Thursday, February 7, 2013

A Link and a License


I have some exciting news today!


A Vacation to Seekerville

I'm sure a lot of you writers/bloggers out there are already familiar with the lovely island retreat (blog) for writers known as Seekerville. (Do check out the link if you haven't had the opportunity to visit there yet!) Well, I'm thrilled to tell you that I'm going to be a guest there tomorrow (Friday)! Author Julie Lessman was sweet enough to give me the chance to write a guest post, and I'm really excited about the opportunity to share a little about this early season of my business venture and to offer some tips and encouragement for writers and small-business owners alike.

I'd love to have you stop by! Be looking for "5 Tips for Spreading the Word and Surviving in the Online World" to be posted at the Seekerville blog around 9:00 pm PST (12:00 am EST) tonight (Thursday night). And as an added incentive to drop by and say "hi," I'm offering a $10 Amazon.com gift card to one random commenter! =) Hope to see you there!

A Trip to the DMV

In other news, I had my behind-the-wheel driving test yesterday! For those of you who have been keeping up with my Driving Diary (which only has a few entries...), you might be thinking, "Finally!" After having a permit for almost 2 years (renewed once), I finally took the plunge and made the appointment.

And... *drum roll* I passed the test!! I am now licensed to drive, so consider yourself warned! ;) Huge thanks to all of you who have followed my progress and offered encouragement! I appreciated the chance to read your stories and to know I was not alone in my nervousness. Thank you for sharing the journey with me!

Of course, the journey isn't over - this is only a new chapter in my "driving diary." Driving is definitely something that can help keep me humble! I still have so very much to learn and more confidence to gain. I'm still making mistakes... But through God's grace I've made it this far, and I feel very relieved and blessed to have the driving test behind me!

What exciting things have been going on in your life?

22 comments:

Abbi Hart said...

Wow!!! Congrats on both of these pretty big announcements! I have been following Seekerville for awhile now and I know how awesome it is for you to be asked to guest post! And a license!? That is so cool! Congrats again!

Julie said...

Woo hoo!!!!!!! Congratulations on getting your license Amber! I'm so happy for you! I know it is a scary venture, but you did it girl! Looking forward to your guest post on Seekerville tomorrow ;)

Julie

Unknown said...

CONGRATULATIONS, Amber! I'm so proud of you! I remember getting mine -- eek, how nervous I was! :)

Tales of Whimsy said...

Awww congratulations!!!!

Amber Holcomb said...

Abbi,

Aww, thank you so much!! :)

It was really sweet of Julie to give me this opportunity to share a guest post on Seekerville, and I can't believe the day is almost here! (It's been a few months since we first talked about it.) Seekerville is a pretty happenin' place, for sure! ;)

I really appreciate your enthusiasm and encouragement on both counts! Thank you!!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Julie,

Thank you!! It's hard to believe the test is finally behind me - it's a good feeling! :)

See you over at Seekerville soon, and thank you again for the kind words and support!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Rachelle,

Oh, yes - I was certainly nervous, too! ;) Thank you for the sweet words!!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Thank you, Juju!! :D

~Amber

Rissi said...

BIG congrats, Amber. This is awesome. Good luck with your guest posting.

I am certain you aced your driving test. Did you ever doubt!? ;D

So happy for you. :)

Amber Holcomb said...

Rissi,

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your support, especially with all the RTs and "favorites" on Twitter! :)

As for my driving test... Let's just say the written test I had to take before getting my permit was more up my alley than the behind-the-wheel test I had to take to get my license. ;) I made some mistakes on my test - and some mistakes on the way to take the test, LOL! Driving is certainly an exercise in humility for me. But I'm gaining more confidence, and my first "solo" drives today went well! :)

Thank you again for your kind words, sweet friend!

~Amber

Bluerose said...

Yay!! Congratulations on BOTH announcements! I'm proud of you. ;)

Amanda Stanley said...

YAY!!!
CONGRATULATIONS AMBER!!!

Gosh, I am so proud of you, my friend!! I knew you could do it and that the Lord would be with you!

Now, any chance you get to drive DO IT! My mom had me in the drivers seat for every single errand we had to run and truly it made me so much more familiar with what the car could do and way more comfortable behind the wheel. How did your picture come out?? I bet you look so pretty! In mine my eyes are a little too squinty and my cheeks are a little too red (I might have had a sunburn, I don't know?) but it's not too bad... my hair looks nice in it anyway, lol! ;)

Praying for blessings and traveling mercies for you, dear Amber, for wherever you go! Again, I am so proud of you :)

Blessings,
Amanda

Amber Holcomb said...

Bluerose,

Aww, thank you! :D

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Amanda,

You're so sweet!! Thank you for your enthusiasm and encouragement! :) I had a lot of people praying, and the Lord was definitely with me. :) I'm so grateful for His care and provision!

I know - I need to *keep* driving now, LOL! I think it will be easier now that I can drive by myself - a little less nerve-wracking, and I can talk myself through things. ;)

I actually got my picture about a year ago, when I got my state ID card... I'm guessing that's the one they'll use, as they didn't take my picture again this time! It turned out alright; I just a look a little out of it! ;) I'm sure your picture is lovely!

Thank you again for the prayers and everything! ((Hugs))

~Amber

May the K9 Spy (and KC Frantzen) said...

RED letter day for sure!
And congratulations are in order!!

Being on Seekerville is outstanding and now that you're legal, c'mon back east! Take a drive to TN and come visit May and me, then head a bit further and visit Pepper.
After that, head on down south and find Melanie...
and you're on the way to having a superb ROAD TRIP!
You're welcome here any ol' time!

Amber Holcomb said...

KC (and May!),

Thank you so much!! It was super awesome to be on Seekerville - everyone was so sweet, and I was blown away by all of the comments! :)

As for that road trip, sounds pretty great to me! ;) Thank you for the invitation to visit - you're such a great friend!

~Amber

Michelle said...

Congratulations, Amber! So glad to hear that things are going well with your driving journey, and that you passed the test. :D

My daughter will be 16 1/2 in May, and she's driving with her permit now. It's nerve wracking as the mom, to say the least. She's doing well, but truth be told, I wouldn't mind if she waited five years, lol. She's in such a rush. :::sigh:::

Congratulations again! : )

P.S. I like the new "springy" blog design!

Amber Holcomb said...

Michelle,

Thank you!! I'm starting to feel much more confident with my driving - it's nice to finally be able to drive by myself. :)

And I totally understand - the thought of my younger sister driving seems so crazy to me! She's 15 and 1/2, and I don't think she'll be driving for a while... *crossing my fingers* ;)

Anyway, I don't think it gets much easier, as I think I still made my mom nervous, even though I'm 21, LOL! I know each person is in a different place and has different levels of eagerness/confidence. For me, I just wasn't ready until lately, and it all worked out just fine. Whenever it all comes together for your daughter, I'm wishing you all the best!

Thank you again for your kind words, and I'm so pleased you like the blog design! :)

~Amber

Michelle said...

I know what you mean about different levels of eagerness. My daughter definitely has too much, in my opinion, lol. Everyday, she asks me, "Did you make my driver test appointment yet?" Oy! No, not yet! I think I'm subconsciously "forgetting" on purpose, lol. ;-)

Amber Holcomb said...

Michelle,

Haha, it sounds like your daughter has a very different attitude toward driving than I did at her age! But my mom was more like that... She was super eager to drive, and she turned out just fine. ;) I think she can commiserate with you, though, when it comes to worrying about your children driving!

I hope all goes well for her (and you)! :)

~Amber

Marvis Carswell said...

Congrats, Amber! And I like your attitude. :] Passing the driving test neither would put a period to anything nor is a reason to be too proud. On another hand, if it is confidence that you want to improve, driving is the perfect choice. Being able to handle every situation behind the wheel will surely authenticate your self-assurance. Safe travels!

Amber Holcomb said...

Marvis,

Thank you so much! And yes, I think driving is helping me gain more confidence, and it feels nice to have a bit more independence. :)

Thank you for following my "Driving Diary" and leaving comments! Safe travels wherever the road may take you, as well! :)

~Amber