A place for my thoughts

Brandi Easterling Collins, independent author

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  • Snoopy thinking he has a pretty good life.
    Essays,  General Thoughts

    A Lesson in Gratitude

    February 25, 2024 /

    There’s always something to be grateful for, even in the darkest of times. One of my goals for 2024 (and beyond) is to maintain an attitude of gratitude no matter what life throws at me. Life’s thrown a lot at me lately, especially with property insurance woes, which I will write about as soon as the situation is resolved. What’s kept me sane is my therapist’s advice to focus on gratitude to drown out the bad thoughts. Sometimes it feels easier to complain In the daily grind, it’s easy to focus on the negative. Maybe you overslept, the kids are cranky, or your dog puked on the rug. There’s always…

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    The Life and Times of a Not-Starving, Starving Artist

    January 16, 2020
    Illustrated race track scene with children driving cars at a starting line

    How Many Times Can You Start Over?

    February 16, 2025

    Rejection

    November 4, 2017
  • Green piggy bank
    Essays,  General Thoughts

    Finances and Frugality in a World Where Everything Costs a Freakin’ Fortune

    January 30, 2024 /

    Let’s talk about some F-words (no, not that F-word). Let’s discuss finances, fortune, and frugality. I’m not a financial advisor, but I wanted to share some thoughts about money and some practices that have worked for my family. Finances Money. We need it to live, but everyone makes different amounts of it. And we all have different financial situations, systems, and priorities. Some of us budget every penny and others are comfortably wealthy or don’t care to keep track of spending. Some people spend, and some people save. Some are good at both. Then there’s debt, and credit scores, and debt-to-income ratios. What’s good debt vs. bad debt? Do you…

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    Overweight in a Size 8: Thoughts on Obesity and Body Image

    February 25, 2023

    School Shootings

    February 24, 2018
    Snoopy thinking he has a pretty good life.

    A Lesson in Gratitude

    February 25, 2024
  • General Thoughts,  Pop Culture

    2023 in book reviews

    December 31, 2023 /

    I read 102 books in 2023 and published my 5th novel, When Does Life Begin?, on September 23. Here are my top 10 best reads in traditionally published novels. Top 10 best reads for 2023 (traditional) These are in order starting from favorite read of the year. Shutter by Ramona Emerson. I got to meet Ramona and have her autograph a copy of the novel during a reading at Arkansas Tech University. The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee. I met Tosca when she and I participated in a Brenda Novak…

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    Being Thankful in Life

    December 10, 2017

    Two Years of Updates: Reading, Writing, and other creative outlets

    July 22, 2018

    All I know about my dad

    January 1, 2017
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Recent Posts

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