Fall TV: The Bionic Woman

Jaime Sommers is an ordinary woman whose world turns upside down when she's involved in near-fatal car accident. Her uber-scientist boyfriend uses his medical skills to save her life by giving her a bionic eye, ear, arm and legs -- but in the process he transforms her life into one filled with danger, action and adventure.
Premieres Wed., Sept. 26, 9PM ET on NBC

Will it live up to the hype? I have to say the commercials make it look really good.
Hey, if the show's a wash, British actress Michelle Ryan can always get a gig hawking sleep number beds.

Jason's First Day of School

Jason is Brenda's (Mickey's) daughter's godson. He just started kindergarten and his mom has a new baby, so he's been staying with Brenda.

Brenda, I've met Jason. You brought him to a signing a while back. He's a cutie. Thanks for sharing with us.

First Day of School for Sherri's Babies

I always encourage you to send me your pics to share with the other bloggers. It's so much fun to see each other's lives, new ovens, kids and pets. LOL here are Sherri's pics from the first day of school.

Jocelyn is a second grader and Shawn is a kindergartner. Have you stopped crying in the morning yet, Sherri?

Noah is nearly two.
They all have Sherri's eyes.

I've created a monster!

CLICK TO ENLARGE

I tend to not remember everything I hear, say or do. Imagine that. Turns out I planted a squash right beside my ornamental gourds. I think I've created Frankensquash! Take a look at this elongated "acorn squash" with bumps! How funny is that? Cross pollination? I must assume so.

These are the front yard pumpkins! And the first ornamental gourds.

Terry Fator Won America's Got Talent

Here's his encore performance: Roy Orbison

More Yellow Tiger Swallowtails

Guest Blogger: ELIZABETH LANE

Elizabeth Lane is a Westerner by birth and upbringing. A descendant of pioneers who settled the West, she grew up in a small town, in a family of people who loved the outdoors. Western romance is a natural for her. Let's see what she has to share with us:

What an honor to be Cheryl’s guest this week! She’s a fabulous lady and author who knows how to keep her readers coming back for more!

It’s also an honor to be writing and publishing historical romance novels. My love affair with the past started decades ago, when, as a teenager, I discovered Anya Seton’s Catherine and books by such great writers as Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Nora Lofts and Phyllis Whitney. This July at the national Romance Writers of America convention, one speaker mentioned that Phyllis Whitney is still living—she’s 102 and is working on her autobiography! I only wish she’d been there in person to see that huge gathering break into wild cheers for the woman who inspired so many of us.

My early books—the first was published in 1980—were historical epics. I could have kept writing them forever, but the market changed to books that were more romance than history. After some hard knocks, I realized I had to change with it. When Harlequin opened up its new historical line and bought my Western, Wind River, I found a new home. Since then I’ve written 25 books and novellas for Harlequin, including three contemporaries.

Writing westerns comes naturally to me—most likely because I’m a westerner by birth and upbringing. My July 2008 Western, The Stranger, is one of my favorite books ever. Caleb, my hero (take a look at him on that gorgeous cover), is just seventeen when the story begins—too young to prevent his older half brothers from destroying the life of Laura, a tender young bride. Caleb is forcibly dragged away, leaving the pregnant Laura widowed and disfigured. But he never forgets her. Five years later, out of prison and determined to go straight, he returns to the scene of the tragedy to find her living alone with her little boy. Caleb has become a man—a man who loves Laura and will do anything to help her. Laura needs him, but there’s something familiar about the dark stranger. Something she can’t quite place....

I hope you’ll read and enjoy The Stranger. To help that wish along, I’m offering four autographed copies as contest prizes. The winners will be drawn from readers who add their comments to this post. If you’ve already read The Stranger, I’d be happy to substitute one of my other recent books. You can see them all on my web site at http://www.elizabethlaneauthor.com/

Who were some of your favorite early authors? What historical period is your favorite, and why? Which books do you wish had been made into movies, and who would you cast as the hero and heroine? My inquiring mind wants to know.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Elizabeth

To order THE STRANGER from amazon CLICK HERE

Sunday's Beauty

Many weekdays I work from the sofa, so I see the front yard. This afternoon, Jay had the good spot. He notified me of all the visitors.

MORE FREE BOOKS!

Remember I told you I was cooking up something for my lovelies? She's going to be with us on MONDAY! ELIZABETH LANE is my guest blogger. I'm so excited because Elizabeth has generously sent me FOUR spankin' new copies of CHRISTMAS GOLD that she AUTOGRAPHED.

If you're new here, you should know that the Christmas anthology CHRISTMAS GOLD is as hard to get a hold of as a last minute ticket for the Super Bowl. Last time I managed to squeeze two out of nowhere for my readers. This time FOUR and each will be signed by both Elizabeth and myself. How cool is that?

Here's the deal, if you posted last time that you needed a copy, your entry is still good. If you post again this time, you're entered again. So comment on THIS BLOG and I'll add your name to the fishbowl. Perhaps for the second time.


It gets better, Elizabeth is giving away more books at the end of the week! Stay tuned to see how you can get one of those in your little hands.

Pooch Pampering Extremes

Americans now spend $41 billion a year on their pets—more than the gross domestic product of all but 64 countries in the world. That's double the amount shelled out on pets a decade ago, with annual spending expected to hit $52 billion in the next two years. That puts the yearly cost of buying, feeding, and caring for pets in excess of what Americans spend on the movies ($10.8 billion), playing video games ($11.6 billion), and listening to recorded music ($10.6 billion) combined.

"People are no longer satisfied to reward their pet in pet terms," argues Bob Vetere, president of the American Pet Products Manufacturers Assn. (APPMA). "They want to reward their pet in human terms." That means hotels instead of kennels, braces to fix crooked teeth, and frilly canine ball gowns.

The rising status of pets has started an unprecedented wave of entrepreneurship in an industry once epitomized by felt mice and rubber balls. There are now $430 indoor potties, $30-an-ounce perfume, and $225 trench coats aimed solely at four-footed consumers and their wallet-toting companions. Even those who shun animal couture are increasingly willing to spend thousands on drugs for depression or anxiety in pets, as well as psychotherapy, high-tech cancer surgery, cosmetic procedures, and end-of-life care. About 77% of dogs and 52% of cats have been medicated in the past year, according to APPMA, an increase of about 20 percentage points from 1996.

And for some pet lovers, no medical procedure is too extreme. Plastic surgeons offer rhinoplasty, eye lifts, and other cosmetic procedures to help tone down certain doggy features, from droopy eyes to puggish noses. Root canals, braces, and even crowns for chipped teeth are also becoming more popular.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

FIRST DAY as a SENIOR!

Here's Erin smiling for mom on her first morning as a senior!

More First Days

Eric's first day of 3rd grade

Adam's first day of 6th grade

Ryan's first day of 8th grade

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Chocolate Bread Pudding
Prepared by Bill Justus
Executive Chef at HERSHEY LODGE

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups whipping cream
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup whole milk
1 ¼ cups HERSHEY’S Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounce French bread with crust, cut into one-inch cubes (4 cups)

Instructions:

· Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
· Bring cream, ½ cup sugar and milk to simmer in heavy medium saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves.
· Remove from heat.
· Add 1 cup HERSHEY’S Semisweet Chocolate Chips and whisk until melted and smooth.
· Whisk egg and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot chocolate mixture.
· Cool chocolate custard 10 minutes, stirring often.
· Add bread cubes and remaining ½ cup HERSHEY’S Semisweet Chocolate Chips to custard and toss to coat.
· Transfer to 1 ½ quart capacity shallow oval baking dish.
· Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over mixture.
· Bake until custard thickens and center is set, approximately 50 minutes.
· Serve warm.

Yield: 6 servings
DISCLAIMER: I have not tried this.

First Day of School Part 2

Alexis - first day of 4th grade

Jared - first day of 2nd grade

AT LAST: Terry Fator's Got Talent

If you haven't seen Terry fator on America's Got talent, I want to show you his incredible ability. Not only can he sing like wwho knows how many fantastic singers--and do it well--he can make his puppet sing and never look like he's done it! Here's his first performance. I'll show you more because he's in the top 4.

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD: Terry Fator

PREPARE TO HAVE YOUR SOCKS BLOWN OFF

Terry Fator as Tony Bennet and Dean Martin

Terry Fator: UNFORGETTABLE

A BIG TIME TEASE

Wendy and Sybil, this will be a giveaway for you - I think - so this teaser is for those who will wrack their brains to figure out who this hunky cowboy belongs to.

Next week our guest author will be giving away AUTOGRAPHED BOOKS, so don't miss it!

Be still my heart....

Tuesday's Pics

I took of picture of my front yard pumpkin for Barb. Here's the story:
Each year we make a fall display in our front yard, pumpkins, scarecrow, old wagon, pitchfork, bales of hay, whatever, and it's always different. But it usually involved pumpkins if we've grown any.

Jay said "no pumpkins" this year. They take over and he has to mow around them. Okay.

This spring as we were preparing the flowerbeds, there were a couple of volunteer pumpkins. If a pumpkin rots in good ground, a couple seeds are bound to grow. So, being the vine lover that I am, I let them grow. Jay noticed finally - hey they do get BIG - and said "when are you going to cut those things?"

I said, "If it's bothering you, go ahead." Thereby putting all the responsibility of murdering my plants upon his head. He left them. As the vine in the front yard grew out of the berm area, he mowed around it. They flowered. Ah, lovely orange flowers. He says, "We'd better cut that thing, it's taking over the yard."

Now, consider: It's been a really bad lawn year. We've sprayed for grubs and fungus and insects and weeds, and what's growing the best are the pumpkins. What's the harm? It is OUR yard.

So I answer, "Go ahead if it's bothering you."
Result: We have four gigantic pumpkins growing in our front yard! LOL

I told Barb I'd go out and take a picture for her; she stops by every day - and while I was out front, I met this other fellow shown in the picture. Isn't he lovely? We've had so many of these lately! Usually I only see the black swallowtails, but this is a yellow tiger swallowtail. His body is an ivory color. There are also yellow swallowtails with a black body. It's extremely difficult to snap these creatures from the side because they feed with their wings spread wide open, unlike a monarch which always perches with its wings together.

I sit on my living room sofa and look out on the butterfly bushes right on the other side of the windows as I write on my Alpha Smart. See my front window in the background? Of course I end up grabbing my camera and taking pictures. I call it inspiration. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.