By Mel Lockcuff (of course)

Hello, friends and fellow writers. My name is Mel Lockcuff, and I’m so excited to be Arkansas Women Bloggers’ Miss December. Gosh, I feel like I’ve won a pageant or something. This is one of my favorite times of the year…the most wonderful time of the year. If you knew how much I love Christmas…well, you’ll probably get the gist of it in some of the stories I share this month.

My family and I are transfers from Missouri, and we are loving life in Northwest Arkansas. I’ve been married to my husband, Dan, for 14 years. We met at the security desk on the ground floor of my college dorm (long story). We have two rambunctious boys whom I can’t imagine life without. We’ve homeschooled for about 6 years now; life is an adventure. Family pets include a bunch of red hens (no joke), a cat named Harold, and our neighbor’s dog, Scout, who may as well live with us as much as he comes to play with the boys. We’re in love with the Rocky Mountains, and we enjoy the great outdoors, including hiking and camping. Of course, we also love board game nights (I’m not gonna lie, it gets loud around here on family game night), 80’s movie nights, nights at the drive in during the summer, gardening, a good snow storm, a great cup of hot chocolate with just the right amount of marshmallows, all things Christmas, dancing to an old Michael Jackson record in the living room, sometimes arguing, saving money by re-purposing, always exploring new places, all things vintage, and helping out at Samaritan Garden…among other things.

I blog over at MamaBuzz, where the goal is to inspire life every day. I started blogging back in 2008. Originally, I just wanted to connect with other women and honestly have some sort of release. Writing was that release, and it eventually led to a career in community management. A little over a year ago, I took the leap to self-employment; blogging, writing, and consulting are now my full-time job. Love what you do…I love that saying. Wow, the years have taught me so much, and I even wrote my first eBook this year. MamaBuzz has grown into a lifestyle and travel blog where readers can find creative inspiration with food and recipes, home and garden, crafts, DIY projects, travel and local places of interest, awareness, style, and more. One of my favorite days of the week is Wednesday because of the Inspire Me Wednesday linky party. Community and support are really what it’s all about, and that’s kind of my mantra with this linky party.

Follow along throughout December, as I share parts of my life…who knows what you may find? I’m sure Christmas and holiday adventures will be a big part of it. Let’s go on an adventure, shall we?!

If you’d like to follow me on social, you can find me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram(my #1 favorite), Pinterest(my #2 favorite), Google+, and StumbleUpon.