Category Archives: Celebrations

January 2, 2013 · 01:43

Happy New Year

RING!Happy 2013! I hope you are blessed with something wonderful to look forward to this year. My family will have our first wedding, with our oldest getting married to wonderful young man in the fall! Yes, that’s her ring pictured. Clearly he has excellent taste. (Duh, he fell in love with our daughter!)

Our youngest has fled the nest and is happy at Louisiana State University. Granted, I would be happier if LSU wasn’t a two-day drive from home,

LSU Student Union

LSU Student Union (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

but she loves life without snow. She is doing an outstanding job of keeping her grades up, making friends and finding activities, and earning a stipend with work/study. We are extremely proud of her! Except of course for developing a football allegiance to the Tigers.

That, however, is a subject for another post. ;)

The year’s biggest challenge will be time management, but that’s always a challenge for me. :p In the face of a new job and some unexpected, but welcome, freelance work, my main goal for 2013 is: Protect the writing time! On the bright side, I spent November working out the plot of a new book that I can’t wait to get started on, so there’s something to fill up the writing time.

New Year’s resolutions have never worked for me, so I try to focus on goals, personal and professional. Also, I know myself well enough to understand that my brain goes on the fritz as soon it sees a long ‘must do’ list. It’s best to keep the goals few and simple.

In 2013, I want to drink a glass of water for every glass or cup of caffeinated beverage. Believe it or not, this is a challenge. I’ve never been someone who can just down a glass of H2O, but the benefits are more than just staying hydrated. Water will help cut down on caffeine, which keeps me awake at night, plus according to WebMD, it’s good for the skin, helps make a person feel less hungry, and keeps the kidneys and bowels in good working order.

As mentioned above, my most important professional goal is to protect my writing time. This means adjusting my daily schedule so that there is always a block of hours to spend at the computer. I don’t do change well — just ask my family — and I’m going to have to start with something truly drastic: not hitting the snooze button. I make no promises, but I’ll keep you posted on how well I succeed (or sleep in).

So those are my 2013 goals for now. Short and laughably simple, but both chosen because they’re doable, they’ll have benefits on more than one level, and neither is something I do now. (Or rather the snooze button is something I do too often.)

This year, I want more sleep at the start of the night, and enough time to write. What about you? What do you want out of life this year? What steps are you going to take to get it?

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March 8, 2011 · 15:34

Shrove Tuesday, or the Festival of Pancakes

Several stacks of silver dollar pancakes

Image via Wikipedia

I don’t have a problem with Mardi Gras. Between the fact that New Orleans is American and my mother-in-law is French, why not celebrate it? Laissez les bons temps rouler and all that. But the most recent immigrant up my family tree is my great-grandfather from Yorkshire, England. Between that and my lifelong membership in the Episcopal church, when I grew up, Mardi Gras took a back seat to Shrove Tuesday.

By now, you may be asking yourself “What the %*#* is a shrove?” I did for years. It is neither a specialized pan nor a gardening tool. ‘Shrove’ comes from ‘to shrive’, which in the Middle Ages meant to confess one’s sins to a priest and gain absolution. One would not wish to die, or enter the holy season of Lent, unshriven.

However, let’s talk about the traditional food served on Shrove Tuesday: Pancakes. Like the fried foods associated with Mardi Gras, Carnival and Fasching, pancakes used up fats, eggs, milk and sugar, all traditionally forbidden during the Lenten fast. They have been around in some form since at least the 15th century, when legend has it that a housewife in Olney, Buckinghamshire got so caught up in making them that she nearly missed getting to church. In her haste, she ran to the church, pan and cooking pancake in hand.  Olney commemorates her with an annual pancake race, held since 1445. Several other towns in Great Britain have their own pancake races, but only Olney (say that 10 times fast) competes internationally, with the residents of Liberal, Kansas.

I’m not sure how good a pancake tastes after being flipped several times in chilly air. My own requirements for the golden brown delicacies include being hot out of the pan. I eat mine with butter and maple syrup — real maple syrup, not the corn syrup substitutes so popular these days — and preferably accompanied by bacon or sausage.  I’m not ashamed to use the fast recipe on the side of the Bisquick box, but if I’m feeling really ambitious, I will make use the following recipe, from my trusty Joy of Cooking, 1975 edition:

Pancakes, Griddle Cakes or Batter Cakes

Sift before measuring: 1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour

Resift with: 1 teaspoon salt, 3 Tablespoons sugar, 1 3/4 teaspoons double-acting  baking powder

Combine: 1 or 2 slightly beaten whole eggs, 3 Tablespoons melted butter, 1 to 1 1/4 cups of milk

Mix the liquid ingredients quickly into the dry ingredients. Heat the griddle and test it by sprinkling a few drops of cold water onto the hot surface. If the water puddles before evaporating, it’s not hot enough. If it sizzles away immediately, it’s too hot. You want the water drops to bounce and dance around on the pan before you pour in the batter.

Pour the batter on the properly heated surface, then wait for bubbles to form on the upper surface. (Note: this is the upper surface of the middle of the pancake.) This should take 2 to 3 minutes max. Before the bubbles break, flip the pancake only once. The second side takes only half as much time to cook.

I like to serve mine hot from the pan, with any of the following: Butter and maple syrup, powdered sugar and fruit or jam, sugar and cinnamon.

I understand that Scarborough, Yorkshire has a half day holiday on Shrove Tuesday. (Anyone from Scarborough around to confirm or deny that?) And Ashborne in Derbyshire celebrates the day with the Royal Shrovetide Football Match, played over two days. It sounds more like a mob playing rugby than anything else, but I will admit to not knowing the fine points of the game. But what I want to know is: Do they have pancakes?

Do you celebrate Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Carnival or Fasching? If so, what special activities or foods make the day special for you?

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March 1, 2011 · 13:13

Taking a Day

‘Her Scottish Groom’ hits the shelves today! After the butterflies and nerves I wrote about last week, today I get to celebrate the release of my second book. It’s the first day out, but I’m fortunate enough to have a couple of 5-star reviews up at Barnes & Noble‘s site already. Thank you Harriet and April!

The time between submitting a manuscript and releasing a book can be a year or even longer. This may be a good thing, as it allows an author to forget the stress of finishing that particular book by deadline, or in the middle of a family flu epidemic, or whatever roadblock the universe decides to throw at her. And believe me, there’s always something. It’s sort of like giving birth: once you have the baby, memory of labor (eventually) fades, enabling you to consider going through the agony again.

I can’t describe the sense of accomplishment gained from seeing and holding my own book. I hope I never take that for granted! I’m not high enough in the writing food chain to think that just because I’ve been published, future sales are guaranteed. We all have to strive to be better.  But today I will pat myself on the back, look at my pretty cover and acknowledge what I did.

Everyone needs to take the occasional day to savor the fruits of their labors, large or small. It doesn’t have to be a book. A good test score, an outstanding review at work, the culmination of months of hard work on a project, starting the new art class you’ve always wanted to take — what is important to each of us differs, but we all deserve to pause, take a deep breath and say “I did that!”

How do you celebrate your triumphs, large or small?

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February 6, 2011 · 15:23

Pleasure Me!

I am appearing as part of Monica Burns’ Pleasure Me Blog Event today, and hope some of you might want to stop by! Come by and read about why It’s the Little Things that Count! Leave a comment and you might get a free signed copy of HER SCOTTISH GROOM.

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September 28, 2010 · 12:39

Birthdays and Books

I turned another year older in September.  Although I think attaining another year is always worth celebrating, especially when you notice that they’re starting mount up, ahem, this one was pretty quiet.  A number of family members have been hospitalized for various ailments this month, so there wasn’t a lot of motivation to hold a big party.  Besides, last year I pulled out all the stops & spent the day with a girlfriend who treated me to a day in a gorgeous spa.

I did feel guilty about such indulgence, but only a bit.  After spending four years either at or driving home from a figure skating competition with my oldest on my birthday, I felt entitled to some pampering!

My friend and I had a blast.  We got mudwraps, which sounds disgusting but which felt like being brushed with a thick layer of warm chocolate.  We got facials.  We got manicures.  It was just marvelous!  Much as I’d like to, I won’t be celebrating other birthdays in such sybaritic luxury in the foreseeable future, but I will always treasure the memories of this particular one.

In honor of my birthday month, September, and the arrival of the cover for Her Scottish Groom, I’ll give away up to 5 copies of my current release, TO BE SEDUCED, this Friday!  I’ll draw names from among commentators to this post, so tell me how you feel about birthdays and which ones were your most memorable.

And don’t forget to check out Authors by Moonlight tomorrow, when I’m unveiling the cover of HSG!

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March 2, 2010 · 12:10

Saturday at The Bookworm

I had a lovely afternoon on Saturday, February 13th, at the Bookworm in Omaha!

The Bookworm, an independent bookstore , graciously offered to set up a book signing after I queried them late last year.  Manager and part owner Beth Black set up a table and plenty of chairs in a well-lit corner and even provided a much-needed bottle of water for this nervous author.  I don’t recall having such a severe case of dry mouth in my life!  I hoped Beth wasn’t too optimistic — while I knew several people planned to be there, the chairs outnumbered them.

I should have known better!  At least half my wonderful critique group came, some with friends or family; so did members of the Heartland Writer’s Group, one of my RWA chapters; and members of my church.  I am still touched at the support offered to me by family, friends and colleagues.  Cheryl St. John took pictures for me, and even Victoria Alexander stopped to chat with me a few minutes.  These are two wonderfully supportive authors!  My mentor and president of the Nebraska Writer’s Guild, S. J. Walker, took valuable time out from her horrendous deadline to cheer me on.

I did a reading, talked a bit and answered questions without embarrassing myself too much.  Meanwhile, the Bookworm sold out of their two dozen copies of To be Seduced!  That’s why the stand at my elbow is empty, lol.  Pictured with me is Cheri LaClaire, a member of the Heartland Writer’s Group.  Yeah, I know — I’m looking down.  Really, this is not much of a loss.  And I look so industrious!

The signing ended (on my part anyway) awash in relief, triumph and a sense of blessings bestowed.  Thank you to everyone who attended.  I appreciate each and every one of you!

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February 3, 2010 · 01:16

It’s THE Day

TO BE SEDUCED is scheduled to be released today!  So how am I celebrating?  DH is taking me out to dinner and mentioned a chilled bottle of champagne to enjoy afterward.  My oldest posted a message of love and support on my Facebook wall and I have no doubt my youngest will acknowledge the day when she gets home from school, as she understands the importance of celebrating life’s milestones better than anyone else I know.  Truly, God has blessed me with wonderful family and friends.

But till tonight?  Well….I’m writing.  First this post, and then at least a page of my WIP before I visit area bookstores.  I’m not what one of my mentors calls a ‘gotta-be’ writer yet, but it’s safe to say I am officially past the ‘wanna-be’ stage.  I am a writer.  I was a writer before I was an author, and I will be a writer if I never sell another book.  (Although I do want to sell more books!  Judging from the voices in my head, lots more!)

I had no way of knowing when I entered a contest that it would lead to this day.  I am humbled by the support and kindness of others, not just those around me, but those who I know only through the internet and over the phone.  I am humbled by the opportunity given to me, and hope I can live up to it.

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