Jennifer Shirk's Blog, page 24

Playing Hooky

You're probably thinking, What in the world does Jennifer have to play hooky from? She's at the beach all weekend.

Well, yes.

That's true, but also precisely why I need to play hooky from Blogger and...

A) Clean my toilets (nuff said)

B) Go food shopping (it's sad when my kiddo had to have romaine with Frank's hot sauce on it for lunch yesterday. I'm not making this up. I'm not that good of a writer.)

C) Open up my WIP that I have not touched in over two weeks (It's calling me. And not very nice names either)

So enjoy your day and be glad your not in my shoes.

See ya Friday!

Friday Favorites!

Well, since Linda Kage asked for more food favorites. She's getting it. LOL

One of my hubby's office assistants made this out-of-this-world banana/pineapple cake a few weeks ago and it was so good, I vowed to get the recipe and make it at least once a week. :-)

Well, I didn't ask for the recipe. BUT...I found it online.
( Thank you, Google!)

I made it on Monday since my father-in-law was coming over for dinner and it was every bit as good as I remembered it being. It has a nice dense banana bread kind of texture and the cream cheese frosting is so good. (Keep in mind cream cheese frosting is not my go-to frosting but I do enjoy it on fruity cakes and carrot cake)

So here it is, Friday Favorite # 16

Banana Pineapple Cake

ingredientsCake
3 cups all purpose flour2 cups sugar1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1 cup vegetable oil3 large eggs1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract2 cups chopped bananas (from about 3 bananas)1 cup chopped pecans  (I omitted because of family allergy)1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple with juiceFrosting
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature3 cups powdered sugar2 teaspoons vanilla extract1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans (I omitted because of family allergy)directionsFor cake:1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Whisk in oil, eggs and vanilla. Stir in bananas, pecans and pineapple. Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.2 Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Run knife around cake sides and turn out onto rack to cool completely.For frosting:1 Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl to blend. Beat in sugar and vanilla.2 Place 1 cake layer on plate. Spread 1 1/2 cups frosting over. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle toasted pecans in border around top edge of cake.3 (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Let stand at room temperature before serving.)
For me, dessert isn't dessert if it isn't chocolate, but I would pick this cake any day! It's definitely a favorite in our house!


Enjoy!!
How about you? Do you like cream cheese frosting or am I the only one who is kind of particular about that?

Putting a Little Color in my House

Hey, all!

I FINALLY had my house painted last week. The kitchen, living room, and dining room were all done. Now, I have what you call an "open concept" kind of downstairs so all the rooms were one color. I believe it was "Champagne Bubbles" from Sherwin Williams. Standard stuff.
Nice, but after 12 years I decided I needed some color in my life and chose THREE different colors.

I know. I'm living on the edge.

In the living room I went GREEN. Neutral, but it's a color. I LOVE how it turned out. Very warm and relaxing.

For the kitchen, I went a blue/green. I have little blue and aqua specks in my granite so I wanted to play that up. Plus I wanted to add a little warmth there because I have so much sunlight. It looks very beachy and pretty now.

For the dining room, I wanted a rose color but am changing it to a more neutral beige. Long story...

Here's how it turned out:
The living room...
"BEFORE" (I was moving stuff out of the room when I decided to take a picture)
"AFTER" I chose "Weeping Willow" from Olympic




Now for my kitchen... "BEFORE"

"AFTER" with "Misty Surf" by Olympic


The dining room I kind of flubbed. :(

I wanted a rose brown but ended up with something a little too pink. So when I walk in my house and see blue from the kitchen and pink from the dining room, I feel as if I'm in a nursery. Not good. We're hoping to correct that this week...

Once that's done, I just need new curtains in the kitchen and dining room and I want to redo the fireplace in my living room.
(See the blue tile in the living room above picture? Yeah. That's got to go)

I'm slowly getting this done. Then I'm going to work on my office next!! That should be fun!

Do you have a lot of wall colors? What color is your favorite room in your house?

Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday!
(Although I must say I've been on a "sort of" vacation, so every day kind of felt like Friday this week.)

Most of my friends are away at RWA Nationals in CA now and I've been feeling a little left-out so I haven't been doing much work.
Hopefully, next year I'll be able to join them in Atlanta!

Anyhew, to cheer myself up I've been adding what I'm calling Friday Favorites #16.

Flowers from my garden.

                                                           (my dining room table)

                                                                        (my kitchen)

I love to cut my hydrangeas and put them in vases. The light green/cream colored flower is a limelight , which is another kind of hydrangea that loves to be cut.

I also have some daisies in my bathroom. :)

One of the things I love about summer is having fresh flowers in the house, but buying them can get costly. So I make sure I plant lots of flowering shrubs that I can cut and put in vases. I also get creative with my butterfly bush stems too, which can add a nice pop of color too.

I feel so happy just looking at them!

How about you? Do you like fresh flowers in your house? Do you cut flowers from your own garden?

MIA

Hey, all!
Sorry I wasn't around Friday.
You know you're too busy to blog when you're too busy to post that you're too busy to blog. :-)

I had a LATE dinner out Thursday night with some friends over an hour away and then Friday morning I had a watermelon basket/fruit tray to put together for a friend's 40th birthday party which was that night.

Oh, and did I mention I had painters in my house all week and had to go to a neighbor's house to cut fruit since my kitchen was off limits?
Yeah. There was that too.

The 40th Birthday party was a blast by the way. And my fruit basket was naturally a hit. I even cut out oranges and filled the fruit dip in the skin part. This is the second watermelon basket that I've made and I must say, I now consider myself an "expert".
I didn't take a picture of this year's (too stressed and no time), but if you want to see what I made last year, check this out HERE. I volunteered to make one next Saturday for another party.

Let's see...back to the birthday party...

**start humming Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" right about now **

 It was a surprise for our friend. He told his wife he didn't want a party or anything big.
Naturally, she took that as her cue to have a party and have it big.

So, we rented a 14 person van to "kidnap" him with a blindfold and take him to his wife's brother's house where 90 of his closest friends and family were waiting. :-)

It was a really nice catered event and there was a live band that kicked major butt!!
(I missed all the food because I spent all night on the dance floor) 

PS. Did I mention the State Police showed up? I told you it was a good party... LOL

Anyhew, I spent all weekend trying to recover. I can't dance in heels all night like I used to (my calves were on fire) and I guess I spent too much time near the speaker because everything sounded like I was under the water.

Yeah. So that was my weekend.
What did you do?

Keeping on Target

Hi, all!

Well, we're half way through July, so I've been going through my list of goals I set out for myself this year. The funny thing is when I looked at my goals that I had blogged about in January (see HERE), I realized I didn't actually have many goals. LOL

But here's a recap:

1) Kick the caffeine habit--CHECK
With the help of that organic herbal coffee Teeccino, I've cut my caffeine intake by half to sometimes none at all. And I feel great.

2) Write less but more often--
Eh. Ok, I can't check that one. I ended up doing that Fast Draft class and actually have been writing more for shorter periods of times and also cranking out a lot more words in the time. Long story short: I'm writing much more than I have.

3) Learn Dragon software and effectively use it--CHECK
I actually learned it and wrote a synopsis with it, which made it so much easier to get down on paper!

**Now, in May I made a new list of writing goals that I shared with my critique partners.
(It took me that long to get motivated I guess. )
But here's what I came up with:

1) Finish Write Man for Kate first draft CHECK
BUT still need to do revision hell...

2) Start Christmas novella (must be done before July 10th) CHECK

3) Read two craft books
Reading Margie Lawson packets and Save the Cat now...

4) Start new single title book with "angel" in the title by August
(not August yet)

5) Read 50 fiction books
Read 30 so far!

Not bad, huh?
For someone who couldn't get their act together until later on in the year, I've really managed to accomplish a lot so far. :-)
But I wouldn't know that unless I made this list and could go back and look at it like this.

How about you? Are you a list maker too?
Have you made any personal goals for the New Year?
How are they coming along?

Friday Favorites #15

Happy Friday!

I know I get hung up on food for my Friday Favorites, but I'm going to resist since I just talked about food on Monday. :-D

Today I want to highlight something different, something awesome, something right in my backyard...

My town.

Ocean City, New Jersey!

(Not to be confused with Ocean City, Maryland, which in my opinion cannot compare.)

Ocean City is dubbed "America's Greatest Family Resort". We have a  2 1/2 mile boardwalk with two amusement parks, 8 miles of beautiful beaches, and lots of entertainment in the summer as well as throughout the year. We also happen to be a "dry" town.

We roughly have about 11,000 people living in town year round, but in the summer that balloons up to about 150,000!

I LOVE the farmer's market we have every Wednesday in the summer, where I get fresh Jersey tomatoes, fruits, and corn. I also picked up some homemade mozzarella that was completely to die for! I'm usually there when it opens at 8AM.

Every Tuesday is "Funtastic" with live bands, face painting, balloon animals, and magic shows downtown. Every Thursday on the boardwalk is "Family Night", with tons of fun stuff going on. We have our own Ocean City Pops that perform concerts throughout the summer on the boardwalk at our Music Pier.

Just this week I saw in the paper that we were having a Sand Sculpting Contest and a Freckle contest (painted on freckles accepted too).

I could go on about the food on the boardwalk, like fudge, Johnson's popcorn, Crazy Susan's cookies (featured on the Food Network) and homemade ice cream, and funnel cake!

Not to mention I get to see this every day: (taken at 5:45 AM by the hubby who was checking to see if there was any surf)


The hubby took the afternoon off yesterday and we hit the beach. We always joke with the kiddo and say, "Wow, wouldn't it be great to live here?" LOL

It really is!

What about where you live? What do love best about your town?

What kind of books do you like to...EAT?

Hey, all! It's good to be back!
Had a wonderful week of parties every day (not an exaggeration) and taking advantage of tons of beach time (yes, I have a mean tan already)

So although I was away from the blogosphere, I checked in on Facebook and Goodreads and sometimes Twitter when I had a free moment. And it was on Goodreads that I noticed a cool review for one of my books--which naturally prompted this post.


The review was for Sunny Days for Sam and what made it interesting was this:

I imagine if you could feed your brain cotton candy and ice cream in book form this book would be an excellent choice!
It's a quick read too so it would be like a Lady PacMan read! Just chomp chomp chomp until you're done!
I would read it on one of those days where you just need something light hearted! :)


Naturally, I had to tell my critique partners and we all had a good laugh because it's not everyday your book gets compared to cotton candy, ice cream, and Lady PacMan all in ONE review. LOL!

One my critique partners, Nina Croft,  said a reviewer once compared one of her books to Jalapeno Kettle Chips because you couldn't read just a little bit but had to devour the whole book. (Love that!)

So we thought it was interesting how many readers compare books to food!

It's probably the easiest analogy to relate to, but still, it had me thinking about what I like to read in terms of food. Most times, I do like a light sweet read (probably why that's what I write). So yeah, I like a little bowl of "ice cream".
Books are a treat to me, so that's how I want to spend my limited free time.

BUT...there are times when I need something more. A "steak dinner", if you will. A book that's a little heavier, meatier--especially when I have the time to sit and really enjoy.

Maybe you like to read books that would be considered more "junk food" on the beach or even vacation (or all the time).

I even like to switch up genres in between my romance reading and read horror or suspense for what I like to call "sorbet" to my reading pallet. :-)

My favorite author is Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I have always said her books were like crack cocaine. Yes, not food, but if I had to translate that to food, I'd probably say some sort of "decadent flourless chocolate cake".
Oh yeah. Now I'm hungry...

Think about books you tend to read and like, or even your favorite authors.
How would you compare those books to food?

Unplug

Hello, all!

Just wanted to say that I'll be on a little blog break. We're going to have friends visiting from the great state of Montana!
So we'll be busy being hosts and showing them the beach and all that New Jersey has to offer.

Be back Monday, July 9th!

In the meantime, be good and don't share any big news until I get back. :-)

The Other Side of Darkness + Giveaway

Happy Monday, all!
 I'm very happy to have author Linda Rondeau here with me today.
She has her book THE OTHER SIDE OF DARKNESS an Inspirational Suspense Thriller available now from Harbourlight Books!


Please welcome Linda as she talks of her new book and her publishing story. :-)



Award-winning author, LINDA RONDEAU, writes for the reader who enjoys a little bit of everything.
Her stories of redemption and God’s mercies include romance, suspense, the ethereal, and a little bit of history into the mix, always served with a slice of humor.
Walk with her unforgettable characters as they journey paths not unlike our own. After a long career in human services, mother of three and wife of one very patient man, Linda now resides in Florida where she is active in her church and community. 
                                                                             

                  THE BIG YES, YES!
“Lord, I can’t do this anymore. It hurts too much,” I cried. “I wasn’t meant to be a writer.” I looked up at the wall of award certificates and thought I heard the room laughing at me.    Not that there haven’t been a few successes along the way.  I’ve managed to publish articles, short stories, poetry, and I write a newspaper column. I’ve even had an agent for several years. But after eight failed books, I wondered if I heard God all wrong.
 My first career had been in human services. I was a decent social worker as social workers go. But I wanted to reach people outside the government experience. Although a hobbyist writer, I hesitated to believe I could be a professional one.
 When my youngest child left the nest in 1995, I asked God to give me a passion for something. Soon after uttering that desperate plea for renewal, my office sent me to what I termed a feel goodseminar, the kind of workshop that motivates a person to go home and hug all the neighbors. The speaker asked, “What do you want to do with the rest of your life?” Then he instructed us to put our answers unto a 3x5 card. I wrote, WRITE. Then the speaker told us to expand our dream. Before I could catch my breath, the speaker called on me. I found myself publically declaring the desire to write for Christ.
I let doubt rob me of that momentary passion. “God does not care about your dreams. Your job is to be a good wife, mother, and neighbor. That is true Christianity. Forget your foolish desires.”  The more the call tugged at my heart, the more I resisted.
Until June 21, 2000…the day the dream was reborn. Armed with faith lacking five years before, I started the journey. My first attempt was a poem. Not a very good one, but I felt a peace that had long eluded me. The excuses ended and the journey began.
Here I am, however, almost nine years later, still struggling with disbelief, fighting the urge to delete all my books. “I don’t understand why we haven’t been able to get you published,” my agent wrote. That’s what I’d like to know, Lord. What do I have to do? What am I missing? Why won’t you let me go back to being a hobbyist? I liked writing then.
A few weeks ago, during my devotion time, I opened my Bible to the fourteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians. I’d read the familiar passage about the harmony of the Spirits’ gifts. I had not applied the truth to my writing gift. My craft had been for my own pleasure. Oh, I used words about Christ, and my books did contain spiritual truth. But the whole of the affair was not in clear delineation of that truth. Instead, the writing drew attention to me as if shouting, “See how clever I am?” Like a room that cannot be lived in, I’d decorated my space with imagery, symbolism, and cadence that served no purpose but to edify myself.  
God’s word had perfect clarity:            Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?
            (I Corinthians 14:20)
I asked God to forgive my arrogance, and help me to put His message above my need.    But the Lord had yet another, even more profound lesson in store. A few days later, I read God’s words of love as he renewed the call and once again infused me with the same passion as that day in 1995. For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come           (2 Corinthians 1:20 – 22).

I don’t know what the road ahead will bring. But I do know that at the end of the journey God’s arms will be stretched wide to welcome me with a huge, “Yes! Yes!”
Addendum: This article was written a few years ago. On June 21, 2011, eleven years to the day He first called me, God reaffirmed His plan with the offer for my first book contract, The Other Side of Darkness. On May 23, 2012, the day before my 65th birthday, the book received the Selah Award for best first novel. God never forsakes his promises.   

Thank you, Linda! What an inspirational story!

THE OTHER SIDE OF DARKNESS:

Haven: a perfect vacation spot filled with mystery and romance except for a killer bent on revenge. Manhattan prosecutor Samantha Knowlton is stranded in a quirky but intriguing Adirondacktown. But she must return to NYC to repair the unraveling case against convicted child killer, Harlan Styles.
Teacher Zack Bordeaux fears he is doomed to a life of mediocrity if he remains in Haven but would be willing to stay if it means a life with Sam.  
Landscape artist Jonathan Gladstone feels bound to an estate he both loathes and loves, haunted by the deaths of his wife and son until he falls in love with a spirited attorney and rediscovers his artistic passion.  
These three, betrayed and betraying, must find their way from the darkness of broken hope to the light found only in Christ, our surest haven.  
Available at Amazon and Barnes &Noble.    



GIVEAWAY: Linda will be awarding one $10 GC to http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ to one randomly drawn commenter at every stop!!

For more info on her tour and other stops, please visit Goddess Fish.
Thanks,and good luck!