Welcome to my daily blog. If this is your first time, I'm a romance writer and a misplaced city girl currently living in the wild Sierras. I tend to have a lot of I-Love-Lucy moments that I share here but sometimes we talk about books, TV, and our favorite cookies. Okay, my favorite cookies. In any case, please feel free to comment by clicking on the Comments at the bottom of any entry. If you're too shy, that's okay, just know I love having you.

What I’m thankful for

November 23, 2011 | Filed under: Stuff

Snow. The hot golden retriever babe up the street. Table scraps. Being able to lick my own parts…

And all of you, who make my owner Jill very happy every single day for being here with her on her blog. She loves you very much, and she says send doggie cookies … Uh, but if you could not tell her I said that part.

Tuesday’s Tidbits

November 22, 2011 | Filed under: Stuff

So you might have heard me mention a time or two … HEAD OVER HEELS is officially out in stores today. I’m ridiculously excited about this one, mostly because I have a thing for big, bad, hot heroes. And Sawyer is definitely a big bad hot hero. But I digress. I was going to get down on bended knee and beseech each and every one of you to run-not-walk to the store and buy. But since you are all here reading my misadventures, chances are good you already had this in your day planner. Right? RIGHT?

So the least I can do is give you something in return. How about my heroine Chloe’s favorite face mask, one you can make for yourself at home. I’m not much of a face mask person but this one really worked for me because it involves food. Plus it left my face as soft as a baby’s bottom.

Oh, and did you know that ancient lore says that if you break a strawberry in half and share it with a member of the opposite sex, you’ll fall in love? Go ahead and try it and let me know…

Chloe’s strawberry/banana oatmeal face mask

(This mask can also be used as a face scrub, and is excellent at exfoliating the skin.) Use blender on 1/4 cup of chopped strawberries and one banana. In a separate bowl put one cup of ground oats and just enough lukewarm milk to make a smooth paste. Add fruit mixture. Stir well to make smooth facial mask.

Apply on face and let it sit for 15 minutes. While waiting, do your best to scare your significant other and any children wandering nearby.

Rinse with cold water.

Hope you have a Head Over Heels sort of day …

Some days you’re the bug, some day you’re windshield

November 21, 2011 | Filed under: Stuff

If there are typos in this post, chalk it up to my sprained wrist. Which I acquired on my first snow shoe trek of the season.

Apparently there are some people (named Jill) who need keepers.

I had Youngest with me. I dragged her out from behind her laptop and told her we were going to have fun. Halfway up the first hill she wanted to know when the fun was going to start. And then she asked “are we there yet” about twenty times. And then she wanted to know if I, being so old and all, didn’t need to stop and rest. Or stop and eat the chocolate bar in her jacket pocket.

Which was actually my jacket, because she’d borrowed it. And my chocolate stash.

I didn’t raise any fools.

Finally I left her with Ashes at the base of the next hill and made my last loop. And I might have cranked up my ipod. And I might have somehow tripped, flew through the air, and landed sprawled in the snow.

We’re talking garage sale. Lost my sunglasses, a glove, a snow shoe and my half of the chocolate bar. I popped right up, told the tree next to me that I was totally fine and meant to fall like that, and made my way back to Youngest.

Who now had proof that playing on the computer is far more fun than snow shoeing …

Giveaway Friday

November 18, 2011 | Filed under: Stuff

Update:
Winners drawn by random.org … Winner of the audio copy of Simply Irresistible is: Commenter #43 Jen. Winner of the cookbook is Comenter #79 Kourtney. Please email me with your snail mail info. Congrats to the both of you and if you didn’t win, don’t despair. More giveaways coming this week!

Original Post:
Today was one of those days. Tripped on the stairs carrying a bunch of stuff and it all went flying. Poured a big bowl of Frosted Flakes only to discover we were out of milk. Messed up an order for Alpha Man’s job and now he doesn’t have a bisque colored RIGHT handed tub for a job, which is apparently the end of the world…

So I’m giving shit away. Can I say shit here? I can, right? We’re all friends. I have a very cute print copy of the ecookbook Heating Up The Kitchen, which is all of Tara’s recipes from The Sweetest Thing. Normally this cookbook is available only as an ebook but my publisher made me an adorable copy to give away. I also have Simply Irresistible in audio book form (cds). I love audio books but haven’t listened to it yet because … don’t laugh at me … I can’t listen to my own book without wanting to tear my ears off. And no, I don’t know why I am the way I am, it’s one of life’s little mysteries.

So. To enter, comment. Tell me which prize you would want. Hope that’s not too difficult for ya. Because as I can tell you, it’s a difficult sort of day.

Contest open until Sunday. Or, because I’m on deadline (yes STILL, don’t get me started) until I remember. I will try very hard to remember.

Have a great weekend and … only FOUR more days until Head Over Heels.

Thursday’s Tidbits

November 17, 2011 | Filed under: Stuff

This pic was taken in the woods by Youngest a week ago, before the first snow hit. The leaves are almost all on the ground now, but it sure was pretty while it lasted…

ALMOST DONE WITH MY BOOK. So many of you have asked what I’m working on. I’ve got three more Lucky Harbor books coming out next summer in June, July and August. I’m finishing them up and soon as I turn this book in this weekend (if I live that long!!!) then next week I’ll tell you much more about them.

For now, tell me what you’re reading, what you’ve read, what you want to read … tell us everything.

p.s. SIX MORE DAYS UNTIL HEAD OVER HEELS shows up wherever books are sold (unless you’re on an ereader, then it’s NEXT Tuesday on 12/1, and let me just say I think that sucks but it’s out of my hands…)

November 16, 2011 | Filed under: Stuff

This is the sort of love letter that Alpha Man emails me:

Alzheimer’s Test for Modern Seniors

How fast can you guess these words:

1. F_ _K
2. PU_S_
3. S_X
4. P_N_S
5. BOO_S
6. _ _NDOM

——————————————————————————

Answers:

1. FORK
2. PULSE
3. SIX
4. PANTS
5. BOOKS
6. RANDOM

You got all 6 wrong….didn’t you?
Don’t worry. You don’t have Alzheimer’s. You are just
a pervert.

Sweet, isn’t he?