Sandra Cox's Blog, page 303
December 28, 2011
Christmas Road Trip
Greetings, how is everyone? Did you have a wondrous Christmas?
The week before Christmas we headed for southern Illinois and stayed in Metropolis, Superman's home town. Unfortunately, other than statues there were no Superman sitings.
We stayed at Harrah's, where I lost ten dollars to the slot machines and ate at the buffet, courtesy of my aunt and uncle. Have you ever ate at Harrah's? OMG. They have huge buffets. All the meats and fish carnivores could want and plenty of veggies and salads for vegetarians. And all kinds of of desserts for those of us cursed with a sweet tooth. For some reason, this past summer I d
eveloped a craving for ice cream, which I indulged while we were there. The waiters scoop your ice cream and you do your own toppings. I swear they used eight oz ladles for the toppings. So I
had some creamy vanilla ice cream with my hot fudge, which I managed to get halfway through before getting slightly sick.This was the first time all the sibs have been together for a number of years. My bro from central IL told me he couldn't take off work to hook up with us, but called several times 'from work' while we were traveling. So imagine my surprise when I arrived at my aunt and uncle's to s
ee him and his significant ot
her setting on their couch. He'd been calling from his car:)I've attached some pics that include some of the fam, Sandy my aunt and uncle's wonderful rescue dog, and a pic of the Smokies, and of course, that man of steel--Superman. I can't help wondering what he'd think of America today with his motto of
'Truth, Justice, and the American Way.'
December 23, 2011
December 21, 2011
Holiday Recipe #18 Cream Cheese Ball
1 large package cream cheese
Roll into ball, place on platter
Top with Hot Pepper Jelly
Circle with Crackers
Holiday Recipe #17 Holiday Punch
1/2 gallon raspberry sherbert
1 2 litter of 7 up
Place scoops of ice cream into bowl and pour 7 up over it.
December 19, 2011
Holiday Recipe #16 French Waffles and Birthday Wishes
Ingredients:
Eggs
Frozen Waffles
Can of peaches
Cornstarch
Cinnamon
Vanilla
Beat your french toast mix as usual (2 eggs and 2/3 c milk should make approximately six servings)
Add a touch of cinnamon
Add tsp vanilla.
Dip frozen waffles in the mix and fry as you would french toast.
Pour can of peaches into saucepan and heat.
Add approx a Tbsp and a half of cornstarch
Add a dash of cinnamon
Stir about a minute
Serve waffles topped with peaches.
*~*
Happy Birthday, Wilma.
Out of Time
graphicsfairy.blogspot.com
We're headed for Southern Illinois for a few days. Have I cleaned my house? Heck no. Am I writing? Uh, no. Have I wrapped gifts? Nope. Am I Packed? No. Have we put up the tree? No. Though, here I claim extenuating circumstances. I don't want to leave the cats unsupervised with the tree. A friend of mine will come in twice a day to check on them and feed them, but you pet owners out there know the kind of trouble they can get into meantime. So we'll be decorating the tree the 23rd. We have NEVER waited this long to put one up. I am so behind.(wringing hands and moaning). But we'll survive. In the meantime, y'all enjoy the festivities and the season. And for those of you traveling, be safe.
Anybody else in the same leaky boat I am?
~*~
Blogs of interest:
Amarinda Jones
Anny Cook
Julia Barrett
Shelley Munro
December 18, 2011
Imajin Books Giveaway
From IMAJIN BOOKS comes...
25 Days of Christmas Giveaways
December 1-25, 2011
This Christmas, great things come in fours at Imajin Books! So we have four ways for booklovers to celebrate the Christmas season: an eBook Sale, eBook Giveaways, Basket o' Books Draw, and a Grand Prize Draw for the all-new Kindle Fire ereader.
1. eBook Sale - all our ebooks will be priced between $0.99 and $2.99.
The sale is on from December 1st to January 7th. To purchase ebooks from Smashwords (multiple file formats including ePub, PDF & more), visit our Winter Events page to view the special coupon codes to buy ebooks at our sale prices. Or buy from Amazon.com where the list prices have been changed to sale prices.
2. eBook Giveaways - 4 ebooks (winners' choice from our titles ) will be given away daily.
Rules: To enter, leave a comment and your email address on our Winter Events post in our Contests & Events section. Comments without email addresses will not qualify. You can enter every day; 1 ebook per winner per day. You may format your email address like: myemailaddress (at) emailprovider.com (or similar) if you'd like to; as long as we can read it, you'll be entered. No exchanges, no cash value. Ebook prizes will be awarded daily.
3. Basket o' Books Draw - paperback collection of winner's choice of 4 books
Rules: To enter, leave a comment and your email address on our Winter Events post in our Contests & Events section. Comments without email addresses will not qualify. You may format your email address like: myemailaddress (at) emailprovider.com (or similar) if you'd like to; as long as we can read it, you'll be entered. No exchanges, no cash value. 1 entry per person. This draw will take place between December 25 and December 31. Winner will be announced on our website.
4. Grand Prize Draw for a Kindle Fire ereader - 1 winner
Rules: You will get one entry for any of the following:
1. Review any of our books from December 1-December 24th, 2011 on Amazon.com or Smashwords.com and email us a link to your review. 1 entry per book title reviewed.
2. Tweet any of the following messages (1 entry per post per day; max. 3 entries/day):
Check out @imajinbooks 25 Days of Christmas Giveaways for prizes & win a #Kindle Fire http://imajinbooks.com
eBooks $2.99 or less - @imajinbooks 25 Days of Christmas Giveaways - prizes & win a Kindle Fire http://imajinbooks.com
25 Days of Christmas Giveaways @imajinbooks - eBook SALE, prizes & win a Kindle Fire http://imajinbooks.com
3. Post an announcement on your Facebook page to help us spread the news and email us with the link to your FB page (1 entry per post per day; max. 3 entries per day):
Enter the 25 Days of Christmas Giveaways for prizes & chance to win a #Kindle Fire http://imajinbooks.com
Ebooks $2.99 or less - 25 Days of Christmas Giveaways - prizes & chance to win a Kindle Fire http://imajinbooks.com
Want to win a Kindle Fire ereader? Check out the 25 Days of Christmas Giveaways at http://www.imajinbooks.com
4. Buy any of our ebooks or paperbacks between December 1-25th and forward us your receipt by email; receive 10 entries per title purchased.
When emailing us during this contest, please put "25 DAYS" in the subject line. Include your name and pertinent contest info.
Entries must be received by December 25th, midnight MT. Open to anyone 18+, anywhere. Void where prohibited. No cash value, no substitutions, no exchanges.
Basket o' Books and Kindle prize will be awarded by January 7, 2012. All prizes must be claimed by January 30, 2012 or they will be void.
December 17, 2011
Holiday Recipe #15: Turtle Brownies
Turtle Brownies
1/4 c melted margarine
1/3 c evaporated milk
1 bx German chocolate cake mix
14 oz package caramels
1/3 c evaporated milk
3/4 c chopped pecans
3/4 c semisweet chocolate chips
Melt margarine and allow to cool before combining with the first 1/3 cup of evaporated milk and cake mix. Mix well. Place 1/2 the batter in an ungreased 9x13 pan. Bake 5 to 7 minutes at 350.
Melt caramels and second 1/3 cup of milk in sauce pan. Blend well. Set aside. Sprinkle pecans and chocolate chips over cake batter.
Drizzle caramel mixture over top
Spread remaining cake batter over top
Bake 15 - 20 minutes at 350
December 16, 2011
Holiday Recipe # 14 Garden Vegetable Salad
graphicsfairy.blogspot
Garden Vegetable Salad
1/4 head cauliflower florettes
1/4 cup sliced carrots
1/4 head broccoli florettes
1 cup sliced squash
1/4 red sliced onion
6 to 8 cherry tomatoes
2/3 cup Italian Dressing
Wash and drain vegetables
Separate the onion into rings
Mix ingredients--except tomatoes and onions--with dressing, marinate overnight Drain excessive dressing
* Garnish with tomatoes and onion slices
December 15, 2011
Her One Knight Prince
Her One-Night Prince by Rebecca J. Clark BLURB:
Her One-Night Prince is a Cinderella story about a woman's dream to be something she's not for just one night at her class reunion.
As all fairy tales go, however, happy endings don't come easily.
Shy and sheltered Lydia St. Clair is uncomfortable around men, so she advertises for a gay man to be her date and revamp her style. Mitch Gannon answers Lydia's ad and he's perfect for the job--he's handsome and, even more important, he's charming.
Unbeknownst to Lydia, Mitch is straight and answered the ad as the unwitting victim of a practical joke. Before he can reveal the truth, Lydia is convinced he's her fairy godmother, ready to transform her into the belle of the ball. And Mitch, prince that he is, doesn't have the heart to set her straight.
EXCERPT:
With a firm hand against her upper back, Mitch propelled Lydia out of the bar and out the door. She peered back through the windows and could just make out that waitress standing behind the bar and staring out at them.
"She's beautiful," she said, turning back to Mitch. Something about that woman signaled a déjà vu of sorts in her mind, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it.
"Who? Edwina?" He glanced into the pub. "Yeah, she is."
Edwina's showstopping figure and stunning looks caused Lydia to self-consciously smooth back her boring, pulled-tight-into-a-bun-as-usual hair. She couldn't imagine a woman like Edwina ever advertising i
n the gay personals. She couldn't imagine Edwina making a boob of herself by assuming Mitch worked at a gay bar.
With the heel of her palm, she bonked herself in the side of the head a few times. "Just shoot me, will you?"
Mitch pulled her hand away from her head. "You're too hard on yourself, Lydia."
For a moment she zeroed in on the feeling of his large, warm hand holding hers. It felt good, like it belonged there, which was a crazy thought. Reality returned, and she pulled her hand from his grasp.
"What in the world was I thinking?" she asked. Her skin burned from embarrassment, or the heat of summer, or his touch…or all the above.
"It's understandable you'd assume I worked at a gay bar. I mean, you think I…er…"
She waved her hand back and forth. "No, no. That was just plain stupidity. What I meant was, I had this grand notion of you helping me out and transforming me into the belle of the ball. You know, Queer Eye my style or something." She wrapped her arms around herself despite the warm air and strode down the alley. If a sinkhole opened up in front of her, she'd gladly fall into it.
He jogged up beside her as they reached the sidewalk. "I don't know about the clothing and hair stuff," he said, "but I could certainly give you advice on men." He cleared his throat and coughed. "I mean, since I'm a, ah, man."
"That's okay. It was a dumb idea. Besides, I don't want advice on men. It would be pointless." She pulled black-framed sunglasses from her purse and exchanged them for her regular glasses to block the blinding glare off the sidewalk.
Mitch didn't respond right away, so she knew he silently agreed with her. Finally, he asked, "Why would it be pointless?"
She had about a million reasons. "It just would be."
BUY LINKS:
Bookstrand - http://www.bookstrand.com/her-one-night-prince
Amazon - http://tinyurl.com/6u2sec4
Barnes & Noble - http://tinyurl.com/7m8y8wz
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
:
Rebecca Clark has wanted to write romance novels since she read her first Harlequin Romance at age 11. When she's not writing, she works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor, where she teaches Pilates, Turbokick®, Zumba®, and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 24 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who thinks he's a lap dog, two cats, two rats and a gecko. In her not-so-abundant free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.
http://rebeccajclark.blogspot.com
http://shywriters.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/#!/rebeccajclark.author
Twitter @rebeccajclark
