<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Monica E. Simmons]]></title><description><![CDATA[Monica E. Simmons]]></description><link>https://www.monicaesimmons.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Thu, 14 May 2026 05:09:00 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.monicaesimmons.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Reindeer Games]]></title><description><![CDATA[My mom Franny was a fun-loving free spirit who enjoyed decorating for Christmas. In fact, in addition to her multiple trees (each...]]></description><link>https://www.monicaesimmons.com/post/reindeer-games</link><guid isPermaLink="false">654e4a59114bbd7e703b8b74</guid><pubDate>Fri, 10 Nov 2023 15:24:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7384c0_2a9b4e77a9d345109a5f008cf6544826~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_640,h_480,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Monica E. Simmons</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How I'm Wrapping Things Up This Christmas]]></title><description><![CDATA[Remember the joy you felt as a kid on Christmas morning ripping into the colorful gifts Santa left? I can recall my mother, a huge black...]]></description><link>https://www.monicaesimmons.com/post/how-i-m-wrapping-things-up-this-christmas</link><guid isPermaLink="false">61c0f1c8ca72b100169aecfd</guid><pubDate>Tue, 21 Dec 2021 15:43:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7384c0_a029019d9d354309bd1946f90ef4b6a7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_380,h_522,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Monica E. Simmons</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Fatherless Day]]></title><description><![CDATA[May 2021 was a difficult month for our family. We lost my dad Burton Lee Bone (pictured at left with me in Alice, TX in 2015) as well as...]]></description><link>https://www.monicaesimmons.com/post/the-fatherless-day</link><guid isPermaLink="false">60ca9852149215002be4ede3</guid><pubDate>Sat, 19 Jun 2021 22:25:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7384c0_2174e9134bb8437bbc279c11dd615358~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_184,h_320,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Monica E. Simmons</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What's Your Happiest Day of The Week?]]></title><description><![CDATA[In his book Every Day A Friday, Joel Osteen challenges readers to "let every day be a Friday". One of the reasons I really enjoyed this...]]></description><link>https://www.monicaesimmons.com/post/what-s-your-happiest-day-of-the-week</link><guid isPermaLink="false">607864d9f2f5bd0016584713</guid><pubDate>Fri, 23 Apr 2021 15:42:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7384c0_a6b547e2f7a64b158c6942e4d31c45b8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_551,h_640,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Monica E. Simmons</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[For The Love of Cats—And Dogs!]]></title><description><![CDATA[Many years ago, shortly after moving into my first apartment, I adopted a cat from a nearby shelter. Maxine, a Manx, was a quirky feline...]]></description><link>https://www.monicaesimmons.com/post/for-the-love-of-cats-and-dogs</link><guid isPermaLink="false">605d09715a2a730015b7f119</guid><pubDate>Sun, 28 Mar 2021 14:58:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7384c0_233d4d7f5c9243e699fd73d25d54375d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_480,h_640,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Monica E. Simmons</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Cover Girl Comes Clean]]></title><description><![CDATA[Ever since the release of my latest romance novel, Match Point, people have asked me if that's me and my husband James on the cover. So,...]]></description><link>https://www.monicaesimmons.com/post/a-cover-girl-comes-clean</link><guid isPermaLink="false">604957d517868d005893b1d9</guid><pubDate>Fri, 12 Mar 2021 16:34:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7384c0_f713b2d55a5e42e9a19bc7dd53fc1433~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_900,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Monica E. Simmons</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Here's What It Takes To Get My Goat!]]></title><description><![CDATA[My son Jacob, a bit of a wordsmith, loves quizzing me about the meaning of seldomly used words or expressions. For example, the other...]]></description><link>https://www.monicaesimmons.com/post/here-s-what-it-takes-to-get-my-goat</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6036dc02b0d5160059db1e60</guid><pubDate>Fri, 26 Feb 2021 16:02:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7384c0_1fa95a88f961493d95137a68187997fe~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_720,h_960,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Monica E. Simmons</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>