Every Christmas I buy a box of chocolate covered cherries because my dad loved them.  And one night in December, as I sat here, munching one the one earmarked for that day, and eying the low fat Pringles sitting on my desk, I pondered the whole winter weight gain thing many of us struggle with.

Be nice if we could all ‘suck it in’ that well, wouldn’t it?

And I realized that one, those of us living in colder climates are less active than we are during the miserable…I mean warmer summer months.  But we also have to contend with four major, and four lesser holidays between the end of November and mid-April.  Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve/Day, New Years Eve/Day, Easter, and Valentine’s and St. Patrick’s Days.

What do all of these holidays have in common?  Food and drink.

Yup.  Each and every one of these celebrations center around foods and beverages we consider special.  Pies, stuffing, cookies, candies, fudge, egg nog and, for those who like it, green beer and corned beef and cabbage.

While looking for an interesting video about a holiday food or drink, an option came up for how to make an Irish car bomb.  I thought this one was the better choice…

Christmas Eve my sister made what has become her traditional chicken and dumplings, while my mother contributed her traditional pecan pie and I brought my traditional cake (recipe to follow), along with a big plate of cheese and almost two full boxes of crackers (I kept out one sleeve each just because there was more cheese in my refrigerator crying out for them).

New Years Eve followed one week later with the kids favorite, ‘bean dip,’ which is actually based around ground beef, but that’s what we’ve called it for years (recipe also to follow).  I usually break out the bread machine, every year, to make pizza dough for homemade pizza and bread sticks.  Having parents who owned a pizza parlor has really helped me to turn out some really good pies. However, I didn’t feel like doing that.  Instead, I went to a Trivial Pursuit party – with a wider variety of snacks.

My point is, we all have our own traditions…and each one of them involve more calories, and less opportunity to burn them off, than normal.  Is it any wonder we have trouble not gaining a few pounds every winter?

Did that stop me from making all of this stuff, and more, over the holidays?  Nope.  That’s why it’s called tradition.  I do it ever year.  If I didn’t, there would probably be a picket line in front of my house.

So here’s the calorie laden recipe for what I call ‘The Cherry-Whipped Cream-Cake-With-Vanilla-Pudding.’  And it’s not exactly a recipe.  You follow the direction on the boxes, then put it together in this order…

1 Pillsbury white cake mix (it’s the best kind)

Debra Kristi and I were chatting online not too long ago and she mentioned something she planned to do for her series when it’s nearer to completion.  It got me wondering what I could do in preparation for the release of my newest book on April 23, 2012, and this is what I’ve come up with.  So every Monday between now and then, you will be meeting the characters from the novel as they correspond with far away friends and family.  

My dearest Mother,

How are you?  And Father?  I hope that it’s not as cold in Indiana as it is here in Michigan today.  The wind is so bitter that I nearly decided to stay home, but here I am.  As of yet, and it’s nearly noon, I haven’t had so much as one customer walk through the door.  Apparently they have more sense than your son.

When we entered the war this past spring, many of the business people in town – myself included – feared our profits would decline greatly, but that just hasn’t been the case.  Surprisingly enough, the opposite has proven to be true.  Shoes are selling like hotcakes.  Most days anyway.

With Christmas just a few weeks away, the children are excited.  Meg and I have already gotten gifts for Jonathon, Charles and Kathleen.  The little ones are easily pleased.  Richard, on the other hand, is a bit more difficult.  He’s at that place between leaving boyhood behind, yet not quite the man he’s so anxious to become.  And Elizabeth –  Well, she claims that all she wants this year is for women to be given the right to vote.

I swear I don’t know what’s gotten into that daughter of ours.  You know that until a few months ago she was the kindest, most tenderhearted child you could ever hope to know.  And then a young man started a local chapter for the suffrage movement.  Now Elizabeth is like a stranger.  She is moody and angry and we’re just not sure what to do about it.

Charles is growing like a weed and talking more every day.  Most of the time we even understand what he’s trying to say.  Kathleen, as always, is just the sweetest child, as gentle and loving with her dollies as any real mother would be with her babies.  Richard has entered into the awkward stage that has plagued every teenage boy since the beginning of time.  His voice has begun to change and he’s quite embarrassed by it.

And then there’s Jonathon.  You and Father would get a kick out of his latest escapades.  He’s convinced that Mr. Mertz, an elderly gentleman who lives next door, is a German spy.  My son, it would seem, fancies himself another Sherlock Holmes and is constantly spying on the poor fellow.  It frustrates Meg to no end, but I find it all extremely entertaining.   He writes in his journal incessantly, taking notes on every move Mr. Mertz makes.  I’m not sure what he intends to do when he has enough ‘evidence,’ but he’s very diligent in the gathering of it.

Meg, wonderful woman that she is, continues to knit sweaters and socks for our soldier boys, as do so many women about town.  She also writes letters to some of them.  At first we wondered if they were even keen to correspond with a family friend, but they write back regularly.  She couldn’t be more pleased, knowing she’s doing something to help make their lives a bit nicer.  Sometimes, watching the way their letters make her smile, it makes me wish I enjoyed writing more than I do.

We all do what we can to support the war effort, from saving peach pits and nut shells, to keeping the automobile safely in the barn and using the horse and carriage to conserve gasoline.  I know from what you wrote last month that everyone there is doing much the same.

Well, Mother, I see a long time customer outside, stomping snow off his boots.  I expect he’s wanting to buy his wife a pair of shoes for Christmas.  Shoes she will exchange while he is at work the day after he gives them to her.  Every year he buys them two sizes too small, and every year after he leaves the store I set aside the correct size for her.  I inquired once as to why she didn’t just tell him and she said if he wants to believe she has tiny feet, she’s not going to put him any the wiser.

Until the next time, I send you and Father all of my love.

Your son,

Elliot

P.S. Having just sold the too small shoes I wanted to add that we’ve been talking about closing up shop for two weeks this coming summer and taking the train down for a visit.  I’d like to introduce you to your youngest grandson before he starts school.

I’m going back to  underachieving.

It didn’t take long after adding the new items to my goal list for life to show me that it is still in charge, and more than capable of wreaking havoc.  After getting hit hard with a virus (human, not computer), all of my plans were shot.  For nearly two weeks.  And I’m still not entirely back to normal.

So…

I’m back to simply editing the first draft of this manuscript.  The other will have to wait until this one is finished.  I’ll still try to get to the pool at least three days a week, but I think that will help every area of my life, including the writing.

As to exactly what my goals will be, I have no clue how to set them for editing.  There are a total of nineteen chapters, plus the epilogue.  I’ve gone through two chapters already, plan to finish the the rest, and have it ready for beta readers by February first.

There are also the blogs necessary to begin publicizing the book before its April 23 release.  I need a total of fourteen and have completed four of them.

So there you have it.  My underachiever goals for the rest of the month.  But I need some wiggle room because clearly I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week.

***Friday marked the third week in my new Swamp Sludge way of life.  Yup.  Twenty-one days.  Well, twenty-three now.  And about a week ago I started using it twice a day, thanks to the larger container I ordered from Amazon.

Gotta say though I like Barlean’s better (and I don’t exactly like that, more like tolerate it).  I think I experience more mental alertness when I use that.

The new stuff seems to take the whole freshly mowed lawn experience to a new level.  I mean picture a pile of grass clippings mulched down a few times and…that’s what I’m drinking now.  Mmm-mmm good.  Not!  But I’m in it for the long haul.  Lucky me.  🙂

Thought I’d throw this in for fun.  I love this song.  Wish I could sing along with it…but my lips don’t move that fast.

It’s no secret that thanks to Haven, I’m a big Eric Balfour fan.  But I found that I don’t enjoy everything he’s stars in.  Since our local theater didn’t show it, my daughter and I eagerly awaited the release of Skyline.  I was prepared to buy it outright, but she reminded me of a rule I insisted on after purchasing a few movies that were really disappointing.  Rent first, buy later.  If it’s worth owning.

But it’s Eric Balfour, I argued.  She had me, though, so I rented a copy.  All I’m going to say is that I was really glad she took advantage of the opportunity to throw my words back in my face.  Okay.  So I’ll add that it wasn’t the worst movie I’ve ever seen.  On a scale of 1-10, I might give it a 3.

“They’re gonna be in for a real surprise.”  Yup.  They will.  Not because his acting was bad, because it wasn’t.  But the script left a little to be desired.  And the ending (in my opinion) totally sucked.

Even so, I still really like that guy.  And my daughter knows it.  So much so that she came hustling up to me in the store the other day to tell me that, while she’d been grabbing some stuff in the hair products department, she’d spotted a guy who looked “just like Eric Balfour!”

Maybe so, but I’m all the way across the store and I don’t want to go back to that side again.  It’s a big store.  She was so disappointed I finally gave in and we went in search of the look-alike.  From the northeast corner of the store to the southwest corner of the store.  We found him at the back, in the middle of the store, chatting with a guy from electronics.

Whoa!

She was not kidding.  The profile view of this young man proved he could be Eric Balfour’s double!

I needed a closer look, which got her giggling.  And as we sneaked around the aisle behind him I asked her, whispering, if she’d mind if I asked him to pose with her, pretending he was signing an autograph, so I could snap a picture with my phone.  More giggles, and a blush, accompanied the resounding, “No!”

Straight on, the guy didn’t look like Eric Balfour as much, but dang!  From the side it was amazing!

On the way to the checkout at the front of the store she whispered that he was heading to the front, too, at the other end of the aisles we were passing.  I told her he probably thought we were stalking him, and we both giggled some more.  And had a good laugh about it all the way home.

She thought it was cool enough that she wanted me to blog about it, so I am.  I think, in her opinion, this rates right up there with her meeting Bucky Covington.  Which is a cool story, too.

He was singing in a nightclub before nine p.m., and most bars in our area allow minors until then.  Since the concert was at six, I thought we were okay.  But after waiting forever, and being like fifth in line, the manager said nope.  No way.

At which point she started crying.  That couldn’t have worked out better if she’d done it on purpose.  The guy felt pretty guilty so he said he’d see if she could meet Bucky when he arrived, and had us go wait in the enclosed patio out back.

Sure enough, shortly after the bus arrived, Bucky, and his twin Rocky (drummer for the band) walked out and she had a private meeting with both of them.

Sorry, to protect her privacy, I altered the picture.

As a mom there are going to all sorts of moments you remember from your child’s life.  Among them are the times that are just too awesome for words.  This was one of those moments!

Afterward, I made tracks to the nearest 1-hour photo center to get copies of the pictures I’d taken so she could show them off at her youth group meeting.  The meeting she planned on missing for the concert she didn’t get to see.

Yeah, he’s mostly an American Idol celebrity, but let me tell you, in her circle, it was something to get excited about!  She did feel guilty, though.  She was afraid she might have hurt Rocky’s feelings because she didn’t ask for a picture with him (but I did get one of him alone).

What an experience!  I couldn’t have been happier for her.

***I have to add one more video…the performance that made ME a Bucky Covington fan.

I was a little disappointed to find out, after my father died, that he liked Elton John.  You see, I have been a huge fan from the time I was a young teenager and was sorry that I hadn’t known.  It would have been a cool thing to have in common with my dad.  I like to think that he liked him because Elton could be heard blaring from my stereo on pretty much a daily basis during my school years.

It’s not that we didn’t have common interests, but there was no special interest.  Not like he enjoyed with my brothers.  You see, Dad loved to golf.  So do both of my brothers.  Me?  Um…  Nope.  I couldn’t even hit a softball with a bat most of the time.  A tennis ball?  Never.  So my odds of even pretending to play with a ball that small were slim to none.

Sometimes I really wish I’d have tried, but knew I’d be intruding on the whole male bonding thing.  So I’m especially sorry that we didn’t have the music…

I’ve heard this was Dad’s favorite Elton John song.

I’ve thought about some things I could say to pay tribute to him, but I think something a friend wrote the day after he died says it best.  I’ll be changing some names just because I don’t know if they’d want them in my blog.

    I came into Lynn’s life, probably later than anyone, save a young grandchild or two.  But, I consider myself most fortunate to have called myself his friend.
   I met Lynn and and his wife seven years ago, while I was dating my husband Rob.  Seems that they generously fed the then single Rob a home-cooked meal every Sunday.  Perhaps they viewed me as someone to give him a meal in his own home, but Rob never had it so good as at their house!
   Rob thought of Lynn as a brother–with a closeness that I have not seen him have with his own brother.  So, if Lynn was Rob’s honorary brother, then I was certainly honored to be Lynn’s ‘sister-in-law!’
   Lynn was one of the most genuinely nice people I have ever met!  He was no pushover, though.  Lynn accepted me because his friend Rob accepted me.  (and yes, because he and his wife probably wanted a Sunday dinner alone!)  One had to respect and care for Lynn’s family and friends before you were blessed with his respect, friendship, and generosity.
   If a caring, selfless, and generous friend was needed, Lynn was there.  If there was sheetrock to be hung, Lynn was there.  When furniture needed to be moved, Lynn was there.  When there was electricity or remodeling to be done, yeah, Lynn was there.  And he always brought the know-how, the energy, and a smile with him.  Best of all-he always brought the necessary tools!
   There is no doubt that Lynn wouldn’t hesitate to give the shirt off his back, to someone who needed it.  Fortunately, we never had to ask him for that.
   And one of the most discouraging things about Lynn, was that we could never ‘one-up’ him!  He always did more for us, than we could possibly do for him!
   Do you know Lynn?  I’ve listed a few of my observations, and remember, I’ve known him for such a short period of time:

The proud captain piloting his boat through what I call the everglades, the way to get to the lake at his house up north.

*Lynn would giggle when he drank a bit too much.
*Lynn helped raise 6 children, and didn’t seem to know who were ‘his’ and  who were ‘hers’.  To my eyes, Lynn showed the same love, care and respect to each.  And he was justifiably proud of all of them!
*Lynn had a head of hair that men and women were envious of!  And if he encountered an inept ‘stylist’, Lynn made sure that the word got out, so that no one else would suffer.
*When Lynn’s back injuries prevented him from hauling cars full-time, he put all housekeepers to shame with his cooking and cleaning, to help while his wife worked full-time.
*Lynn tried, and sometimes failed, at various diets with me.  He wasn’t overweight, just a bit undertall!
*Lynn has given his time and energies to his mother-in-law in ways that most flesh and blood sons fail to do for their own mothers!
*Did you know that Lynn generously offered to perform Rob’s vasectomy with his Swiss Army knife?  (Did I mention that Lynn always provided the necessary tools?)  Luckily, Rob had the good sense to decline the offer!
*Lynn was often the person to suggest ‘passing the hat’ when an acquaintance fell on hard times.
*Lynn and his wife ‘carried’ Rob and I in our last-place standing in the Moose bowling league.  And we were probably the only team to receive that distinction 2 years in a row!
*Lynn could always be counted on to have a cup of coffee, or play golf, or take someone to the airport, or get someone home from the hospital.  All of these and more–whether he had previous plans or not!

   I feel sure that Lynn had his flaws-he was human, after all.  But, don’t ask me what those might be.  I’ve asked, and can find no one with a single grievance, real or imagined!
   Everyone has their favorite memories and stories about Lynn.  Don’t you know that he’s here among us (probably with a cup of coffee in hand), embarrassed by all of the attention and praise?  You know that he’s prodding us to get back to our families, resume our lives, and give him a thought every now and then.
   Finally, I can count on one hand, the very few people as good and generous as Lynn!  I never knew Lynn’s religious affiliation, but I do know that he lived his life by the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto other’s as you would have them do unto you.’  I pray that we didn’t disappoint you, Lynn!
   Thank you for leaving us with such beautiful memories!  We have been blessed knowing you, Lynn, and are much better people for that pleasure!         -Kathy

I haven’t read this in a long time.  It’s still hard to see the words because they’re so very true.

The first time I heard this song, I was driving-and thought I’d wreck the car.  It still makes me cry every time I hear it.  I miss you, Dad.  Happy Birthday.

Since I’ve spent a good part of the day sleeping, it’s time for a rerun.  I originally published this blog on June 30, 2011 –

Whoever said “It’s like riding a bicycle – you never forget,” either never rode one, or never let twenty years pass between rides!  Because let me tell you something – you can forget.  You do forget!

Winding up on an episode of AFV was a definite fear at that point.

My adventures as a ‘no longer teenage girl’ began when the kids went on school sponsored trip for the weekend.  Missing them, and wanting them to come home to a surprise, I came up with the wonderful idea of purchasing bikes.  For all of us.  Including me.

Now the last time I’d ridden a bike was way back when the brakes on the bike I owned were on the pedals.  Push forward to go, push back to stop.  The only ones I saw at the store that day had brakes on the handlebars.  Hmm.

After hauling the bikes home, I thought I should probably at least skim through the manual which, as it turned out, said things I really didn’t want to know.  Stuff about thirteen gears for one thing.

I’d had enough trouble learning to drive a stick shift car – with far fewer gears than these bikes.  In fact, I broke out in a cold sweat remembering the argument I got into at a four-way stop during the learning process.  When I stalled the car about fifty times going around a corner.  With traffic backing up in all directions.  And a teacher threatening to get out of the car and walk if I didn’t let him take over.  Something I flatly refused to do – for fear that everyone watching, and waiting (and waiting and waiting and waiting), would figure out that I didn’t know how to drive the car.  Um…

The person teaching me wasn’t nearly as nice as Jon…

But back to the manual and gears on the bike.  I decided to ignore that part.  I’d figure it out by trial and error.  Eventually I was sure to stumble onto a combination, between the two gears, that would enable me to ride comfortably.

The second and far more worrisome bit of instruction involved the brakes.  Apparently if you forget and apply the front brakes first, the bike could flip over.  That didn’t sound good.  In fact, the thought of my non-teenage self being thrown headfirst over the handlebars and hitting any kind of ground (but especially paved ground!) was something less than appealing.  But like I said before, I’m a fairly intelligent person.  I’d figure it out.  I’d have to.  Because that scenario would certainly involve an ambulance and emergency room, and that would just be too humiliating.

So the kids arrive home and are thrilled.  And, of course, they want to ride the bikes.  Okay.  We go over the manual and I drill the brake thing into their heads.  Back brake first!

And away we go.

Hmm.  Bikes are a little harder to mount than I remember.  Of course that could be due to the fact that I’m 5′ 4″ and the bike was probably made for a woman a little bit bigger.  Like maybe thirteen feet tall.

So…  Unable lower the seat any lower than the top of the frame, I dragged the bike to the porch…and hoped no one driving by noticed what I was doing – using the bottom step to get up high enough so I could swing my leg over the seat.

Another hmm.

Next on my growing list of concerns had been the way the bike continually wobbled after I did manage to get on.  Was it because the tires were really narrow?  My sense of balance wasn’t what it was when I was a kid?  I realized then that I wouldn’t have to worry about being tossed over the handlebars because I was just going to slam sideways into the ground at any second.

I don’t really like the end of this video, but some of the accidents are exactly what I imagined happening to me.

And you know what else?  Who in the world designed handlebars that cause you to sit bent over them like a pretzel anyway?  That’s just not normal.

Finally, after holding everyone up while I tried to remember how to ride a bike, we were off.  My daughter is took to her thirteen speed bike like a duck to water.

We approached the corner and, just as I’m congratulating myself on getting an entire block without mishap, she slows down to make the turn.

I panicked.  Which side is the back brake on?!  I envisioned my bruised and battered body in the back of the ambulance, wondering just exactly how uncomfortable the body cast would be.  But I made it safely around and thought I was starting to get the hang of things again.  Until  she slowed down at the next street.

But no.  She wasn’t just slowing down, she was coming to a complete stop, making my panic at the corner seem brief and insignificant.  I found myself shouting, “What are you stopping for!!!”

Oh.  A car.  I had to use the curb to get back onto the seat.  Which was beginning to feel pretty uncomfortable by that time.   What did they make it out of anyway?  Concrete?

Around a curve I happened to glance to my left just in time to see my son, who was having just as much trouble as his mother in controlling his bike, heading for me like I was a target.  Visions of both of us in head-to-toe casts danced through my head as I squeezed both brakes – and my eyelids closed – as hard as I could, narrowly averting yet another disaster.

Okay, I’d enough!  Not only had I gotten an amazing aerobic workout, my heart pounding like a trip hammer from fear alone, but the seat had become increasingly uncomfortable.

Why are there are ‘bumps’ on each side of it?  It felt like I imagined gluing two walnuts to a metal folding chair, parking it in the back of a pickup truck – and sitting on it while the driver speeds down a washboard dirt road would.

As I dismounted, sore and stiff, and using the porch step to help me again, I realized that I wasn’t as impressed with biking as I had been when I was a teenager.

I was so on track last week, finishing the first draft of my manuscript that this week has been a letdown.  Thanks to someone sharing their cold, and too little sleep because of it, I haven’t really worked on anything else for the MS.

I learned from an early age, watching my father, that there truly is a difference between a man cold and a woman cold.  Dad was a pretty manly man…when he wasn’t laid up with a cold or the flu.  🙂

The one thing I have done is to find a couple of books from that same time period (actually written then) and am taking notes.  I’ve done so much research but want to make sure mine is as authentic as possible.

And, thanks to Debra Kristi, I now have an idea for what I can do to start promoting the book for its April release…and I’ve done a little work on that, too.

That’s pretty much it.  But I’m okay with that.  If I don’t feel significantly better by tomorrow night, though, I’m going to dig through some of my older blogs…the ones posted when I first got started (yes, the ones that no one has read) and rerun one of those on Monday.

***Oops.  Figured I’d add a swamp sludge update here, too.  Two weeks and two days.  Sixteen glasses of that stuff (I had a couple a day on two different occasions).  I think I was actually feeling better before this cold, but it could be that I just remember that I felt a lot better than I have this week.  Yes, I’m being a baby.  I hate coughing.  It gives me a headache.

Today’s guest is Asrai Devin from The Maven of Mischief.  I love Asrai’s blog because she covers such a wide variety of subjects.  From crafting, to home remodeling, to the hilarious comments we get from spam bots.  Today she’s sharing with us an interesting problem encountered while trying to help her son with some health issues.

I’d like to thank the writer’s, producers and director.  I’d also like to thank the step-sister of the cousin of the girl from second grade who dropped that worm in my carton of milk at lunch, and Ms Hemmer from science class for showing me what I don’t want to do with my life.  And I don’t want to forget my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, fourth cousins ten times removed….

Slap!

Sorry.  Sorry.  I’m awake now.

I read that I was the recipient of an award and my imagination went crazy!  But this is even better than winning best actress for (cue eerie music and ominous deep voice) It Came From the Septic Tank.   Okay, so I haven’t slept enough this week…it was the best I could come up with.  And since a couple of years in drama class proved that I’m the worst actress on the planet, this is about the only kind of film I’d be cast in.  Are there awards for the first victim in a B-horror show?

But seriously, though, thank you from the bottom of my heart, Debra Kristi, for bestowing on me The Versatile Blogger award.  Coming from such an accomplished writer, this truly is an honor.

In accepting this award, there are some rules I must comply with, and that the recipients I nominate must comply with, if they choose to accept it:

• Thank the blogger who nominated you!
• Add the award picture to your blog.
• Nominate other bloggers you believe deserve some recognition and let them know about it.
• Share seven random things about yourself.
• Check out the blogs of these exceptional writers at their links below

These are the bloggers I feel deserve recognition for the great jobs they do, for the fun, interesting, informative, and inspiring articles they post week after week.

1.  Shelly Immel, from The Big Life Project.  Shelly has a wonderful outlook, and shares uplifting advice on how we can all live a bigger life.  I never leave her blog without a smile on my face.  Unless she’s making us answer the hard questions.

2. Natalie Hartford, Life Out Loud, never fails to make me laugh with her tales of life, marriage and interesting words.  She’s also a fellow believer that impaired driving, in any form, is dangerous, deadly, and needs to be stopped.

3.  SJ Driscoll, Come sit by my fire.  SJ is extremely generous with her blog, spotlighting other authors books every single week.  I was honored when she asked to put one of mine up a few weeks ago.  Thanks, SJ!

4.  Tim O’Brien, Static In The Airwaves, is always a fun and interesting stop on my quest to find something entertaining and educational.  Tim has a way with words and paints pictures with them that make you see what he’s writing about.

5.  Jenny Bean, the madcap adventures of a single woman who went to the bank to become a mommy.  I giggled for days after discovering this blog.  Jenny is, without question, one of the funniest writers on the internet.  So is her father, Papa Bean, who occasionally hijacks the blog, and makes his presence (and opinion) known in the comments.

6.  Shelli Johnson is another favorite.  A wonderful author who shares yummy crock pot recipes.  Even desserts.  Who knew you could make them in a slow cooker?  So if you want excellent writing, and great ideas for supper, stop on by.

7.  Angela Scott, Whimsey & Writing, offers a lot of good advice to authors (that I, for one, appreciate!).  I love that she encourages us week after week.  And this week you should check out the pictures she posted.  I could tell you what they are but I think you need to see them for yourself.  I would never put one of my kids on that slide though!

8.  Benedict Martin, I Like Badgers, is a talented writer, gifted cartoonist, and has the strangest bunch of critters living in his sock drawer you’ll ever meet!  I’m also about a third of the way through his book, Escaping Entry.  I’d like to finish it…if I can ever find out which disk I saved it on before my old computer died completely.

9.  Breeana Puttroff, Welcome to my world…, I’ve saved for last because I want to add a little something extra.  First I’d like to say I enjoy her blog because she’s always enthusiastic and fun to read.  But, most importantly, at midnight the second book in her Dusk Gate Chronicles, Roots of Insight is being released on Amazon.com.  Having read, and loved, loved, loved both books, I just want to encourage anyone who believes in fairytales, that anything is possible, and who still believes that there is magic to be found in life…read this book.  But read first read Seeds of Discovery so you know what’s going on.  You’ll read the last sentence in each chomping at the bit to read the next one.

Okay, so I didn’t do fourteen.  Most people don’t.  So on to the next thing…  Hmm.  Seven random things about me.  This ought to be interesting.

1.  I hate liver, chop suey, butter beans and Brussels sprouts.

2.  Marching bands, veterans and former POW’s make me choke up at parades.  Depending on which song the band is playing, I might even cry.  Especially at the Veteran’s Day Parade.

3.  I prefer city plumbing over country septic tanks.  But I prefer country living to city living.  Quite a conundrum.

4.  I always buy the big bag of popcorn at the theater, eat just enough to roll the top down, then bring the rest home and snack on it for a few days.

5.  My idea of a fast food meal is a plain meat patty from Burger King and a baked potato from Wendy’s.  Well…  A Frosty from Wendy’s, too.

6.  On my desk you will find about a dozen bottles of supplements (if I don’t put them there, I forget to take them).  There are also bags of walnuts and sunflower seeds, and two boxes of Special K protein water (I forget to eat a lot and these are quick snacks).

7.  Another one?  Hmm.  I love Vernor’s.  For those of you who aren’t from Michigan, it’s ginger ale.  The best ginger ale on the market.  The other brands are nothing but watered down versions of Vernor’s.  I don’t drink it very often though because I like Vernor’s better than Vernor’s likes me.

I just like this video about an elderly gentleman who worked for Vernor’s.