Friday Photos

Eric's Birthday

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Eric is the one on the right, sitting on the farmer's lap. This was his birthday party at a pumpkin patch last fall.

shopping today

These hair dryers last me about ten years! Am ordering my second:

Trees in Bloom

The trees and bushes in our backyard are gorgeous.

How I Do It

Click to read my interview at eharlequin

Another Kitty

This is Patricia Underhill's 15 year old kitty. I love that he's lying in the box of Christmas gifts, like "I want to be a present, too!"

Duckie the Kitty

This is Duckie.

Duckie is my daughter's family's nineteen year old cat. That's right. He's nineteen. Erin got him on her second birthday, and named him after the baby dinosaur in Land Before Time. I noticed he walked into a few corners when we were visiting last time, but when company is over, he doesn't hide as much as he used to.

He sleeps most of the day on a comfy sofa in the family room where my daughter LeighAnn works. He has a good life and has obviously been well loved and cared for.

Guess who?

Avatar is safe in my little hands

Went out at midnight and got my copy of Avatar.

Best part: Walmart is honoring Nebraska Furniture Mart's ad @ $9.99 until 1,000 copies have been sold at NFM - which doesn't open until 8am.  :-)

Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!

Finally time for flower photos!

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It's Spring!

I love this photo because of the contrast in textures and color. The wood, the rock, the sand and mulch are all extreme contrasts to the soft and delicate beauty of the violas.

I just love violas and bought several for my front flowerbeds by the walkway. Then my thoughtful friend Sherri brought me a pot full for my birthday. I have purple and white pansies as well, and I'm waiting for them to plump up before I take pics.

No Fail Quick and Easy Quiche

No Fail Quick and Easy Quiche

I was hungry for quiche, but wanted to make it fast, so I came up with this idea. This recipe is so versatile, you can’t mess it up. You may substitute or add ingredients to your liking. It’s quick because instead of a pastry crust, I use hash browns.

30 oz bag Mr. Dell’s frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
½ cup (I stick) butter or margarine, melted
salt and pepper
1 thinly sliced small onion or 2 Tbsp dried onion flakes
5 cups fresh chopped baby spinach leaves
8 oz bag shredded Mexican-style cheddar jack cheese
14 eggs
1 1/3 cups milk
2 cups sour cream (optional)
1 21 oz pkg ready to eat bacon or fry 12-15 slices.
     Chopped or cut into small pieces with scissors

substitutes for bacon:
     Canadian bacon, chopped ham, turkey
     - about ¾ cup for each dish



Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Spray or butter two quiche dishes or two 9” glass pie plates.

Divide hash browns in half and press onto the bottom and sides of the dishes. The bottom of a sprayed glass or jar will help. Don’t leave any hash browns above the edge of the dish or they’ll brown too quickly and burn when you bake the entire quiche.

Drizzle with melted butter; spread butter to sides with a spoon.
Season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Whisk eggs. Add milk.
When crust is baked, spread half the sour cream onto each crust. Spread half the spinach in each dish.
Top with cheese and chopped bacon.

Pour egg mixture evenly over the layers.
Press down any ingredients that aren’t covered until egg mixture is above.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes.
Let stand about 5 minutes before slicing.
Serve with a side vegetable or a fruit, such as melon and grapes.
You can make these quiches ahead, serve the next day, and they are equally delicious.

You can also make each one different, such as one bacon and one turkey and add parmesan to one. Exchange the spinach for steamed broccoli if you prefer.

Let me know if you try it!

Million-Dollar Marriage Merger by Charlene Sands - and a contest!

Million-Dollar Marriage Merger
by Charlene Sands

He'd kept a promise to marry his best friend's widow. But even an obligatory marriage could not diminish the hunger vintner Tony Carlino still felt for Rena Montgomery. Foolishly, he'd walked away from her once before…and she had never forgiven him. As far as she was concerned, no one would be toasting this arrangement anytime soon.


She had married Tony only for the safety his name—and money—would give her, her winery…and her unborn child. Never could she allow herself to reveal the desire she felt for her new husband. For their marriage was meant to be only about business. Neither dared speak one word about love.

ENTER TO WIN A KINDLE!

To celebrate the launch of her Napa Valley Vows Series, Charlene is having a fabulous new contest.

Visit http://www.charlenesands.com/ to enter her Win-A-Kindle Contest!


eharlequin link:
http://www.eharlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=21428&cid=230

CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT

Rockin' My Birthday

Here's what I got from my critique group for my birthday! I am loving it. I got a docking station and listen to music in my office. Also downloaded The Tudors and can stay current. And I just got my first audio book!

Cool features...
Video camera: The new built-in video camera is ready for anything. Yet iPod nano is the same ultraportable size — perfect for spontaneously shooting video. (I only have to figure out how to get it from the ipod into here for you. :-) )

Stunning design: A brilliant polished anodized aluminum finish comes in nine electrifying colors. And the 2.2-inch color display is larger for your viewing pleasure.

Genius Mixes: This new feature acts as your personal DJ, searching your iTunes library to find songs that go great together and making new mixes automatically.

FM radio with Live Pause: Rock out with a built-in FM tuner and two innovative new features — Live Pause and iTunes Tagging.

And the real red? They ordered it direct from the Apple online store. It's not available anywhere else. I feel special. Oh, and they had the back engraved. It reads: Property of Big Bad Bama.  lol

Thank you!!

Look what I did today - pics of Elli

Elli's future's so bright....

she has to wear shades.

URGENT RECALL McCormick Fajitas Seasoning Mix

URGENT RECALL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Classification: Health Hazard


CLASS I RECALL NOTICE – McCormick Fajitas Seasoning Mix 1.12 OZ

McCormick & Company, Incorporated has identified a mislabeling problem involving McCormick Fajitas Seasoning Mix. An investigation has shown that an error occurred during manufacturing that resulted in Brown Gravy mix being incorrectly packed into Fajitas Seasoning Mix packaging materials. The Brown Gravy mix contains wheat and milk ingredients that are not declared on the packaging. People who have allergies to wheat or milk run the risk of serious or life threatening allergic reactions if they consume this product. McCormick considers this market action to be a Class I designation and FDA has been made aware of the recall. Therefore, we are conducting an immediate voluntary product recall. The product subject to this recall is:
At the consumer or store package level:
McCormick Fajitas Seasoning Mix 1.12 OZ
UPC NUMBER: 5210002121
SCC NUMBER ON SHIPPER: 10052100021215
McCormick’s ITEM NUMBER: 902121
AFFECTED DATE CODES: BEST BY JAN 16 12 AH and BEST BY JAN 16 12 CH
SHIPPING DATES: February 15, 2010 to March 4, 2010
STATES SHIPPED TO: AL, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, NC, ND, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, Bermuda, Belize
McCormick urges your company to place an immediate hold on all inventories of the item listed above. Please immediately remove these products from sale and destroy these products in a manner that would prevent any further consumption. The Individual Case Safety Report (ICSR) number for this recall is 1014326.

Peep Wars

In Stores Now! To Be a Mother

Mountain Rose by Cheryl St.John
Teacher Olivia Rose knows what it's like to grow up alone and unwanted. But convincing reserved rancher Jules Parrish he can give his orphaned niece a real home won't be easy—unless Olivia seizes the chance of love and motherhood she never expected….

A Family of Her Own by Ruth Axtell Morren
War and tragedy destroyed Rianna Bruce's chance at happily ever after…or did it? Reuniting with her first love, Noah Samuels, proves that her feelings haven't gone away. In helping his young daughter, can Rianna show the disillusioned Noah the blessing of a second chance?


Read an Excerpt

Here's What We Need

EMBED-Dog Sings To Soothe Crying Baby - Watch more free videos

American Idol Recap and Prediction

McCartney and Lennon night is the best with any other group of potential Idols...this group? Not so much.

Michael Lynche's version of Eleanor Rigby was passable. He does have a great voice. Crystal Bowersox did a good job with didgeridoo accompaniment to Come Together. Katey Stevens was okay singing Let It Be. Nothing to write home about. Siobhan Magnus took the judges' advice and didn't scream a note throughout Across the Universe, which was refreshing. Lee Dewyze tied for my favorite, singing Hey Jude, but I could have lived without the bagpipes.

The other winner in my book was Casey James' Jealous Guy. He has a trilling vibrado that is sometimes Tiny Tim-ish over the top, but I can overlook it because the rest of his delivery is so polished and smooth.

Aaron Kelly's pitch was all over the place, and he was his usual awful self with The Long and Winding Road. Andrew Garcia somehow managed to make Can’t Buy Me Love boring.

I knew Tim Urban would do okay with All My Lovin', but he isn't Idol material. He's there because the young girls think he's cute. And he is, but this is 2010, and there's no room for a David Cassidy wannabe. But I predict he'll stay another week or so because of the cute factor.

The bottom three tonight? I predict Aaron Kelly (please!), Andrew Garcia and maybe Katey.

There isn't a Jordin Sparks or a Carly Smithson in the bunch.

:::yawn:::

Off to find my Beatles 1 CD and purge my ears.

commercial

MAY ONLINE CLASS: CONFLICT MAKES THE STORY

CONFLICT MAKES THE STORY

DATES: MAY 1 - 31
INSTRUCTOR: CHERYL ST.JOHN
COST: $25.
REGISTRATION VIA PAYPAL: http://cheryl-stjohn-workshop.blogspot.com/
REGISTRATION OPEN NOW


CLASS DESCRIPTION:

No matter what writing topic Cheryl addresses, she hangs the most importance on characters. Conflict is drawn from characters. It’s based on their goals, their backstory and their motivation. It is opposing forces that come from within the characters themselves.

Webster’s Dictionary defines conflict as “the opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the dramatic action in a drama or fiction.” This definition is the essence of fiction, and we need to keep it in mind as we develop characters and plots. If there’s no conflict, there’s no story.


Conflict, of course, can be either light or heavy. In a humorous story, the problem may not be life threatening, but it still must be important to the characters. The characters’ motivations must be equally important to them. In suspense, the conflict is often life-threatening. All well-developed plots stem from creative use of conflict, and conflict is what keeps the reader turning pages.

In order to understand conflict and how to develop it, we must first understand what conflict is, what conflict is not, and what conflict can be. The elements that make up a story are so closely meshed that at times it becomes difficult to dissect and make a firm delineation between them. In a masterfully developed story, characterization, plotting, and conflict are all intricately entwined.

Cheryl will explain opposing goals and how to create conflict that will sustain a story. She’ll give practical advice on:

• Motivating characters

• Creating characters with built-in conflict

• Revealing emotion through conflict

• Internal and external conflict

• Simple and complex conflict



INSTUCTOR BIO:

Among her achievements, which include over thirty-five published books in both contemporary and historical genres, Cheryl St.John has received multiple Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Awards and three RITA nominations. In describing her stories of second chances and redemption, readers and reviewers use words like, “emotional punch, hometown feel, core values, believable characters and real life situations.” She has taught writing on local and national levels, and is in demand as a motivational speaker.



FORMAT:

The class will be conducted via subscription to a private yahoogroup, two lessons per week, followed by questions and answers. Brief exercises pertaining to the participant’s current work in progress may be included. Archived class will be available for one week after the ending date.

JAWS starring Peeps

Erin Andrews is Under FBI Protection

Erin Andrews has been getting threatening emails, and the FBI is investigating. Erin and her family are under protection, and she refuses to not live her life. The dancing must go on, apparently. She doesn't want to let anyone down.

I am not a fan of women sports casters, but I think she is doing a great job on DWTS and is really a nice person - funny and giving it her all. It looks as though she is working hard at doing her best on the show, and she's doing really well.

Some nut job is doing jail time right now for videotaping her nude in her hotel room--taped it through a keyhole! and posted it on the internet. Can you believe people? I'm rooting her Erin. How about you?

I'm blogging over at Seekerville today, and those ladies chat up a storm!
Drop by: http://seekerville.blogspot.com/

Dancing With the Stars and American Idol

Was anyone surprised that Shannon Doughterty went home first? She wasn't THAT bad. Not as bad as Buzz or that soap guy or even poor struggling terrified Kate--who I still like. But Shannon must not have had as many fans calling in for her. I did like their jive number and thought she kept up just fine. I was never a 90210 fan. What kind of character did she play? Would that make a difference? Trying to figure it out. Maybe the gushing with her daddy didn't go over too well.

I am a Nicole Sherzinger fan and always have been. She is just gorgeous and really nice - and she can dance like nobody's business. I think she came into the competition with an unfair advantage, being a dancer already, as compared to say--oh Buzz or Kate. Seriously, what were they thinking with Buzz? The choices baffle me.

The fights this week were interesting, no?

I have to watch online the next day, because I have rehearsals on Monday nights.

Idol: I was okay with Didi going home. She was a one horse show, and her voice and style is a little on the irritating side. I still think she sounded like, but wasn't as good as, Megan with the tattoed arm. She was adorable. I'm underwhelmed all the way around this season. I'm a little weary of Sioban, who I really do like, but like Simon I'm getting tired of the screaming.

If I had to pick favorites, I'd pick Lee and maybe Crystal. She can't get by being a Janis Joplin sound alike forever, but maybe this week she changed that just a little. Yes, I think I'll go with Lee.
 
The pic has nothing to do with the topic - I just thought it was hilarious.