chat with all our friends while in a restaurant. And hopefully we're not so bored with our own company that we must call someone to fill in every spare second left in our day. At least that's what I'd like to believe. Reality suggests something else.

For instance, and I hate to say it but these are most often women, there are those who exit a store, climb into their giant SUVs, start talking on their cells and then try to back out of a parking space. The concept of hands-free cells apparently hasn't been mandated by law down here in Florida, or if it has, no one is familiar with the law. These people can barely handle the car on a good day, much less while talking on their phones.

Then there are the oblivious, so intent on their conversations, that they're completely unaware of anything. Just the other day -- this time it was a man -- pulled into the middle of the narrow driveway of a shopping center parking lot and then made a phone call so no one could exit or enter while he chatted. To the credit of those of us waiting, no one actually hit a horn. Then, again, I did say a few very bad words.

Or how about the man standing in a pizza shop holding up a line while he chatted into his hands-free cell, rather than actually placing his order. This guy was incapable of multi-tasking. And he paced while he talked. It was quite an adventure for those closest to him.

And none of this gets into how I feel about teens and texting, especially while driving.

So, you might ask, where's the love? I like the security when I'm on the road. That's it. Oh, and I wouldn't mind a phone that could find a restaurant, automatically dial and make reservations, answer email. Then, again, I'd probably never figure out how to do any of those things. I guess I'll be stuck in the Dark Ages for a while longer. In the meantime, I hope some of the cell-phone addicted can get some immediate help.

Sherryl Woods

The end of civilization

Over the past few days when we were all supposed to be counting our blessings, I was sitting here wondering if perhaps the civilized world as we know it isn't on its last legs.

The first warning sign came a couple of weeks ago when a teenage girl here in South Florida shot and killed a classmate, reportedly because her friend rejected her advances for a more romantic relationship. The background to the story is complex and sadly, two young lives are over. One girl is dead, the other lost to the court system.

Last week the news was even more shocking. A troubled 19-year-old young man, again here in South Florida, committed suicide in front of a webcam, while over 100 people watched online and did nothing. More horrifying was that some of them reportedly were egging him on as he took the overdose of pills that killed him. By the time someone came to their senses and actually made a call for help, it was too late. He was dead.

And then, just last Friday, a mob of shoppers trampled a store employee to death...so they could get to the bargains. In another store one shopper shot another, apparently over a toy.

What on earth are we coming to as a society? I suppose, going back to man versus lion in ancient Rome, there's a history of blood lust and mob mentality, but I thought the world had improved a bit since then. Apparently not.

So, what is our duty and obligation in this new world? Surely we're supposed to get involved when someone is clearly troubled, when someone is clearly engaged in an act that can harm themselves or others. Can't we at least make that critical phone call to the police that could save a life? Can't we use some common sense and courtesy when we're at a store sale, for goodness sakes?

On Black Friday, I was chatting with another shopper as we were being waited on in a quiet mall that wasn't mobbed with frantic bargain hunters. She'd been to one store where lines were insanely long, but everyone there had been courteous and pleasant. She'd followed that with a stop at another store where people had been so rude, she'd turned right around and left. Even in these difficult economic times, no sale price is so amazing that it's worth risking a brawl, much less trampling over an innocent person. How have we forgotten that?

And how have we forgotten that human life is something of value, that ending a life is a tragedy, not entertainment?

Sherryl Woods

Serenity in Times Square? Come on...

When I think of peaceful and serene, New York's Times Square is not the first place that pops to mind. Which may be why seeing a lighted billboard right there, in one of the busiest places in the country, featuring the new Welcome to Serenity website almost knocked me out of my chair. Finally, after years and years of staring up at all those amazing Times Square ads for plays, I'm actually in lights on Broadway! This is very, very cool.

Okay, it's not really me, but the fabulous website created by Jeanne Devlin at Nancy Berland Public Relations and Cissy Hartley of Writerspace. I've been telling you for a while now about http://www.welcometoserenitybook.com/, the companion website to my new holiday novel in the Sweet Magnolia series. It is jam-packed with recipes, nifty gift ideas, holiday traditions and decor, and even some serene thoughts to keep in mind as you head for the mall.

The image from Times Square, ironically, came in an email as I was in the midst of planning my own holiday trip to New York. This afternoon I felt a sudden need to visit all the sparkle and chaos that is New York at Christmas. Now I know why this impulse struck me. It was pure holiday magic.

Over the years I've seen a lot of things in Times Square, from the (almost) naked singing cowboy to a pretty impressive fire, from David Blayne doing one of his bizarre magic acts to human gridlock while trying to cross Broadway. And none of this involved being there for New Year's eve, which may be the craziest time of the year ever in this world-famous section of the city.

I doubt the Welcome to Serenity sign will pop up if I actually make it to New York, but seeing the picture is pretty amazing. I'm not sure if what they say about New York holds true for websites -- "if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere" -- but by gosh it's still pretty darn exciting.

Meantime, I hope you'll head on over to the new website and browse through all the ideas we collected for the holidays. Share your own tips and traditions while you're there.

Meantime, happy -- and serene -- holidays, everyone!

Sherryl Woods

From pumpkins to Santa in 10 seconds flat

The holiday season has now been officially compressed into approximately ten seconds and I, for one, am nowhere near ready. I did buy a Christmas gift when visiting a winery in Ohio back in August. One gift, a stocking stuffer really. That's it. I have a long, long way to go. I suspect many of you are in the same boat.

This year, though, thanks to a bunch of elves who work with my friend and publicist Nancy Berland in Oklahoma, we're going to help you find a little serenity during the holidays. Really.

In just a few days you will be able to go to www.sherrylwoods.com or to www.welcometoserenitybook.com and find everything from recipes for your favorite Thanksgiving comfort foods to a drink with some kick for the new year. There will be decorating tips, positive ways to beat the holiday blues
and best of all for those of us who haven't made even a dent in our shopping, there will be gift ideas. Lots and lots of gift ideas. Sadly, there will be no personal shopper assigned to you to actually get that shopping done, but we have taken a lot of the stress out of the hunt for the perfect presents for even your hard-to-please family members. A lot of these ideas are available online, so you'll be able to shop in your PJs with a cup of hot chocolate close by.

And if you find better sites or more wonderful gifts, I hope you'll share them with us. Tell us all about your favorite traditions, too, by clicking on comments below. Share your tips for beating the holiday rush at the mall, for finding the best deal, for explaining to the kids why Santa's sack might be a little less jam-packed this year.

Just stop by here whenever you have a minute to spare, share your holiday frustrations, your joyous moments when the perfect gift appears like magic. Because the one thing that's just as good as finding a little serenity during this harried time of year is sharing it with a friend.

And I hope when you have more than a couple of minutes to spare, you'll sit down with the latest book in the Sweet Magnolias series, WELCOME TO SERENITY, which will be in stores by Tuesday, November 25. Library Journal calls it "a story that sparkles with holiday fun," so it may be just the thing after a tough day at the mall...or in the parking lot.

Sherryl Woods

Do a little dance...

I think I've been way too serious lately, so I'm going to take a moment to talk about something that probably matters only to me and a few millions others: who's going to win on Dancing With the Stars.

You see, I had a breakthrough moment while watching Monday night's show. Until that instant I hadn't been able to figure out why I wasn't avidly in favor of any particular couple. And then football great Warren Sapp came on the floor and I knew. Only he and a handful of others were actually cutting loose and having fun. Even Cloris Leachman, who --let's admit it -- isn't the best dancer, has hung around because she's so obviously having a ball on the dance floor. I was so excited -- about my insight as much as Warren Sapp's performance -- that I immediately picked up the phone and voted for him several times.

Since I'm being insightful, I also have a theory about why this show is watched by millions of viewers each week. I think it has something to do with those of us who have two left feet and wish we were as graceful and agile on a dance floor as the pros on this show. I used to volunteer with Miami City Ballet for the same reason. Just watching the dancers made me feel graceful. Which I'm not. Or maybe I thought I'd become graceful. Which I never did.

So we tune in on Monday night to watch celebrities who aren't trained dancers suddenly glide around the floor and we believe with a little time and effort -- and the help of a really sexy professional dancer -- we, too, would be able to dance. The show is selling the fantasy, just the way romance novels do. But what really makes it work is seeing a guy like Warren Sapp -- or Emmitt Smith or Jerry Rice or Helio (whose last name I can't remember or pronounce) -- leave their comfort zone on the football field or racetrack and get down with the music. And when they do, it makes it doubly disappointing when someone with a musical background such as Susan Lucci, Toni Braxton or Lance Bass performs in a self-conscious way.

To be honest, at this point I have no idea who's likely to win this season and so far, I don't really care. I do know, though, that it's likely to be someone who's having fun on the dance floor, someone who feeds my fantasy that I can do it, too.
So, come on, contestants, get with it. Get out there and dance. Stir up the competition. Have some fun. Make us care.

Otherwise, the party might very well be over for this series.

Do you have a favorite couple on Dancing With the Stars this season? Do you think maybe the judges have been so tough on the celebrities in the past that it's getting harder for the producers to lure them onto the show? Do you even care about any of this? Click on comments below and chime in.

Sherryl Woods