Bring it on!

We may have snow and extreme wind in Nebraska, but Huskers are staying warm dreaming of winning the Cotton Bowl tomorrow. Yes, Nebraska used to rank more highly esteemed bowl games, but we're making our way back. Unfortunately for fans, this is Zac Taylor's last year to play - our senior quarterback was a local hero this year. We've been invited to watch at freinds' tomorrow.

We have invitations for tonight, as well, but we're thinking the fire in our family room looks pretty appealing this evening. Last night we had three darlings while mommies and daddies went out, tonight we'll have only one. He'll go to bed early because he was up late last night, and the evening will be ours. Alone together. We'll toast in the new year with spinach dip and sparkling cider. Hey, we're big partiers, ya know.

I'm enjoying hearing from everyone!
Happy New Year!

What's wrong with this picture?

This one is courtesy of Hazel. Kind of freaky once you see the error. I do remember seeing this in the past. Kind of makes you wonder where the proof editors were in the art department, doesn't it? Or what the artist drank with lunch.

Thank you, Hazel!

Greetings!

Nothing like a new drawing to get everyone together, is there? So good to hear from everybody, and I'm adding your names to the fishbowl!

Good luck!

Ring Finger in Question

Minna found this cover to share. Apparently the bride is wearing her wedding ring on her middle finger. Odd....

Thanks, Minna!

New Year's Drawing!

I'm holding a drawing the first week of January. THREE readers will soon have their very own autographed hot little advance copies of my February release THE LAWMAN'S BRIDE in their hands. As usual entry is easy. Each comment on one of my blogs is an entry. I'll try to make interesting blogs so you'll have something to respond to. Well, I usually try to make interesting blogs so you'll have something to say, but I'll try exceptionally hard to be interesting. LOL Hey, weren't the GUYS enough to make you post? Everyone must be really busy or hung over from too much Christmas turkey and ham. Couldn't have been the fudge.

You know how I love lists.

I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. They're a waste of time and leave you feeling like a loser when you blow it the second week. But I do firmly believe we all need to set goals for ourselves. Achievable steps toward larger accomplishments. For example if a beginning writer wants to set goals for the year, the goal of publishing a book is unrealistic because it's out of his control. What that writer can do is set goals to write X number of pages per week, find a critique group, study a particular book on writing and apply the techniques, contact an agent, submit to X number of editors.... You get the idea. So let's start the new year's weekend with our lists of goals for the coming year.

Yes, I'm trying to make you think. Yes, I want you to be successful.

Here are some of my goals for 2007:
* first week of January - finish novella
* January/February - work on & finish new proposals
* write 100 words for 100 days
* writing improvement (techniques I'm working on)
* register for classes and honor study time
* promotion/website update
* faithful use of desk calendar for page counts and deadlines

gifts for you

Weight Watchers Suggestions for the New Year

Check out Twelve Ways to be Healthier by This Time Next Year

The Worst Covers

Some covers will go on the wall of shame with the caption, "what was the art department smoking?" There are a couple that always come to mind. Suzanne Brockmann took this cover really well, dubbing this hero The Pillsbury Dough Boy and offering a cover fix-it kit consisting of a smiley face sticker.


Another I remember had a mostly naked guy in the jungle pictured with a monkey on his shoulder. I may have kept that one somewhere. If anyone knows what that book was, please let me know so I can look for it. If you have any nominees for worst covers of all time, please post titles here and I will find them to share with everyone.





And yes, I do consider this reissue of one of my books a contestant for the wall of shame. Featuring the chubby-cheeked dork in the way-too-big ten gallon Photo-Shopped hat.

another reason to use olive oil

I have subsituted olive oil in recipes for years. It's good for skin and healthier than vegetable or canola oil or shortenings. I also keep a bottle on the counter for salads. This article confirms yet another reason to use it. Where else would you learn all this fascinating stuff if I wasn't looking out for you? LOL

Olive oil may hinder cancer process
By AMY NORTON, Reuters

NEW YORK - People who use plenty of olive oil in their diets may be helping to prevent damage to body cells that can eventually lead to cancer, new research suggests.In a study of 182 European men, researchers found evidence that olive oil can reduce oxidative damage to cells' genetic material, a process that can initiate cancer development.They say the findings may help explain why rates of several cancers are higher in Northern Europe than in Southern Europe, where olive oil is a dietary staple.

They also support advice to replace saturated fats from foods like meat and butter with vegetable fats, particularly olive oil, said study co-author Dr. Henrik E. Poulsen, of Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark.He and his colleagues report the findings in The FASEB Journal, a publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.The study included healthy men between the ages of 20 and 60 from five European countries. For two weeks, the men consumed a quarter cup of olive oil throughout each day. At the end of the study, they showed an average 13 percent reduction in a substance called 8oxodG, which is a marker of oxidative damage to cells' DNA.

Such damage occurs when byproducts of metabolism called reactive oxygen species overwhelm the body's antioxidant defenses. Olive oil contains a number of compounds, called phenols, believed to act as powerful antioxidants.However, those compounds didn't seem to account for the drop in DNA oxidative damage, according to Poulsen's team. The men in the study used three different olive oils with varying levels of antioxidant phenols, and oxidative damage declined regardless of the phenol content.Instead, the researchers suspect that the monounsaturated fats in olive oil are behind the effect.The findings, they say, suggest that olive oil may be part of the reason that certain cancers, including breast, colon, ovarian and prostate cancers, are less common in Mediterranean countries than in Northern Europe.

At the beginning of the study, men from Northern Europe had higher levels of 8oxodG than those from Southern Europe. This is consistent, according to Poulsen's team, with the expected effects of the olive-oil-rich "Mediterranean diet."However, Poulsen told Reuters Health, the diet is more than just olive oil.

Ideally, it's also rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish.Moreover, regardless of its benefits, he added, olive oil is no substitute for calorie control and regular exercise.

SOURCE: The FASEB Journal, January 2007
Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited.

Covers Gone Bad

I can laugh at these spoofs of romance covers. Mine isn't one of them. LOL

Matthew 18:20

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 5 hr 25 min
Makes: 16 servings, 1 slice each


2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
35 caramels
1/4 cup milk
1 cup chopped pecans
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 square semi-sweet baking chocolate


MIX crumbs and butter; press firmly onto bottom and 2 inches up side of 9-inch springform pan.
PLACE caramels and milk in small microwavable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2 to 2-1/2 minutes or until caramels are completely melted when stirred, stirring after each minute. Stir in pecans. Reserve 1/2 cup of the caramel mixture for topping. Drizzle remaining caramel mixture evenly onto bottom of crust. Refrigerate 10 minutes.
BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over caramel mixture in crust.
BAKE at 325°F for 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around side of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing side of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
TOP with reserved caramel mixture just before serving. Melt chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over cheesecake. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Cheddar Herb Scones

A savory scone that works well for tea time, or on the side with the evening meal.

INGREDIENTS:
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
2/3 cup vegetable shortening (I use butter)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/3 cups milk
1 tsp Dijon mustard

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 425F. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and dry herbs. Cut in shortening until you have coarse crumbs, then add 3/4 cup of the cheese. Lightly mix in the milk and mustard, until mixture forms a soft dough.

On a lightly floured board, knead gently 5 or 6 times and then divide. Roll each half into a 7-inch round, then cut into 4 or 5 wedges. On a greased baking sheet, place scones at least 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes, until brown on top.

Holly's Contest

Go visit my friend, Holly Jacobs' website! She's giving away a very cool bookbag on New year's Day, so you still have time to enter the contest.

Cheryl's Scones

Cheryl’s Scones

This is the recipe I’ve come up with after many experimentations. Many scone recipes don’t call for an egg, but I love the texture an egg gives the dough. Heavy cream makes a scone less like a biscuit. Egg nog is an ingredient I stumbled upon, and the flavor it adds is incredible. Orange juice is another alternative. You many add or substitute ingredients- for example craisins & raisins are interchangeable. Currants are an option. Walnuts or pecans are a good addition. Guess what--some people like them plain!

I always double this recipe.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Soak 1/2 cup raisins in warm water.
In mixing bowl sift together:
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
2 ½ tsp baking powder
½ cup (or less) sugar

Use pastry cutter to cut 1/3 cup butter or margarine into the flour mixture.
Add 1 beaten egg
½ cup egg nog (or heavy cream)

Stir with fork till pretty well mixed (it will be dry and crumbly), then turn out onto lightly floured surface or floured waxed paper and knead several times until a dough forms. Keep a little cup of flour at your fingertips and dust surface and hands with flour until you get a good consistency for pressing out. (If it sticks to your fingers, add more flour.)

Press dough out to about ½ in thickness. You may either
cut dough into shapes with cookie cutters or a glass…
or roll out the entire batch into a circle (2 if you double the recipe) and cut into pie-shaped wedges.

Place on lightly sprayed cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Some people brush the tops with milk. I don’t.
Optional: sprinkle with sugar or grated lemon peel
My special topping: sprinkle with lemonade mix!

Make ahead! These freeze great. Layer with waxed paper and freeze in a tightly sealed container. Thaw them out a few hours before serving.

Serve with preserves, jelly or lemon curd.

Measurements for double batch:
4 cups flour
¾ - 1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
5 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup butter/margarine
2 eggs
1 cup eggnog
1 cup raisins

Your Christmas Gifts

Dear Friends,

Let me know your sizes. Christmas is tight this year. I've learned to make bedroom slippers out of maxi pads: You need four maxis to make a pair. Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot part. The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top. Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part. Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers, etc.

These slippers are soft and Hygienic; Non-slip grip strips on the soles; Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh; No more bending over to mop up spills; Disposable, biodegradable and environmentally safe. See picture.

kids say the darnedest things

A visiting minister waxed eloquent during the offertory
prayer. "Dear Lord," he began with arms extended and a
rapturous look on his upturned face, "without you we are
but dust..."

He would have continued but at that moment my very
obedient daughter (who was listening carefully for a
change!) leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in
her shrill little-girl voice, "Mom, what is butt dust?"

Prepare to OD: Snicker Salad

1 bag of miniature Snicker bars, cut into fourths
3 bananas
1 quart of strawberries
1 large box instant vanilla pudding (make with 1/2 the milk)
1 container of Cool Whip
Slice bananas and strawberries, place in bowl.
Add snickers.
In large bowl, fold in Cool Whip and pudding mixture, then fold in banana,stawberries, and Snicker mixture.
Chill 1 hour.

same book, different countries

Bones has been all reruns, and tonight's preview advertised a new show January 24th! However, they ran back to back episodes tonight and I saw one I'd missed. Remember when shows used to premiere in September and you'd get new programs clear up until the next summer and summer was reruns?!? Now we're lucky to get five or six episodes in between which they're breaking for football and basketball, and then of course no new shows through Christmas. Gives us time to shop around for new stuff, I guess. They're now showing the 2nd season of The Closer on Tues nites on TNT.